Bilderecke » scheduled series finale Thursday never began, and

CLEVELAND -- Ben Roethlisberger was convinced he was going to be a Cleveland Brown. He got lucky.Call it his first escaped sack.Pittsburghs prodigious quarterback grew up in Ohio, and as the 2004 draft neared and after a workout for Cleveland, he thought the Browns would select him in the first round. Instead, Cleveland traded up and took tight end Kellen Winslow with the No. 6 overall pick.I am kind of over that, Big Ben joked this week as the Steelers prepared to face the rival Browns, a team Roethlisberger has dominated like no other during his NFL career.The Browns havent recovered.Roethlisberger, perhaps more than any other player, any failed draft or any miserable season, best symbolizes Clevelands general ineptitude since returning to the league in 1999. While the Steelers have thrived with the sturdy Roethlisberger behind center and won two Super Bowls, the Browns have gone through 26 starting quarterbacks in 17 years and still havent solved their QB riddle.Consider that since 2004, the Steelers are 130-71 in the regular season and have won five division titles, three AFC championships and those two Super Bowls. The Browns are 61-141 and have finished last in the AFC North 10 times.I mean I wasnt here when they made the mistake of not drafting him, obviously, said Browns left tackle and perennial Pro Bowl lock Joe Thomas. But it wouldve been great if we did.Adding insult, Roethlisberger is 20-2 -- 19-2 in games hes started -- against the Browns (0-10), who are off to the worst start in their 66-year history and will be facing a snarling Steelers team that has lost four straight and is desperate for a win.This is still a huge rival for me, especially me personally, Roethlisberger said. It is Ohio. It is the Browns. I thought I was going to go to the Browns. For me, this is AFC North football. This is a huge rivalry for us.The numbers say otherwise. The Steelers are 28-6 against the Browns since 99 and their towel-waving fans are certain to overrun FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday, which has been an annual event on the shores of Lake Erie.The Steelers, though, havent been themselves of late as a 4-1 start has been erased with only the third four-game losing streak in coach Mike Tomlins tenure. They cant afford many more losses, let alone one to the browbeaten Browns.Roethlisberger should be able to fix that.NAME GAME: The Browns have paraded quarterback after quarterback onto the field, so many in fact that Roethlisberger wouldnt even attempt trying to name them all.No chance, he said on a conference call before playing along and rattling off a buddy of mine Bruce Gradkowski, Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III and Colt McCoy.There have been a whole bunch of them that I have faced, he said. I would love to look at the numbers of which quarterback I actually played the most because I feel like it was almost a different one every time.For the record, Derek Anderson (4) faced him more than any other Browns QB.ROAD WOES: The Steelers have been dynamic at home since offensive coordinator Todd Haley came on board in 2012, but have struggled replicating that success on the road. Not even Roethlisberger is immune. Hes thrown 10 touchdown passes against 14 interceptions outside Heinz Field since the start of 2015 and is under .500 (15-18) in road starts since Haley joined the staff, compared to 24-9 at home during that same span.HUE BETTER BELIEVE IT: The Browns may be down for now, but coach Hue Jackson said it wont be for long.The losing has been difficult on Jackson, who said he sometimes wakes up wondering `What am i doing? But as hard as it is for him to lose games to division contemporaries such as Cincinnatis Marvin Lewis, Baltimores John Harbaugh and Tomlin, Jackson is banking on flipping the script.They better enjoy it now, because it is not going to be like this very long, Jackson said, I promise you that.HELP WANTED: While do-everything wide receiver Antonio Brown is on pace for another 120-catch season, hes getting little help. While Brown currently has an NFL-high 69 receptions, no other Pittsburgh wide receiver has more than 23. Injuries to Eli Rogers, Sammie Coates, Markus Wheaton and Darrius Heyward-Bey havent helped, but the inability for anyone other than running back LeVeon Bell to emerge as a consistent receiving threat has created trouble in recent weeks.PRYOR COMMITMENT: Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor grew up in Jeanette, Pennsylvania, the heart of Steelers country. So, of course, he rooted for them?No, he said. Barry Sanders. I was all about Barry.Pryor, though, appreciates the black and gold and what it would mean for the Browns to beat them.It is a great organization, he said. That is somewhere we want to be, and we want to be great and bring championships here, and I think we can, but this is the test, first test. Weve got to beat them.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Justin Reid Texans Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Justin Reid Youth Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Lonnie-Johnson-Jersey/ .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Custom Houston Texans Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Lonnie Johnson Texans Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. DETROIT -- Thursdays game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians?was postponed because of bad weather after a delay of 4 hours, 13 minutes.When we walked the field, it was so soft that we knew if it took any more water, it was going to be unplayable, Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. So we were already iffy at that point, and then we got all the rest of the rain.A makeup game would be played Monday only if it would affect which American League teams would make the postseason or how teams are seeded.The postseason is supposed to begin Tuesday with the AL wild-card game. The Tigers are 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore and Toronto for the ALs two wild cards entering Fridays games.Cleveland clinched the AL Central title on Monday, but the Indians are still in the hunt for home-field advantage as they are 2 1/2 games behind AL West champion Texas and one-half game behind AL East champion Boston entering Friday.The Indians arent supposed to start the ALDS until Oct. 6, so there will be time off even if they have to play Monday.Wed still get two days, Francona said. Besides, I dont know, it might be fun to play in a game like that, with something at stake.The teams playedd just five innings Wednesday night because of rain -- won by the Tigers 6-3.ddddddddddddThe scheduled series finale Thursday never began, and the Tigers said over 6 inches of rain fell at Comerica Park.We know what is at stake, especially with the bad weather forecasts for the East Coast, Francona said. If we were 20 games out, it would have been different, but we understood why they wanted to try to avoid everything getting backed up, and they did a great job of communicating with us.Detroit begins a three-game series at Atlanta on Friday night, and Cleveland starts a three-game set at Kansas City.The rainout allows Detroit to push starter Daniel Norris (3-2) to Fridays game against the Braves, and Jordan Zimmermann will start Saturday night. The Tigers were initially set to choose between Matt Boyd and Buck Farmer for Saturday, but now they can avoid that issue.Justin Verlander is slated to pitch Sunday.Cleveland will push its Thursday starter back a day, too. Ryan Merritt (0-0) will pitch Friday.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '