Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

On Wednesday, a multi-year, neutral-site series was announced between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Arkansas Razorbacks. The non-conference games will be played at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa — a site nearly equidistant from Norman and Fayetteville. The first meeting is slated for Saturday, Dec. 12 of this year, while the next is scheduled for Dec. 11, 2021. There’s also a good chance to see this thing renewed for years to come.

According to the release, “tickets for the matchup will be divided at midcourt to create a unique 50-50 atmosphere for fans from the bordering states.” This is basically what Missouri and Illinois do each year in St. Louis.

Arkansas currently leads the head-to-head series with Oklahoma, 16-12, but the Sooners have won seven of the last 11 meetings overall. Additionally, OU is 2-0 all-time inside the BOK, defeating Tulsa and USC in 2008 and 2018, respectively.

It’s another well-known program from a big-time conference for Lon Kruger’s team to test itself against outside of Big 12 play, and this one just so happens to share a border with the Sooner State. Ticket information will be announced at a later date.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Oklahoma inches closer to landing the No. 1 QB, Bob Stoops gives back, the Longhorns and Aggies still have their differences to work out and more!

OU Links

• Cornerbacks coach Roy Manning has a public service announcement for recruits to stay wary of phony recruiting pitches from less than reputable sources. Of course this video is made in jest, but the message rings true. Hardware over hype!

• CB Tre Brown will be entering his senior season this fall, and although he’s made numerous big plays in big games througout his career, he’ll likely be one of the more underrated players on the team. Check out how effective he was against explosive routes last year. If he maintains that level of play, or even improves, look out.

• OU Insider’s RJ Young recently chronicled the events that have led Oklahoma to the position it’s currently in in regards to 2021 five-star QB Caleb Williams. At one point it looked as though the Sooners might not land a top-flight signal caller in the upcoming class with the decommitment of Brock Vandagriff in early January, but now the stars seem to be aligning once again for Lincoln Riley on the recruiting trail.
• NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz wouldn’t be surprised to see Kyler Murray gain traction as a darkhorse MVP candidate in 2020. Make it happen, K1!

• Bob Stoops recently treated first responders to lunch from a food truck in honor of all the hard work they’ve put in to help take care of and keep their community safe and healthy.

Around the Sports World

• Reportedly, the Cleveland Indians are telling their team to be prepared for an early July start to the 2020 MLB season. No dates for training camp or opening day have officially been announced as of yet, but this could be a sign of some potentially great news for the world of sports.
• Former Wake Forest Demon Deacons center Olivier Sarr has announced his decision to transfer to Lexington to join John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats.
• Texas Longhorns AD Chris Del Conte recently took part in a virtual chat where he was posed with the idea of bringing back the UT-A&M football rivalry. According to him, there hasn’t been any movement towards the series’ return, but the ball is apparently in the Aggies’ court.
• ESPN’s Nick DePaula ranked his favorite sneakers in NBA history, and as you can imagine there are a number of ‘Air Jordan’ sightings. Points if you can guess who was rocking those Reebok Questions without looking it up.

• Today is Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul’s 35th birthday! Happy b-day, CP3! Can’t wait to see you back on the court for OKC.

Stick to Sports!

• Hey all you cool cats and kittens, one of the first things I saw upon waking this morning was The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon dressed as the ‘Tiger King’ himself — Joe Exotic. He was doing a superb Nicolas Cage impression following news that the critically acclaimed (and oft-memed) actor would be portraying the infamous Big Cat legend in an upcoming scripted television series. Can we all just sit here for a second and appreciate the level of comedic gusto it takes to pull this off? It’s like impression inception, and I am so here for it.

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