The Rock Chalkboard

KU basketball hoping 3-point defense can improve vs. Kansas State
The new-age type of thinking, so to speak, says defense doesn't matter as much in that area. A KenPom study around eight years ago tackled that topic. It drew the conclusion that the offense is very much in control of its ability to hit from 3. It's less about the defense.

AP basketball top 25 rankings updated for Feb. 1
Upsets were again the theme of the week in college basketball with four losses by top-10 teams shaking up the AP top 25 rankings for Feb. 1. And now February’s first series of college basketball rankings are here with five weeks until Selection Sunday.

ESPN's BPI ranks college basketball's best teams entering Week 11
ESPN defines the BPI as "a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team's W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily."

Concerned about KU basketball? Look up Bill Self's 2001-02 Illinois team
Bill Self's name has become synonymous with a number of things at the college level, perhaps none greater than regular-season league dominance. The Jayhawks, of course, won 14-straight Big 12 titles under their current coach. Losing streaks of two or three games have become so abnormal many KU fans can rattle them off from memory — even when they're almost a decade old.

Bits o Chalk

Super Bowl timelines for all 32 NFL teams: Who's in mix, getting closer and years away?
Thirty other NFL teams want to be in the position of the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- one win away from a Super Bowl title and the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Survey - Super Bowl betting expected to decrease about 37% due to coronavirus pandemic
An estimated 23.2 million Americans plan to bet on Super Bowl LV, combining to potentially risk $4.3 billion -- an expected decrease of approximately 37% from last year, according to research by the American Gaming Association released Tuesday.

PSG's Neymar: I will never stop partying; I'm not immature
Neymar is known for hosting lavish celebrations with big personalities in attendance, inevitably drawing media attention.

Patrick Mahomes -- Visit from Tom Brady 'showed I was doing things the right way'
"It was important because it showed I was doing things the right way,'' Mahomes said as he and the Chiefs continued preparation for Sunday's Super Bowl LV against Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "As a young quarterback in this league, you show up early and you try to put in the time and put in the work. ... Him saying that he respected what I was doing and how I was playing on the field and the type of person I was, it kind of put a stamp on me that I needed to go in and even be better in order to get to the Super Bowl.''

Report: Ex-New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway accused of sexual misconduct
Mickey Callaway, the former New York Mets manager and current Los Angeles Angels pitching coach, has been accused by five women of inappropriate behavior that included sending shirtless photographs, a request for nude pictures and other advances, according to a report by The Athletic that was published Monday night.

Eraser Dust

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reveals she's a survivor of sexual assault, describes 'trauma' of Capitol riots - The Washington Post
As rioters threatened to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, a staffer rushed into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office and told her to hide. Soon after she ran into a bathroom, she heard a thunderous banging noise outside.

Product Director in Billings, MT — Money Diary
Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We're asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Stimulus payments: An estimated 29 million people would lose out under GOP proposal - CNNPolitics
The GOP plan would cut off cash for individuals earning more than $50,000 a year and couples earning more than $100,000, according to a fact sheet provided by the office of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who rolled out the proposal Sunday with nine other Republicans.

Joe Biden Stimulus Plan May Be Democrat-Only Despite Cordial GOP Meeting - Bloomberg
President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats signaled they’re intent on a large pandemic relief bill, potentially without Republican support, even after a White House meeting with GOP senators on Monday that both sides described as productive.

Dave Grohl: "There was a dysfunction in Nirvana that a band like Foo Fighters doesn’t have"
“But personally it was a bit off, to be honest,” he continued. “Of course we loved each other. We were friends. But, you know, there was a dysfunction in Nirvana that a band like Foo Fighters doesn’t have.”

Actor Dustin Diamond Dies At 44, Weeks After Cancer Diagnosis
US actor Dustin Diamond, best known for playing the nerdy Screech on the hit TV series Saved By The Bell, died Monday, his agent said, just weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. He was 44. "He was diagnosed with this brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer only three weeks ago. In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system," the agent, Roger Paul, told news agency AFP. "Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful." Diamond, a California native, launched his career with Good Morning, Miss Bliss, a series about junior high students that only lasted one season, but which spawned Saved By The Bell.