The Rock Chalkboard

How Lance Leipold won over Virginia Tech grad transfer Zion DeBose
Lance Leipold had to win two recruitments when it came to Zion DeBose. First, Leipold had to convince the Virginia Tech graduate transfer to commit to Buffalo when he might have had other options.

Five-star duo slated to visit KU basketball this weekend
The newest-reported visitor is Chris Livingston, the No. 4-overall player in the 2022 class. 247Sports' Eric Bossi first reported that Livingston would be locking in a Kansas visit. On Tuesday, Joe Tipton of Tipton Edits reported that visit will be June 11-13.

Kansas power forward Silvio De Sousa enters NCAA transfer portal
The Kansas Jayhawks are set to lose a member from the basketball program. Senior big man Silvio De Sousa has elected to enter the NCAA transfer portal, 247Sports has confirmed.

Mark Mitchell scouting report
A 6-8 combo forward from Wichita (Kan.) Sunrise Christian, Mitchell had his first official visit this past weekend to UCLA. Next on the docket are Missouri, Oklahoma State and Duke. Nearby Kansas is also expected to receive a visit. Of note is that Duke has not yet offered, but an offer is expected on his official visit. Current assistant and future head coach Jon Scheyer is his lead recruiter.

Bits o Chalk

Joel Embiid finishes 2nd in MVP voting, drops 40 on Atlanta Hawks
Joel Embiid had quite the eventful Tuesday. The former KU basketball star finished second in MVP voting, as was announced by the league yesterday, and then went out and lit up the Atlanta Hawks, setting a new career-high playoff scoring mark in the process.

Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic wins first NBA MVP award
"To be honest, I didn't even think about being in the NBA," Jokic said on TNT's "Inside The NBA" after winning the award. "My goal when I started to play basketball back home was to play in the EuroLeague because that was the closest top league to my country. I could play in some big clubs in Serbia and grind my way up. But then the Denver Nuggets drafted me, and it was an opportunity for me to become an NBA player."

Donovan Mitchell takes over, scores 45 to spark Utah Jazz rally in Game 1
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell didn't feel well at halftime of Tuesday's Game 1 against the visiting LA Clippers. He was a bit under the weather, feeling nauseated and a little light-headed. And he really felt sick about his performance in the first half.

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid 'focused on winning,' goes for 40 in Game 2 win
That didn't stop the raucous Wells Fargo Center crowd, itching for a win after the Hawks took the series opener Sunday, from showering Embiid with "MVP! MVP!" chants all night long as he put up a career playoff high 40 points along with 13 rebounds to help the Sixers tie the second-round series at 1-1.

LA Clippers' Paul George welcomes fan taunts, vows more 'decisive' play in Game 2
As LA Clippers forward Paul George stood at the line with 10 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in Tuesday night's second-round Game 1, Utah Jazz fans serenaded him with chants of "Playoff P!"

Eraser Dust

Biden heads for Europe to meet Putin, a pandemic and skeptical allies
President Joe Biden will touch down in Europe on Wednesday looking to repair relations with America’s closest allies in an effort to counter growing threats from China and Russia in his first big moment on the world stage since taking office.

36 million families may start receiving Child Tax Credit deposits on July 15 - CBS News
The IRS is sending letters to more than 36 million families who may qualify for monthly payments under the federal Child Tax Credit. Under the expanded tax benefit, families may be eligible to receive up to $300 per child on a monthly basis from July 15 through December 15.

Wisconsin woman arrested, accused of murdering friend with eye drops
When police officers arrived at 62-year-old Lynn Hernan's home in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, in 2018, they found her dead, seated in her living room recliner next to a table filled with prescription pills with what appeared to be crushed medication on her chest, according to a police report. A woman who claimed to be Hernan's friend and caregiver is now facing charges of killing her by allegedly spiking Hernan's water bottle with a lethal dose of eye drops and staging the victim's home to make appear to be accidental or a suicide, according to a criminal complaint filed in Waukesha County Court. The suspect, Jessy R. Kurczewski, 37, is also accused of defrauding Hernan of nearly $300,000 and allegedly blowing most of that money on gambling at casinos and expensive gifts, including spa treatments for friends and acquaintances, according to the criminal complaint.

FBI uses ANOM messaging app to trick criminals, dealing "heavy blow against organized crime" - CBS News
Authorities in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Europe said Tuesday that they've dealt a huge blow to organized crime after hundreds of criminals were tricked into using a messaging app that was being secretly run by the FBI. Police said criminal gangs thought the encrypted app called ANOM was safe from snooping when, in fact, authorities for months had been monitoring millions of messages about drug smuggling, money laundering and even planned killings.

Feds: Pennsylvania man faked Trump family personas in fraud
A Pennsylvania man was charged Tuesday with creating fake online identities for ex-President Donald Trump's brother and youngest son to dupe hundreds of people nationwide into donating thousands of dollars to what prosecutors described as a phony political organization.

Arizona ballot audit backed by secretive donors linked to Trump’s inner circle | US news | The Guardian
At least $150,000 of the inquiry’s funding has purportedly come from Voices and Votes, a 501(c)(4) run by Christina Bobb, an anchor for the One America News Network (OANN), a rightwing media network that has given air to election conspiracy theories. The group is also run with White House correspondent Chanel Rion and Courtland Sykes, Rion’s fiancé. Bobb spoke with Trump about the review, according to the Washington Post, and emailed Fann affidavits on behalf of Giuliani last year, emails show.

Kalispell schools offer free summer meals to students in need
Three mobile food trucks will be in service this year as Kalispell schools deliver free meals to anyone 18 and under. One brand-new mobile truck is equipped with a full kitchen on board allowing Kalispell cooks to expand their menu serving fresh hot meals to students in need.

Many priced out of homes in Flathead Valley | Daily Inter Lake
But now she's leaving after her landlord told her she was putting her house up for sale. Hogan looked for another place this spring but quickly realized she was going to have to pay a lot more than the $750 per month she was paying before, so she decided to pack her bags and head back east.

"I didn't think I would be able to find a place on my salary," she said. "I sort of took it as a sign that it was just time to move on from Kalispell."

Alternative baseball league starting Kalispell team | Daily Inter Lake
“It’s just like on TV, except we don’t have fancy stadiums or multimillion-dollar contracts,” Duncan said.