This makes more sense. We, along with many others reported on Monday about Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson pleading to charges of assault. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail and fined.
Monday, Benson, or at least his attorney said the running back would wait until October, sandwiched around the Bengals bye week to serve his sentence.
So imagine the surprise of Travis County (Austin) jailers when Benson showed up last night to begin serving his sentence.
This makes more sense. It's been reported the 20-day sentence could be dropped to 7 with good behavior. And seven days just means Benson would miss his teams final exhibition game, one he wouldn't be playing in much anyway. It would allow him to return to Cincinnati next Wednesday, 4 days before the teams season opener. Plenty of time to prepare and he wouldn't miss any regular season time.
We don't know why he or his attorney didn't think of this Monday, but at least they finally figured it out.
Wow! Current Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson will apparently spend the 20-days in jail as punishment for an assault that took place at an Austin, Texas bar in 2010.
Benson pleaded no contest to assault charges and will along with the sentence, be fined $4,000.
He'll serve the sentence after the Bengals play on October 13th. In order to complete the time, he'll miss the bye week on the 20th and the Bengals game with the Seahawks on the 27th.
That however, is not the end of Mr. Benson's problems. He is also facing an assault charge from a fight with his former roommate back in August. There's a hearing on that case scheduled for later in the week.
Your TV story from KVUE-TV, before the agreement was released:
Prosecutors in Cincy unveiled a seven-count indictment against former Bengal linebacker Nate Webster, accusing him of having sexual relations with a minor.
According to court records, Webster is charged with five counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of sexual battery and one count of gross sexual imposition.
Gross sexual imposition? Sounds painful.
Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters told WCPO that "the relationship lasted from June 2009 to March of this year. The girl, who was 15 when the relationship started, is now 17."
Deters also told WCPO that "Webster threatened to kill the girl and her family if she told anyone about their relationship."
Law enforcement served a search warrant on Webster's home this morning, and guns were found in the residence. Oops.
Deters will be holding a news conference around 11:30am Cincinnati time, and more information will be released.
Webster last played for the Denver Broncos in 2008, and has been coaching high school football.
All of this is according to the arrest affidavit...
A former roommate of Cincinnati Benglas running back Cedric Benson, according to police reports, was standing at a street corner in Austin, Texas talking on his cell phone around 5 a.m. Saturday night/Sunday morning when he was approached by a “hostile and aggressive Benson” who told him they “needed to talk about their problems.” The former roommate said they began talking about their living arrangements when “all of a sudden he was struck on his face with a closed fist throw by Benson.”
The man said Benson continued to punch him all over the face, "resulting in severe injury."
The affidavit also said the former roommate was bleeding from the mouth and complained about “possible loss of teeth and massive swelling of the left cheek.”
Benson's attorney, Sam Bassett, was the one who talked when Benson was released from jail Sunday afternoon... "Mr. Benson has been charged with misdemeanor assault arising out of a conflict with a former male roommate. The two had difficulties resulting from Mr. Benson asking the former male roommate to leave his home a few days prior to this incident. The conflict became physical early this morning and we intend to fully investigate. There is not enough information available at this time for further comment."
There's irony in the Benson arrest in that he was supposed to have his previous issues looked at in court Monday morning before this one came up all by itself...
Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson is in trouble with the law in Austin, Texas...again.
Benson was arrested early Sunday morning for what was essentially called "Beating up a family member". He was booked on misdemeanor assault charges just before 7 a.m Sunday morning.
**Note**--The article doesn't say it, but Benson has been released from jail.
Cedric Benson is very familiar to those who follow the Athlete versus Police blotter. He is due to begin a trial on an Assault incident at an Austin area bar from June of 2010. After that incident, he paid NFL Commish Roger Goodell a visit and whatever he told the commissioner, it was enough to avoid disciplinary action.
Benson is technically going to be a free agent when the NFL Lockout ends this week and we'll be curious to see what happens. The Bengals desperately need his services and there's no guarantee he won't end up in the principal's office again for this incident.
If he is, we suspect the punishment may be a bit more severe.
Just when you thought he was done with legal issues, Adam "Pacman" Jones is back and in trouble yet again.
