Happy Monday, friends and fans!

There was a lot of hubbub swirling about when Austin Kendall was initially kept from being immediately eligible if he chose to transfer within the Big 12. His father, Brian Kendall, recently opened up about his son’s decision to transfer and his feelings when it was first mentioned that Lincoln Riley was looking to bring in Alabama grad transfer Jalen Hurts.

Austin Kendall’s father gave his side of the story to Alex Hickey of the Metro News.

That ‘oh boy’ moment Kendall’s father had when learning about the Oklahoma Sooners potentially welcoming in a third QB transfer is something we don’t often get to see in sports, but similar circumstances are far from uncommon. Quarterback situations are as cutthroat as they get in collegiate athletics.

Personally, I find Brian Kendall’s comments refreshing, because every parent wants the best for their children, and they know better than anybody else the amount of time and effort their kids put into the pursuit of their dreams. It’s been stated here and elsewhere before, but by all accounts, Kendall is an upstanding young man, and by the sounds of it, he has the undivided support of his father.

Now on to this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! Oklahoma basketball is taking on the Drew brothers in back-to-back games, Bob Stoops’ name is coming up once again in coaching searches, Mike Gundy has found his next OC and more!

OU Links

• Our good friend and contributor Allen Kenney wrote something for Athlon Sports listing three reasons for optimism about Sooner football heading into the 2019 season. Out of the three, I’m most interested in the start of the Alex Grinch era.
• Sooner hoops dribbles back into Big 12 play tonight against Baylor. The Bears are streaking at the moment, but Oklahoma has been a much better team at home this season. Students get in free, so be there and be loud!

• On Saturday, Oklahoma faced and ultimately dominated Bryce Drew’s Vanderbilt team, and on Monday night his brother, Scott Drew, comes to town hoping his Baylor squad puts up a better fight against the Sooners. This kind of happening in college basketball is extremely rare, obviously, but The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto writes that it’s not the first time something like this has occurred.
• Ever since Rashard Odomes has been placed into the starting lineup, the senior’s game has risen to even greater heights. The Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey explored Odomes’ assessment on his season thus far and how he wants to close it out.
• Could Bob Stoops return to coaching? So far he has only stated the contrary, but that won’t stop start-up leagues like the XFL from blowing up his phone. I definitely laughed when I saw this, but I guess if anything were to get me to watch Vince McMahon’s football league, Stoops on the sideline would certainly do it. However, it obviously seems like the man is enjoying retirement too much to come back, especially for something like this.

• After going on four weeks as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, the Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team is rolling through the competition once again, and currently claim the top three scores of the young season. This Friday, that competition will step up a notch, as No. 3 Florida comes to Norman. Come early if you plan to attend, as the first 500 fans will receive a free crimson OU gymnastics t-shirt.

Around the Sports World

• The Oklahoma State Cowboys have found their next offensive coordinator in former Princeton OC Sean Gleeson. The young offensive mind engineered a potent Tigers offense that was among the top attacks in all of the FCS.

• Which college football teams had the best 2018 seasons in each state? Spoiler alert for the state of Texas, but the answer isn’t the Longhorns.
• After spending the last six plus seasons in New Orleans, All-Star Anthony Davis has made it known that he does not want to sign a contract extension with the Pelicans and instead has requested to be traded.

• Paul George absolutely beasted on the Greek Freak in Oklahoma City’s statement win over Milwaukee Sunday night. Wow.

• Wade Phillips is out here stuntin’ like his daddy ahead of Super Bowl LIII. Any more of that drip and I expect he’ll transform into ol’ Bum Phillips himself.

• At this point, Jason Witten has proven to be so awful at announcing that I actually hope he sticks around for a long time. Why? Because the memes are just that good. Also, of course this would happen to the poor guy. Just can’t catch a break.

Stick to Sports!

• Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan, won’t hit theaters until February 2020, but this costume teaser shows the cast in full regalia, including Margot Robbie reprising her Suicide Squad role as Harley Quinn. Actors Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead also star in the film. With this cast and those aesthetics, I must say I’m quite intrigued by this project already.

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