The Rock Chalkboard

Bill Self says there’s ‘no doubt’ Gradey Dick and MJ Rice will compete for a starting spot
Kansas basketball brought in the nation’s fourth best recruiting class ahead of the 2022-23 season, signing three McDonald's All-Americans in Gradey Dick, MJ Rice and Ernest Udeh Jr., as well as four-star power forward Zuby Ejiofor. The group gives the Jayhawks their second top five recruiting class since 2015. The other class ranked in the top five was the 2018 class, which included then-McDonald’s All-Americans Quentin Grimes, Devon Dotson and David McCormack, along with four-star Ochai Agbaji.

WATCH: Kevin McCullar, Gradey Dick discuss first days in Lawrence, offseason goals
McCullar arrived in Lawrence this summer with a wealth of Big 12 experience and two seasons of playing eligibility remaining. Although McCullar dealt with injuries during the 2021-22 season with Texas Tech, the guard still averaged 10.1 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting from the field and 31.1 percent shooting from 3. He also chipped in with 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He is widely considered to be one of the Big 12’s best defenders. McCullar scored in double digits in 16 of the 29 games he played in and notched 20-plus points on two occasions.

Kansas coach Lance Leipold says staff size at Power Five level was most shocking
Even though he has been a head coach since 2007, Lance Leipold never knew what it was like to be one at the Power Five level until last season, his first as the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. While Kansas struggled to a 2-10 overall record in Year 1, Leipold learned a lot about what it takes to coach at this level along the way.

80 Days Until Kansas Football: Big 12 Expansion Primer – Houston Cougars - Blue Wings Rising
For those who are a fan of the current 10-school Big 12 (Big 12 2.0?) setup, soak up this 2022 year. The latest iteration of the Big 12 (3.0?) is set to kick off in 2023 as the four newest members—Houston, BYU, Cincinnati, and UCF—have received the green light to make the move.

Eraser Dust

Primary results from Nevada, South Carolina and more | CNN Politics
But in a district south of Rice’s, another one-time Trump critic, Rep. Nancy Mace, narrowly survived another challenge from a Trump-endorsed rival. The races at once showed the difficulty of surviving in a GOP still dominated by Trump without embracing his grievances.

Mitch McConnell's support for tougher gun laws reflects a changed political landscape
But last month, after a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, murdered 19 elementary school children and two teachers, McConnell did something different: he said Congress should act, and gave Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, his blessing to cut a deal with Democrats on modestly stricter gun laws, which he endorsed on Tuesday.

Post Malone Says He Might Actually Record A Country Album: “There’s Nothing Stopping Me” | Whiskey Riff
“There was a point in my life where I was not happy with who I was, and I was a fucking turd and I sucked, and now I just want to be better every fucking day. All we can do is just don’t be a dickhead, that’s the golden rule.”

Foo Fighters Enlist Liam Gallagher, Josh Homme, and More for Taylor Hawkins Tribute Show in London | Pitchfork
Foo Fighters and the Hawkins family have announced the first wave of performers for the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London this September. Liam Gallagher, Josh Homme, Chrissie Hynde, Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Supergrass, and Mark Ronson are on the bill, among others. Dave Chappelle is billed as a special guest. The show takes place September 3 at Wembley Stadium, before another tribute concert, with an as-yet-unannounced lineup, at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27.

Happy the elephant is not a person, says court in key US animal rights case | New York | The Guardian
New York’s top court has ruled that Happy, an elephant residing at the Bronx Zoo since the 1970s, cannot legally be considered a person in a closely watched case that tested the boundaries of applying human rights to animals.

Trump’s raising of $250m for fund that ‘did not exist’ suggests possible fraud | Donald Trump | The Guardian
The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack appeared to make the case at its second hearing that Donald Trump and his campaign engaged in potential fundraising fraud, raising $250m for a Trump “election defense fund” that did not actually exist.

Flathead River Rises Above Flood Stage - Flathead Beacon
According to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow data, the Flathead River gauge in Columbia Falls was running at 49,990 cubic feet per second (CFS) on Tuesday afternoon, above the flood stage of about 42,000 CFS. The mean flow is typically around 25,600 CFS on this date.

Markets brace for sharpest rise in US interest rates in almost 30 years | US interest rates | The Guardian
Federal Reserve expected to increase cost of borrowing by 0.75 percentage points to curb rising inflation

Bam Margera missing: 'Jackass' star bailed on court-appointed rehab
Authorities are looking for troubled “Jackass” star Bam Margera after he bailed on his latest rehab stint, according to a Delray Beach police report.

China Says Giant Telescope May Have Detected Signals From Alien Civilizations - Bloomberg
China said its giant Sky Eye telescope may have picked up signs of alien civilizations, according to a report by the state-backed Science and Technology Daily, which then appeared to have deleted the report and posts about the discovery.