The Rock Chalkboard

KU basketball notebook: 125-year reunion, big Kansas win make for special day at Allen Fieldhouse | KUsports.com Mobile
“I’m sure a lot of people do a lot of things at their respective schools that are cool and important,” KU coach Bill Self said of the Jayhawks’ 125-year basketball reunion that featured more than 200 former Jayhawks returning to campus this weekend. “But I’ve said this many times; This isn’t anything other than facts — nobody can boast that the inventor of the game (James Naismith) was their first coach. Nobody can boast that the most dominant player maybe of all time (Wilt Chamberlain) went to your school. And we can.”

How Kansas freshman Gradey Dick broke free for 21 points in win over Cyclones | KUsports.com Mobile
Harris took one dribble toward the right, while Bobby Pettiford Jr. slashed through the middle of the lane. Kevin McCullar Jr. pointed from the right corner, but Harris didn’t need any instruction, as he fired a chest pass to the left wing to Dick after an Iowa State defender deserted him on the 3-point line.

Another nail-biter: No. 2 Kansas holds off No. 14 Iowa State 62-60 | KUsports.com Mobile
“This won’t be the last close game,” Wilson said.

Quick recap: No. 2 Kansas defeats Iowa State to remain undefeated in Big 12 play | KUsports.com Mobile
On a night where the Kansas men’s basketball was celebrating 125 years of its historic success, the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks picked up an old-school victory over the Iowa State Cyclones, 62-60, on Saturday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse.

OK, so maybe it wasn’t completely retro.

On anniversary weekend, former KU basketball coach and the artist who captures championships brush stroke by brush stroke reunite | KUsports.com Mobile
“This tells it all,” Owens said on Friday, pointing to a mural of the scene that hangs in the hallway leading to the University of Kansas men’s basketball offices. “I call that brotherhood.”

Bits o Chalk

Vikings' Kirk Cousins - Loss to Giants 'probably' toughest of career
MINNEAPOLIS -- This season seemed different for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. His team won 13 regular-season games, by far the most in his career. In Kevin O'Connell, he linked up with a coach who trusted him to throw more passes than he had ever thrown, with fewer schematic guardrails than he had ever faced.

Sam Hubbard: I was thinking "please don't get caught" on fumble return - ProFootballTalk
Ravens running back Gus Edwards was stopped short of a touchdown on a second down play and the Ravens called for a quarterback sneak on third down. Tyler Huntley leapt into the air in hopes of getting the ball into the end zone, but had it knocked out of his hands and Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard returned the ball for a 98-yard touchdown that proved to be the difference in a 24-17 Bengals win.

Daniel Jones Is Real, and On Sunday, He Was Spectacular - The Ringer
“We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here,” Giants owner John Mara said about Jones last January when he introduced Schoen as the GM. “We keep changing coaches, keep changing offensive coordinators, keep changing offensive line coaches. I take a lot of responsibility for that. But let’s bring in the right group of coaches now and give him some continuity and try to rebuild the offensive line and then be able to make an intelligent evaluation of whether he can be the franchise quarterback or not.”

2023 NFL playoffs bracket: Divisional round lookahead, schedule as Bengals and Bills face off in AFC showdown - CBSSports.com
Super Wild Card Weekend was wild to say the least. Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers went on a 25-point run in the second half to defeat the rival Seattle Seahawks, and Trevor Lawrence threw four straight touchdowns after throwing four straight interceptions to complete the third-largest comeback in NFL history after being down 27-0 to the Los Angeles Chargers. Sunday was full of surprises as well.

Eraser Dust

A pilot couple killed in air crashes in Nepal - 16 years apart | Reuters
KATHMANDU, Jan 16 (Reuters) - In 2010, Anju Khatiwada joined Nepal's Yeti Airlines, following in the footsteps of her husband, a pilot who had died in a crash four years earlier when a small passenger plane he was flying for the domestic carrier went down minutes before landing.

Italy's most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro arrested in Sicily - BBC News
He is alleged to be a boss of the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia and he was tried and sentenced to life in jail in absentia in 2002 over numerous murders.

More than 100 members of the armed forces were involved in his arrest.

House GOP demands visitor logs in Biden classified docs case | AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly empowered House Republicans on Sunday demanded the White House turn over all information related to its searches that have uncovered classified documents at President Joe Biden’s home and former office in the wake of more records found at his Delaware residence.

Nicolas Cage Honors Ex Wife Lisa Marie Presley
Ultimately Cage concluded that their similarities made for a hard time "meshing" into their coupledom, both he and Lisa equally possessing "strong" and "intense" personalities. Speaking fondly of Lisa Marie Presley to Barbara Walters in 2003, he described their relationship after the divorce: "The thing we have now... is great. We're friends. In a lot of ways she was [always] like a best friend to me..."

Hawkeye Star Jeremy Renner Asked Marvel To Kick Him Out of MCU: “If you just want to kick me out of this movie...” - FandomWire
“I just had a heart attack in every scene – I’d just be walking with… Scarlett Johansson, and just like be ugh. And they said, ‘what are you doing man? I’m giving you an option, if you just want to kick me out of this movie. Just you know, at any given moment, if you wanna kill me off, daddy’s gonna be having a heart attack.”

Star Wars Confirms Darth Vader's True Speed, & It's Mind-Blowing
Darth Vader issue 5, by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, has the titular Sith Lord bisect the Imperial forensics droid ZED-6-7 before the two could finish viewing a holographic recording of Padmé Amidala’s final moments. Zed is repaired in later issues and refers to their near-destruction in Darth Vader issue 30, by Greg Pak and Luke Ross, describing Vader as having cut them in half in “one-thirteenth of a second.” Zed is a droid (specializing in forensics no less) and would have no reason to fabricate any elements of their near-demise, revealing that Darth Vader is terrifyingly fast.

Fence fractures Lakeshore Hills neighborhood | Daily Inter Lake
The barrier, a mix of wooden privacy fence and chain link with green netting, surrounds the property. Neighbors also took issue with handwritten signs on the fence that say the Lakeshore Hills Homeowners Association is under “full federal investigation” and direct readers to call the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to file a complaint.

FWP seeks input on Somers Beach State Park development plan | KECI
The plan builds on public input gathered in 2022 and proposes a variety of new recreational amenities at the 106-acre park on the north shore near Somers. While most of the park would remain undeveloped in its natural state, the options include common features, such as restrooms, administrative buildings, and park host sites, that provide for public safety, operational efficiency, and site stewardship.