Pittsburgh

Cleveland stuck in shadow of Pittsburgh while on brink of title

Sports fans in Cleveland will settle for a championship any way they can get it.

Even if it comes by way of the city’s NBA team as opposed to their beloved NFL Browns.

Even if it comes via the help of the greatest player in the world, who several years back went on national television and publicly embarrassed the region when he took his ball and won titles elsewhere.

But again, make no mistake, you take the sweet taste of success any way you can get it.

That’s what happens when you’ve gone 146 major sports seasons without a title. The last of which came on Dec. 27, 1964 when the Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts for the NFL championship.

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Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings (Week 4)

Not a lot of movement in the Carnahan Chronicles College Football Rankings as just one team from last week fell short in Week 4. Consider this a Top 10 dedicated to momentum each week based off level of upsets and voting by the Associated Press:

#1 (1) Florida State (3-0) – Won 23-17 (OT) vs No. 22 Clemson
#2 (2) Auburn (3-0) – Won 20-14 at No. 20 Kansas State
#3 (3) Texas A&M (4-0) – Won 58-6 at SMU
#4 (4) Oregon (4-0) – Won 38-31 at Washington State
#5 (6) Oklahoma (4-0) – Won 45-33 at West Virginia
#6 (7) Alabama (4-0) – Won 42-21 vs Florida
#7 (–) Mississippi State (4-0) – Won 34-29 at No. 8 LSU
#8 (8) South Carolina (3-1) – Won 48-34 at Vanderbilt
#9 (9) East Carolina (3-1) – Won 70-41 vs North Carolina
#10 (–) Michigan State (2-1) – Won 73-14 vs Eastern Michigan

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Carnahan Coverage: Orlando City SC Competing In U.S. Open Cup

Last year the USL PRO’s Orlando City Soccer Club advanced to the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup before losing to Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire in the round of eight. The Lions got an early start on matching their deep run of 2013 on Wednesday by scoring a 4-1 win over the USL Premier Development League’s Ocala Stampede in the second round.

( – Click here to read my U.S. Open Cup recap at Orlando Sentinel – )

Orlando City will play its next five matches at home beginning May 21. The defending champion Lions are currently unbeaten on the season and atop the league table with a 6-0-3 (21 points) record. The last time Orlando City was at home they won their fifth in a row against the Oklahoma City Energy on May 4.

( – Click here to read my recap of Orlando City’s win over OKC – )

State of Florida Produces 9 Former Prep Players In NFL Draft

That brief moment of excitement I feel each year when preparing to watch the NFL Draft doesn’t linger for too long. I’m usually ready to channel surf or dip in and out of the room by the eighth pick. But this year I realized it’s all in the way you approach it.

I spent much of the draft last night in a recliner with a laptop, smartphone and remote control nearby. First thing I realized was that ESPN has been ruining this event for me for years. It wasn’t until I committed to the NFL Network’s broadcast that I no longer had the urge to throw my television through a wall due to the rabid jaw-flapping.

Then I got caught up in the information overload world of Twitter and Facebook, reading and responding to online posts about fan’s draft triumphs and despair, with plenty of doses of humor thrown in at each other’s expense.

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Something Familiar About Blue Jackets Return To NHL Playoffs

If you’re looking for an underdog franchise to root for in the NHL postseason – which got underway this week – look no further than the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets joined the NHL in time for the 2000-01 season but are playing in just their second playoff series. And they’ve yet to even win a single playoff game, a streak that increased to five losses in a row Wednesday after a late goal by the Pittsburgh Penguins ended in a 4-3 setback.

It’s been five years since Columbus was swept in the opening round of their first postseason trip by the Detroit Red Wings, who later lost in the Stanley Cup finals to the Penguins in seven games. This time Ohio’s only pro hockey team is matched up against the state’s biggest sports-town rival in Pittsburgh.

If that’s not reason enough to make sports fans in Columbus take notice, perhaps learning of the similarities between the two Blue Jacket playoff teams will be enough to satisfy the hockey appetite.

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