I was born in Cleveland (well, 30 minutes south of Cleveland). I’ve been a Cleveland sports fan my entire life. And as much as I have wanted to deny the existence of any sort of hex on the C-Town teams, at this point resistance may be futile:

Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley, one of Cleveland’s biggest free-agent signings this winter, injured his left knee during the Browns’ first 11-on-11 drill of training camp.

Bentley got tangled in a pile of players as he was blocking on a running play for Reuben Droughns.

Bentley screamed, “No,” before remaining on his knees as the Browns moved their scrimmage up the field so the 6-foot-2, 309-pounder could be attended to. He stayed on the ground in a seated position for several minutes before Cleveland’s medical staff immobilized his left knee and carted him to the locker room.

Bentley covered his face with a towel on the short drive to the field house as Browns players and fans looked on in shock.

Well of course they looked on in shock: they’ve seen Kellen Winslow, Sean Jones and Braylon Edwards go down with season-ending injuries the past two years, and now, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, Bentley’s season may be done too:

A source close to Bentley said there is a fear he has a partial or complete tear of the patella tendon in his left knee and would require surgery, sidelining him possibly for the entire 2006 season.

Bentley was to undergo an MRI exam to determine the severity of the injury. Results were expected to be available this afternoon.

I mean, COME ON! Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous. It was the FIRST DAY OF TRAINING CAMP. Nothing is confirmed yet, so I suppose he could come out of this with a sprain or something else less severe than a torn tendon, but it sure as hell doesn’t look good for Browns fans. Then again, when does it ever look good for Browns fans?

Does the Cleveland Sports Curse actually exist? Well, if it doesn’t, this city’s fans and teams have dreadfully bad luck.