How’s it going, everyone?

Today, the Oklahoma men’s golf team is in match play against Red River rival Texas in pursuit of another NCAA Championship. As of this moment, the match is pretty tight, and you can check it out on Golf Channel.

The Sooners need to win three of the five matches in order to advance. A lot can happen in just a few holes, so it’s still anybody’s contest at this point. You can check Golf Stat here to see how each pairing is coming along. If they do indeed advance out of this round, the their semifinal matchup will take place later this afternoon.

Now on to today’s Hot Links! A stronger Big 12 has bettered Oklahoma softball, Patrick Fields is stepping up as a leader, R.J. Hampton is taking his talents to the other side of the world and more!

OU Links

• Will Muschamp is the head coach at South Carolina, but if you recall, he used to run the defense at Texas during the Mack Brown era. However, it would seem that time has not alleviated him from his petty distaste of the Oklahoma Sooners. Also, what a substitute name for that drill. I know they’re the Gamecocks, but that’s a bit... aggressive.

• The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel wrote about how the emergence of other Big 12 softball programs like the Cowgirls of OSU and the Longhorns of Texas have helped Oklahoma further cement itself as the game’s best brand.
• If you’ve watched even an ounce of OU Softball over the last few years (and I know you have), you’ve seen the airplane celebration the players do after hitting home runs. So where did that originate? Joe Mussatto from The Oklahoman went exploring and found the answer.
• Safety Patrick Fields didn’t see a ton of reps in 2018, but he had his moments that showed he has the potential to improve an Oklahoma secondary that’s desperate for it. The Norman Transcript’s Tyler Palmateer wrote about the sophomore from Tulsa and how young players are already starting to look to him as a leader.
• Episode 20 of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast is out and ready for your consumption. In this latest edition, Jack and Kamiar discussed some OU recruiting news and nuggets, the drama brewing at Texas, and yours truly joined them to talk about Oklahoma Softball as the Sooners head into the WCWS. You won’t want to miss it!

Around the Sports World

• R.J. Hampton, one of the top high school basketball recruits in the nation, has decided to play professionally in New Zealand instead of sign and enroll at a college. This move has worked for others in the past, so if he’s the real deal, he might as well start earning a paycheck as soon as possible.

• What are the top questions facing all 32 teams in the NFL heading into the summer? Cleveland looks like it’s ready to contend for a division title, while Chicago needs an answer at kicker in the worst way.
• After retiring from the NFL in 2017, OG Richie Incognito is apparently back in the game and headed west to join the Raiders. I didn’t see this one coming, but the pairing makes sense.

• Going into his fourth season at Virginia, Bronco Mendenhall has the Cavaliers trending in all the right directions. Could this be the season UVA finally breaks through the ceiling and seriously challenges in the ACC? Bill Connelly takes a deep dive into the program.
• The baseball team at Spokane Falls Community College has found a new way to have fun during their down time. All they need is their buddy’s shaved head and a giant suction cup dart. Ball players, man.

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