Chad Ochocinco's rollicking offseason continued Thursday when the Replica Darrelle Revis Jersey Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver roared around the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway with NASCAR driver Jeff Burton.
"I asked him to let loose," Ochocinco said. "Please don't waste my time. Step on the gas."
Ochocinco has been a busy man in Atlanta. In addition to crossing high-speed racing off his bucket list, he's continuing his offseason workouts and shooting a cameo in the latest "American Pie" sequel. Somewhere in between, he called in to an Atlanta radio station, sharing his thoughts on a number of issues, including his strained relationship with Marvin Lewis.
The Bengals' coach has been critical of his receiver in comments dating to last season. Ochocinco didn't hold back when asked where his relationship with his coach stands.
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"I don't know. Hopefully Marvin is doing this maybe to help me out," Ochocinco told WQXI-AM. "Maybe he's trying to cause some friction between himself and me. Maybe he doesn't like me for real. Blackhawks Brent Seabrook Jersey He doesn't like me, well, I don't like him either.
"Maybe he's trying to do this to show (Bengals owner) Mike Brown, 'I don't think I can coincide with Chad,' but damn it, I can't coincide with him either, and if he really feels that way, when I see him, I'm going to whoop his (butt)."
Ochocinco has played his entire 10-season career with the Bengals, but it's believed he could be released or asked to take a pay cut when the NFL lockout is lifted. He didn't sound like a player itching to return to his familiar stomping grounds.
"It doesn't matter where I'm at," Ochocinco said. "People can say what they want. Wherever I am, I'm going to make it happen. And they always say the grass ain't greener on the other side, but my damn grass been brown for a long time."
Another longtime Bengal whose career with the team is in doubt is Carson Palmer. The quarterback has said he'll retire if he's not traded by the team, because he's fed up with the culture of losing that has enveloped the franchise.
Ochocinco doesn't believe Palmer is bluffing.
"He's not playing. When somebody goes out of character like that, especially a white guy with red hair that grows a random beard," Ochocinco said. "When he says he's going to do something, he's going to do it. He's not playing."
Ochocinco also has worked out with two of football's most controversial players this offseason, former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress and former Ohio State quarterback Terrell Pryor. Ochocinco raved about Pryor -- who left Ohio State in April amid scandal surrounding improper benefits -- praising his timing and arm strength.
Ochocinco also was complimentary of Burress, who recently was released from a 22-month prison stay on gun charges.
"Plax looks like he's ready to play. ... He hasn't missed a beat," Ochocinco said. "We trained all last week together (and) he looks really Youth Clay Matthews Jersey good ... a lot bigger, too."
The Top 100: Players of 2011
The countdown concludes with a two-hour special revealing the top 10 on NFL Network on Sunday, July 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a Replica Darren Sharper Jersey reaction show right after.
Ochocinco, a six-time Pro Bowl pick, took the ride with Burton about six weeks after visiting the Professional Bull Riders circuit near Atlanta to ride a Premier Donald Brown Jersey 1,500-pound bull for 1.5 seconds. He also has tried out for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer and said he next plans to wrestle an alligator.
"You can't scare him," Burton said. "The man has ridden a bull. He runs routes across the middle of the field. He wants to wrestle an alligator. How do you scare an athlete like that?"
Ochocinco ended his day at the speedway with a new level of respect for NASCAR drivers.
"How the hell they are able to do that with 30 other drivers Youth Ben Roethlisberger Jersey on the track is beyond me," he said, adding that NASCAR "really is a sport and it does take skill."
Asked in an ESPN interview if he worried about losing a limb battling alligators, Ochocinco said he already had a backup plan in mind.
"If I lose an arm wrestling alligators, I can just be Premier DeSean Jackson Jersey the Bengals' kicker," Penguins Evgeni Malkin Jersey said Ochocinco, who kicked an extra point in a 2009 preseason game.
Nobody knows for certain when the San Francisco 49ers will begin training camp. Or if Alex Smith can be as successful a quarterback this fall as he has been this summer.
