The Rock Chalkboard

Malcolm Lee had roller coaster year before KU football debut
It had been a roller coaster of a year for Malcolm Lee before his arrival at KU football. A year ago, Lee was playing for Iowa Western Community College as a true freshman and was in the midst of a solid start to the season. Through the Reivers’ first four games, Lee had amassed 10 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Big 12 schedule announced for KU men's basketball (2019-20)
Senior day for the Jayhawks will come on Wed., March 4. The Jayhawks will square off against TCU on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with tip slated for 7 p.m. The following Saturday, March 7, the Jayhawks will close out Big 12 play on the road in Lubbock, Texas. That game will be on either ESPN or ESPN2 with tip slated for 1 p.m.

When it's Koenning vs. Koenning, bring your knives and guns
What West Virginia's coaches have learned from watching Kansas through three games is that their defense had better bring both guns and knives to Memorial Stadium Saturday. The Jayhawks have a dangerous running back tandem and a desire to get them the ball again and again, but they also have a quarterback who seemed unflappable shepherding an expanded and exciting offense to an impressive road win last week.

KU women's basketball's 2019-20 Big 12 slate announced
The Jayhawks' showdowns with women's basketball power Baylor (18-0 in Big 12 play last year) will come on Jan. 15 (Lawrence) and Feb. 5 (Waco). Last season, Iowa State finished second in the conference with a record of 13-5. The Jayhawks will face off against the Cyclones in Ames on Jan. 25 and in Lawrence on March 3.

Carter Stanley recalls 'unbelievable' 2016 Patrick Mahomes play
"Yeah I mean Mahomes is unreal. I played against him two years here at KU when he was at Texas Tech, so I got to see it live before he obviously blew up for the Chiefs," Stanley said on 810 WHB's The Border Patrol. "But he's been like that for a little bit now. And it's unreal what he's doing with KC. I don't think it'll be too long before they win a Super Bowl."

Kansas wins big against Johnson County
Kansas softball won its second exhibition match of their fall ball season big on Wednesday night, defeating Johnson County 28-2 inside Arrocha Ballpark.

Letter from Athletics Director Jeff Long
Like many of you, the afterglow of the Jayhawks win over Boston College hasn’t fully worn off just yet! We should all be so proud of Coach Miles and the student-athletes for the way they responded on the road at Boston College. It was a beautiful site to see the Crimson and Blue faithful wave the wheat throughout the stadium. Thank you to everyone who traveled from around the region to see your Jayhawks in action, it was a great team win!

Bits o Chalk

NFL veteran Vontae Davis quit the NFL midgame. Here's what happened next
But the chapter resonates in a deeper way. It's been almost a year since Davis stunned the sports world with one of the most bizarre retirements in history. With his Buffalo Bills down 28-6 minutes before halftime against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2, the 30-year-old two-time Pro Bowl cornerback removed himself from the game. Then he walked to the locker room, took off his jersey and drove home.

Jets' Adams calls NFL 'a damn joke' for fining him
New York Jets safety Jamal Adams, fined $21,506 for a roughing the passer penalty against Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield on Monday night, blasted the NFL on social media Wednesday night.

ESPN extends rights with Special Olympics
ESPN has struck an eight-year agreement with Special Olympics, extending its broadcast and global presenting sponsorship rights for Special Olympics World Games, World Winter Games and USA Games through 2027.

Vazquez told police of attempted sex with minor
Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez admitted to police that he tried to have sex with a 13-year-old girl and sent her nude photographs and videos of himself committing sexual acts, according to a criminal complaint released Wednesday by Pennsylvania State Police.

Source: Delle Donne to win second WNBA MVP
For the second time in her career, Washington's Elena Delle Donne has been voted the WNBA's MVP, a league source told ESPN.

Free Taco -- Cowboys cut former first-rounder
The Dallas Cowboys have released former first-round pick Taco Charlton.

Eraser Dust

U.S. Navy confirms Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 was right about UFOs | Salon.com
It turns out that DeLonge might really be onto something. In an interview with Motherboard, Joseph Gradisher, a spokesperson for the deputy chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, said “the Navy considers the phenomena contained/depicted in [the] 3 videos [that DeLonge made public] as unidentified.”

Trump threatens San Francisco with EPA violation because of city's homeless
President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to have the Environmental Protection Agency issue a "notice" to San Francisco over the city's homeless issue, comments that were criticized by local officials.

People Are Looking At Your LinkedIn Profile. They Might Be Chinese Spies : NPR
It ended with a jury in Virginia finding former CIA officer Kevin Mallory guilty of spying for China. The Mallory case — a rare counterintelligence investigation to go to trial — provides a lesson in how Chinese spies use social media to try to recruit or co-opt Americans.

Liam Gallagher on Oasis, Noel, Why Me? Why Not, Beady Eye | EW.com
What followed were four years of extreme lows and, as Gallagher explains to EW, a period of missed opportunities: “When Oasis split up and then Beady Eye kind of didn’t happen, I had four years of starting to get me personal life back together; there was a lot of time wasted. I enjoyed the years with Oasis. We were putting albums out, we were doing big tours. I like to be busy. I like to go out on tours. I like to put records out. So I [was] making up for lost time.”

SNL Hired Shane Gillis to Woo Conservative Viewers
According to Variety, SNL showrunner Lorne Michaels wanted to add a cast member who’d appeal to right-wing viewers–an apparent effort to balance out the show’s presumed liberal bias (and Alec Baldwin’s alleged Trump impression). Unfortunately, it seems no one bothered to vet Gillis, or even give him a cursory Google, which might have yielded the podcast recordings of him using Asian and homophobic slurs that surfaced shortly after his hire was announced, ultimately and rightfully costing him his gig.