Anthony Goodlow, Rams

Info from NFL.com Undrafted Free Agent listing

My wife loves baseball and my mother loves to go to Stillwater.

Anyone have 4 tickets available on the 3rd base side that can't go? I would be happy to take them off your hands.

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I wonder why the economy is struggling when morons like this are advising on economic policy.

Right after bedlam wins… perfect!

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Oklahoma State softball came up short of Bedlam sweep but reinforced its confidence​

Scott Wright
The Oklahoman

NORMAN — Standing in the tunnel behind the dugout at OU’s Love’s Field on Sunday afternoon, Kenny Gajewski wasn’t ready to think about any positive juice his Oklahoma State softball team might’ve gained in taking two of three games from the second-ranked Sooners.

The sting of Sunday’s 8-2 loss was a little too fresh for such reflection.

Defensive miscues, runners left on base, and a few mistakes to OU power hitters prevented the fourth-ranked Cowgirls from pulling off a Bedlam sweep in the Sooners’ new home.

But the Friday and Saturday victories were enough to let Gajewski open up about what his team showed in a hostile environment of 4,528 fans — mostly in crimson and cream.

“Lot of empty seats, so that was kinda cool,” Gajewski said with a wry smile. “I think we were a big part of that. Kinda felt good, to be honest.

“We’re good. I think we’ve been saying that for a long time.”

Though the Cowgirls (44-9, 21-6 Big 12) couldn’t finish the sweep of the three-time defending champion Sooners (46-6, 22-5), they proved they can compete with the best college softball has to offer.

“I think it just shows how good of a team we are,” OSU sophomore Micaela Wark said. “Walking into this series, we were really confident. A lot of teams, they see OU and they back up on their heels and they’re a little more scared.

“I think what’s so special about this team is we’re not scared of anything. We’re not scared to face anybody.”

Here are three takeaways from OSU’s loss:

Rosenberry pitches through pain again​

Early Sunday, Gajewski sat down with Ivy Rosenberry and her mother to discuss a potential pitching plan for the day.

Rosenberry has been dealing with a rib injury for the last week, and while she’s in no danger of worsening the injury, and it doesn’t impact her pitching motion, it still causes pain.



But she came into the day 4 ⅓ innings short of 100 for the season — the minimum requirement during the regular season for a pitcher to be eligible for All-America honors with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

“Your numbers are good. You’re gonna be in the conversation for All-American stuff,” Gajewski told Rosenberry. “You have to get to 100.”


So Gajewski left the decision in the hands of Rosenberry and her mother, who chose to give it a shot.

Rosenberry got through exactly 4 ⅓ innings, starting for the second straight day, despite the rib pain. She allowed two runs on seven hits with one walk, throwing 85 pitches and holding the Sooners scoreless until the fourth inning.

That’s when OU freshman Kasidi Pickering lined a two-run homer to left-center field — the Sooners’ first home run of the series.

Rosenberry concludes the regular season with 89 strikeouts in 100 innings, posting a 1.68 ERA — nearly a full run better than she had in 37 innings a year ago.

“It speaks volumes about her and (pitching coach) Carrie Eberle,” Gajewski said of Rosenberry’s season. “This is what Oklahoma State is all about and frankly, it’s what our state is all about. It’s toughness, it’s blue-collar, it’s a chip on your shoulder. To watch this kid and see what she’s done up to this point has been really cool.

“I don’t think there were too many people in the game who thought this was gonna happen for her.”

Big 12 Tournament rematch?​

The Cowgirls and Sooners went into Sunday’s game knowing a rematch could be on the schedule next week.

Because Texas had already won to clinch the Big 12 regular-season title earlier in the day, OSU and OU were playing for the second and third seeds in the conference tournament, set to begin Wednesday at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

With the loss, OSU slides into the No. 3 spot, and will face sixth-seeded BYU. OSU won two of three games at BYU during the regular season.

OSU and BYU will play Thursday’s first game, set for an 11 a.m. start.

