The Rock Chalkboard

What Kansas football gets in transfer linebacker addition Rich Miller
“First off, I know Rich Miller as an athlete and a person,” Simpson said. “I do think he has some versatility, at least he did for us at the other place. He doesn’t have a ton of stats, quite honestly. To be quite frank, I had a pretty veteran group in Buffalo and I had some really good players. In my opinion, they were really good players — not just players, but who they were as leaders, who they were as individuals — and Rich was one of those.”

PFF analyst: Kansas football's Lance Leipold a top-10 coach
No, Pro Football Focus — collectively — has not decided Lance Leipold is one of the best 10 coaches in college football, nor has the staff devised a metric at which the new KU coach ranks among the elite of the elite. But at least one analyst who covers that game views the new KU hire – and the name he was chosen over — in the top 20 for college football coaches.

Atlanta July Period: Day one storylines
Today, I spent time at each of the three events evaluating prospects from all over the country but it was two Texans and one DMV prospect that came away as the top performers and storylines of the day.

2021 NBA Draft withdrawal deadline: CBS Sports reveals college basketball's winners, losers
From CBS Sports: "College basketball as a whole got more good news than bad at this year's draft withdrawal deadline. With players like Ohio State star forward E.J. Liddell and Michigan star center Hunter Dickinson returning, there will be a plethora of guys who could have made decent money somewhere opting to play college basketball instead."

Bits o Chalk

Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani in rare company with upper-deck home run in Seattle's T-Mobile Park
Ohtani's solo shot in the third inning off Marco Gonzales soared into the top deck of right field at T-Mobile Park. The Angels' two-way phenom is the sixth player to reach the upper deck of the right-field seats since the stadium opened in 1999, according to the Mariners.

Kansas City Chiefs DE Frank Clark charged with felony weapons possession from March arrest
Los Angeles prosecutors on Friday charged Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark with one felony weapons violation stemming from his arrest on March 13 by the California Highway Patrol, according to a report in The Kansas City Star.

Team USA promotes Saddiq Bey, Darius Garland, Keldon Johnson from Select Team for exhibition games
Saddiq Bey of the Detroit Pistons, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs will be available for minutes if needed starting with Saturday night's game against Nigeria in Las Vegas.

Ronald Acuna Jr. restrained after being hit by pitch in Atlanta Braves' win over Miami Marlins
Miami reliever Anthony Bender hit Acuna with a slider in the seventh. A frustrated Acuna stared and walked toward Bender before he was held back by Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro and home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Acuna headed to first base, slamming his protective elbow gear to the ground.

Eraser Dust

Alleged killers of Haiti president in country for three months, say authorities | Haiti | The Guardian
Key members of the hit squad allegedly behind the assassination of Haiti’s president Jovenel Moïse had been in the country for about three months, apparently preparing their attack, with others joining from the Dominican Republic last month, according to Haitian judicial authorities investigating the assassination.

Food Banks Resuming In-Store Shopping Amid Continued High Demand - Flathead Beacon
“Now, our plan is to shift from the pre-packaged box model to one of greater integrity and autonomy,” said Albert, who believes a choice model will make clients more likely to come in if they need help. “We see a lot of stigma around it, like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to go to the food bank because it means I couldn’t pull myself up.’ But that’s really not the case. Anybody may need it at some point in their life.”

Kalispell man arrested after federal felony sexual exploitation of children charges filed | KECI
According to documents filed in federal district court, Edward Timothy Cockerham, 42, was charged after a 9-year-old girl told authorities on June 25 that Cockerham had allegedly taken her out in an inflatable raft on Ashley Lake and molested her. She also accused Cockerham of photographing her genitals.

How to Solve America’s Wild Deer Problem? Eat Them - WSJ
Before Europeans came to America, there were an estimated 30 million wild deer in what is now the eastern U.S. By 1900 that figure had fallen by 99% due to unrestricted hunting, and conservationists made it their mission to protect deer from extinction. They might have succeeded too well. Today the wild deer population has rebounded to precolonization levels, becoming a nuisance to suburban homeowners who find deer invading their yards and gardens.

California to require masks in schools despite CDC guidelines - Los Angeles Times
California will continue to require masks in school settings, state health officials announced Friday, even though federal health authorities released new guidelines saying vaccinated students and teachers no longer need to wear masks inside campus buildings.

'Small Miracle' As Missing Cat Found Near Rubble Of Collapsed Florida Condo | HuffPost
The black cat called Binx had been missing since the night of the Jun. 24 disaster when the apartment she lived in with the Gonzalez family was split in two. Edgar Gonzalez remains unaccounted for. His wife, Angela Gonzalez, and 16-year-old daughter, Deven Gonzalez, were seriously injured in the collapse.

Charlottesville Removes Robert E. Lee Statue That Sparked A Deadly Rally : NPR
The city of Charlottesville, Va., removed a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Saturday, toppling a symbol that was at the center of the deadly Unite the Right rally in 2017.

Zelda Fan Creates Realistic Version of NES Link and The Results Are Horrifying
A Redditor known as SpaceMasters recently shared their interpretation of how Link looked in from the original The Legend of Zelda title on the NES. The art takes the original sprite design and imagines it as a smoother 2D model before realizing it in 3D.

Gianforte Ends Montana's Climate Change Coalition Membership | Montana News | US News
Gianforte spokesperson Brooke Stroyke said in a statement that the governor believes the solution to climate change is unleashing American innovation, not overbearing government mandates. She added that the Paris Agreement punishes the U.S., while letting countries like China off the hook.

Weekend Poll Question