The Rock Chalkboard

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self says it's time to give Mitch Lightfoot more minutes | KUsports.com
Kansas senior Mitch Lightfoot has been far from perfect but ready when called upon for the sixth-ranked Jayhawks so far this season, making him a key part of KU’s rotation.

Notebook: Kansas coach Bill Self says freshman guard Bobby Pettiford tested positive for COVID-19 | KUsports.com
“Hopefully that’ll remain the case,” Self said following Saturday’s 76-67 victory over George Mason at Allen Fieldhouse. “We have tested others and all negative. So I think we caught a break on that one.”

Kansas bench saves 6th-ranked Jayhawks in 76-67 home win over George Mason | KUsports.com
Coleman-Lands led everyone with 20 points on 7-of-9 shoooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. And Lightfoot, in 21 minutes, made all seven of his shots and tied a career-high with 14 points. Together, the two shot 14-of-16 from the floor and combined for 34 points, six rebounds, four assists and just two turnovers.

Looking back at the top KU sports stories of 2021 | KUsports.com
As we prepare to turn the page to 2022 and begin to look ahead to all that’s in store for the coming year, here’s a quick look back at the top 10 sports stories in Kansas athletics from the past 12 months.

Bits o Chalk

'The vision all along': Jeff Choate set Montana State on championship course | MSU Bobcats | 406mtsports.com
BILLINGS — This wasn’t a passing of the torch. That had already happened 10 months earlier when Brent Vigen was hired to succeed Jeff Choate as the head football coach at Montana State.

Before guiding Montana State to FCS title game, Brent Vigen was basketball star in tiny North Dakota town | MSU Bobcats | 406mtsports.com
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Twenty-eight years ago, Doug Borowicz was a 32-year-old head boys basketball coach at Central Valley High School — a small, northeast North Dakota Class B co-op along rural Highway 81 between Buxton and Reynolds.

COVID-19 prompts caution for Montana State, North Dakota State as FCS title game nears | MSU Bobcats | 406mtsports.com
“We're in a position where I can confidently say, at this point as we stand, we're not going to be missing anybody” because of COVID, Vigen said during Thursday’s virtual press conference. “Obviously, we’ve got a ways to go yet before we get on that plane and then even getting down there. To say it's not a concern, I would be remiss. It’s a real concern.”

Montana State, North Dakota State share ties with former Bison player, coach Brent Vigen leading Bobcats | Bobcats Football | bozemandailychronicle.com
Twice Brent Vigen had an opportunity to become a head coach at his alma mater, a program he played for and one he helped lead to three FCS championships. Twice it wasn’t meant to happen.

Stepmother's scary accident puts life into perspective for Montana State's Brody Grebe | Bobcats Football | bozemandailychronicle.com
It was 2 p.m. on Dec. 2. Brody never talks to his father before nighttime because Brody is either in class or involved with football activities at Montana State. Jason’s well aware of that, so Brody knew something urgent must be happening as he stood in bowling class staring at his ringing phone.

Eraser Dust

January 6 committee has 'firsthand' knowledge of Trump's behavior during the riot from multiple sources - CNNPolitics
Washington (CNN)The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill insurrection has information from multiple sources with firsthand knowledge that describe what then-President Donald Trump was doing during the riot, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Poll: A majority of Americans believe U.S. democracy is in crisis : NPR
A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is "in crisis and at risk of failing." That sentiment is felt most acutely by Republicans: Two-thirds of GOP respondents agree with the verifiably false claim that "voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election" — a key pillar of the "Big Lie" that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

Omicron teaches hard lessons as U.S. schools revamp return from holidays | Reuters
In Washington, D.C., all staff and 51,000 public school students must upload a negative test result to the district's website before coming to class on Wednesday. Tests administered before Tuesday will not be accepted. Parents can pick up rapid tests at their school or use their own.

Liam Gallagher Reviews Noel's New Song: "Miserable Arse Cheer Up" - Consequence
Even in this turbulent world, where seemingly every month brings a new crisis, at least one thing remains consistent: the Gallagher brothers’ sheer contempt for each other. On New Year’s Day, Noel Gallagher released a demo for a new song called “Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone: Part 1,” in which he sings longingly, “You give me the will to carry on/ In a place where I belong/ As we try to find a world that’s been and gone.”

In response, Liam tweeted directly to his brother by writing, “Miserable arse cheer up you billionaire.”

Plan emerges to turn Kalispell hotel into studio apartments | Daily Inter Lake
A proposal to convert the Fairbridge Inn & Suites and Outlaw Convention Center, formerly known as The Outlaw Inn, into roughly 250 studio apartments is the focus of a public hearing Jan. 11 before the Kalispell Planning Board....

Kalispell man gets 55 years for killing man with brick | Daily Inter Lake
A Kalispell man who admitted to deliberately killing another man with a cement brick in 2019 is headed to the state prison.

Whitefish Returns to Stadium Planning, Seeks to Address Classroom Crowding - Flathead Beacon
After more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic delaying progress on the new Whitefish High School (WHS) sports complex, the topic is back at the forefront for school administrators and trustees, but with some big potential changes on deck.