Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

It’s Game Day for OU Baseball! The Oklahoma Sooners are in Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Championship Tournament. First opponent up is Baylor, and the opening pitch for that one is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. If you’re not planning on being there live, you can catch all the diamond coverage on FOX College Sports.

During the regular season, Oklahoma went 1-2 against the Bears in Waco, with the rubber match game being a 12-inning 3-2 final in favor of Baylor. If this one plays out similarly to those other meetings, it should be an exciting time for fans at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark!

Now for today’s Hot Links! Kyler links up with Larry, CeeDee dunks on hapless student, Rodgers calls out Bran Stark... I mean the Three-Eyed Raven... no, wait, he’s Bran again and more!

OU Links

• Tyler Palmateer from the Norman Transcript relayed OU baseball coach Skip Johnson’s thoughts on his team in regards to making the NCAA Tournament field of 64. According to the Sooners’ lead man, he doesn’t believe any more needs to be proven, but several college baseball pundits and analytics currently have Oklahoma either on or just outside of the bubble.
• After being cut by Texas’ new coach David Pierce, Brady Harlan decided to store away his baseball glove. Years later, he’s back on the diamond, only this time he’s a Sooner. For Oklahoma, he’s making the kind of impact he once expected to make as a Longhorn. The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber has more.
• There is definitely at least one future Hall of Famer in this video. Then there’s a guy who continues to be the talk of the NFL offseason. I need more videos of Larry Fitzgerald receptions from Kyler Murray, stat.

• The Tulsa World’s Guerin Emig wrote about the Sooners’ defensive backs and what they must do to make Alex Grinch’s system work. If speed is the name of the game, there can’t be an exodus of falling behind receivers racing downfield like there has been in seasons past.
• Even though this was totally set up for CeeDee Lamb to posterize this regular person at the rim, it’s still pretty fun to watch.

• Make sure you check out this week’s Crimson & Cream Machine podcast with Jack, Kamiar and special guest Joe DuVall where they discuss Oklahoma’s run in the NCAA Softball Tournament, past OU QBs, the Horns Down man who’s become a viral sensation and more! As a reminder, there is some mature language on the pod.

Around the Sports World

• So it’s official. For the NFL, pass interference plays will be reviewable in the last two minutes of each half in 2019. Sorry this is coming so late, Saints fans, but at least you can find a morsel of solace in knowing that if lightning ever struck the same place again, your coach may finally be able to do something about it.

• Missouri Football can make the transition of becoming a more physical run-based offense with former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant in line to start this season and former TCU QB Shawn Robinson waiting in the wings.
• 19-year-old Carter Stewart has agreed to a 6-year, $7 million deal with a professional baseball team in Japan, and in doing so has uncovered a potential game-changer for future high profile prospects who are looking to make more guaranteed money sooner than if they were to go the typical route of an MLB pro.
• Before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Milwaukee and Toronto, the Raptors’ Danny Green sported this nifty jacket as a tribute for sports reporting legends Craig Sager and Stuart Scott. Talk about being cooler than the other side of the pillow.

• I think Aaron Rodgers is my favorite NFL QB outside of those who once played in Norman. Whether you agree with his takes on HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ or not, it’s just cool to see someone on such a high platform talk about stuff that regular, everyday people are entertained by. I’d totally subscribe if he made a weekly pod or vlog.

Stick to Sports!

• Vanity Fair is all about delivering some of the coolest behind-the-scenes content, and with the final episode in this latest saga of Star Wars coming to theaters at the end of 2019, the magazine has released a number of insightful shots during the making of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’. Check them out!

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