Displaying items by tag: WAKR

A long-time high school tradition is back, and so is a long-time coach.

Bill McGee, the head coach at Garfield from 1976-2001, will be on hand for the honorary coin toss. McGee spoke to Ray Horner about the return of the City Series and him being honored.

McGee led teams to 26 City Series contests. The game will be held at InfoCision Stadium.

Mogadore senior star football player Josh Tompkins is the WAKR Male Student Athlete of the Week for November 6th-13th.

Josh is a three year letter winner for the football team and was the Wildcat team captain last year on their wrestling team.

"It is a great place to play sports, everyone knows your name in Mogadore, a big family" said Tompkins. Josh plays running back and linebacker on the playoff bound Wildcat football team. Tompkins has been an All-PTC performer for the last two seasons.

"There is no doubt that the work in the classroom effects what you do on the field and mat, it takes a lot of time management and discipline to succeed in both, I've been able to do that" said Tompkins.

Josh plans on getting into Engineering in college, he has not made his college choice at this time. He is very involved in the Mogadore school as he is a Principal Advisor inside the school and is a member of the National Honor Society.

Tompkins currently carries a 3.86 GPA.

This week's 1590 WAKR female Student Athlete of the Week is Maddie Grosklos from Arch-Bishop Hoban High School. Maddie is a Senior soccer standout for the Knights, and her team is getting ready to play for a Regional Championship this Saturday in Ravenna.

Maddie, a lifelong resident of Akron, loves being at Hoban and really enjoys the close knit atmosphere, especially how the student body supports all the school's athletic teams. She says the support of the other students is not taken for granted.

Maddie, takes a heavy load of AP and honors classes at Hoban. She is planning on studying engineering in college. She is interested in attending Ohio State, Purdue, Pitt, or Cincinnati. Outside of soccer and studying, she likes to hand out with friends and root on her schoolmates when they are playing their sports.

Soccer has been a big part of Maddie's life since she was four years old and she has made a lot of great memories at Hoban High School.

With the NFL in full swing, the latest power ranking came out courtesy of Brent Sobleski of the Bleacher Report.

Sobleski joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show on Wednesday to talk about the rankings, the Browns coming in at #25, and what teams are making the most progress.

"If you look at the bottom of the league, it's really not that bad for Cleveland," Sobleski says.

"You look at other teams around the league, the Tennessee Titans fired their coach, the San Francisco 49ers went with Blaine Gabbert as their quarterback, so there's worse situations out there."

 

 Futher delving into the Browns, Tom Reed from the Cleveland Plain Dealer joined Brad later on in the show to talk about his thoughts regarding the Browns' matchup Thursday night with the Cincinnati Bengals.

 Johnny Manziel will get the starting nod against the Bengals. Reed said the ball is in his court.

""It's all up to Johnny," Reed said.  "This feels different, the team's reeling, and any shot at the playoffs is out the window, so everyone in the organization is under pressure, so they need a a spark."

 

Cleveland sports has had many highs and lows over the year, and one local author details some of the most exciting moments, players and more with his latest book.

Vince McKee joined the Sam Bourquin Show Wednesday to talk about the book, the history of Cleveland sports, and stories told by the players who played, and the people who covered the teams.

One of Vince's favorite parts of the book was the chapter on the Cleveland Cavaliers, coached by Lenny Wilkens,  and how former players Craig Ehlo and Larry Nance  talked about their playoff run, their clash with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, and the overall fellowship of the team, and how they bought in to Coach Wilkens' philosophy.

 

 McKee is the author of several books, including the Redemption of the King, about LeBron James' return to Cleveland, and most recently, Ohio Warriors.

  

The Nordonia Knights got into the playoffs and drew a tough opening opponent in the Aurora Greenmen in Division II Region 3, but Jeff Fox's Knights will be ready to go come Friday.

Fox joined the Sam Bourquin Show Wednesday to break down the matchup and assess his team's play heading into the second season.

"I think our kids, even though we had to replace certain players, saw those lessons we learned about preparing, working hard, and winning Monday through Thursday," Fox said.

