Judge Stephen Friot on Monday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction sought by the five inmates. “The Supreme Court has made it clear that the state’s interest in timely enforcement of its judgments cannot be ignored,” Friot said, according to The Oklahoman. The state is set to carry out its first execution in over six years this week. John Marion Grant, who was among the five inmates seeking a stay, is scheduled to receive the lethal injection on Thursday for the 1998 killing of prison worker Gay Carter....

The Sooners star pretty much clears an almost-standing cornerback. MORE: Sorority girl channels Barry Sanders | Gallery | LSU paving the way for concussion detection Is this the same move he used to dodge Katy Perry? You be the judge.

The rest of the Big 12 Conference is now wondering what the heck to do about Oklahoma. The No. 5-ranked Sooners, coming off three consecutive Big 12 championships and two College Football Playoff appearances in three seasons, looked as formidable as ever on Saturday. MORE: Live highlights from Week 1 OU took apart a touted Florida Atlantic 63-14 in the 2018 season opener — an 11-win, Conference USA-champ, Lane Kiffin-coached FAU team that was on the canvas early and never had a chance to get up....

All these months later, Kruger doesn’t recall if there was any particular design to it. The Sooners still were playing Oral Roberts, so why not have their best player out there a little longer? MORE: Players on the fringe of All-American status So, yeah, history in sports sometimes can be a bit accidental. Through a half-dozen games, Hield was averaging 20.8 points for the Sooners and on his way to a first-team All-America-type year....

The Oklahoma quarterback was among those celebrating the Crimson Tide’s 35-13 victory over Tennessee with the traditional victory cigar. Alabama linebacker Terrell Lewis provided evidence of Hurts’ celebration on Twitter. MORE: Explaining Alabama’s cigar-smoking tradition in ‘Third Saturday in October’ Hurts has had plenty to celebrate this season, including in the Sooners’ Saturday win over West Virginia: He completed 16 of 17 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 75 yards and two more touchdowns....

Datuk Ong Kim Swee takes charge of the national U-22 squad for the first time in Monday’s training session and despite the unforgiving weather on show, the former senior team head coach knows what is required from the team. There are two important competitions coming up on the horizon - U23 Asian Cup qualifiers and South-East Asian (SEA) Games and in Ong, the team has someone with the necessary experience, having previously been in charge at the same level....

Tunsil has missed the Rebels’ first six games this year as the NCAA investigates eligibility issues related to the lineman potentially receiving improper benefits. MORE: 2016 NFL mock draft | Top 25 updates from Week 6 SEC Network reported Saturday morning that coach Hugh Freeze expects to hear something official about Tunsil next week, and the school followed up with a tweet that said that was the hope, anyway....

The Rebels head coach will receive a base salary raise from $4.3 million to $4.7 million over the next four years, the school announced Wednesday. That equates down to a $150,000 raise per year, not including incentives based off playoff rankings, APR, coaching honors, and participation in an SEC Championship or a bowl game. MORE: Five things to watch for in national title game | Ole Miss crushes OK State in Sugar Bowl...

Last Saturday, a female customer at its restaurant in Evansville, Indiana, asked for some hot water, and then took exception to the staff serving her. Amira Donahue, who was the hostess on duty, told ABC affiliate WEHT that the customer “asked for a server who wasn’t black.” “The manager complied and I do agree that was a bad decision at the moment but there was a better way that could have been handled,” she said....

Unlike Olympic softball tourneys in the past, this go-around is a bit different: With just six teams involved in the 2021 Olympic softball field, some changes had to be made to the format, and they’re simple — and welcome — changes. So instead of round-robin play and then a playoff, there is a single round-robin tournament that will ultimately decide the order of the seeds, with the top two teams vying for gold on July 27....

Sunday at Snow Basin, weather permitting, the men will tackle a 1.9 mile course known, in a rare bit of understated nomenclature, as “Grizzly.” Here’s a taste of what racers will face: Speeds of 85 mph–and that’s not in a narrow tube like in skeleton. That’s out there, on your own, unmoored, where you can head in any direction your skis take you. Like, say, into a tree. Right out of the gate is a stretch known as Ephraim’s Face, a plummeting 70-percent incline that will push racers to 75mph in just 10 seconds....

Decathlons, heptathlons, 100-meter dash, high jump, pole vault, you name it: There is no shortage of events to keep track of for the 2021 Games. Sporting News is here to make sure you know how to watch every single event, from preliminaries to qualifying, opening rounds, semifinals and finals. As in many of the events at the Olympics, several athletes from the United States are among those favored to medal, including JuVaughn Harrison in both the high jump and long jump, Rudy Winkler (men’s hammer throw), Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs (men’s shot put), Katie Nageotte (women’s pole vault) and more....

Are we ready? Is Clint ready? We’ll find out. MORE: Chase: Where they stand after Round 1 | Jeff Gordon liking new Chase | Kansas schedule Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer tweeted Wednesday that his wife, Lorra, had given birth to their first child, a boy. The baby was due five days earlier. @ClintBowyer @LorraBowyer omg!!!!! Hooray for baby….what’s his name?! I can’t wait to hear what y’all decided on!...

The National Health Commission (NHC), China’s central health authority, is tracking four major outbreaks across the country. These include Delta clusters in Xi’an and Yuzhou, in the provinces of Shaanxi and Henan, where more than 14 million residents remain under an indefinite lockdown. On Monday, the port city of Tianjin, 80 miles southeast of the Chinese capital, was put under partial lockdown over the spread of Omicron, which is thought to be many times more transmissible....

However, preliminary data currently suggest that if you were infected with Omicron’s BA.1 variant, you may have strong protection against reinfection with BA.2. A preprint study posted to medRxiv assessed 187 cases of COVID-19 between November 22, 2021, until February 11, 2022 reinfection and found 47 instances where BA.2 reinfection occurred after an initial Omicron infection. Their findings show that reinfections can still occur, but it’s relatively rare. While the study has yet to be peer-reviewed—therefore it should not be used to guide clinical practice—it demonstrates that some people who got COVID-19 in the last Omicron surge may have some protection against reinfection....

The Trump Administration sent federal agents into Portland, Oregon in July after a prolonged series of protests against racism and police brutality. Federal agents bear no identifying marks on their camouflage uniforms. Protesters have been seen being abducted and placed into unmarked vehicles. Although lawmakers have called for an end to the policing program, President Donald Trump has indicated agents may be sent into other cities. Merkley tweeted Tuesday that he wanted to end the “use of Trump’s secret police in Portland & across the country....

India’s state employees are on notice. After years of dithering about the country’s government enterprises, the five-month-old government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has unveiled a raft of privatization plans. Even Indian Airlines, the onetime monopoly airline, will be sold off. In last week’s annual budget, the government announced plans to prune its stake in most state enterprises to 26 percent or less and promised to “close down PSU’s [Public Sector Undertakings] which cannot be revived....

What Is Ondine’s Curse? Ondine’s curse—more appropriately known as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, or CCHS—is a rare, severe form of sleep apnea in which an individual completely stops breathing when falling asleep. It is always congenital, meaning that it is present from birth. There is also an acquired form of central hypoventilation syndrome that can result from brain or spinal injury or neurodegenerative diseases. Central sleep apnea is characterized by the brainstem failing to prompt normal breathing....