Columns

By John Curtis White The 2026 MLB season has just begun, and a lot of teams have different goals. Teams would probably like to win 80 games, make the playoffs or even stay above .500. The main goal for all of these teams is the same - to win the World Series. In my opinion, these are the top 5 teams so far in the 2026 MLB season. First, The Atlanta Braves have surprised a lot of people this year after a tough 2025 season where the team went 76-86 and struggled a lot with keeping players healthy; however, this year the Braves, at this time, are the best team in...

One of the things I did not realize would become one of my favorite parts of being a reporter is the relationships I have made in the community. I would consider myself a mix of an extrovert and introvert. It honestly just depends on the day and how I am feeling. Sometimes I am full of energy and want to socialize with everyone around me, but once I hit my limit, I crash out. Other times, I enjoy just being quiet and listening to the conversations happening around me. As a reporter, relationships matter. Depending on the story you are covering, you rely on people in the community to help...

Only once in my more than three decades as a journalist have I been asked to demonstrate my knowledge about a subject before someone would let me interview them about it. It happened one day in late April 2017. I was sitting in my Williamsburg office after lunch when local horse enthusiast Phillip Perkins stopped by my office. Phillip told me he had a good story to tell me about the Kentucky Derby, but first I had to demonstrate to him I knew something about horse racing. Fortunately, I know a little something about the sport. I told Phillip I knew the first leg in the Triple Crown of horse racing was the...

When it comes to golf, I am what most people would call a hacker, or at least I used to be back when I played. There are a lot of us out there. For any non-golfers reading this column, a hacker is generally someone, who isn’t necessarily very good at golf most days but still enjoys getting out on the golf course to play. We enjoy spending time with friends or family while knocking the ball around the course on a pretty day. While we enjoy shooting the occasional good round and posting a lowish score – at least by our standards – we are not driven so much by our...

Dinosaurs are not usually part of baseball. You may have recently seen the story of Jerry, a toy triceratops that accompanies UCLA Bruins pitcher Angel Cervantes on the mound. The tiny dinosaur that fits in the pitcher’s pocket is circulating on social media as a ‘mound mascot.’ A few weeks ago, I was covering one of our local teams when during warmups, a child carried a toy dinosaur onto the field. I texted a colleague saying, “I do not remember this being a part of the game.” They responded with, “Not normally.” With two dinosaur incidents this season, I began to wonder - are the dinosaurs more prevalent than...

I recently experienced one of the greatest joys of my life. I saw my favorite band, BTS, in Las Vegas with my sister. It was a smooth, fun and safe trip. As I explained in my last opinion column, I got on a plane for the first time. I told you all I would update you on that experience and whether I would develop a fear so I will do that first. Airplanes are weird and clouds look funny up close. I think airplanes are weird because the whole process felt unreal: boarding, being in the air, the pilot knowing how to land and where to land. I also think clouds...

The political winds of change were blowing across the Tri-County area on Election Day as there were some big political shakeups in Laurel and Knox counties. In Laurel County, longtime Judge Executive David Westerfield lost a close primary election to Walter T. Hulett. Incumbent coroner Doug Bowling also lost his bid for re-election to challenger Mike Masters. In Knox County, incumbent Judge-Executive Mike Smith lost his bid for re-election to challenger Jeff Ketcham by a nearly two-to-one margin. By contrast, there wasn’t much political change in Whitley County on Election Day. Incumbent Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. was not even challenged in his bid for re-election. Neither was Second-District Magistrate Mondo Cima. Third-District...

By: Gray Hawkins If I had to describe how I feel right now in one word, “surreal” would be a safe bet. Even with three years of college experience in a journalism major under my belt, the first day working as an intern for The News Journal feels like the first day period. I stepped inside this building one time before this internship in 2022 soon after I and the other students in Corbin High School’s journalism class began producing our own newspaper, The Paws Print. I cannot say with certainty how much has changed since our little field trip, but some things are easier to identify than others. The room I...

2018 doesn’t really seem like that long ago until you look at a calendar… or the changes throughout the field of journalism. Eight years ago, I started my first job in a professional newsroom as a Kentucky Press Association intern. Which newsroom was that you might ask? It was just a few doors down the hall from the office I am sitting in to write this column. My journey in professional journalism started here at the News Journal. I credit much of my career success to this newspaper. I have told the staff on multiple occasions that I am who I am as a journalist today because of the lessons I...

Recently, I had to say goodbye to a furry friend. I am not going to lie. I bawled my eyes out more than I have at the funeral of some human friends. It is amazing how close we can become with our pets. Gizmo lived a good life up until the very end. We got him and his sister, Gadget, approximately 18 years ago when they were kittens. They were so small back then they would have fun jumping through the holes in lattice under our back deck. During their early years they were inseparable and loved spending time outside. If we would have moved his food outside and gone out there to play...