The Rock Chalkboard

Mass Street players bring common origins, distinct experiences to The Basketball Tournament - KU Sports
“I didn’t get that walk-off moment,” Langford told reporters on Zoom, “and I wasn’t able to finish my career the way I wanted to due to the Achilles injury (a tendinopathy that derailed his final years playing in Europe). But to be able to have this full-circle moment, playing with Kansas, especially when the end of my Kansas career did not end well, so to be able to close my career and then close it wearing a form of a KU jersey -“

Three-star defensive end commits to KU football - KU Sports
“It was the culture and I could really feel how much they wanted me and needed me,” Warner told Adam Gorney of Rivals.com. “The coaches really loved me and there were moments where we weren’t doing anything about football and everybody was close, like a family, so that was one of the things that made me choose them.”

KU football adds new coaching intern with Jayhawk ties - KU Sports
While he comes from a Cornhusker family — his father and three uncles all earned letters on the Nebraska football team — he possesses several current Jayhawk connections. His younger brother Ezra will be a freshman linebacker at Kansas this season, while his sister Anna is already two years in as a pole vaulter on the KU track and field team.

14-team Big 12 will yield one odd year of scheduling - KU Sports
As a result of a move nearly two years in the making, however, it will spend one season among the biggest. With BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining the league Saturday – a year before Oklahoma and Texas bolt for the Southeastern Conference, and UCLA and USC leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, reshaping the college athletics ecosystem as we know it – the Big 12 will spend one ephemeral academic year with a robust 14-school membership, exceeding its eponymous number for the first time in its history.

Several preseason football predictions pessimistic about Kansas - KU Sports
The optimism about this year’s Kansas football team that pervades Lawrence, following the Jayhawks’ first bowl appearance in 14 years, does not seem to extend to Bristol, Connecticut, and beyond.

Eraser Dust

Stephen Miller Threatens Suit Against Schools Who Ignore SCOTUS Affirmative Action Decision
Former White House adviser Stephen Miller sent a testy message to top law schools over the weekend following the Supreme Court’s decision banning colleges from using affirmative action in their admission decisions.

Montana Receives $628 million to Expand High-Speed Internet Access - Flathead Beacon
The state of Montana will receive more than $628 million to expand access to affordable high-speed internet as a part of the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Hunter Biden filmed himself smoking crack behind the wheel
Hunter Biden apparently filmed himself smoking crack behind the wheel of a car in 2018 — the same year he took a picture of himself driving 172 mph in a Porsche, according to thousands of newly uploaded photos from the first son’s abandoned laptop.

Stimulus update: Child tax credit gets new chance and a $2,000 bonus
It's a Democratic proposal with enough Republican support to seem like more than a wishlist and would make permanent the expanded child tax credit signed into law under the American Rescue Plan. The legislation, one of President Joe Biden’s signature programs in office, boosted the 2021 tax credit, with the most significant increases going to lower-income families with children.

Taco Bell Menu Brings Back Two Classic Items Nationwide - TheStreet
Now, the chain has brought back two versions of its Crispy Chicken Tacos, Creamy Chipotle and Avocado Ranch to menus nationwide for a limited time.

Fire destroys Kalispell home | Daily Inter Lake
The Kalispell Fire Department headed to the scene around 7:17 p.m., July 1. Firefighters remained on the scene, extinguishing the blaze, until a second crew arrived around 7 a.m. Sunday to mop up and assess the situation, a job they performed throughout the day, according to Tim Gaston of the Kalispell Fire Department​.

We craft the future to come | Daily Inter Lake
Music lovers dotted the grass, tiered hardscape and patio bar on the east side of the Wachholz College Center early last month to christen the O’Shaughnessy Outdoor Amphitheatre at Flathead Valley Community College. The sun warmed us, a breeze riffled through the trees, and the free show — including the Texas boogie of Artist Robinson and the folkie rock of Halladay Quist — made a perfect venue for taking stock of a momentous year.

Harrison Ford on MCU debut: “Let’s shoot this piece of $#*!"
The actor didn’t offer details on the scenes between him and Ford, but they have a “relationship.” “We spent a good bit of time together,” he said. “Ross and Cap have always had that relationship where they were friends, and they respected each other, but they always bumped heads. That’s their relationship in the storyline.”

Brain scans of coffee drinkers show its effects go beyond caffeine
However, the MRI scans showed that drinking coffee increased activity in parts of the brain involved in short-term memory, attention and focus, whereas ingesting caffeine on its own did not.

Casa Bonita restaurant to pay staff $30 an hour, ban tipping amid South Park creators' Trey Parker, Matt Stone relaunch
South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker recently reopened the famed Mexican restaurant and entertainment venue Casa Bonita with a novel pay structure for wait staff featuring $30 an hour but no tips.

So, what is the big deal with Taylor Swift? Here’s why there’s no one else like her
I’ve been writing professionally about music for 28 years now and I’ve covered teen pop concerts since the days of ‘N Sync. I’ve seen it all, including that time when I went to a Kidz Bop concert alone and endured icy stares the entire show. But I’ve never seen anything like the 33-year-old Taylor Swift.