Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

On May 15, 2009, the great Wayman Tisdale passed away after a two-year battle with bone cancer. That was 10 years ago to this day, but for those who knew him or watched him dominate on the basketball court for the Oklahoma Sooners, Booker T. Washington Hornets or one of his NBA teams, it only seems like yesterday. Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World has more on the legend’s lasting legacy.

Whenever people remember Tisdale, usually one of three things come to mind. Of course, he was a generational type of player — still the greatest to ever lace ‘em up at the Lloyd Noble Center. He was also a talented and accomplished jazz musician. Perhaps above all else, he was simply a phenomenal human being who positively affected the lives of those around him. Karl Malone said it best — “Wayman gave more than he took from life.” For more stories and nuggets of wisdom from ‘The Mailman’, check out Bill Haisten’s telling piece detailing the relationship of these long-time competitors.

It’s a tragedy that he was unable to stick around for decades more, but with time it becomes easier for the rest of us to celebrate all the good he left behind.

Now for today’s Hot Links! Sydney Romero has joined her sister in softball stardom, Kyler Murray will look to continue his winning ways out west, a Knicks fan got a ridiculous Zion Williamson tattoo and more!

OU Links

• Seeing the different updates to walls and posters and banners around the football facilities makes me even more excited for both the Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray statues still to come in Heisman Park.

• Patty Gasso said the decision to cancel the second half of the Big 12 Softball Championship last weekend was the right call because there was a higher risk of injury with such poor field conditions.
• Sierra Romero is a legend in the annals of Michigan softball, and her sister, Sydney, has made quite the name for herself at Oklahoma. With a third national championship within reach, Syd has successfully stepped out from underneath her big sister’s shadow and casts a shade of greatness all her own, explains The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto.
• Virginia grad transfer OL RJ Proctor will be arriving to Norman shortly to join the Sooners. His experience with the Cavaliers should provide great depth at minimum for a unit dealing with a lot of turnover from last season.

• Lincoln Riley must have the biggest smile on his face when he sees these two pictures side by side. Legendary stuff, indeed.

• The internet has mixed feelings on this clip of Baker Mayfield throwing to Odell Beckham Jr. at Cleveland’s training camp. While some are salivating over these two NFL stars connecting in the same uniform, there are others who are being overly critical of the pass being behind OBJ. It’s May, people. Timing is a real thing that has to be earned. Don’t doubt the Bake.

• Kyler Murray won games at a historic pace in high school, then did some more winning at Oklahoma. Now he will be tasked with making the Arizona Cardinals a winner. If there’s a right man for the job, K1 certainly has the pedigree.
• Marquise Brown is coming back to Norman on July 13th to host his very first football camp for players ages 6-16. One-on-one instruction from ‘Hollywood’ himself? Sounds like a great opportunity. Well done, Marquise!

• You can keep track of all the action from the third and final round of golf at the Pullman Regional right here. As of 11:30 a.m. CT, Oklahoma is tied with Texas A&M first place at -25. The top five teams will advance at the conclusion of the round.
• Don’t forget to check out Episode 18 of the Crimson & Cream Machine Podcast. This time, Jack and Kamiar discuss the fallout from OU president James Gallogly announcing his retirement, Baker Mayfield returning to his snappy ways on Twitter, their thoughts on a little conference realignment (just because) and more! And just a heads up — as usual, the pod features some NSFW language.

Around the Sports World

• Against steep odds, the New Orleans Pelicans landed the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. So now that the order is mostly set, it’s time for a good mock draft to see where all the prospects could end up. For that, SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell has you covered.
• Speaking of the lottery, this is what not to do as a sports fan. A New York Knicks fan was so sure her team would win the No. 1 overall pick, she got a Zion Williamson-themed Knicks logo tattooed on her ankle. Who knows, maybe the Duke superstar will slip to third. (This won’t actually happen).

• Mack Brown is back at UNC and preparing for his first season coaching the Tar Heels in over 20 years. So far he’s boosted his program’s recruiting efforts, but the real measure of success will take place this fall on the field. Bill Connelly has more in his preview of North Carolina.
• Joe Flacco is in Denver now, and he has rookie Drew Lock in his QB room. However, the former Ravens signal caller recently said that he doesn’t feel like it’s his job to mentor young quarterbacks. Given his reasoning, I find it hard to find him at any fault.
• Tony Hawk — aka the G.O.A.T. of skateboarding — has a series of tweets recounting instances over the years when people either thought he was another famous person or were reminded of him without knowing that he was actually who they were thinking of. The tweets are all so great, so I highly recommend you check them out.

Stick to Sports!

• Around 8 a.m. this morning, two window washers were trapped inside a dangling basket atop Devon Tower in downtown Oklahoma City. KFOR’s Emily Sutton reports that the OKC Fire Department was later successful in rescuing the crew. It’s great that everybody is okay, but what an absolute living nightmare that must have been. Gives me shivers just imagining it.

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