Image via TMZ in case that's not clear.

Last week it was reported that eventual free agent running back Cedric Benson was arrested for beating up his roommate, Clavens Charles, after an argument on the street. As you can tell from the image above, “beating up” may be a tad understated. Regardless, Benson claimed that he acted in self-defense after the two started fighting over their living situation.

According to TMZ:

Clavens claimed he and Benson “began to talk and argue about their living arrangements when all of the sudden Clavens was struck on the left side of his face with a closed fist thrown by Benson.”

“Clavens went on to say that Benson continued to strike him with several more closed fists all over Clavens face resulting in severe injury to his face.”

Clavens told police he was experiencing “severe bleeding from the mouth, possible loss of teeth and massive swelling of the left cheek.”

I’ve had some pretty nasty arguments with my roommates in the past, but holy sweet fancy goodness, man. That’s some serious conflict resolution right there. Benson was released on $10,000 bail and the Cincinnati Bengals were quick to point out that he used to play for them and this was not their problem, despite the lockout and that whole not being able to talk to him rule.

Needless to say, Charles is suing for damages, and his lawyer claimed that he’s already racked up thousands of dollars in bills. Benson should be able to swing the fees, since there should be a team willing to take a chance on a solid RB with anger issues and a violent criminal past. So we’ll see Benson next year in… Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback and former TNA World Tag Team Champion (seriously, if you’d forgotten) Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested Sunday in Cincinnati on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest, and if you’ve found a way to mimic that noise Pacman makes when he’s killed by a ghost, make it now. Cincinnati media outlets reported documents filed in court accuse Jones of “being disorderly and shouting profanities in a downtown bar and trying to pull away as officers arrested him”. He was jailed at around 3 AM and released later in the morning.

Jones put the Pacman Experience into words more eloquently than I could hope to:

Jones denied the allegations in an interview with WCPO-TV after leaving jail.

“I just had surgery, so why would I be resisting arrest?” said Jones, who was wearing a neck brace. He’s been recovering from a neck injury last fall that required surgery, but he was expecting to play this year.

He said he hadn’t been drinking and was out with his wife to celebrate her birthday.

“It’s ridiculous, man,” he told the TV station. “I keep on going through the same thing, and it don’t make no sense.”

The Yahoo Sports news bit summarizes Pacman’s off-screen troubles as “at least six other arrests and a dozen instances that involved police intervention”, but for some reason it seems more like that. It feels like Pacman just goes to prison, gets out, immediately drives to a club and throws money in the air until somebody walks up and arrests him again. I didn’t realize he was only 27-years old, I thought he was like 48. I barely remembered that he played football.

Also fun,

A Bengals spokesman said the team had no comment on the most recent arrest. The team is prohibited from having contact with Jones because of the NFL lockout.

Maybe that’s for the best. Do everything you don’t want people fining you for or talking about now, football players!

Most people remember the “Ickey Shuffle” from the Bengals’ Super Bowl run in 1988. The author of that distinctive dance, Elbert “Ickey” Woods, ran for 1,066 yards that season, only to injure his left knee the following preseason, and then his right knee two years after that. Before he even turned 26, Woods was out of football.

Today, at age 45, Woods is rehabbing two reconstructed knees and coaching women’s football. He recently gave an interview to the Ft Worth Star-Telegram to raise awareness for his new foundation started in honor of his late son and to talk about, among other things, the evolution of the end zone celebration that he helped cultivate into an artform.

What is the difference between the Ickey Shuffle and today’s touchdown celebrations?

The entertainment or the things that they’re doing now is more me-oriented. They’re geared more for the player than the fans. My thing was geared toward the fans. I never did it on the road. I always did it at home. It was something for our fans to enjoy, something to keep “The Jungle” rocking. Guys now, I think they’re more into me-me with the Sharpie, the cellphone.

I know you talk to Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco. Have you ever helped him plan one of his touchdown celebrations? Naw, naw, naw.

It’s almost a relief to see those nasty zipped-up knees and realize that his frailty might have kept Woods from becoming another post-concussion syndrome statistic. Old football players to me are a lot like ex-girlfriends: once they’re out of my life, I tend to forget that they exist. Hopefully Ickey will continue to battle, and maybe have one last dance before it’s all over. Read the rest of this entry »

So often in sports we’re spoon-fed storylines about athletes that seem like they’re right out of a Hollywood movie – Kurt Warner’s rise to fame, Marvin Harrison’s criminal kingpin alter ego, and Gina Carano’s gorgeous ass kicking, to name a few. And Hollywood has become so great at taking average stories and turning them into tales of inspiration – The Blind Side, Rudy, Air Bud. But none of these stories or movies really speak to the average fan like myself, in that they don’t involve chicks with giant racks. Well fret no more, movie-loving sports fans, because New Line Cinema is bringing us the story of Laura Vikmanis, a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco started his tryout with Sporting KC of MLS today, and everyone seems to be covering this like a real story, as if he had a chance to make the team and totally wasn’t being milked for publicity like a common cow. What say you, Hall of Fame mouth Michael Strahan?

Ochocinco was supposed to finish his NFL lockout inspired 4-day trial with Sporting Kansas City tomorrow — but he’s been asked to stick around until Monday so he can participate in their reserve game.

After that … it’s pretty much curtains … a certainty even SKC’s coach is preaching.

But Strahan doesn’t think it’s all for naught … saying, “[SKC] know what they’re doing. Give [Chad] a chance and get a little bit out of him at the same time.”

–TMZ.

Watch video of Chad’s tryout after the jump. I wish Chad would just suck it up and devote all of his energy to starting Major League Kickball.

Vid via Eye On Football.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis knows no offseason when it comes to giving grief to his colorful wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. And no, by “colorful” I don’t mean “black,” ya big dummy. Ocho took up an invitation to try out for a Major League Soccer team, and you can imagine how that would go over with an NFL coach.

Here’s Lewis on Ocho’s dalliance with Major League Soccer: “What has he ever done that he’s completed? What circle has he connected in any way?” Lewis asked.

–PFT.

But now some people are wondering why Lewis hasn’t taken the same line with Carson Palmer, who’s threatening to leave town. I thought that was pretty obvious: because Lewis and Palmer have put winning football games above all else, whereas Ochocinco only does and says the things that will keep him on TV. Let’s not forget that Lewis was ready to bolt Cincinnati, too. Hell, Chad might be the only guy that actually wants to play for the Bengals right now. That alone would make him certifiably insane.