A bill has been filed to rename 2 different bridges and one roadway in Oklahoma after the late, great country music icon, Toby Keith.
According to KSWO-TV, Republican Oklahoma State Senator Lisa Standridge has filed Senate Bill 1475, which would name the bridge over Interstate 35 and Indian Hills Road in Norman, Oklahoma the “Toby Keith Memorial Bridge.”
It would also change the name to Toby Keith Memorial Interchange should a new bridge or interchange be built at the same location later. Adding this to the bill makes sure that the namesake will always stick, no matter what future construction projects might occur there.
The bill also seeks to name a potential future spur from Indian Hills Road to I-35 to connect to Interstate 44 the “Toby Keith Parkway.”
Here is where I get extra excited. If a plan that has been spoken about already in the past comes to fruition, which is to build a bridge over the Canadian River from the above mentioned potential spur, that would be named the “Should’ve Been a Cowboy Bridge,” after Keith’s first major hit.
What City Was Toby Keith Born?
Toby Keith was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, which is about 120 miles from the location of the bridge that could be renamed in his honor.
Senate Bill 1475 also looks to create some sort of method for Oklahomans to contribute to the creation of artwork, like graffiti and such, on any new bridge or interchange on the potential Toby Keith Parkway.
That could get a little squirrelly though. If you remember Jason Aldean‘s hometown mural in Macon, Georgia, that did not go as planned.
The bill also states that Keith’s family would additionally have the ability to commission artwork to honor his legacy.
Let’s take a look back at some Iconic Keith songs.
Toby Keith’s 25 Best Songs Prove He’s a Country Icon
Toby Keith reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart 20 times during his 30-plus year career, but some of this best songs were deep cuts.
Here are his greatest hits — the top songs from 19 studio albums and beyond.
Toby Keith died on Feb. 5, 2024 after a two-year battle with stomach cancer.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
22 Photos of Toby Keith Young
Toby Keith was one of the most influential artists in country music history, with a career spanning from the mid 1990s all the way until his death in 2024. Let’s take a walk back in time and see pictures of Toby Keith young.
Brooke Pryor is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. She previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and the University of Oklahoma for The Oklahoman.
PITTSBURGH — As Cameron Heyward crossed the gold end zone and headed for the home tunnel after warmups Sunday night in Week 18, a handful of former Pittsburgh Steelers waited for him.
One by one, they enveloped the 36-year-old defensive tackle in back-thumping hugs as he waded through the crowd of well-wishers.
Among the throng of Steelers alumni were former defensive end Brett Keisel and former running back Jerome Bettis, two of the franchise’s all-time greats with three Super Bowl trophies, four AFC championships, 19 playoff wins and numerous individual accolades between them.
With his lengthy list of individual accolades, including a second-team AP All-Pro nod for the 2025 season, Heyward is already a future franchise legend. But sitting at the dais after clinching the AFC North a week ago, Heyward admitted he was jealous of those former Steelers.
It’s why he spurned the divisional championship garb, instead placing the hat on the table in front of him after helping the Steelers to their ninth playoff berth in his 15-year career.
“I wasn’t putting on the hat for a reason,” Heyward said. “I want a different hat.
“… I’ve been instilled by a lot of great players here. I learned from a lot of just special players, Troy [Polamalu], Brett [Keisel], Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, shoot, guys I didn’t even play with like Joey Porter. They’ve all been in my ear. And even when I didn’t want to hear it, they were honest with me. … I’m just honestly jealous of them. They have something that I don’t have, and when they all come back for their reunions, I want to be able to have some hardware one day.”
With a 1-8 playoff record since being drafted No. 31 in 2011, Heyward understands the franchise’s playoff futility better than most of his teammates. It’s why, as happy as he was to punch a ticket to the postseason with the wild Week 18 win against the Baltimore Ravens, he is far from satisfied.
He didn’t come this far just to come this far. Neither did coach Mike Tomlin.
For the 53-year-old head coach and his longest-tenured player, beating the No. 5 seed Houston Texans on Monday night (8:15 ET, ABC/ESPN) to finally win a playoff game might not satisfy an increasingly restless fanbase with sky-high expectations, but it would stop a painful skid, solidify Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh and be the first step in returning to a standard the franchise hasn’t upheld in nearly a decade.
“We’re AFC North champions,” Tomlin said after the Week 18 win. “And that sounds good, and it feels good. But we didn’t come here for that. We came here for what lies ahead.”