Should the Sooners and Cowgirls win Thursday, they’d be set to square off in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday.

Seeking a top-8 seed​

OSU is sure to see a boost in the Ratings Percentage Index after taking two of three from the Sooners. OSU entered the weekend No. 10 in the RPI, which is a key component used for NCAA Tournament seeding.

Though the Cowgirls are No. 4 in the coaches’ poll, and sure to rise in the coming week, the RPI could keep them on the bubble for a top-eight seed, the coveted spot that assures a team of regional and super-regional host berths.

The Big 12 Tournament will be weighed in the seeding process as well, but for now, the Cowgirls aren’t sweating the seed talk.

“To me, personally, I don’t really give a dang,” OSU sophomore right fielder Lexi McDonald said. “We’re gonna go wherever the crap they put us and we’re gonna go beat the heck out of whoever we play. We have each other’s back.

“After this weekend especially, if we get to host supers, awesome. If not, awesome. We’re gonna go play and go have fun.”

Big 12 softball tournament schedule​

Here's the full Big 12 softball tournament bracket with schedules for each game:

Wednesday, May 8​

All times Central.

• Game 1: No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Houston, 5 p.m.
• Game 2: No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 9 Iowa State, 8:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 9​

• Game 3: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 BYU, 11 a.m.
• Game 4: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. Winner of Game 1,1:30 p.m.
• Game 5: No. 1 Texas vs. Winner of Game 2, 5 p.m.
• Game 6: No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 5 UCF, 7:30 p.m.

Semifinals: Friday, May 10​

• Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 5 p.m.
• Game 8: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 7:30 p.m.

Championship: Saturday, May 11​

• Game 9: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 6:30 p.m.

https://popup.taboola.com/

Is anyone going?

My family is making the trip over…

Looks like some rain midday.

Be curious if they push the start for the one o’clock or if they move indoors. We have friends that are in
OKC for girls state that are trying to make it in time for the scheduled o’clock OSU Fairfield match at 4.

If anyone one hears or bnows if that first match starts on time Please post?

I know it's not fair, and I'm trying to follow @woodlandpoke's advice of "trust the coaches/give it time," but I'm unrealistically impatient! It makes it worse that BG and JS have already committed elsewhere--not just that we lost them (I get it--bags of $$ for Garrison at the 11th hour and whatever was on Small's mind to leave), but the fact that other schools are signing high-impact guys while we're getting role players so far just compounds the concern over lack of commits. I know there's a reference made in another thread about "Lutz is taking his time to find guys that will buy into his defensive-minded, high commitment" mindset, which I definitely admire.

However...

For those of us who are ridiculously checking this board and/or pressing F5 multiple times a day hoping to see "New Commit" news about a guy who averaged 17 ppg, shoots 44% from 3--is there at least a timeline to expect when some of these kinds of high caliber guys will commit? Will we just not hear squat until it happens? Will we hear "so-and-so visited; will decide by X date" at least?

I'm not bitching about Lutz or his strategy, nor am I complaining about any specific posters on the board---I admit I'm just starved (like we all are) for some positive, hopeful information to make me think our climb out of this miserable basketball cellar will begin next season.

My wife loves baseball and my mother loves to go to Stillwater.

Anyone have 4 tickets available on the 3rd base side that can't go? I would be happy to take them off your hands.

This was ole miss today

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Hopefully avoid the sweep today and get a little mojo back. Assuming Benge on the bump since we havent seen him this weekend. Whorns should be throwing a RHP so probably have Crull in RF, or at least in the lineup. Game at 1:00 on LHN.

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Regardless of what you think about O'Keefe, his reporting, his tactics or anything else the one thing he exposes in all of his reports is the sheer stupidity and arrogance of those working in government. Bunch of damn horn dogs exposing government business in an effort to impress the journalist enough to get them in the sack.

Long but interesting

Big day at Disch-Falk. Need this one to keep the series in play. Holiday needs to be tough and we need to do a better job with RISP. Game at 2:30 on the MF LHN.

