Happy Friday, friends and fans!

So last night the Cleveland Browns defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 5-0 (yes, 5-0). Obviously there wasn’t a ton of offense to rave about, but Baker Mayfield was able to get in some valuable reps.

Before the game, Mayfield caught up with one-time Oklahoma Sooners QB and fellow No. 1 overall draft pick Troy Aikman. Here’s the very cool moment captured.

One of the mildly frustrating parts of Mayfield’s preseason opportunities so far has been the fact that he’s only been on the field with a back-up offensive line protecting him. Aikman echoed this observation, but still made note of his quality play under the circumstances.

As far as last night’s game is concerned, like I said before, there wasn’t a ton of offense for either side on the night. Nevertheless, Mayfield still showed what he brings to the Browns’ franchise. Oklahoma fans saw these kinds of throws plenty of times, and now the folks in Cleveland get to enjoy the magic man, too.

When starting QB Tyrod Taylor landed on his left wrist and appeared to suffer an injury, Mayfield was finally given his chance to work with the first-team offense. He showed enough to elicit praise while taking some of the snaps from Taylor, who fortunately turned out to be okay.

Aikman, being the Hall-of-Famer that he is, clearly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to playing quarterback in the league, so his assessment of Mayfield’s ability is one I tend to trust. It’s awesome seeing No. 6 earn the recognition he rightfully deserves. The dude is a flat-out game-changer.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Rodney Anderson is on Heisman watch, Marquise Brown is as strong as ever, today is the day of Kobe Bryant and more!

OU Links

• In case you missed last night’s game, check out Baker Mayfield’s night in its entirety. He threw his first interception of the preseason, but overall it was another solid outing.

• FOX’s Jay Glazer also had some praise for Baker Mayfield. In his 26 years of covering the NFL, he says he’s never seen anything like him. That’s quite a take, Jay, but I’ll roll with it.

• Check out the hoodie Baker Mayfield wore during the post-game press conference. Anything with the Boz on it is an automatic win.

• It’s starting to get real when the field is primed and ready to go. I can almost hear the alternating ‘Boomer’ and ‘Sooner’ chants in the distance. Gives me chills just thinking about it.

• Joel Klatt ranks Oklahoma as his No. 7 team going into the 2018 college football season. Klatt, like many others, believe in Lincoln Riley’s offensive prowess, so he doesn’t expect the potential drop-off in production to be very steep.

• Rodney Anderson checks in at No. 7 in ESPN’s preseason Heisman Watch. Anderson is also the third highest running back receiving votes, behind Stanford’s Bryce Love and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor.
• Marquise “Hollywood” Brown’s greatest strength has always been his elite speed, but this fall he says he’s as strong as he’s ever been. A stronger Hollywood with all that speed still left to burn? Sign me up yesterday.
• Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles is clearly the true freshman most fans will have their eyes on in 2018, but who are some other first year players that could impact the team this fall?
• Days after Lincoln Riley named Kyler Murray the starting QB, what’s the status on Austin Kendall’s mindset? He certainly has the talent and drive to lead the offense should he be pressed into duty, but does he have the patience to stick around?
• Former Oklahoma State head coach Pat Jones is still picking Oklahoma to win the Big 12 until another team proves they can dethrone the Sooners. That’s probably not a bad strategy, Pat.
• On the flipside, apparently there isn’t a ton of confidence in Oklahoma finishing the 2018 season strong compared its fellow preseason top-10 counterparts. Sure, the exercise here provides a pretty difficult call to make, but the answer is not Oklahoma.
• The non-conference portion of the schedule has been finalized for the Oklahoma women’s basketball team, and the marquee matchup is on December 19th when UCONN comes to the Lloyd Noble Center.

Around the Sports World

• Check out the updated college football S&P+ rankings for projected wins, strength of schedule, and projected conference champions.
• Regardless of who’s behind center for the Cleveland Browns this season, the key to a more effective offense rests with tight end David Njoku.
• There have been some major changes to rosters this NBA offseason, but the game on the court could also be undergoing some significant changes to how the shot clock is managed and more.

• Today is August 24th, aka Kobe Bryant Day. Why is this random day Kobe Bryant day, you ask? Today is Kobe Bryant Day because Kobe Bryant wore the No. 8 and No. 24 during his NBA career. So 8/24. Like today’s date. Get it? GET IT? I hate myself.

• Last week, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña embarrassed the Miami Marlins with four homers in two days, so on the third day they intentionally nailed him with a pitch. On Thursday, he got his revenge.

Stick to Sports!

• The “World’s Largest Duck” in Sandusky, Ohio is creating controversy for a number of reasons. One reason is that it may not actually be the largest duck of its kind in the world, and another reason is the way it impacts the local artists in the area. Behold, the World’s Largest Omnipresent Duck.

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