What’s up, friends and fans? I hope you’re all having a great day and an even better week. No matter how it’s going, I think this little nugget will make it that much sweeter.

So for the past couple months there’s been growing talk about Kyler Murray electing to play pro baseball instead of college football for the Oklahoma Sooners. Well now we have head coach Lincoln Riley’s voice on the subject, and in an interview with AP sports writer Ralph Russo, Riley talked about having “some good private conversations” with Murray about his plans, and that ultimately Lincoln expects Kyler to be part of the football team this fall.

“I don’t really have any concerns with it. Kyler and I have had some good private conversations about it and I am comfortable where he and his family are at with it. I think he’s comfortable where we are at with it, so we’ll proceed and certainly expect to have him.”

Now can we finally put this topic to rest? Probably not, but one can hope, right?

Onwards to the Hot Links we go! In today’s lineup, OU Golf is still leading in the Norman Regional, Trae Young has reportedly gained 11 pounds in the past couple months, Alabama has scheduled another non-conference cupcake and more!

OU Links

• Oklahoma men’s golf finished with the lead after the second round of the Norman Regional, and as of this moment lead by one stroke as the regional approaches its conclusion. The top five teams in the regional will advance. These guys sure look like they’re on a mission to defend last year’s natty. You can follow the back-nine scoring here.
• Now that the order for the NBA Draft is set following the lottery, mock drafts can carry a little more weight to them. NBA mock drafts from SB Nation and CBS Sports both project Trae Young to be selected by the Orlando Magic with the No. 6 overall pick.
• During the NBA Lottery Show, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Trae Young has gained 11 pounds since the end of the college basketball season. That’s pretty significant, especially for Young. One of the criticisms against him has been his physical readiness for the NBA.

• Orlando Brown has signed a four-year, $3.491 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Congratulations, Orlando!
• Baker Mayfield and several other rookie players were asked what they plan to spend their first NFL paycheck on. No surprise here, but many of their answers involved helping mom out. That’s very sweet of them.
• Check out former Sooner cornerback Aaron Colvin having some fun filming promo material with his new team, the Houston Texans.

• Class of 2019 forward Kenyon Martin Jr. has received an offer from Oklahoma. Martin is the son of former NBA player Kenyon Martin, who played his college basketball at Cincinnati.

Around the Sports World

• Texas and Alabama have scheduled a home-and-home series for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The first game will be played in Austin, and the series will shift to Tuscaloosa for the following year. The last time these two storied programs played was in the 2010 BCS National Championship. My only question now is: will Texas finally be back in time to actually compete?

• Speaking of the Longhorns, Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte is fundraising for stadium renovations at DKR. A $10 million ‘Hall of Honor’ on the north side of the stadium is in the works, and construction figures to begin upon the conclusion of the 2018 season.
• LSU head coach Ed Orgeron reportedly punched himself in the jaw before a game to hype his team up, but if you’ve been paying attention, Coach O is historically no stranger to aggressive modes of behavior such as this.
• Tuesday night’s game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics was forced into a weather delay as a massive storm swept through the region, but that didn’t stop the clubs’ Twitter accounts from playing a virtual game of Connect Four.
• The country of Qatar is reportedly shelling out $100,000 to extend the time of operation for train stations in Washington D.C. by one hour on Thursday, and Washington Capitals fans in the area are rejoicing. Sort of bizarre, but okay.
• Actor Ethan Hawke grew up as a New York Knicks fans, but in a recent interview Hawke revealed that he no longer receives free tickets to Knicks games. What did Hawke do then? He became a LeBron James fan.

Stick to Sports!

• World renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is set to have one more book published this October, albeit posthumously. The book’s title is Brief Answers to the Big Questions, and will be divided into four separate parts: Why are we here? Will we survive? Will technology save us or destroy us? How can we thrive?

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