The Rock Chalkboard

The Drive: Evaluating KU basketball with Big 12 play on tap
The 15th season of The Drive continues following the end of the Kansas football season and a pair of KU basketball wins — including one over No. 8 Creighton.

When each member of Kansas football's 2021 class plans to sign
The early-signing period begins this Wednesday. KU football has a current class of 20 commits, and while recruiting is always fluid with names moving in and out of each class, here are where things sit heading into the week, when recruits can sign with their respective schools...

Bill Self, KU players reflect on Ochai Agbaji's bounce-back game
Agbaji's scoring totals before that game were 17, 18, 17, 16 and 13 points. He had between three and five rebounds in four of those games and either three or four assists in three of them. He posted at least one steal in each game. You get the point.

Meet the Big 12's incoming class of QB's
The Cyclones signed two talented quarterbacks in the 2020 cycle: four-star Hunter Dekkers from Hawarden (Iowa) West Sioux and three-star Aidan Bouman from Buffalo (Minn.) Senior. According to GoPokes.com, Oklahoma State will take Gunnar Gundy -- the son of Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy -- as a walk-on whose eligibility clock will start once the spring semester begins.

Florida forward Keyontae Johnson collapses on court
Star Florida forward Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the court during the first half of Saturday morning's game at Florida State. The SEC's preseason player of the year had just finished an alley-oop dunk when he turned around and fell to the floor. He was taken off on a stretcher.

Charlie Brewer to enter NCAA Transfer Portal
“It is with much thought and prayer that I am announcing I will be entering the transfer portal and moving on as a graduate transfer,” Brewer wrote in the graphic. “A heartfelt thank you to my teammates, Coach Rhule and Coach Aranda for an amazing ride the past four years here at Baylor. I will take with me a lifetime of great memories and a degree from Baylor University.”

Bits o Chalk

'Nervous' Kevin Durant shines in return from injury, calls Brooklyn Nets debut 'good step'
"I was anxious, nervous," Durant said afterward. "I visualized this moment for so long -- nine, 10 months of thinking about how it would be, this next phase of my career. I felt like I was chomping at the bit, especially once COVID hit because I didn't see a future -- when the season was going to start in the future. I was going through it.

Las Vegas Raiders fire defensive coordinator Paul Guenther as playoff hopes fade
The Las Vegas Raiders fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther on Sunday night, less than three hours after a dismal 44-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts all but ended the Raiders' playoff hopes and dropped their record to 7-6.

Sources -- Cleveland to drop Indians nickname after 105 years
The Cleveland Indians plan to drop the nickname they have used for more than a century, becoming the latest professional sports franchise to shed its Native American imagery amid accusations that its use is racist, two sources familiar with the decision confirmed to ESPN.

Sources -- Despite John Wall's addition to Houston Rockets, James Harden still pushing for trade
"I think me and James can be a heck of a combination," Wall told reporters after the Rockets' 104-91 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night. "I just hope we get the opportunity to get into the regular season and see how it goes."

Report: Art Briles could be considered for FBS vacancy
The coaching carousel wheels are beginning to spin with more velocity. In less than 24 hours, two Power 5 head coaching positions have become available as Arizona fired Kevin Sumlin and Auburn parted ways with Gus Malzahn.

Eraser Dust

Electoral College set to seal Trump's fate -- yet again - CNNPolitics
A constitutional ritual that is normally a little-noticed curiosity will Monday turn into a symbol of the US political system's durability while under assault from a defeated President seeking to overturn a democratic election.

Russian Hackers Broke Into Federal Agencies, U.S. Officials Suspect - The New York Times
The Trump administration acknowledged on Sunday that hackers acting on behalf of a foreign government — almost certainly a Russian intelligence agency, according to federal and private experts — broke into a range of key government networks, including in the Treasury and Commerce Departments, and had free access to their email systems.

Video: Liam Gallagher perfectly sums up boring Manchester derby — Stretty News
However, like ourselves, the Oasis frontman found himself needing a snooze during the game.

Gallagher took to Twitter to post a 14 second clip of him snoring into his phone.

I’m half tempted to play this on rewind for this week’s podcast

Physician perspectives: KRH doctors discuss virus’ impact on hospital operations
“There are three major issues that impact our ability to deal with COVID and those are PPE, testing and hospital beds and the staff that manage them,” Zuckerman said. “Upfront we were really worried about PPE because the global supply chain had run dry. When that happened all of the specialty societies, including the American College of Surgeons, came out with a very strong recommendation to stop elective surgery. So we stopped everything.”

Trump rejects plan for early vaccination at White House - POLITICO
"People working in the White House should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary," Trump tweeted. "I have asked that this adjustment be made. I am not scheduled to take the vaccine, but look forward to doing so at the appropriate time. Thank you!"