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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Baker will face the Chiefs — who feature a number of Sooners — on opening weekend.

Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Former Oklahoma Sooners Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield and his Cleveland Browns will open the 2021 NFL season on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last season’s AFC Divisional Round playoff game.

This particular contest should be of special intrigue for OU fans because it will involve several former Crimson & Cream stars such as OT Orlando Brown Jr., TE Blake Bell, LS James Winchester and newly drafted rookie center Creed Humphrey for KC. For Cleveland, you of course will see the aforementioned Mayfield featured in this headlining QB duel versus former NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

Games like these are great for the health and future of Oklahoma’s program because the more exposure that Sooners have in the pros, the more evidence Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff can use on the recruiting trail. Plus, at the end of the day, one of these teams will be walking away victorious (barring a tie), which is always nice. Stay tuned tonight at 7 p.m. CT for the full 2021 schedule release on NFL Network.

Oh, and there’s also a big OU-centric game taking place Oct. 17.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! OU Softball’s ‘G’ gets drafted, Sterling Shepard is getting back to his roots, a top hoops recruit is taking the road less traveled and more!

OU Links

• After originally signing with the Arkansas Razorbacks, highly rated JUCO prospect Akol Mawein out of Sydney, Australia has officially made the switch and is now joining Porter Moser in his first season at Oklahoma. Sooner Scoop’s Bob Przybylo has more details. Welcome to Norman, Akol!

• On Wednesday, Patty Gasso and her OU softball team received several Big 12 Conference Awards, including Coach of the Year, five All-Big 12 First Team selections, Player of the Year and more!

• CBS Sports’ Ben Kercheval recently wrote about Spencer Rattler and the opportunity he has to become the face of college football entering his second season as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback.
• Speaking of Rattler, Pro Football Focus recently rated him as the top QB returning to college football in 2021. I have to agree with them on this one.

• Also from the folks at PFF, when looking at the top returning edge rushers in the college game, Oklahoma’s Nik Bonitto stands above the rest. Personally, I believe he could be in for a monster year and high draft pick if everything falls into place.

• Earlier this week, OU softball pitcher Giselle ‘G’ Juarez became the second overall pick in the AU Pro Sports draft. Congratulations, G! Boomer!

• In other softball news, the 42-2 Sooners remain atop the NFCA Coaches Poll after clinching the Big 12 regular season title.

• After rocking No. 87 for his first five years with the New York Giants, former Oklahoma standout WR Sterling Shepard will return to his collegiate No. 3 beginning this fall. Excellent.

Around the Sports World

• The upcoming NFL season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 9, as Tom Brady and his reigning Super Bowl winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the return of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. The full 2021 schedule will be released in full tonight at 7 p.m. CT on the NFL Network.

• 2021 five-star forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. has signed with mid-major hoops program Wisconsin-Milwaukee, effectively going against the grain over offers from college basketball powers like the Duke Blue Devils and the Georgetown Hoyas. The nation’s fourth-highest rated prospect will be playing for his father, Pat Baldwin, who is entering his fifth season with the Panthers.

• On Tuesday, former Notre Dame Fighting Irish WR Jordan Johnson announced his decision to transfer to Orlando to join the UCF Knights.
• After three seasons, the New York Rangers have fired head coach David Quinn along with three assistants. Under Quinn, the team went a combined 96-87-25 with only one playoff appearance that resulted in a qualifying round loss.
• The MLB has instructed the Oakland Athletics to explore relocation options amid current issues and disadvantages with RingCentral Coliseum.

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Gilliam, a 2021 signee, will arrive in Norman this summer.

Happy Thursday, friends and fans!

Oklahoma Sooners 2021 four-star signee DE Kelvin Gilliam out of Highland Springs, Virginia was recently named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year in the state of Virginia for his outstanding performance on the field and in the classroom in addition to his exemplary character.

In 10 games as a senior, the 6’3, 250 pound Gilliam racked up 48 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, 11 sacks and a pair of safeties while leading the Springers to the Class 5A state championship title game. Off the field, he served as a peer tutor and was involved with volunteer groups that provided meals for the homeless, all while maintaining a 4.16 GPA.

Gilliam is expected to arrive at OU at some point this summer. Now I don’t know what the immediate future holds for him, but I sense absolute greatness from this young man before his time at Oklahoma is done.

Now for today’s Hot Links! Ice Trae is playoff bound, Bryce Thompson makes his decision, KU’s revamped football staff rounds into shape and more!

OU Links

• On Thursday, infielder Tiare Jennings and outfielder Jayda Coleman were named finalists for the NFCA/Schutt Sports National Freshman of the Year award. Both Sooners are deserving of this high honor, and with each of them sticking around Norman for presumably the next three years, the future of Oklahoma Softball looks awfully bright. Boomer!

• The Athletic’s Jason Kersey recently took a look at the state of OU’s football program entering the 2021 season. With a highly skilled Spencer Rattler embarking on his second season as the starting QB, and a defense that has shown rapid improvement, breaking through in the postseason is the logical next step. You must be subscribed to The Athletic to read this article in full.
• SI Sooners’ Ryan Chapman scrolled through Oklahoma’s illustrious history of standout defensive linemen to rank the program’s top 10 DLs of all-time. Of course, Lee Roy Selmon tops the list, but who else made the list?
• According to multiple reports on Wednesday, former Sooners RB Seth McGowan has pleaded not guilty to several counts in Cleveland County district court following his alleged involvement with a robbery in April. OU Insider’s Parker Thune has more.
• Trae Young and his Atlanta Hawks have officially punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2017. Congrats, Mr. Young, now keep it going!

• Former Kansas Jayhawks guard Bryce Thompson has chosen to transfer to the Oklahoma State Cowboys over OU and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. That’s a small bummer, but I still believe in what Porter Moser is building in Norman.

Around the Sports World

• On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers finally unveiled the team’s championship banner for winning the 2019-20 NBA Finals. Can LeBron James and company repeat the feat this season outside of the Orlando bubble? Stick around and find out.

• The Kansas Jayhawks recently announced the completed coaching staff for newly hired head coach Lance Leipold. The group consists of a mix of coaches from the Buffalo Bulls as well as some retained assistants that were formerly under Les Miles.
• Amid the ongoing Aaron Rodgers drama, the Green Bay Packers have reportedly signed former Jacksonville Jaguars QB and first round pick Blake Bortles to a one-year deal.
• Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo has decided to undergo surgery on his right quadriceps tendon, effectively sidelining him for the remainder of the 2020-21 NBA season.
• On Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken officially signed the team’s first player in center Luke Henman. The brand new NHL organization will make its debut in the 2021-22 season.

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From the bench to a 65.

The post Brian Stark Subs in to Tie for Low Round at NCAA Regional appeared first on Pistols Firing.

Things will be different in Baltimore, but Tylan is up for the challenge.

The post Tylan Wallace is Showing Out in Ravens Rookie Minicamp appeared first on Pistols Firing.

After the opening round in the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, the men’s Oklahoma golf team finds itself with some ground to make up. The Sooners, seeded No. 1 overall in this year’s NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, find themselves eight strokes back of the leader, Oregon State, after the first round of NCAA Regional action on Monday. […]

Oklahoma golf: No 1 Sooners have ground to make up in NCAA Regional – Stormin in Norman – Stormin in Norman – An Oklahoma Sooners blog