The Rock Chalkboard

Danny Manning: KU basketball's '86 team set table for '88 title
For starters, some may not know that despite having arguably the best player in all of college basketball in Danny Manning, the 1988 team had some trouble early on in the year. Younger fans may not know the team was a No. 6 seed as it entered the NCAA Tournament and ran up against a team considered to be decisively better in the championship game.

KU football notes: 4-star WR Keon Coleman sets decision day
At this point, I feel comfortable projecting Coleman to Oklahoma, but I absolutely would not be shocked if this recruitment still had a few more twists and turns. I would not be shocked if one of the previous schools in his top six became an option in the future. As reported by 247Sports' Steve Wiltfong, Coleman is expected to be watching the Jayhawks into the fall to see what kind of progress is made on the field. It wouldn't shock me if KU happened to win some games and Coleman gave them a second look.

Report: KU basketball return date pushed back two weeks
"I think there's still some concerns about bringing [players] back, but we're going to discuss that to see if the risks certainly are less than the rewards," Self said. "We can't work with them until July 20 now, so when our players come back it'll be a voluntary basis, and then we're limited from a voluntary basis on what we can do."

Devonte' Graham tapped as one of decade's best shooters
Graham was one of just two Big 12 players to make the list, coming in ahead of Baylor’s Brady Heslip. And the only players ahead of him were Marquette’s Markus Howard, Virginia’s Kyle Guy, Michigan’s Duncan Robinson and Utah State’s Sam Merrill.

Enjoyment of game critical for standout center prospect Etienne
Sometimes when you watch a basketball prospect, you can see their passion for and enjoyment of the game. That is the case when you watch 2021 center prospect Micawber Etienne of Suffield (Conn.) Academy.

Bits o Chalk

Former Ole Miss guard Blake Hinson says Mississippi flag played role in transfer
"It was time to go and leave Ole Miss," Hinson told the Daytona Beach (Florida) News-Journal. "I'm proud not to represent that flag anymore and to not be associated with anything representing the Confederacy."

Under Armour looking to end 15-year, $280M deal with UCLA
"Under Armour has recently made the difficult decision to discontinue our partnership with UCLA, as we have been paying for marketing benefits that we have not received for an extended time period," the company said in a statement Saturday. "The agreement allows us to terminate in such an event and we are exercising that right."

ESPN show confirms The Decision was fan's idea, not LeBron James'
The idea for ESPN's The Decision show 10 years ago, in which LeBron James declared that he'd take his "talents to South Beach," wasn't LeBron's or his agent's or his inner circle's or anyone at ESPN's. It turns out that the show's idea came from a 38-year-old Detroit Pistons fan from Columbus, Ohio, identified only as "Drew" in a Bill Simmons mailbag column published by ESPN on Nov. 26, 2009, seven months before the broadcast.

NFLPA's DeMaurice Smith says workouts go against player safety
During an interview with USA Today, Smith was specifically asked about social media posts from workouts by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and said they aren't acting "in the best interest of player safety."

NBA could allow players to wear social justice messages on jerseys
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul, president of the National Basketball Players Association, told ESPN's The Undefeated on Saturday that the players' union and the league are collaborating to allow players to wear jerseys with personalized social justice, social cause or charity messages on the backs instead of their last names during the upcoming restart of the NBA season.

Eraser Dust

Afghanistan war: Russia denies paying militants to kill US troops - BBC News
Citing US officials, The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reported that a Russian military intelligence unit offered the alleged bounties last year.

US coronavirus: Only two states are reporting a decline in new cases - CNN
Only two US states are reporting a decline in new coronavirus cases compared to last week -- Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Trump thanks 'great people' shown in Twitter video in which a man chants 'white power' - CNNPolitics
President Donald Trump on Sunday widely shared a video he said is from the Villages, a community in Florida, in which a man driving a golf cart with Trump campaign posters is seen chanting "white power."

Mississippi moves to strip Confederate emblem from state flag - BBC News
On Saturday, both chambers of the Republican-led state congress voted to begin the process of changing the flag.

Black Lives Matter billboard vandalized in Kalispell | KECI
“A lot of people are getting upset with it, and are relating it to a lot of the hate, and the crimes that are going on right now, but the main focus of the billboard was to bring conversation injustice that was happening,” Black Lives Matter billboard sponsor Kavi Fix said.