Happy Friday, friends and fans!

Bedlam is back on! The Oklahoma Sooners’ recently postponed trip to Stillwater has officially been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25. Tip-off time and TV details are still being determined.

OU was originally set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, Jan. 16, but a spike in COVID-19 contact tracing cases forced OSU to press pause on its basketball activities. Fortunately, the game is back on, albeit two days before this pair of in-state rivals are scheduled to square off in Norman. It’s a bit wacky, but that’s life for sports teams during a pandemic.

Now onto this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! The OU Baseball schedule is here, Mike Stoops will not be wearing burnt orange this fall, a well-known Big 12 QB hits the portal and more!

OU Links

• The college baseball season is nearing its start after being cut short in 2020 due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19. Speaking of which, Oklahoma’s 2021 schedule was finally unveiled on Friday. The Sooners gets the party started on Feb. 19 at home versus Southern. Boomer!

• Spencer Rattler’s redshirt freshman season went about as well as anyone could have realistically hoped for, and Sooners Wire’s Steven Plaisance recently used advanced metrics to put his impressive campaign into further perspective.
• Athlon Sports’ Kevin McGuire recently took a look at which players in the Big 12 could have the most success when it comes to replacing former starters who declared early for the 2021 NFL Draft, and a couple Sooners to watch for in this regard can be found along the offensive line.
• Contrary to some early rumors, it’s now been confirmed that the Texas Longhorns will not hire former OU DC Mike Stoops onto Steve Sarkisian’s staff to coach UT’s linebackers. This is a shame, as it would have been hilarious.

• Hey folks, you can do your part to help out the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio by joining Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield and his partnership with Body Armor. By following the link in the tweet and casting your vote, you can give back to the community to help build a brighter future for the next generation.

Around the Sports World

• On Friday, Texas Tech Red Raiders QB Alan Bowman announced his decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal as a graduate transfer. Despite being named a starter each of the past two seasons in Lubbock, a series of serious injuries kept him sidelined for significant amounts of time.

• The NCAA has placed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program on one-year probation for recruiting violations that were recently discovered following an external investigation.
• Due to a knee injury, Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Antonio Brown has been ruled out for the upcoming NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers.
• The Houston Rockets have recently acquired Kevin Porter Jr. from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a future second-round pick. The second-year pro out of USC has had a troubled history off the court since coming to the NBA in 2019.
• On Friday, 25-time All-Star, Baseball Hall of Famer and true home run king Hank Aaron passed away at the age of 86. While playing the bulk of his pro career for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves franchise from 1954 to 1974, Aaron set and broke several major league records, many of which still stand today.

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