Happy Friday, friends and fans!

This isn’t sports related, but it is OU related. Actor and comedian Rainn Wilson — best known for his role as Dwight K. Schrute on ‘The Office’ — was at the Oklahoma Sooners’ historic McCasland Field House to share an inspiring message for students and faculty alike on Thursday. You can check out some of the amazing photos from the good folks over at the OU Daily below:

‘Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica’ is an all-time great reference for Office fanboys and girls, myself included. And would you look at this. It’s the Assistant (to the) Regional Manager sporting the crimson & cream with an OU cap. I sure hope he followed all ‘Boomers’ with a good ole ‘Sooner’.

I must say, this hat is a much better look than that Cornell hoodie he mocked Andy with (no offense to the ‘Nard Dog or the Big Red).

Now back to our regular scheduled programming with this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Trey Sermon hints at a return, Oklahoma flips a Stanford commit, all hell breaks loose in Cleveland and more!

OU Links

• The biggest headline of Thursday night and Friday morning was the surreal scene that broke out in the final seconds of the Cleveland Browns’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. When the dust finally settled, Baker Mayfield, oft-criticized himself, didn’t mince words regarding his teammate Myles Garrett for striking Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet. Fresh from the aftermath of the moment, Mayfield held Garrett accountable during arguably the most challenging period of his career as a pro and a leader. He easily could’ve played the politics game and offered a ‘no comment’ on this his high-profile teammate, but this is rightfully earning him some praise. Going forward, this attitude could help reshape the culture around this franchise, but for now, what happened is indeed “inexcusable”.

• With Oklahoma’s big matchup in Waco quickly approaching, here are five things all OU fans should know about the 2019 Baylor Bears.
• ESPN’s Sam Khan Jr. broke down the battle between Oklahoma’s offense and Baylor’s defense, specifically from the standpoint of the playmakers each side brings to the equation.
• Allen Kenney wrote up a great piece where he dissected Baylor’s defensive front and how Oklahoma can take advantage of its weak spots. Losing Trey Sermon isn’t ideal for the Sooners, but it could lead to someone like Rhamondre Stevenson receiving more playing time in critical periods of the game.
• Speaking of Sermon, now that the junior has been ruled out for the season following an injury sustained against Iowa State, it should be noted that he does have one more year of eligibility remaining if he chooses to return. While he hasn’t officially announced his plans to return, the nature of this setback along with this tweet all point to No. 4 staying in Norman for another season. Get well soon and come back stronger, Preacher Man.

• If you have a recipe that requires nutmeg this holiday season, Trae Young has you covered and then some. Good gravy that man has a family.

• In case you missed it, Oklahoma picked up a verbal commitment from 2020 four-star WR Marvin Mims. The Frisco, Texas native flipped his commitment from Stanford to the Sooners and boasts a familiar skill set seen in some of Lincoln Riley’s receivers over his OU tenure.
• Also, make sure you check out this week’s episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast. Jack and Kamiar sounded off on the Sooners’ narrow victory over Iowa State. Plus, the guys welcomed special guest Shehan Jeyarajah to talk all things Baylor. As usual, keep in mind that the pod does contain some NSFW language.

Around the Sports World

• The whole Myles Garrett vs. Mason Rudolph situation is without question the hottest topic in the sports world on this otherwise lovely November day. Even after watching it several times, it still makes me almost wince just realizing how much worse this could have actually ended. There will surely be some precedent setting penalties by the time it’s all worked out.

• I thought we had seen the last of Carmelo Anthony in an NBA uniform, but apparently the Portland Trailblazers wanted to see at least a little bit more of him after signing the 10-time NBA All-Star to a non-guaranteed contract.
• With most of the college football world focusing on the remaining handful of playoff contenders, ESPN’s Bill Connelly wanted to highlight some others who you ought to watch for reason’s outside the CFP.
• Notre Dame Football’s sellout streak of 273 games is likely coming to an end this Saturday when Navy comes to town. Unless something dramatic happens with this week’s ticket sales, the second-longest active run of sellouts will continue no more.

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