The Rock Chalkboard

Lorenzo McCaskill on finishing his college career as a Jayhawk: 'I'm right where I'm supposed to be'
There was a point in time when Lorenzo McCaskill had an opportunity to play at one of several of college football’s biggest brands. The Louisiana linebacker transfer elected to enter the transfer portal in January after his former head coach Billy Napier elected to take the head coaching job at Florida. Once his name appeared on Jan. 14, countless programs came calling. From Miami to Texas to Ole Miss and USC, McCaskill has since lost count of the school that contacted him. He took official visits to several schools, too, including Ole Miss. But nothing materialized due to his transcripts.

Lance Leipold says KU is 'in pretty good shape' injury-wise heading into Week 1
Lance Leipold stopped mid-answer to know on wood. The KU football head coach didn’t want to jinx anything ahead of KU’s season opener on Friday. But the fact of the matter is, KU appears to have avoided the injury bug during preseason camp. That can’t be said for every Big 12 team, as programs such as Texas have lost key players for extended stretches through injury.

Podcast: Answering your questions about 2023 national rankings
Updated national rankings in the class of 2023 were released last week, and predictably, there were lots of questions.

On the recent episode of the Eye on College Basketball Podcast, 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein went through them all one-by-one.

WATCH: Kansas football coordinators meet with the media ahead of Week 1
Kansas football offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Brian Borland met with the media on Tuesday ahead of KU’s season opener against Tennessee Tech. Watch the videos below to see what the KU coordinators had to say during their respective press conferences.

Brooklyn Nets sign Markieff Morris to one-year deal
NBA free agent Markieff Morris agreed to a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, pending a physical exam, according to Shams Charania. The financial aspects of the deal have not yet been announced. The 13th overall pick out of Kansas in the 2011 NBA Draft, Morris is beginning a tenure with the seventh different team in his career. Morris was with the Miami Heat most recently during the 2021-22 season but did not play much time due to an injury. Morris played in 17 games, starting one. He averaged 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while averaging 17.5 minutes per game during those games.

Lance Leipold explains what he'll be looking for in KU football's season opener
“Execution in so many different ways, taking the most consistent steps in performance and execution, and all the little things that we look at throughout the game,” Leipold said. “Kind of picking up where you left off, which isn't fair. We haven’t played in that many months but a lot of those things in the next step of handling our business. Playing fundamentally sound assignments, all those things that we asked them to work on continually.”

Eraser Dust

Takeaways from the historic Justice Department court filing on the Mar-a-Lago search | CNN Politics
Former President Donald Trump has pushed an “incomplete and inaccurate narrative” in his recent court filings about the Mar-a-Lago search, the Justice Department said in a historic court filing late Tuesday night.

Prosecutors fleshed out new details about the ongoing criminal investigation into Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents, which he took from the White House to his resort and home in Florida. Trump and his allies have denied any wrongdoing.

NASA moves next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to September 3rd - The Verge
The space agency moved the date for the next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to Saturday, September 3rd, after determining that the initial plan for Friday was going to run into bad weather.

Brutal heatwave headed for US west, raising health fears | Climate crisis in the American west | The Guardian
The National Weather Service expects highs of 115F (46C) in parts of southern California, Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley over Labor Day weekend.

Life expectancy in the U.S. fell for a second year in a row, driven by COVID-19 : Shots - Health News : NPR
In 2019, someone born in the U.S. had a life expectancy of nearly 80 years. In 202o, because of the pandemic, that dropped to 77 years. In 2021 life-span dropped again — to 76.1 years. And for some Americans, life expectancy is even lower, according to a provisional analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jackson, Mississippi, water shortage crisis may cost billions of dollars to fix: Mayor - ABC News
Staffing shortages, system issues and multiple equipment failures have led to a crisis where Jackson, Mississippi, residents have lost running water for an indefinite amount of time, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Epiphone unveils Noel Gallagher Riviera
This is no drill, Oasis fans. Epiphone has unveiled the Noel Gallagher Riviera in a stunning Dark Red Wine finish, which pays tribute to where it all began for the esteemed Britpop band.

Wisconsin borrowers will have to pay taxes on student loan forgiveness
Though it does not enter a person’s bank account like a paycheck, the state treats debt forgiveness of any kind as income — like any money made through investments. While the federal government is not taxing the student loan debt relief, Wisconsin has not updated its tax law to be on par with the federal government.

Shooting at Montana bar leaves woman dead, husband wounded | KECI
Authorities said a man shot two people, killing a woman and seriously injuring her husband, during a weekend altercation at a bar in northwestern Montana near Glacier National Park.

Whisper Dawn Mari Sellars, 28, of Hungry Horse, died at the scene of the shooting outside of the South Fork Saloon in Martin City, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office said.

Ben Kingsley will return to the MCU with Wonder Man
Ben Kingsley’s… villain(?) from the historically underrated Iron Man 3 stands as a good illustration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s power and how it extends beyond the traditional comic book fan audience. Not only was he introduced as an explicit rejection of an old (and problematic) comic book villain, but Kingsley completely wackadoo performance and the twist behind his real identity—he’s an actor hired to play a fake terrorist—made enough of an impression on fans that the MCU was willing to ignore the “but that’s not what happens in the comics!” complaints and bring Kingsley back for Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

NASA moves next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to September 3rd - The Verge
The space agency moved the date for the next Artemis I rocket launch attempt to Saturday, September 3rd, after determining that the initial plan for Friday was going to run into bad weather.

Webb telescope captures new detail of Phantom Galaxy
The James Webb space telescope has revealed dazzling new detail of a previously known slice of the cosmos 32 million light-years away, in a new picture released by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Lance Leipold says KU is 'in pretty good shape' injury-wise heading into Week 1
Lance Leipold stopped mid-answer to know on wood. The KU football head coach didn’t want to jinx anything ahead of KU’s season opener on Friday. But the fact of the matter is, KU appears to have avoided the injury bug during preseason camp. That can’t be said for every Big 12 team, as programs such as Texas have lost key players for extended stretches through injury.