The Rock Chalkboard

2022 SF Colin Smith enjoys phone call with KU coach Bill Self
"It was pretty crazy," Smith told Phog.net. "We got a lot of calls that first night. I had to stay up pretty late. It's really a blessing that a lot of these coaches are staying up as late as me, trying to talk to me and showing how much interest they have in me. We got a lot of calls during this whole week as well and just trying to form relationships with all the coaches. It's been a good time."

KU's Bill Self: Important to listen to others on social issues
"And certainly players give you an opportunity to do that, but also history does as well," Self said. "I think this is obviously so tragic, what's happened and everything, but somehow or another, I think the movement, the stance is pretty positive and voices are being heard. There's so many things that have happened that from my perspective where I was growing up and what I saw, I didn't know what was transpiring and didn't understand. It amazes me how people are so opinionated on what's right and what's wrong but they've never seen it from somebody else's perspective. They only see it from the way they were raised."

Bill Self talks COVID effect on summer workouts, 2020-21 season
"I would say this about the season tickets, I think we're going to play," Self said. "I think there's a great chance fans will be in the stands. I think there will be some nervous moments up until that point to know if you can or not."

Bill Self expecting gains for second-year Braun, Enaruna, Wilson
"He had a great year, didn't he," Self said on the show on Tuesday. "A great year. I think he's got a chance. And Jalen is healthy. I think he's got a real chance. And then Tristan, to me, is probably about as long and talented as anybody."

Bits o Chalk

What to love, loathe, look forward to and fear about MLB in 2020 and beyond
Here are things I do not understand: Why did it take so long for Major League Baseball and the players' association to get to this moment when they agreed on just about nothing? Why did the stewards of the game recklessly drag it over the past six weeks? Why is the relationship between the union and MLB so toxic and unproductive? Why was there such tone-deafness to the national and international context?

MLBPA, owners clear final hurdles; players set to report to camps July 1
Major League Baseball will hold Opening Day either July 23 or 24, and players will head to training camps in a week after the league and the union on Tuesday agreed on health and safety protocols that will govern the sport as it attempts to return amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger says faith has helped him deal with off-field addiction issues
"But you have to dedicate yourself and understand that you can get out of it because of the grace of God and him saying, 'Listen, you're good enough for me the way you are. You don't have to be perfect.'"

FBI says rope had been in Talladega garage since October; Bubba Wallace not victim of hate crime
"The FBI report concludes, and photographic evidence confirms, that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall," NASCAR said in its statement. "This was obviously well before the 43 team's arrival and garage assignment.

Lakers' Avery Bradley opts out of NBA restart, cites family concerns
"As committed to my Lakers teammates and the organization as I am, I ultimately play basketball for my family," Avery Bradley said. "And so, at a time like this, I can't imagine making any decision that might put my family's health and well-being at even the slightest risk.

Eraser Dust

Court: Montana family owns dinosaur fossils worth millions - ABC News
The dinosaurs unearthed on the ranch include a T. rex found in 2013, a triceratops skull discovered in 2011 and the 2006 discovery of a pair of dinosaurs that appeared to have been locked in battle when they died.

Poynter teams with AARP, Facebook to help seniors fight misinformation
MediaWise, which previously focused primarily on teenagers, is launching a program to equip people 50 and older with the skills to navigate misinformation about politics, health and other critical topics.

A call about a noise violation turns into pickup basketball game with Kalispell police
The kids won round one, so the officers said they would return Monday with more help and did just that. With members from the sheriff's office and KPD, the pickup game lasted for about two hours Monday evening with local kids from all over the park.

Daily Inter Lake
For the just the second time in tournament history, the famous $10,000 tagged lake trout has been caught during the annual Mack Days event on Flathead Lake.

Seeking a Safe Haven - Flathead Beacon
Two things are happening,” said Wendy Brown, Northwest Montana Association of Realtors (NMAR) MLS president-elect. “People are really sick and tired of living on top of each other in the big city, and number two, everybody’s figured out how to work from home … So that’s probably our biggest driving factor — some of the barriers that kept people from being here before are no longer barriers.”