Archive for August 10th, 2008
Browns practices closed to public
BEREA — The Browns have moved the Sunday evening practice inside, therefore it won’t be open to the public. Monday’s practice is also closed to the public. Fans are welcome to attend the two practices Tuesday, 8:45-10:45 a.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m.
True believers: Matters of faith a large and open part of life for more and more Browns, NFL players
BEREA — A player points reverentially to the sky as he crosses the goal line. Dozens of players from both teams meet near the 50-yard line after the game and drop to one knee in prayer. The images are as familiar as touchdown dances and drunken fans. Christianity has become as synonymous with the NFL [...]
Browns on religion: Diverse people, diverse thinking
Phil Savage, Lennie Friedman and Jason Wright came from different backgrounds, took varying routes to the Browns and have distinct roles with the team. They all have deep thoughts, spiritual histories and unique opinions on personal faith and religion in the NFL. The GM General manager Phil Savage believes in finding a balance between football [...]
Browns notes: Baxter released, putting improbable comeback from two torn patellar tendons on hold
BEREA — Gary Baxter got crunched by the numbers. The veteran safety, trying to make a historical comeback from a pair of torn patellar tendons, was waived by the Browns on Saturday. He had arthroscopic knee surgery to remove cartilage Tuesday. With linebackers Beau Bell and Antwan Peek also out for the preseason following knee [...]
Byrd throwing opponents a curve: Indians veteran fires complete game to beat Blue Jays, win fourth straight start
TORONTO — When Bert Blyleven offered Paul Byrd tips on throwing a better curveball, the Cleveland right-hander listened carefully. Armed with an improved hook, Byrd pitched a six-hitter to win his fourth consecutive start and Ryan Garko drove in two runs in the Cleveland Indians’ 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. “I [...]
Chris Assenheimer: Plenty to ponder as Indians linger in last place in Central Division
This and that from a last-place view in the Central Division: Cliff Lee hasn’t hurt his Cy Young candidacy any in the second half, pitching well enough to maintain what appears to be the lead in the race for the coveted pitching award. His main competition right now is Los Angeles’ Joe Saunders and Ervin [...]
Phelps off to a good start: U.S. swimmer grabs gold, world record in 100-meter individual medley
BEIJING — Michael Phelps got one of his toughest races out of the way, and it couldn’t have been any easier. With President Bush cheering him on, Phelps dominated his first event of the Beijing Olympics this morning, crushing his own world record and all hopes of his challengers with a mark of 4 minutes, [...]
High school football 2008: With a new coach, new system and a lot of youth, change is in the Cards at Brookside
Dig deep. If it’s not already, that should become first-year Brookside coach Keith Grabowski’s mantra this season because the young Cardinals face some tough odds. Senior Paul Grattan, 5-foot-11, 220-pound center and defensive tackle, is the team’s only returning starter, while junior quarterback/safety Rocky Radeff (6-0, 185), senior tailback/defensive back Alberto Mendoza (5-8, 160) and [...]
Dan Coughlin: Former Baldwin-Wallace great Harrison Dillard’s Olympic memories the stuff of legend
Harrison Dillard was handed an old magazine, a special edition publication that highlighted the 1948 Olympics in London, the year Dillard won the first two of his four Olympic gold medals. Here’s how old the magazine was. The entire back cover was a Chesterfield ad, featuring eight of the top pro athletes of the day [...]
DOWNTOWN SURVIVORS: Elyria restaurant owners maintain hope even after recent closures
ELYRIA — Orlando Cruz made the decision after only a few months of operating Bill’s Bakery. Sarah Jarem tried longer — sticking around for about a year at Sarah’s Sweets, her East Avenue establishment. Zaki Touma begrudgingly locked the doors to his Greek-infused delicatessen, Zaki’s, last week after seven years in business. Locking up shop [...]
Oberlin High School orchestra heading to Italy
OBERLIN — Next spring, the Oberlin High orchestra is jetting off to Italy to perform in Milan, Florence and Rome. The trip is the brainchild of the orchestra’s director, Harriet Thomas, who fell in love with the country during a recent visit. The students will board a plane May 16, 2009, and return May 23. [...]
