Oklahoma

Valentine’s Day in Oklahoma City: LGBTQ+ friendly date spots

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2024

Oklahoma isn’t known for being a queer-friendly state, especially considering the influx of anti-LGBTQ+ bills the state saw during the 2023 legislative session.

Still, Oklahoma City is home to many queer-owned restaurants, providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ community members to dine.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, here are some queer-owned, queer-friendly restaurants to take your partner during the holiday of love.

HumanKind Hospitality

HumanKind Hospitality Services is a partially queer-owned collection of independent bars and restaurants in Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District. With options ranging from pizza, brunch and Mexican food, here are queer-friendly restaurants from HumanKind Hospitality:

OSO Paseo

Located at 603 NW 28th St., OSO Paseo is a destination taco shop and tiki bar. The restaurant is the perfect queer-friendly date spot if you and your valentine are looking for open-faced tacos and cocktails served in whole coconuts.

FRIDA Southwest and The Daley

FRIDA Southwest is a new American and Southwestern restaurant located at 500 NW 28th St. With dinner and brunch options, the restaurant also features a whisky bar and lounge called The Daley.

Picasso Cafe and The Other Room

Picasso Cafe, located at 3009 Paseo St., is a queer-owned restaurant featuring new American-style food and more than 20 vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. Located next door is its laid-back bar called The Other Room.

Sauced on Paseo

Looking for coffee and pizza in one location? Sauced on Paseo, located at 2912 Paseo Dr., has the best of both worlds.

84 Hospitality

84 Hospitality Group is a queer-owned restaurant group that describes itself as “a group of passionate young people hell-bent on furthering the social dining/late-night food scene.” Whether you’re looking for ramen, pizza or a burger, this restaurant group has you covered:

Empire Slice House

Empire Slice House is a pizza restaurant and bar featuring dozens of pizzas, beer, wine and cocktails. It’s Oklahoma City location is at 1804 NW 16th St. It also has locations at 15 W 1st St. in Edmond, and at 417 N Main St. in Tulsa.

Goro Ramen

Goro Ramen, located at 3000 Paseo St., is a contemporary Japanese noodle house and bar.

Burger Punk

Burger Punk is a punk-themed burger restaurant and bar with two locations in Oklahoma City, one at 3012 N Walker Ave., and another at 915 Britton Rd.

Remix Ramen

Located at 23 W 1st St, Suite 120 in Edmond, Remix Ramen puts a modern spin on classic Japanese cuisine.

OKC’s ‘Gayborhood’

Looking for a queer-friendly place to stay with your partner on Valentine’s Day? Or maybe just a nightcap? OKC’s 39th Street District is the city’s LGBTQ+ epicenter, featuring 45 locally-owned businesses.

Apothecary 39

Apothecary 39, located at 2125 NW 39th St., is a laid-back lounge with vintage and contemporary cocktails, beer and wine.

The District Hotel

The District Hotel, formerly known as Habana Inn, is a dynamic LGBTQ+ hotel and club experience. The hotel is located at 2200 NW 40th St.

Indigo Lounge

Located at 2215 NW 39th St., Indigo Lounge is a family-owned bar and lounge that welcomes all members of the LGBTQ+ community.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys play in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Published

2 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys play in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-0) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3)

Oklahoma City; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Sooners are 6-3 in non-conference play. Oklahoma is 1-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Cowboys are 9-0 in non-conference play. Oklahoma State ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 16.9 assists per game led by Jaylen Curry averaging 5.1.

Oklahoma averages 84.7 points, 8.3 more per game than the 76.4 Oklahoma State gives up. Oklahoma State scores 16.3 more points per game (91.3) than Oklahoma gives up to opponents (75.0).

TOP PERFORMERS: Nijel Pack is scoring 17.2 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Sooners. Tae Davis is averaging 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 53.3%.

Vyctorius Miller is averaging 15.9 points for the Cowboys. Parsa Fallah is averaging 14.6 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

Published

14 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

The Oklahoma Sooners are trying to finish the 2025 college football season with a championship run that begins with a first-round playoff matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 19 in Norman. After a 10-2 season, the Sooners found out during the SEC schedule reveal when they’ll play their 2026 opponents.

New to the SEC schedule this year is a nine-game conference slate. Also, Oklahoma will begin at least a four-year stretch with permanent rivals Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.

The Sooners open the season with nonconference matchups against UTEP, Michigan, and New Mexico. Michigan will be breaking in a new head coach after the surprising dismissal of Sherrone Moore.

