Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Lincoln Riley was recently interviewed by Colin Cowherd to discuss his latest Heisman Trophy winner and potential No. 1 overall draft pick Kyler Murray. In the past, Cowherd has developed a reputation for his trash takes on Baker Mayfield (and most other topics), but he was much more reserved with his inquiries for Riley.

For me, one of the most notable — yet unsurprising — things Riley said was that Murray has played his last game of baseball. Sure, that’s pretty much been the expectation for a while now, but hearing it said so definitively from his former coach stood out to me in a major way.

Something else I noticed is Linc’s new haircut. If I were him, I’d just go all-in on the Walter White look and just intimidate the Big 12 for the foreseeable future as the league’s resident Heisenberg. (Yes, I’m binge-watching Breaking Bad right now).

Now for today’s Hot Links! Lincoln Riley wants one thing to change about the NCAA transfer portal, Marquise Brown is already living the dream, Beast Mode calls it a career once again and more!

OU Links

• Sticking with Riley for a bit, several Big 12 coaches gave their thoughts on the topic of the NCAA transfer portal, and the Oklahoma Sooners’ lead man suggested one slight tweak to the rules of the transfer trend, writes the Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto.
• NFL Network’s David Carr ranked the QB’s from the 2018 and 2019 draft classes, and I think he definitely got the top two right. Now the order of those two is up for debate, but if we’re picking them on the playground, I could pick second and be totally happy with whoever was on my team.

• Sterling Shepard never teamed up with him while at OU, but he knows Kyler Murray has what it takes to be special in the NFL. Since he was a super star in high school, the QB has been nothing but a winner.

• In late February, Marquise Brown announced he would be partnering up with Adidas, and I’ve got to say, he and that ‘Three Stripe Life’ make quite the pair.

• Speaking of Hollywood, his top goal for so long had been to make it at the DI level, but now he has a chance to become a star wideout in the NFL. Brown really is one of the hardest working players we’ve had the pleasure of watching in recent years, so it’s awesome to see his wildest dreams starting to come true.

• Brown also caught up with NFL Network’s Rhett Lewis to talk about his continued recovery and his otherworldly speed.

• Check out this sweet piece on Brown, written by The Ringer’s Robert Mays. Everybody who’s seen him perform knows how incredibly fast he is, but that’s not the only way he plays the game.

• The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto writes that Rodney Anderson’s draft stock is mostly dependent on his health. Three season-ending injuries have hurt the running back’s grade, but how teams have evaluated his recovery this time will determine whether he’s in the upper or lower half of the draft.
• OU baseball logged a nice 9-4 victory over Wichita State on Tuesday. With the win, the Sooners improved to 28-14 overall. Oklahoma will get back into Big 12 play at Kansas State starting this Friday.

• Wednesday is game day for the Oklahoma softball crew, as the Sooners are in Kansas taking on the Wichita State Shockers. Patty Gasso has her team rolling on the nation’s longest winning streak (31) and the best start (41-2) through 43 games in program history. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, and will be streamed live on YurView.

Around the Sports World

• Marshawn Lynch has announced his retirement from football... again. It’s been real, Beast Mode. May you bathe in a tub of Skittles for the rest of your days.

• Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger, 37, has signed a contract extension with the Steelers through 2021.
• Alabama head coach Nick Saban is back at work two days after undergoing hip replacement surgery. The Crimson Tide coaching legend was experiencing some discomfort earlier in the spring, and wanted to take care of the problem now before the start of the 2019 season was too close.
• This is quite the stat from ESPN’s resident college football facts man Chris Fallica. Texas hasn’t produced a first round pick in the NFL Draft since 2015 (DT Malcom Brown). Maybe they just need to recruit beyond their home state. I mean, that’s what champions do.

• The Chicago Cubs’ José Quintana looked like Mr. Miyagi catching a fly with chop sticks on this play. Also, this was definitely the most exciting play in any game of any sport on Tuesday and absolutely nothing else even came close. Nope, I’m not even going to go there.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!