Oklahoma State football notebook: Clint Chelf will start at QB against Purdue

John Helsley grew up in Del City, reading all the newspapers and sports magazines he could get his hands on. And Saturday afternoons, when the Major League Game of the Week was on, he'd keep a scorecard for the game. So the sports appeal was was deep-rooted at an early age.

Mrs. Jackson, an English/Journalism teacher at Del City High, plucked him for the school paper, The Eagle Beacon, and John was hooked. While he detoured through a brief accounting career, John returned to college (Central Oklahoma) for a second degree and a second career that has seen him cover everything from the preps to the pros at The Oklahoman.

John lives in Edmond with his wife Roberta and two daughters, Sarah and Jillian, who are keeping the family tradition of cheering for the baseball team with the birds on the bat.

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist.

Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City Times, the Norman Transcript and the Oklahoma Journal — and entered the newspaper business at the age of 17, with the Transcript in 1978. His first game assignment was the Lexington-Elmore City high school football game, and he has enjoyed the journey ever since, from high school wrestling duals and regional track meets to Orange Bowls and the NBA playoffs.

Tramel was born and raised in Norman, Okla. He and his wife, Tricia, were married in 1980 and live in Norman near their daughter, son-in-law and three granddaughters.

A lifelong resident of the Oklahoma City metro area, Scott Wright has been on The Oklahoman staff since 2005, covering a little bit of everything on the state's sports scene.

He has been a beat writer for football and basketball at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, writing about athletes like Blake Griffin, Sam Bradford, Adrian Peterson, Dez Bryant and Brandon Pettigrew before they moved on to outstanding professional careers.

He also has covered small college athletics, minor league sports and NASCAR. Currently, he specializes in high school sports, football and basketball recruiting, and coverage of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.