Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, friends and fans!

It’s the third Monday of January, and in the United States of America we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his life as one of the most influential civil rights activists in history. The dream he spoke of has since become a renowned vision across the land, and we can see the fruits of his labor is all aspects of our daily lives. Happy belated birthday to you, MLK. May your words forever continue to inspire us all.

Let’s now take a look back at the incredible weekend that was for three former Oklahoma Sooners that are now headed to Super Bowl LIV with the Kansas City Chiefs. TE Blake Bell, RB Damien Williams and LS James Winchester all sported the Crimson & Cream, and in less than two weeks they’ll be playing in the biggest game in American sports.

On Sunday, Williams recorded his 11th touchdown of the season and the fourth of this postseason. From rushing the ball to receiving out of the backfield, he’s more than proven himself as a superb fit for Andy Reid’s offense alongside Patrick Mahomes in KC.

For Bell, Williams and Winchester, their collegiate careers overlapped at Oklahoma in 2012, when they were doing their thing representing OU. Seven years later, they’re all together again, only this time they’re playing for a little more than just a Big 12 Championship. If you’re an OU fan without a particular rooting interest between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, I’d say go ahead and root for this outstanding trio of Sooners.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Oklahoma picks up another verbal for 2021, and more!

OU Links

• Over the weekend, Oklahoma Football held its annual junior day, hosting class of 2021 recruits. Lincoln Riley and company laid out the red carpet — literally — for what’s already shaping up to be a special group.

• Speaking of recruiting, on Sunday, the Sooners picked up a massive verbal commitment from 2021 three-star offensive tackle Cullen Montgomery out of Bellaire, Texas. The 6’5”, 315 pound prospect has received offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas A&M and many other Power Five programs. Boom!

• In other recruiting news, 2020 verbal commit Reggie Grimes captured a lot of attention at the Polynesian Bowl from his DE position. Although he wasn’t announced as a signee during the early period, he says he still intends to ink his name for Oklahoma in February.
• Oklahoma is coming off one of its top performances of the season as it heads to Waco to take on the No. 1 ranked Baylor Bears. With playing on the road in the Big 12 being as difficult as it is already, and BU being every bit of a true Final Four contender, the Sooners are facing a steep, uphill battle in this one. However, if Brady Manek picks up where he left off from his 31-point-outing, and the defense is constant and suffocating, OU should give itself a chance. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

• The OU baseball season gets started in less than four weeks from today, so it’s a good time to grade the 2020 group area-by-area. It looks like this year’s team is at least above average from just about every major angle, but the true strengths are clearly on the mound and in the bullpen.
• There’s normal levels of dominance in collegiate sports, and then there’s OU women’s gymnastics level of dominance. After besting Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the reigning national champs remain No. 1 in the land for the third consecutive week. Boomer!

• In case you missed it, Allen broke down what all the defensive transfers mean for Alex Grinch and the team moving forward. On one hand, it’s a positive because it means the players that best fit the new culture are starting to shine through, but it also creates a slippery slope because the expectations for next season increase that much more.

Around the Sports World

• Kansas City is an early -1.5 betting favorite over San Francisco as the countdown to the Super Bowl ticks away. With such a close line, I could easily see this one switching back and forth a couple times before kick-off.

• The Los Angeles Lakers could have Anthony Davis back in the lineup on Monday against the Boston Celtics after missing the last five games with an injured backside.
• ESPN’s Bill Connelly is unveiling his top 100 college football games of the season segment-by-segment, and you might be surprised to see the last game of the year checking in as the first game on his list.
• This is pretty graphic, so I’ll give you a NSFW warning right now. Check out Vegas Golden Knights center Paul Stastny catching a puck to the grill over the weekend. The best part of this moment is how he calmly picked up his knocked-out teeth as blood poured from his mouth. What a badass.

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