Happy 20th of April, friends and fans! With today being... today, our usual ‘Stick to Sports’ section has more stuff. Also, If you didn’t see it earlier this week, here are SB Nation’s Weed Week articles to check out on this 4/20 holiday.

Anyway, here’s your Friday edition of Hot Links! Lincoln Riley is flexing his marketing acumen when it comes to recruiting, the starting time for the Oklahoma Sooners’ baseball game has been moved up, Denver is about to become the largest hotbox ever and more!

OU Links

• With the 2018 NFL Draft approaching in less than a week from today, Kirk Herbstreit dished out some Herbie Awards for the draft prospects. Herbstreit awarded Baker Mayfield with the Herbie for ‘Most Pro-Ready QB’, which is quite the honor considering the talent of this year’s QB draft class. For a while now, Herbstreit has been a big fan of Mayfield’s game, and comparing him to a young Drew Brees is a tremendous compliment.

• College Football News says Kyler Murray has the 4th-best chance to win the Heisman Trophy this season, and while his game isn’t like Mayfield’s, he could produce Lamar Jackson-like numbers. I’m not sure I’ll go that far just yet, but he will absolutely be fun to watch, and I think the offense will be just fine in his hands provided he’s playing football (which I think he will).
• Recruiting is not as much of a free-for-all today as it was in 1975, but back then, Barry Switzer pulled off one of the greatest recruiting hauls in Sooner history. This past weekend may go down as Lincoln Riley’s version of that legendary moment for the class of ‘75.
• Speaking of Riley’s recruiting efforts, he’s showing that he’s one of the best marketers in college football. Lincoln knows how to sell the prestige of the University of Oklahoma to recruits, and it’s paying off for the program in a major way.
• So which freshmen could start this season? Bookie Radley-Hiles is one who is almost a lock for a starting job, but Diehards’ John Shinn mentions four other players you need to look out for.
• Oklahoma’s baseball game against Texas Tech has been moved up in order to finish before the inclement weather can affect the conditions. This will be Game 1 in the series between the Sooners and the Red Raiders.

• The transformation of Nathan Wiles has boosted Oklahoma’s pitching staff, making it one of the very best in the Big 12. Not only has Wiles’ game matured, he’s gaining confidence with every trip to the mound.

Around the Sports World

• Arsene Wenger has announced that he will no longer be the Arsenal club manager following this season. Under Wenger, Arsenal helped many American sports fans find a love for soccer, but they also learned what it’s like to endure some of the more trying times as a fan of the game.
• The 2018 NFL schedule was released last night, and it’s become a thing that Thursday night games are typically terrible. This year’s slate, however, doesn’t seem so bad on paper. So which TNF games are the best?
• Kevin Durant rolled his ankle late in Game 3 at San Antonio. Durant was taken to the locker room before the conclusion of the game, but said afterwards that he was fine. That sure didn’t look fun, though.

• The Philadelphia 76ers have been preaching about the process for several seasons, and it looks like it’s finally paying off. The question now is: could the Sixers actually be ahead of schedule?
• Justise Winslow saw an opportunity and went for it. Joel Embiid’s protective facial mask was lying on the court, and Winslow tried to act casual about it, but he clearly intended on breaking the mask when he stepped on it. His attempt failed, however, but I’ll give him an ‘A’ for effort.

Stick to Sports!

• In celebration of 4/20, tens of thousands of marijuana users are expected to gather in Denver for the largest public light-up ever. Ever since marijuana was legalized in states like Colorado, business has been booming for local dispensaries, with a majority of their sales coming from out-of-state and international tourists.
• Speaking of Denver, the police have a sense of humor as it pertains to the subject. A good sense of humor? That’s debatable.

• Just for the hell of it, let’s throw it back to the greatest 4/20 video of them all.

• This is a big day each year for Snoop Dogg’s cultural relevance. Let him have this.

• 4/20 is today, but the holiday arrived a bit early for this raccoon in Indianapolis.
• There Will Be Bud (2008). This is another very old video, but it’s still funny.

• The Ringer writes about the evolution of cannabis consumption and how the old methods, such as joints, are becoming far less common. The future is here.
• Anyway, if you happen to partake today (or any day), please be responsible. Norman PD is on the lookout for impaired drivers and has set up checkpoints.

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