The Rock Chalkboard

Lance Leipold discusses how KU basketball's success can impact the football program
NEW ORLEANS, La. — Lance Leipold made it about five steps inside House of Blues in New Orleans before a person in Kansas ger stopped him. Leipold appeared to know him and the two spoke briefly before Leipold met with a few reporters ahead of Kansas' national championship pep rally.

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby to step down
“After more than 40 years of serving in leadership roles in intercollegiate athletics, including the last 10 with the Big 12, and given the major issues that college sports in general and the Big 12 specifically will address in the next several years, I have reached a natural transition point in my tenure as Commissioner, as well as in my career,” Bowlsby said in the release. “The Big 12 will soon bring in our four new members and negotiate a new grant of rights and media rights agreements. I truly believe the Big 12 and our member institutions are in a strong position now and as we look into the future. As such, this is an appropriate time for me to step away from the Commissioner’s role so that the next leader of the Conference can take the reins on these significant matters that will come to the forefront before the end of the term of my employment agreement in 2025 to set the stage for the Big 12’s future ongoing success.”

College basketball: A way-too-early look at 2023's potential breakout stars
Kansas hasn't even gotten a chance to print its national championship banners, but we're already locked in on the 2022-23 season. Can we fast-forward to November and get this party started? 247Sports' way-too-early Top 23 for '23 was released, so you know where we stand on who could potentially be some of the best teams next season. But it's also time to focus on some of the next breakout stars.

Devon Dotson reacts to KU's national title, championship game
"It kind of is emotional,” Dotson said. “There are a lot of emotions. Because, damn, we could've had two championships in three years. So it's a lot of emotions. Man, it's special."

Kansas coach Bill Self 'separated himself' among college basketball coaches, Seth Greenberg says
“Since he became head coach at Kansas, he’s the winningest coach in all of college basketball,” Greenberg said. “He’s never been lower than a four seed. A four seed. Having said that, I think there are a number of faces. I don’t think he separates himself. Obviously, the second championship separates him. Alright, that’s rare air. But again, they still have this NCAA thing that’s hanging over their head, so I’m not sure where that stands. None of these players were involved in that. So, I mean, that has nothing to do with it, but it still has to be, you know, rectified.

Stay, Go, Hello: Roster outlook for Kansas Jayhawks basketball in 2022-23
On Monday night, Kansas season ended its season in storybook fashion by winning a title in the biggest comeback in NCAA Tournament history. The Jayhawks won their second National Championship of the Bill Self era capping a memorable season in Lawrence as they won both the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament championships before advancing to the Final Four and finishing the job with a title game win, 72-69 over North Carolina.

Eraser Dust

Execution of Village Mayor Becomes Symbol of Russian Brutality in Ukraine - WSJ
A beloved mayor and her family helped townspeople resist Russian occupation. They paid for it with their lives. ‘Why were they killed? Because they were Ukrainians’

Sacramento shooting: 2nd man arrested on gun charge, as his brother appears in court
The second suspect was identified as 27-year-old Smiley Martin, who was taken into custody Tuesday on charges that include possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun. He had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before gunfire erupted, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

I-65 killer: Indiana State Police identify Harry Edward Greenwell after a 30-year investigation | CNN
First, Vicki Heath was found dead at a Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in 1987. Margaret “Peggy” Gill and Jeanne Gilbert were killed two years later at separate Days Inn locations in Indiana. Then, in early 1990, a Jane Doe was sexually assaulted at the Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana.

Noel Gallagher doesn't think Harry Styles is a true songwriter
Though Styles has proved that he has more to offer than being a former boybander, Gallagher isn’t convinced. “You’re not telling me Harry Styles is currently in a room somewhere writing a song,” he says. “With any joy, he’ll be surrounded by a lot of girls.”

Battle of the Brits: Beatle's grandson and Oasis singer's son get in a fist fight at a Tesco's | Boing Boing
SkyNews reports that Gene Appleton Gallagher, son of Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, and Sonny Starkey, grandson of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, got into fisticuffs at a Tesco in Hampstead.

Class-action lawsuit filed following Logan Health data breach | Daily Inter Lake
Filed in Flathead County District Court last month, the lawsuit accuses the health-care organization of failing to safeguard personal information and delaying in alerting patients about the data breach. More than 213,000 patients — 174,761 of them Montana residents — had their private data, including Social Security numbers, addresses and treatment codes, exposed in the hack, court documents said.

Flathead now fastest-growing county in Montana | Whitefish Pilot
Bozeman may be Montana’s most expensive major city, with the median single-family home price in Gallatin County approaching $900,000 as of February, but population data released March 24 by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates it has forfeited another title: fastest-growing urban area.

Changes proposed for Kalispell construction, design standards
“It will provide all of the information in that one source so that everyone is working from a similar aspect and should really streamline and make the process a lot more user friendly and effective to the development community,” explained Kalispell City Manager Doug Russell.

Here's the first Wall Street recession call of the new inflation era - MarketWatch
“Two shocks in recent months, the war in Ukraine and the buildup of momentum in elevated U.S. and European inflation, have caused us to revise down our forecast for global growth significantly,” say economists at Deutsche Bank. “We are now projecting a recession in the U.S. and a growth recession in the euro area within the next two years.”

Surging interest rates push mortgage demand down more than 40% from a year ago
“Mortgage application volume continues to decline due to rapidly rising mortgage rates, as financial markets expect significantly tighter monetary policy in the coming months,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist. “As higher rates reduce the incentive to refinance, application volume dropped to its lowest level since the spring of 2019.”

LA Lakers fall out of NBA playoff contention after seventh consecutive defeat | CNN
It’s just the fourth time in James’ 19-season career that he’s failed to appear in the postseason. The 37-year-old was missing his second consecutive game after struggling with an ankle injury.

Russian cosmonauts 'blindsided' by controversy over arriving at ISS in yellow spacesuits, NASA astronauts says | CNN
The three Russian astronauts who boarded the International Space Station last month in spacesuits that echoed the colors of Ukraine’s flag were paying tribute to their university and not protesting Russia’s invasion, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei said Tuesday.