Members of four postal employee unions rallied outside the Federal Building in Downtown Akron Tuesday afternoon in an effort to save postal branches in the area and throughout the nation.

The rally in Downtown Akron was part of a nationwide effort to encourage Congress to pass H.R. 1351, which could help to save critical Post office funding.

Daniel Toth is the National Letter Carriers Association national business agent for Ohio. He says two studies have shown the Postal Service is overpaying annually to the civil service pension fund between 50 and $75 billion. He says congress could end the overpayments and funnel the money to reduce the Post Office's big budget deficit.

Toth believes the Postal Service could realize a profit if it wasn't overpaying into the pension fund.

The letter carriers oppose the closing and consolidation of mail processing and distribution centers in Akron-Canton and across the country, and the end of Saturday mail delivery.

Daniel Toth believes the Postal Service can rebound with increasing parcel delivery service when the economy recovers.

It's back to the drawing board for the Cleveland Browns this week. Head Coach Pat Shurmur says the coaching staff will have to fix a 'freighter-full" of mistakes the team made in the 17-16 win over Miami this past Sunday.

“We’ll, we’ve got to find a way to start fast and we were just watching the tape on offense and we were running the same type of plays the second half that we were running in the first half and it was very clear that we were just executing them better in the second half, coming out of the halftime". said Shurmur.

"That’s the message. Listen guys, relax and just execute. Take the gimmes, get yards on the runs that we’re running the football, get into manageable third downs, let’s move the football and find a way to stay on the field", Shurmur told the media at his weekly Monday news conference.

"What you’ll find is that all those great things that you want to do you don’t get a chance to do if you don’t get enough plays and it think you’ve got to start fast to get enough plays on offense. Then, the defense doesn’t have to play two thirds of the game as well. That’s at the front.”

The Browns will get back on the practice field Wednesday to get ready for the Tennessee Titans match-up Sunday at Browns Stadium.

It was an emotional night last Friday when the Cleveland Indians paid tribute to Jim Thome,

Thome returned to the Tribe earlier this season in a trade from the Minnesota Twins. He began his Major League baseball career with the Indians back in 1991.

The Indians announced on Friday that they plan to erect a statue to honor the accomplishments of Jim Thome in an Indians Uniform. Thome leads the Indians, all-time, in home runs and totals over 600 in his baseball career.

The team plans to erect the statue in Heritage Park, close to the spot where Thome's 511-foot home run landed.

Indians Senior Vice-President of Public Relations Bobby DiBiasio says Thome and his wife were overcome with emotions when the team made the announcement before last Friday's game.

Thome now totals 604 home runs in his big league career.

Doug Fister pitched eight strong innings and Alex Avila drove in three runs to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 14-0 last night.

Justin Verlander and Fister, who are scheduled to start the first two games of Detroit's first-round playoff series, are now acombined 14-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 16 appearances since August 16th.

Fister, who allowed three singles while striking out nine, has been even better than the Cy Young favorite in the stretch, going 7-0 with a 0.65 ERA in his last eight outings. Fister (11-13), who was picked up in a six-player deal with Seattle on July 30th, hasnow gone 20 innings without walking a batter.

Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4), another pitcher the Tigers looked at before acquiring Fister, gave up six runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings.

The Indians and the Tigers play game two of their three-game series tonight in Detroit. Jeanmar Gomez will start for the Tribe tonight against Maz Scherzer for the Tigers.

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

Limited tickets remain for Wednesday's men's soccer match between Akron and Ohio State, The University of Akron Department of Athletics announced Monday.

With another sell out expected, fans are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance to avoid being shut out at the gates. The Zips and Buckeyes will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (ET) at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

General admission tickets – $10 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 3-14) – for the highly-anticipated contest are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking on GoZips.com/Tickets, calling 1-888-99-AKRON (25766) or visiting the C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field (located at the southwest corner of the venue, near Gate 1, at the corner of East Exchange and South Union streets).

After finishing second in the nation in attendance a year ago, averaging more than 3,200 fans per match, fans have been flocking to the pitch at a frantic pace once again in 2011. UA shattered its facility record when 5,241 fans packed the pitch to see the Zips set an NCAA milestone against Cleveland State on Aug. 27 by extending its home unbeaten streak to 40 games.

That trend continued three weeks later when 4,301 turned out to watch the Zips take on No. 16 New Mexico on Sept. 16. It was the third-largest crowd in school history. Akron is currently averaging 4,128 fans through three home dates thus far in 2011.

Kent State picked up a Player of the Week Ward from the League Office.

Sophomore safety Luke Wollet, from Poland, Ohio, recorded a pair of interceptions while matching his season-high with eight tackles as the Flashes earned their first win with a 33-25 over South Alabama.

Wollet's second quarter pick and ensuing 22-yard return helped set up Kent State's second touchdown of the day. He then helped preserve the victory with another interception with just under three minutes remaining.

The annual Akron Marathon is history for another year.

Of the 14,000 runners that registered for the event, over 13,000 participated. The most runners took part in the the team relay, where over 5,500 runners participated.

Race Director Jim Barnett says the weather was perfect for Saturday's race. Barnett says he's heard estimates that over 100,000 people viewed the race from somewhere along the 'Blue Line'.

