Counting Them Down

David Letterman still has a television show. I didn't realize this until several weeks ago when he admitted to sexual relations with a member of his staff.

This is great news. Not the cheating on his wife part, the part where he still has a job. Many older people seek employment at Wal-Mart. They excel at giving smiley-face stickers to kids and lining up shopping carts. Way to break the mold Dave!

He's delivered us one solid bit through the years. I'm going to channel my inner-Dave and deliver a Top Ten list.

Here are my Top Ten favorite things about sports in Tulsa.

10. BOK Center. Did Tulsa need the BOK Center? You will find citizens who could argue this point until the city roads are all fixed.

You cannot argue the impact. The 2010 C-USA Men's Basketball Championship is coming to Tulsa. Would this be possible without the BOK Center? Don't forget the crumbs thrown our way via the OKC Thunder preseason contest last week. Visit bokcenter.com for more information.

9. Sports Talk Radio. Not sure if sports talk radio is good or bad in T-Town. It has its moments in both categories. What cannot be denied is the fact we have every conceivable option available to us.

You want Fox Sports, ESPN Radio or Sporting News?

8. Golf. The warm, sunny days seem a distant memory. Windy, chilled mornings are now the norm. Then again, I had a neighbor who played Mohawk last year in the snow. I never said I had smart neighbors.

An airline pilot once told me Tulsa must be a great place to live. Not sure where he was going with the statement, so we pressed him. "When flying in, you see magnificent shaped courses all over town." He's got a solid point.

7. Disc Golf. Traditional golfers just tossed the paper aside in a fit of rage. How can he rank disc golf one spot ahead of ball golf?

It's easy. Disc golf is free. Free goes a long way. Who cares if the average disc golfer enjoys the occasional toke? At least they are not driving through the streets in a drunken stupor.

6. ONEOK Field. Major League Baseball's postseason is thrilling this year. A new stadium plus a solid Colorado Rockies run means the Drillers have a chance for a special year. Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.tulsadrillers.com"; www.tulsadrillers.com for ticket info.

For those non-downtown dwellers, check out oneokfield.com. You can link to a time-lapse video of the progress. This begs the question: What building do you wish you could go back and watch erected on video? An Egyptian Pyramid? The Roman Coliseum? Extended StayAmerica Tulsa?

5. Big 4. OU, OSU, TU and Arkansas. Just kidding. Those other three get plenty of man love from other sports writers.

5. Hunting/Fishing. To be honest, neither is on my radar these days. Both thrive in Green Country and plenty of Okies get down with the wildlife.

4. Poker Tournaments. The fascination with televised poker seems to be waning. TV execs could not keep up with the demand several years ago. We witnessed celebrity poker challenges and all kinds of contrived garbage.

This doesn't mean it isn't popular on the local level. Many casinos still draw big crowds for Texas Hold'em tournaments. You know what is underrated about poker? Walking by a table in a dark room and seeing the players with sunglasses on. Never gets old.

3. Mixed Martial Arts. Ha! You knew it was coming. We have two high-caliber promoters in T-Town bringing the hits: Freestyle Cage Fighting and X-treme Fighting League. Strikeforce even blessed our city with a live Showtime card several weeks ago.

They deliver exciting fight cards and MMA stars to T-Town. In recent months we've seen Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira walk our streets. This past weekend Strikeforce and FCF phenom Miesha Tate was in town for a submission wrestling seminar at LA Boxing.

Tate will be back in January to defend her FCF 135-pound women's title. Guys will flock to the event. She's dangerous in the cage and her looks are killer.

2. Southern Hills Country Club. We covered golf already but Southern Hills deserves its own ranking. The south Tulsa course lured several major championships over the years. Where else could we catch Tiger Woods in his prime fist-pump to victory?

1. Variety. Check out the above listings. A nice mixture of sports, right? I have not even listed individual organizations vying for our entertainment dollar throughout the year.

In random order: The Talons, 66ers, Oilers, Drillers, Golden Hurricane (football and basketball), Golden Eagles basketball, Tulsa Tough, Rampage, motor cross, bull riding, Ultimate Frisbee, horse racing, rowing, skate boarding, water sports, soccer, high school athletics and running.

I'm sure I left one or two off the list, but you get the idea. We live in a diverse sport's city.

Perhaps the list would have been better if you let a celebrity read it out loud. That's all Letterman has on me these days. Oh, and members of my office will not be asked to drop their World Wide Pants.