The Clarion-Ledger was out on Sunday with its 25th annual All-Sports Awards for the state and, for the 18th time, Tupelo High School is the overall winner. THS again beat out old rival Madison Central. See the story here.

We don't expend a lot of energy promoting stuff the Ledger does – full disclosure, I am a (sad) Gannett stockholder – but the All-Sports Award is exactly the kind of thing a “statewide paper” should do, and it's a fine opportunity to reflect on the quality of the athletic programs in Northeast Mississippi.

Five of the top six programs in the overall rankings are in our sphere of influence – Tupelo, third-place Starkville, fourth-place Oxford and Pontotoc, which tied for fifth.

The top four teams in the Class 4A standings are all from “up here,” with Pontotoc followed by Corinth, Lafayette and New Albany.

Four of the top six teams in 2A are from our area – East Union 2nd, Calhoun City 4th, Bruce 5th and East Webster 6th .

These results again underscore the importance of the Daily Journal's daily, year-round commitment to high school sports coverage, from the start of football until the last outs in baseball and softball.