Ed wrote about my claim that Tisdale was the most impactful athlete in state history: “I’m not sure I agree with you that Tisdale and Kurland had the greatest impact of players on any sport in Oklahoma, though I’m not certain at this point that those were your exact parameters. I thought about it for a couple of days, and here’s what, or whom, I came up with to challenge. Billy Vessels. Yes, one player can make more difference on a basketball team than on a football team. But football remains more important in Oklahoma than basketball is. Maybe it always was. But football really took off in Bud’s day, and Billy had a lot to do with it. He played on our first national championship team, 1950. He won our first Heisman. He wowed the nation on TV, even in defeat against Notre Dame. Football became really entrenched as numero uno in state. OU started winning national titles. And OU players started winning Heismans. OU had not been a powerhouse often before Vessels, but it has been more often than not since he played. I write not against Tisdale and Kurland, but on behalf of Vessels, admittedly my favorite Sooner football player.”

I’ll stick with Kurland and Tisdale, but I’ll grant you this. The television factor is worth considering. Vessels was OU’s first TV football star, and that packs a punch.

Jason wrote about Wayman Tisdale: “I read your piece on athletes of impact in the state of Oklahoma and looked through the photos of Wayman that were on the website and was reminded of how he changed my view of Oklahoma basketball. I loved Oklahoma football and watched or listed to every game I could. But when it came to basketball, I loved the Lakers and paid little attention to the Sooners hoops team. That is until Wayman showed up. Soon my interest in pro basketball began to wane and my love for college basketball grew. Also, as a young Christian kid, I was always looking for athletes who let their faith shine in a positive manner.”

Wayman Tisdale made basketball a big deal at OU. Pure and simple.

Roger also wrote about the athlete-impact question: “The discussion most interesting to me concerned Mickey Mantle. Mickey’s success with the Yankees no doubt attracted many Oklahoma athletes to the idea of playing professional baseball – but I don’t think Mantle induced many baseball players to come to Oklahoma. In fact, outside the state of Oklahoma, I suspect that most baseball fans are no aware that Mantle was from Oklahoma. Certainly not many consider that fact important. Growing up in the late 1940s (in the city of Chicago), I was very aware that Joe DiMaggio was from San Francisco, but there was much less said about Mantle’s home state – or Ted Williams (San Diego). My best friend was a Yankee fan and Mantle was his favorite player, but I don’t think we ever discussed Mantle’s home state. Everyone knew Ty Cobb was from Georgia (the Georgia Peach) and that Babe Ruth was from Baltimore. I know Luke Appling was from Georgia. Certainly if Mantle had played for a Major League team in Oklahoma we would all be more aware of his Oklahoma roots.”

Well, first off, of course Mantle didn’t attract baseball players to Oklahoma, and that was never the issue. The issue was impact of an athlete on the state, and my point was that Mantle made a bunch of Oklahomans Yankee fans. I think that’s without question true. The Yanks had a big presence here before Mantle, because they’re the Yanks. As for where Mantle grew up, I can’t claim to know what the rest of America knew in the 1950s. But I know that New Yorkers’ image of Mantle was closely linked to his Oklahoma roots; it was part of the romantic notion of the Mick.

Jeff also wrote about Tisdale: “Great coverage on Wayman. His passing was, of course, tremendously sad and shocking. As you have artfully and accurately stated, Wayman was one of a kind. What a great ambassador and example for all of us. In December 1982, my family went to the Rainbow Classic. OU, North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona State, Virginia Tech were all entered. North Carolina beat Missouri in the finals and OU won the consolation after losing to North Carolina (a good game, by the way) in the semis. After the finals, the all-tournament team was announced. G-Jon Sundvold, G-Byron Scott, F-Michael Jordan, F-Sam Perkins, C- Steve Stipanovich. Quite an all-star team but no Wayman, no Dell Curry and no Brad Daugherty. However, the last award was for Most Outstanding Player. ‘Wayman Tisdale, freshman of Oklahoma!’ We were all thrilled.”

To quote Genesis, there were giants in the land in those days.

Steve: “Good job on the coverage on Mr. Tisdale’s passing. Very touching. To me he seemed like a great, great guy. And God blessed him with other talents as well. Out of the spotlight, was he pretty much the same kind of guy?”

Yes, Tisdale seemed to be, though that’s the thing. He so rarely was out of the spotlight.

Roadrunner wrote that my column about Tisdale’s impact was “on target. I graduated OU in 1956. Your analogy about basketball and wrestling was correct. While at OU I went to all wrestling matches. It helped that we had a very good team. After graduating and living in OKC, I never attended an OU basketball game, but I would drive to Norman for wrestling matches. That changed when Wayman came to OU. The whole attitude of the crowd changed, including me. If memory serves, OU gave a scholarship to brother William and a job to his father. I guess that is the price of recruiting. Kansas did likewise when it got Danny Manning.”

Well, OU did indeed give William Tisdale a basketball scholarship the year before; William was a good high school player at Tulsa Washington, though probably not Big Eight caliber. But there was no job for the Rev. Louis Tisdale. He was needed elsewhere, pastoring the Friendship Church.

