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Bobby Knight’s recent passing brought up memories of my encounter with the former Indiana basketball coach. It was like a volcano erupting in my ear when Coach Bobby Knight picked up the phone to answer my phone call back in 2014. I was in the middle of writing a book, Better...

It’s a time of year when many of us reflect on what has transpired over the past months. I for one have developed a philosophy when it comes to writing, and it is really quite simple. I want to write about what I think readers will enjoy. This column marks the twenty-first year....

I’ve always enjoyed chasing a story. By this I mean writing something where the facts don’t jump up and smack you in the face. When I found out Coach John Burr of Adair County was going in the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame this year, I immediately set out on a chase. It tested...

If you are a high school basketball historian and even followed some of the stars into their collegiate careers, mark your calendar for August 12. The Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame will be inducting 14 former prep greats and coaches at the Historic State Theater in...

Road Trip! For more than twenty years I have been signing off my columns with the encouraging words of “get up, get out and get going!” I’ve always tried to take my own advice, as my wife and I will occasionally hop in the car and motor someplace not too far away for lunch. And...

A friend of mine, sometime back assured me he was an expert on bourbon. Assuming that he had read books, experienced the bourbon trail and talked to master distillers, he quickly said, “None of that.” Then how do you know so much, I asked. “Heck, I ought to know, I’ve been...

Much has been written about the passing of Bill Russell, who many consider among the best basketball players to ever play the game. With high school state championships and two NCAA titles at the University of San Francisco, the Louisiana native, was even better in leading the...

Over my journalistic lifetime I’ve been fortunate to interview hundreds of people for newspaper and magazine stories, as well as books, radio, and yes, even television. Many have been famous celebrities, the majority former sports stars. Among the more memorable is John Y. Brown,...

Days are long gone since anyone thought comic books were just for kids.  It’s the old saying, “Follow the money.” There’s big bucks in comics, especially old ones.  A few years ago a 1938 Action Superman comic sold for $3.2 million.  It is considered to be the beginning of the...

A recent newspaper article about Kentucky Derby goers slipping prohibited items past ticket-takers while on their way to a prime spot in the infield triggered a 56-year-old memory of the Derby, and the infield in particular. I was a college student at the University of Kentucky...