The Rock Chalkboard

Third-ranked Kansas looking for faster play, better defense vs. Stony Brook | KUsports.com
“They’re going to be small like that,” Self said of the Seawolves, who will take on the third-ranked Jayhawks at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse. “That is similar. So our big guys are going to have to chase around (players who stand) 6-foot-5.”

Big 3rd quarter helps KU women's basketball put away Omaha | KUsports.com
A lopsided third quarter in the Jayhawks’ favor helped the Kansas women’s basketball team defeat Omaha, 81-56, Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU football walk-on Jared Casey never thought he would be in a commercial, getting such attention | KUsports.com
Kansas football walk-on Jared Casey neither asked for nor expected any of this — being approached about NIL opportunities, starring in a commercial, becoming the leading figure in features that will air nationally on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay this coming Saturday. But the redshirt freshman from Plainville will humbly ask that you refer to him as a tight end now.

Big 12 publicly reprimands Texas Tech football radio announcers, who are removed from calling next game
Play-by-play host Brian Jensen and analyst John Harris were critical of the officials during the game, going so far as to list off individual names.

College basketball rankings: Preseason men’s top-25, previewed by our experts - SBNation.com
Here’s a look at the preseason top-25 for the 2021-2022 season, previewed by the SB Nation team sites.

Bits o Chalk

NCAA announces expansion of women's college basketball tournament to 68 teams
The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 will compete in the opening-round games prior to the start of the first and second rounds of the championship, which begin March 18-19.

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James has '50-50' chance to return Friday vs. Celtics
"I hope," James told ESPN on Wednesday when asked if he would play against the Celtics after missing the past eight games and 10 of L.A.'s 16 games because of injury. "I hope."

Eraser Dust

NCAA announces expansion of women's college basketball tournament to 68 teams
The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 will compete in the opening-round games prior to the start of the first and second rounds of the championship, which begin March 18-19.

Paul Gosar censured over video depicting AOC being killed as he compares himself to Alexander Hamilton | The Independent
The House of Representatives has voted to censure Arizona Representative Paul Gosar for posting an animated video depicting the murder of a fellow member and a threat against President Joe Biden to his official social media account.

Biden on new record high for US overdose deaths: 'We cannot overlook this epidemic of loss' - CNNPolitics
More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States during the 12-month period ending April 2021, according to provisional data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a new record high, with overdose deaths jumping 28.5% from the same period one year earlier.

Activists are pushing Oklahoma's governor to intervene in Julius Jones case : NPR
Family members, activists and celebrities are hoping their last-minute appeals to Oklahoma's governor could save the life of Julius Jones, a man set to be executed at 4 p.m. Thursday local time.

Noel Gallagher on Oasis' "embarrassing" comparisons to The Beatles
In 2016, Liam Gallagher said “what [Oasis] did in three [years] took the Beatles eight”. Oasis also incorporated a sample of John Lennon‘s voice into the ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ track ‘I’m Outta Time’, which NME said “floats along on psychedelic Beatles waves”.

Pam & Tommy fall into Seth Rogen's skeezy clutches in first trailer for FX series
It feels telling that the first person we see in the first official trailer for Pam & Tommy—Craig Gillespie’s new Hulu series about the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee sex tape—is neither Lily James as Anderson, or Sebastian Stan as Lee. (Although both will be almost hypnotically unrecognizable when they eventually appear.)

Kalispell council gives final nod to 324-unit apartment project | Daily Inter Lake
Sands Surveying, on behalf of Brytech Crossings 1, LLC, requested final plat approval for a project known as Begg Subdivision Phase 1. The resolution created a 6.31-acre final plat as part of a multi-family development at 401 Two Mile Drive.

Rapper Young Dolph killed in shooting in Memphis – KIRO 7 News Seattle
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A shooting in Memphis claimed the life Wednesday of rapper Young Dolph, WHBQ-TV reported, citing unidentified law enforcement sources.

Kalispell Education Foundation funds ‘Great Ideas’ | Daily Inter Lake
The Kalispell Education Foundation awarded $26,687 in Great Ideas grants to help teachers and counselors fund projects and equipment to enrich the classroom experience in Kalispell Public Schools.