The Rock Chalkboard

Offseason improvements on offense sparking excitement for KU football season-opener
“We've improved significantly since then,” Kotelnicki said. “I’m really happy. You know, we go in fall camp with objectives. Going into a couple of days left of practice and preparation before we the play first game, I feel we’ve accomplished those things. Your synergy, there's a cohesiveness that's occurring.”

Scouting Kaden Cooper
Currently ranked No. 57 in the Top247, he holds four-star status in the 247Sports Composite and is being recruited by some of the most notable college basketball programs in the country.

Ten things Kansas football coaches said before Week 1
The Kansas football season opener is just a few days away. KU will start year two of the Lance Leipold era with a game against Tennesee Tech on Friday. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN+. The Golden Eagles are coming off a 3-11 campaign last season. The program only played one Power Five team last season in Tennessee and lost 56-0. Ahead of the season opener, Leipold, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Brian Borland all met with the media. Here are 10 things the coaches said about KU heading into the week...

With WRs Tanaka Scott and Trevor Wilson out, KU coaches looking for others to step up in Week 1
Kansas football will be without redshirt sophomore wide receiver Tanaka Scott and redshirt junior wide receiver Trevor Wilson when it takes the field to open the 2022 season on Friday. Scott was suspended one game following his arrest last week but he was not formally charged with any crime. Wilson, on the other hand, is suspended indefinitely after he was charged with aggravated assault with the use of a deadly weapon.

Bits o Chalk

NCAA to speed up infractions process, implement transfer windows
The NCAA board of directors met virtually Wednesday and approved three proposals, including the elimination of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP), implemented in 2019 following a recommendation by the committee on college basketball, as an alternate to the infractions committee for more complex cases, especially in the wake of the FBI's college basketball corruption investigation. In January, the NCAA board stopped referring cases to the IARP, which will be dissolved after the resolution of five remaining cases.

Fox, ESPN to open talks with Big 12 about conference's next television deal
"It is an exciting time for college athletics and given the changing landscape we welcome the opportunity to engage with our partners to determine if an early extension is in the best interest of all parties," Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. "The Big 12 has enjoyed a fantastic relationship with its multi-media rights holders, and I look forward to having these conversations."

Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson praises BYU AD for his actions after racial slur incident involving Cougars fan
Richardson posted a statement to Twitter on Sunday, two days after fans yelled racial slurs at her while she was serving. "No athlete, regardless of their race should ever be subject to such hostile conditions," she wrote at the time. BYU banned a fan from all athletic venues on campus Saturday, a day after the match, and said the athletic department has a "zero-tolerance approach to this behavior."

Sources - CFP board of managers to meet, with 'momentum' toward playoff expansion
The College Football Playoff's board of managers will hold a virtual meeting on Friday that could accelerate playoff expansion as early as 2024 if the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the sport's most powerful group vote on a format and unanimously agree to it, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

Eraser Dust

Trump's seized passports could be a problem for him, legal experts say
Donald Trump has complained that FBI agents' seizure of his passports showed that investigators ran amok as they searched his Florida resort, but new information about how and where the documents were found could spell major trouble for the former president, legal experts told NBC News.

First Thing: Sarah Palin loses Alaska race to Democrat Mary Peltola | US news | The Guardian
The Democrat Mary Peltola has won the special election for Alaska’s only US House seat, becoming the first Alaska Native to serve in the House after beating candidates including the Republican Sarah Palin.

Federal judge rules New York can restrict gun carrying | The Hill
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled New York state can restrict citizens from concealing and carrying guns in public through a new law that was challenged by national firearm organizations.

Reading and Math Scores Plummeted During Pandemic, New Data Show - WSJ
“I don’t think we can expect to see these 9-year-olds catch up by the time they leave high school,” he said, referring to the lower-performing students. “This is not something that is going to disappear quickly.”

David Beckham trolls City fan Noel Gallagher’s red signature guitar
The 47-year-old shared (via Instagram Stories) a picture of Gallagher posing with his new Gibson signature ES-355, along with a caption that teased “Need one of these mate u picked the perfect color”.

Disney Had A Simple Message For The Simpsons After The Fox Merger
When you've been on the air for as long as "The Simpsons" has, it's funny to think about all of the ways in which the family has remained the same age while the world around them continues to evolve. The animated sitcom is just about to enter its 34th season, which means that the series has somehow managed to come up with fresh story ideas for over three decades since its 1989 premiere. It's wild to consider the amount of history "The Simpsons" have lived through, and there's one event in particular that stood a chance of affecting the series in a major way.

Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis: Repairs have begun at the water treatment plant but residents are still without clean water | CNN
As a water crisis persists in Jackson, Mississippi, where brown water or nothing at all is coming out of residents’ faucets, authorities are scrambling to get a failing water treatment plant plagued with issues from decades of deferred maintenance back online.

Russian oil chief Maganov dies in 'fall from hospital window' - BBC News
The chairman of Russia's Lukoil oil giant, Ravil Maganov, has died after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, reports say.

The company confirmed his death but said only that Maganov, 67, had "passed away following a severe illness".

Kalispell school district starts school despite not having running water in building, thanks Pepsi for donating water bottles | State | fairfieldsuntimes.com
Many school districts around Montana head back to the classroom this week but one currently can’t use the water in it’s building.

The Evergreen School District in Kalispel begins today, Wednesday.

Kalispell Vietnam vet spins new suspense series | Daily Inter Lake
An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, Bain says his new series, which begins in the 2040s, is about a building contractor and former Marine sniper, Jim — code name Boss — in Helena, Montana, who also oversees a team of highly trained assassins based in the Nevada desert. Their assignments originate from a U.S. senator, but they are paid by the CIA. The stories take place in various parts of the world and are based on Bain’s own experiences with skydiving, Scuba diving, as a licensed multi-engine pilot, and his use of satellite images and computers during his military service.