The Rock Chalkboard

Three Kansas football coaches won over new DB signee Edwin White
White, the No. 782 prospect nationally, told Phog.net he felt he rushed into his Tennessee decision, so he took a step back and reopened his recruitment. He had several coaches showing interest — and previously drew offers from Central Michigan, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tulane and a host of others — but the Jayhawks were particularly involved.

VIDEO: Zoom Interview With CBS College Basketball Analyst, Clark Kellogg! - Hammer and Rails
During the interview, Clark and I discussed:

- The Champions Classic event of Michigan State vs. Duke & Kansas vs. Kentucky. (Ed note - Mike sent me this link to include in N&Ns a while and i just now remembered. Sorry mike)

Brandon's Breakdown: Future Big XII stars from Dallas-Fort Worth
Dallas-Fort Worth was home to a lot of players who performed well in Big 12 Conference play this week. Cade Cunningham, Marcus Garrett, and R.J. Nembhard are only a few of the names from the metroplex who stood out. In this article, 247Sports highlights seven prospects from the area who could have the same impact in the conference down the road:

KU basketball at Texas Tech: Who stood out and who didn't...
During the game, I made a prediction to our staff writers. I told them Bill Self would gush about the play in which Agbaji turned the ball over on an awkward pass — it looked like he was afraid of getting called for a carry, Jay Bilas surmised on the call — but then tracked back to get a chase-down block in transition. Self loves those kinds of plays, and, as predicted, he brought it up after the win, calling it the type of play that can make a season.

Three-star 2021 safety Edwin White picks Kansas football
After landing 18 players on the first day of the early-signing period and then an additional signee on Thursday, the Jayhawks landed top-800 prospect and three-star safety Edwin White on Friday. White committed to the Jayhawks at 4 p.m. CT and took part in a signing ceremony thereafter. He was previously committed to Tennessee for around nine months

Bits o Chalk

Kyrie Irving cleanses court with sage burning, then helps Nets beat Celtics in Boston return
"It just comes from a lot of native tribes," Irving said after the game. "Being able to sage, just cleanse the energy, make sure that we're all balanced. When we come into this job, we come into this place, it's not anything that I don't do at home that I did today. I saged last game, and I plan to sage almost every game if the opposing team will allow me to.

Oregon Ducks conclude unusual path to Pac-12 title, upsetting undefeated USC Trojans
In the locker room after Oregon's 31-24 victory against USC on Friday to claim the Pac-12 title and a likely berth in the Fiesta Bowl, Ducks coach Mario Cristobal brought up a conversation the team had in March.

Bret Bielema named head coach of Illinois Fighting Illini
Bielema, 50, has spent the past three seasons as an NFL assistant, working this year for the New York Giants after two years with the New England Patriots. He had expressed interest in returning to the college level and was a candidate for openings last year at both Michigan State and Colorado, and earlier in this cycle at Southern Miss, according to sources.

Headlined by the ACC and SEC, conference championship week is here
We've finally reached the finish line of a college football regular season that has simultaneously felt like the longest slog ever and an absolute blink. Exhausted ACC teams are dropping out of bowl consideration left and right, while teams like Arizona State and Washington State are each getting ready to play only their fourth game of the season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly threatens not to play in College Football Playoff
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Friday that if the Irish are chosen to make the College Football Playoff, they would consider not playing if families are not allowed to attend the semifinal game.

Eraser Dust

Liam Gallagher in the running for Christmas number one with 'All You're Dreaming Of'
Liam Gallagher is in the running for the coveted Christmas number one single with ‘All You’re Dreaming Of’.

The festive track is already the best-selling vinyl single of 2020 so far, and currently sits at #2 in the running for next week’s prize.

FDA authorizes Moderna vaccine for emergency use - POLITICO
The Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine Friday, launching a second option to inoculate against the virus and adding millions of doses to the national supply.

Facebook Is a Doomsday Machine - The Atlantic
People tend to complain about Facebook as if something recently curdled. There’s a notion that the social web was once useful, or at least that it could have been good, if only we had pulled a few levers: some moderation and fact-checking here, a bit of regulation there, perhaps a federal antitrust lawsuit. But that’s far too sunny and shortsighted a view. Today’s social networks, Facebook chief among them, were built to encourage the things that make them so harmful. It is in their very architecture.

Missing stimulus check money: How to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your taxes
The second stimulus check is starting to take shape thanks to progress on another stimulus bill, but are you still missing all or part of your economic stimulus check that went out earlier this year? It's too late to request the money in 2020, since the deadline to register a claim for a missing stimulus payment of up to $1,200 per adult or $500 per child dependent was Nov. 21. But as long as you're actually qualified to get that first payment, you can still file for any money you're owed in early 2021.

When you file your taxes in 2021, you can claim your stimulus check money in the form of a Recovery Rebate Credit from the IRS. This credit would either increase the amount of your tax refund or lower the amount of the tax you need to pay by the amount of stimulus money you're still owed. You can claim this money whether or not Congress approves a second stimulus check as part of another economic relief package this month or next year.

Whitefish City Council says Town Pump has to replace trees removed by mistake | KECI
Construction is underway on a new Town Pump gas station and convenience store at the corner of U.S. 93 and Montana 40. The project was approved by the Whitefish City Council several months ago.

Health Board discusses declining COVID cases, eyes Moderna vaccine
BOARD MEMBERS also discussed vaccination efforts and said the health department’s attention and interest has turned to the upcoming Moderna vaccine, which was reviewed and has now been endorsed by the Federal Drug Administration and is a likely candidate for widespread community distribution.

Pompeo: Russia 'Pretty Clearly' Behind Massive SolarWinds Cyberattack : NPR
Since news of the SolarWinds hack surfaced nearly a week ago, high-ranking Trump administration officials have remained largely silent about the cyberattack that involved at least half a dozen federal agencies. On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo broke that silence, becoming the most prominent administration official to blame Russia for the attack.

Trump raised $200m from false election claims. What happens to the money now? | Donald Trump | The Guardian
“I can think of no other president who has set up a leadership PAC immediately after losing an election and begun fundraising for it furiously. This is entirely, entirely unique,” he said.

“I think it’s basically going to be the vehicle for Trump’s post-White House political operation.”

A Zoom Musical - Flathead Beacon
After the pandemic almost completely shut down the entertainment industry last spring, Whitefish performers Erica von Kleist, David Blair and Mikey Winn got together to drink a glass of wine and write music about quarantine life back in April.

The trio didn’t realize they had just written their first song of would later be a filmed comedic musical called “Your Musical Is Cancelled: The Musical!,” which released for streaming online Nov. 20.

Flathead County COVID Numbers Decline for First Time in Weeks - Flathead Beacon
For the first time in “I don’t know when,” outgoing Flathead City-County Health Officer Tamalee St. James Robinson says her team at the health department is confident in its ability to track and manage the COVID-19 outbreak as the rate of new cases reported in the county has declined for the first time in months.

Montana Lawmakers Reject Mask Mandate Ahead of Session - Flathead Beacon
Republican state lawmakers in Montana rejected proposals Wednesday by Democrats to require masks at next month’s legislative session or meet remotely, opting instead to form a panel that will assess what’s needed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.