The 49ers' former and apparently future quarterback ended his final scheduled informal team workout Friday. After organizing two separate four-day minicamps at San Jose State that included most of the team's offensive players, Smith said he has installed about as Premier Evgeni Malkin Jersey much of new coach Jim Harbaugh's West Coast system as he can this summer.
All he can do now is wait for Premier Brent Seabrook Jersey the NFL lockout to end so he can show how much the workouts really accomplished.
"I know what I installed and everything I basically threw at the wall. I don't know how much of it stuck Premier Darrelle Revis Jersey to the wall," said Smith, a free agent expected to re-sign with the team. "And I think that's going to be the test when these guys come back, whenever this thing ends, how much of it stuck."
At Women Ben Roethlisberger Jersey the very least, Smith believes the workouts have put the 49ers in a better position.
San Francisco has among the most to lose the deeper the labor disagreement goes, with so much under Harbaugh that is unknown and unsettled. Smith spent just a few hours with Harbaugh and his staff when the lockout was briefly lifted, leaving the team's headquarters with boxes of game highlights and a playbook.
The Top 100: Players of 2011
The countdown concludes with a two-hour special revealing the top 10 on NFL Network on Sunday, July 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a reaction show right after.
Smith studied the information and relayed that to his teammates during classroom sessions he taught on a drawing board. He even quizzed them when it was over and awarded undisclosed prizes, revealing only that receiver Kevin Jurovich left happiest.
The two dozen or so players at most of the workouts -- down to 10 offensive players on the last day because of the upcoming holiday weekend Authentic Donald Brown Jersey -- also went into Spartan Stadium for about 90 minutes to run plays each day.
"I got put in a position where I just kind of felt like I needed to do it," Smith said. "All of a sudden, I didn't know how long the lockout was going to go, as it got longer and longer, more and more I felt like we were behind the eight ball and needed to do something."
That leadership quality has been sorely missing from San Francisco's quarterback.
The 49ers haven't had a winning season Authentic DeSean Jackson Jersey or reached the playoffs since 2002, and inconsistency at the position might be the biggest reason why. With the exception of receiver Michael Crabtree, who has openly questioned whether Smith is the presumed starter, players at the workouts have said all the right things about Smith.
There's still little from his past play to suggest he will be the franchise's long-term solution, and the presence of second-round pick Colin Kaepernick figures to ignite the fan pessimism that revolves around Smith the first time the 2005 No. 1 overall Women Clay Matthews Jersey pick throws an interception.
Smith will be the first to acknowledge the workouts he organized will be meaningless if he can't finally deliver consistently when it counts. The only action from this summer Harbaugh will see will be on video from the workouts Smith taped. The rest will be up to the quarterback Premier Darren Sharper Jersey to prove in front of the new coach.
Smith is flirting with the idea of holding another minicamp or even a larger session to mimic training camp if the lockout persists into late July. With so many free agents on the defensive side, Smith isn't sure he could find 11 players to fill out a roster -- and he wouldn't hold contact drills anyway, for fear of injuries.
Smith and others will continue to lift weights and exercise at San Jose State in smaller groups in the coming weeks, waiting to find out when training camp begins -- and whether Smith can be as accomplished a quarterback against an NFL defense.
"I would feel pretty good at this point if training camp started," Smith said. "Training camp is where the bulk of the work comes in anyway. You love the offseason program, but I think it serves as the same type of thing. It's an introduction to this stuff. The real football starts in training camp."
The 49ers' former and apparently future quarterback ended his final scheduled informal team workout Friday. After organizing two separate four-day minicamps at San Jose State that included most of the team's offensive players, Smith said he has installed about as Premier Evgeni Malkin Jersey much of new coach Jim Harbaugh's West Coast system as he can this summer.
All he can do now is wait for Premier Brent Seabrook Jersey the NFL lockout to end so he can show how much the workouts really accomplished.
"I know what I installed and everything I basically threw at the wall. I don't know how much of it stuck Premier Darrelle Revis Jersey to the wall," said Smith, a free agent expected to re-sign with the team. "And I think that's going to be the test when these guys come back, whenever this thing ends, how much of it stuck."