Oklahoma will go on the road for their first conference game, taking on the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 26. That marks the first time the Sooners will play in Athens for the first time in the history of the program. The Bulldogs own the only win in the series, which came in the infamous 2017 Rose Bowl. If the Sooners were to play the Dawgs in the 2025 College Football Playoff, it would come in the national championship game.

After the trip to Georgia, Oklahoma will have its only bye week of the season before facing the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Sooners will return home to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 17. Kentucky will have a first-time head coach in Will Stein, leading the Wildcats to Norman for the first time since 1980.

Then, Oklahoma will go to Starkville to take on former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 before closing the month welcoming another former assistant in Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 31.

Then begins the month that will decide the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fates. They’ll open November with a road trip to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators on Nov. 7. The last time the Sooners took on the Gators, Oklahoma earned a 55-20 win in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.

The Sooners will then return home on Nov. 14 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Norman for the second year in a row. Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the Rebels at the end of October, but that gave way to a magical November run that catapulted the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.

After the Rebels come to town, the Sooners will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 21. Texas A&M hasn’t been to Norman since a 41-25 win by Oklahoma. Landry Jones threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bell ran for two scores out of the Belldozer package.

The Sooners will then close the season on the road against the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 8 and Big 12 foes have split their two contests as members of the SEC, each team winning at home. Oklahoma owns a decisive 68-25-5 record over the Tigers dating back to 1902.

There will be big expectations for the Sooners coming off of a 10-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth. They’ll bring back a lot of talent from this year’s roster, but 2026 will provide new challenges.

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Schedule

Sept. 5 vs. UT-El Paso Miners in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 12 at Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sept. 19 vs. New Mexico Lobos in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 26 at Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia
Oct. 3 BYE WEEK
Oct. 10 vs. Texas Longhorns in Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
Oct. 17 vs. Kentucky Wildcats in Norman, Okla.
Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina Gamecocks in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 7 at Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
Nov. 14 vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 21 vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 28 at Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’

NORMAN — To say that Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell has become a legitimate weapon for the College Football Playoff-bound Sooners would be putting it lightly.

The Sooners’ dynamite placekicker has already wrapped up First Team All-SEC honors and Special Teams Player of the Year in the conference.

Now, Sandell hopes to check a few more boxes off his wish list as early as Friday.

“It’s what me in eighth grade dreamed of in high school,” Sandell said on Wednesday when asked about the season he’s had. “These are all things you think about when you’re lying in bed, like, this is really happening. This is something that you work for, and it’s just such a blessing.”

Sandell is 23-of-24 on field goals this season — hitting 23 in a row since he missed his first kick of the season against Michigan. Not only is this consistency a school record at OU, but it’s a single-season record in the SEC as well.

Sandell has had a busy week already. He’s been jetting around the country doing community events for the Lou Groza Award — the coveted trophy that goes the the nation’s best kicker every season. He will find out Friday night if he will take the award home during the Home Depot College Football Awards show (ESPN, 6 p.m.).

Should Sandell win, he will become the first Sooner kicker to win the award.

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“That’d be great, but it’s not in my hands,” Sandell said. “That’s not what I set out to win this season; it’s just to win games and make kicks, and that’s just a byproduct of our work. If that happens, that’s great.”

Sandell is up for the award against Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa and Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr. Each kicker has their résumé that demands respect, yet it appears that Sandell is the favorite to win.

The University of Texas-San Antonio transfer did it in big moments in ballyhooed environments. Sandell’s four field goals, where he made three 50-plus yarders — 55, 51 and 55 — was a Neyland Stadium record So was the distance. Oklahoma’s “Red November” run, in large part, was aided by Sandell’s big leg.

“My swing is my swing,” Sandell said. “I’m not going to try to be somebody I’m not or swing like I’m not. I’m not going to swing out of my shoes. I’m going to give myself the best opportunity to make the kick as possible, and if it goes in, great. If it’s not, then it is what it is.”

“Another guy that’s a team guy, hasn’t flinched,” said head coach Brent Venables. “He’s been Boomer Sooner since the moment he signed his contract. And then he’s been just a stud when it comes to leading and just being a really good teammate.”

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Humble he may be, but the Groza Award would be a cherry on top for any college kicker. Still, Sandell’s main focus is on Oklahoma’s rematch with Alabama on Dec. 19.

And yet, Oklahoma’s placekicker is not short on confidence — in himself, or his team.

“For us, it’s not about who we play,” Sandell said. “If we play our brand of football, we can compete with anybody in the country.”

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