The Rock Chalkboard

Phog.net's player of the game: Kansas vs. South Dakota (Game 1)
Kansas football's season-opener was an offensive slog fest. The most impressive unit for Kansas — by a good margin — was the defensive line, even after the Jayhawks lost Sam Burt to a right arm injury.

Duality of QB1: The 'electric' performance of 'flat-line guy' Jason Bean
Watching Kansas football's 17-14 win over South Dakota on Friday, those moments were starting to take form. Kansas had an 83-yard kick return, but no points came of it. Kansas later faced a fourth-and-one and appeared to pick it up, but the referees spotted the ball short.

Quick recap & instant analysis: Kansas football defeats South Dakota
In the big picture view: Kansas went winless in 2020, but optimism has surrounded the future of the program following the staff change that saw Leipold — who coached the Bulls to six-plus wins in each of the last four years — take over the helm of the program. Kansas has not been bowl eligible since 2008.

Kyron Johnson, Kansas D-line set tone in season opener
The clock hit zero in Kansas football's last-minute win over South Dakota. Fans stormed the field in celebration of the first victory of the Lance Leipold-era. In the middle of it all was super-senior defensive end Kyron Johnson. He was surrounded by swarms of Kansas fans — many of whom wanted to shake hands and grab a picture.

NCAA.com's Andy Katz reveals 12 biggest NCAA basketball winners from summer
247Sports take: This could be Bill Self’s most experienced Kansas team in years, as the Jayhawks return four starters. The only major loss is Marcus Garrett, though Martin -- a three-time All-Pac 12 selection -- is more than capable of picking up the slack.

Bits o Chalk

College football Week 1 preview -- Storylines to watch from a loaded Week 1
The fire hose is on. College football's opening weekend features 84 games involving FBS teams, plus tons more at lower levels; it began on Wednesday with UAB's 31-0 win over Jacksonville State and will continue through what is almost guaranteed to be a wild and wacky Ole Miss-Louisville game in Atlanta on Monday night.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin tests positive for COVID-19, out for opener vs. Louisville
"I am grateful to be vaccinated and experiencing only mild symptoms. So much so, I debated over being tested, but I'm relieved that I did," Kiffin said. "I'm proud of our program's commitment to vaccination, and as a result, there are currently no other cases to report or team members expected to miss the game."

Sources - DeAndre Jordan intends to sign with Los Angeles Lakers after sign-and-trade, buyout
After finalizing a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons, three-time All-Star center DeAndre Jordan intends to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources told ESPN.

Baylor women's hoops drops 'Lady' from team name, to be known as Bears
"Baylor women's basketball has solidified itself as one of Baylor's most remarkable and celebrated programs," the school said in a statement. "While the use of Lady Bears is still very much a part of the program's decorated history, in an effort to be more consistent with the current nomenclature of the other 18 Baylor sport programs, the team will now be referred to as simply the Bears.

BYU, Houston, UCF, Cincinnati planning to submit applications to Big 12 next week, sources confirm
BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati are planning to submit applications next week to join the Big 12, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

David Patten, three-time Super Bowl winner with New England Patriots, dies in motorcycle crash at 47
Former NFL wide receiver David Patten, who won three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, was killed in a motorcycle crash Thursday outside Columbia, South Carolina, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford. He was 47.

Eraser Dust

Kabul airport could receive flights in the coming days, Qatari envoy says - CNN
(CNN)A technical team was able to reopen Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport to receive aid Saturday, amid ongoing preparations to prepare the facility for civilian flights, Qatar's Ambassador to Afghanistan Saeed bin Mubarak Al-Khayarin Al-Hajar said in a statement.

Hurricane Ida evacuees urged to return to New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With power due back for almost all of New Orleans by next week, Mayor LaToya Cantrell strongly encouraged residents who evacuated because of Hurricane Ida to begin returning home. But outside the city, the prospects of recovery appeared bleaker, with homes and businesses in tatters.

Elder pledges to replace Feinstein with Republican if he wins California recall election | TheHill
“They're afraid I'm going to replace her with a Republican, which I most certainly would do and that would be an earthquake in Washington, D.C.,” Elder said on the "Mark Levin Show."

Schools grapple with thousands in isolation or quarantine as delta variant rages
As cases of Covid-19 started to wane over the spring and the early summer, many schools planned to forgo virtual and hybrid learning this year, in favor of in-person classes. But the lag in vaccination rates and the rapid spread of the delta variant have led districts to revisit those plans, with varying results.

Applied Materials plans to buy Shopko building in Evergreen | Daily Inter Lake
Tech manufacturer Applied Materials is looking to expand its Flathead Valley operations with plans to purchase the empty Shopko department store building near the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 35 in Evergreen.

Dave Matthews Band, citing potential coronavirus exposure, playing Gorge shows in ‘alternate format’ | The Seattle Times
The Dave Matthews Band will continue its longstanding tradition of playing the Gorge Amphitheatre Labor Day weekend. But this year, just hours before the start of its first show in a three-night stand, the band posted that, due to a potential exposure to the coronavirus, it would be using an “alternate format.”

Liam Gallagher says his voice for Glasgow's TRNSMT festival will be 'biblical' as he looks forward to the event - Daily Record
" Liam said he is growing hair longer after a fan said it takes fifteen years off him, also said his backing vocalists were 'celestial'.