Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias wins OKC-based Warren Spahn Award
Dodgers' Urias named Spahn winner
Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers was named the 2021 Warren Spahn Award winner. The award, which is presented in Oklahoma City, goes to the top left-handed pitcher for the season.
The Spahn Award is based on a pitcher's wins, strikeouts and earned run average. Urias was 20-3 this past season with 195 strikeouts and 2.96 ERA.
Urias is not stranger to Oklahoma City. He played parts of four seasons for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, before making Los Angeles' roster for good. He will be honored at a banquet in Oklahoma City at a later date.
MLB takes players off team websites
Major League Baseball officially locked out its players as the league and its players union failed to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, leading to the sport's first work stoppage since 1994-95.
MLB seemingly extended that lockout to anyone who wants to consume content on its team websites as well.
There are currently no headshots of players on any of the 30 websites that the league operates. There have also been some stories and content that have disappeared from the sites as well.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed Thursday that the website changes were for legal reasons involving player likeness.
DODGERS: Los Angeles is bringing back free agent Chris Taylor, agreeing with the versatile All-Star on a $60 million, four-year deal Wednesday night that includes a club option. Taylor, who played in Oklahoma City in 2016, was an All-Star for the first time in 2021, when he hit .254 with 20 homers and set career highs with 92 runs and 73 RBIs.
TWINS: Minnesota signed right-hander Dylan Bundy to a $5 million, one-year contract on Wednesday, taking their first step toward rebuilding a depleted rotation. The former Owasso High School star went 2-9 with a 6.06 ERA in 90 2/3 innings last season for the Los Angeles Angels.
Casady to apply for OSSAA membership
Casady might soon join the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.
On Wednesday, Casady's board of trustees authorized the school to apply to the OSSAA for membership and to negotiate an agreement with the Southwest Preparatory Conference to allow the northwest Oklahoma City private school to remain an SPC member for field hockey and boys volleyball.
The OSSAA doesn't offer field hockey or boys volleyball.
Casady has been a part of the SPC for 68 years, but it's the only school outside of Texas in the 18-member conference.
Casady expects to have its application completed by the end of January, in time for the February OSSAA board of directors meeting.
If approved, Casady would begin OSSAA competition in the 2023-24 school year, and football would begin OSSAA play the following year. The next two years, Casady's football team is playing an independent football schedule and will compete against mainly Oklahoma schools.
"I am grateful for the many memories we have enjoyed and created while in the SPC and am excited about a future within the OSSAA," Casady's head of school, Nathan L. Sheldon, said in a release. "We believe this new conference affiliation will support the majority of our students and will strategically support our Athletic Pillars of Character, Community, Sportsmanship, Development, and Wellness."
Back in 2015, Tulsa Holland Hall left the SPC and joined the OSSAA.
Casady plays many OSSAA opponents during its non-conference schedule. For example, in football, Casady and Crossings Christian played earlier this year. But for conference play, Casady takes bus trips to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and sometimes even Houston.
If Casady were to join the OSSAA, travel would be significantly reduced and costs associated with that would drop drastically. Joining the OSSAA would also allow Casady athletes to earn All-State honors and participate in the All-State competitions each July.
To join the OSSAA, the board of directors would have to approve Casady's application and then classify them, where they would likely fit in Class 3A or Class 2A.
OSU releases softball schedule
Oklahoma State announced its 2022 softball schedule, and the Cowgirls will play 29 games against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last spring.
OSU, which reached the Women's College World Series this past season, will open the schedule on Feb. 10-12 in Tempe, Arizona, where it will play host Arizona State, Duke, Utah, California Baptist and Missouri State.
The first home games in Stillwater are March 4-6; Stanford, DePaul and Minnesota will play in the OSU/Tulsa Invitational. Bedlam against defending WCWS champ Oklahoma is scheduled May 6-8 in Norman.
Extra points
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez announced Thursday that he will enter the transfer portal. ...
Steve Addazio’s time as Colorado State football coach is done after 16 games. The Rams were 4-12 in two seasons under Addazio. ...
Notre Dame is working on a deal to promote defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach to replace Brian Kelly.
NFL: The NFL suspended three players, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown, on Thursday for violating COVID-19 protocols. Brown, Bucs teammate Mike Edwards and free agent John Franklin III are ineligible to play the next three weeks and won't be paid during that period. The Tampa Bay Times reported last month that Brown obtained a fake vaccination card to bypass the NFL's virus protocols.
WRESTLING: The junior boys and 14-under girls National Duals will be held June 14-18, 2002, at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa. The tournaments will have some of the top high school boys and girls wresters in the country.
MEDIA: NBC is in negotiations with former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Cris Collinsworth on contract that would pay him about $12.5 million per season to keep him as its lead "Sunday Night Football" analyst into 2025.
Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias wins OKC-based Warren Spahn Award
