Cleveland

RICHFIELD, Ohio -- Looks were deceiving last night at the Richfield Coliseum.The Cleveland Crunch wound up with an 8-5 victory over the Blast before a crowd of 3,517, but Baltimore coach Kenny Cooper talked as if his team had won."This was the best we've ever played here," Cooper said after the Blast rallied from a 6-1 deficit with 13 minutes remaining."This never was a 6-1 game, no matter what the scoreboard said," Cooper said. "We played a lot of our younger players tonight with Mike Stankovic [bruised right foot]

All that was missing were those icy winds sweeping off the shores of Lake Erie.For the Pittsburgh Steelers' first game against the Ravens at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore provided the same type of dreary, rainy weather that was so much a part of Steelers visits to Cleveland Stadium over the years.The 57-degree temperature at kickoff was about 30 degrees too warm, but the rest of the setting was reminiscent of a Cleveland-Pittsburgh game. There was even a large contingent of Steelers fans on hand the way there always was in Cleveland when the Browns were the Steelers' top rivals.

The stage is set for what could be one of the most exciting championship series in Major Soccer League history.The San Diego Sockers, who wrapped up the Western Division championship a week ago, are ready and waiting in San Diego for Game 1 this Friday against the Cleveland Crunch."

The Seattle Seahawks can offer Paul Allen's open checkbook and a defense manned by high-priced former free agents.The San Diego Chargers can serve up the No. 1 defense in the league and the unlimited potential of young franchise quarterback Ryan Leaf, however immature he might be.The Ravens can sell a young, hungry defense and the sparkle of a new stadium.But if you are searching for the best coaching opportunity in the NFL in 1999, the place to start is Cleveland, where a management team of former San Francisco 49ers is preparing to resurrect the Browns in a big way.Among the perks the expansion Browns can offer a new head coach are the first choice in the draft, 14 extra picks over the next two years, a full salary cap to work under and a new stadium to operate in.If the anticipated purge strikes the sidelines again this off-season, top-of-the-line coaches will have their pick of some very attractive positions.

CLEVELAND - Rob Hageman has no particular fondness for the New York Giants. Still, when Super Bowl Sunday arrives, his rooting sentiments will be clear. "I think I speak for a lot of other Clevelanders," Hageman, 25, said, "when I say, `Go, New York!' For four hours, anyway, I'm going to be a Giants fan." With a few exceptions, that seems to be the prevailing view here, where a Ravens victory would represent the final galling chapter in this city's recent football history. Not that Browns fans have anything against Baltimore residents.

In case you hadn't noticed, there is a lot of similarity between what's going on in Cleveland these days and what happened three years ago in these parts.The Indians not only have an identical game plan on the field -- they also are preparing to move into a new park that is a near-mirror image of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Not only that, the owners also have the same last name, though not necessarily the same economic philosophies."I want a contender, positive cash flow and fair return on our investment," is how Richard Jacobs describes his goal as Cleveland's owner.

ATLANTA -- Cleveland Mayor Michael White said he hopes his city and Baltimore end up with teams when the dust settles from the proposed move of the Browns."

The seemingly endless saga of two cities, Baltimore and Cleveland, entwined by the rivalries of their professional football, baseball and indoor soccer teams, entered another phase this week with the news that Art Modell will eventually sell the Ravens for $600 million.Pressed by the NFL, Modell agreed to give up a 49 percent share of the Ravens to Anne Arundel County businessman Stephen J. Bisciotti, who is expected to take full control in four years. Although the deal frees Modell from debt, it ends his plans to turn over the team to his sons, David and John.

To the millions of tourists who visit Baltimore each year, the city has its allure. But can the success of the city's celebrated Inner Harbor and other high-profile tourist attractions be duplicated in, say, Cleveland?A group of 50 business and civic leaders from the Ohio city spent yesterday here trying to find out."We're going to a city similar to Cleveland that has accomplished a revitalization of its downtown area," said Judith M. Ruggie, director of Leadership Cleveland. She brought about 50 members of the 1991 class of Cleveland's 15-year-old leadership development program to Baltimore Monday.

CLEVELAND -- In its first contest since being eliminated from the National Professional Soccer League playoffs, the Spirit closed its road schedule with a 17-4 loss to the Cleveland Crunch before 8,652 at Cleveland State University Convocation Center.The Spirit, which got only two second-half goals from Sasha Zoric, fell to 11-27 with the loss. Baltimore's playoff hopes had been extinguished on Tuesday when Cincinnati wrapped up the fifth and final American Division spot.The Crunch used a point-a-minute offense in the second quarter, behind two goals apiece from Hector Marinaro and Zoran Karic to take command of the game at 15-0 entering halftime.