Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Yesterday there was discussion of Lincoln Riley and what he would do if the NFL came calling. Well now it appears it’s Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione’s turn with talks of future moves. I’d say neither of the possibilities have any legs right now, but the University of Maryland would love to have Castiglione as their AD. Castiglione is a Maryland graduate, yes, but has spent the past 20 years bringing Oklahoma the level of success it enjoys today. He also makes more money ($1.3 million) than they’re likely willing (or able) to pay. In short, he has a much better job right now.

Now onto Hot Links! ESPN says Bookie was Oklahoma’s breakout player in the spring, the Browns rookies are fired up to be playing with Mayfield, Paige Parker is ditching the headband and more!

OU Links

• What sports scientists have learned about brain injuries over the past decade is remarkable and could be life-saving. Unfortunately, many players from an era ago are still finding out just how taxing their glory days may have been, and Sooner legend Roy Williams is yet another. Williams says the many concussions he sustained throughout his playing career have led to a progression of memory loss over time.

• Trey Sermon is ready to take on a bigger role this season after he burst on the scene in his true freshman campaign. According to running backs coach Jay Boulware, Sermon is faster, stronger, and in overall better conditioning than he was last season.
• ESPN released their list of each top 25 team’s breakout player in the spring, and Brendan Radley-Hiles was named Oklahoma’s breakout spring player. I’m telling you, folks, Bookie is destined for big things, and he’s already receiving that national attention.
• Here’s a little image to put Lincoln Riley’s first season as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in perspective. Man, that’s a lot of accolades, and a lot of hardware. Boomer!

• Lincoln Riley spent some time interviewing with NFL Network to talk about a few of his former players as they prepare for their rookie seasons in the league.

• The other Cleveland Brown rookies are already raving about Baker Mayfield. They love what they see him do on the field, and his fiery competitiveness is something they’ve also taken notice of.
• Baker Mayfield spent some time hanging out with the LA Dodgers. Fun fact: Matt Kemp (seen on the right) is a Midwest City native.

• There’s a reason why we call him A.D., and this is it. Adrian Peterson can flat out work all day long. The dude is otherworldly. He’s a machine. Must be that OUDNA.

• Perhaps no other sport in the country is more consumed by superstition than baseball, and softball is right up there with America’s pastime. Oklahoma’s Paige Parker is no exception, because from this point forward, the Sooners’ ace pitcher will no longer wear a headband during games after her unusually poor performance the last time she donned one. Hey, whatever works!

Around the Sports World

• New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram has been suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season after being found positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

• What if Twitter had been around since the dawn of college football? There have been so many gif-worthy and meme-worthy moments in college football history, but without social media, they’ve been relegated to just some noteworthy, archived moments. Fortunately, SB Nation’s Spencer Hall took some of the iconic happenings in the sport’s history and turned them into modern day viral gems!
• This was more entertaining than either of the NBA playoff games from last night. But c’mon, Shaq, let Chuck make his point before you counter him. I’m sure there are examples that reinforce both sides.

• An Iowa State football coach tweeted about a recruit after said recruit shared his offer from Iowa on Twitter. The ISU coach eventually deleted the tweet, but the internet does not forget.
• High school soccer in South Carolina is no joke. I guess that SEC mentality of physicality doesn’t stop with football. Seriously though, ouch. That had to hurt.

Stick to Sports!

• After a contentious legal battle dating back to 2015, well-known hip-hop icon Dr. Dre has lost a trademark tug-of-war with renowned OB-GYN Dr. Drai. Both parties presented sound arguments for why they should have their name trademarked, but ultimately, the courts ruled in favor of the actual doctor.

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