Happy Friday, friends and fans!

The Oklahoma Sooners’ recruiting class of 2019 is shaping up as one of the nation’s highest rated groups. Among the current commits, four-star tight end Austin Stogner has been verbally committed to OU longer than any of the other commits.

However, Stogner recently received a scholarship offer from Stanford. That alone speaks volumes to the Plano, Texas pass-catcher. In fact, it’s been said that an offer from Stanford is the hardest to obtain, and not simply because the academic standards are so high. It’s the combination of maintaining the required academic excellence and being a gifted athlete that make it so special.

Not that anyone was particularly worried, but Sooner fans shouldn’t be alarmed, as Stogner took time re-confirmed his commitment to Oklahoma on Thursday.

With Stogner, Oklahoma could be getting yet another great at the position. His large frame, long arms and soft hands combined with the kind of offers he’s received clearly show that he has the physical and mental tools to be an impact player at the college level. If everything goes according to plan, he could definitely be a guy defenses have to account for this time next year.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Oklahoma Basketball has been picked to finish 8th in the preseason poll, Dwight Howard missed a game to rest his sore buttocks and more!

OU Links

• A Baker Mayfield bobblehead exists and it’s not on display in your home or at your workspace? If true, then what the heck are you doing with your life? A Baker bobblehead is both balling and bonkers. Boomer!

• Will Oklahoma awaken TCU’s lifeless offense? Before the coordinator change, I would have said... probably. Now, I have no clue, but I think it’s fair to perhaps expect at least a little bit of improvement from the last time they played.

• If you want to make a ton of money this weekend, check out my gambling picks for the biggest games this college football weekend.
• Oklahoma hoops was picked by the media to finish eighth in the conference for the 2018-19 season. With expectations that low, there’s almost nowhere else to go but up, right? There will be a bunch of new faces, but a bunch of seniors will be on the court for the Sooners, so it’s really anybody’s guess as to how this team will perform.

• Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of Oklahoma Breakdown. Jack and Matt catch up with Jamie Plunkett from Frogs O’ War to discuss the upcoming matchup between Oklahoma and TCU.
• In case you missed it, read up on the C&C Machine Q&A with Frogs O’ War’s Melissa Treibwasser regarding this Saturday’s game in Ft Worth. Will back up Horned Frogs QB Michael Collins see the field, and how close will the final score be?

Around the Sports World

• LeBron James is about to make the Los Angeles Lakers a serious problem in the West. L.A. dropped its season opener to Portland on Thursday night, but there was noticeable improvement across the board. Given so many new pieces on the floor, it’ll take some time to gel, but it’s already looking like that’ll happen sooner rather than later.

• Washington Wizard Dwight Howard’s season debut is going to have to wait after the All-Star center missed Thursday night’s game with “sore buttocks.” Wait, what?
• LSU is having one heck of a season so far in 2018, and for this Saturday’s game against Mississippi State, the Tigers will be rocking these incredible throwback-inspired uniforms that pay homage to the 1918 team. That didn’t play football that season because fighting in the first World War took priority. And perhaps the coolest aspect of these unis are the helmets, which change from purple to gold under the lights. So, so dope.

• Speaking of LSU, both the Tigers and Alabama have fan bases experienced in spicing up the lyrics of well-known songs. Replacing appropriate lines with more explicit ones that are also relevant to each school speaks to the passion and intensity that SEC Football breeds. I mean, what else would you expect from a conference whose slogan is ‘It just means more’?
• The people in the college town of Pullman, Washington are about to take the meaning of lit to a whole new level. With College GameDay coming to town for the first time ever to see Washington State take on Oregon, the city’s liquor and dispensary sales could go through the roof.

Stick to Sports!

• Thanks to NASA, Godzilla, aka the ‘King of the Monsters’, now has his own official starry constellation. The stellar nighttime map even includes the giant mutated lizard’s iconic atomic breath. Congratulations on all your hard work protecting the world from a reign of terrorizing creatures, Godzilla. Now you’ve really made it to the big time.

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