When Rosenthal or MDS write on a topic, I rarely chime in. Primarily because they are damn good at what they do.
But I need to add some additional thoughts regarding the post from MDS pertaining to the lingering wish of Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer that the Bengals sign receiver Terrell Owens.
MDS correctly observes that Palmer’s comments are likely aimed at placating receiver Chad Ochocinco. And now that I’ve had a chance to digest the situation a bit more, I think it’s entirely about avoiding at all costs a repeat of Chad’s 2008 “trade me anywhere but here” antics.
I like Chad, but at times he’s erratic, unpredictable, and/or irrational. At times, reasoning with him is roughly as easy as picking up a wet fish with rubber gloves coated in corn oil. (I’ve never tried it, but I’ve got a feeling it would be hard to do.) And you never quite know what will set Chad off, Twitter style.
On Tuesday, he attacked ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd for supposedly lumping Chad in with athletes who get in trouble. Eventually, Chad said that Cowherd looks “line an extra from the movie LORD OF THE RINGS,” that he should “get [his] lisp fixed,” that Cowherd’s “girl is cheating on [him],” and that he should “try EXTENZE.” All that because Cowherd simply pointed out that Chad’s current spending habits could cause him eventually to have no money, like so many other former pro athletes.
Then, Chad bristled at the suggestion from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that a reality-TV, 85-woman dating tournament makes Ochocinco a “poor man’s Wilt Chamberlain.” Chad thought he was being called poor, and so he pointed out “child please I’m Rich B%@#.” (Given the other language that appears from time to time on his Twitter page, we’re confused as to why Chad wouldn’t spell out the word “bitch.”)
More recently, Chad has chastised ESPN’s Eric Kuselias for “radio show negativity,” and said to Kuselias “why don’t you worry about your sexual harassment cases when at work!” Chad also called out John Clayton on Friday, comparing his appearance to “that character from HANNIBAL that had those pigs,” and instructing him to “STFU.”
So, basically, getting on Chad’s bad side has its consequences. And so we think the Bengals need to feign ongoing interest in T.O., if for no reason other than to keep Chad from directing his periodic, random venom at the organization.
Meanwhile, does anyone really think the Bengals and Owens could hammer out a deal that the player deems acceptable after Antonio Bryant received a four-year contract with a $7 million annual average? Barring an epiphany en route to Damascus, Owens will want at least $7 million on a one-year deal from the Bengals, because in T.O.’s mind Bryant can’t carry Owens’ popcorn.
Finally, are we the only ones troubled by the notion that Ochocinco — a temporary employee of ABC via his upcoming stint on Dancing with the Stars — would be taking such mean-spirited shots at employees of an ABC affiliate, especially in the wake of the two-week suspension that was imposed on Tony Kornheiser for doing essentially the same thing to Hannah Storm?
I’d try to explain that logic to Chad, but there’s a wet fish on the floor. And I’m gonna go try to pick it up with these rubber gloves I’ve coated in corn oil.
Well… TO’s running out of options, and a one year deal for the league minimum with a division winner might make more sense to him than any offer from the Raiders.
The Bengals would have the best WR corps in the league if this happens. But unless Carson Palmer pulls his head out of his ass, it won’t matter.
Speculative journalism… Florio your a mastermind… Just a matter of time before your a victim of Chad’s “venom” for writing crap pieces like this… You should stop being a hater your just making Ocho more famous by doing that… Chad is extremely successful.. Ever think or pointing that out?
I’ll keep checking Twitter for the Mike Florio insult.
first, well written.
second, chad is a douchebag and he always has been. nothings gonna change that. they should sign owens just to make the claim to having the three biggest assholes in the nfl. or they could do it to keep each receiver in line. like rock paper scissor.
Florio. A true hero. He won’t stand for the bullying anymore. Watch out Chad!! What a clown this so called reporter is. Who dey!!!
LOL man, the way Ocho plays the media for fools time and time again is a sight to see and should become required lessons for all pro athletes. You guys continue to work yourselves up about everything in his life while he uses you to market himself. And he does nothing off the field to get himself in trouble meaning you see stretch pieces like this one from Florio trying to drum up some BS controversy.
