Happy President’s Day, friends and fans! It was a weekend full of sports, from the court to the diamond to the ice. It wasn’t all wins for the good guys and gals, but nobody is more resilient than the Crimson & Cream.

The latest AP Poll has come out and the Sooners are officially unranked for the first time since Week 6. With the way the team has declined over the past month and a half, it was inevitable. And tonight might not do anything to reverse that either, as Trae Young and the Oklahoma Sooners will try to defeat Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks for a second time this season, only this time the game will be on the road in Lawrence. The Sooners need a win in the worst way, but the odds will be stacked against them in this one.

For today’s edition of Hot Links, the Sooners look to end a couple different bad losing streaks tonight, Joel Klatt projects Baker Mayfield to go to the Denver Broncos, and Fergie’s version of the national anthem is rather interesting!

OU Links

• Make sure to check out the Jack’s quick preview for tonight’s game against KU. If things go as expected, I, too, predict pain. However, the link does include the highlights of the 2016 classic featuring Buddy Hield’s 46-point effort.
• Trae Young and Brady Manek are both known for their offensive abilities more than anything else on the court, so perhaps it will be their shooting that will have to prevail in this mega Monday night test.
• Rashard Odomes knows better than most of the players on the Oklahoma men’s basketball team just how difficult it is to play Kansas at its house. In the last two meetings at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, the Sooners held double-digit leads in the second half, only to falter by game’s end. Oklahoma is looking to put an end to a 16-game losing streak at Kansas, as well as a five-game current losing streak overall.
• ICYMI, the Sooners received a commitment last evening from 2019 Manvel (TX) DE Kori Roberson. Following the announcement, the Sooners moved up to No. 4 in the 247 Team Rankings (which are based on 247Composite player rankings).
• Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt has revealed his projected top five draft selections, and he sees Baker Mayfield going fifth overall to the Denver Broncos.

• It happens every year, but what many mock NFL drafts don’t factor for are draft day trades. With that in mind, SB Nation’s Dan Kadar has projected the New York Jets to trade up to third to select Baker Mayfield. Now that would be quite interesting. Not ideal for Baker, but interesting.
• Congratulations to Yul Moldauer, Allan Bower and Alex Naddour for making the U.S. National Team! Way to represent the Crimson & Cream! Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• Okay, so Fergie offered her rendition of the national anthem at last night’s NBA All-Star Game, and Draymond Green reacted the way most people did. Yes, I both laughed and cringed during the performance as well.

• You better believe that Fergie anthem was one of the best moments (for lack of a better descriptor) from NBA All-Star Weekend. Check this out for the top 16 moments.
• Team USA will have another chance at a gold medal when the women’s hockey team rematches Canada in the final match. This would be a monumental win for Team USA, given Canada is known for its hockey prowess.
• Okay, Miami head coach Mark Richt is now one of my favorite coaches simply for the fact that he spent his birthday watching Nacho Libre. I love it (AND I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU THINK), and apparently Richt has seen it over 50 times. Same, Mark, same. And happy belated birthday, my dude.
• It’s five o’clock somewhere, eh?

Stick to Sports!

• In local news, there have been several reports of coyotes attacking people’s pets in the Oklahoma City area and neighboring Mustang. Keep your pets inside at night!

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