The Rock Chalkboard

KU football's Mike Ekeler announced as new North Texas assistant
On Friday, the University of North Texas football program announced it had hired Mike Ekeler as its new special teams coordinator. The news was announced on Twitter and accompanied with a release from the UNT athletics' site.

Devonte' Graham, Svi Mykhailiuk slated for NBA All-Star Weekend
On Friday, the NBA All-Star Twitter account released the names for the players in the 2020 Rising Stars challenge, which features teams of rookies and sophomores squaring off in a format of U.S.-born players vs. international NBA standouts. For that, the two former KU teammates and best friends will actually be squaring off against each other.

Bits o Chalk

Rockets beat Mavericks using historically small lineup
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rockets became the first NBA team to play an entire game without a player listed taller than 6-foot-6 since the New York Knicks in a Jan. 31, 1963, loss to the Chicago Zephyrs.

Zion Williamson swaps jerseys with Ja Morant after dominating Grizzlies
Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans, and Morant, the No. 2 overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies, met at half court following Friday's contest. In that moment, the final score -- the Pelicans toppled the Grizzlies 139-111 -- didn't really matter. It was about two friends getting to exchange NBA jerseys for the very first time.

Antonio Brown -- 'I think I could have done a lot of things better'
"I think I owe the whole NFL an apology and my past behavior," Brown told Anderson. "I think I could have done a lot of things better."

Blazers' Damian Lillard -- Only right to honor Kobe by competing at higher level
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard put on a commanding performance in Friday night's 127-119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 48 points, dishing out 11 assists and grabbing 9 rebounds.

LeBron James caps Kobe 'celebration' at Staples with stirring speech
There were two moving and powerful video tributes, and R&B artists Usher and Boyz II Men, and cellist Ben Hong performed, followed by an emotional LeBron James addressing a crowd for the first time since Bryant's death Sunday. Then the Los Angeles Lakers' entire starting five were introduced one by one as "Kobe Bryant" while wearing either Bryant's No. 8 or No. 24 Lakers jersey before playing the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Eraser Dust

Coronavirus: US and Australia close borders to Chinese arrivals - BBC News
The US and Australia said they would deny entry to all foreign visitors who had recently been in China, where the virus first emerged in December.

The Tax Break the IRS Is Begging You to Take | The Motley Fool
It might come as a surprise to learn that the IRS actually wants to encourage taxpayers to take tax breaks, but that's exactly what it's doing on Jan. 31. With the 14th installment of its annual EITC Awareness Day, the tax agency wants to make sure everyone knows about the benefits of claiming the earned income tax credit -- a tax break that it believes 6 million eligible taxpayers leave untouched.

Song of the Day