The troubled cornerback, currently playing for the Cincinnati Bengals (once lockout is lifted), was arrested early Sunday morning after a scuffle at a Cincinnati Bar called The Scene. Cincinnati Police say Jones was unruly and aggressive and had to be restrained, he's currently being held (as of 8am) in jail and charged with Disorderly conduct.
Since the incident happened around 3 a.m. and the Bengals are unable to comment on the problems of one of their players, the only comment is going to come from Jones himself. We are somewhat skeptical he'll be talkative to local reporters upon his release.
It will be interesting to see, once things are settled, how both the Bengals and the league, particularly Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has had to discipline Jones before reacts to this latest news.
((ed.note--He has a neckbrace because of surgery to repair fractured vertebrae during the previous football season))
Here's PacMan addressing his latest sojourn with Johnny Law...
Shannon Kettler drew the lucky straw...
((HT: WCPO-TV))
Could it be? The legend is his own mind, Terrell Owens, done with football? It's possible.
The reason, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Owens recently had ACL surgery after blowing out his knee. His sources are a bit conflicting though, one saying he did it taping a reality show for that bastion of quality TV, VH-1 and the other source saying he did it during a work out.
Owens mouthpiece, Drew Rosenhaus hasn't issued a statement to confirm or deny this, but both of Mort's sources agree he had the surgery. The sources also say, with rehab, if he so chose, Owens could possibly come back and play by the end of November this year.
T.O is second only to Jerry Rice in all-time receiving yards and has had a fairly successful career despite his issues with ego. He was reasonably successful in 2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals, catching 72 passes, but there were questions as always about his commitment to the team. They didn't ask him back.
We're betting you'll see him at least make an effort to get back on the football field after he recovers, eventually, someone will take a flyer on him and if it is at a reduced price, he could be worth it. Yes, we know, nobody would touch him other than the Bengals in 2010, but we think as a late season rental, he could potentially have something to offer a team in need. But that's it. He won't play in 2012.
Here's a somewhat crappy dub of last years premiere episode of "The T.O Show" for those interested:
The past 20 years the Cincinnati Bengals have been the NFL's punching bag. Bad teams, bad draft picks, cheap ownership and those of us at the HQ think are really, really bad uniforms.
There's another pro football team in Cincy, the Cincinnati Commandos and they are the winner in town. Last season the Commandos won the Continental Indoor Football League Championship.
Now the Commandos are taking shots at the woeful NFL franchise in town. They put together a commercial showing a stuffed tiger getting a beatdown. (Thanks cincycommandos/Youtube.com)
You have to love the slogan. "You Call This Cincinnati Football."
We were trying to ignore this story, despite being located in the Satellite HQ, smack-dab in the middle of where it was happening. And yeah, there's the having to report it at work (paying job) part of it too.
By now, most of you have heard about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer telling the owner of the team, Mike Brown, "Trade Me". It was reported yesterday. It was confirmed by Brown today. Oh...Brown did add "It's not going to happen"
Read the rest of the story from Bengals beat writer Joe Reedy RIGHT HERE
Really, the whole thing is kinda stupid. At least from a Cincinnati perspective. The Bengals can't trade the guy. They owe him half a gazillion dollars (okay $50 million), for the next three seasons. Who's going to trade for that contract? Plus, with the strike deadline date looming--March 3rd, they would have to do something...quickly. We don't see that happening either.
For his part, Palmer, a pretty low-key guy, has said he'd walk away if he can't escape. And we believe him. He doesn't need this. The fan base, jaded and way more ignorant than they think they are, almost universally want to get rid of him. The team, they aren't going to be good anytime in the near future, they are back to square one rebuilding. There is nobody better on the roster or available in the draft. And there damn sure aren't any "Big Name" free agents that would come play in Cincy. Palmer is a smart guy and he's already made enough money to live comfortably the rest of his life if he so chooses.
As for potential trades that Mike Brown says he won't make....Yeah, there are some teams. No, there are quite a few teams that need a good quarterback. And Palmer, despite what the ass-clowns in Cincinnati think, is still a pretty good quarterback. Having been subjected to quite a few of their games on TV and 1 in person, you'd be amazed at how many times his receivers, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco killed him this year by not trying to make a play. He could make any of the NFC West teams that don't have Sam Bradford better just by walking in the door.
Anyway, we'll kind of keep an eye out on this, mostly because we are stranded in the same town and there isn't much else to talk about until baseball season here.