And let me see if I get that last piece of “logic”. ABC owns ESPN. Dancing w the Stars is one of their highest rated shows. Having Ocho on it is only gonna increase interest and keep it relevant. Yet somehow the mothership is going to care about what he says regarding radio personalities no one sees nor cares about from a subsidiary ? Yeah Florio, great logic!!!!!!
I don’t want to stroke your ego with my own corn oil coated gloves, but as a Bengals fan I think you make some very good points.
Florio, you’re a white guy.
You have NEVER, if not RARELY, brought up the fact that blacks are covered differently than whites [particularly white quarterbacks].
Even though favoritism by race has dramatically decreased over the years, it is still blatantly beyond blatantly obvious.
You are a white man that lives in West Virginia and doesn’t know what a black or Hispanic guy goes through in the media.
If you were black, you would have a better idea about what Chad is talking about.
I really enjoyed this article Florio , I think you nailed this one.
“So, basically, getting on Chad’s bad side has its consequences.”
Hey Chad, I think you’re an asshole, what are you gonna do about it?
Chad puts the fun NFL this guy never gets in trouble never in jail no women gettting raped and beaten.
Reporters are looking for a story so they piss off Chad and he sets them right
Good for you Chad
What a weird article!
chad johnsons tweets = hilarious
not a Bengals fan, but a big Ochocinco fan,…missed his comments on Cowherd & Kuselias, but THANKS for pointing them out FLORIO, …those guys do sports talk & they give their opinions, so Chad just returned fire,…ripping some of those guys, the comment about Kuselias is a real nice return shot, as for Cowherd, he’s an A$$hole, so those comments about him are pretty funny, don’t see WHY you would have a problem w/what Chad said FLORIO, since he’s expressing his opinion just like those clowns at ESPN do, …the only difference being Ochocinco has more credibilty in what he says than those idiots like Kuselias & Cowherd
I am a Bengals fan and I will be the first to admit that Chad Ochocinco acts like a 5 year old sometimes.
I would love to see The Ocho, T.O., and Bryant on the same field together but that would be a ticking time bomb!
Guy’s a total diva. Needs constant attention like the rest of us need oxygen.
That being said, an enemy of Colin Cowturd is a friend of mine.
You wrote about him and that’s what matters. Chad wins again.
i agree i cant stand cowherd
Florio is really reaching here. If he thinks Carson Palmer is part of some team effort to “placate” Ochocinco, or if he believes that the Brown family would actually try to “placate” Ochocinco by feigning a continued interest in T.O., then Florio is a fantasist. Moreover, I would suggest that it is somewhat unfair to T.O. to assert that his ego would compel him to make excessive salary demands,i.e., more than he made last season in Buffalo, based on Bryant’s contract. Worse yet, Florio is so presumptuous as to aver that he knows T.O.’s mind and can state as a fact that T.O. despises Antonio Bryant’s ability. Florio and T.O. must be really close. Finally, Florio deserves a sneer for asserting that he is troubled by the prospect of Ochocinco getting into hot water with ABC. Florio mailed this one in.
I love Chad….great guy and I won a free PS3 at his camp from him back in ’06. I would have to agree that sometimes maybe Chad is the one that needs to stfu
SFrancis1680, i couldnt have said it any better
One of the crappier articles I’ve read on this site. And that’s saying something.
Keep Bryant, sign T.O., trade Chad.
Simple really.
Raiders need a WR.
rbais2 with all do respect this has nothing to do with race and Big Ben (a white QB) is getting his far share of criticism right now I promise you that…
Just wait til Antonio “Malcontent” Bryant is your #2…tons of talent…tons of bad attitude…terrible for team chemistry…who else cries about getting paid $10 million for 1year??
Bryant will never make it through 16 games next year…mark my words
H.I.T.
So now the national media is figuring out what the Cincinnati media learned a few yrs ago
Cincinnasty, with all due respect you know if big ben was a black qb he would be getting way more criticsm right now
i think T.O. and chad would be solid – given that im assuming CP could manage T.O.s ego(s) – T.O. has never been with a QB like palmer (mcnabb’s not a crunch time guy and has never won anything on any level) so i think itd work
considering that im saddled with Chad in my dynasty league – i would really appreciate the help.
Everyone’s afraid to offend The Darkie…
Jokes about JOHN CLAYTON’s appearance just never get old.
