Akron

The ship that appeared headed toward smoother waters scraped bottom yesterday.Ahead 23 points in the second quarter against a dangerous Akron team, Navy failed to apply the finishing touches to its expected homecoming victory and wound up losing, 35-29, before 30,780 chilled spectators at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.This one was a real downer for the Midshipmen (2-5), who dropped their fifth in a row at their home base and eighth straight when acting as the home team (including neutral sites)

BOWIE -- On a perfect night for baseball, Akron's defense came undone in the 12th inning, giving the Bowie Baysox a 2-1 victory before 5,399 in their Eastern League opener at Prince George's County Stadium.David Dellucci reached on a throwing error by Akron first lTC baseman Greg Thomas to start the inning before Jesse Garcia attempted to sacrifice. Losing pitcher Johnny Martinez fielded the bunt and fired the ball over Thomas' head and Dellucci circled the bases to score the winning run.Garcia knocked in the Baysox' first run with a second-inning single, but the Aeros tied the game in the eighth on two singles and a throwing error by Bowie reliever Matt Snyder.

Benjamin Charny, 59, a Soviet space scientist who fought a long battle to be allowed to come to the United States, died Wednesday in Encinitas, Calif. He had cancer and heart disease.He and his wife, Yadviga, were refused exit visas nine times by the former Soviet Union before they were finally allowed to come to the United States in 1988. He quit his job as a mathematician with that country's equivalent of the American Apollo program. He also lost his post with the Institute of Controlled Sciences.

BasketballPortland Trail Blazers -- Placed G Rod Strickland on injured list with a slight fracture of the right wrist; signed G Steve Henson.CollegeAkron -- Re-assigned football coach Gerry Faust to a fund-raising position.

College8, Akron -- Named Lee Owens football coach.

Charles R. AbbottBell Atlantic retireeCharles Robert Abbott, retired director of financial control systems for Bell Atlantic Corp., died Thursday at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center of injuries suffered when he fell from his bicycle near his Reisterstown home.Mr. Abbott, 54, retired from Bell Atlantic two years ago after 27 years with the company. He started his career at its Hunt Valley offices and later commuted to Silver Spring. This year, Mr. Abbott went to work part time as a loan officer for the Epworth Federal Credit Union.

AKRON, Ohio -- It was the dreaded double-dog dare.That and a temperature of 6 degrees got a 6-year-old Akron boy more than he bargained for.As any fan of the 1983 Jean Shepherd movie "A Christmas Story" knows, the double-dog dare cannot be ignored. The movie is the story of 9-year-old Ralphie's quest for a BB gun during a 1940s Christmas.In one scene, one of Ralphie's classmates is "double-dog dared" to stick his tongue to the flagpole to see if it really will freeze.He does and it does.On Wednesday morning, movie fantasy became embarrassing fact when an Akron boy took up his friends' dare and stuck his tongue to a cast-iron fire hydrant.

Stanton Cameron made the trip from emergency room patient to ninth-inning hero yesterday.Beaned last Thursday by Canton-Akron pitcher Chad Allen, Cameron delivered the game-winning single in a 2-1 Bowie Baysox victory before 5,608 at Memorial Stadium."

At least there were very few witnesses.With the Orioles embroiled in a sizzling pennant race, only 505 showed up at Memorial Stadium last night to watch the Bowie Baysox reach the brink of elimination from the Double-A Eastern League playoffs.Canton-Akron built a 5-0 lead on the impetus of Patrick Lennon's second-inning homer and held on for a 6-4 victory, its second in the best-of-five semifinal series.The Baysox, with one victory in the series, must win Game 4 here tonight to avoid being ousted.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Anthony Buford always has had this thing about Michigan. Growing up in Flint, about an hour's drive north of Detroit, he could hardly wait to get out.It had partly to do with the drug-infested neighborhood in which he grew up, and partly to do with the lack of recognition he received playing high school basketball."

Morgan State (0-0) at Akron (0-1) WHEN: : 2 p.m. RADIO: : 88.9 FM SERIES: : First meeting WHAT'S AT STAKE: : It's a sellout as Akron plays its first game in InfoCision Stadium, a $61 million ballpark with 27,000 seats, a cutting-edge synthetic field and a state-of-the-art scoreboard. Can Morgan ruin the Zips' debut? Akron got pummeled, 31-7, by Penn State last week but promises to bounce back today. The Zips (Mid-American Conference) were 5-7 last season and have won just nine games in the past two years.

