Happy Saturday, friends and fans!

Last night, the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (31-0, 7-0) took home round one against the No. 7 Texas Longhorns (31-4, 6-1) in run-rule fashion, defeating UT 11-1 in five innings on the softball diamond of Marita Hynes Field. This three-game series is OU’s first top-10 matchup of the season.

Today, Oklahoma gears up for game two against its Red River rival. The contest is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN2.

UT is arguably the second-best team in the Big 12 this season, which means this series could be the toughest test Oklahoma faces until postseason play. Not only is this a great opportunity for Patty Gasso’s dynamite group, it also has the potential to prove to the nation that this team can maintain its dominance against elite competition. One game in, so far so good.

Dating back to the 2020 season, the Sooners have won 38 consecutive contests, own a 46-24 all-time edge over Texas and have claimed each of the last 19 Red River meetings overall.

Now onto this week’s Saturday edition of Hot Links! OU men’s and women’s gym compete on the national stage, Sooner H-backs are establishing themselves on and off the field, the WFT is looking for a new name that won’t make people say WTF and more!

OU Links

• The top-ranked Oklahoma men’s gymnastics team is in Minneapolis, Minnesota competing for the 2021 NCAA Championship. Tonight at 7 p.m. CT, the Sooners begin their final push toward another first-place finish and the program’s 12th national title. Good luck, fellas!

• Also on the mat, the No. 2 seeded OU women’s gymnastics team is competing for its own title shot today in Forth Worth, Texas. The Sooners took care of business in the semifinal round on Friday, and have now moved on to the NCAA Finals where they are one step closer to claiming the program’s fifth national championship. The fun begins at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

• Speaking of OU women’s gymnastics, gymnast Anastasia Webb won three individual national honors on Friday night, including the 2021 All-Around National Champion Award. Boomer!

• Sophomore H-back Mikey Henderson splashed onto the scene as a true freshman in 2020, and with his play (and jersey number), the versatile athlete quickly drew comparisons to early Bob Stoops era fan-favorite Josh Norman. SI Sooners’ John Hoover has more.
• At this point in his career, H-back Jeremiah Hall is standing out as a legitimate leader for his teammates on and off the field. Sooners Wire’s Brianna Dix has more.
• Lincoln Riley recently discussed how freshmen Caleb Williams and Billy Bowman are handling dual-enrollment on top of spring practice. It’s a challenging spot for any student-athlete, but so far, both players have adjusted relatively well. OU Insider’s Parker Thune has more.
• As you may have heard, there is a legal investigation involving some OU football players. Those players are now confirmed to be Trejan Bridges and Seth McGowan. Both have been suspended pending the results of the investigation.

• In case you missed it, Brady Manek has picked the North Carolina Tar Heels for his final season of eligibility. He’ll always be Prairie Bird to us!

Around the Sports World

• Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who has missed his team’s last 27 games with a right calf strain, has been cleared to return to full on-court activity and could return as early as next week.
• Chicago Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera has received a three-game suspension after throwing a pitch behind the knees of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Brandon Woodruff.
• Michael Jordan has been selected to present the late Kobe Bryant into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the class of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony was postponed from its original date, and it will now be held on May 15.
• The Washington Football Team is running a survey by its fans to gauge their interest in potential franchise names. The list contains about 30 different names currently, with most of them sounding like they’re from a really bad football movie or some odd-ball arena league. Personally, my favorite on the list is ‘Demon Cats’, only because it’s clearly the most ridiculous option. I mean c’mon, guys.
• On Thursday night, the Kansas City Royals topped the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5, but in the top of the seventh inning, 22-year-old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched a ball 456 feet — good for the longest homer of his young MLB career. Talk about shooting for the moon, my gosh.

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