The Rock Chalkboard

Wednesday's Kansas-Harvard men's basketball game canceled because of injuries, COVID issues within Harvard program | KUsports.com
A statement released by Kansas Athletics indicated that the Dec. 29 game with Harvard had been called off “because of a combination of injuries and positive COVID-19 tests within the Harvard program.”

Kansas Athletics sets school record for graduation rate | KUsports.com
Kansas Athletics recently announced that student-athletes at KU set a school record with a combined 90% Graduation Success Rate for student-athletes who began their full-time collegiate careers in the fall of 2014.

Jayhawks unsure whether they'll schedule another game to replace Colorado on 2021-22 schedule | KUsports.com
The seventh-ranked Jayhawks (9-1) learned of the cancelation roughly two hours before last Tuesday’s tipoff in Boulder, Colorado. With winter break and the start of the Big 12 Conference schedule up nexts, KU coach Bill Self said was unsure whether the Jayhawks automatically would add a game to make up for missing out on the contest with the Buffs.

Eraser Dust

Dallas Cowboys clinch first NFC East title since 2018, then put on offensive show in rout of Washington Football Team
If seeing the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Denver Broncos before kickoff to allow them to clinch the division title was not good enough, the Cowboys had a day for the ages against Washington.

Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow's 525 passing yards shatters team record, gives Bengals blowout win over Baltimore Ravens
Burrow broke the record previously held by Boomer Esiason, who threw for 490 yards in an overtime game against the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 7, 1990. It was also the fourth-highest total in NFL history -- just shy of Norm Van Brocklin's 554 yards against the New York Yanks in 1951.

Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll tries to make sense of 'disappointing' late loss to Chicago Bears -- 'I have to do more'
"That was about as disappointing of a loss as we've had," Carroll said postgame. "We were in control in so many ways in that game to go win it and put it away; we just never did and let them stay alive, and they found a way to make their plays. We had to do some stuff to give them that opportunity, and they took advantage of it, and give them credit. They've been struggling all year too, and it's a big win for those guys.

With Travis Kelce out, Patrick Mahomes spreads wealth as Kansas City Chiefs win AFC West
"I do 100%, this year as much as ever," Mahomes said of appreciating another division championship.

Eraser Dust

Top 10 Alternative Rock Albums of 2021
Regardless of precise definition, the below list of the Top 10 Alternative Rock Albums of 2021 includes everything from homages to alternative godfathers the Velvet Underground to veterans who came of age during the grunge era.

The best songs of 2021
Also, there was no double dipping: No one appears on this list twice, even if—like The Foxies or Megan Thee Stallion—there was good reason to nominate them for more than one track. There’s plenty of excellence to go around, and a few deserving names wouldn’t have appeared had we simply gone with the songs everyone already knows and loves. Hopefully, this is a chance for you to discover a track that escaped your attention over the past year; if nothing else, consider it an opportunity to hear some high points in genres you may normally avoid. Yes, that includes death metal. That shit thumps.

Moderator Sues TikTok for Failing to Protect Her Mental Health
A former content moderator for TikTok is suing the social media giant and its parent company, ByteDance, for reportedly failing to take measures to protect her mental health after she watched countless hours of traumatic videos involving cannibalism, rapes, animal mutilation, and suicides, among numerous other disturbing activities.

Candace Owens suggests Trump only touted vaccines because he's too old to know how to find alternative sources online
"People oftentimes forget, like, how old Trump is," she said in an Instagram video posted Thursday. "Like they came from a time before TV, before internet, before being able to conduct their independent research."

Jump in child COVID hospitalizations in N.Y. sparks concerns in California amid Omicron
"Unfortunately NY is seeing an increase in pediatric hospitalizations (primarily amongst the unvaccinated), and they have similar [5- to 11-year-old] vaccination rates," Dr. Erica Pan, the California state epidemiologist, wrote on Twitter. "Please give your children the gift of vaccine protection as soon as possible as our case [numbers] are increasing rapidly."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African anti-apartheid leader, dies at 90
"The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement early Sunday.

The song George Harrison wrote to break up with Pattie Boyd
It was 1972 when it first dawned on Harrison – while he was in New York – that perhaps he and Patti weren’t meant to be. His affair with Maureen was yet to begin, but the writing was already on the wall for their relationship. Sitting alone in his hotel room with nothing but his thoughts to occupy him, Harrison wrote the heartbreaking song ‘So Sad’ about the collapse of his marriage.

One Foundry to Rule Them All - Flathead Beacon
Kalispell Art Casting — part studio, part foundry, part gallery— sits on two acres of space in Evergreen, just off U.S. Highway 2. With 20,000 square feet of floor space, it’s the largest foundry in the state and one of the largest west of the Mississippi. Stephan recently took partial ownership of Kalispell Art Casting from Jack Muir, who founded it in 1979.

The new rules of Monopoly - POLITICO
But the realities of U.S. antitrust enforcement have evolved a lot in the past 40 years — and the modern world of monopoly is much different from the board game that has taught generations of Americans about concentrated wealth. Huge tech companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon occupy many of the squares, leaving their rivals scrambling for a foothold. For consumers, the price is often $0 — except for the hidden costs, like a loss of choice or privacy.

Question of the Day

You win a cash prize! The rules of the prize are that you must use the money to buy something for yourself that is something you’ve wanted for a long time but you can’t justify the price because to buy this item would be a wasteful purchase. What are you buying?