Nearly a decade has passed since a Tomlin-coached Steelers team advanced past the first weekend of the playoffs. The Steelers’ last postseason victory came in the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs in January 2017 after Pittsburgh beat the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card game. A week later, the Steelers were blown out against the New England Patriots in the AFC title game 36-17.
Tomlin’s teams haven’t won a playoff game in eight seasons. No coach in franchise history has gone nine seasons without a postseason victory. Ahead of Monday’s game, Tomlin acknowledged that the playoff-win drought wasn’t a burden this year’s team should carry.
“Quite frankly, most of these men don’t care about the last whatever years that you mentioned,” Tomlin said. “Most of them are new to us. And so that’s where my focus is. I’m certainly not going to unpack my bags on the collective’s bed, if you will. I’m excited about doing it, doing it this week with this collective.”
Heyward’s last playoff win is even more distant than the team’s last postseason victory. Injured before the 2016 postseason, Heyward was sidelined during the Steelers’ wins against the Chiefs and Dolphins. The last — and only — time he played in a postseason victory was an 18-16 win against the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card round Jan. 9, 2016. He recorded a sack and four quarterback hits in that win. The Steelers lost 23-16 a week later to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round.
And though Heyward, Tomlin and the few others who’ve been around for the bulk of the Steelers’ postseason losing streak insist it doesn’t matter to the current locker room, younger players have been vocal that they want to win for guys like Heyward, one of Pittsburgh’s four captains this season. “It’s one thing to want to do it for yourself, but when you get that connection, that brotherhood that we’ve developed throughout the years, it’s way better when you fight for somebody else — and that guy deserves a lot,” third-year defensive lineman Keeanu Benton said of Heyward. “So, I’m going to give it all I got, and I feel like our defense and offense, and our team feels the same way.”
But if the 2025 Steelers feel the weight of their franchise’s near-decade stretch of playoff futility, they haven’t shown it in the week leading up to Monday night’s wild-card meeting with the Texans.
Instead, the locker room inside the Steelers’ practice facility has been loose and full of energy.
A miniature basketball hoop on the side of quarterback Will Howard‘s locker has been a hotspot of increasingly boisterous activity. Since the hoop went up four weeks ago, singular shotmaking competitions have turned into rowdy games of knockout as the mini basketballs multiplied, and a yellow-taped free throw line appeared on the black carpet.
Other games have sprung up around the locker room this week, too, as some gathered to shoot dice before the team walk-through and others roughhoused after practice.
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Tomlin to Eisen: We’re excited to have DK Metcalf back
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin joins Rich Eisen and talks about what DK Metcalf’s absence meant for the team.
At Aaron Rodgers‘ direction during Friday’s practice, the quarterbacks and running backs hoisted assistant equipment manager Kyle Powers onto their shoulders and chanted, “Rudy! Rudy!” to celebrate Powers’ birthday.
But don’t mistake the looseness — at least by players’ perspectives — for being unfocused or unprepared.
“It’s important that when the game’s on the line, and there’s big-play opportunities, that you’re looking at the guy in the eyes who you’ve gone through a lot with, whether that’s just hanging out in the cafeteria for breakfast club or that’s shooting basketball hoops or whatever it is,” said T.J. Watt, who hasn’t won a playoff game since he was selected No. 30 in the 2017 NFL draft.
“We have guys that genuinely hang out inside and outside of the building. We work out together, we do everything together. It’s been a real treat to see us grow together. And when we’re in those tough situations, nobody’s blinking, nobody’s nervous or panicking. We just have confidence in each other.”
The vibe shift of the locker room didn’t just happen in the week between the regular and postseason. Instead, running back Kenneth Gainwell said he has noticed it building over the past six weeks as the team rebounded from a 6-6 record and rallied after fans called for Tomlin to be fired during the Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“The offense started picking it up,” Gainwell said. “Defense started picking it up, so we knew we had to do it. Just getting into the playoffs made everybody smile.”
Perhaps, then, it’s not a coincidence that the Steelers finished the last stretch of the season 4-1.
“To me, I think if you’re uptight, your team can make mistakes,” said Gainwell, the team’s 2025 MVP who also won last year’s Super Bowl as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. “You don’t want to make mistakes. You want to be free. You want to go out there and have fun. That would come with the game. I’m happy to see everybody around here with high energy. It just shows that we’re willing to go out there and get a win and do what we have to do, small things.”
