This past year witnessed the Steelers win the Super Bowl and the Penguins capture the Stanley Cup, while the Pitt basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight and the Panthers’ football team earned a Sun Bowl berth.

The Steel City dethroned 2008’s No. 1 Boston, which had finished atop the list three of the past five years but dropped to third, behind No. 2 Philadelphia, on the 2009 list. Rounding out the top 10 are No. 4 Chicago and No. 5 Los Angeles, No. 6 New York, No. 7 Phoenix, No. 8 Miami, No. 9 Dallas-Fort Worth and No. 10 Detroit.
 
“It’s been quite a year in Pittsburgh. Sports fans in Western Pennsylvania have had a lot to be proud of these last 12 months,” Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said, acknowledging the honor. “Pittsburgh truly is the City of Champions once again.”
 
This year’s list features 399 cities and towns in the United States and Canada, ranked based on a variety of factors, including each city’s number of teams and their regular-season won-lost records, playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids, championships, applicable power ratings, attendance, fan fervor and more.
 
“Whether it’s the CEO of U.S. Steel or the guy running the body shop on the other side of the street, Pittsburgh’s people share a common bond with their sports teams,” Pitt football coach and Pittsburgh native Dave Wannstedt says.
 
Sporting News began its Best Sports City rankings in 1993. Past winners:
 
2008—Boston          
2007—Detroit
2006—Chicago
2005—Boston
2004—Boston
2003—Anaheim/Los Angeles
2002—Boston
2001—New York
2000—St. Louis
1999—New York
1998—Detroit
1997—Denver
1995—Denver
1994—Cleveland
1993—Chicago
 
Note: There was no Best Sports City in 1996 as the ratings were expanded and refined.
 
The new Sporting News Magazine, featuring Sidney Crosby and Ben Roethlisberger on the cover, hits newsstands later this week and can be purchased at all Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets. More coverage can be found today at sportingnews.com and in Thursday’s edition of Sporting News Today, the world’s first digital daily sports newspaper. Go to sportingnewstoday.com to sign up. All questions and requests should be directed to Sporting News chief of correspondents Bob Hille at bhille@sportingnews.com.