desperately need his floor-stretching range this season

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 Percy Miller Jersey . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Marvin Williams Jersey . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. https://www.hornetslockerroom.com/Malik-Monk-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Kemba Walker Hornets Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Larry Johnson Hornets Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. When Michael Carter-Williams was traded for backup wing Tony Snell on Monday, it further underscored just how disappointing the 2013 NBA draft class has been.And that evidence was all over the court -- and on the bench -- in preseason action on Monday night.The Chicago Bulls completed the trade with the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, landing the 2013 rookie of the year for a back wing player in Snell that didnt figure to see a lot of minutes for the Bulls this season. With Khris Middleton out for the season with a hamstring injury, the Bucks were in desperate need of depth on the wing, so they took a flier on Snell and didnt hesitate to part with Carter-Williams, who gained little traction in Milwaukee after being acquired in a February 2015 trade that sent Brandon Knight to Phoenix.Carter-Williams will come to Chicago and try to compete for minutes as the backup to Rajon Rondo. The Bulls also have Jerian Grant, Isaiah Canaan and Spencer Dinwiddie at point guard behind Rondo. Grant scored 12 points in 17 minutes and hit a tying jumper in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime in a 108-104 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.Up the road in Detroit, Giannis Antetokounmpo played with the Bucks against the Pistons and is one of the few stars to emerge from that 2013 class. Other solid contributors include Utahs Rudy Gobert, who was impressive against the Clippers on Monday night, Oklahoma Citys Steven Adams, Atlantas Dennis Schroder, Portlands Allen Crabbe (a second-rounder), and Minnesotas Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad.But the poster child for the classs weakness is Anthony Bennett, who is on his fourth team since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bennett did not play for Brooklyn on Monday night in a 120-99 loss to the Nets.---CELTICS 120, NETS 99BOSTON -- Isaiah Thomas went 6 for 6 from the field and scored 19 points and Al Horford played his first game for Celtics at TD Garden in an easy win over the rebuilding Nets.Sean Kilpatrick led the Nets with 15 points in 20 minutes.NETS: Jeremy Lin had 13 points and five assists. ... Bojan Bogdanovic scored 12 points, but was a minus-35 in 22 minutes.CELTICS: Horford scored five points in 12 minutes, receiving a rousing ovation from the home crowd. ... Coach Brad Stevens played 16 players at least 10 minutes in the game. ... Rookie Jaylen Brown scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting. ... Boston turned the ball over 24 times.UP NEXT: Boston (5-1) hosts New York on Wednesday in its preseason finale. Brooklyn (1-4) hosts the Knicks at Barclays Arena on Thursday.---PISTONS 102, BUCKS 78AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 23 points and hit six 3-pointers to lead the Pistons over the Bucks.Pope also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals.Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists for Milwaukee.BUCCKS: Jabari Parker had 18 points and four rebounds.dddddddddddd. ... Greg Monroe scored 12 points, but was just 6 for 19 from the field coming off the bench. ... Matthew Dellavedova, in line to play an even bigger role with Michael Carter-Williams traded to Chicago, scored just two points on 1-for-7 shooting in 27 minutes.PISTONS: Rookie Henry Ellenson scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds and hit all three of his 3-pointers in 23 minutes. ... The Pistons made 13 of 27 3s, outscoring Milwaukee by 27 points from behind the arc. ... Andre Drummond had 12 points and 13 boards in 18 minutes and has made the Pistons look awfully smart for paying him the big money over Monroe, who has not panned out in Milwaukee.UP NEXT: Milwaukee (2-3) hosts Indiana on Wednesday in its final game of the preseason. Detroit (3-2) hosts Toronto on Wednesday in its preseason finale.---HORNETS 108, BULLS 104, OTCHICAGO -- Frank Kaminsky scored 14 points and hit three 3-pointers to lift the Hornets over the Bulls.Jimmy Butler scored 15 points in 24 minutes for Chicago.HORNETS: Nicolas Batum missed a short runner off of a steal that would have ended the game in regulation. ... Marco Belinelli scored 14 points as well. ... Charlotte turned the ball over just nine times. ... Roy Hibbert score 11 points and had three blocks in 25 minutes.BULLS: F Nikola Mirotic left the game with a back injury. ... Line of the night from color analyst Stacey King: Im excited. Ive been waiting all preseason for an overtime game. ... Doug McDermott scored 14 points, but was just 1 for 5 from 3-point range. The shooting-starved Bulls desperately need his floor-stretching range this season.UP NEXT: Charlotte (2-3) hosts Miami on Wednesday. Chicago (3-3) heads to Omaha to play Atlanta on Thursday.---JAZZ 104, CLIPPERS 78SALT LAKE CITY -- Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks against a Clippers team resting most of its stars.Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin all sat out. J.J. Redick played 20 minutes and scored five points.CLIPPERS: Austin Rivers played 37 minutes and scored 15 points. ... The Clippers shot just 39 percent, including just 19 percent (4 for 21) from 3-point range. ... They turned the ball over 17 times and didnt have much for Gobert in the middle with Jordan and Griffin on the bench.JAZZ: Dante Exum scored 15 points and hit 2 of 4 3-pointers in 32 minutes, starting alongside George Hill in Utahs backcourt. ... Shelvin Mack scored 14 points and was a plus-23 in 14 minutes. ... Utah shot 52 percent from the field, but only 62.5 percent (15 for 24) at the free-throw line.UP NEXT: Los Angeles (2-3) visits Sacramento on Tuesday to finish the preseason schedule. Utah (3-2) hosts Portland in its exhibition finale on Wednesday. ' ' '