Enterprise/Investigative

• U.S.-required bridge inspections don’t test for ship strike. Then, one hit the Key Bridge. (Baltimore Sun)
• The Orioles will soon reach at least $1.3 billion in public benefits since 1988. They’re expected to ask for more. (Baltimore Sun)
• A woman says a Maryland assistant football coach exposed himself to her when he was with Miami. He took a polygraph denying it. (Baltimore Sun)
• The rise, fall, and uncertain future of Under Armour (Baltimore Banner)
• Kentucky’s one-class high school state championship system is unfair, yet still cherished (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Louisville’s protest movement continued to apply pressure in the summer of 2020 — no matter who tuned it out (USA Today)

Features

• Donald Lawson, a Black sailor with unflinching dreams, sought an “almost impossible” accomplishment. Then, tragedy struck. (Baltimore Sun)
• Frances Tiafoe breaks mold, makes home club proud with historic run to U.S. Open semifinals (Baltimore Sun)
• Baseball star Tyler Hibbs battled addiction for nearly a decade before his death (Baltimore Sun)
• A 7-foot-3 phenom, Bol Kuir became the most intriguing player in the Kentucky high school basketball class of 2022 (USA Today)

Series

Beyond Breonna: Systemic racism simmered in Louisville for generations. Then Breonna Taylor died (a Louisville Courier-Journal series, researched and written with my colleague Bailey Loosemore)

Dailies

• ‘I found myself in the backyard’: Bowling Green reflects on devastating, deadly tornados in Western Kentucky (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Counting the passes: A top-ranked Division II team’s unique offense relies on quick passes and movement (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• A top-tier sports league played a home game in Kentucky for the first time in 45 years (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• After a tornadic waterspout damaged an island in Maryland, the community began to recover via boat (Baltimore Sun)
• Hanging on every word: North American Scrabble champion crowned in Baltimore as the game turned spectator sport (Baltimore Sun)