"I'm so proud of how our kids played through adversity, and we'll get a chance to see what we can do Friday."

As Fox prepares for the Greenmen, he knows they will bring it each and every play from scrimmage.

"They do a lot of different things, they have a great quarterback, but they like to get in a stacked 'I' and come right at you, so it'll be a challenge, a fun game and a fun atmosphere for two neighboring communities to do battle Friday night."

 

Much has occurred both locally, nationally, and internationally since 1987, the last time citizens of Akron elected a new mayor. The Berlin Wall was still intact; there have been two generations of Bushes in the White House; LeBron James was just three years of age.

2015 has been a whirlwind year for Akron politics, from turmoil inside city council chambers to the resignations of long-time mayor Don Plusquellic and his successor Garry Moneypenny. But the stepping down of Plusquellic opened the door for a collection of others to throw their hat in the proverbial mayoral ring.

One of those names is the mayor-elect, Dan Horrigan.

"We had got a message out early and stayed consistent with it," said Horrigan during his interview on the Ray Horner Morning Show. "Mike Williams said it a long time ago 'sewers aren't sexy,' but it's those issues that are important, and we stayed with those. It's the financial stability of the city. It's operations and how we can be efficient. That's the approach I've taken in my entire public service career."

Through it all, Horrigan was pleased that his opponents ran campaigns largely free of mudslinging, saying this was a "welcome change" in Akron politics.

"I congratulate [Eddie Sipplen and Bill Melver]. They both ran vigorous campaigns, they concentrated on issues."

Though Akron traditionally has been a Democrat haven, Horrigan cleaned up at the polls, taking home 72 percent of the vote. Sipplen garnered 24 percent, while Melver came in at 3.7.

"I will lead this city forward. It's about having the respect of other people's opinion, and respecting the institutions that they come from."

So what is on the mayor-elect's plate for the near future?

"We're not going to wait till January to get started," says Horrigan. "I want to put together a financial and operational assessment team. These are people who have volunteered civic, community, and faith-based leaders to kinda take look at the city's finances from the outside, then give us a baseline on where to move forward."

Horrigan will take over as 62nd mayor of Akron beginning January 2016.

From Christian radio to the pop charts to country to Christmas, Amy Grant has seemed to have done it all in a career spanning three decades.

Amy joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to talk about her long career, in addition to her life and marriage to Vince Gill. She'll be performing at the Canton Palace Theatre this Wednesday, November 4th.

It seemed like just yesterday Sam Bourquin and the Akron Beacon Journal's Michael Beaven were talking about summer scrimmages, now for tonight, it's week 10 of the high school football season.

Beaven joined Sammy B on a "Feel Good Friday" to talk about the Week 10 matchups, as well as some of the teams fighting for a playoff berth.

One of the key AkronCity Series games  will be Ellet, led by coach Joe Yost, against the Bob Sax-coached Garfield Golden Rams.

"Jataris Grant is one of the key players for Garfield," Beaven said. "He's a good athlete,  and he's good in the open field."

 

 Other teams looking to impress this season in Week 10 before the playoffs include Mogadore, Stow, Hoban, and Buchtel.

There are currently four undefeated teams in the Akron area, with Stow, Hoban Buckeye, and Woodridge all unblemished.

For Stark County, Josh Wier of the Canton Repository says that the Perry GlenOak matchup ought to be a good one, in addition to the "War of 1894" between Massillon and McKinley.

"That game can go either way for sure," Wier said of the battle between the Tigers and the Bulldogs.

 

This week's 1590 WAKR male Student Athlete of the Week is Nate Mallue, a Cross Country runner at Jackson High School in Massillon.

Nate is coached by Cross Country coach Kevin Walsh. Nate is a very nice and well mannered young man who has a deep love for Cross Country. Nate developed a love for the sport from his older brother, Alex. Nate has been running since the 6th grade and he continues to run to this day as a senior at Jackson.

Some of the accolades that Nate has earned during his time at Jackson include: placing 15th as a team in the Division I State meet in 2014, First Team all Federal League in Stark county, and an Academic All-Ohio.

Nate enjoys business class and looks forward to studying it further in college. Nate also hopes to continue running in college as well.

We here at 1590 WAKR wish him the best.

This week's 1590 WAKR Student Athlete of the week is Hailey Gerrow, junior soccer star from Ellet HS.

Hailey set the record for goals in a season and in a career as a junior, something she is very proud of. She does say that her teammates make soccer what it is, and she enjoyed accomplishing those feats with them.

"Just playing together, things came naturally," she said. "Throughout the season we were working on things and accomplishing those goals."

Gerrow had 31 goals this season, setting both season and career records at Ellet.

Hailey also runs track in addition to playing soccer, carries a 4.0 GPA, and is looking to study either mechanical or chemical engineering in college.

On the Average Sports Show, we like to interact with our listeners especially on Wednesdays for a "Triple Play Wednesday"

Brad puts out three questions that get people's brains working on a Hump Day, and he decided yesterday to put Scott Wynn of WQMX to the test.  Questions were as follows: Best rivalry in sports, worst halloween candy, and Browns wins for the rest of the season, over or under 3.

"Ohio State vs Michigan has to be the best rivalry in sports," Wynn said. "Even though Michigan hasn't been as good for some time, it's still a rivalry," he said.

 

 Scott says circus peanuts are the worst kind of Halloween candy, and he says the Browns will have less than three wins in their last 9 games.

You can hear Scott every morning from Monday through Friday on Wynn, Kay, and the Morning Crew on 94.9 WQMX.

A local television staple lives on as an annual gathering. While Ghoulardi hasn't been on TV in a half-century, his image lives on.

Big Chuck Schodowski joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to promote this weekend's annual Ghoulardifest. Big Chuck looked up to Ernie Anderson in their days at WJW in the early 1960s, and eventually took over the late-night slot on TV 8. Anderson eventually became a high profile announcer for ABC TV for three decades.

Ghoulardifest is going on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at La Villa Banquet Center in Cleveland.

The War of 1894 will be taking place yet again at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, and with the Massillon Tigers and McKinley Bulldogs getting ready to tussle, both coaches expect to see 100% effort from their young men Saturday afternoon.

Nate Moore, the head coach of the Tigers joined 1590 WAKR to talk about the rivalry, his team battling through adversity throughout the season, and what it's going to take to stop McKinley's playmakers.

 

 Moore said that by containing McKinley dual-threat QB Dominique Robinson and limiting touches for other Bulldog playmakers, the Tigers should be alright.

"The quarterback is a good athlete, he has a good arm, so we have to stay disciplined defensively," he said.

For McKinley, head coach Dan Reardon says his team is playing good football and will have to maintain focus in a rivalry game and not let the emotion surrounding it cloud them from executing.

 

It's Week 10 of the high school football season and Massillon and Canton McKinley are ready to hit the gridiron this weekend once again.

Chris Easterling from the Massillon Independent joined the Sam Bourquin Show to break down the matchup and talk about what's at stake for both teams in addition to bragging rights.

 

 McKinley has their playoff spot locked up, while Massillon needs a win to keep their season alive. The Tigers are coming off a tough loss to the Irish of St. Vincent-St. Mary, while McKinley is coming off a win over the Green Bulldogs.

Easterling says that both quarterbacks Seth Blankenship of the Tigers and Dominique Robinson of the Bulldogs will dictate this game, and whoever makes the most crucial throws and the fewest mistakes will lead his team to a victory at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

 

It will be a clash of the titans in Week 10 of the high school football season as Archbishop Hoban High School and Cleveland Benedictine will tee it up on the gridiron Saturday night.

Benedictine coach Joe Schaefer joined the show to talk about the matchup with Hoban, saying that they have athletes to defend all over the field.

 

 The Bengals are 9-0 on the season, along with the Hoban Knights, so both teams will be facing a huge test prior to the playoffs, which start next week.

Schaefer said his team has been doing well along both lines, offensively and defensively, and that play in the trenches is crucial to his team's success.

For Archbishop Hoban, Tim Tyrell says that defensively, his team needs to be sure to keep everything in front of them and stay disciplined with all of the athletes at the quarterback, receiver, and skill positions for Benedictine.

 

The Louisville Leopards are riding high heading into the final week of the high school football season after their defeat of the previously undefeated Salem Quakers.

Head football coach John DeMarco joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the 48-10 dominating win, his team coming together, and the seniors who got a chance to exit Leopard Stadium for the final time as winners.

"We wanted to jump on them (Salem) early, turn mistakes into points, which we did," DeMarco said.

 

 The Leopards are in first place in the NBC conference heading into their final game of the 2015 season against Canton South. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. 

Heading into Year 2 of the David Blatt era, as well as the second year of the LeBron James "return"era, the Wine and Gold have large expectations before the ball gets tossed into the air Tuesday evening.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will tip off the 2015-16 season tomorrow night in the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls.

Our "Cavaliers Roundtable" consisting of Sam Bourquin, Brad Russell, Jasen Sokol, Ray Horner, and myself broke down the Cavs, their free agent moves, injury concerns, and who they could potentially face in the NBA Finals.

New additions include  Richard Jefferson, Mo Williams, and Sasha Kaun.

 

 Ray thinks this team might be the deepest in Cavaliers history.

"I think they really fortified themselves," Horner said. "You worry about the health of these guys, Irving, Varejao, Love, they haven't played a full season, so you worry about the health."

Both Brad and Jasen think that the Cavaliers will be challenged the most by the Bulls, with Jasen saying health is a key factor for them.

"They are the Cavs' biggest rival in the East, they have to stay healthy too to compete with Cleveland," he said.  Brad feels that Fred Hoiberg being named the head coach after replacing Tom Thibodeau will constitute some growing pains for the Bulls.

"There's a lot of question marks there," Russell said.

As far as the West, Sammy B says the Spurs "scare him to death" with the additions of frontcourt players David West and LaMarcus Aldridge, while Aaron thinks OKC can get it done with Kevin Durant.

You can follow the Wine and Gold along their journey on 1590 WAKR throughout the regular season and the playoffs.

 

The Green Bulldogs with have a tough task on their hands Friday night as they prepare to face the Canton McKinley Bulldogs in a Federal league battle.

Head football coach Jon Wallace joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about his Bulldogs and how they will prepare to slow down Dan Reardon's bunch.

 

 The Bulldogs are 3-5 on the season and are still mathematically alive in the playoff chase. Coach Wallace says the out of conference slate coupled with the Federal League schedule has been a good challenge for his team.

Green and McKiinley will hit the gridiron at 7 p.m. from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

Week 9 of the high school football season will feature a battle of two solid and well-coached teams who are looking to fine-tune their game before the playoffs begin.

Ron Johnson, the head coach of Salem joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the undefeated Quakers' matchup with the Louisville Leopards tonight.

Johnson says his team has improved week in and week out, and that they'll be ready for the Leopards under the Friday night lights. The 8-0 Quakers and the Leopards (7-1) will play at 7 pm tonight.

 The Quakers are coming off a win over Alliance last week. 

After a long wait, Tristan Thompson is now back in the fold for the Wine and Gold.

Dave Zavac from Fear the Sword joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show to talk about how the 5-year-$82 million deal got done and now that the band is back together, the Cavaliers can make another deep run resulting in a Larry O'Brien trophy.

 

Thompson made his mark defensively, with his tenacious rebounding an determined defense, especially in the playoffs. Team leader LeBron James, who shares the same agent as Thompson, has said numerous times how important the Toronto native is to the success of the Cavaliers moving forward.

The Cavaliers will tip off the regular season against the Chicago Bulls. Coverage begins at 7:30pm on 1590 WAKR.

Stow-Munroe Falls senior football stud Jayson Gobble is the WAKR Male Student Athlete of the Week for October 23rd-October 30th.

The talented Gobble has run for 1,310 yards with outstanding yards per carry average of 8.34. He has rushed for 23 touchdowns and caught an additional 2 scores.

"Jayson has a natural talent in that he has great vision when he has the ball in his hands, he has great awareness of second level defenders that helps him see the holes" said Stow Head Football Coach Mark Nori.

"I've been a running back since I was in sixth grade, it just comes natural for me," said Gobble.

Jayson has a 88 yard run to his credit this year for the unbeaten Bulldogs, who are now ranked number seven in the state Division I.

"I like being part of this school's turnaround in football, we are certainly a football school now," said Gobble.

"Jayson is a leader and a captain that the team looks to on game day and ignites his teammates to play," said Nori.

Gobble currently holds a solid 4.0 GPA and plans on playing football in college, and is looking for a career in Engineering.

Stow-Munroe Falls senior football stud Jayson Gobble is the WAKR Male Student Athlete of the Week for October 23rd-October 30th.

The talented Gobble has run for 1,310 yards with outstanding yards per carry average of 8.34. He has rushed for 23 touchdowns and caught an additional 2 scores.

"Jayson has a natural talent in that he has great vision when he has the ball in his hands, he has great awareness of second level defenders that helps him see the holes" said Stow Head Football Coach Mark Nori.

"I've been a running back since I was in sixth grade, it just comes natural for me," said Gobble.

Jayson has a 88 yard run to his credit this year for the unbeaten Bulldogs, who are now ranked number seven in the state Division I.

"I like being part of this school's turnaround in football, we are certainly a football school now," said Gobble.

"Jayson is a leader and a captain that the team looks to on game day and ignites his teammates to play," said Nori.

Gobble currently holds a solid 4.0 GPA and plans on playing football in college, and is looking for a career in Engineering.

This week's 1590 WAKR Student Athlete of the Week is Alexis Meffert from Lake High School in Uniontown. She is a standout soccer player for the Bluestreaks, and will be a four-year letter winner.

Alexis recently broke the single season scoring record this year by scoring 30 goals, breaking the record of 26 goals. She has been playing soccer for almost ten years now, and will continue her soccer and academic career next year at Walsh University for the Cavaliers. Alexis, who is an excellent student, says she will study physical therapy or occupational therapy in college.

One of her favorite memories playing soccer at Lake was during her Sophomore year when she scored the game winning goal against GlenOak as Lake won the Federal League championship.

Alexis says she is very excited to take the next step in here career, and is looking forward to making even more memories with teammates and friends along the way.

This week's 1590 WAKR Student Athlete of the Week is Alexis Meffert from Lake High School in Uniontown. She is a standout soccer player for the Bluestreaks, and will be a four-year letter winner.

Alexis recently broke the single season scoring record this year by scoring 30 goals, breaking the record of 26 goals. She has been playing soccer for almost ten years now, and will continue her soccer and academic career next year at Walsh University for the Cavaliers. Alexis, who is an excellent student, says she will study physical therapy or occupational therapy in college.

One of her favorite memories playing soccer at Lake was during her Sophomore year when she scored the game winning goal against GlenOak as Lake won the Federal League championship.

Alexis says she is very excited to take the next step in here career, and is looking forward to making even more memories with teammates and friends along the way.

The Akron Zips men's and women's basketball teams are getting ready for the 2015-16 season with the expectation of being competitive in the MAC.

Almost five years ago, then-Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the face during a gathering in Tucson. Since then, her recovery has been slow, yet miraculous and promising.

Gabby and her husband, Mark Kelly, will be at EJ Thomas Hall tonight to "spread their message of courage and hope." Mark joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss his relationship with his wife and her healing process.

Besides being the husband of a congresswoman, Mark is a retired astronaut and former US Navy Captain in the Gulf War, and he talked about his life as an astronaut.

With John Kasich busy on a run for Washington D.C., an opening in Columbus, Ohio may be a possibility. Three Republicans may be in the running for governor in 2016, one of which is Green's own Mary Taylor.

The Lieutenant Governor joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to address the rumors swirling around a run for governor. Her response? She is "seriously considering" it.

