The Rock Chalkboard

QB Daniel Kaelin talks Kansas visit, offer from Lance Leipold
"Overall, it was amazing," Kaelin said. "Right as I walked in, everyone was there to say hi and meet me. I got to have some personal meetings with Coach K, the offensive coordinator, Coach Zebrowski, QB coach, and then I went to Coach Leipold's office and he's the one who offered me. It was really nice. I loved everything, honestly. The facilities were nice. The campus was definitely different because it was so hilly but it had a nice home feel to it. Yeah, I loved it a lot."

Dick Vitale provides Bill Self update, talks 2021-22 Jayhawks
“Just had a great chat with [Self] & (sic) he is feeling good despite testing positive for Covid-19,” Vitale tweeted. “Also he did not hesitate to say that his team is going to be very good in the 2021-22 season. Loved his honest feelings about the status of Jayhawk hoops.”

3-star RB Chase Gillespie previews Kansas football visit
"I actually was playing on the offensive line and the defensive line," Gillespie recalled. "My second year or third year, I moved to running back. I like running back a lot because you can do a lot with the ball."

Bits o Chalk

Simone Biles out of Tokyo Olympics team final; USA Gymnastics cites 'medical issue'
Reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles is out of Tuesday's team finals because of a "medical issue," according to USA Gymnastics.

Source - SEC to meet Thursday to discuss adding Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns
SEC presidents and chancellors have scheduled a meeting for Thursday, in which they will discuss expansion and whether to add Oklahoma and Texas to what would be college football's first super-conference of 16 teams, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN.

NBA free agency - Ranking the 20 best free agents for 2021
To try to answer that question statistically, I've put together three-year projections for all of this year's free agents based on two factors:

U.S. women's basketball team beats Nigeria 81-72 to win 50th straight game in Olympics
The winning streak for the world's top-ranked team is now 50 games and counting in Olympic competition. A'ja Wilson scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in her debut at the Games as the Americans beat Nigeria 81-72 on Tuesday in the opener for both teams.

USWNT's Alex Morgan: Olympic tournament starts at knockout stage
"This [knockout stage] is when the tournament starts," Morgan said at a news conference after the game. "It was a tactical decision by [coach Vlatko Andonovski] to shift defensively, a little more conservatively, and really allow them to get impatient, play along and give it back to us.

Naomi Osaka ousted from Olympic tennis tournament in 3rd round by Marketa Vondrousova
"I'm disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,'' said Osaka, who called lighting the Olympic cauldron during last week's opening ceremony in Tokyo "undoubtedly the greatest athletic achievement and honor I will ever have in my life.''

Eraser Dust

Four athletes with Montana ties to watch in the Tokyo Olympics | News | kulr8.com
The third Olympian from the Treasure State is Whitefish rugby player, Nicole Heavirland. The City of Whitefish recently gave Heavirland her own day!

German gymnastics leotards show female Olympians should be allowed to dress themselves - The Washington Post
Olympic authorities are trespassing regularly on the corporeal form of athletes, whether it be beach volleyball, gymnastics or even men's basketball.

California, NYC, Veterans Affairs Unveil Vaccine Mandates
In a bid to counter what some officials have described as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” the most populous US state, the country's largest city, and the first federal agency all announced on Monday new vaccine mandates for public employees.

Pfizer, Moderna expands COVID vaccine trials to kids: Updates
The lawsuit by Attorney General Eric Schmitt argues the mandates are “arbitrary and capricious because they require vaccinated individuals to wear masks, despite the CDC guidance that this is not necessary.” It also questions mandating children to wear masks in school, noting they are less likely to become seriously ill.

Going to the Sun(flower) Café - Flathead Beacon
As is often the case among seasonal transplants to the area, Felicia Lartey had never been to Montana before she took a job at the Belton in West Glacier in 2015.

Suspicious fires investigated in Kalispell
An initial investigation revealed the fire was likely started on purpose and spread through some grass in the area, according to a news release. The Evergreen Fire Department was able to quickly put the fire out.

Flathead Lake cherry harvest in full swing
“Interesting to think that some cherries picked in Montana today could be halfway round the world in just two or three days from now,” Monson Fruit Company Field Representative Brian Campbell tells MTN News.