The most-anticipated college tennis match ever in Tucson was a hot ticket, so much so they had to print out more just to accommodate all the people who wanted to watch Arizona try and make history on Saturday afternoon.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Fair announces 2025 concert lineup, from Black Stone Cherry to Joe Nichols
See the best moments from the Oklahoma State Fair 2024 in OKC
One of the state’s biggest annual events, the 2024 Oklahoma State Fair continues through Sept. 22 at the OKC Fairgrounds.
The Oklahoma State Fair is about three and a half months away, but live music fans can go ahead and mark their calendars, since the event’s organizers have announced this year’s eclectic concert lineup.
One of the state’s largest yearly events, the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair is set for Sept. 11-21 at the OKC Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd.
This year’s fair will spotlight rock ‘n’ roll bands, country music artists, contemporary Christian hitmakers, R&B groups, tribute bands and more on its Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage.
Admission to the nightly concerts is free with outside gate admission to the fair.
The 2025 Oklahoma State Fair concert lineup on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage is:
- 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11: Joe Nichols, the country singer known for hits like “Gimme That Girl” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” returns to the Oklahoma State Fair.
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12: Sister Sledge, the Philadelphia sibling group of Debbie, Joni, Kathy and Kim Sledge, entered the cultural consciousness with their 1979 worldwide hit and iconic album “We Are Family.”
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13: Black Stone Cherry with The Kentucky Headhunters, two rock bands from the Bluegrass State, are heading this fall to the Oklahoma State Fair.
- 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14: ZZ-KC is based in Kansas City and tours the country paying tribute to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top.
- 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15: Josiah Queen, the “I am Barabbas” hitmaker who was named one of Amazon’s Breakthrough Artists to Watch for 2024, just wrapped his first headline tour as a contemporary Christian recording artist.
- 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone will bring their 1960s hits like “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” and “I’m into Something Good” to OKC.
- 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept: 17: Shawn Klush – Tribute to Elvis returns to the Oklahoma State Fair with the addition of a horn section to add to the authenticity and excitement of his homage to The King.
- 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18: Drew Baldridge, a country singer-songwriter hailing from Patoka, Illinois, has scored hit singles with “Dance with Ya” and “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.”
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19: Hairball, a tribute band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025 by performing classics by KISS, Van Halen, Queen and more, complete with pyrotechnics, costume changes and theatrical flair.
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20: Stephen Pearcy the Voice of RATT with Quiet Riot brings together the frontman for glam metal band behind the 1980s hits “Round and Round” and “Lay It Down” with the Los Angeles quartet known as the first heavy metal band to top Billboard charts.
- 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21: Los Herederos de Nuevo Leon, a regional Mexican band specializing in norteño music, returns to close out the Oklahoma State Fair, which traditionally reserves the final concert slot on its Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage for a Spanish-language act with appeal for a multi-generational Latino audience.
“I have been buying talent for the Oklahoma State Fair for quite some time, and I can honestly say this is one of the strongest lineups I can remember,” fair spokesman Scott Munz said in an email to The Oklahoman.
“Without hesitation, there is truly something for every musical taste during the 11 days of the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair.”
Along with the concerts on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage, the Oklahoma State Fair will feature a diverse lineup of Oklahoma performers from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily at The Bandshell.
For more information on the concerts, carnival rides, food vendors, performances and other attractions at the 2025 Oklahoma State Fair, go to https://okstatefair.com.
And after more than three hours, the Wildcats finally broke through.
Arizona rallied from down 3-1 to beat Oklahoma 4-3 in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Sweet 16 at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. The 8th-seeded Wildcats (24-4) will face top-seeded Wake Forest, the defending NCAA champions, in the quarterfinals Thursday in Athens, Ga.
Arizona had lost in its previous four Sweet 16 appearances, including three in a row, but this was the first time it got to host.
But with temperatures nearing triple digits, the UA found itself in a position where it needed to win every remaining singles match. No. 9 Oklahoma (20-7) had taken the doubles point and won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, with Arizona’s lone win to that point by sophomore Glib Sekachov (6-2, 6-2) at No. 5 singles.
“We got down 3-1 and I think the guys just said, you know what? This is destiny,” UA coach Clancy Shields said. “It’s supposed to happen this year. We’ve been to the Sweet 16, but we haven’t gotten any further. You saw how the guys buckled down to make it.”
Arizona began to turn a corner when it won first-set tiebreakers in two of three matches, including senior Jay Friend 8-6 at No. 1 singles after being down a break to Oklahoma’s Luis Alvarez. Junior Sasha Rozin started the comeback at No. 3 singles, winning 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4).
Friend lost his second set 7-5, and freshman Alejandro Arcilo did the same 6-4 at No. 6 singles after winning the first 6-4. Arcilo then fell down a break before going on a tear, winning the last three games to take the third set 6-4 and even the match at 3.
After a brief celebration, the entire UA team—and the crowd of 500-plus—migrated around Court 1 for the deciding set between Friends and Alvarez.
“He’s been in that situation so many times, and he looked cool as a cucumber, and I think everybody knew when it came down to his court … we might as well start booking tickets,” Shields said. “He’s not gonna lose that match.”
Friend made quick work of his opponent, winning 6-0 and finishing with an ace.
“I just entered a flow state that I’ve never been in before,” said Friend, the winningest singles player in school history. “The guys kept telling me it’s never going to come down to you because I play too fast, but it did. And I’ve been in this position before, and the last time I lost 7-6 in the third so obviously I was fighting those demons a little bit, but the guys did their job, and that took so much pressure off me, and then 6-0 in the third set to clinch. That’s crazy.”
