The Rock Chalkboard

2021 McDonald's All-American roster revealed
“Even during an unprecedented year, we were so impressed seeing high school athletes continuing to celebrate the game we all love, while making an impact both on and off the court,” said Joe Wootten, McDonald’s All American Games Selection Committee Chairman, via USA Today. “Recognizing that many of these student-athletes had their senior seasons altered or shortened, we wanted to honor them for their skill and dedication to the game of basketball.

Bill Self wants Jayhawks to shift focus to Baylor after loss at Texas
Bill Self was displeased with parts of his team's execution on Tuesday. But the question that elicited arguably the most emphatic response from KU's head coach following a 75-72 overtime loss to Texas was about what comes next.

Three takeaways: Reviewing KU basketball's loss at Texas
Texas stifled the Kansas offense in the second half, holding the Jayhawks to only 29.6-percent shooting. An avalanche of miscues late in the game, including junior David McCormack fouling out in overtime, all-but sealed Kansas’ fate.

Late-game miscues doom KU basketball in loss at Texas
“That pretty much tells the [story] of how they got momentum getting those 50-50 balls that we unfortunately didn’t get,” junior Ochai Agbaji said. “That really just gave them more energy and more momentum going down late into the game.”

Reaction: Texas comes back, outlasts Kansas in overtime
Just a game after Texas self-destructed in a tough loss to West Virginia, the Longhorns quickly found themselves behind by double digits. But the Longhorns bounced back in the second half, and in a nip-and-tuck game late, were able to make the plays down the stretch to beat Kansas 75-72 in overtime, completing a season sweep over the Jayhawks.

Photo gallery: KU basketball falls at Texas in overtime
No. 17 KU basketball fell to No. 14 Texas, 75-72, in overtime on Tuesday. The Jayhawks led by two nearing the final minute of the contest before the Longhorns scored the final five points of the game, all coming on free throws.

Quick recap & instant analysis: No. 17 KU basketball at No. 14 Texas
Having won five contests in a row, No. 17 KU men's basketball hit the road to face off against Texas on Tuesday. The Jayhawks were hoping to avenge a loss to Texas earlier in the season that came in Allen Fieldhouse.

Projecting each Big 12 school's starting QB in 2021
Consistent quarterback play is a must if you want to be in the business of winning football games, and that may not ring true more anywhere at the collegiate level than it does in the Big 12 Conference -- a league where offense reigns supreme. Simply go back through the list of Big 12 champions over the years, and elite quarterback play is almost always the common denominator for the teams that have walked out on top.

Bits o Chalk

Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden headlines Eastern Conference's All-Star reserves, while Utah Jazz send two to Western Conference roster
Harden, the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2018, is representing Brooklyn for the first time in what will be his ninth consecutive All-Star appearance. The previous eight came with the Houston Rockets, who traded Harden to Brooklyn as part of a four-team deal last month. Since the trade, Harden has averaged 24.9 points and 11.4 assists in 18 games with Brooklyn. He will join teammates Kevin Durant -- one of two captains, alongside Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James -- and Kyrie Irving, both of whom were voted in as starters last week.

New York Mets' Taijuan Walker picks number 99 as mascot Mr. Met wears preferred 00
A day after the Mets finalized his $23 million, three-year contract, Walker said he was aced out of his preferred jersey number by the rotund mascot with the baseball-shaped head.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh pays the bill for entire seafood restaurant during a Baltimore charity event
Harbaugh quietly paid for everyone's dinner at Jimmy's Seafood Restaurant on Tuesday night. While Harbaugh wouldn't reveal the exact amount, WJZ-TV in Baltimore reported the total bill was at least $2,000.

Tiger Woods recovering from lengthy surgery to repair 'significant' injuries to right leg
Tiger Woods is recovering from a lengthy surgery to repair what a doctor said Tuesday night were "significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity" suffered in a single-car rollover crash hours earlier on a steep roadway in a Los Angeles suburb.

Eraser Dust

The Best Video Game Character Bracket - The Ringer
Just as we did with the best TV characters of the 21st century, we’ve assembled 64 contenders for the crown, considering both character quality and cultural impact. We compiled our party by soliciting personal rankings from the Ringer staff, seeding the resulting selections from one to sixty-foooooooooour, and sorting them into four regions. This time around, we welcomed characters from all systems, genres, and time periods, putting only one restriction in place: We excluded characters who are typically identified as a duo, on the grounds that while splitting up iconic couples would be cruel, sanctioning two-on-one matchups would be about as sporting as playing as Oddjob in GoldenEye. (Apologies to Popo and Nana, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Banjo and Kazooie, Sam and Max, and ToeJam and Earl.)

Liam Gallagher ranks every Oasis, Beady Eye and solo album from worst to best | NME
Oasis – ‘Heathen Chemistry’ (2002)

“I can’t even remember that one. I didn’t like the title either. ‘Heathen Chemistry’? F**k off.”

Biden supply chain order sets 100-day goal - The Washington Post
President Biden on Wednesday will formally order a 100-day government review of potential vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains for critical items, including computer chips, medical gear, electric-vehicle batteries and specialized minerals.

Board Members Resign From Texas Electric Grid Operator After Mass Power Outages : NPR
Five out-of-state board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas — the entity that maintains and operates much of the state's electricity grid — will resign Wednesday, according to a notice filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Maya Rudolph Says This "SNL" Host Made the Cast Want to Leave
"I remember when Trump hosted for the first time for The Apprentice, and we, as a cast, were like, 'F***. This sucks. I don’t want to be here for this,'" Rudolph said.

Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation - WSJ
Texas’s deregulated electricity market, which was supposed to provide reliable power at a lower price, left millions in the dark last week. For two decades, its customers have paid more for electricity than state residents who are served by traditional utilities, a Wall Street Journal analysis has found.

Romney, Cotton pushing $10 minimum wage with E-Verify requirement
Republican Sens. Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton are proposing to raise the federal minimum wage to $10, but only if businesses are required to use the internet-based E-Verify system designed to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers.