The first of four vintage baseball games took place Sunday on the grounds of Stan Hywet Hall.

At a glance it looks like your typical game; Nine players on each team, four bases and a bat and ball.

But looking a little closer you'll notice a few things missing.

"We're playing vintage baseball, 1860s rules, barehanded and a wooden bat," said Scott Hamblin, third baseman for the Akron Black Stockings.

It is early in the season, they are only five games into their 30 game schedule.

Playing by rules from the 1860s, Hamblin explains some of the differences from today's modern game.

"We play a bounce rule so a ball caught on one bounce is still an out of the striker or in modern terms the batter. Balls are determined fair or foul by wehre it hits the ground so it doesnt have to go past first or thrid base. The pitcher or the hurler in this game has to throw underhand."

The game was free to the public. Todd Suarez brought his seven-year-old son Sam with him, saying it was a great opportunity for his son to see some classic baseball.

"Our 7-year-old son plays baseball so I thought it would be something he would enjoy watching."

Sam is just starting out playing baseball with a team, he's the second baseman. When asked what his favorite part of the game was, Sam said he was a fan of the older rules.

"You can catch it when it bounces on the ground and you can also catch it in the air."

It is still early in the season, the Black Stockings are only five games into their 30 game schedule.

Stan Hywet hosts a game one Sunday a month through August and will be the host for this year's Akron Cup when 8 teams will compete for the title.

More than a dozen police officers and their K-9 partners fought the rain and competed at Lock 3 on Saturday to determine top dog.

The teams competed in three events; agility, obedience and apprehensions.

Canton Police Officer David Samuels and his K-9 Bas won the speed challenge during the apprehension drill. The two have been partners for the last year and a half and Samuels says it is important to have a strong bond between the handler and the dog. 

"He's more like my son but my best friend as well," Samuels told WAKR. "He knows that when I ask him to do something I am not going to ask him to do something that will hurt him so that trust is there. I also have to have the trust in him that he will keep me safe."

The rain dampened the crowd for this year's competition, but it didn't stop Donna Laskey from coming out to watch.

"I don't want to miss it! We got our umbrellas and are going home to hot soup so we will be fine."

Officer Nate Ickes with the Tallmadge Police Department along with his dog Axel came out as the "Top Dog" in today's competition. Ickes says it all comes down to obedience.

"If you can get your dog to listen to you, you can get him to do anything."

There's a new sculpture in downtown Akron commemorating the 2014 Gay Games.

The sculpture was produced by 81-year-old local artist Don Drumm.

"I choose five different things that symbolize the games and I am very please to be able to pull it all together into a working piece."

Drumm says his design focuses on negative space.

"The spaces between the metal are important to the design as the figures themselves."

Drumm was under a tight budget and donated a lot of his time in order to complete it in time.

"We had a very specific budget and I donated my time."

The sculpture sits in front of the John S. Knight Center.

Prior to the unveiling, there was a meeting discussing LGBTQ rights around northeast Ohio and current legislation pending to further those rights in the Ohio Legislature.

Over 3,000 students walked across E.J. Thomas Hall and became University of Akron graduates this weekend, one of the largest graduating classes in the school's history.

Derek Hauff gradated with a bachelor degree in civil engineering and became the first in his family to graduate.

"I was very excited to be finally done, it's been a long five years."

Now graduates are preparing to enter the real world, Matthew Lee is one of the lucky ones and already has a job lined up.

"I'll be starting the 31st of May and I'll be working for Dominion as a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Technician."

But most are not as fortunate as Matthew.

Luara Stall is an English major and is still looking for work and might go back to school until jobs open up.

"The longer I can stay in school the more jobs will open, right now I'm just trying to stay positive."

In October, 500 people came together to have a meal at one table on Akron's Interbelt.

Now the man who led that effort, 500 Plates Organizer Hunter Franks - wants to recreate it but on a smaller scale with neighborhood tables.

"It is a way to continue to use food as a vehicle for cultural change on a smaller neighborhood scale as opposed to the large 500 person event we had."