On to other topics. Mike wrote about the Justin Chaisson case: “As you will recall, in 2008 a black high school football player named Josh Jarboe was recruited by Stoops. At the time, Jarboe already had two misdemeanor convictions. One was for receiving stolen property and the other for carrying a gun onto his school campus. Later Jarboe made a vulgar gangsta video of himself talking about guns and shooting people. He put it online at youtube. For this he was kicked off the team. Justin Chaisson is white and was recruited by Stoops in 2009. In contrast to Jarboe, he is guilty of a violent crime. He forced his ex-girlfriend into a car, punched her, assaulted her with a screwdriver and threatened to kill her. As of this moment (May 21, 2009) Chaisson has not been kicked off the team. Is racism a factor?”

Let’s see. Jarboe had two convictions, one for a gun offense on school grounds, and Stoops still brought him to campus. Sounds more like reverse racism, should Stoops decide to pull Chaisson’s scholarship.

Bob: “The experts are saying that a college football team can’t win the national championship without an experienced offensive line. Check out USC in 2004 (a team OU fans are all too familiar with). I believe their offensive line was pretty inexperienced that year. As a matter of fact, that USC had several other similarities to this year’s OU team – outstanding QB, dual threats at running back, new wide receiver core, talented tight ends, talented D-line, experienced linebackers. Just a thought.”

OK, I’ll bite. I looked it up. And you know what? Bob is exactly right. The 2004 Trojans started an offensive line in the Orange Bowl that entered the season with a combined seven starts. Left tackle Sam Baker and left guard Jeff Byers were freshmen. Center Ryan Kalil had been a backup the year before. Right guard Fred Matua made seven starts in 2003. And right tackle Taitusi Lutui was in junior college ion 2003. By comparison, OU’s expected O-line in 2009 is a bunch of graybeards.

John wrote about my ranking of the most suspenseful moments in Oklahoma sports history, off the court/field. You missed what should have been No. 1! After turning to the sports section and seeing the title of the story, I scanned the pictures and saw Randy Rutherford’s and James Dickey’s heads hung and thought to myself, huh No. 8, that story should have been much higher. After reading the caption and figuring out the picture represented the Eddie Sutton drunk driving incident, I was totally amazed that it meant the story I thought was misplaced at No. 8 didn’t even make the top 10. Without a doubt the most suspenseful story is the OSU men’s basketball plane crash. I challenge you to compare anything listed in your top 10 to the moments after hearing on the OSU postgame radio show that something may have gone wrong with one of the planes. No information was available as to if the plane crashed and if it did who was on the plane. I remember thinking to myself that we may have just lost our entire team and coaching staff. Awaiting the press conference late that night in Stillwater (either at the airport or GI Arena) created a feeling in me that I can’t really even describe.”

Oh, be assured we talked about the plane crash. But we didn’t think it belonged on this list. Ranking it alongside the NBA draft lottery or where a football recruit was going to school hardly seemed sound reasoning.

Ed wrote about my reference to silly sports jargon: “I couldn’t agree more about the ridiculous sound of ‘score the basketball.’ Perhaps it will go away, like other ridiculous expressions have. One I remember when I was living in Alabama was ‘the ball kicks off the rim and is rebounded by…’ For a while, every announcer used it. Then it disappeared and hasn’t been missed, at least by me.”

I like them all better than “good golf shot.”

John wrote about New Orleans getting the Super Bowl: “In the aftermath of Huricane Katrina, you stated that it would be a good time to lure the Hornets from New Orleans because, and I am paraphrasing, New Orleans is not ready and may never be ready to host an NBA game or a major sporting event ever again. Since then, the Saints have enjoyed two sellout seasons, the Hornets have also enjoyed an increase in ticket sales, the city has hosted several Sugar Bowls, the NCAA Championship game, an NBA All Star game and now have been awarded the 2013 Super Bowl. Would you like to retract that statement?”

Sure. New Orleans has done a terrific job getting back in the big-event business. I still don’t know about the Saints or Hornets, but the big-event business seems solid.

Tamara wrote about my height column: “My son is 6-foot-6 in his barefeet and has been since he was 15 years old. When he was playing basketball in high school, his coach tried to get him to list his height as 6-8, saying that all basketball players exaggerate. I was surprised, but after reading your article, I guess he was right. My son was honest, though. His height was always listed correctly when he had any control over it. It’s not only basketball players who fudge their height. I’ve noticed that there are many men who fudge on their height; it becomes obvious when they stand next to my son and exclaim about his height, comparing to their own height. When he was 14 and was 6-4, we made a trip out of state to visit relatives. My niece’s boyfriend and my brother-in-law both have always said they were 6-4, but they were obviously several inches shorter than him (they said I had to have made a mistake in measuring him). I suggested they measure him themselves, but they changed the subject.”

Funny, funny stuff. But I think I’m going to pass on trying to come up with a witty comeback.