At Women Ben Roethlisberger Jersey the very least, Smith believes the workouts have put the 49ers in a better position.
San Francisco has among the most to lose the deeper the labor disagreement goes, with so much under Harbaugh that is unknown and unsettled. Smith spent just a few hours with Harbaugh and his staff when the lockout was briefly lifted, leaving the team's headquarters with boxes of game highlights and a playbook.
The Top 100: Players of 2011
The countdown concludes with a two-hour special revealing the top 10 on NFL Network on Sunday, July 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a reaction show right after.
Smith studied the information and relayed that to his teammates during classroom sessions he taught on a drawing board. He even quizzed them when it was over and awarded undisclosed prizes, revealing only that receiver Kevin Jurovich left happiest.
The two dozen or so players at most of the workouts -- down to 10 offensive players on the last day because of the upcoming holiday weekend Authentic Donald Brown Jersey -- also went into Spartan Stadium for about 90 minutes to run plays each day.
"I got put in a position where I just kind of felt like I needed to do it," Smith said. "All of a sudden, I didn't know how long the lockout was going to go, as it got longer and longer, more and more I felt like we were behind the eight ball and needed to do something."
That leadership quality has been sorely missing from San Francisco's quarterback.
The 49ers haven't had a winning season Authentic DeSean Jackson Jersey or reached the playoffs since 2002, and inconsistency at the position might be the biggest reason why. With the exception of receiver Michael Crabtree, who has openly questioned whether Smith is the presumed starter, players at the workouts have said all the right things about Smith.
There's still little from his past play to suggest he will be the franchise's long-term solution, and the presence of second-round pick Colin Kaepernick figures to ignite the fan pessimism that revolves around Smith the first time the 2005 No. 1 overall Women Clay Matthews Jersey pick throws an interception.
Smith will be the first to acknowledge the workouts he organized will be meaningless if he can't finally deliver consistently when it counts. The only action from this summer Harbaugh will see will be on video from the workouts Smith taped. The rest will be up to the quarterback Premier Darren Sharper Jersey to prove in front of the new coach.
Smith is flirting with the idea of holding another minicamp or even a larger session to mimic training camp if the lockout persists into late July. With so many free agents on the defensive side, Smith isn't sure he could find 11 players to fill out a roster -- and he wouldn't hold contact drills anyway, for fear of injuries.
Smith and others will continue to lift weights and exercise at San Jose State in smaller groups in the coming weeks, waiting to find out when training camp begins -- and whether Smith can be as accomplished a quarterback against an NFL defense.
"I would feel pretty good at this point if training camp started," Smith said. "Training camp is where the bulk of the work comes in anyway. You love the offseason program, but I think it serves as the same type of thing. It's an introduction to this stuff. The real football starts in training camp."
MINNEAPOLIS -- At 4 p.m. Thursday, the NFLPA conducted a conference call with its player reps and executive committee members that painted a grim picture as the labor situation made a turn for the worse.
Then everything changed.
As it turned out, the call, made after seven hours of negotiations at a downtown Minneapolis law firm, came less than halfway through the day's talks. And after those talks finished just before 1 a.m. CT and another set was staged on Friday morning, a different story was emerging.
The owners and players still have much work to do, but major progress was made to fix the revenue split, the overriding issue in the labor battle, on Thursday night and Friday morning. One source said that if smaller pieces connected to it don't shift the numbers too much, it "might not even be a stumbling block going forward."
In addition, the parties took strides to work out disagreements over how to define "all revenue" in the model they Packers Clay Matthews Jersey plan to use, and they also discarded some terms in the deal the other side found unacceptable.
The Top 100: Players of 2011
The countdown concludes with a two-hour special revealing the top 10 on NFL Network on Sunday, July 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a reaction show right after.
So one Colts Austin Collie Jersey set of critical talks now gives way to another. The legal teams for each side will meet in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday, with players and owners returning to the table Thursday and Friday. The format for the week follows the one set for this week's Minneapolis talks.
