Congrats To The Boys From Akron

Many deserving props go out to Kyle of the Chief Source, and his friend on the right Ben from the Keeler Report. Today they hit the big time, being picked up by their local newspaper. The Akron Beacon Journal announced today that these two will be coming over to the newspaper's website to blog from a new paper blog, http://politics.ohio.com/

The site will provide a feature that few news Web sites have -- a partisan blog (the point) written by two political junkies from Northeast Ohio. The bloggers will provide their take on the political scene. Lyell said politics.ohio.com is one of the few sites in the country where opinion and news come together.

''This is a bold step for us, but I strongly believe a necessary one,'' Lyell said.

Ben Keeler and Kyle Kutuchief, political analysis bloggers, are friends who agree to disagree. They will enter the fray in a match up of differing ideas.

Unapologetic in their approaches, Keeler and Kutuchief expect they will ruffle some feathers and perhaps make readers think about differing viewpoints as they air their opinions.

''We let our readers know up front where we stand politically because we are proud to be members of our respective political parties. That kind of disclosure is healthy,'' said Kutuchief, an Akron native who earned his Masters of Public Administration at the University of Akron. He is currently taking graduate course work at the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at UA.

''I don't know of any other major sites in Ohio that brings Democrats and Republicans into the same page to encourage debate,'' he said.

Keeler said he created his blog, The Keeler Report, in May 2004 as a voice for conservative Americans. He has a masters degree in sports management from Georgia Southern University.

''Kyle and I have known each other since we played sports as kids,'' Keeler said.