The Rock Chalkboard

KU basketball: Jalen Wilson talks Bill Self NBA Draft advice | The Kansas City Star
Former Kansas Jayhawks forward Jalen Wilson opened up the NBA Draft process and how he uses the lessons from KU basketball coach Bill Self.

Nuggets’ Christian Braun Catches Fire in Game 3 of NBA Finals - Sports Illustrated
Think of forward Robert Horry, who averaged 10 or more points just three times in his career but repeatedly came up big for seven championship teams. Or forward Andre Iguodala, who limited LeBron James in his prime and won a Finals MVP 11 years into his career.

On Wednesday, a new name made a case for that list: rookie Nuggets guard Christian Braun.

Michael Malone on Christian Braun: 'He's very confident, and he should be'
No, he showed up with that. I mean, that young man, like I said earlier, Vinny. When you win three straight High School State Championships, when you win a National Championship in which he never came out of the game, played all 40 minutes, and he's very confident and he should be.

Nikola Jokic lauds Nuggets rookie Christian Braun after Game 3 win vs. Heat: 'He won us the game' | Sporting News
Their star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray led the charge, becoming the first teammates in NBA history to record triple-doubles in the same NBA Finals game. And while Jokic was once again the conductor of the orchestra by becoming the first player with a 30-20-10 Finals game, he reserved special praise for one of the squad's more unheralded players, rookie Christian Braun.

Eraser Dust

Air quality concerns continue into Thursday as wildfire smoke covers Northeast
After a day of orange haze that cast a pall over New York City, obscuring some of the country’s best-known landmarks with smoke from Canadian wildfires, New Yorkers and others were in store for another day of bad air Thursday.

Noel Gallagher talks guitars, amps and pedals: "I love presets and I love nicking other people's settings" – including Pete Townshend's | MusicRadar
"I don't even need a pedalboard, I don't know why I've got one – but I have got one," laughs Noel, who used very few in his Oasis days and now has a Hologram Microcosm alongside Strymon classics and some old favourites including a Kingsley Page boost and Keeley Compressor. But when it comes to pedals like the Microcosm and Timeline, he doesn't mess with the settings.

Kalispell city manager outlines plans to address homeless presence in parks | Daily Inter Lake
Russell said the city would install bars on benches meant to deter people from sleeping on them, disconnect electricity and water at city parks, and consider housing law enforcement in the Depot Park building downtown.

In praise of Tim Robinson's amazingly flexible face
Tim Robinson is a man of many faces. Based solely on his Netflix sketch series I Think You Should Leave, there’s almost nothing he won’t do to show that skill off, and the former Saturday Night Live actor molds his expressions like no other. Is one of his ITYSL characters viscerally raging out or breaking down? Choking to death in public but won’t admit it? Confessing about his “piece of shit” past to hold a baby? Laser-focusing on his love for zip-lining? Robinson’s got it handled with performances that are as sublime as they are utterly outrageous. Paired with an excessive range in his dialogue deliveries, it’s the reason ITYSL works. It’s a bizarre, cringe-inducing, lethal kind of success—but a success nonetheless.

Mass violence is changing how millennial and Gen Z Republicans see gun restrictions - POLITICO
One poll conducted by Harvard’s political institute this spring found that a clear majority of young conservatives supported mandatory psychological exams for gun purchasers. A separate, recurring survey from YouGov concluded in March that Gen Z and millennial Republicans are more likely to believe in tougher gun laws than older Republicans and that young conservatives’ support for the idea has grown in the past year.

Matty Healy Responds to Noel Gallagher's Zinger - SPIN
“Noel Gallagher called me a ‘slack-jawed fuckwit,'” Healy told the crowd. “I love Noel Gallagher. We asked Liam to open up and he said he would have done it but he was busy. But I love Noel Gallagher, give it up for Noel Gallagher. He’s just getting on. The difference between me and Noel is that I do a series of interviews to promote an album, whereas he does an album to promote a series of interviews (Laughs). But we love you Noel, get Oasis back together!”

Temporary Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance Approved in Kalispell - Flathead Beacon
The Kalispell City Council on June 5 unanimously approved an emergency ordinance designed to conserve water during peak summer months as the city continues to temporarily operate with one less water source while the new North Main Well remains under construction.

Taco Bell Makes a Rare Addition to the Permanent Menu
It’s not often that a fast food chain adds a limited-time promotional item to the permanent menu, because such decisions take a lot of deliberation. Ease of assembly for employees needs to be considered, customer preferences must be tested in different markets, and of course, sales and profit margins need to be tracked. That’s why it’s so surprising that Taco Bell has so quickly chosen to make the Grilled Cheese Burrito, of all things, a permanent fixture on its menu.

Pat Cooper, 'Seinfeld' and 'Analyze This' star, dead at 93
“I was sitting at his table in his kitchen and the phone rings, and it’s Larry David,” he said. “He picks up the phone, and he hangs it up. I go, ‘What was that?’ He says, ‘Some nut.’ The phone rings again, and he picks it up, and he hangs it up.

“I said, ‘What’s going on with you?’ and he goes, ‘Some guy says he’s Larry David,’ and I said, ‘Well, maybe if he calls again, see if it is.’”

Today’s Al Roker suffers wardrobe malfunction during ‘ridiculous’ segment as Craig Melvin demands co-star ‘be careful’ | The US Sun
“Whoa, whoa,” Al said as the ice cream dripped onto his pants, while Sheinelle shouted and instinctively moved her leg out of the way.

Al licked the sugary food that had gotten on his fingers as he looked down at his messed-up pants and said: “Little drippy, a little drippy!”

Inter Miami with Lionel Messi: How the MLS side stacks up after landing the legendary Argentine superstar - CBSSports.com
In a seismic move for Major League Soccer, Lionel Messi is moving to Inter Miami after his contract expires at Paris Saint-Germain. While Messi won't be able to play for the club until after the summer transfer window opens on July 5th, this will be a monumental move for the Herons who are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table.

From 'Lost' and 'Sleepy Hollow' race issues to misconduct at 'SNL,' new book reveals the toxic culture lurking behind beloved TV shows
She added: "I also heard that Garlin (an actor and executive producer on Curb) requested the names of people who had complained about him, and that it was not unusual for him to behave in an inappropriate, unprofessional, or vindictive fashion."