Here's some video of Palmer making a play in 2009, one of only 2 good seasons the team has had in the past god knows how many years.
Okay, this made us laugh. Being stuck in Cincinnati, land of bad football, decent baseball and really good beer (and cold weather), we couldn't help but having to post this story.
A 28-year old Cincinnati Bengals fan has decided to auction off his fan allegiance to the highest bidder. Yes, this un-named fan is a resident of Cincinnati and has been a Bengals fan for his football life.
However, like many people in the city of Cincinnati, he's tired of the miserly ownership of Mike Brown, poor performing teams and over-priced tickets.
He wants to cut ties and try something new and if you read the description of what he brings to the table, he's willing to work hard and be the best, typical, hardcore fan that he can possibly be. Though if you read the bottom of the listing, he doesn't want any part of the Bills, Lions, we suspect the Carolina Panthers or his hometown Bengals.
For anyone...or team interested, the bidding starts at $19.95 and the current leader in the clubhouse is the Chicago Bears. The bidding ends....next Monday.
**UPDATED** 1:35pm. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the fan in question is one Brett Kostoff. You can read about him RIGHT HERE
If you want to check it out, your link...is RIGHT HERE
Okay, this is pretty funny. And in Cincinnati, it's indicative of how the fanbase feels about the team. Really, they are kind of right. While not totally un-talented, they seem to almost always underachieve. The owner is pretty much reviled by both the fans and because of his greediness, is hated by city politicians. No, the team isn't going anyplace, we aren't really sure given today's economy, that anyone would build them a stadium.
So instead the fans in Cincy suffer. They are pretty narcissistic when it comes to the Bengals and we now know why.
We wish this guy luck and hope he'll find a team...and some money, real soon.
Here are the Bengals...trying to eat Hamburgers (better than the football) at Fatburger in Cincinnati. Thanks GrowlZone.com:
Marvin Lewis is staying as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. A press conference is set for 4:30 to announce Lewis is returning for his ninth season as coach.
Lewis agreed to a contract extension after two days of negotiating changes in how the front office functions and integrates with the day-to-day operations of the football team.
Mike Brown wanted to keep him, offering an extension last season. Lewis wanted to stay, but only if he got more influence over the personnel decisions.
The Bengals are coming off a 4-12 season. They've had only two winning records during Lewis' eight seasons, and in Cincinnati, Lewis' career record is 60-69-1.
Cincinnati has only two winning records in the last 20 years, both under Marvin Lewis, but the Bengals haven't won a playoff game since 1990. And parts of the HQ would maintain that Carson Palmer hasn't been the same since the surgery on his throwing shoulder...
Now if only he could throw to more guys like Shipley and Gresham... And not get caught in situations like this... ((HT: NFL on CBS/Youtube))
Charlie Weis looks like he's going to take the OC job in Boomtown after all. Nothing like being an overbearing, Type-A personality that will be paired with another Type-A personality for a coaching staff.
Will Muschamp will be the enthusiastic one in Gainesville, and the question now becomes: Who gets to recruit...??? And how do they recruit as a unit...??? Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun has the details about Weis and Aubrey Hill joining the staff.
Now, to the NFL... and it looks like Jason Garrett, winner of 4 of the 7 games he's coached as the interim leader in Dallas, may get that "interim" label pulled after all.
OTHER STUFF: Looks like Tom Cable is in question for a return to Oakland, Gary Kubiak is returning to Houston and the Texans, and Marvin Lewis can stay in Cincinnati if his staff changes- which Lewis may balk at...
If you aren't familiar with sports songster Ryan Parker, you should be. We've frequently sampled some of his best work.
He always has a musical and biting look at the various funny and sometimes strange things that happen in the world of sports.
His latest, a knock on the ever-pathetic Cincinnati Bengals a team that can provide him plenty of material. Being up here in the northern bureau, we've gotten to see the very, very odd relationship between the team, the city and the very strange owner.
Listen and laugh as Mr. Parker takes us through the Bengals bungles to the Eminem/Rhianna tune "Love the Way You Lie".
We say that because TLB (The Lovely Bride) and I were at the Saints/Bengals game, despite the 29 degree weather, 10-15mph winds and blowing snow flurries. We wanted to experience an outdoor game in December, and boy did we get one.
It's funny, after living in Cincinnati for over a year, we don't know exactly why...or how the local populace is attached to their team. Sure, the NFL is much bigger in Ohio and most parts Northeast/Midwest, but most--well some of those cities have team that have been successful. The Bengals. Not so much.
We went to the game mostly to see the Saints. TLB is from Louisiana and grew up a huge fan. But then again most Louisiana folk are hardcore football fans, be it the Saints or LSU. If you don't believe me, try going down there during football season.
The Bengals on the other hand, for the most part have been pretty bad. Pretty bad for a long, long time. Sure, they played in the Super Bowl twice in the '80's, but they haven't sniffed it since. They had a pretty good 2009 season, but nobody knew how or why. This year...has been back to reality. They came into the game 2-9 and fading...fast.
TLB was cold but enjoyed the game/Courtesy: Me
Probably because of the weather, the game started slow. The Saints moved it right down the field the 1st time they got it, stalled and kicked a field goal. The Bengals didn't do much better. Halftime, it was 13-6 and nobody really seemed to be in control.
It picked up a bit in the 3rd. Chris Ivory, a free agent running back for the Saints, well, the Bengals couldn't stop him. 2 Rushing TD's, 117 yards on only 15 carries. He scored and then the guy allegedly brought in to put the Bengals over the top, Terrell Owens caught at TD pass. A missed extra point and we are looking at a 20-12 game after 3.
The final quarter got a little busier. Cedric Benson ran in two 2 TD's for the Bengals as they suddenly started to use the guys they had on offense the right way. It would be the only time all day they did that. They threw short and some longer, timing passes mixed in with Benson running. They moved it pretty well. Inexplicably, that wouldn't continue.
The Saints hung tough, but a 47-yard field goal by Clint Stinser, who missed an extra point earlier, suddenly put the Bengals in the lead. That wouldn't last long.
Drew Brees had 4:20 to move the Saints in for the game winner. And as usual, he delivered, though not without some help.
Yeah, I wear sunglasses for everything/Courtesy: TLB
Less than a minute to go. The Saints have the ball. 4th down and 2. They line up to go for it. Half the crowd, which was about 20,000 short of a sellout, couldn't figure it out. They were going to make the Bengals jump offside or they would run down the clock and call time out. Pick the former.
Nose Tackle Pat Sims jumps offside. Saints ball on the 3. The next play, Brees hits Marques Colston in front of his guy in the end zone. Game over. Or was it?
For some reason, the Saints kicked the ball to Bernard Scott who returned the ball to midfield. A 14-yard completion got the Bengals inside the 40. Rather than use their timeout, since they needed a touchdown and the play was stopped with 14-seconds to go, the Bengals frantically tried to run up and spike the ball before finally calling the timeout with 8-seconds left.
The last second throw to the end zone. It never happened. Carson Palmer was sacked. Game over Saints win 34-30.
It's hard to describe the looks on the Bengals fans faces at the end of the game. They just kind of quietly shook their heads and walked out of the stadium.
It will be very interesting to see what happens with this team after the season. There is some talent on the roster, but it hasn't been used very well. The coach, Marvin Lewis, his contract runs out after the season. There are tons of rumors he's done and they probably are true. The Bengals are one of the last teams run by a family and they aren't run well. They don't have the scouting resources or GM that other teams have. They do have a fanbase. One that would respond if prompted, but it doesn't look good. With the economic struggles in the area, an over-priced NFL ticket isn't that important to most. They put maybe 50,000 in Paul Brown Stadium Sunday (announced 59,000) and a lot of them left after half time. The team has some serious issues they need to address and if the league has a lockout, they may be one of the teams hurt the most.
Check out this interesting retrospective done by meaningfulcollateral.com. Interesting and they only go back to the 1990's.
Despite his personal issues and/or demons, the violent death of Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry was tragic last year.
The impact of his passing has been felt by a lot of other surrounding families in the Carolinas because of Henry's mother's decision to donate his organs for transplantation.
This is two things: required viewing and a hankie alert... A well-put together piece that reminds us of all that we need to be thankful for...
“He is a coward. Put that in quotes. He ruined a bunch of people’s lives, a bunch of people’s families, kids, because he didn’t have enough nuts to stay there and finish the job. That’s the truth.
