With its final tournament before the start of conference play, The University of Akron volleyball team will make the short trip to Columbus for the Ohio State Sports Imports Classic on Sept. 16 & 17. The Zips (3-7) will take on Albany (N.Y.) (3-6) at noon ET and Maryland (5-4) at 7 p.m. on the opening day before facing No. 25 Ohio State on Saturday at 11 a.m. All matches will be played at OSU’s St. John Arena.

UA is coming off a tough 0-3 outing at the Milwaukee/Marquette Invitational. The squad dropped the opening match at Milwaukee in four sets and fell at Marquette in three before losing a tight five-setter to Southern Miss. on the final day.

As a team, Akron stands sixth in the league in blocks/set with an average of 1.94 and seventh in digs/set with 13.74. Individually, senior Tina Dimitrijevs’ .367 hitting percentage and 1.00 blocks/set place her sixth in the conference in both categories. Classmate Courtney Jarvis leads the squad with 102 kills and an average of 2.91 kills/set.

Opponents

The Zips will first take on Albany (N.Y.), the defending America East conference champions who lost in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament to Stanford. The Great Danes are 3-6 this season after sweeping the Rose Hill Classic hosted by Fordham, earning wins over Colorado, Siena and Fordham. Their losses have come to the likes of national power Nebraska, as well as Florida State and Colorado State. This match will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Maryland will be up next, as the Terrapins are 5-4 this year and are coming off a 2-1 performance at their own tournament, defeating Yale and Delaware and falling in five sets to Sacred Heart. Maryland is 0-1 against MAC teams this season, as Ohio took a five-set victory at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. The Terps lead the series with UA by a margin of 3-1. The two teams have not met since 1999 at Penn State, with Maryland coming away with a four-set win.

Finally, Akron will face in-state rival Ohio State, currently ranked No. 25 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes are 7-3 on the year, with their only losses coming at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic to Hawai’i, UCLA and Long Beach State. Last weekend, OSU claimed the Rocket Invitational title by going 3-0 at Toledo, defeating the host Rockets, as well as Penn and Alabama. The Buckeyes own a 5-0 all-time record over UA, though the two schools have not played since 1999.

It's not too often that Pro Bowl players get to face off against one another in a National Football League.

The Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts both have Pro Bowl players that will battle one another on Sunday when the teams meet in week number two of the NFL Season.

The Browns have Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas. The Colts have Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney.

Thomas is in his fifth year with the Browns. He played his college football at Wisconsin.

Freeney is in his 10th season and played his college football at Syracuse.

Freeney says when he is playing against a tackle like Thomas, he bring a little bit extra to the table.

Both the Browns and the Colts are looking for their first victory of the season on Sunday. You'll be able to hear the game on 97.5 WONE.

The Buchtel Volleyball team is just that a 'TEAM' in every sense of the word.

Head Coach Francine Blake says her team this year is made of members of the Buchtel basketball, bowling, softball and track teams. Blake says "I have a young team this year and they started coming together as a unit both on and off the court. In the past, the girls did everything separate. It was me, me, me. Now, they believe in team. Instead of seeing 1 or 2 of the girls hang out together, now you see 4 or 5."

Plus, Buchtel's coaching staff this season has added a very important figure. Mary Howard, well known in Akron for coaching at Archbishop Hoban and St. Vincent-St. Mary has joined Blake's staff this year as an assistant coach.

Blake said "we've always communicated. Whatever school she's been at we've always played each other. Mary said she's always admired the way that I've coached my team. She said since I'm not coaching this year at St. V why don't I come and work with you. I said fantastic."

The Volleyball team is led by basketball player junior Ashaunte' Dent and Arnita Johnson, who runs track,

The Griffins have an overall record of 5-4. They're are 2-3 in the City Series which is good for a tie for third place.

Thursday night, Buchtel takes on Firestone in a City Series match-up.

Akron State Representative Lynn Slaby is looking for opinions from businesses, residents and governments in Ohio concerning the the tax structure.

Slaby is a member of the Tax Structure Study Committee, which will meet Friday morning beginning at 10:30 at the Martin Center on the University of Akron campus.

The Tax Structure Committee has been meeting around the state of Ohio gathering opinions on the Tax Code in Ohio. The goal of the committee is to sit down and write a bill that would streamline the tax structure.

Slaby says there are three areas that the committee will examine. First is the 'CAT' tax, or Commercial Activities Tax. Second, is the sales and use taxes. Third, is how tax expenditures are spent.

Meetings have already been held in Columbus, Dayton and Toledo. Next Monday, a meeting will be held in Zanesville before shifting back to Columbus.

The 11-member committee is made up of 7 Republicans of the Ohio House of Representatives and 4 Democrats. 

It's not the start that the Tallmadge High School Blue Devils wanted to have.

Tallmadge, one of the favorites to win the Suburban League this football season, has a record of 1-2. The Blue Devils have lost to Ravenna and Ellet, while defeating the Garfield Golden Rams 35-14.