Smiles are nice, but they’re not enough. Not for Tomlin, not for Heyward, not for a franchise with six Super Bowls — the last one in 2008.
As the organization nears 15 years since its last Super Bowl appearance — coincidentally a loss to a Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers team — and 17 years since the franchise won its sixth Lombardi Trophy, fan unrest has seemingly never been higher.
Prominent former players like 2008 Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison have publicly speculated that it might be time for Tomlin to move on. And yet, with Tomlin still under contract through at least the 2026 season with a club option decision for 2027 due in March, there is nothing to suggest that the organization with just three head coaches since 1969 will break from precedent and move on from its head coach, no matter how loud the outside noise gets. If Tomlin isn’t on the sideline in Pittsburgh next season, it will seemingly be of his own volition.
Like his head coach, Rodgers also seemingly controls his destiny. Though he told “The Pat McAfee Show” in June that he was “pretty sure” the 2025 season would be his last after signing a one-year, $13.65 million contract with the Steelers, Rodgers recently didn’t rule out playing another season.
“I’m thinking about this week, but obviously, I’m 42 years old, and I’m on a one-year deal,” he said Dec. 31. “So, you know what the situation is. Whenever the season ends, I’ll be a free agent. So, that’ll give me a lot of options if I still want to play. I mean, not a lot of options, but there’ll be options, I would think, maybe one or two, if I decide I still want to play.”
Rodgers’ last playoff appearance was a 13-10 wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January 2022, and his overall playoff record (12-10) is better than that of his head coach (8-11). Rodgers’ last playoff win came in January 2021 with a 32-18 win against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round.
But before the Steelers can dream of more or the franchise’s focal figures consider their futures, they have to survive Monday night and advance to a place few of them have been.
“The main focus is trying to win a game,” Heyward said. “Can’t control what’s happened in the past. My goal is to try to win the game now. And that’s all we can control. I think worrying about what’s happened in the past doesn’t do anybody any good. But we got to play our best ball now.”
A guard at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in the mountain resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo died during a frigid overnight shift, authorities confirmed on Saturday.Italy’s Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old worker’s death.Italian media reported that the death occurred on Thursday while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortina’s ice arena. Temperatures that night plunged to 10.4 degrees.Milan Cortina organizers said that the worker died of a heart attack.“The information we have is that it was a death by natural causes, it was a heart attack. And we are investigating,” Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, told reporters at a test event at the new hockey arena in Milan.“All the documentation that we have was in order. And we are waiting for the investigation to understand what the specific cause was. At the moment, the information we have from the emergency services is it was a death caused by natural causes … while he was on site,” Varnier said.The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 6-22.The construction site was not one overseen by Simico, the governmental company responsible for Olympic infrastructure, the company said in a statement expressing its condolences.Cortina city officials said they were “deeply saddened and troubled by the death.’’Cortina will host curling, sliding and women’s Alpine skiing.
MILAN —
A guard at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in the mountain resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo died during a frigid overnight shift, authorities confirmed on Saturday.
Italy’s Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old worker’s death.
Italian media reported that the death occurred on Thursday while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortina’s ice arena. Temperatures that night plunged to 10.4 degrees.
Milan Cortina organizers said that the worker died of a heart attack.
“The information we have is that it was a death by natural causes, it was a heart attack. And we are investigating,” Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, told reporters at a test event at the new hockey arena in Milan.
“All the documentation that we have was in order. And we are waiting for the investigation to understand what the specific cause was. At the moment, the information we have from the emergency services is it was a death caused by natural causes … while he was on site,” Varnier said.
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 6-22.
The construction site was not one overseen by Simico, the governmental company responsible for Olympic infrastructure, the company said in a statement expressing its condolences.
Cortina city officials said they were “deeply saddened and troubled by the death.’’
Cortina will host curling, sliding and women’s Alpine skiing.
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The couple already have two daughters, so they thought having a son would be a similar parenting experience and they both would continue agreeing on parenting philosophies. But, as the “‘Till You Can’t” singer hilariously tells me on Taste of Country Nights, that hasn’t turned out to be the case.
In comparing their two parenting styles, Johnson said when his son cries he tells him, “Toughen up son, you’ll be fine. Jesus, it’s just a binky.”
Whereas Johnson’s wife, he says “is the exact opposite.” She tells Johnson “‘Don’t be so mean to him.'” To which Johnson responds, “I’m like ‘He’s fine, he’s grown already.'”
