The Rock Chalkboard

KU's Drew Gooden to be inducted into Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
Gooden averaged 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game for his KU career. His numbers were particularly eye-popping in his junior season, as he posted 19.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 50.4 percent from the field and 75.5 percent from the line that year.

2022 Omarion Dickens 'felt comfortable' with KU's Brent Dearmon
You might find yourself asking Dickens, a 2022 athlete out of Arkansas, about his favorite spot to play. As our conversation went, I asked if he wanted to be listed as a wide receiver for the story we were working on, and he said he actually would prefer to be called an athlete.

KU's Drew Gooden to be inducted into Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
Gooden averaged 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game for his KU career. His numbers were particularly eye-popping in his junior season, as he posted 19.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 50.4 percent from the field and 75.5 percent from the line that year.

KU basketball releases video on racial climate, creating change
Various entities all across the country, including the KU athletic department, have issued a public response following Floyd's death. The latest video shared to the KU basketball twitter account — accompanied by the following caption — was aimed at sparking change in the country.

Report: All KU athletes to be tested for COVID-19 upon return
During a board of directors meeting, KU athletic director Jeff Long said every Kansas student-athlete will face a multi-day medical check upon returning to campus, adding all athletes will be tested for COVID-19, according to the Kansas City Star's Jesse Newell.

KU Athletics sets new department GPA record for Spring of 2020
KU Athletics announced on Wednesday that the department had posted a collective 3.43 GPA, the highest in program history. Every team had a GPA of at least 3.00 for "the first time since GPAs were reliably tracked in 1986," the KU Athletics release added.

3-star 2021 CB Maxwell Hairston postpones commitment
After announcing a commitment date for June 3 — today's date — and even setting a commitment time of 3:30 p.m., 2021 cornerback Maxwell Hairston has announced he is postponing his decision.

Bits o Chalk

Sources -- NBA to approve plan for 22-team return with eight regular-season games
Commissioner Adam Silver and the league's advisory/finance committee have shared the broad details of a plan with teams to play at the Walt Disney World Resort, sources said. The plan includes 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams, eight regular-season games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed, and playoffs, sources said.

Missouri football players register to vote after leading march
Missouri players led a walk from campus to the Boone County Courthouse in Columbia, Missouri, according to a tweet from coach Eliah Drinkwitz. Players and coaches kneeled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to honor Floyd, who died May 25 in Minneapolis after a police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Drew Brees -- 'Completely missed the mark' in comments on flag
The comments drew harsh criticism from a number of people, including his teammate Malcolm Jenkins, who said he was hurt by Brees' comments and that they were "extremely self-centered."

MLB rejects 114-game plan, tells union no counteroffer
MLB told the union it had no interest in extending the season into November, when it fears a second wave of the coronavirus could disrupt the postseason and jeopardize $787 million in broadcast revenue.

Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson opens up on personal experiences with racism
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson did not want to talk about football during a video conference call with reporters Wednesday, saying, "None of that matters" compared to "life and what the black community is going through right now."

Sources -- NBA to approve plan for 22-team return with eight regular-season games
Commissioner Adam Silver and the league's advisory/finance committee have shared the broad details of a plan with teams to play at the Walt Disney World Resort, sources said. The plan includes 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams, eight regular-season games, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed, and playoffs, sources said.

Eraser Dust

George Floyd: All four former Minneapolis Police officers involved in his killing now face charges - CNN
The former Minneapolis Police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck was charged on Wednesday with a new, more serious count of second-degree murder, and the three other officers on scene during his killing were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Former Defense Secretary Mattis Issues Stunning Rebuke Of Trump : NPR
"Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside," Mattis wrote, referring to a series of events on Monday in which peaceful protesters were cleared from around the White House to make way for an impromptu appearance by the president, Bible in hand, outside a historic church.

The Church of Dave: How Saratoga Came to Worship the Dave Matthews Band - Saratoga Living
Technically, you could say that I became a man over Memorial Day weekend in 1993, when I was bar mitzvahed. All of my friends and extended family gathered at Temple Sinai in Downtown Saratoga Springs, where I recited ancient Hebrew text from the Torah, wrapped in a prayer shawl, wearing a yarmulke, as serious as I’ve ever been. But there is definitely a more common “coming of age” ceremony for teenagers in Saratoga: going to see the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) perform live at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) for the first time.

Trump’s Bible photo op splits white evangelical loyalists into two camps | US news | The Guardian
His most ardent evangelical supporters saw it as a blow against evil and described his walk from the White House to St John’s Episcopal church, over ground violently cleared of protesters, as a “Jericho walk”.

But evangelicals are not monolithic: some saw the gesture as cynical, a ploy by a president whose decisions, both private and public, do not align with biblical principles.

Virginia governor to announce removal of Robert E. Lee statue from Richmond as city reckons with Confederate monuments - CNNPolitics
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will announce on Thursday plans to remove a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond's historic Monument Avenue, a move that comes amid a national reckoning with America's complicated racial history.

Kalispell's Collaborative Emergency Shelter to close
The Collaborative Emergency Shelter in Kalispell is planning to close down as Montana has entered Phase 2 of the gradual reopening of the state.

George Floyd: All four former Minneapolis Police officers involved in his killing now face charges - CNN
The former Minneapolis Police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck was charged on Wednesday with a new, more serious count of second-degree murder, and the three other officers on scene during his killing were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Former Defense Secretary Mattis Issues Stunning Rebuke Of Trump : NPR
"Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside," Mattis wrote, referring to a series of events on Monday in which peaceful protesters were cleared from around the White House to make way for an impromptu appearance by the president, Bible in hand, outside a historic church.

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