Awakened by the phone, the Morgan State football coach fumbled to answer it and peered at the clock. It was 1 a.m. This can't be good news, Donald Hill-Eley thought. The caller, his quarterback, was crying. "Coach?" Carlton Jackson asked, voice aquiver. "What's going on, son?" "Thank you for not giving up on me." Hill-Eley yawned, smiled and yawned again. "I always had faith in you," the Morgan coach said. "Now let me go back to sleep." Since that conversation in June, Jackson - once moody and mercurial - has been a different quarterback.

CURTISS C. BRAZIL, an IEP Team Associate within the Baltimore City school system, passed away suddenly on Monday, January 22, 2007 at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He previously worked in several schools in Baltimore County and Washington, DC. He is survived by two brothers in Akron, Ohio and a host of friends and relatives all over the globe. Viewing/funeral services will be Saturday, January 27, at 10am in Akron, Ohio. Stewart & Calhoun Funeral Home, 529 West Thornton Street, Akron, OH 44307, 330 535-1543, Fax: 330 535-3162.

Almanac-- June 10-- 1935: Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio. 1946: Italy replaced its abolished monarchy with a republic.

Today's game Motor City Bowl Akron (7-5) vs. Memphis (6-5) Site -- Ford Field, Detroit Time -- 4 p.m. TV -- ESPN Line -- Memphis by 5 1/2 Key stats: -- Akron is 25th in pass ing offense (262.2 ypg). Memphis is 104th in pass defense (263.9 ypg). Akron -- The Zips won the MAC ti tle game at Ford Field over Northern Illinois to earn their first bowl bid. QB Luke Getsy (250.0 ypg, 19 TDs) - a transfer from Pittsburgh - did a nice job replacing Charlie Frye; still, he makes some ill-advised throws (12 in terceptions)

The Mount St. Mary's men's team lost to Akron, 74-61, in the opening round of the San Juan Shootout at Mario Morales Coliseum in Puerto Rico yesterday. The Zips (4-2) used a 10-2 run to open the second half and take control of the game. Senior Landy Thompson scored a season-high 20 points to pace the Mount (1-7) in the loss. A three-pointer by Kiel Butler with 6:03 left in the first half cut Akron's lead to 23-21 after the Zips opened the game with an 8-2 run. Akron scored the next eight points to take a 10-point lead.

COLLEGE PARK -- The Maryland men's soccer team advanced to its fourth straight College Cup in dramatic fashion yesterday, beating Akron on penalty kicks at Ludwig Field. After the teams played to a 1-1 tie in regulation and through two overtimes, Terps goalie Chris Seitz became the hero by stopping two Zips penalty kicks in the shootout. Marc Burch scored what proved to be the winner in the fourth round, setting off a raucous celebration among the 4,129 in attendance - the fifth-largest crowd in Ludwig Field history.

In Maryland's two NCAA tournament men's soccer games this season, forward Jason Garey has found a defender on his back, kicking at his ankles or banging into his knees almost every time he's tried to create a scoring chance for himself. As the Terps' all-time leading scorer, opponents have focused on Garey and he's been held without a goal in the tournament. Nonetheless, the striker is proving to be a valuable commodity by taking the attention of defenders away from his teammates, who responded with four goals in the two games.

On Thursday, December 30, 2004 ETHEL MARIE DORSEY of Nettie, WV, formally of Bel Air, MD passed away at Akron City Hospital in Akron, Ohio. She is survived by husband Sheldon Dorsey of Nettie, WV; four children; eight grandchildren and two sisters, Betty Buettner of Baltimore, MD and Gloria Battaglia of Chesapeake, VA. The Funeral will be held in Nettie, WV January 4th, 2005.

Talented junior attacker Domenic Mediate is already out with a broken collarbone. And now junior forward Abe Thompson could be joining him on the sideline today with a foot injury. The injuries couldn't have come at a worse time for second-seeded Maryland (18-2-1), which continues its bid for a return trip to NCAA soccer's final four when it meets 15th-seeded Akron (15-4-2) in a round-of-16 game today at 1 p.m. at Ludwig Field in College Park. "This is just a major challenge we have to overcome," said Terps coach Sasho Cirovski yesterday after a tuneup for the Zips.