How’s it going, Sooner Nation? I hope everybody is safe and sound after that tornadic activity last night. Hey, as long as you’re feeling better than Baker Mayfield and Mark Andrews’ award plaques look, you’re probably good to go. I’d say Mayfield’s looks a little better than Andrews, because even though neither looks like the actual player they’re supposed to portray, at least Baker’s doesn’t look sickly like Mark’s.

In all seriousness, my theory on why we see many of these statues, busts etc. turn out so badly is because of the teeth. If the teeth weren’t shown, I think the overall effect wouldn’t come off as strikingly different to the real life people they’re intended to model. Just give them a small, closed smile, not some big, cheesy grin like a 3rd grader on picture day. It just sets up the rest of the face for awkward contortions.

All in all, it’s still really cool that they’ll be commemorated for all of eternity for their incredible accomplishments on the field. That’s something that those guys can look back on and be proud of forever.

And now I’m laughing at the thought these things being on the stadium for decades to come.

Now onto this gloomy Thursday of Hot Links! Paige Parker threw a no-hitter in Bedlam, Sooner Softball has its own bobblehead, Dom Alexander was waived by the Browns and more.

OU Links

• Paige Parker threw her sixth career no-hitter in the opening game of the Bedlam series as the Sooners run-ruled the Cowgirls en route to clinching the Big 12 title! The game was momentarily delayed with two outs remaining due to lightning in the are, but came back just in time for Oklahoma to seal the deal. People around the country are making something of the fact that it happened during a tornado watch, but... ehh. Call me when there’s a warning.

• Now Oklahoma Softball was won seven straight Big 12 titles! That kind of dominance is the stuff of legend. Can you say ‘dynasty?’

• The Oklahoma Sooners are the first NCAA softball team to have its own bobblehead, courtesy of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. There are only 1,000 bobbleheads of this particular kind available, so check out the online store now to purchase your very own!
• Lincoln Riley, Lon Kruger and women’s gymnastics head coach K.J. Kindler will be in Tulsa for the first Sooner Caravan of 2018 on May 31st. The caravan begins at 7 p.m. with the autograph session starting at 6:30.
• What does Tulsa World’s Guerin Emig think he knows and want to know about each of the Big 12 teams heading into the summer? He lists his thoughts in order of his predicted finish, so naturally that begins with Oklahoma.
• Josina Anderson reports that the Cleveland Browns have waived two players, one of whom is former Oklahoma linebacker Dominique Alexander, who failed a physical.

• 2019 four-star offensive tackle Stacey Wilkins has an offer from just about every blue-blood in the nation, and the Sooners are squarely on his radar. Wilkins was at the Nike Opening camp in Dallas recently, where he was able to spend time with current commit EJ Ndoma-Ogar.
• Don’t forget to check out RJ’s thoughts on what some of the Oklahoma commits and targets had to say when he spoke with them as well as his thoughts on Mike Stoops’ and the NFL Draft.

Around the Sports World

• So which NFL teams made the biggest draft mistakes? For some teams it was because of who they drafted, others for when they drafted someone, and sometimes it was just because of who they didn’t draft.
• Cleveland VP of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith was reportedly turned off by Josh Rosen as a prospect because when speaking with UCLA’s women’s volleyball head coach, the coach told him to ask Rosen’s girlfriend (who is a volleyball player) about Rosen instead of him. A little puzzling, but hey, the Browns got their guy at the end of the day, so it’s really no matter.
• It’s official: Longtime Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has announced he will retire after 15 season and will be joining the Monday Night Football crew as a color commentator.
• In other new-to-the-booth news, former Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians will be joining the CBS broadcast team this season, and we’re all just hoping he doesn’t (or does) drop some bombs on the air.
• Donovan Mitchell should probably win rookie of the year, because the dude is playing like he’s been in the association for years. I know a lot of Thunder fans are still a little salty about Utah advancing, but this put-back dunk is a must-see.

• John Hicks scratched one off the bucket list with this walk-off bunt to give the Detroit Tigers the win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Awesome stuff.

• I mean, there is somewhat of a resemblance, I won’t deny it. Still, Aaron Judge is a baller, and Sid was a bully, so at least Judge has him there. Hilarious stuff.

Stick to Sports!

• Celine Dion’s new song ‘Ashes’ is featured on the Deadpool 2 soundtrack, and this music video perfectly captures what so many people love about Deadpool’s character. Stay tuned for the end of the video, you don’t want to miss that exchange. Deadpool 2 is set to release in theaters nationwide on May 18th.

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