Happy Friday, friends and fans!

This morning, Oklahoma Sooners play-by-play man Toby Rowland interviewed OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione on Sportstalk1400 to get his take on how fan attendance could be managed this season across college football. Not only are there questions surrounding stadium capacity reductions, there is also the simple question of who gets to go? SI Sooners’ John Hoover has more:

A couple parts stood out to me during this interview. Unsurprisingly, it appears ticket priority (if fans are permitted to attend at all) could be handled much like any neutral site game or bowl game in which donors will have first dibs. The question of how much the attendance numbers are reduced remains to be seen, but that method would help limit crowd size to a degree.

Secondly, it should be no surprise to anyone at this point that the state of New York has been the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. With Oklahoma’s September trip to West Point in jeopardy, Castiglione says he is determined to preserve that game, if not for this season then another in the future. Over the next month or two, OU should have a clearer picture of what schedule amendments need to be made regarding its game against the Army Black Knights.

Click the link below to check out to the entire segment between Rowland and Castiglione. Castiglione also addresses the athletic department’s coaches and players speaking out against systemic racism and police brutality, and it’s definitely worth a listen.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Norman Mayor Breea Clark talks OU Football, the GOAT works on his fancy footwork, OSU hoops is banned from next year’s postseason and more!

OU Links

• Also from AllSooners’ Hoover, he recently took a look at Oklahoma’s running back room for the 2020 season. Kennedy Brooks is the definite leader of the group, but after him there isn’t as much experience as there is potential, at least not until Rhamondre Stevenson is able to return to the fold.
• Looks like it’s college football fans and Joel Klatt versus the world from here on out, considering those are the only two parties who know the truth about Spencer Rattler. The rest of the nation will just have to wait and see.

• In a recent interview with the Norman Transcript, city of Norman Mayor Breea Clark shared her thoughts on the upcoming OU football season, the prospects of tailgating, the impending economic challenges and more.
• Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield has been ultra-focused while training this offseason going into his third year as a pro. Reportedly, one of the parts of his game he’s been concentrating on improving the most is his footwork.
• In case you missed it, our own Allen Kenney recently wrote about the call to action college coaches are facing amid this tense time in our nation. Showing a genuine stand for solidarity with their teams is a must, and any fans in disagreement will need to sort out their own issues for themselves.

Around the Sports World

• The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team was given a one-year postseason ban for the 2020-21 season after the NCAA Committee on Infractions found former assistant coach Lamont Evans to have committed a Level I violation. OSU has already released a statement expressing intent to immediately appeal the ruling.

• On Thursday, Tom Herman and his Texas Longhorns football team marched to the state capitol with members of the Austin police department in protest against racism and police brutality. The group also showed unity by taking a knee once they arrived to the front gate of the grounds.

• Like countless other pro athletes in the wake of the past two weeks, Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan has pledged $500K towards a GoFundMe fundraiser he established in response to the civil unrest within the black community.

• NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently made a statement regarding coaches around the age of 65 and older, citing the potentially heightened health risks should they return to the sideline as the league resumes play in late July.
• Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant reportedly purchased a 1-5% minority stake in the MLS’ Philadelphia Union. KD joins other NBA stars like James Harden and LeBron James with his claim in a professional soccer club.
• The Florida A&M Rattlers will officially move from the Mideastern Athletic Conference to the Southwestern Athletic Conference beginning on July 1, 2021. Both the MEAC and the SWAC are comprised of a total of 21 HBCUs.

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