Happy Friday, friends and fans!

For the first time in history, we have Bedlam Softball at the Women’s College World Series! After 13th seeded Oklahoma State upset Florida on Thursday, and the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma Sooners took care of business against Alabama, the winner’s bracket will now feature a head-to-head matchup of these two in-state rivals.

For many fans on both sides of the rivalry, the reality of a possible meeting in Oklahoma City seemed like a mere fantasy a couple weeks ago, but here we are. The Sooners and the Cowgirls have earned their way through the rounds with big wins against elite competition, and now the stage is set. At 8:30 p.m. CT, on ESPN, the entire state and college softball world will want to tune in for this gem.

If you recall, the end of the regular season saw these two programs pitted against each other for the Big 12 title. OU went on to sweep OSU, with one win coming in Norman and the other two in Stillwater. You can go ahead and throw out that series now, though, because both of these teams are playing at a different level than they were a month ago.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Lincoln Riley releases a mystifying inscription, Austin Seibert is still owning Texas, Drake unsurprisingly trolls Draymond Green and more!

OU Links

• Lincoln Riley dropped this mysterious tweet on Thursday and nobody has managed to crack the code. What does this mean, my guy? Also, is it odd for people to be worked up about a tweet like this? Perhaps, but welcome to The Year of Our Lord 2019.

• The Norman Transcript’s Joe Buettner detailed why Sooner Softball’s ace pitcher Giselle Juarez had a strange feeling when she arrived at this year’s WCWS. It’s not her first time on this stage, but last time she was there her opponent was Oklahoma.
• Texas sophomore DB Caden Sterns was apparently subtweeting about the Bru McCoy transfer situation, but in doing so totally set himself up for an Austin Seibert mic drop moment.

• Gerald McCoy has yet to reach a decision on his next NFL team, but talks with the Baltimore Ravens seem to be heating up. Still, the Cleveland Browns aren’t backing off on the six-time pro bowler until a deal is done.
• In case you missed it, Allen dissected the Golden Nugget’s release of early betting lines for the biggest college football games this upcoming season, and it would appear that Oklahoma will be the odds-on favorite in every game currently on the schedule.

Around the Sports World

• The Toronto Raptors took Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Golden State, and celeb super fan Drake had some choice words for the Warriors’ Draymond Green. If my lip-reading is accurate, it looks like he called him ‘trash’. I hope this series goes seven games.

• Manny Diaz is entering his first season as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, and there are a number of questions on the depth chart that need answers before kick-off. Is Ohio State transfer QB Tate Martell one of those answers? Bill Connelly provides his expert analysis on ‘The U’.
• Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz makes his pick for next season’s MVP. Patrick Mahomes won it last year, but what are the odds the Kansas City slinger repeats?
• Former ‘Fab Five’ member Juwan Howard was introduced as Michigan’s next head coach on Thursday, and he was overcome with emotion during his opening remarks. This is pretty cool to see, and I hope he’s able to find success there in Ann Arbor.

• SB Nation’s Mike Rutherford has updated his early college basketball top 25 rankings, and there are plenty of shakeups throughout his new list.
• The 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee saw an unprecedented eight-way tie for the championship. Seriously though, I want to see them keep it going until there’s only one winner, even if it takes eleventy years. Wait, that’s a word, right? Congrats, kiddos.

Stick to Sports!

• The non-incorporated town of Idyllwild, California has been electing actual dogs as mayors since 2012, and this good boy you see here is currently the canine in office. His name is Max Mighty-Dog Mueller II, and he’s a no-nonsense kind of pup who just gets things done. I honestly can’t believe this is real. On second thought, I can totally believe it. What a time.

Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!