The Rock Chalkboard

Everything Lance Leipold said at his Big 12 Media Day press conference
ARLINGTON, Texas — New Kansas coach Lance Leipold took the podium — via Zoom — on Thursday to speak at Big 12 Media Days. The Jayhawks were slated to attend the in-person event, as was the case for all of the conference's coaches and select players. But inclement weather in Lawrence grounded the Jayhawks' plane before it could take off for Arlington.

'You've got to smile': Kenny Logan shares special bond with Lance Leipold
ARLINGTON, Texas — The most important image to come out of the Kansas football program this summer featured a hidden detail — one that would have been impossible to spot without a proper inquisition of those involved. Amidst a coaching change that saw a legend of the sport, Les Miles, ousted after off-field allegations were unearthed from his time at LSU, fears of mass exodus from the Kansas program were valid.

Lance Leipold talks missing Big 12 media days, transition to Kansas
"We just got some weather, got some storms in the area," explained Leipold to ESPNU. "Got some early text messages that we were having difficulty finding a window to take off out of Lawrence here today. Really disappointed for our players, Kwamie Lassiter, Kenny Logan, and of course all of us to have a chance to be with you in person today. But as we know in this game sometimes you've got to make an audible and you've got to make the best of it."

Peach Jam Wednesday: Five-star Cason Wallace dominates, DaJuan Wagner Jr. still the guy in 2023
College coaches won't arrive until Friday, but in the meantime five-star combo guard Cason Wallace put on a dominant display in a win while 2023’s No. 1 ranked player Dajuan Wagner Jr. fought his way through some early shooting struggles to show that the top spot is still his to lose at this point despite a last second loss.

Bits o Chalk

Bradley Beal to miss Tokyo Olympics for health and safety reasons; Team USA exhibition vs. Australia canceled
Bradley Beal, who was placed in the protocol Wednesday, was ruled out of the Olympics on Thursday. Jerami Grant was also placed into the protocol out of caution, though coach Gregg Popovich expressed optimism that the forward would be able to remain with the team.

Bryson DeChambeau apologizes after blaming first-round Open woes on his driver
SANDWICH, England -- After ripping his driver and then getting ripped right back by a representative from Cobra Golf, Bryson DeChambeau issued an apology Thursday, saying he was "unprofessional" and that his emotions got the best of him after a bad first round at The Open.

Judge orders Richard Sherman to be released from jail without bail with several conditions
Masaniai declined to set $10,000 bail as prosecutors requested. The judge called Sherman, who did not attend the hearing, a "pillar of the community'' and noted that it was presumed he would be released because this was his first arrest. He ordered that Sherman, 33, not have contact with his father-in-law, that he not use alcohol or nonprescription drugs and that he not possess a weapon.

Report -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady played entire season with torn MCL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady played the entirety of last season with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times.

Eraser Dust

Texas Democrats talk voting legislation with Manchin and other Senate Democrats - The Washington Post
The Senate’s pivot to infrastructure and a sweeping $3.5 trillion spending plan has made the fight for voting rights legislation more difficult.

Trump Lawyers Defend False Election Claims In Court : NPR
"I just think it's important, if we are to reset, that our profession is prepared to confront itself and make decisions about who we want to be, who we are and what it's going to require, which may be uncomfortable, to ensure that we hold our character," said Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, at an event sponsored by New York University School of Law.

Reported Kremlin Leak Appears to Confirm Existence of Trump ‘Kompromat’
The supposed leak obtained by The Guardian reportedly claims that President Vladimir Putin personally approved a nefarious plan to throw Russia’s support behind Trump’s 2016 campaign. The document states that Putin, his spy chiefs, and top ministers agreed that a victory for a “mentally unstable” Trump would permanently weaken the United States.

Kalispell in top 10 for $3M tech makeover | Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell is now up against the Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; Dunn, North Carolina; Girard, Kansas; Guadalupe, California; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; Tipton, Indiana; Wareham, Massachusetts; Washington, Missouri; and Woodstock, Illinois.

'Ted Lasso' actor Jason Sudeikis shows support for England players
Sudeikis wore a shirt with the words "Jadon & Marcus & Bukayo" on the front. Those are the first names of the three Black players – Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka – who were racially abused online after missing kicks for England in the decisive penalty shootout against Italy in the European Championship final at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday.

The Story Behind I Think You Should Leave’s ‘Coffin Flop’
Coffins are notoriously heavy, sturdy things designed to seal a human body off from the forces of nature. So to create coffins that could repeatedly burst open seemingly at random was the first hurdle for lead prop maker Joe Holliday. “I got five coffins, and I realized that for the amount of breaks that we’re going to have to do, I’d have to make everything really modular,” he says. “I had to remove anything with sharp edges or any bolts that might be sticking through. [Coffins] are designed for people that don’t feel pain anymore, so if you’re putting live people in them, you have to make sure that it’s going to be safe.” Using balsa wood, Holliday replaced the parts of the coffins from which the bodies would need to burst and scored the wood for extra-easy breakage. “We had so many breaks, we wouldn’t be able to get as many coffins as we had breaks,” Holliday says. “It’s not like we could just throw away the coffins when we were done. So we had to figure out a way to very quickly change out the breakaway panels.”

Saturday Night Live: Who's coming back next season?
Live from New York, it’s the limbo phase for Saturday Night Live cast members who are still working out deals for the upcoming season! SNL usually renews contracts or adds new players during the late summer, just before a new season premieres in fall. The season 46 finale, hosted by Anya Taylor-Joy, left things up in the air for four major, recently Emmy-nominated cast members: Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, and Aidy Bryant. They took center stage during an emotional cold open and talked about what SNL has meant to them, especially during the last year. They could very well go the route of former SNL stars like Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Jason Sudeikis to focus on work beyond Studio 8H. (Strong’s turn as Jeanine Pirro during the finale’s “Weekend Update” segment could easily double as goodbye.)

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