NEWS » Finals from 1999-2014, and both Bryant and D

PITTSBURGH (4-5) at CLEVELAND (0-10)Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE -- Steelers by 7 1/2RECORD VS. SPREAD -- Steelers 4-5, Browns 2-8SERIES RECORD -- Steelers lead 70-58LAST MEETING -- Steelers beat Browns 28-12, Jan. 3, 2016LAST WEEK -- Steelers lost 35-30 to Cowboys; Browns lost 28-7 to RavensAP PRO32 RANKING -- Steelers No. 18, Browns No. 32STEELERS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (11), RUSH (25), PASS (4)STEELERS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (25), RUSH (15), PASS (28)BROWNS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (28), RUSH (22), PASS (27)BROWNS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (31), RUSH (31), PASS (27)STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- After 4-1 start, Steelers have dropped four straight and need win or risk falling behind pack in playoff races. ... Snow is in forecast as bitter rivals meet for first time this season. Theyll play finale on Jan. 1 in Pittsburgh. ... Steelers have lost five in row just once in coach Mike Tomlins 10-year tenure (2009). ... Tomlin is 15-3 vs. Browns. ... Cleveland is first of four road games over next five weeks for Pittsburgh, just 1/3 away from home. ... Steelers defense suffered blow this week as DE Cam Heyward was lost for season with upper-body injury. ... Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is 19-2 in starts -- 20-2 overall -- against Browns, has thrown for 5,323 yards in career against Cleveland. ... Browns passed on chance to draft Roethlisberger, Ohio native, in 2004 and Big Ben joked this week that I am kind of over that. ... Roethlisberger completed 37 of 46 passes for season-high 406 yards and three TDs last week in loss. ... WR Antonio Brown caught 14 passes for 154 yards and TD last week. ... Steelers are 28-6 against Browns since 1999. ... Browns are 0-10 for first time in team history and have dropped 13 straight games since last season. ... Browns enter game with 416-416-10 record. They have never been below .500 in franchise history. ... Browns are 14-44 since Jimmy and Dee Haslam took over as owners. ... Browns begin stretch of three straight home games. ... Rookie QB Cody Kessler will start after being pulled in second half last week. Kesslers days as starter could be dwindling with Robert Griffin III expected to return from broken shoulder bone in next few weeks. ... Kessler has thrown just one interception but only six TD passes in seven starts. Kessler has attempted 119 straight passes without pick. ... LB Christian Kirksey had 13 tackles last week and according to NFL.com leads league with 94 total tackles. ... Browns have been outscored 60-8 in second half over past three games. ... Fantasy Tip: Browns have struggled to cover tight ends all season, which could open things up for Steelers TE Jesse James. He enters with 28 catches for 231 yards and three touchdowns.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLAir Max 720 Edizione Limitata .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Air Max Plus Saldi . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/scontate-max-tn-outlet.html .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Nike Air Max 95 Offerte Uomo .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Air Max 97 False Come Riconoscerle .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable.First Kobe Bryant, now Tim Duncan. A two-decade chapter of NBA history has closed.Two giants of their generation retired within months of each other, and their exits, just like their personalities and their games, couldnt have been much different.The destination is certainly the same. They will be headed to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame together in five years.Duncan ended his career Monday after 19 years with the San Antonio Spurs, three months after Bryant played the last game of his 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.Youve got probably two of the best at their position. To see them go, its kind of sad, but it comes at some point, said Grizzlies assistant Nick Van Exel, a former teammate of both.Both retirements seemed possible going into the season after injuries and sometimes even ineffectiveness had creeped in late in their careers, but the absence of a familiar silver and black jersey, and one purple and gold one, is a jolt, just like when Oscar Robertson and Jerry West retired in 1974 after the same season.For now, the NBA moves on without a pair of players most responsible for carrying the league forward after Michael Jordan, two who stood as the best examples of what the league long aspired to be.Its like when Michael passed the torch to Kobe and Tim, and now them passing it to LeBron. Its a natural progression, Houston coach Mike DAntoni said. The NBA keeps thriving because we keep having great players and those two exemplified two of the best.Bryant proved a basketball player could not only be one of the brightest stars in Hollywood, but also Europe, Asia, or anywhere else his games were seen around the globe.Duncan will always stand as the model that players dont need to be backed by the big spenders in Bryants Los Angeles or Jordans Chicago to win, that small markets can soar with the right combination of skill and sacrifice.Duncan embodied both, a player who for years could either dominate offensively, defensively, or both, without the desire for praise or paycheck that came with it. He took far below market value to give the Spurs the means to fortify the team around him, so much so that his salary had he continued playing would have appeared puny at a time when dollars are flying around to players -- and not even All-Star ones -- like never before.His equivalent of a quiet exit out the back door Monday came via press release from the team, not much different than the dozens that have been sent out in recent days by NBA clubs announcing minor free-agent or draft-pick signinngs.ddddddddddddThats all Duncan deserved?More likely its all he wanted, which is what made him and the Spurs so perfect together. They dont care for wasting time on words, and sure enough there wasnt even a quote in Duncans announcement.Bryant always did things differently, from his much-flashier wardrobe to his much larger bank account last season as the NBAs highest-paid player, which prevented the Lakers from the building options that Duncans salary afforded the Spurs.Bryant at first said he wanted no part of a farewell tour, no gifts from teams he was trying to beat, yet thats exactly what his exit became. He announced early in the season that it would be his last, allowing him a long and lengthy goodbye.And when it ended with his scintillating 60-point throwback in the final game of the season, somehow turning Golden States record-setting 73rd victory into the nights second story, it was a final reminder that even when there were better teams and better players, he was never far from the spotlight.He arrived in 1996 when high school players were far from a sure thing, one of the reasons he slipped to what seems now an unfathomable No. 13 in the draft. Duncan arrived the following June as one of the surest things ever, a four-year player at Wake Forest with NBA-ready skills and smarts.Duncan got to the top first in 1999, Bryants Lakers won the next three titles before the Spurs ended their run, and the pattern stayed that way for years. One or the other appeared in 13 of the 16 NBA Finals from 1999-2014, and both Bryant and Duncan finished their careers with five championships.Their playing days are over, but the debate over who had the better career -- or perhaps, who was the best player of his generation -- might continue many more years. Bryant scored far more but also lost more, unable to match Duncans amazing consistency during 19 straight playoff seasons and an NBA-record 17 consecutive 50-win seasons.For us as players, we just enjoy and appreciate each other, Bryant said earlier this season. Its not a matter of whos better or whos greater. You just accept the careers that youve had. I appreciate his career, and vice versa.And sometime in 2021 in Springfield, Massachusetts, there will be a night to appreciate them together.---Freelance writer Willie Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '