Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

After some uncertainty as to where exactly the Oklahoma Sooners would play the Army Black Knights in 2020, athletic director Joe Castiglione confirmed that the two historic programs will meet at West Point’s Michie Stadium. Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman has more from OU’s AD.

For college football purists, it doesn’t get much better than this. It also makes for a much sweeter setting in my opinion, with the lush autumn foliage on one side and the placid Hudson River on the other. The immaculate venue the Black Knights call home seats 38,000, so while it won’t be the largest stage the Sooners will play on, it figures to be one of the most memorable.

Depending on how you look at it, Army’s resurgence under Jeff Monken is coming at a great time for Oklahoma. After last season’s overtime thriller in Norman, the Black Knights did not suffer another defeat the rest of the way. The cherry on top was the 70-14 bludgeoning against Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl. If this program can continue to win like it did in 2018, that’s going to make for one heck of a non-conference matchup for the Sooners that should ultimately benefit both teams in the long run. Having said that, OU sort of has to be careful what it wishes for, as it saw what kind of challenge Army posed last time around.

Now for today’s Hot Links! Spencer Rattler continues his training, Maggie Nichols receives a major honor, Zion Williamson should just play all the sports and more!

OU Links

• Spencer Rattler is almost on his way to Norman to begin his journey with the Sooners, but in the mean time he’s been busy working on building up his body to better withstand the collegiate level.

• Blake Griffin, Buddy Hield and Trae Young did some big things in the NBA this season. I can hardly wait to see what they have in store for the next go around.

• Maggie Nichols is the recipient of the 2019 Honda Sport Award presented by the CWSA. The honoree is chosen from a pool of female student-athletes spanning 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. The national championship winning gymnast becomes the third OU athlete to earn the award (Kelly Garrison - women’s gymnastics 1988, Keilani Ricketts - softball 2013).

• USA Softball Hall of Fame stadium is the mecca of the sport, but for fans who plan on being there to watch Oklahoma and others in the Big 12 Tournament this weekend, or the WCWS in a few weeks, they’ll notice much of the renovations aren’t quite finished. The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson has more on what’s going on in OKC.
• In Baseball America’s most recent NCAA Tournament projection, the publication has OU as its first team out. Needless to say, OU’s two remaining series vs. OSU and Texas are going to be huge.
• OU saw eight former players selected in last month’s NFL Draft, with a handful of others signing on as UDFA’s. In light of that, Allen looked ahead to determine which Sooners could hear their named called in 2020.

Around the Sports World

• Barcelona lost to completely collapsed against Liverpool. So how in the world does something no one saw coming happen? SB Nation’s Andi Thomas has eight reasons as to why.
• Must be nice being a Chicago Cubs fan these days. Ever since they ended the curse, this team just has all sorts of magic to them. Kris Bryant’s walk-off three-run bomb is just the latest example of that.

• Jamal Murray has been a bright spot for the Denver Nuggets during their playoff run. Check out his follow-up put back slam against the Portland Trailblazers. A thing of violent beauty.

• Zion Williamson is known for his otherworldly athleticism, especially on the basketball court, but check out what he can do with a football on the beach. Heads up, there is some NSFW language in this clip.

• Gael Monfils isn’t wearing a cape, but he definitely has superpowers. Check out this physics-defying play for the win at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Stick to Sports!

• I often see time lapse captures that aren’t that interesting or too overdone, but this one does what the technology intended. If I had to guess, I’d say Carl Sagan himself would certainly be proud of this one.

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