The Rock Chalkboard

Kansas' Kyron Johnson named to watch list for Senior Bowl
One Kansas football senior — err, super-senior — has been named to the watch list for the Reese's Senior Bowl. On Thursday, the Senior Bowl put out its list of honorees, including Kyron Johnson, a veteran linebacker with the Jayhawks.

Why QB Parker Leise made three camp visits to Kansas this summer
"The numbers from the camps consistently growing have been a sign of a lot of changes going on at KU — and a lot of good change," Leise told Phog.net. "Coach Leipold I believe is doing a great job with all their athletes. They're all settling in and getting comfortable with a new coaching staff. I'm pretty excited for what their fall is going to look like this year."

Four-star 2023 DE Chandavian Bradley starting to look at fall visits
Bradley recently mentioned that he is looking at the Oklahoma at Kansas State game on October 2nd. He viited the Sooners for their ChampU BBQ in June and also has ties with K-State as his sister attended school there.

Countdown to KU football (22): Projecting the two-deep at O-line
The Jayhawks brought in two different players at the center spot in the offseason, as well as a potential right tackle in Michael Ford from Buffalo. Chris Hughes was facing an injury in the spring and missed the spring game, but he was expected back for the start of camp — as a super-senior no less.

Lance Leipold in no rush to name starting quarterback
No, Lance Leipold did not pull a Nick Saban when asked about the quarterback race. In a viral interview back in 2018, the Alabama coach did not particularly enjoy a question about his team's quarterback play in a 51-14 win, famously telling a reporter to "quit asking" about it.

Fast rising point guard Rowan Brumbaugh names his top six schools
“This is just the top 6 schools,” he said. “My recruitment is still 100% open. These are the schools I want to focus on that have offered me already. Each school in this list I have a good relationship with the head coach, like their style of play, and feel it’s somewhere I could fit in. I'm going to make my decision when it feels right. I don't want to be in this process too long so probably sooner than later. Whenever I feel ready I'll do it but there is no set time.”

Brandon's Breakdown: What will MJ Rice bring to Lawrence?
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound highly regarded prospect out of Durham (N.C.) is the Jawhawks' third pledge in the Class of 2022. He will join top-forty prospects Gradey Dick and Zuby Ejiofor as the program's incoming freshmen during the fall of next year.

Bits o Chalk

Mac Jones sought advice from Cam Newton ahead of New England Patriots preseason debut
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton said rookie Mac Jones is so quiet at times that he tries to crack "the Da Vinci Code of the seriousness," but that didn't stop Jones from seeking Newton out before Thursday night's preseason opener against the Washington Football Team.

Former Butler Bulldogs basketball player Carlos 'Scooby' Johnson Jr. charged with rape
"The university takes these allegations very seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct, violence, and harassment, per our Sexual Misconduct Policy," the Butler athletic department said in a statement. "Our top priority is the safety of our students and campus community, and the university provides support and resources to all students. Out of respect to the students' federal privacy rights and the ongoing criminal process, the university is not at liberty to divulge additional information at this time."

Sources -- Thanasis Antetokounmpo agrees to new 2-year deal with Milwaukee Bucks
Thanasis Antetokounmpo has agreed to a new two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

UFC fighter Jordan Williams fights off man attempting to steal car from gas station
"So, I run up to the car, and I have a push-to-start car. So, if my keys aren't within five feet of the car it won't drive. As I started to run towards the car it started to slowly back up. And man, the look this guy gave me on his face through the window was like, 'Yeah, I got your car and this is happening.'"

BYU Cougars sponsor offers to cover tuition for walk-on members of football team
The BYU athletic department helped broker opportunities for every walk-on member of the football team to sign endorsement deals with a sponsor that would cover the cost of their tuition for at least one year.

Eraser Dust

At Least 6 Die In Britain's Deadliest Mass Shooting Since 2010 : NPR
A gunman in southwest England killed five people, including a young girl, before turning his weapon on himself, police say. It's the deadliest mass shooting in Britain in more than 10 years.

US coronavirus: 8 states account for half of US Covid-19 hospitalizations. And the surge is overwhelming health care workers - CNN
Eight states, many of which have lagged the national average for vaccinations, have Covid-19 patients that account for at least 15% of their overall hospitalizations: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Florida toddler shoots, kills mom during Zoom call after finding gun, police say | WFLA
“To anyone and everyone tuning into this story if you don’t have a firearm please keep it locked and secured this incident could be avoided,” Officer Roberto Ruiz Jr. said.

First Thing: Afghanistan likened to fall of Saigon amid advance by Taliban | US news | The Guardian
The Pentagon announced on Thursday it would send three battalions, about 3,000 soldiers, to Kabul’s international airport within 24 to 48 hours. The defence department spokesman, John Kirby, said the reinforcements would help the “safe and orderly reduction” of US nationals and Afghans who worked with Americans and had been granted special immigrant visas.

Census data: US is diversifying, white population shrinking
No racial or ethnic group dominates for those under age 18, and white people declined in numbers for the first time on record in the overall U.S. population as the Hispanic and Asian populations boomed this past decade, according to the 2020 census data.

US coronavirus: 8 states account for half of US Covid-19 hospitalizations. And the surge is overwhelming health care workers - CNN
Eight states, many of which have lagged the national average for vaccinations, have Covid-19 patients that account for at least 15% of their overall hospitalizations: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Pacific Northwest Faces Another Extreme Heat Wave as Much of U.S. Bakes - WSJ
An unprecedented, record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in June left more than 100 people dead. During most years, the current heat wave hitting cities including Portland and Seattle would be considered the most extreme event of the summer, said Colby Neuman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Portland. But this set of sweltering temperatures isn’t as unusual as the record-breaking heat nearly two months ago.

Texas death row inmate sues to allow pastor to lay hands on him during execution
John Henry Ramirez, 37, is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8, but his attorneys said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Corpus Christi that state prison officials had denied his request to have his pastor lay hands on him as he dies.

Kalispell break water records | KECI
The cities previous max water usage was 11.51 million gallons of water and that has now jumped to 12.4 million gallons of water in a single day, almost enough water to fill 19 Olympic swimming pools.

Silo development gets green light from Kalispell Planning Board | Daily Inter Lake
A plan to transform defunct grain silos in downtown Kalispell into a mixed-use development featuring apartments, commercial space and a top-story restaurant received a unanimous endorsement from the city's Planning Board on Tuesday.

Face masks not required for Kalispell students, staff
Hill said staff vaccination rates for the school district currently sit at 70% while student vaccination rates between ages 12 and 18 is unknown.