Run-rule victories are a habit for Patty Gasso’s squad.

Happy Friday, friends and fans!

Oklahoma Sooners coaching legend Bob Stoops recently sat down with Colin Cowherd to discuss his decision to walk away from coaching at the young age of 57 and life after football. It’s a great interview, and wait until the end for the playful dig from OU’s winningest head coach.

Stoops also discussed his excitement for his new job as a FOX college football analyst, the potential challenges of coaching in the NFL vs. college, what makes Spencer Rattler so special as a quarterback and a whole lot more. Make sure you check out the full length interview below for all the insight from the living legend himself.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Postseason play for Patty Gasso’s squad starts in OKC, Spencer Rattler is the odds-on favorite to go first overall next April, the Conference of Champions has a new leader and more!

OU Links

• Well, it was another run-rule victory for No. 1 Oklahoma when the Sooners took on the Baylor Bears this afternoon. BU got out to a 2-0 start in the first frame, but how many times had we seen that move before? In the end, Patty Gasso’s squad brought the power and overwhelmed another opponent. The Sooners’ contest against TTU is slated to begin around 7:30 p.m. CT. All the action can be streamed live with a subscription for ESPN+.

• According to Sports Betting Dime, Spencer Rattler currently has the greatest odds of becoming the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. I’ll take those odds.
• A group of writers over at Athlon Sports recently offered their thoughts on which team in the Big 12 has the best chance of dethroning OU this upcoming college football season. The obvious choice is Matt Campbell and his Iowa State Cyclones, but which other team could sneak its way to the top?
• The folks over at Pro Football Focus have shown a lot of love for the Sooners this offseason, and included in their most updated list of the nation’s top five interior defenders is Jalen Redmond, who returns to the fold after opting out of the 2020 season. This defensive line could be straight up nasty come September and beyond.

• Skip Johnson and his baseball team understand the ups and down they’ve experienced this year, but they are hopeful to end the campaign on a high note as the end of the 2021 regular season draws closer. OU Daily’s Colton Sulley has more.

Around the Sports World

• The Pac-12 Conference has named George Kliavkoff — president of entertainment and sports for MGM Resorts International — as its next league commissioner after Larry Scott manned the role for the last 12 years.
• Boston Celtics All-Star guard Jaylen Brown has undergone successful surgery on his left wrist and is expected to be back in time for the start of the 2021-22 NBA season.
• The Golden State Warriors have re-signed point guard Gary Payton II to another 10-day contract that will keep him on the team for the remainder of the season.
• A massage therapist in Columbus, Ohio has been banned from interacting with members of the Ohio State Buckeyes after an investigation revealed that she had engaged in impermissible sexual activity with a number of student-athletes since 2018. This is the kind of story that will rub a lot of people the wrong way.
• New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres recently became the eighth member of the organization to test positive for COVID-19 after becoming fully vaccinated. All eight of the cases are asymptomatic.

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