The Rock Chalkboard

Pollard: Big 12 eyeing late-September kickoff for league play
Several days after the Big 12 became the fifth and final Power 5 conference to announce modifications to its 2020 football schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic, one Big 12 athletic director has shed light on the anticipated start date for conference-play. Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard, in an open letter published on Thursday, wrote that the conference expects the Big 12 schedule to begin Sept. 26.

Report: Power conferences have discussed college hoops 'bubble'
And that, to no surprise, begs a question: Could college basketball adopt a similar format for the upcoming 2020-21 season as it looks to rebound from the 2019-20 season that ended prematurely? Well, don't rule it out. According to CBS Sports NCAA men's basketball insider Jon Rothstein, a "bubble" type setting has been entertained by a number of power conferences in preliminary discussions.

Kansas virtual visit impresses in-state OT Christien Hawks
"We had a virtual tour yesterday," he said. "I absolutely loved it."

With top three named, decision date looms for D'Marion Alexander
I made a 247Sports Crystal Ball forecast for Kansas to land Alexander on June 24, the day after he decommitted from Minnesota. At the time, I included a medium range confidence level of 4. Based on communication with multiple sources, I still like that prediction for the Jayhawks, and have bumped my confidence a bit to a 6 (4-6 is medium, while 7-9 is high and 10 is considered a "lock").

Top 10 most productive college returners in 2020
The 2020 college football season is almost here. After changes were made to schedules all across the country, we have somewhat of an idea of what this coming season might look like. And with that being the case, the excitement for the season is growing. The chatter about everyone’s favorite teams is growing louder.

Countdown to KU football (22): When will the 2020 season start?
So let's address the elephant in the room. We're calling this series "Countdown to KU football," but there's a very good chance — in fact, it's probably almost a certainty — that the date of the first game is not going to be Aug. 29, 2020, as previously scheduled.

Bits o Chalk

Dak Prescott writes Oklahoma governor to petition for man's freedom
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has joined a movement in petitioning the governor of Oklahoma to overturn the conviction of and release Julius Jones, a Black man on death row for murder.

Texas Tech fires Marlene Stollings after report alleging abusive program
Texas Tech fired women's basketball coach Marlene Stollings on Thursday, a day after a scathing report alleging a culture of abuse in her program.

Big Sky planning for football games in spring, sources say
The Big Sky Conference is moving forward with plans to play an eight-game conference schedule in the spring due to conditions from the coronavirus pandemic, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN, a move that would likely result in the cancellation of the 2020 FCS playoffs.

Phillies fans catch attention of Yankees manager Aaron Boone from outside the park
The Philadelphia Phillies might not have fans cheering them on inside Citizens Bank Park, but that didn't stop the team's supporters from catching the attention of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Thursday.

Damian Lillard drops 45 on Nuggets as Blazers close in on Grizzlies
In late May, before the NBA's bubble plan was official, before the restart format was known, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard made it clear: He wasn't coming unless he had a chance.

A's bench coach sorry for 'unintentionally' making apparent Nazi salute
"No, no straight arm, you have to bend your elbow," Christenson said Hendriks told him, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "Oh, I see what you mean, oh no, it's like 'Heil Hitler.'"

Eraser Dust

What are your favorite first 10 seconds of an album?
This week’s AVQ&A was inspired by a viral Twitter thread from a few weeks ago:

What are your favorite first 10 seconds of an album?

Daily Inter Lake
A group of neighbors who live around Lost Coon Lake, along with the city of Whitefish, are expected to soon file a petition in court to change the name of the lake due to its connection to a racial slur.

Emergency alert to shelter in place causes confusion in Flathead County
An emergency broadcast on a radio station caused some confusion in the Kalispell area on Thursday morning.

Noel Gallagher says he'd like to record a covers album
“I’d like to do a covers album, now I’m going to have my own studio and I can be there all the time there’s no reason for me not to knock out an old cover between 6 and 7 in the evening,” he told the Daily Star‘s Wired column (via Radio X).

NRA Lawsuit: Fraud Investigation Moves New York AG To Seek Group's Dissolution : NPR
The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.

Trump's Bans on TikTok, WeChat Could Hit U.S. Tech Giants in China - Bloomberg
Though TikTok and WeChat have been getting all the recent attention, the orders state that American companies cannot work with ByteDance or Tencent (though an unnamed U.S. official later stated that Tencent transactions were still OK). That clarification notwithstanding, the wording of the orders does imply that regardless of intention such bans could extend further, to include Americans advertising on dozens of products offered by either Chinese company, or to selling them cloud-storage services, or perhaps the most nuclear option: distributing their apps, even within China.

TikTok threatens legal action against Trump's executive order
TikTok threatened legal action against an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that would ban the Chinese social media app from doing business with U.S. firms.