Metro & state: Eastern, Central, Western Michigan release schedules

Six home games and a pair of visits to Big Ten foes Michigan and Penn State highlight Eastern Michigan's football schedule.

The Eagles open Sept. 3 at Rynearson Stadium against Howard University. EMU then hosts Alabama State on Sept. 10, before visiting U-M on Sept. 17 and Penn State on Sept. 24. The Eagles open the Mid-American Conference season at home Oct. 1 against Akron.

Central Michigan opens at home against South Carolina State on Sept. 1. The Chippewas face their next three opponents on the road -- Kentucky (Sept. 10), Western Michigan (Sept. 17) and Michigan State (Sept. 24).

Baseball: Michigan State senior centerfielder Brandon Eckerle is the Big Ten co-player of the week, and MSU senior right-hander Kurt Wunderlich is the conference's pitcher of the week.

Hockey: Western Michigan senior Jerry Kuhn is the Central Collegiate Hockey Association goalie of the week. He made 61 saves on the weekend, including a season-high 35 in Saturday's 2-0 win over Notre Dame.

WRESTLING: Michigan's top-ranked Kellen Russell will be the No. 1 seed at 141 pounds at this weekend's Big Ten championships in Evanston, Ill. U-M's Sean Boyle (No. 5 at 125) and Ben Apland (No. 5 at heavyweight) also earned top-five seeds. Michigan State's Ian Hinton is the No. 4 seed at 184. The tournament starts Saturday, and the finals are set for 4 p.m. Sunday (Big Ten Network).

Free Press staff reports