Archive for December 23rd, 2007
Browns have simple playoff formula: They’re in with a win
CINCINNATI — The Browns have been here before — and they walked off the field celebrating. On Dec. 14, 1986, the Browns headed down I-71 for the penultimate game of the season in need of a win to clinch a playoff spot. They opened the game with a bomb, cruised to a 34-3 win and [...]
Browns vs. Bengals: Keys and matchups
KEYS TO THE GAME Score early and often The Browns have everything to play for — a win and they’re in the playoffs — while the Bengals are merely trying to play the role of spoiler. An early lead by the Browns would take the crowd out of it and might sap the Bengals’ spirit. [...]
College basketball: Stage smaller, but OSU finally beats Florida
COLUMBUS — Ohio State got its revenge against Florida on Saturday, but the sweet part is going to have to wait. Vanquished by the Gators twice last season, the final time in the national championship game, the Buckeyes finally beat Florida, winning 62-49 in front of a near-sellout crowd of 19,049 fans at Value City [...]
Dan Coughlin: Cleveland fans kow all about bad trades
A conversation developed with the chap sitting next to me at a high school basketball game. That’s the charm of high school basketball. You can actually hold a dialogue with a stranger, unlike a Cavs game, where the atmosphere simulates the day room of an insane asylum because of that lunatic with a microphone. The [...]
Girls basketball: Admiral King romps past rival Southview
LORAIN — Just when the Admiral King girls thought they had Southview put away, the Saints hit a pair of late free throws, cutting their deficit to 30 points. Some teams just won’t go away. But despite Southview’s 5-0 last-minute run, the Admirals rolled to a 75-48 victory over their crosstown rival on Saturday in [...]
Girls basketball: Elyria downs Olmsted Falls for a much-needed win
ELYRIA — After two straight losses — the last one an embarrassing blowout at Hudson — Elyria coach Mike Walsh admitted Saturday’s non-conference game with Olmsted Falls was an important one. “We needed a win right now,” Walsh said. “I told them this is our biggest game of the year. We’re on a two-game losing [...]
Prep hockey: North Olmsted defender shows his offensive side in win
NORTH OLMSTED — North Olmsted coach Tim Murphy says he’s now able to tell one McBride twin from the other. Dan McBride is the one who plays defense. He’s also the one who was the big hero for North Olmsted in its 5-2 victory over Shaker Heights on Saturday. McBride, a sophomore and the twin [...]
Prep wrestling: Pfister’s big day saves the day for host Black River
SULLIVAN TWP. — Black River’s chances for a three-peat at its own J.B. Firestone Invitational ended before the 44th edition of the event even took place. Violations of team rules resulted in big lineup changes and seven Pirates wrestling out of their normal weight classes. In wrestling terms, it was a major decision against the [...]
‘Hannah’-mania runs wild on Midway Mall
ELYRIA — Say the words “Hannah Montana” to any pre-teen girl and watch her eyes go big as saucers.Say “free tickets” to parents and either stand aside or get trampled. Combine both, and suddenly the Midway Mall food court is packed. By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, hundreds of eager children and parents were already waiting in [...]
Elyria hold-ups at bank, Subway have striking similarities
ELYRIA — It looks like robbers are returning to their old haunts just in time to ruin the holidays for local businesses. Elyria police officers were called to hold-ups Friday at National City Bank, 405 Midway Blvd., and on Saturday at Subway, 403 Cleveland St. Both places already had been robbed once before this month [...]
Pastor gives congregation a $10 lesson
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the bustle and materialism of the Christmas season and forget that it is meant to be a season of giving and love. So this year, Pastor Ray Ake of the Henrietta Methodist Church did something unexpected, with one aim: to capture the true spirit of Christmas. [...]
Hang on to your hats: High winds expected
ELYRIA — Will it be a white Christmas? There’s a 50-50 chance. But what’s more certain is that harsh weather is heading this way before Christmas Eve — which means Rudolph’s nose will have to burn extra bright this year. The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for today and is predicting [...]
Break-in suspect reverses course, damages woman’s garage
WESTLAKE — Police said that a burglar who was drunk and high drove through a garage door and fled early Saturday after getting caught in the act. Brian Vigilante, 29, of Cleveland, was arrested and charged with felonious assault, two counts of aggravated burglary, grand theft auto, burglary, fleeing and a handful of traffic violations. [...]
