The Rock Chalkboard

KU football 2019 year in review: An unlikely eruption at BC
KU football started its road schedule by stunning Boston College on the road, 48-24. The win broke a streak of 48-consecutive road losses to Power Five schools. It was also the first road win for Les Miles as coach of the Jayhawks.

3-star Shawn Munnerlyn 'definitely' wants to visit KU football
Kansas has a special tie to Munnerlyn, though, since his coach is actually former Jayhawk running back Maurice Douglas. Douglas was a five-year member of the KU football team (he redshirted one season) and eventually earned second team All-Big Eight honors in 1992.

KU basketball lands in top five for 5-star SG Matthew Cleveland
The 6-6, 190-pound shooting guard had previously reported more than two-dozen offers, including from others in Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Iowa State, Louisville, Maryland, Oklahoma, Purdue, Seton Hall, TCU, Xavier and several others, including additional Power Five schools.

Ex-Iowa RB Akrum Wadley says playing for Hawkeyes 'was a living nightmare'
"I was threatened by Kirk Ferentz that my meal card would be taken away and I will not eat nor be able to sit with my teammates during eating sessions," Wadley writes in his statement. "He did follow through on his threat. I went to use my meal card and it was declined. I had to call my mother from New Jersey at 10 or 11 at night because I was hungry to order Domino's Pizza for me. Or I would have to go to a fan's house earlier at night to eat because there was no way I was going to be able to make it through the next day vomiting, being weak and be able to make it through school and practice."

Offers pouring in for Noah Avinger
He has always been a smooth cover corner who can really close on the football and the few times he did get beat, he still had very good coverage. Avinger has quick feet, long arms and showed good ball awareness. He’s improving as an athlete and tested very well with a 4.4-40 and a 40" vertical jump.

Bits o Chalk

Hawks approved to turn State Farm Arena into huge voting station for upcoming elections
The Fulton County Registration and Elections Board approved a plan by the Atlanta Hawks to transform State Farm Arena into a massive polling station for Georgia's primary runoff election on Aug. 11 and early voting for the general election scheduled for Nov. 3.

Three days in July - The high-stakes maneuvers that assembled LeBron, Wade and Bosh
Four days before The Decision broadcast, James dialed Wade asking for a conference call with Bosh. They discussed the pitches they heard, their options and their desires. In the final analysis, there was Chicago and there was Miami. By the time the call was over, it had been settled: They would all go to Miami.

Sources: NBA, union plan to paint 'Black Lives Matter' on courts in Orlando
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are planning to paint "Black Lives Matter" on the court inside both sidelines in all three arenas the league will use at the Walt Disney World Resort when it resumes the 2019-20 season late next month in Orlando, Florida, league sources told ESPN.

Nets' DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie say they tested positive for the coronavirus
"Found out last night and confirmed again today that I've tested positive for Covid while being back in market," Jordan wrote on Twitter. "As a result of this, I will not be in Orlando for the resumption of the season."

Rockies' Ian Desmond opting out of playing in 2020, citing high risk amid pandemic
"The COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking," he wrote at the end of a lengthy post on Instagram that touched on race and opportunities for youth baseball players.

Eraser Dust

‘Pandemic potential’: New swine flu strain discovered in China | FOX 2
According to a report from the BBC, researchers are concerned the flu could mutate and easily spread from person to person. Right now, it’s carried by pigs but could infect humans, according to scientists.

Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say - The New York Times
The investigation into Russia’s suspected operation is said to focus in part on the killings of three Marines in a truck bombing last year, officials said.

Trump ‘white power’ tweet set off a scramble inside the White House — but no clear condemnation - The Washington Post
Roughly three hours later, the president gave the go-ahead to delete his incendiary tweet — moved, in large part, by the public calls from Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the Senate’s only black Republican, to do just that, aides said.

Stunning Report Alleges Trump Regularly Bullies U.S. Allies, Gets ‘Outplayed’ By Enemies In Phone Calls
A report from CNN’s Carl Bernstein based on anonymous sources alleges that President Trump is regularly unprepared and out of his depth in phone calls with world leaders, in which he frequently bullies U.S. allies and gets outplayed by enemies, with people familiar with the calls describing them as national security threats that would cause senior Republicans to lose confidence in the president.

Disney Resetting Star Wars; Erasing Last Jedi | Cosmic Book News
"In the Season 4 episode 13 installment titled 'A World Between Worlds,' the concept of the Veil of The Force was introduced, a mystical dimension of The Force that connects all time and space," explains Doomcock. "I have received confirmation from two additional sources claiming that this is spot on -- that indeed LucasFilm realizes they have a massive problem on their hands, that the Star Wars franchise is all but dead, and despite Kathleen Kennedy's hatred of this idea, Lucasfilm is preparing to render the Sequel Trilogy null and void."

After 500,000 deaths, WHO warns worst of coronavirus pandemic is "yet to come" - CBS News
Six months since the new coronavirus outbreak, the pandemic is still far from over, the World Health Organization said Monday, warning that "the worst is yet to come." Reaching the half-year milestone just as the death toll surpassed 500,000 and the number of confirmed infections topped 10 million, the WHO said it was a moment to recommit to the fight to save lives.