The Rock Chalkboard

Kansas CB Duece Mayberry 'made a lot of progress' in freshman season
The 2020 season was a hands-on learning experience for Duece Mayberry. The young cornerback wasn't perfect, but he routinely saw the field — appearing in all nine games. He recorded 11 tackles and three pass breakups while also recovering two fumbles.

Three questions entering the summer: Kansas football wide receivers
The Lance Leipold-era of Kansas football is fully underway. Announced as the Jayhawks' new coach one day before the spring game, Leipold has assembled a staff in Lawrence with five former Buffalo assistants and five previous Kansas staff members.

2023 WR Keaton Kubecka talks Kansas offer, visit plans
"They were drawing a bunch of attention," Kubecka said. "Having a bunch of scouts there to watch them really got them to start following me when I did good in games. That's when coaches really started inviting me to camps."

Former Jayhawk Marcus Morris key for Clippers in Game 5 win over Suns
A former KU basketball player helped make the difference between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday. The Clippers defeated the Suns in Phoenix, 116-102.

Bits of Chalk

Memphis' Penny Hardaway says he won't pursue Orlando Magic coaching job, expected to bring on Larry Brown as assistant, sources say
Memphis men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway announced Tuesday night that he will remain with the Tigers instead of pursuing the Orlando Magic head-coaching vacancy, while sources confirmed to ESPN that he's expected to hire Hall of Famer Larry Brown as an assistant coach.

Lionel Messi's contract set to expire, but Barcelona remain confident in extension - sources
Lionel Messi is set to become a free agent on Thursday, but Barcelona remain confident of agreeing a new contract with the forward, sources have told ESPN.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, addressing backlash to hiring, says incident in 1997 'shaped my life'; follow-up question cut off by presser moderator
"Before I even talk about my role with the team and me being the head coach, I first want to talk about ... the incident that happened in 1997," he said. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about how every decision we make could have a profound impact on a person's life. I learned at a very young age as a player, but not only [as] a player but [as] a young man, a young adult, that every decision has consequences. And that's led to some really, really healthy but tough conversations that I've had to have with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time in 1997, and my daughters about what actually happened and what they may have to read about me in the news and the media.

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo set for imaging after hyperextending left knee, sources say
ATLANTA -- After exiting Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals with a left knee injury, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is scheduled to have imaging done on Wednesday, sources told ESPN.

Eraser Dust

Cracked concrete, standing water days before Florida collapse | Miami Herald
There was nothing unusual about the lobby and pool area at Champlain Towers South condo, which looked clean and well maintained to a commercial pool contractor who visited the building last Tuesday, just 36 hours before half of the building unexpectedly collapsed. Then, he saw the basement-level garage.

Russia Targets Fox News Fans in Bid to Become the Anti-Woke Capital of the World
Galvanized by the results of recent American polls and the popularity of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Fox News and its audiences, the Kremlin is proceeding with a new charm offensive targeting Western conservatives. Russia cannot offer much in terms of gun rights, freedom of speech, or standard of living—at least not for those excluded from Putin’s mob-like circle of trust. Rather, the Kremlin intends to attract Western converts with another type of currency—bigotry—turning Russia into the land of ultimate political incorrectness, the world’s anti-woke capital.

Kalispell Woman Connected to Flathead Valley Drug Ring Pleads Not Guilty in Federal Court - Flathead Beacon
In their criminal complaint against her, federal prosecutors connect the dots between Moskaloff and two previously convicted Northwest Montana drug traffickers, Leon Kavis and Scott Daniels, both of whom reached plea agreements with prosecutors earlier this year and are currently serving prison time. Kavis — who was based out of Missoula and linked to the white supremacist prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood — supplied large amounts of meth to Daniels, in Kalispell, who in turn allegedly supplied Moskaloff and others.

Record-setting heat dome scorches western Montana | Daily Inter Lake
The public outdoor pool was packed by 1 p.m. as temperatures soared into the mid-90s. A high of 100 degrees was recorded at Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell at 4 p.m., which tops the previous daily record of 95 set 42 years ago in 1979. The last time Kalispell saw 100 was Aug. 10, 2018.

blink-182's Mark Hoppus gives update on cancer battle — Kerrang!
During a recent game of Blinko on his Twitch channel (via Absolute Radio), the blink-182 bassist spoke about the ups and downs he’s experiencing during various rounds of chemotherapy, explaining, ​“How am I feeling today? I feel much better than yesterday. Yesterday was hellish for me and I woke up today feeling better – I went for a walk, and I had a decent breakfast, and I haven’t felt like I was going to throw up today, so we’ll take it as a win.”

'Thor: Ragnarok' theory finally solves a huge 'Avengers: Endgame' mystery
HULK’S HIATUS — In Thor: Ragnarok, the God of Thunder arrives on Sakaar a few weeks after Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, despite the two having been thrown out of the Bifrost within seconds of each other. TikTok user @capwithoutacountry took that information and did the necessary math to determine how long Hulk must have spent on Sakaar by the time we meet him in Ragnarok.

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