Taylor Hawkins Sports EditorHello, sports fans!  My name is Taylor Hawkins, and I am the new Sports Editor for your Yazoo Herald.  
I am a Mississippi Delta native from the lively, small town of Belzoni.  I am the son of Billy Hawkins, Jr. and Tami Hawkins.  During my years at Humphreys Academy, I played football, basketball, tennis, and ran track.
After high school, I attended Mississippi Delta Community College before I transferred to Delta State University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Journalism and English.  While at Delta State, I was a member of  Kappa Alpha Order, a fraternal organization for which I held the vice-president and recording secretary positions.
My college graduation was this past Saturday, and I entered this job with the goal of excelling past your expectations. Make no mistake about it, I want to be the best in my field.
I plan to bring you the most up-to-date sports information from Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Benton Academy, and Manchester Academy, as well as features and opinion columns that go deeper into the human nature that makes sports so great.
While some view sports as just games with winners and losers, it actually goes much deeper than that.  Sports represent the human struggle for greatness.  A victory in itself is a glorious thing, but the journey to reach that victory gives us all a chance to reminisce on our own personal journeys.
With all of the atrocities like the Boston bombing going on in the world today, sports give us a chance to relax, cheer on our favorite teams and come together as fans, even if it is only for as little as an hour.  We all deserve that reprieve.
While I have lived around the Yazoo area for the majority of my childhood, it will be a huge step in my life to be able to call it my home.  
Sports is a passion of mine, and I’m lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to share that passion with all of you.  I hope that you enjoy reading my pieces as much as I will enjoy writing them.
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Taylor Hawkins is the sports editor of The Yazoo Herald. He can be reach at 746-4911 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Mississippi Ballers 14 & under team recently took first place in the first annual Fly with the Ravens Invitational Tournament. The team is comprised of boys from Yazoo, Madison and Hinds counties. Pictured above, from left to right are, Jessie White, Roosevelt Johnson, Chavis Banks, Leslie Nelson, Justin Tarplin and Davari Truman, all of Yazoo City. The boys will be competing in various tournaments across the Southeast over the course of the summer.

Like the famous scene where Babe Ruth called his shot before hitting a home run, Joseph Beidleman seems to be pointing to the fence as he takes the plate for Adams Hardware in t-ball action.

Will Edgar of Yazoo City recently caught this 23-pound flathead catfish while fishing at a private lake in Yazoo County. Will used a Shakespeare Ugly Stik rod, a Bass Pro Shops CatMax reel, 50lb. test PowerPro braided line, and a live bluegill for bait. The fish was released to spawn.