The Oklahoma softball team opens their 2012 season Friday at the Sportco kickoff classic in Las Vegas.

Last season marked the first time the Sooners had made it to the Women’s College World Series since 2004, completing last season with a 49-19 overall record.

Head coach Patty Gasso expects this season to be much bigger than the last:

You can see that in their focus and their practice and training, They are serious. For the first time in a long time everyone of them is on the same page. That’s pretty cool from a coach’s point of view. There’s something special going on here.

OU starts the 2012 season with a No. 5 National ranking, with 3 players on the roster who played internationally during the off-season and 2 returning All-Americans. Most notably,  pitcher Keilani Ricketts, who has made the All-American team twice now. Ricketts holds the OU record for single-season strikeouts, has started 42 games and went 29-15 with a 1.48 ERA. She was also named to the 2012 U.S. Women’s National Team.

The Sooners open the tournament against Cal State Bakersfield, who was picked to place 5th in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference for 2012. After CSU Bakersfield, the Sooners will take on UNLV, Weber State and Kent State before heading to Auburn to compete in the ACC/Big XII/SEC Softball challenge.

The game against CSU Bakersfield is scheduled for a 11:15 opening pitch on Friday. To view the entire schedule, click here.

The Sooners first home game is March 2, against LSU.

These are never fun stories to write about, but former Sooner WR Adron Tennell turned himself over to the Irving, Texas police department on counts of sexual misconduct with a 16 year-old student at Irving High School.

Tennell in the 2009 Red River game against Texas

Tennell has been substituting at Irving High since 2010, and was also a student there before getting a football scholarship to the University of Oklahoma in 2005.

Authorities are saying that there is no other student involved but the 16 year-old in question, Tennell is 24. He also passed all background tests before the Irving School district hired him.

While Tennell was a Sooner:

2006
Played in 12 games as a true freshman … caught one pass for 11 yards against Middle Tennessee and another for 15 against Nebraska.

2007
Suffered a torn ACL at Texas Tech and missed the remainder of the season and the subsequent spring drills … All-Big 12 Academic Second Team … played backup to Malcolm Kelly … season- and career-high three catches for 35 yards against North Texas in season opener. Caught one pass for career-long 61 yards and a touchdown against Miami; also caught a pass against Baylor.

2008
Equaled a career high with three catches in season opener against Chattanooga … also recorded two tackles on the season.

2009
Caught first touchdown of the season and second of his career with a three-yard strike against Baylor … had career high in receptions (6) along with third career receiving TD vs. Kansas … collected career-high 76 receiving yards against Texas A&M … first career multi-touchdown game (2) against Texas A&M.

He is suspended from any substituting duties until the investigation is over.

He is also still currently listed on the roster of the Spokane Shock, in the AFL.

Pack the Place Pink pic via SoonerSports.com

It’s Pack The Place Pink time again in Norman, Oklahoma.

What exactly is Pack The Place Pink?

Women’s college basketball has started to raise the initiative of women’s cancer awareness by online auctions and Oklahoma has been a part of it for the last six years.

All proceeds from the online auction will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. You may bid on the items here.

Auction items you can bid on from the University of Oklahoma include:

A 2011 Pack the Place Pink framed collage of the starting five and arena photo, signed by Coach Coale, depicting player action shots and the Lloyd Noble Center crowd.

A sideline team shoe canvas print from the 2011Pack the Place Pink game, autographed by Coach Coale.

A team photo canvas print of the 2010-11 Sooners wearing the pink uniforms.

Two (2) 2012 OU women’s basketball pink replica game jerseys signed by Coach Coale and the team.

One pair of pink Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoes signed by Coach Coale and the team.

One pair of pink Nike Hyperenforcer basketball shoes signed by Coach Coale and the team.

An assortment of Nike/Kay Yow T-Shirts signed by Coach Coale and the team.

The 2012 Nike game ball, featuring the Kay Yow Cancer Fund logo, signed by Coach Coale and the entire Oklahoma women’s basketball team.

The Lady Sooners will take on No. 3 UConn on Pack The Place Pink Night, February 13th at 8:00 PM at the Lloyd Noble Center.

To learn more about the amazing Kay Yow find, please check out the website: KayYow Cancer Fund.

Men and Womens Sooner Basketball are both in Norman on Saturday.

The Women are hosting Bedlam with a Noon Tip off.

The Womens game features:

• Saturday is Military Appreciation Day and OU will honor each branch of the service during pre-game festivities.
• Limited-edtion Sooner hats designed by OU head coach Sherri Coale will be distributed to the first 1,000 through the Lloyd Noble Center doors when they open at 10:30 a.m. in recognition of I Love Hoops weekend.
• Foam fingers availble for OU students in the student section seats.
• Halftime will feature a performance by Evolution of Dance creator Judson Lappily.

The men are taking on Iowa State with a tip of 5:05.

Special events for the mens game includes:

Tickets are available for $10, $30 and $40 at the OU Athletics Ticket Office and online here.  Lloyd Noble Center’s north and east ticket windows will open at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
• OU students may purchase a ticket for $5.

GIVEAWAYS
• Caps designed and signed by head coach Lon Kruger for the first 1,000 fans
• Foam fingers for OU students

PREGAME EVENT
• World-renowned BMX rider Mat Hoffman will sign autographs from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Clinton Lounge (upper east concourse)

HALFTIME EVENT
• Mat Hoffman BMX Stunt Team performance

Get out to Lloyd Noble today and support Sooner Hoops if you are in or around the Norman area today.

Godby HS TE Laith Harlow

After a long day of waiting patiently by the computer, paying attention to every last tweet, text and update from the University of Oklahoma, signing day came to a close.

Oklahoma ended up with 26 commits spread out in 11 different states. Six of the commits are JUCO transfers, the other nineteen are high school athletes, that will be making the trek to Norman during the Summer.

You may be looking at this and saying, didn’t she say 26… 6 JUCO’s and 19 HS players do not equal 26.

Let me introduce you to Laith Harlow.

Harlow, a TE out of Tallahassee, FL has been a long time commit of the Sooners. Rumors starting rolling that the reason that Harlow’s LOI was so late coming in yesterday was because they were discussing the possibility of a medical hardship. The medical hardship would not count against scholarships Oklahoma receives a year, which is 85. Though it would immediately take away his eligibility.

His LOI was faxed into to Norman, but his name was not on the official release from the school later on during the day. Stoops was also very careful to skirt the Harlow issue during his press conference yesterday.

Harlow is overcoming an extremely severe back injury, and had to have surgery. Some are saying that he will never play football again. By Stoops not pulling his scholarship offer, he would be allowing Harlow to attend the University of Oklahoma, still on scholarship and still able to be a member of the Sooner family.

Bob Stoops could have pulled the kids scholly, not have to worry about filing a medical hardship and get on with his day. Instead he is still giving the kid a chance. Pretty classy move considering that most head coaches would have just turned their head and forgotten about it.

He picked Oklahoma over Alabama last May, and I’m not sure he would be in the same situation if he would have rolled with the Tide.

Good luck to Harlow, and hopefully we will have good news of a recovery process soon.

It’s Christmas in February! Today is National Signing Day and the commits are rolling in this morning.

Check out what who has pledged to the crimson and cream so far today:

Ride Schooner,