In just a few days, high school football across Kentucky will take a big step forward as the players put on the pads and the hitting begins. We are now under a month until the season kicks off with the first games scheduled for Friday, Aug. 20. Whitley County will travel to Perry...

If you look at older photos of downtown Corbin, businesses up and down Main Street have signs extending out from the building extending over the sidewalks. Many of these signs were lighted so the businesses were visible day or night. Florsheim shoes, Dyche Drugs, Corbin Deposit...

In addition to Corbin Bass Fishing headed off to the national and world tournament, you will find the first look at the 2021 high school football schedules, college signings by Williamsburg’s Navaeh Warren and Mikkah Siler to play at The University of the Cumberlands, and a story...

With the crowning of state champions in baseball and softball, the high school sports season has come to an end. It is time to take a look back at the 2020-21 season that had a number of highs and a few lows. In football, Corbin and Williamsburg were typical Corbin and...

The crowds at high school baseball and softball at Corbin, Whitley County and Williamsburg are good sized, but will not be confused with what the schools draw for football or basketball. And while baseball play-by-play people can find themselves relying on stories of their...

For years I have considered the clank of a metal bat hitting a baseball to be sacrilegious. Baseball should involve the crack of the ball coming off of a wooden bat. As a baseball fan since I could get in to watch the Cincinnati Reds for free because I could walk under the...

Among ESPN host Chris Berman’s famous catchphrases is, “That’s why they play the game!” Berman would use it when preparing the audience for highlights of an upset. While the Knox Central Basketball faithful may not agree, to the rest of the 13th Region world, the Panthers’ 78-63...

I will admit to being new to being the person responsible for in-depth coverage of postseason basketball. That being said, there has got to be an easier way to determine the region bracket than what I experienced Sunday at The Arena. The coaches/representatives from each of the...

High school basketball fans in Whitley County will have at least one more week of local basketball as the Corbin Redhounds and Whitley County Lady Colonels both qualified for the 13th Region Tournament with their respective wins in the first round of the 50th District Tournament...

COVID–19 has changed the way a number of things work from voting to high school basketball. Because of the pandemic, early and absentee voting was made more widely available. It proved so popular, with voter turnout increasing exponentially in both the 2020 primary and general...

Williamsburg Independent Schools canceled in-person classes this week because of a spike in COVID–19. That announcement was made at approximately noon on Monday. Yet Monday night, the Williamsburg Lady Jackets suited up against Whitley County for a basketball game at...

High school basketball in the era of COVID–19 is driving fans, coaches and players crazy. Whether it is a team like the Whitley County Lady Colonels, who had been on a season-opening winning streak prior to Monday night’s loss to North Laurel, or the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets,...

Corbin and Williamsburg have both been at the cusp of the pinnacle of high school football in their respective classes in recent memory. Williamsburg at Class A, and Corbin at Class 4A have been to the state finals. While two out of three ain’t bad in the world of classic rocker...

High school basketball is slated to begin Monday night, but like almost everything else in the era of COVID–19, there are some changes. One of the victims of COVID-19 appears to be sportsmanship. Per the Kentucky High School Athletic Association rule changes, the traditional...

Who is the best high school football team in the area? Corbin could make the argument that, even though it lost in the regional championship game, it played the toughest schedule, and a broad spectrum of opponents from Class 2A powerhouses Beechwood and Somerset to Class 6A Dixie...

This week’s edition of The News Journal marks my third week covering sports. It has been an exciting time with high school football in the midst of the playoffs. Being a Wednesday paper, my goal has been not to spend a lot of time recapping the past week’s games. Instead, I try...

Every once in a while, a story in The News Journal about someone being arrested will draw outrage from family and friends, and even other members of the community, along with complaints that we have slandered or libeled the individual. Though there is a running joke in the...

In light of the response in the June primary election to the addition of early, in person voting and excuse–free absentee ballots, Democratic legislators have announced that they plan to introduce a number of bills to make those additions a permanent option when Kentucky voters....

My dogs have become drug addicts. Over the last week, we have been forced to medicate our two Shih Tzus nightly because the area around our house has been inundated with fireworks. I would not be surprised if some of those neighbors took advantage of the closeout sales at the...

So, what lessons can we take away from Tuesday’s election? By far, the biggest is that giving voters additional means to cast their ballot other than on election day is an effective way to increase turnout. I’m still not a fan of mail in ballots, or at least returning ballots by...