The Rock Chalkboard

Julian Chandler opting out due to 'COVID-19 health concerns'
"This year has been full of surprises since January 1st[,] from the pandemic as well as the many racial injustice instances," Chandler wrote in a note posted to Twitter. "COVID-19 changed things for many of us. With deep concern for my family's health as well as mine I have decided to opt out of the 2020 season. Thank you to the University of Kansas for giving me the opportunity to earn my degree. Thank you to Coach [Les] Miles and his staff for everything."

Film room: Thomas MacVittie was better than you thought vs. CC
At a glance, it makes no sense, right? After all, MacVittie only had 20 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Kendrick threw for 156 yards with two touchdowns, even if he did have a pick. He was the quarterback on all three of the Jayhawks' touchdown plays (one run, two passes).

Hawk Talk roundup: Les Miles says KU has 0 positive COVID tests
Such has not been the case in Waco, as the Baylor Bears have had multiple contests canceled, including a game two weeks ago against Louisiana Tech and a makeup game last week against Houston. In particular, the Houston contest was reportedly called off due to contact tracing, which wiped out the numbers on the offensive line for the Bears.

Scouting notes: New to football, Mudia Reuben impressing in KC
Reuben came out of nowhere to star at the initial Kansas City Showcase — and then subsequent events. For that, he earned a KU offer from wideouts coach Emmett Jones and most recently picked up another offer from the Kansas State Wildcats, who have kept in touch with him for quite some time.

Bits o Chalk

Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets players say Breonna Taylor ruling by grand jury 'wasn't enough'
In the Los Angeles Lakers' meal room -- located down the hall from the court the team practiced on Wednesday -- the television had been left on. The news anchor was dissecting a Kentucky grand jury's decision not to prosecute any of the officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum after loss: 0 points in half 'unacceptable'
So why did they -- and, in particular, Jayson Tatum -- come out so flat in the first half, an effort that helped doom them to a 112-109 loss to the Miami Heat and to a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series?

Raiders coach Jon Gruden calls Patriots' Cam 'Slam' Newton a power forward playing quarterback
"I haven't seen many guys walk through my doors that look like Cam. I call him 'Slam.' Slam Newton. That was the nickname I gave him. He is a power forward playing quarterback," Gruden told Patriots reporters on a conference call.

UFC's Dana White on Colby Covington's comments - 'We won't muzzle anybody'
Covington, who is an outspoken supporter of President Trump and received a call from the president after his win, engaged in a heated postfight exchange with welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, who was born in Nigeria. Covington asked Usman if he got a call from his "little tribe" using "smoke signals." He also described Woodley, who is Black and has been advocating for Black Lives Matter, as "a communist, a Marxist, [someone] standing up for lifelong criminals."

Eraser Dust

How Ex-QAnon Followers Escaped The Cultish Conspiracy Theory - Rolling Stone
“It’s almost like a drug,” he tells Rolling Stone from his parents’ house in Sydney, Australia. “You read a Q drop and he tells you something, and you’re like, ‘Whoa dude, that’s crazy’….a hit of dopamine goes off in your brain, and you have to go in deeper and deeper and deeper in order to get that feeling again. When Q first started posting I felt like, ‘Here is an explanation that, while it doesn’t make sense, if it were true explains the situation better than the current explanations I’m getting.'”

Trump claims White House can overrule FDA's attempt to toughen guidelines for coronavirus vaccine - CNNPolitics
President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that the White House could override the US Food and Drug Administration if the agency released tougher standards for the authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine, casting such a move as "political."

Popeyes customers are bitter after discovering the chain’s ‘amazing' European version: ‘America could never!’
In a follow-up video, Norris gives the menu a spin. He tries out the Spanish version of the chain’s now-famous chicken sandwich, which he said was smaller but “way juicier” than its American version.

Louisville: Two officers shot during Breonna Taylor protests over grand jury decision - CNN
The other two officers who also fired shots during the botched March raid were not indicted, meaning no officer was charged with killing the 26-year-old Black emergency room technician and aspiring nurse.

Gallup: 61 percent support abolishing the Electoral College | TheHill
A strong majority of Americans support amending the U.S. Constitution to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote system, according to a new poll from Gallup.

Too much candy: Man dies from eating bags of black licorice
A Massachusetts construction worker’s love of black licorice wound up costing him his life. Eating a bag and a half every day for a few weeks threw his nutrients out of whack and caused the 54-year-old man’s heart to stop, doctors reported Wednesday.