Let me remind you that the kid is not grown already. He is fresh out of the womb.
How Old Are Cody Johnson’s Children?
Cody Johnson has 3 children, 2 daughters and a son. Clara Mae (10), Cori (8) and Jaycee (3 months.)
Johnson describes the love he has for his son as a “different kind of love” than the one he shares with his daughters.
“My girls, when they were little they would cry and I would be like. ‘Oh come here baby, it’s okay, it’s okay,'” he says, complete with dramatic reenactment.
That is a far cry from telling his 3 month-old son to toughen up when he misses his binky. You can tell already that Johnson’s son is going to be tough as nails, just like his daddy — a force to be reckoned with in the near future for sure.
Want more of Johnson? Check out this curated playlist we made just for you of all of his fan-favorites.
Top 20 Cody Johnson Songs Adored by COJO Nation
Cody Johnson has a way of captivating his fans with his heartfelt delivery and powerful, rugged vocals. His ability to get a crowd fired up and also draw them in for a sentimental ballad is unmatched. Although most know him for his hits “Human” and “‘Til You Can’t,” Johnson has been rocking the stage for quite some time. Let’s take a look at his Top 20 songs.
30 Outlaw Country Songs That Define The Movement
With its roots in the ’60s and the honky-tonk style forged by Hank Williams, outlaw country music began to snowball in the ’70s as more and more artists bristled against the genre’s commercialism, social conventions and the slick and shiny “Nashville Sound.”
Though some artists like Johnny Paycheck and David Allan Coe had served jail time before their success, the “outlaw” label applied more broadly to those artists who rejected the status quo in Nashville. Many of the definitive songs of the movement speak directly to that rebellion, while others simply embody an artist-driven, independent musical vision that sidestepped Nashville’s country hit formula of the day.
Keep reading for a round-up of 30 songs that define the outlaw country movement.
The fifth-seeded Houston Texans face the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers in the final matchup of 2026 Wild Card Weekend on ‘Monday Night Football.’ Houston is coming off a 38-30 Week 18 win over the Indianapolis Colts, while Pittsburgh held off Baltimore 26-24. The Texans (12-5), who finished second in the AFC South, are 5-3 on the road this season. The Steelers (10-7), the champions of the AFC North, are 6-3 on their home field. Both teams enter at virtually full strength, and the Steelers got some recent reinforcements as DK Metcalf is returning from a suspension and TJ Watt (lung) returned in Week 18.
Kickoff from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. Houston is a 3-point favorite in the latest Steelers vs. Texans odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 38.5 via DraftKings Sportsbook. Before making any Texans vs. Steelers picks, check out the NFL predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters the 2026 NFL playoffs on a 53-37 run on top-rated picks dating back to 2024. Anybody following its NFL betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns.
Third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud powers the Houston offense. In 14 games this season, he has completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,041 yards and 19 touchdowns with eight interceptions and a 92.9 rating. He has also rushed 48 times for 209 yards (4.4 average) and one touchdowns. In a 40-20 win over Arizona on Dec. 14, he completed 22 of 29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
One of his top targets is fifth-year wide receiver Nico Collins. In 15 games, he has 71 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. He has 18 explosive plays of 20 or more yards, including a long of 57, with 324 yards after the catch and 48 first-down conversions. In a 20-10 win over Kansas City on Dec. 7, he caught four passes for 121 yards, including a long of 53. See which team to back at SportsLine.
Why the Steelers can cover
Veteran quarterback and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers leads the Pittsburgh attack. In 16 games this season, he has completed 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions and a 94.8 rating. He has also rushed for one score. In the Week 18 win over Baltimore, Rodgers completed 31 of 47 passes for 294 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed once for 20 yards.
Metcalf will be back and gives Rodgers more options. In 15 games this season, Metcalf has 59 receptions for 850 yards (14.4 average) and six touchdowns. He has had 15 explosive plays of 20 yards or more, including a long of 80, with 414 yards after the catch and 37 first-down conversions. In a 27-22 win at Baltimore on Dec. 7, he had seven receptions for 148 yards, including a long of 52. See which team to back at SportsLine.
How to make Texans vs. Steelers picks
SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total, projecting 41 combined points. It also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
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I’ll say the hard thing nobody wants to admit: Creating “great content” isn’t enough; it’s time for a change. And that change starts with multi-channel content distribution.