Michael Mosley from West Akron says this will help spark conversation and change in the city.

"We don't need politicians to make something happen, you just have to get out here and use your own hands and feet."

Jim Ballard from Kenmore says this project will help get things done in the neighborhood.

"There will be a synergy of arts and culture and at the end of (Kenmore) Boulevard will be our table and there are a lot of people in Kenmore who wanted to come around a table to get things done and now they have that table."

500 Plates' project manager David Swirsky says the tables can serve as two roles.

"People will see a table and go up and use it."

The tables built by 500 Plates will start popping up around Akron next month, in time for summer events.

There will be one in downtown Akron next to Lock 4.

As this year's soon-to-be college graduates prepare to enter the workforce, Akron may not be at the top of their list to start their career.

According to WalletHub Akron ranked as the 4th worst "big city" (147) in America to start a career.

While Akron ranked above average in cost of living, Joan Gonzalez from WalletHub says the Rust Belt hasn't recovered from the recession.

"The problem is this rust belt area has struggled the last few years and not all the way recovered yet."

WalletHub ranked the largest 150 cities in the U.S. in 17 metrics such as unemployment rate, housing affordability and annual job growth rate. In most of those rankings, Akron ranked near the bottom.

"As far as economic mobility Akron ranked prettly low here and the unemployment rate is higher than that of most other cities than other U.S. cities at 7%, national average is about two points lower."

Most of the cities near the top of the rankings have a booming tech industry including neighboring rust belt city Pittsburgh (27).

"That's not just your basic web application developers  but introducing tech into healthcare and tech into other kinds of industries."

Cleveland didn't fare much better than Akron, coming in at number 138.

The man who is credited with coining the term "rock n' roll" will now have his ashes laid to rest in Cleveland.

On Saturday the ashes of Alan Freed were scattered at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland.

A monument -shaped like a juke box- was unveiled at the ceremony honoring his life and rock legacy.

Steven Van Zandt, the guitarist in Bruce Springsteen's E. Street band, spoke at the ceremony and called Freed revolutionary.

"He played black records for white kids and changed the world for the better and our country crucifed him for his accomplishments," Zandt said. "But sure he got the last laugh. There's some evidence right down the street called the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "

Freed made a name for him self as a DJ here on WAKR in 1945.

He died in 1965 at the age of 43.

The Red Cross is helping an Akron family after a fire broke out in their Copley Road's house.

Akron Fire managed to containt the fire to the basement of the home and had the fire out in about 30 minutes time.

No one was injured in the fire but there are estimates of about $15,000 in damages to the house.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Two adults and five children live at the house.

Akron's Towpath Trail reopened two weeks after it was set on fire.

Right now it is open using a temporary bypass until Summit Metro Parks and the city of Akron can finance a new, permanent replacement that is expected to cost between $75,000 and $90,000.

Metro Parks will contribute $10,000 and a crowd funding effort already raised more than two thousand dollars.

The city of Akron will be responsible for paying the remaining balance for the new bridge.

9-1-1 operators hear all the bad that happens around their community on a day-to-day basis but on Sunday, one Akron 9-1-1 operator and her family saw what good a community can do.

That was Rochelle Sibbio, the president of Habitat for Humanity in Summit County presenting the key to a new house to Elizabeth Johnson and her family.

Over the last nine months more than 200 volunteers helped build a new four-bedroom house for the Johnson family. Elizabeth says she's nervous becoming a homeowner for the first time.

"The feeling of owning your own home and everything that comes with it and knowing what I did for my family, I think that the gratification in that brings the most joy to me."

Elizabeth's oldest and only nephew Darshon says he's greatful for their new house.

"I'm so greatful for everyone that helped out with the house with building it and getting it set up I'm just so greatful."

Sibbido says they were able to get the neighboring lot owned by the city of Akron to give a space to play for the kids.

"We contacted (the city of Akron) and able to acquire an additional lot in order to giver her some room for the kids."

Elizabeth recently became the legal guardian to her four nieces and one nephew and has been looking after them since 2012.

Habitat for Humanity's next home dedication is expected for June 1.