The Rock Chalkboard

Basketball Snap Judgments and Big 12 Power Rankings
The Big 12 Conference basketball season is hitting the homestretch, with several games having a major impact on the conference standings. Well, a major impact everywhere but at the top, where Baylor sits alone and is not currently playing. Still, it's Sunday and it seems like now is as good a time as any to release our next edition of snap judgments and Actually Accomplished Rankings of the year. First, we'll give a rundown of each team, what happened since our last update, and what's up next on the schedule.

KU basketball at Iowa State: Who stood out and who didn't...
Welcome back Jalen Wilson. The redshirt-freshman had one of his best games of the season on Saturday and, perhaps more importantly, appears to be close to the early-season form that made him a matchup nightmare for opponents. Wilson also is getting more comfortable playing next to David McCormack, and his 3-point shooting has come back, too.

Photo gallery: KU basketball grinds past Iowa State in Ames
KU basketball earned its third-straight win on Saturday, defeating Iowa State, 64-50. The Jayhawks were in a tie game at the half with the Cyclones before breaking the game open in the second period.

Bill Self on KU's budding defensive identity: 'This is who we need to be'
"This is who we need to be," Self said. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about; winning by 14 in a low-scoring game is like winning by 20 in a high-scoring game. So guys have got to understand that."

Jalen Wilson continues hot stretch in win at Iowa State
“I just took the shots that the defense gave me,” Wilson said with an even-keel tone. “I didn’t try to force anything. My teammates were looking for me, as we all looked for each other. The ball just found me in good places to shoot the ball in open spots and I was able to hit them.

Quick recap & instant analysis: KU basketball at Iowa State
On Monday, KU basketball dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2009. Later that day, Kansas defeated No. 23 Oklahoma State to lead into a stretch of back-to-back games against Iowa State. The Jayhawks blew out the Cyclones on Thursday, setting up Saturday's rematch in Ames.

Bits o Chalk

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant to miss at least two games with hamstring strain
Durant played in his first game in a week on Saturday. He had been placed in the league's health and safety protocols on Feb. 5 after having close contact with a team employee who tested positive for the coronavirus. Durant returned to practice on Feb. 12 and played 33 minutes in Saturday's win over the Golden State Warriors.

Source -- Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis aggravates Achilles issue
"I mean, you kind of learn a lot from the MRI, so kind of just waiting on that," Davis told reporters after Sunday's contest when asked if he knew if he tore the tendon. "Obviously, the doctors don't want to rule out anything and then it's something, or say it's something, then it's not. But they say everything looks good, but you still want the MRI just to make sure."

Bubba Wallace becomes first Black driver to lead lap at Daytona 500
"Bum end. I bailed out down the back saw the wreck happening and got run over from behind. Should've bailed sooner,'' Wallace tweeted. "Fast car, can't have loose wheels. Onto the right turns.''

Five-star Hunter Sallis in the final stretch of his recruitment
Five-star combo guard Hunter Sallis of Omaha (Neb.) Millard North is eyeing redemption this season. After falling just short of a State Championship as a junior, he wants to finish his high school career with a title and has helped his team to a 20-1 record. He's also eyeing the date of March 26th, his birthday, the day he will reveal his college destination from a final eight of Creighton, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and UCLA.

Dog sleds, magic tricks and autographs -- What MLB spring training is and what it won't be now
Spring training has arrived. It might sound cliché, even corny, but for those who love baseball, these are the best four words in the English language:

Pitchers and catchers report.

Eraser Dust

US Coronavirus: Widespread vaccinations in the US won't come until the summer. Here's what's been driving down Covid-19 cases so far - CNN
More than 38 million Americans have so far received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine -- but it's not the vaccinations that have driven Covid-19 numbers down across the US, one expert told CNN.

"It's what we're doing right: staying apart, wearing masks, not traveling, not mixing with others indoors," Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Sunday.

Remote students are more stressed than their peers in the classroom, study shows
“I’m much happier in person,” said Sean, 16, a junior at Yonkers Middle High School in New York. As Covid-19 rates have fluctuated, he has gone back and forth between online classes and attending in person two days per week

Kalispell Regional employees, ski patrol save young skier
That’s according to Rachel Desimone, a pediatric nurse practitioner with Montana Children’s Specialists in Kalispell, who was one of the first competitors to come upon Sanders. It took Desimone, whose job requires her to administer life-saving techniques on a regular basis, only a few seconds to recognize he was exhibiting agonal breathing, a distinct abnormal pattern of breathing and brainstem reflex that is characterized by gasping.

Texas power outages: Common questions answered | wfaa.com
Officials are asking Texans to conserve as much electricity as they can safely and reliably over the coming days as record-low temperatures are expected to plunge the state further into a dangerous winter storm.

Kalispell escape room offers family fun and safe interactive gaming
“Me and my family loved to play games and I just really wanted to create an environment where families could play together and friends and have a good time,” said Shannon Hunt, the owner of The Basement Escape Rooms.