“Most people in football have enough courage about them and enough fight to stick through something and not quit halfway through the year. It is cowardly.
“He came in and said he resigned, he would talk to us all at a later date, walked out of the office and no one has ever talked to him since. Not that anybody wanted to.
“He’s a gutless b-----d. Quote that. I don’t give a s---.”
Sensing reporters might not be able to use his most profane descriptions, Zimmer quickly amended them:
“How about this: ‘Gutless MF.’ You can use that.”
How awesome is all of that...??? Thought you'd like it...
This is as strange as it sounds. Apparently, shortly after the Cincinnati Bengals threw away a game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reserve cornerback and former problem child Adam "Pacman" Jones had...well, a bit of a brush with the local law.
It seems as though while Jones was trying to leave Paul Brown stadium, he had to swerve in traffic to avoid hitting someone on the street. He ended up on the curb. A Cincinnati police officer was nearby and after seeing the incident, ran a check on Jones's license. The check revealed a warrant in Georgia for an "Adam Jones". But it turned out not to be the one that they had in custody.
After 45 minutes of being detained...and held while in handcuffs, Jones was released.
Yesterday, "Pacman" got a full press conference/apology. While accepting at face value the apology from PD and the Police Chief, it stirred up a few other issues.
There have been questions over the years about Cincinnati Police targeting Bengals players. We don't think that it was the case here. But, it makes you wonder.
We suspect that had it been anyone else, you wouldn't be hearing about this and quite honestly that is probably true. It's just interesting because of who it involved and that person's past history makes you at least raise an eyebrow.
Every indication here is that police did their due diligence and there was a communication error. Also, Jones has been as honest and hard working a player that the Bengals have had thus far. We salute him for making the effort at turning his career around, something he has hinted at in the past, but up until recently, had never tried to do.
Here is some dashcam video of the arrest and a quote from Police Chief Thomas Streicher, big thanks to our friends at WCPO-TV.
It appears the 1st victim this season of the NFL's banned substance rule may be Antwan Odom of the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to reports, and confirmed later by Odom in a Tweet. There is an issue and it's being appealed. He swears that it isn't steroids or PED's. But doesn't elaborate on what it is. Before getting hurt late midway through the 2009 season, Odom was the Bengals best defensive lineman.
More about what is going on from our friends at ProFootballTalk.com RIGHT HERE
The Cincinnati Enquirer's beat writer, Joe Reedy, has basically the same story with the Bengals saying they know nothing about it, RIGHT HERE
The league hasn't released anything about this, reports started circulating late last night about it. It appears the issue won't prevent Odom from playing this Sunday against New England. After, that, we don't know. We suspect that if anything will be released by the league--or for that matter the team, it won't be announced until next week.
We also guess that Mr. Odom might want to try and avoid the phalanx of reporters who will be surrounding him after Sunday's game. Because the obvious question will be asked.
**((UPDATE 9-10-10 at 1:50pm))** According to Mr. Reedy, Odom wasn't available but head coach Marvin Lewis spoke about the issue today. The link is RIGHT HERE
Here is some video of Mr. Odom sacking Ben Rothlisberger last year. Thanks YouTube:
Really, sometimes there are things we just can't make up. We reported earlier today on Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco being fined $25,000 for Tweeting during a game last weekend.
Now comes word that our hero is getting.....wait for it....his own cereal. From the company that brought you Flutie Flakes...comes "Ochocinco's". That company, PLB Sports, has an intersting roster of athlete named foods.
More from CNBC's Sports Business writer Darren Rovell RIGHT HERE
Try and forgive the Ochocinco stories here, but its hard to resist this type of material. The product, which will be sold primarily in the Cincinnati area, will be available at Kroger's stores and the company's website. They debut, September 7th.
Really, if you think about it, it's kind of hard not to laugh about this stuff, but it sells. It isn't something you'll see nationwide, but it sells in its markets. We get the logic. In towns such as Cincinnati, pretty much anything with one of their players mugs on it...will sell.
We aren't saying we are going to buy some here in the Satellite Office, we aren't really Bengals fans, but their is some curiosity.
Say what you will, the guy can market himself. Here's his intro video from Dancing With The Stars...Thanks YouTube:
