Oklahoma State football notebook: 'In Case of Emergency' QB?

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.

Gina Mizell joined The Oklahoman in August of 2011 as the Oklahoma State beat writer, where she covered the Cowboys' historic run to the Big 12 championship and Fiesta Bowl in her first season on the job.

Before arriving in Stillwater, Gina was the Padres' Associate Reporter for MLB.com and a sports reporter/columnist at the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Best of the West journalism contest, the Arizona Newspapers Association and the Association for Women in Sports Media.

Gina is a Phoenix native and graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in 2010.