The Steelers play in Cleveland this afternoon and will confront the possibility the Browns are better than they are.
Every year the teams play twice and advance stories focus on the rivalry, but it hasn't really existed for a long time. Sure, people sell t-shirts bearing rude messages outside both stadiums, but there hasn't been much to dispute on the field.
The Steelers have won regularly since the Browns came back into the NFL as an expansion team in 1999. The Browns have squeaked out a game here or there, but mostly because the Steelers somehow self-destructed. They've been little more than a brown-and-orange bump in the road on the way to important divisional games against Baltimore or Cincinnati. People have gotten used to seeing the Browns in the cellar, a fixture just like cheap paneling, the old kitchen chairs and an ancient Duquesne Pilsner clock.
But the Browns are coming off a major second half rally that let them win in Tennessee last week. It resembled what they did in the season opener at Heinz Field when they spotted the Steelers a big lead, then roared back in the second half.
The Steelers didn't have an answer for what they did and had to salvage the game on Shaun Suisham's last-second field goal.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have a 3-2 record and should probably be 4-1 at this point. But there are brush fires all over the place. The offense produced just 10 points against Jacksonville.
The defense can't generate heat on quarterbacks, which explains why someone like Mike Glennon could beat them at home and Blake Bortels, making just his second NFL start, gave them a scare in Jacksonville last weekend.
The betting line has established the Browns as the favorite today, by the slightest margin. Have the Steelers and Browns converged while heading in opposite directions on the elevator?
Today's outcome isn't as certain as it usually is when these teams meet. This should be a competitive game, which means the storyline will be even bigger than whether Antonio Brown extends that NFL record for catching at least five passes for 50 yards.
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--GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
The Penguins took a moment during the opener to acknowledge Mike Lange's 40th anniversary as the team's play-by-play voice.
His longevity is unprecedented. Myron Cope was part of the Steelers' radio team for 35 years. Bob Prince called Pirates games for 28 seasons, 21 of those as the No. 1 announcer. Lanny (Hi, Friends) Frattare worked baseball for 33 seasons, although it seemed longer.
Lange's career hit a crossroads in the summer of 2006 when the rights holder dumped him from the TV broadcasts. He shopped around, found nothing that fit, put aside his pride and took the Penguins' radio job.
And he actually got better. Even at 66, he provides the most descriptive radio call of any sport in town. He's older, the game is faster than it's ever been and most broadcast perches are inches from the ceiling, but Lange is still on top of the action.
His preparation is thorough. He attends all the game-day morning skates and gathers information by talking to players and coaches from both teams. He has extra study time during warm-ups, when he hones in the visiting team, noting personnel combinations and skating styles, so he can tell who's on the ice even if the jersey number is obscured.
There is an asterisk attached to his longevity. After his first season, the Penguins went bankrupt (the first time). Uncertain of the future, Lange went to Washington to do soccer games. Who remembers that he was replaced by Gary Morrell?
Lange was back after that season, though, and he's one of the few who's been around for the second bankruptcy, Rico Fata, and the crazy swings between a 38-point season and three Stanley Cup championships.
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--OCTOBER 13
Monday is the 54th anniversary of the greatest moment in Pittsburgh sports, Bill Mazeroski's World Series-winning home run.
That isn't the reason schools are closed and mail won't be delivered. It's just a happy coincidence.
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