The Ghoul Chalkboard

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self and several Jayhawks OK with added pressure of high ranking and preseason pick | KUsports.com
“We’ve been picked fairly high most years,” said Self, whose team also enters the season ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason poll. “But I think from a staff standpoint it doesn’t really mean much at all. I would say this, though. I would rather be picked high than not picked high. But the reality of it is, right now, it’s a coin flip.”

3 keys for KU football at No. 15 Oklahoma State | KUsports.com
For a long struggling program like Kansas football, competing with — and holding a fourth quarter lead against — powerhouse Oklahoma a week ago was a drastic change from recent Big 12 defeats for the Jayhawks, who have lost 16 conference games in a row.

KU volleyball falls in 5 sets to visiting Oklahoma | KUsports.com
After a two-week break in the schedule, the Kansas volleyball team returned to action with a five-set loss to Oklahoma on Friday night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Bits o Bone

MLS investigating allegations against Jamaican women's coach during time with Vancouver
"The investigation will include a review of the club's internal processes and overall culture at the time as well as recommendations on preventative measures to ensure that all players and staff under the Whitecaps organization umbrella work in a safe environment, free of all forms of harassment and fear of retaliation," MLS said in a statement. "The league and club will publicly release the findings and recommendations of the investigation."

Brooklyn Nets' James Harden breaks out with 16 free throws, 29 points in win
Harden also was finally back at a place he knows well -- the free throw line. After going to the line a combined 15 times in his first five games, Harden went 16-for-19 from the stripe and scored a season-high 29 points to go with eight assists and eight rebounds to help the Brooklyn Nets take a 105-98 win over the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center.

Atlanta Braves honor Hank Aaron in ceremony before World Series Game 3
The Braves honored Aaron before the game, playing a video tribute to The Hammer. Aaron's family, including his wife, Billye, was on the field for the ceremony. His son, Hank Jr., got a hug from Baker on the mound and threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Braves star Freddie Freeman.

Atlanta Braves' bullpen delivers after Brian Snitker pulls Ian Anderson in Game 3
ATLANTA -- A.J. Minter made the jog from the right-center-field bullpen in Friday's sixth inning without realizing his teammate, Ian Anderson, began Game 3 of the World Series with five no-hit innings. Minter only learned he took part in what might become an exceedingly rare feat after working around a hit by pitch and returning to his dugout.

Demon Dust

Lincoln Project Sends Fake White Supremacists to Virginia GOP Event
The tiki torches were a nod to the 2017 "Unite the Right rally" in Charlottesville, when white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched with tiki torches in hand, with some chanting "Jews will not replace us."

Some Residents Taking Fighting Wildfires Into Their Own Hands - The New York Times
As wildfire seasons worsen, a growing number of rural residents are buying and outfitting fire rigs and other equipment to protect their property and themselves.

Parents should be patient about getting COVID vaccines for kids : Coronavirus Updates : NPR
Within minutes of the Food and Drug Administration's decision Friday to authorize the lower-dose Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, teams began packing up the vaccines to be shipped. The vials are being packed with syringes, dry ice and tracking labels and are being loaded into shipping containers that were specially designed for the pediatric vaccine.

Richard Ashcroft – 'Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1' review: stripped-back soul
‘A Song For The Lovers’ is more stripped-back than the original ‘Alone With Everybody’ rendition. But it still manages to encapsulate that same woozy, after hours mood, opening with a Westworld-style piano driven intro before giving way to that familiar smoky jazz club sax. ‘C’mon People (We’re Making It Now)’ wasn’t a classic by any means when it first surfaced back in 2000, but the decision to pull in Liam Gallagher to lay down his vocals alongside Ashcroft has turned it into one, as the pair swap soulful verses like two heavyweights exchanging blows on a stunning duet.

Pregame Pump up Song