The Rock Chalkboard

Kansas quarterback Ethan Vasko announces plans to enter transfer portal - KU Sports
“This has not been an easy decision and it was made with much thought,” Vasko wrote in a message he posted on Twitter.

Former Jayhawk Bobby Pettiford picks East Carolina, KU still active in transfer portal - KU Sports
Pettiford, who played two seasons at Kansas, will continue his college career at East Carolina in his home state of North Carolina.

Strong spring puts Kansas football in better position than ever to push for sustained success - KU Sports
“Oh, night and day,” Leipold said following last Friday’s Spring Showcase. “Night and day where we’ve been, and we’re not quite at that two-year period yet of being here. In so many ways we’ve taken big steps, positive steps. We’re nowhere near where it needs to be for the big picture, for longevity and consistency, but I’m very proud of this group.”

KU women headed to the Cayman Islands in November - KU Sports
From the WNIT to the Cayman Islands, that’s the itinerary for the Kansas women’s basketball program, which has been invited to be one of eight teams competing in the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic Nov. 24 and 25 in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands next season.

Bits o Chalk

Lakers outlast Timberwolves in OT to claim 7-seed in West
LOS ANGELES -- Nearly everything about this season has been a grueling challenge for the Lakers, so nobody in a gold jersey really seemed surprised when Anthony Davis committed a baffling foul that allowed Minnesota's Mike Conley to snatch a playoff berth from their hands with 0.1 seconds left in regulation.

NBA Playoff Picture 2023: Updated East, West Bracket After Hawks, Lakers Advance | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report
With the conclusion of the Atlanta Hawks' play-in game against the Miami Heat on Tuesday, we are now just one game away from learning what the Eastern Conference bracket will look like heading into the NBA playoffs.

Eraser Dust

GOP book bans reach new level as Missouri lawmakers push to defund libraries
Republicans who control the Missouri House have passed a budget that doesn’t give its public libraries a single cent of state money. The lawmakers were angered that the Missouri Association of School Librarians and the Missouri Library Association had the temerity to challenge a law Missouri lawmakers passed last year removing certain material deemed too sexually explicit from school libraries.

Taylor Swift's Reported Breakup Sparks Easter Egg Hunt
On Monday night, Taylor Swift was seen leaving the hotspot restaurant Via Carota in New York City, just a few days after Entertainment Tonight and People reported she and Joe Alwyn broke up. (She was just blocks away from her old home on Cornelia Street, where some fans have flocked to pay their respects amid the reports.)

Truck carrying 40,000 pounds of toxic soil from East Palestine train derailment overturns on highway
A truck carrying around 40,000 pounds of contaminated soil from the site of a train derailment in Ohio, which saw officials release toxic chemicals into the area to prevent an explosion, overturned on a highway this week, officials said.

Jeremy Renner attends premiere, months after snowplow crush : NPR
LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Renner attended the premiere for his new series Tuesday, capping a remarkable recovery less than four months after the "Avengers" star was nearly killed in a snowplow accident.

Zinke calls for changes to Glacier’s reservation system
COLUMBIA FALLS — On the first of every month from February until May, a new tradition is taking hold in Northwest Montana and elsewhere: Thousands of people log on Recreation.gov at 8 a.m. in hopes of getting a coveted ticket to Glacier National Park.

Conservation District Orders Cease and Desist on McDonald Creek Home - Flathead Beacon
The Flathead Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors on April 10 approved a cease-and-desist order suspending further work on a three-story home under construction on private property along Glacier National Park’s McDonald Creek. Although the homeowners had already halted construction, the order places an enforceable moratorium on future work until the conclusion of a declaratory ruling process that could span up to eight months.