The Rock Chalkboard

Kansas Jayhawk Player Ratings to the Theme of Four - Blue Wings Rising
Derek is out this week, so I stepped up to take this over for him today. There were a lot of possibilities for a theme, including my original plan to do some sort of substitution/replacement theme, but ultimately getting back to the Final Four is a huge deal, and so here we are.

Podcast: The Kansas Jayhawks Are In The Final Four - Blue Wings Rising
In case you haven't already heard, the Kansas Jayhawks are in the Final Four. They overcame a disappointing first half by completely shutting down the Miami Hurricanes in the second half while finding that elusive top gear on the offensive end.

KU's McDonald's All Americans react to Jayhawks making the Final Four
CHICAGO — Not even 24 hours removed from KU basketball’s win over Miami in the Elite Eight on Sunday, three future Jayhawks sat only a few miles from where KU punched its ticket to the Final Four. Kansas signees Gradey Dick, MJ Rice and Ernest Udeh Jr. are all in the Windy City for the annual McDonald’s All American Game, which is set to take place on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CT. All three were selected to the game earlier this year, becoming the first trio of KU signees to make the game since the 2018 cycle.

NCAA Tournament 2022: Kansas opens as 3.5-point favorite against Villanova in Final Four matchup
Top-seeded Kansas defeated Miami 76-50 Sunday in the Midwest Regional final to advance to the Final Four in New Orleans. The Jayhawks will meet second-seeded Villanova out of the South Region. The Jayhawks outscored the Hurricanes 47-15 in the second half and are a 3.5-point betting favorite against Villanova in the Final Four, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Eraser Dust

Russia promises to scale down operations; Ukraine proposes neutrality | Reuters
ISTANBUL, March 29 (Reuters) - Russia promised at peace talks on Tuesday to drastically scale down its military operations around Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, while Ukraine proposed neutral status with international guarantees to protect it from attack.

How a lawsuit over a teen spurred Florida Republicans to pass the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law - POLITICO
The teen, according to a federal lawsuit, said they “might be non-binary” and wanted to change their name ahead of the upcoming school year to one that fit a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth. The mother, January Littlejohn, and her husband said “no,” but allowed the then-13-year-old to use a “nickname” at middle school while the parents continued to use the teen’s birth name at home. Littlejohn also emailed the teen’s math teacher to stress her opposition to the child changing their name.

Roman Abramovich Suffered Suspected Poisoning During Ukraine Peace Talks - Bloomberg
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators suffered a suspected poisoning after meetings in Kyiv at the beginning of the month as part of talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the situation.

Biden pitches largest tax hike in history as part of $5.8T budget request | Fox Business
The taxes outlined on Monday include a minimum 20% tax on the incomes of U.S. households worth $100 million or more – similar to other proposals that Democrats floated last year to pay for Biden's massive spending plan. But those pitches fell to the wayside after talks with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin collapsed.

Emotions high as man accused of killing four with car at Salem homeless camp charged | KATU
"We would just hope that the court would understand that with the loss of four innocent people and the extent of my daughter's injuries as well as others, that we do not feel that bail is warranted at this time," she said.

Boutique guest ranch bringing Clydesdales to Whitefish
"What's really unique about the guests [at the] ranch is that we're gonna have six cabins that we start with on our phase one operation. They'll all have cedar hot tubs where you can sit, relax, drink some wine, look at the beautiful horses and enjoy nature,” explained. Far Forest Clydesdale Ranch co-owner Matt Arnold-Ladensack.

Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock over slapping incident at Oscars | CNN
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

NASA 2023 budget: Biden's $26 billion proposal paves path for 1st human exploration on Mars | CNN Politics
The Biden administration’s request for the NASA budget in 2023 is $26 billion, the largest request for science in the space agency’s history, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Monday.

Record Sculpin caught in Montana
It weighs less than a pound, but it’s good enough for a Montana State record.

14-year-old Bridger Burrows of Laurel, MT caught a Rocky Mountain Sculpin on March 15 west of Laurel.

Podcast: The Kansas Jayhawks Are In The Final Four - Blue Wings Rising
In case you haven't already heard, the Kansas Jayhawks are in the Final Four. They overcame a disappointing first half by completely shutting down the Miami Hurricanes in the second half while finding that elusive top gear on the offensive end.