Happy Friday, friends and fans!

It looks like the Oklahoma Sooners have completed the non-conference portion of their 2022 football schedule with the recent addition of Kent State to next year’s slate. This will be the first ever meeting on the gridiron between OU and the Golden Flashes out of the Mid-American Conference.

Currently, TV info and/or pay-per-view details have not been determined in regards to the 2022 season. All that is known for now is that OU is set to open the 2022 season at home versus UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 3. A week later, Kent State will visit the Palace on the Prairie before Oklahoma hits the road to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sept. 17.

Now on to this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! A key Sooner is back for Lon Kruger, a couple OU newcomers receive their jersey numbers, the Pouncey twins are hanging up their pads and more!

OU Links

• With Oklahoma’s 2021 football schedule finalized on Thursday, fans now have the chance to either renew their season tickets or register for info on season tickets. Sign up if you haven’t already so you can watch your Sooners ball this fall!

• When Oklahoma travels to Morgantown this Saturday, they’ll be doing so at full strength. In a radio interview with Toby Rowland, Lon Kruger confirmed that starting senior guard Alondes Williams will be available for OU against the West Virginia Mountaineers after being away from the team due to COVID-19 protocol.

• Tennessee transfer RB Eric Gray will be sporting No. 0 for the Sooners this fall. CB Woodi Washington wore the number in 2020, so now it would appear Oklahoma is all zeroed out on both sides of the ball for the time being.

• It looks like another ex-Vol — OT Wayna Morris — will be wearing No. 64 as he kicks-off his OU career. That’s a very solid number for an offensive lineman if I say so myself.

• Former Sooner hoops star Trae Young was recently fined $20K after colorfully protesting a no-call in his Atlanta Hawks’ recent 118-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

• On Thursday, OU Softball opened its 2021 season in record-breaking fashion. First, No. 4 Oklahoma took care of UTEP early with an NCAA record 13 home runs, including five dingers in the first inning en route to a 29-0 victory. In the latter half of the double-header, the Sooners blanked Abilene Christian, 9-0. I think it’s safe to say this group has the potential to be one of Patty Gasso’s highest scoring squads since she’s been in Norman. Boomer!

• Make sure you check out Allen Kenney’s examination of the newcomers Oklahoma is bringing in for the 2021 college football season. From transfers to true freshmen signees, which players does he feel will have the greatest impact in their Sooner debuts?

Around the Sports World

• After 10 seasons, DE J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans have mutually agreed to part ways. For the first time in his career, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year will enter the market to play for another organization.
• Coming off a win in Super Bowl LV, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady is reportedly set to have minor knee surgery. The good news for Bucs fans is that this is apparently just a ‘clean up’ type of procedure.
• The MLB has re-organized its minor league teams via regional alignment. The nationwide shake-up consists of 120 teams across 11 divisions.
• The higher-ups at Valparaiso University have elected to drop the ‘Crusaders’ moniker as the school’s mascot across all academia and affiliated athletics. The now-retired mascot has long been argued to carry built-in connotations with violent, religious oppression throughout history.

• NFL veterans and twin brothers Mike and Maurkice Pouncey have called it a career. On Friday, the two offensive linemen jointly announced their retirements after 10-plus years in the league. Fun fact for Sooners fans: these two were actually born in Ardmore, Oklahoma before moving to Florida.

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