The Rock Chalkboard

ESPN announces fields for multi-team college basketball events
The slate with arguably the most impressive field is the ESPN Events Invitational, which will be part of ESPN’s Feast Week this fall. NCAA Tournament contenders like Alabama, Kansas, Dayton, Iona, Belmont, Drake, Miami, and North Texas will participate in that tournament.

Lance Leipold talks transition to Kansas with busy June on tap
“This group is hungry, and they want to be successful,” Leipold said at a press conference on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of outstanding young talent. We’ve got a lot to get done here in a short period of time when they come back here in a couple weeks.”

Kansas football will play first two games in 2021 on Friday nights
“It’s going to be a thrill to open up the season under the lights of Memorial Stadium,” said Leipold in a KU Athletics release. “Since I’ve gotten here, the reception and reaction of our fan base has been nothing short of remarkable. Our fans have shown how eager they are to support this program, and I can’t wait for our team to take the field for the first time together on that Friday night against the University of South Dakota.”

Four-star guard Arterio Morris has five schools in mind
"The great coaching staffs and the styles of play stood out," says Morris on his final five list cut. "All of the schools on my list are a part of big-time conferences and play big-time schedules. They all also have had recent professionals that have come out of their program and that is my ultimate goal. From a development standpoint, I think I picked the best schools that will help me develop."

Top ranked shooting guard Keyonte George names his final five
When first talking about Oklahoma State, George told Bossi, “Mike Boynton really just tells me that I could be a lot like Cade Cunningham for them. I could come in and have a good season and prepare myself for the next level and that’s the goal. One of my best friends Avery Anderson goes there and we talk about college a lot, Coach Boynton just tells us that we could feed off of each other.”

Bits o Chalk

MVP down to Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid as NBA announces awards finalists
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry are the finalists for this year's NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Jed Hoyer 'disappointed' Chicago Cubs not reaching 85% COVID-19 vaccination threshold
"It's disappointing to not be at 85% as a team," Hoyer said Thursday morning. "We've worked hard to try and convince or educate the people that have been reluctant. We're at a place right now -- I'm not going to give up hope we're going to get there -- my level of optimism is waning. It is disappointing."

Lionel Messi to miss final Barcelona game of season to rest ahead of Copa America
Barcelona have given Lionel Messi permission to miss this weekend's game against Eibar and to have some extra time off before this summer's Copa America.

Albert Pujols hits first homer with Los Angeles Dodgers, 668th of career
Albert Pujols was Will Smith's favorite player growing up. Pujols returned the favor by driving in Smith with his first home run as a Dodger.

Russell Westbrook delivers on midseason vow, leads Washington Wizards to playoffs
On Thursday night, Westbrook delivered on his vow, scoring 18 points, dishing 15 assists and grabbing eight rebounds to spark Washington's emphatic 142-115 play-in tournament rout over the visiting Indiana Pacers to clinch the eighth seed.

Eraser Dust

Top 30 Summer Beers
As today appears to be the day national news organizations are just sort of throwing out kinds of beers they like to drink on a sunny day, here is Jezebel’s definitive list of good summer brews. You can try to fight me on the inclusion of the new light-beer versions of Harpoon and Dogfish Head’s ales but they are the perfect halfway point between a watery beer and a heavy beer and I will be drinking them until they are discontinued and/or I die.

Man sentenced after driving car into Columbia Falls grocery store
Connor was sentenced to 10 years for criminal endangerment as well as 10 years for criminal mischief in the Montana State Prison.

The terms will run concurrently. He has also been ordered to pay Super 1 Foods over $76,000 in damages.

After going in through the front doors, Connor drove down an aisle to the back of the store, before turning around and driving down another aisle.

U.S. Treasury calls for stricter cryptocurrency compliance with IRS
The Treasury Department on Thursday announced that it is taking steps to crack down on cryptocurrency markets and transactions, and said it will require any transfer worth $10,000 or more to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

World Leaders Say It's Time For Long-Term Resolution In Gaza : NPR
Leaders around the world welcomed news of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas early Friday after days of hostilities killed altogether at least 250 people, including some 70 children.

Feds seize almost 70 big cats from 'Tiger King' zoo
The U.S. government has seized almost 70 big cats from an Oklahoma animal park operated by a star of "Tiger King," officials said Thursday.

Noel Gallagher says he would reform Oasis for £100m but doesn't miss being on stage with Liam | Daily Mail Online
'If anybody wants to offer me £100m now, I'll say it now, I'll do it. I'll do it for £100m.

Question of the Day