June could be special

One of the best things about living midway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh is that sports fans have so many teams to support.

With six pro teams (Cleveland’s Cavaliers, Browns and Indians and Pittsburgh’s Steelers, Penguins and Pirates), there’s usually at least one competing near the top of its league.

Currently we’re blessed with an abundance.

During the next week, we could enter an unprecedented moment where teams compete for three championships within a year. (Sadly for baseball fans, there’s no hope that the 2009 Indians or Pirates will extend that number to four).

The Steelers’ 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1 launched the championship run.

The Penguins, who were Stanley Cup runners-up to the Detroit Red Wings last June, are one win away from advancing to their fourth finals since 1991.

And the Cavaliers, who trail the Orlando Magic 2-1 heading into tonight’s Game 4 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals, are trying to earn their second NBA Finals berth since 2007.

Only once before did three of our six teams come close to competing for consecutive titles. In October 1995, the Cleveland Indians ended their 41-year World Series drought and played the Atlanta Braves, losing in six games.

Three months later, the Steelers played the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, losing 27-17.

It’s the Steelers’ only Super Bowl loss in seven appearances.

In June 1996, the Penguins, led by Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr had a 3-2 lead in the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers won Game 6 at home then in Game 7 at Mellon Arena denied the Pens a third Finals appearance in six years.

What’s that? The NHL doesn’t count as a major championship?

When you factor in national television ratings, there’s no argument that hockey is not popular among the masses. The NBA playoffs appear on ABC as well as cable TV giants ESPN and TNT.

The NHL occasionally has a game on NBC. The rest are on Versus, a small cable channel that often can only be viewed if subscribers purchase an extra package.

To be a hockey fan requires work. But there are workers in the Mahoning Valley plus nearby communities to the east.

In Pittsburgh, television ratings for Fox Sports Pittsburgh had soaring numbers when the Pens played the Washington Capitals in the seven-game second-round series.

In Pittsburgh, fans without tickets bring blankets and lawn chairs to sit outside Mellon Arena, watching the games on a huge screen in front of the arena.

That success makes you wonder why the people running the Covelli Centre (where they hope the new Youngstown Phantoms amateur team will attract 3,000 fans per game next winter) don’t open their doors and show the Pens games on the big screens.

Stroll through the area malls and sporting goods stores and look at the merchandise being offered. In the Mahoning Valley, there are Penguins fans.

But there are a lot more Cavaliers fans, mostly because Cleveland has the best player in basketball in LeBron James. Forty-five years have passed since Cleveland celebrated a championship (the ’64 Browns).

Since then, Cleveland teams are 0-for-3 in title events (the Indians lost the World Series in 1995 and 1997, the Cavs were swept by the Spurs in 2007).

Pittsburgh has had much more to celebrate — six Super Bowl champions, three World Series winners and two Cup champions since 1960. Pittsburgh teams are 11-2 in title events during that run.

Led by the high-flying Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins look to be headed for a rematch against the Red Wings.

It could be quite a memorable June for many.

XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com.