The remainder of the NCAA Tournament will be held at the Dan Magill Tennis Center in Athens, with quarterfinals Thursday, semifinals on May 16 and the championship May 17. At No. 8, Arizona has the second-lowest seed remaining behind No. 10 Baylor.
“Now we’re really dangerous,” Shields said. “This is a team that has accomplished their main goal, and now they’re hunting for something else, and they’re playing free, and we’re gonna play free down there in Athens. I think our team’s gonna have the most fun, and they’re playing with the least amount of pressure. And that’s a dangerous squad. And I think our team also knows how good we are.”
Oklahoma’s early exit at the SEC Tournament opened the door for UCLA to take the lead in the home run race.
Kendall Wells, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Year on Friday for her outstanding 2026 season, went 0-for-3 with a walk in Thursday’s defeat to Georgia, meaning she enters the NCAA Tournament sitting on 36 home runs.
She’s no longer chasing former Arizona star Laura Espinoza, however.
UCLA slugger Megan Grant hit home runs on Friday and Saturday to equal and surpass the record set by Espinoza in 1995.
Grant broke the record in the top of the third inning in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game. She hammered the 0-2 delivery from former OU pitcher Jordy Frahm for home run No. 38.
The solo shot put the Bruins up 2-0, but Frahm and the Cornhuskers roared back to win the game 7-2.
Wells still has the entire NCAA Tournament to chase down and pass Grant. Her next home run will tie Espinoza’s mark of 37 long balls.
It wouldn’t be the first time things have shifted in this massive 2026 home run race, either.
OU was the first team to catch and surpass the 161 home runs hit by the 2021 Sooners.
UCLA’s run at the Big Ten Tournament flipped the race.
The Bruins homered four times against Penn State on Thursday and four times on Friday against Wisconsin before Grant’s record-breaking blast on Saturday.
As a result, UCLA will enter the NCAA Tournament having hit 182 home runs to Oklahoma’s 174 home runs, and the Sooners have played one additional game.
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Both teams a virtually guaranteed to be hosting regionals when the full NCAA Tournament field is revealed on Sunday evening.
Despite the loss to Georgia, Oklahoma is in strong position to earn a top four seed in the tournament. Patty Gasso’s team enters the tournament 48-8 overall, including a 20-4 mark in SEC play during the regular season, which clinched the program’s second-straight regular season crown.
Should the Sooners advance out of the first weekend of the tournament, they are also projected to host a Super Regional at Love’s Field.
UCLA finished the weekend 47-8 overall following their run at the Big Ten Tournament, and the Bruins went 20-4 in league play during the regular season.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on ESPN2 on Sunday at 6 p.m.
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OKLAHOMA CITY –
Tensions over changes to transportation between the Oklahoma County Detention Center and courthouse reached a peak during a special meeting of the jail’s governing trust on Friday.
Early in April, Sheriff Tommie Johnson III announced he would no longer task any of his own deputies with driving inmates and detainees the half-mile route from the jail to their court hearings, effective May 11. However, from May 11 through June 30, Johnson’s plan included keeping some deputies on the assignment to train and work alongside the jail’s own detention officers.
Along the way, other members of the jail trust have expressed some concerns about the trust’s ability to fully assume the transportation duties.
Oklahoma County’s district attorney, chief public defender, and presiding judge all made rare appearances at the trust meeting on Friday to share some of their own thoughts.
“I want you to consider this decision on whether or not the detention center should take over transport of detainees from the jail to the courthouse, because there is no plan,” District Attorney Vicki Behenna told the trust. “There are no employees at the detention center right now that can fulfill this obligation.”
Behenna also cited concerns that the already understaffed jail would face a worsening staffing situation if it has to pull some of its existing detention officers to provide transportation.
“In my opinion, and the opinion of other lawyers in my office, the indenture requires the Sheriff’s department to do transport,” she added, referencing the indenture which created and assigned control of jail operations to the trust in 2020.
Sheriff Tommie Johnson III cited his own budget concerns as a reason to discontinue the transportation service. His office believes it needs roughly 17 to 19 more deputies inside the courthouse for court security, and it could begin by reassigning
Presiding District Court Judge Sheila Stinson shared her own remarks with the trust, stating that this week alone, three judges had faced death threats. Johnson said his ambition is to have a deputy in every courtroom.
Ultimately, Behenna suggested the trust should not accept the end of the contract and that the sheriff has a duty to continue providing the service, regardless of if the sheriff is paid for the service.
In response, Sheriff Johnson accused the district attorney of being misleading.
“Considering the gross amount of misrepresentation in this section, and relative ease to obtain the correct information, I must assume — I must assume — that this was intentionally misstated to persuade this body to make an ill-informed decision to further the DA’s agenda,” he said.
The district attorney and sheriff eventually got into a back-and-forth.
“Sheriff Johnson, I don’t understand why you have such a visceral reaction to me,” Behenna stated. “If the DA has an agenda, my agenda is public safety.”
Tensions settled some later in the meeting, with trust members still pressed to find an alternative solution.
Trustee Derrick Scobey proposed a solution for the trust and sheriff to work together to find a private partner to operate the transportation service, rather than tasking their own in-house staff to perform the duties.
Sheriff Johnson eventually agreed that his office could help identify a private partner, but that the timeline for gradually taking his deputies out of the task would remain.
Jail administrator Tim Kimrey acknowledged that three of his detention officers would be available starting Monday to work alongside three of Johnson’s deputies to train and learn about the transportation duties while both parties work to find a private partner.
Kimrey said his office had already begun some research on private jail transportation partners, including The GEO Group, TransCor, and LaSalle Corrections.
The trust postponed officially accepting the end of the sheriff’s contract until its next meeting.
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