Blue Devils head coach Joe Vassalotti says his team will be ready for Suburban League play this week when they host the Revere Minutemen.

Vassalotti says one of the reasons they lost to Ravenna and Ellet was the lack of a running game. Vassalotti says the Blue Devils are known for a strong running game and they need to get back to that.

Vassalotti says even though Revere is 0-3 on the season, they will play hard and bring with them a strong rushing attack.

You'll be able to hear Friday night's game between Tallmadge and Revere on 1590 WAKR beginning at 7 pm.

Colt McCoy ended his stellar career at Texasas the winningest quarterback in college history. He's a Longhorns legend.

He's 2-7 as an NFL starter.

Cleveland's second-year quarterback struggled in the Browns' season-opening loss to Cincinnati, throwing more incompletions (21) than completions (19).

His first pass was swatted back in his face,his last attempt slipped through his hands and was intercepted and McCoy panicked and tried to dump one pass off to his center.

The jury is still out on McCoy, who showed enough as a rookie last season to convince the Browns he can lead them from thedarkness.

Yesterday, Browns coach Pat Shurmur said McCoy needs to be ``more efficient'' this week when Cleveland visits Indianapolis.

Shurmur said, “I think just in terms of general efficiency, there were some of those when you look at it and say, ‘My goodness that was a,’ and he’s no different than anybody. I think each guy would tell you the same thing and I encourage you to talk to the guys about that. I think what we’re trying to build here is guys that are willing to say, ‘I have to play better,’ and I think that’s what he’ll tell you.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
 

Josh Hamilton's third career grand slam highlighted an eight-run fourth and Derek Holland pitched seven effective innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 9-1 last night.

Hamilton's 21st homer and Mike Napoli's 26th were the key blows off rookie David Huff (2-5) in the decisive fourth, Texas' biggest inning since an 11-run fifth against Tampa Bay on September 26th, 2009.

Holland (14-5) allowed one run and six hits with six strikeouts and three walks. He has won eight of his last nine decisions, astretch that began on July 7th.

Ian Kinsler also homered for the AL West-leading Rangers, who have won three straight and maintained a three-game lead over second-place Los Angeles, which beat Oakland 4-1 yesterday.

The Indians have fallen two games under .500 at 72 wins and 74 losses.

The Indians and Rangers complete their series tonight in Texas. Game Time is 8:05 pm. Fausto Carmona starts on the mound for the Tribe.

On Friday, the Indians begin a series in Minnesota against the Twins.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

After fueling the Zips to a 4-0 rout at Saint Louis last week, junior midfielder Scott Caldwell, who was named to the National Team of the Week by College Soccer News Monday, continued to receive acclaim, earning distinction from Soccer America and the Mid-American Conference.

The native of Braintree, Mass., and reigning MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week was named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week Wednesday after being tabbed MAC co-Player of the Week by the league office Tuesday.

Caldwell had a career day against the Billikens as UA (3-0-1) remained unbeaten on the season with the commanding victory. In all, Caldwell scored a goal and assisted all three others to set a new personal high and lead the Zips to their first ever win at St. Louis is five attempts.

After assisting Akron's first two goals, including Matt Dagilis' game-winning header, Caldwell found the back of the net himself, firing a rocket from more than 25 yards out over a wall of defenders and just under the upper right crossbar. He then capped off his big night by assisting the final goal of the game to close out the scoring.

--- In conjunction with all 30 Major League Baseball clubs, the Cleveland Indians today announced their preliminary 2012 MLB regular season schedule.  The Tribe will open the 2012 season, their 112th campaign as a member of the American League, at Progressive Field against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, April 5. The first homestand will consist of a three-game series against the Blue Jays (April 5-7-8) and three games against AL Central Division rival, the Chicago White Sox (April 9-11).  The Tribe will then travel to Kansas City (April 13-15) and Seattle (April 17-19).
           
Some highlights of the 2012 Cleveland Indians Regular Season Schedule:
 
Ø  The Tribe’s first 2012 homestand begins on Thursday, April 5, 2012 against the Toronto Blue Jays, and includes an Easter Sunday matchup against the Blue Jays on April 8.
 
Ø  Fans will be able to enjoy Progressive Field as the Tribe heats up Downtown Cleveland for seven summer weekends from May 28 to September 2. The Tribe will play 43 home games from Memorial Day (May 28) to the Sunday of Labor Day weekend (September 2) – including Father’s Day vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (Sunday, June 17) and Independence Day vs. Los Angeles Angels (Wednesday, July 4).
 
Ø  24 of the Tribe’s final 30 games of the 2012 season will be played against AL Central rivals
 
Ø  AL East Division opponents, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees each make one visit to Progressive Field on August 9-12 and August 24-26, respectively.
 
Ø  Number of Home Games By Month: April – 12; May –17;  June –9;  July –14;  August – 15;  September – 11 &  October – 3.
 
Ø  Longest homestand of the year involves 10 games against three teams (New York Yankees, Oakland, Texas) from August 24-September 2.  Longest road trip of the year is 10 games featuring three teams from June 22-July 1 (Houston, New York Yankees, Baltimore).
 
Ø  The regular season will conclude with a 6-game homestand against Central Division rivals Kansas City Royals (September 28-30) and Chicago White Sox (October 1-3).
 
Ø  Interleague play in 2012 features visits to Progressive Field by the renamed Miami Marlins (May 18-20), Pittsburgh Pirates (June 15-17) and Cincinnati Reds (June 18-20).  The Indians will travel to St. Louis to face the Cardinals (June 8-10), Cincinnati Reds (June 12-14) and Houston Astros (June 22-24). 
 
                  
 
2012 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
 

APRIL
April 5 vTOR
April 7 vTOR
April 8 vTOR
April 9 vCWS
April 10 vCWS
April 11 vCWS
April 13 @KC
April 14 @KC
April 15 @KC
April 17 @SEA
April 18 @SEA
April 19 @SEA
April 20 @OAK
April 21 @OAK
April 22 @OAK
April 24 vKC
April 25 vKC
April 26 vKC
April 27 vLAA
April 28 vLAA
April 29 vLAA
 
MAY
May 1 @CWS
May 2 @CWS
May 3 @CWS
May 4 vTEX
May 5 vTEX
May 6 vTEX
May 7 vCWS
May 8 vCWS
May 9 vCWS
May 10 @BOS
May 11 @BOS
May 12 @BOS
May 13 @BOS
May 14 @MIN
May 15 @MIN
May 16 vSEA
May 17 vSEA
May 18 vMIA
May 19 vMIA
May 20 vMIA
May 22 vDET
May 23 vDET
May 24 vDET
May 25 @CWS
May 26 @CWS
May 27 @CWS
May 28 vKC
May 29 vKC
May 30 vKC
May 31 CIC CLASSIC GOLF OUTING
 
JUNE
June 1 vMIN
June 2 vMIN
June 3 vMIN
June 5 @DET
June 6 @DET
June 7 @DET
June 8 @STL
June 9 @STL
June 10 @STL
June 12 @CIN
June 13 @CIN
June 14 @CIN
June 15 vPIT
June 16 vPIT
June 17 vPIT
June 18 vCIN
June 19 vCIN
June 20 vCIN
June 22 @HOU
June 23 @HOU
June 24 @HOU
June 25 @NYY
June 26 @NYY
June 27 @NYY
June 28 @BAL
June 29 @BAL
June 30 @BAL
 
JULY
July 1 @BAL
July 2 vLAA
July 3 vLAA
July 4 vLAA
July 5 vTB
July 6 vTB
July 7 vTB
July 8 vTB
July 9 – July 12 All-Star Break
July 13 @TOR
July 14 @TOR
July 15 @TOR
July 16 @TB
July 17 @TB
July 18 @TB      
July 19 @TB
July 20 vBAL
July 21 vBAL
July 22 vBAL
July 23 vBAL
July 24 vDET
July 25 vDET
July 26 vDET
July 27 @MIN
July 28 @MIN
July 29 @MIN
July 31 @KC
 
AUGUST
August 1 @KC
August 2 @KC
August 3 @DET
August 4 @DET
August 5 @DET
August 6 vMIN
August 7 vMIN
August 8 vMIN
August 9 vBOS
August 10 vBOS
August 11 vBOS
August 12 vBOS
August 13 @LAA
August 14 @LAA
August 15 @LAA
August 17 @OAK
August 18 @OAK
August 19 @OAK
August 20 @SEA
August 21 @SEA
August 22 @SEA
August 24 vNYY
August 25 vNYY
August 26 vNYY
August 27 vOAK
August 28 vOAK
August 29 vOAK
August 30 vOAK
August 31 vTEX
 
SEPTEMBER
September 1 vTEX
September 2 vTEX
September 3 @DET
September 4 @DET
September 5 @DET
September 7 @MIN
September 8 @MIN
September 9 @MIN
September 10 @MIN
September 11 @TEX
September 12 @TEX
September 13 @TEX
September 14 vDET
September 15 vDET
September 16 vDET
September 18 vMIN
September 19 vMIN
September 20 vMIN
September 21 @KC
September 22 @KC
September 23 @KC
September 24 @CWS
September 25 @CWS
September 26 @CWS
September 28 vKC
September 29 vKC
September 30 vKC
 
OCTOBER
October 1 vCWS
October 2 vCWS
October 3 vCWS
 
ALL GAMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

In the Democrat Primary Race in Akron Ward 2, incumbent Bruce Kilby edged by Dominic Basile by 105 votes.  

Kilby will run for another term on Akron City Council when he will face Republican candidate Josh Sines in November.

Kilby describes the race against Basile as 'hard fought.' Kilby thought his message to the residents of Ward Two was 'a bit stronger' than his challengers.

Kilby says while he was a bit disappointed in the results from the Democrat primary for Mayor, he sees big changes coming to Akron City Council with two incumbents losing yesterday and new representatives to take their places.

Kilby says 'while most people don't have a need to call a councilman, he'll be there to fight for them.'