Four weeks ago I wrote a column listing 12 interviews I would love to conduct. Not the short five-minute kind, but a legitimate two-hour sit-down where I could have an actual back-and-forth conversation with the subjects.

I wouldn’t necessarily even be taking notes for a story. I just wanted to pick their brains and see what they had to say.

The only guidelines were that they have to be people I have actually seen in person. Some may know me personally, while others may not have any idea who I am. Others I may have covered as a sports journalist, others I may have watched as a fan. And some are just people I’ve run across during by 45 years in the sports biz.

The first list included the likes of the Mannings, Dale Murphy, Jack Nicklaus, John McEnroe, and the combination of Rafael Palmeiro and Will Clark.

This week I will list another dozen potential interviews, but these will have a different twist: They will all be in pairs. Some will be people you have heard of, and others may leave you scratching your head. All good interviews don’t come from superstars; in fact, those behind the scenes often share the best stories.

These are not in any particular order, but all would be more than just a little interesting.

—Bobby Thigpen and Jeff Brantley. They were two of the “other guys’ on the 1985 Mississippi State baseball team that many claim to be the best in the school’s history. Brantley delivered one of the gutsiest performances I’ve ever seen on the mound during the College World Series in Omaha, while Thigpen starred as both a right fielder and reliever and went on to set an American League record for saves in a season as a member of the Chicago White Sox.

—Michael Phelps and Eddie Archie. They were basketball arch-rivals in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Phelps played for Vicksburg High School and Archie for Jackson Callaway. They later teamed up to play for Alcorn State, leading the Braves to the NCAA tournament in 1984 and coming within a minute of knocking off the Larry Brown-coached Kansas Jayhawks.

—Jody and Twyla Hurst. In the mid-1980s they were two of the best athletes in East Mississippi. Hurst went on to play baseball for MSU, while Twyla was an outstanding basketball player. The West Lauderdale high school sweethearts eventually married and virtually raised their family on the campus of WL, where both returned to teach and coach.

—Rod Barnes and Casey Fisher. Many people know Barnes as a former Ole Miss basketball player and later head coach, while Fisher was an outstanding player for the University of Southern Mississippi’s NIT championship team in 1987. In their high school days they were the stars of their basketball teams at Bentonia (Barnes) and Utica (Fischer). They went head to head in some epic small school hoops showdowns, and they are still etched into the memories of both their communities.

—Dennis Hobson and Jay Powell. Absolutely one of the most devastating one-two high school pitching duos I’ve ever laid eyes on. The two former WL stars could also both hit. In fact, Hobson mashed one of the longest homers I’ve ever seen struck in a high school game. Powell went on to post a strong Major League career, including being the winning pitcher for the Florida Marlins when they won the 1997 World Series. Powell also posted 11 consecutive MLB seasons without a losing record. Hobson pitched at Meridian Community College before arm woes brought his career to a close.

—Jerry Rice and Willie Totten. One of the most potent college pass-and-catch combinations of all-time. Rice went on to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL and is considered perhaps the best receiver of all time. While Totten didn’t make it to the pros, he was the triggerman for one of the most amazing offenses of the 1980s as the duo led Mississippi Valley State to the NCAA playoffs.

—Ron Polk and Skip Bertman. The legendary baseball coaches at MSU and LSU would be more than a handful by themselves, but together it would be an interview to top all baseball interviews. Both were baseball geniuses and motivators extraordinaire — and gifted storytellers to boot.

—Boddie Sullivan and Barry Vanlandingham. This one might actually happen one day. Sullivan was my youth league baseball who taught me as much about life as he did baseball, especially about how you treated all players the same no matter their talent level. Vanlandingham played for me when I was 19 and coaching one of my first little league teams. I would love to hear their perspectives from both the coach and player angles.

—Gary Saunders and Stanton Cameron. Saunders was general manager of the Meridian Brakeman, an independent Minor League team that was formed in 1996. Cameron was one of the stars on the team, playing in the minor leagues for 14 years. Oh the stories they must have.

—Lane Burroughs and Chris Curry. Both were standout baseball players at Meridian Community College. Burroughs went on to play for Mississippi College, while Curry caught at Mississippi State. Burroughs is now the head baseball coach at Louisiana Tech, while Curry is the head man at Arkansas-Little Rock.

—Ted and Chase Spencer. I met Ted when he coach youth baseball and soccer in Lauderdale County. Ted always seemed to get the best out of his teams. One of the players on those teams was his son Chase. I always found the dynamics of their relationship on and off the field intriguing.

—Mark Sullivan and Paul McRaney. This is a dangerous one for me. These are two of the first guys I hired when I became sports editor of The Meridian Star at the age of 25 in 1984. I would love to get their takes on what that experience was all about and the roads their lives went down.

Austin Bishop, AKA The Old Sports Dude, has been covering high school, college, amateur and professional sports since 1975. He is currently pastor of Great Commission Assembly of God in Philadelphia, Miss. He may be contacted by email at starsportsboss@yahoo.com.