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
Weigh in: Readers respond with post-election priorities ― both state and national
Last week we asked readers to weigh in after the Nov. 5 election and offer their thoughts on what should come next.
President-elect Donald Trump is already busy naming members of his Cabinet and developing plans for when he takes office in January. The Oklahoma Legislature will be back in session in February.
On the national level, we asked about expectations for a second Trump presidency? What challenges should the president and Congress put first on their priority list?
On the state level, we asked for reader thoughts about more tax cuts, more money appropriated to improve prison conditions, provide more support for health and mental health care agencies and improve public schools.
Here are some of the comments we received:
What Trump should do
You asked what President Trump and the new congress should prioritize. Here is my list:
1. Close the border, we can’t afford massive immigration
2 .Drill, make the U.S. energy independent again and export oil
3. Strangle Iran financially
4. Stop massive spending that caused inflation
5. Back Israel with all they need to defeat Iranian proxies.
That’s enough though I could go on.
―Richard Perkins, Bethany
More money to improve highways
If 100% of state gasoline tax went to highways we could have better and possibly some new roads instead of being held hostage by the turnpike authority. Another thought would be to eliminate ODOT and hire a decent company to run the highway department. Maybe then every project would not end up with a bottleneck.
―Ken Seibel, Oklahoma City
Eliminate food insecurity
Oklahoma is one of the hungriest states in the nation. We need solutions! Food insecurity in Oklahoma affects all types of citizens: children, seniors, rural communities, and people living in food deserts. This is an important issue, as food insecurity can directly correlate to increased health issues costing our local economy money. Children suffer in school by not being able to focus due to hunger, and lack of economic growth in certain geographic locations. It is believed that Oklahomans facing food insecurity are needing more than $470 million in resources.
I spent two years working at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma in the childhood hunger programs. I have seen firsthand the impact that after school and summer feeding programs can benefit not only children but their families. Families shared that it was a stress relief knowing their child was being fed a healthy, nutritious meal and not have to worry where dinner was coming from. I have also seen firsthand how the rules and regulations set into place by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), the governing agencies of said programs, have limited who can participate, leaving out hungry Oklahomans.
Oklahomans deserve better. We must do better! I believe we need to gain support from OSDE to show Governor Stitt the importance of summer feeding programs and the need for Oklahoma to opt-in to the federal Summer EBT (electronic benefit transfer) program. The program would allow eligible households to receive up to $40 per summer month per eligible child. Oklahoma has two food banks in the state, so I believe they also need to lobby and advocate for the program so Governor Stitt has no choice but to opt-in. In July 2024, Gov. Stitt stated he did not opt-in to the program due to not having enough information on it and already giving $20 million in state money to local food banks. I believe if Gov. Stitt met with these families or came to these programs and saw firsthand how it impacts families, he would have to say yes to the program.
Being a social worker means we advocate for all our clients. Social workers see firsthand the impact that food insecurity can have on other aspects of life: work, school, and health. If social workers continue to advocate for a better Oklahoma, we will see a better tomorrow.
―Bethany McGarry, Edmond
Thoughts on the election
Nationally:
For me the top priority was the economy. Lower inflation and trying to bring down current prices. Does no good to lower inflation and keep current elevated grocery (and everything else) prices.
Woman for President: I have fought the “glass ceiling” for my whole career. Nothing would please me more than to vote for a strong, intelligent, capable, politically moderate woman for president. Sadly, the two candidates we have had come nowhere near an acceptable candidate given my criteria.
Goal for Trump in my view should be to help people manage by stopping people and drugs at the border, improving the economy for all and improving our defense against China, Russia and Iran.
Oklahoma:
I voted Democratic for state offices because the Republicans have turned on women and are too far right for my taste.
Goals for our state government should be to stop making hundreds of new laws each year, enforce the ones we have, trust and let women make their own decisions, keep church and state separated and IMPROVE public school education in this state. I realize that here with such a far-right Legislature, these goals will be hard to reach. But I can hope.
―Suzanne M. Rogers, Edmond
We’d welcome more of your thoughts. Send your commentary to yourviews@oklahoman.com. Please include your name and hometown.
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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