Browns’ Benard charged following crash

Associated Press

Cleveland Browns defensive end Marcus Benard was driving at a “at a high rate of speed” and crossed four lanes before crashing his motorcycle into a guardrail, according to a police report.

Benard was thrown an estimated 241 feet after slamming his Can-Am Spyder into the guardrail on Monday after practice. Benard, who broke his hand in the wreck, has been charged with driving under suspension and reckless operation. Browns spokesman Neal Gulkis said Benard remains hospitalized at the Cleveland Clinic.

Police said his three-wheeled vehicle traveled 687 feet before coming to rest. The report does not estimate how fast Benard was driving before the crash on Interstate-71.

Brooklyn Police Sgt. Scott Mielke said Benard is due in court Oct. 18 in Parma.

A witness, who like Benard was driving northbound on I-71, told police that one of Benard’s tires “came off the roadway” as he tried to gain control of the motorcycle, which has two front wheels and one rear wheel. The accident occurred about two hours after Benard left practice at the team’s facility in Berea.

STEELERS

PITTSBURGH

LaMarr Woodley heard it everywhere he turned after the Pittsburgh Steelers were mauled by Houston nine days ago. On TV. On the radio. In the paper. On the Internet.

The consensus was the same: The defending AFC champions were through.

No James Harrison. No Casey Hampton. No Bryant McFadden (again). No Rashard Mendenhall. They couldn’t possibly resurrect their season with a group of nobodies, right?

“People were saying the Pittsburgh Steelers was banged up, and they didn’t have any guys to fill the roles,” Woodley said. “But we had guys that was ready to come in and play.”

And play well.

Buoyed by familiar — and not so familiar — faces in familiar — and not so familiar — places the Steelers rolled by Tennessee 38-17 on Sunday and spent 60 minutes reminding the rest of the AFC why they went to the Super Bowl last year.

The Steelers did it with backup running backs Jonathan Dwyer and Issac Redman gashing Tennessee’s defense for 156 yards. They did it with reserve cornerbacks William Gay and Keenan Lewis continuing their solid play in McFadden’s absence. They did it with Lawrence Timmons disrupting things at outside linebacker while Harrison watched from the sideline with his right eye patched up after undergoing surgery last week.

They even did it with a left tackle (Max Starks) who hadn’t played in nearly a year.

NFL in London

The NFL will play regular-season games in Britain through 2016.

Team owners approved a resolution Tuesday at their fall meetings, with the number of games per year potentially increasing. No venues, dates or teams have been decided, but commissioner Roger Goodell said there could be more than one game there next season.

Teams can volunteer to play at least one regular-season home game per year in Britain for up to five years. Goodell said several teams have expressed interest and there are financial incentives for hosting games overseas. Visiting teams can play abroad only once in five years.

This season, Tampa Bay will host Chicago on Oct. 23 in London.