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Ego, and the Fear of Losing

We power up each step. We rise higher and higher. We feel our legs become heavy. We make one last push to the top. We reach the top of the …

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August Harp

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Editorial

VA, Please Listen to Veterans

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has taken a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction. They've admitted they have a problem, specifically with wait times for military …

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Taking the Leap

I cannot step into my leadership—my calling—without taking my team with me. We must all rise together. This realization and this bold honesty has transformed me. I am convinced that …

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Courtesy Julia Lucille

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August 24, 2016

Prescott is Head and Shoulders Ahead of Other Rookie Quarterbacks

By bryanflynn

Nearly everyone this preseason has gone gaga over Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s performance this NFL preseason by. Well, unless you’re Fox Sports radio personality Colin Cowherd.

Unless you’re Cowherd or thinks like he does, it is hard not to be impressed with the way Prescott has played in two games. It is the preseason, after all, but with each throw and each play, the budding legend of Dak grows.

In his first start in his first game, Prescott went 10 of 12 passing for 139 yards with two touchdown passes. The two incompletions were drops from a backup tight end against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Internet went wild, and rightly so. Prescott’s performance was great for a guy who was picked in the fourth round and expected to sit behind Kellen Moore as the third-string guy. Instead, Moore broke his leg, and Prescott was thrust into the backup spot.

It seemed right to slow down the hype train with just one game under his belt. But Prescott went on to put on a show in his second preseason game.

When Dallas played the Miami Dolphins this past weekend, Prescott got to work with both the starters and No. 2 players on the depth chart. It might have been a new week, but it was the same performance, if not better, than week one.

Prescott went 12 for 15 passing for 199 yards and two touchdown passes and ran two more in for touchdowns. In his second game, Prescott had a four-touchdown game, has yet to throw an interception and has taken just one sack.

Cowherd wasn’t impressed, but the rest of the Internet was going bonkers for Prescott. In the preseason, Prescott has gone 22 of 27 passing for 338 yards with four touchdowns passing and two touchdowns rushing.

He has an 81.5 completion percentage and a 158.3 passer rating. The former Mississippi State University star leads all rookie quarterbacks in nearly every passing stat.

Cowherd might not be impressed yet, but maybe he can be convinced if he sees the stats.

So far in the preseason, 22 quarterbacks, including Prescott, have seen some sort of playing time. Those 22 quarterbacks include the 15 that were drafted and the rest who were signed as undrafted free agents.

During the draft, seven quarterbacks were drafted ahead of Prescott, and one was drafted just four spots behind him. One of the quarterbacks, Christian Hackenberg, who the New York Jets drafted out of Pennsylvania State University, has yet to even take one snap in the preseason.

For our purposes, only quarterbacks who have attempted 20 or more attempted passes will get a full rundown. That means Cleveland Browns quarterback Cody Kessler, drafted out of the University of Southern California in the third round, doesn’t make the list with his five pass attempts.

The first overall pick …

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August 24, 2016

Gibbs, Green Head to Run-Off in District 72 Special Election

By adreher

The House District 72 special election will head to a run-off between Debra Gibbs and Synarus Green on Sep. 13.

Election results from a Hinds County Election Commission spokeswoman are as follows:

  • Synarus Green-642
  • Debra Gibbs-641
  • Theresa Kennedy-169
  • Shae Buchanon-Williams-138

Either Gibbs or Green will replace attorney Kimberly Campbell and finish her three-year term in the Mississippi House of Representatives. To read interviews with Gibbs and Green, visit jacksonfreepress.com/elections2016.

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Coming into Its Own: ‘Obamacare’ Gets a Shakedown

Mississippians using the federal health marketplace, also known as "Obamacare, "will have fewer options than last year—largely due to United Healthcare's exit from the state's system, which takes effect Jan. …

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Revamping the VA: A Slow Process

Darryl Brady, Jackson's regional benefit office director for the Veterans Administration, said his office is doing everything they can to reach out to military vets in all 82 counties in …

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City Needs Siemens Until Problems Resolved

As the City of Jackson continues to mull over the next year's budget and its myriad cuts, the talk from recent city-council meetings about possible legal action against Siemens for …

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Jina Daniels

Jina Daniels' paintings surround her on every wall as she sits in her kitchen, which doubles as an art studio.