DOWNTOWN SURVIVORS: Eats and treats in downtown Elyria/Recent closures
Donna’s Diner 353 Broad St. Open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Menu includes breakfast, lunch, classic diner and home-style cooking. Jim’s Coffee House 2 Lake Ave. Open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday; 8 a.m. to [...]
Park touts bike-and-train tours
CLEVELAND — Officials of the country’s national park system, wanting to make their parks greener, are encouraging visitors to leave their cars and seek alternative transportation through the parks instead. The railroad that twists through Cuyahoga Valley National Park started the “Bike Aboard” program last summer. It allows cyclists to ride their bikes on the [...]
Diversity in swing counties favors Obama
WASHINGTON — Young and minority Americans have been flocking to the nation’s “swing counties,” hotly contested areas that could play a crucial role in this year’s election. That’s good news for Barack Obama, bidding to become the first black president. Blacks and Hispanics are moving to counties that already were racially diverse, such as Osceola [...]
Winter heating hikes may not be as painful
Latest estimates have natural gas going up 20 percent instead of 50 percent
Edwards’ mistress: No paternity test for daughter
WASHINGTON — The ex-mistress of former presidential candidate John Edwards said Saturday she will not participate in DNA testing to establish the paternity of her daughter. Rielle Hunter’s lawyer, Robert Gordon, says his client is a private individual who is not running for public office and that she wishes to maintain the privacy of her [...]
Cloned dog owner might be sex slave suspect
SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who made news around the world when she had five pups cloned from her beloved pit bull Booger looked very familiar to some who saw her picture: She may be the same woman who 31 years earlier was accused of abducting a Mormon missionary in England, handcuffing him to [...]
New video phone helps Patrol talk to the deaf
ELYRIA — The future has come to Lorain County. OK, so maybe not the future a la robots and whatnot, but a perfect futuristic landscape in Hollywood always includes a video phone, and there’s one at the Elyria post of the Ohio Highway Patrol. The goal of the phone is to make it easier for [...]
Former Elyrian killed in W.Va. crash
ELYRIA — A former Elyria High School student was killed in a crash Tuesday near his West Virginia home, and his grieving mother is angry that he was ever allowed behind the wheel. Edward Ewing Jr., 25, of Jane Lew, W.Va., died almost instantly when his Pontiac minivan hit a tree and flipped on its [...]
Lorain man: Bar acquaintance raped me
LORAIN — A 35-year-old Lorain man said he was raped by another man who gave him a ride from a bar Friday night, according to a Lorain police report. The victim told police the suspect was white, heavyset, about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, and bald with a [...]
Landlord: Evicted tenants lived in filth
LORAIN — A landlord told police Friday that he fears for the safety of a 5- or 6-year-old child in a family he recently evicted that also keeps exotic animals and lives in filthy conditions. The property owner went to clean up the home after the former tenants left and found it so flea-infested that [...]
Two motorcyclists die in separate crashes in Medina County
MEDINA — Two crashes involving motorcycles Friday afternoon in Medina County left two motorists dead, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. The first happened at 12:55 p.m. in Wadsworth Township, killing Melvyn L. Rager Jr., 49, of Marshallville. Rager lost control of his 2002 Yamaha V-Max motorcycle on a curve and was struck by Meredith [...]
N. Olmsted boy drowns in Lake Erie
BAY VILLAGE — Authorities say a 12-year-old boy has died after a Lake Erie swimming accident. A Cuyahoga County coroner spokesman said Zachary Haberek of North Olmsted was pronounced dead Friday night at University Hospitals in Cleveland. Zachary was in the water with a friend at Columbia Park near Cleveland when he went under. The [...]
BLOTTER: Aug. 10, 2008
Elyria police Thursday, Aug. 7 2:09 p.m. — 100 block Sunset Court, 1995 Pontiac Transport stolen. 2:45 p.m. — 600 block S. Abbe Road, a woman said a stranger entered her apartment and fondled her breast. 5:25 p.m. — 500 block Bell Ave., Michael Stump, 29, Elyria, charged with possession of Schedule I drugs. 6 [...]
Harold M. McConnell
Harold M. McConnell, 87, of Elyria, passed away Friday, August 8, 2008 in his home after a long illness. He was born July 11, 1921 in Massillon. Harold was a 1939 graduate of Washington High School in Massillon. Mr. McConnell was a member of the St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Elyria and a [...]