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Haff visited officially this past weekend...

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A former US Army official told Sky News on Thursday that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is purportedly using Israeli hostages as human shields to safeguard himself and his family.

General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army, cited insider sources suggesting that Sinwar has approximately 15 to 20 hostages surrounding him and his family in Gaza.

David Wurmser, a former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, said about Sinwar’s use of hostages that "the holding of hostages – since he values their lives nil – is nothing more than, say, a soldier taking cover behind a tree or rock when under heavy fire. It is not cowardice, but an intelligent and primordial impulse. He has no more empathy for a hostage than a soldier does for the rock. Indeed, the same with the ‘innocent’ Palestinian civilians."
"All is part of a very sober and rational strategy. And given the amount he has taken control of Israeli and U.S. policy with hostages and human shields, it’s a very rational strategy," Wurmser added. "We consider it cruel – but that requires empathy, which he is devoid of, and immoral, but that implies that advancing Islam at all costs is the ultimate morality and the filter for determining whether an action is moral or not."

After doing some research I decided to pull the trigger and invest in Bitcoin about a month ago. I have made about 45% on my original investment. I also invested in Ethereum because I felt that it had support from its proprietary block chain technology that is used for digital transactions. I have made about 30% on that investment. I know there is a much larger risk with Bitcoin, but it has a massive potential upside. I think since banks and exchanges like JP Morgan and PayPal etc. have put some major skin in the game it is on its way to becoming a value store hedge against inflation like gold. I think the biggest risk to ROI for Bitcoin is what the Biden administration treasury will do with regulation of digital currency exchanges.

Anyone else invested in digital currencies?? See any other bullish or bearish tendencies for digital currency?

The Globalists have been marching forward with their Authoritarian governance expansion.

Good synopsis of Authoritarian expansion by country and region.

KM: The moment she realizes she is the heel and the joke is on her




The Traitor Gets Blasted

How will OU softball respond to first Bedlam series loss since 1997? 'Need to punch back'​

Ryan Aber
The Oklahoman

NORMAN — OU softball coach Patty Gasso insists it’s no time to panic.

But after Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Oklahoma State in Love’s Field, the Sooners’ second consecutive loss to their Bedlam rival and their sixth loss of the season, the sense of urgency is clearly ramped up.

“We’re just not playing complete games,” Gasso said. “We get out early and then we just don’t — there’s places in the game where the pitchers are very, very good and then it’ll collapse. Our defense can do the same at times. Our offense is going the same. There’s shining lights and then it just fades and we’re just not playing complete games. We’ve got to clean it up.”

Time to do that is drawing to an end, though, as the regular season concludes with Sunday’s 3 p.m. series finale.

Yet Gasso remains confident it will happen.

“You’ll never see this team quit,” Gasso said. “... Sometimes it just takes time and when it breaks open, it’s going to flood. I mean we are going to go off on that. But right now we’re just in that space and we’re facing good pitching.”

In the first two games of the series, the Sooners have left 16 runners on base.

“I think just trusting each other,” Alynah Torres said of the belief that the bats would ignite once again. “I think we put the work in. I don’t think it’s anything physical with us. I think it’s just all mental and when it opens, it’s physical. But I just think we need to grind. We need to punch back. I feel like we need to start just passing the bat and not putting too much pressure on each other.”

The Sooners are just 8 of 51 (.157) at the plate in the series, and just 3 of 26 (.115) with runners on base, including 1 of 12 Saturday.

“Just remember who we are,” Brito said of how OU can turn things around at the plate.. “I’ll keep it short.”

The fade happened quickly Saturday.

The Sooners (45-6, 21-5 Big 12) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth and Gasso elected to stick with Nicole May, who had been excellent to that point.

But Claire Timm blasted a homer to right on the first pitch of the sixth to tie it and then Micaela Wark made it back-to-back homers, driving May from the game.

Three batters later, Kelly Maxwell gave up a three-run homer to Jilyen Poullard to make it 6-2.