I always thought he looked like the product of an earthworm impregnating a crack whore.
he is the biggest BUM in the league and when he is done in the league he shouldn’t be allowed to park cars at the hall of fame let alone be in it
Put it back in the deck rbais2.
The media is just jealous of Chad. Granted, he can be eccentric at times. However, how many dogs has he killed? how many times has he shot himself in the leg carrying an illegal firearm at a club? How man innocent people did he hit and kill with his car while driving intoxicated (still cannot believe that murderer is allowed to play in the nfl)? How many times has he been arrested on drug charges, or arrested at all? All he does is keep the NOT FUN LEAGUE….FUN. He throws crap in the faces of the media and GoodHell all the time….all he does is piss off the NFL and the media…and just pays fines for it. Off the field, he’s a good guy and stays out of the limelight and out of trouble. I like what he brings to the NFL……the Nazi Football League needs to lose its arrogance.
Is it me, or does it seem like Florio has a lot of familiarity with wet fish, rubber gloves and lubing stuff up in corn oil?
Creepy.
FWIW, I used to think Ocho was an entertaining jackass, now I just think he’s a jackass.
Chad Johnson is a bore. Kinda tired of him and wish he would just go away. Good, but not great receiver. Not worth the attention the media enables him to receive.
I doubt Carson is flacking for the Bengals or TO. Its the offseason.
Chad is 32 yo, the Bengals lost Chris Henry and Coles and their top WR picks from 2 years ago aren’t game breakers. The Bengals will draft WR’s early and often in April 2010 and don’t need 36 yo wideouts.
Is Chad a top 10 receiver still? No, he’s 32 years old. However, I think most unbiased, football savvy fans and analysts would still put him in top 15 easy. I bet 98% of football fans would want their team to sign him if he was a FA this year. He’s worth putting up with because he doesn’t divide the locker room. He’s still Carson’s best option in the passing game and would probably be the best option on 75% of teams in the league if he played for them.
Colon CowTurd…………LMFAO!
the managing of this team is clueless.. no clear direction.. their scouting is atrocious.. 2 give bryant that kind of contract shows everything u need 2 know.. TO would have been a better fit.. it seams like just because they got a “hit” with benson.. now they must think “lets get all the boneheads possible”.. TO, bonehead & all, still has some talent left.. chad, all the impact he apperars 2 have left is with his big mouth.. zero impact on the field.. this team regresses 2 3rd or worse in the division..
Reasoning with 85 is like trying to teach a dog Algebra.
I’m not a fan of the Bengals but I do like Chad. I’m so tired of the No Fun League and its baloney and it bothers me when Chad comes up with some funny stuff to celebrate a TD and then the Golden Weasel (or before him, Tagliabum) would push to outlaw it and fine him. My advice to the defenses that are outraged by his antics is this: STOP HIM FROM SCORING.
Now, I think that there is a point where some of this will get excessive and when he invites a band to come out and play and the Blue Angels fly overhead and spell out his name, I’ll consider that excessive but I’d be willing to see how close he or anyone else gets to that.
cowboys1, I would disagree. If Big Ben played for anyone other than the Steelers, he would be getting a lot more criticism.
The piece written about Chad’s spending habits was a sham, just like this hack piece.
Most of the references were paid by Motorola or other sponsors. Chad is modest in his home, his cars, and the guy eats McDonalds all the time.
Find another high paid guy in the NFL doing the same?
@ rbais2 Quit playing the race card… I get so sick of hearing this shit, ” well he’s black” Well Im black” Blah blah blah.. so what if you are black…But why you still believe things are so unfair is beyond me… Blacks have it better than whites do…. From employment opprotunities to educational opprotunities and so on and so on… Racsism would be much less if black people would quit playing the race card and move on and be thankfull for the opprotunities they do have…Quit complaining and get off your duff and do something constructive….
i have to agree with blueridge64, this whole article seems to be biased with opinions, and lack of facts..carson says he wants TO to keep chad happy??..or could it be that carson is 30yrs old and wants his team to take the next step to improve the 26th overall passing attack from last season so his team could make a serious run in the playoffs and compete with the best to maybe get a ring?
no. im sure its just like you said, carson is just playing mind games with chad to keep him in line.wtf are you taking about FLORIO