Next year's race, which will be the 10th annual, will be run on September 29th, 2012. Barnett is hoping to increase the number of participants in the races, as well as the number of volunteers and business sponsors.

You may not realize it, but there are over 3,000 volunteers who work with the Akron Marathon to insure that 'Race Day' is something special.

It's been an eventful start for Ohio State. Now the fun begins.

The Buckeyes (3-1) survived the non-conference portion of their schedule with only one slip, a 24-6 loss at Miami.

Along the way, they discovered they could get by without three suspended starters on offense, including their best receiver and top rusher, while also sorting out a muddled competition at quarterback.

Now Michigan State (3-1) comes to Ohio Stadium on Saturday in the Big Ten opener.This is the first of a series of tests for both teams.

After hosting the Spartans, the Buckeyes play at No. 8 Nebraska, at No. 24 Illinois, have a bye week and then entertain No. 7 Wisconsin.

After the visit to Columbus, the Spartans have a bye week, then host No. 19 Michigan and Wisconsin before hitting the road to play the Cornhuskers.

Kickoff for the Ohio State Michigan game will be at 3:30 Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

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

Cleveland’s 2-1 record marks the Browns best start to a season since 2002 when the club also opened at 2-1.

· With today’s win the Browns improve to 8-7 all-time against the Dolphins during the regular season, including winning the last four meetings.

· With a 30-yard third quarter field goal, kicker Phil Dawson moved past Don Cockroft (1,080) for second place on the Browns’ all-time scoring list. The longest tenured member of the Browns, Dawson finished with five points today and has totaled 1,082 in his career. Lou Groza is the team’s all-time points scored leader with 1,349.

· Quarterback Colt McCoy completed 19 of 39 passes for 210 yards with two touchdowns. He led the Browns on a 13-play, 80 yard game-winning drive. On that drive, McCoy was 9 of 13 passing for 75 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi with 43 seconds remaining in the contest. McCoy has thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game this season. He is the first Browns quarterback to open a season with at least one touchdown pass in the first three games since Derek Anderson opened the 2007 season with at least one touchdown pass in the first seven games.

· Wide receiver Joshua Cribbs totaled three receptions for 49 yards, including a 33-yard second quarter touchdown. Cribbs now has 16 career touchdowns with two rushing, two on punt returns, four receiving and eight on kickoff returns.

· Tight end Benjamin Watson led the team in receptions (5) and receiving yards (64). Wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi finished with two receptions for 26 yards, including a 14 yard score. Wide receiver Greg Little added three receptions for 24 yards. All of Massaquoi and Little’s receptions came during the Browns’ game winning drive.

· The Browns registered five sacks today, their most since totaling eight against Pittsburgh on December 10, 2009. Defensive linemen Ahtyba Rubin and Jayme Mitchell each recorded 1.5 sacks. The total was a career-high for Rubin, who also added nine tackles. Mitchell also forced a fumble. Defensive lineman Phil Taylor notched his first career sack, while linebackers Chris Gocong and D’Qwell Jackson were each credited with half a sack.

· Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson has led the team in tackles in all three games this season. He totaled 11 tackles, one fumble recovery and half a sack today. Jackson has a team-best 30 tackles this season.

· The Browns had the ball today for a total of 22:09. It was the first time the team has won a game with a time of possession at 22:09 of lower since a 21-16 win at New Orleans on October 31, 1999 when the offense registered a time of possession of 19:10.

· Defensive back Mike Adams recorded his 10th career interception. Of his 10, three have come against Miami.

· The Browns offensive line did not allow a sack today and have yielded just three all season.

· In his first career start, running back Montario Hardesty totaled 67 rushing yards on 14 carries for a 4.8 average.

· Defensive linemen Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin currently rank second and third on the team in tackles with 18 and 16, respectively.

· Browns defensive back Sheldon Brown has played in 147 consecutive regular season games, a figure which currently ranks sixth among all active defensive players.

· Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas has started and played in each of the first 67 games of his career.

Rene Tosoni led off the 10th inning with a home run and the Minnesota Twins beat Cleveland 6-4, preventing the Indians from clinching second place in the AL Central on Sunday.

Tosoni hit his fourth homer on a 1-1 pitch from Tony Sipp (6-3) to give Kyle Waldrop (1-0) his first career win. Chris Parmelee added an RBI single later in the inning.

Waldrop worked a scoreless ninth and Joe Nathan pitched the bottom half for his 10th consecutive save and 14th in 17 chancesoverall as Minnesota won for only the third time in 22 games.

The Twins have 98 losses with three games left and cannot tie the 1982 club for the worst record (60-102) since the franchise moved to Minnesota 50 years ago.

Sunday was another special day for Jim Thome.

If Thome is retiring, he made his last appearance in Cleveland as a third baseman.  The 41-year-old took the position for one pitch in the ninth inning during Sunday's game against Minnesota. Cleveland finishes with three games in Detroit.

Thome got a standing ovation as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. When he walked, the crowd booed Minnesota pitcher Glen Perkins.

Fans then stood and cheered to start the ninth as Thome went to third base, where he started his big league career in 1991. He had not played there since Sept. 29, 1996. The next year, he moved to first base.

Thome has 604 homers, eighth on the career list, and has not announced whether he will return for a 22nd season.

On Friday night, the Indians unveiled plans to build a statue in his honor at Progressive Field.

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