“It’s not just on the pitchers. It’s not just on the hitters,” Gasso said. “We’re all taking accountability.”

The loss was OU’s first home series loss since 2006 and their first home series loss to the Cowgirls since 1993.


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Here are two other takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:

Big 12 race coming down to the wire​

OSU kept its hopes for a Big 12 title alive with the win.

The Cowgirls (44-8, 21-5 Big 12) moved into a tie with the Sooners for second place in the league, one game behind Texas.

If OSU wins Sunday’s series finale and Texas loses at Texas Tech, OSU would be the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.


The loss brings OU to the brink of being eliminated in the Big 12 race after winning the last 11 regular-season conference titles.

The Sooners need a win and a Texas loss to earn a share of the title, though the Longhorns would be the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

With a loss Sunday, OU would be the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

The entire front page of the sports section today was Kenny G and it was related to this article​

​

What's ahead for Oklahoma State softball with next year's Big 12 turnover?​

Scott Wright
The Oklahoman

Kenny Gajewski is a college softball poll voter this season, so the Oklahoma State coach has been keeping a closer-than-usual eye on programs from around the country.

And part of that includes Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, the trio of teams that a year from now will be OSU’s Big 12 counterparts.

With the final games of the regular season this weekend, and the Big 12 Tournament set for this week at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, the end of the conference’s current setup is near.

OU and Texas are nearly out the door on their way to the Southeastern Conference, and three new softball teams (Colorado doesn’t play softball) will be joining Big 12 country.

While the league is losing two power programs — the OU juggernaut and a Texas program that has been a reliably strong program in recent years — Gajewski likes what he sees in the Big 12’s future.



“It’s gonna be a good conference,” Gajewski said. “I’m excited about what those teams are going to bring.”

For Gajewski’s Cowgirl squad, the real excitement is in the potential to ascend the Big 12 softball throne.

Though OSU has been ranked behind Texas much of this season, the Cowgirls have mostly been in control of the series over the last five years — with one notable exception, at the Women’s College World Series two years ago when the Longhorns pulled off a pair of victories to eliminate OSU and advance to the championship series.

No one in the country has proven they can consistently compete with the current OU dynasty, though the armor has taken a few dents this year.

So, how will the Big 12 softball landscape change with the looming program turnover? Let’s take a look:

WCWS presence​

When you take OU and Texas out of the equation, the Big 12 presence in OKC is all on the Cowgirls’ shoulders.

OSU and OU are the only programs in the country to have made the last four WCWS fields.

Aside from OU, OSU and Texas, only one other current Big 12 team has made multiple WCWS appearances since 2005: Baylor with three.

But Baylor’s last appearance was 2017. All three of the newcomers have at least one trip since then, with longtime power Arizona reaching three of the last four WCWS brackets.

Arizona State was last there in 2018. Now 13 years removed from the last of their two national titles, the Sun Devils are a program in disarray, but have the support system to recover.


Arizona dipped off the map last year, but has resurfaced as former star Caitlin Lowe gets her footing in her third year as coach after replacing the legendary Mike Candrea.

Utah made its first WCWS trip in nearly three decades last year, and is looking to build consistency.

So, while a couple of big brand names are going out the door, the replacements carry some potency, too.

Building up the Big 12​

Another valuable factor of the three newcomers to Big 12 softball is those programs’ understanding of playing at the major-conference level.

They’ve experienced the rigors of rising to the elite level of college softball, and won’t be trying to build their programs beyond what they’ve experienced before — instead, only trying to replicate it in a new league.

That’s different from the three additions to the Big 12 for the 2023-24 season: Houston, Central Florida and BYU.

Those programs came from the mid-major level, so the challenges of joining a power league like the Big 12 was daunting enough.

But to help the league, those programs will need to step up their scheduling.

Only Baylor and Texas rank in the top 10 nationally in strength of schedule among current Big 12 members. Strength of schedule is a significant component in the Ratings Percentage Index, which heavily impacts NCAA Tournament seeding.