In addition to the running possibility, Taylor shared her thoughts on the controversial Issue 3, for which she is against.

Secretary of State Jon Husted has never shied away from his criticism of Issue 3, which is the bill that, if passed, will legalize marijuana in Ohio.

Husted defended his use of calling the issue a monopoly on the Ray Horner Morning Show, and he feels that the entire proposal should be scrapped.

In addition to Issue 3, Husted was also asked about his thoughts on a possible gubernatorial run.

This week's 1590 WAKR Student Athlete of the Week is senior volleyball player Baylie Huth from Mogadore High School.

Baylie says she enjoys playing volleyball with her teammates and playing for coach Calley Lasure.

"This year I've seen a lot of improvements, I love my team and we get along very well," Huth said. She says her goals for the team this year is to keep improving and make it to the district tournament.

In addition to starring on the volleyball court, Baylie also plays softball for the Wildcats.

Baylie says she plans on attending either Kent State University or the University of Akron upon graduation.

She says the balacing act of maintaining her studies and sports can be tough, but she makes time for it. "You have to make sure you get your work done," she says.

The 1590 WAKR male Student Athlete of the Week is Brian Schultz. Brian is a Senior at Firestone High School and a member of the Falcons golf team.

Golf was a family affair for Brian, as he picked up the sport from his father and grandfather alike. His older brother also had a passion for the game. Brian said one of his best memories of playing golf for Firestone was being able to play his freshman year during his brother's senior Year. That sense of comradery between he and his teammates will be one of the biggest things he takes away from his time playing golf for Firestone.

While playing golf for Firestone, Brian has accumulated quite a list of accomplishments including: 4 years of Varsity Golf, 1st team his Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years, and US Army Academic/Athletic Scholar award winner. He earned Rookie of the Year his Freshman year and the MVP award for his Sophomore and Junior seasons.

Brian also qualified for District Tournament his Sophomore and Junior years, which hasn't been done in 15 years at Firestone. On top of all of Brian's golf accomplishments, he also played Varsity Tennis his Sophomore and Junior years.

Not only is Brian excellent on the course he excels in the classroom as well. Brian is currently considering colleges including, Mount Union, Baldwin Wallace, and John Carroll.

We here at 1590 WAKR wish him the best in whichever he decides.

This week's 1590 WAKR Student Athlete of the Week is senior volleyball player Baylie Huth from Mogadore High School.

Baylie says she enjoys playing volleyball with her teammates and playing for coach Calley Lasure.

"This year I've seen a lot of improvements, I love my team and we get along very well," Huth said. She says her goals for the team this year is to keep improving and make it to the district tournament.

In addition to starring on the volleyball court, Baylie also plays softball for the Wildcats.

Baylie says she plans on attending either Kent State University or the University of Akron upon graduation.

She says the balacing act of maintaining her studies and sports can be tough, but she makes time for it. "You have to make sure you get your work done," she says.

The 1590 WAKR male Student Athlete of the Week is Brian Schultz. Brian is a Senior at Firestone High School and a member of the Falcons golf team.

Golf was a family affair for Brian, as he picked up the sport from his father and grandfather alike. His older brother also had a passion for the game. Brian said one of his best memories of playing golf for Firestone was being able to play his freshman year during his brother's senior Year. That sense of comradery between he and his teammates will be one of the biggest things he takes away from his time playing golf for Firestone.

While playing golf for Firestone, Brian has accumulated quite a list of accomplishments including: 4 years of Varsity Golf, 1st team his Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years, and US Army Academic/Athletic Scholar award winner. He earned Rookie of the Year his Freshman year and the MVP award for his Sophomore and Junior seasons.

Brian also qualified for District Tournament his Sophomore and Junior years, which hasn't been done in 15 years at Firestone. On top of all of Brian's golf accomplishments, he also played Varsity Tennis his Sophomore and Junior years.

Not only is Brian excellent on the course he excels in the classroom as well. Brian is currently considering colleges including, Mount Union, Baldwin Wallace, and John Carroll.

We here at 1590 WAKR wish him the best in whichever he decides.