Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis (40) runs for a...

Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis (40) runs for a short gain against New York Jets safety Jim Leonhard (36) in the second quarter of an NFL football game. (Nov. 14, 2010) Credit: AP

CLEVELAND — Cleveland has ended its championship drought.

Browns running back Peyton Hillis will grace the cover of Madden NFL ’12, the popular video game, after beating Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick in a vote by fans. Hillis received 66 percent of the one million votes cast to handily defeat Vick in the final.

Hillis rushed for 1,177 yards last season, his first with the Browns.

With his bulldozing running style, the 25-year-old Hillis became a cult hero in Cleveland, which hasn’t celebrated a professional sports title since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964.

One of Hillis’ first perks for winning will be to present the top 10 list on David Letterman’s late-night TV talk show.

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