Happy Friday, friends and fans!

Even though Baker Mayfield had one fine rookie season with the Cleveland Browns, he’s decided to pack up his NFL bags and head to the MLB. Okay, not really, but here he is with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich at Spring Training.

I don’t know if the Milwaukee Brewers will let Mayfield wear that helmet on the diamond, but it’s worth a shot. And check out the sweet No. 6 jersey. Too fresh.

If you’re wondering why Mayfield is randomly in Milwaukee at the Brewers’ facility, it’s because it’s not actually a random occurrence — he’s actually very good friends with Yelich. Here’s the former Oklahoma Sooners QB talking about his own history with the sport of baseball. How can you not love this guy?

Kyler Murray is (presumably) going to be the first player ever to be selected in the first round of both the MLB and the NFL drafts, but don’t you be sleeping on Baker’s versatility!

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Giselle Juarez is perfect, Brylie Ware rocks Disney tunes, the Thunder attaches itself with Loves and more!

OU Links

• AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, an Oklahoma City native and OU alum, stopped by the football facility to speak to the team about accomplishing goals and finding success. This would have actually been pretty cool to listen in on.

• With Selection Sunday just days away, both Jerry Palm at CBS Sports and Joe Lunardi at ESPN have Oklahoma as a No. 10 seed in their latest bracketology updates. In Palm’s projection, the Sooners have the highest NET rating of all of his 10-seeded teams. That should bode well for them when the tournament committee gets together.
• Patty Gasso and her No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners swept Thursday’s double header in blowout fashion, and today there are two more contests waiting in the wings. First up is a matchup against Dartmouth at noon CT (currently underway), then a bout with California State Northridge at 4:30 p.m.

• Speaking of softball, as the Sooners toppled Loyola Marymount with 14 runs on Thursday, junior pitcher Giselle “G” Juarez tossed the first perfect game of her collegiate career, and just the 13th ever in Oklahoma history. The former Arizona State Sun Devil has quickly risen towards the top of OU’s pitching line-up as she continues to improve week after week.

• Oklahoma baseball hosts Missouri State tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT in the first contest of a three-game weekend series. The Sooners are 14-3 on the season and should be able to take advantage of the Bears’ struggles on the mound.

• The Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer highlighted senior infielder Brylie Ware this week, as he’s been heating up at the plate as of late. What’s his secret? He listens to classic Disney songs that remind him of childhood, a time when life was all about playing baseball and having fun. So far, his method is working wonders.

Around the Sports World

• The Oklahoma City Thunder are joining the group of NBA teams to sport an advertising logo on their jerseys. Love’s has been connected with OKC since the team’s inception, so it’s only natural for this to be the first sponsoring logo to appear on a Thunder jersey. Personally, I’m not a fan of ads on sports uniforms (other than soccer, where it kind of works), and this particular jersey/logo patch combination just looks a bit too NASCAR-ish for my taste. That’s nothing against Love’s, of course, and I’m sure we’ll all grow accustomed to the patch anyway. Having said that... a Sonic patch would’ve been hilarious.

• The ending of the Dallas Mavericks-Denver Nuggets game was about as thrilling as it gets for this time of the year. Star rookie Luka Doncic threw down a dunk for the and-1, giving the Mavs the lead with just seconds remaining. Then on the other side, Nikola Jokic answered with a buzzer-beating lob in the net. This was bonkers.

• After he was released from the Kansas City Chiefs in November, RB Kareem Hunt is now with the Cleveland Browns, but will be suspended for the first eight games of the 2019 NFL season.
• A former Georgia Tech assistant and booster are being charged with Level 1 NCAA violations (the most egregious of their kind) after it was discovered money was given to players to spend at an Atlanta strip club.
• Ryan Moore could not have played the 17th at The Players Championship any better than this. This is perfection in sports. He dropped it right in the cup. Wow.

Stick to Sports!

• After 376 weeks of drought conditions, the state of California has finally overcome its abnormally dry status. Think about that, folks. Cali was in a drought for over seven years. Thanks to this particularly wet winter, 93% of the Golden State has returned to some semblance of climate normalcy.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!