Happy Friday, friends and fans!

It wouldn’t be the offseason without a fiery hot sports take to stir the stagnant pot. Earlier this week on NFL Total Access, analyst Akbar Gbaja-Biamila was throwing all kinds of shade at Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield, saying that the team would be better off with a different quarterback running the show. He even went as far as calling the former Oklahoma Sooners signal caller a “bum”. Long-time OU coaching assistant Cale Gundy caught word of this and had to call out this egregious absurdity, to which Akbar responded to.

First off, a little about Akbar. The former DE/LB played his college ball at San Diego State, then went undrafted in 2003 before some very short stints with Oakland, San Diego and Miami. Now that his playing career is long over with, he’s likely most well-known for his role as a commentator on the television show ‘American Ninja Warrior’.

Now I find it hilarious that he actually set himself up so badly with his response by asking who Gundy is. If only he knew that the man he’s talking to is credited with recruiting and/or developing players like Quentin Griffin, Adrian Peterson, DeMarco Murray, Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine, just to name the classics. I’m sure Akbar would love to trade his cup o’ joe career with any of those guys.

Basically, Akbar is one of those guys that believes he’s the smartest guy in a discussion because he’s been there, but there’s a reason he’s not coaching somewhere or working in the front office anywhere, and it’s not because he doesn’t want to be. Also, his ridiculous argument would have at least been a tiny bit more credible if his suggestion for a better QB than Mayfield wasn’t Case freaking Keenum. Get all the way out of my face with that trash.

Finally, I think it’s funny that he keeps telling people to call him. I actually tried calling that number. First of all, he needs to update that voicemail greeting. It’s not 2019 anymore. After that failed, I sent him a text, but I was quickly met with some sketchy link and a long, automated message from Akbar himself. I guess he’s just talk after all.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! A mock draft that reunites CeeDee with K1, Sooner Softball looks dominant in season opening win, the Brodie eclipses 20K and more!

OU Links

• Josh Edwards of CBS Sports projects CeeDee Lamb to go to the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 7 overall pick. A reunion with Kyler Murray would be great for both players as well as Sooner Nation. Edwards also projects the New England Patriots to draft Kenneth Murray at No. 23.
• OU O-Line mastermind Bill Bedenbaugh was named one of Rivals’ top 25 recruiters for the 2020 class. Not only has Coach B consistently brought in quality talent up front, he’s also been one of the best developers in the nation with so many of his pupils now collecting NFL paychecks.
• Recently, Bob Stoops interviewed with USA Today where he opened up about how he’s adjusted to the past three years that he’s been away from coaching. Turns out the Sooners’ all-time winningest head coach couldn’t fight the feeling of wanting to return to the sideline, which is why he’s embarking on a new adventure in the XFL.
• No. 3 Oklahoma took care of business in the softball season opener on Thursday, trouncing Nevada, 9-3 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Check out the game highlights from the big win.

• Speaking of OU Softball, game two of the PV College Challenge is set to begin around 12:30 p.m. CT. This time, the Sooners will take on Long Beach State. As is the case with all this weekend’s games, you can stream the action online with a subscription to FloSoftball, or listen for free on The Franchise 2 on 1560 AM.

• Jack and Kamiar are back again for another episode of the Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast. This week they discussed the hiring of Jamar Cain, developments following National Signing Day, grad transfer WR Obi Obialo and more. As usual, there is some NSFW language used on the pod.

• In case you missed it, make sure you check out Allen’s Blatant Homerism Podcast from earlier this week. For this episode, he caught up with Sooner Scoop’s Josh McCuistion to discuss the latest recruiting gets and coaching hires for Oklahoma.

Around the Sports World

• The 2020 NBA All-Star teams have been determined following the draft between LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. On paper, the guard battles in this game have a chance to be epic.

• The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels are involved in one of the most heated and storied rivalries in all of collegiate sports. This year marks the 100th anniversary of this cross-town war, and with that comes these sweet new threads for both teams. At the end of the video you can see Duke’s version.

• Staying on the basketball front, according to a police report, Michigan Wolverines guard Zavier Simpson was found to have crashed a car belonging to the son of UM AD Warde Manuel. Ultimately, Simpson received a speeding citation and was also suspended for a game.
• Detroit Pistons point guard Derrick Rose has taken himself out of the NBA Skills Challenge during next week’s All-Star weekend, allowing Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to take his place. SGA will also participate in the Rising Stars Game the night before.

• Russell Westbrook surpassed the 20,000 career points milestone in Thursday night’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll definitely continue to climb quite a bit higher on this list before this season comes to an end. Also, it’s pretty remarkable how close he and his Houston Rockets teammate/former Thunder buddy James Harden are on the all-time scoring chart.

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