Lost a glove? Site reunites wayward handwear
PITTSBURGH — Jennifer Gooch’s mission was to create a simple Web site where people could go to find their lost gloves. Even if no happy reunions ever took place, she was just content to spread a little goodwill. But just a month after www.onecoldhand.com went live, the Carnegie Mellon University art student is busier than [...]
Blotter: Dec. 23
Elyria police Friday, Dec. 21 12:54 p.m. – 600 block Lucille Drive, burglary. 1:40 p.m. – 500 block Abbe Road, Kimberly Smith, 38, Elyria, warrant in Gordon County, Ga. 2:03 p.m. – Macy’s, Midway Mall, Jeremy M. Baker, 37, Elyria, charged with theft. 2:15 p.m. – Elyria High School, Sixth Street, a 15-year-old boy was [...]
Man jumped in Lorain while taking smoke break
LORAIN — A man said he was jumped about 2:40 a.m. Friday while smoking outside of Sunoco, 3003 Colorado Ave. Robert Lauranti, 20, of Lorain, told police that three white men with buzz cuts wearing jeans and tight shirts punched him, knocked him down, kneed him in the face and took his wallet. Lauranti had [...]
Man purchases his new ride with change
FRANKFORT, Ind. — Paul Brant considers himself a penny pincher, but his savings in quarters and dollar coins really paid off. Brant, 70, used more than $25,000 in change to help buy a new Dodge Ram half-ton pickup truck Friday — 13 years after buying another truck with spare change. “(The old truck) didn’t have [...]
Regent students show their holiday generosity
ELYRIA — Christmas wasn’t coming to the Kozich house. Bills were high, and money was tight. Things only got worse in October when 8-year-old Jazminn Kozich crashed her four-wheeler into a telephone pole and lost half of her teeth. She was on a respirator for four days. Her wrist was broken, and she had to [...]
Cincy firefighter caught in pot ring bust
CINCINNATI — A city firefighter was among four people arrested and accused of being part of a nationwide ring that shipped tractor-trailer loads of marijuana, authorities said. The ring allegedly unraveled this week with an arrest at a shopping mall and an attempted arrest at a city firehouse. Firefighter Michael Ferguson wasn’t there, but he [...]
‘Foreclosure dogs’ latest casualty in lending crisis
COLUMBUS — The mortgage crisis unfolding around the country, particularly in hard-hit states like Ohio, often has an unpublicized victim: the family dog. Nearly 20 percent of the 182 people who deposited dogs at the Franklin County Dog Shelter by the middle of December this year said they were being evicted. “There’s even a national [...]
Shift of postal jobs from Akron to Canton halted
CANTON — A proposal to move about two dozen post office jobs from Canton to Akron may get a “return-to-sender” stamp. Canton Area Local Postal Workers’ Union President Carmine Russo said he has learned that U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula, a Navarre Republican, was able to pass legislation that would keep the jobs in Stark County. [...]
Woman lives in the home she and Jack Frost built
ELYRIA — Come Christmas, Arlene Sahr’s townhouse is overrun by little men with round bellies, carrot noses and black-button eyes. It’s a holiday migration: The snow starts flying, and Sahr pulls the little fellas from their hiding places — boxes or bags tucked away most of the year — and positions them strategically throughout her [...]
Elyria notebook: Dec. 23
Elyria officer gets honor from VFW Thirty-year Elyria police veteran Joe Figula Sr. was awarded the Police Officer of the Year award by Elyria VFW Post 1079 on Monday, receiving a $500 check as part of the award. Retired Elyria police officer Dave Gill, also a VFW member, said the VFW asked the Elyria police [...]
Wanda T. Garrison
Wanda T. Garrison, 73, of Lorain, died Friday, December 21, 2007 in New Life Hospice Center of St. Joseph in Lorain following a longtime illness. She was born July 1, 1934 in Elyria, Ohio and had lived in Lorain for the past 10 years. She had also lived in the Akron/Fairlawn area for a number [...]
Robert C. Kerns
Robert C. Kerns, 72, of Elyria, passed away Saturday December 22, 2007 at his residence following a lengthy illness. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Wyers Funeral Chapel of Sheffield Twp.