And it’s not simply the talent of the teams you play. The RPI also weighs the strength of the teams your opponents play. That factor has dragged down some Big 12 teams in the RPI this season.

The Cowgirls have been hovering just outside the top 10 in RPI, not strictly because of what they’ve done on the field, but also because of who their opponents have played, Gajewski says.

“I look at RPI, and what we’ve got to do is make sure everyone is scheduling good,” Gajewski said. “That’s where we’re hurting a little bit. Playing teams in the 200-plus range is a bad combo. And we’ve got some teams in our league that are still playing a lot of those games. As we know, in the RPI, it’s who you play and who your opponents play.

“One thing that (OU coach Patty Gasso) told me from Day 1, and one of the things I learned from (Florida coach Tim Walton) as well is go schedule. Go play teams. We just need everybody to be on the same page. I like where the league’s gonna go. I do. I think it’s gonna be good.”

Mussatto: How Kenny Gajewski built an Oklahoma State softball program unafraid of Sooners​

Joe Mussatto
The Oklahoman

NORMAN — Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski pointed his thumb behind his right shoulder toward OU’s home dugout.

“I’m very clear when I recruit,” Gajewski said. “I’m looking for kids that have the guts to beat them. Because that’s the standard at this point. That’s what I’m in search of.

“If that doesn’t interest you, or that scares you, this is the wrong place.”

Gajewski has himself a squad. These Cowgirls aren’t afraid of the Sooners.

The Cowgirls (44-8, 21-5 Big 12) took a series from the Sooners (45-6, 21-5 Big 12) for the first time since 1997, and OSU has positioned itself for a sweep Sunday.

OU still rules the sport as the three-time defending champs, but the gulf between the Sooners and everybody else, between the Sooners and Cowgirls, is narrowing.

OU, in looking mortal, has taken a step back this season. Meanwhile, OSU has taken a step forward.

“I’ve been thinking the gap’s been shrinking, but until you come here and beat them you can’t really do much,” Gajewski said. “You’ve gotta lick your wounds and go on. The idea now is to come win tomorrow. That’s how you really turn the tide, right?”

This might not be Gajewski’s best team, the Cowgirls have made four straight trips to the Women’s College World Series, after all. But this might be his toughest.

Ivy Rosenberry’s four innings of one-run ball was emblematic of that. Rosenberry is pitching through pain, Gajewski said, and “she made hitters over there look bad today. Her stuff is that good.”

Lexi Kilfoyl earned the win in relief by blanking the Sooners over the final three innings.

Jilyen Poullard, Caroline Wang, Claire Timm and Micaela Wark all went deep. OSU’s four home runs accounted for all six of its runs batted in.

With power pitching and power hitting, OSU beat OU the way OU has beaten everyone in the country for much of Patty Gasso’s tenure. Gasso, by the way, is now 74-16 in Bedlam, a mere .822 winning percentage.

But the 2024 Cowgirls don’t seem haunted by Bedlams past.

And why should they?

Rosenberry and Kilfoyl? Transfers from Virginia Tech and Alabama. Poullard? A McNeese State transfer. Wang transferred from Liberty and Wark from Kansas. All are in either their first or second seasons at OSU.

OSU’s roster is filled with players who haven’t been beaten down by the big, bad Sooners.

“It’s exciting what this program is becoming,” Gajewski said. “It’s tough. And that’s what we’ve needed to become to be able to beat a program like OU.”


“They’re bullies here, man,” Gajewski added. “That’s what they do. They’ve earned that. You have to learn how to get punched and punch back.”

The Cowgirls are tough enough to throw and absorb haymakers, and they have fun doing it.

If Wang gets to 21 home runs, she hit No. 18 Saturday, Gajewski vowed to shave his beard down to a mustache.

“Kind of want her there, but I don’t,” Gajewski said.

Gajewski had his own fun, hitting a celebratory dab dance move after the game.

“I got swag,” Gajewski said.

Just like his team.