"We'll continue to meet next week, and our goal is to get a deal done," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said on his way out. NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, again citing the gag order, simply said: "We'll be back at it again next week."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan proved a pivotal figure when things were at their darkest Thursday. Boylan was able to rein the parties in, narrow their focus to Eagles Brent Celek Jersey what was important on the revenue split, and forge a very productive evening.
This was after issues that arose last week in Massachusetts (over the rookie salary system) and Monday (over what the players perceived as a deception play by owners on the revenue system) resurfaced and again proved explosive, with players and owners re-entering the room after legal teams handled the earlier part Authentic Evgeni Malkin Jersey of the week.
Things went so well Thursday that Boylan implored the sides to keep going past 1 a.m. The players and owners convinced the judge -- who ran court-ordered mediation in April and May, but has no binding power Authentic Darren Sharper Jersey in these talks -- that they were spent, but the positive momentum continued into Friday morning.
And realistic hope remains that the league will be able to stage Authentic Darrelle Revis Jersey the preseason in its natural form, without the cancellation of any games, which would save hundreds of millions of dollars. Internal deadlines to have a deal done in order to save the preseason sit around July 15, and part of the ratcheted-up sense of urgency is the acknowledgement by both sides that a settlement will be exponentially tougher to reach if significant revenue is subtracted from the equation.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell led a group that included Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Giants owner John Mara, and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, with Kraft and Mara the two constants for the owners in the five sets of clandestine meetings.
Smith's team included NFLPA managing director Ira Fishman, outside counsel Jim Quinn, general counsel Richard Berthelsen, Colts center Jeff Saturday, Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, Chiefs guard Brian Waters, and former player Sean Morey. Foxworth, like Kraft and Mara, has been a constant presence at these meetings, which started May 31, over the last five weeks.
The four previous "secret" sessions over the past month took place in suburban Chicago, New York's Long Island, Maryland's Eastern Shore and Massachusetts' South Shore. The Chicago talks, the first in the series, started May 31 and lasted three days, with the Long Island, Eastern Shore and South Shore negotiations going for two days apiece.
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The St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, this year's Hall of Fame Game participants, are scheduled to open training camp in 21 days, so time is beginning to run short.
The parties have spent the past four weeks largely discussing the revenue split. And it's not just the revenue now, but also how to account for the league's future growth, particularly when the Authentic Brent Seabrook Jersey 2014 television deals are done, in the players' take. The idea of an "all revenue" model, which would largely eliminate cost credits to the owners and limit revenue projections, has bridged differences over the course of the discussions.
As for the rookie salary system, the numbers aren't the only issue. Finding a way to replace the market effect those contracts have on veterans as well as getting high draft picks to free agency quicker are among the players' concerns. As it stands, six-year contracts are allowed for high first-round picks making big money.
Goodell was invited to the symposium by Smith, who said he was "thrilled" the commissioner accepted and participated. The men stood side by side after the visit Wednesday morning to Florida.
Goodell and Smith, who arrived in Minneapolis on Monday, took a break from talks Tuesday night to fly together to Sarasota, Fla., and speak to assembled players at the NFLPA's rookie symposium the next morning. They returned to Minneapolis on the same plane.
Goodell was invited to the symposium by Smith, who said steelers Ben Roethlisberger Jersey he was "thrilled" the commissioner accepted and participated. The men stood side by side after the event Wednesday morning and vowed to continue working on a deal.
Then everything changed.
As it turned out, the call, made after seven hours of negotiations at a downtown Minneapolis law firm, came less than halfway through the day's talks. And after those talks finished just before 1 a.m. CT and another set was staged on Friday morning, a different story was emerging.
The owners and players still have much work to do, but major progress was made to fix the revenue split, the overriding issue in the labor battle, on Thursday night and Friday morning. One source said that if smaller pieces connected to it don't shift the numbers too much, it "might not even be a stumbling block going forward."
In addition, the parties took strides to work out disagreements over how to define "all revenue" in the model they Packers Clay Matthews Jersey plan to use, and they also discarded some terms in the deal the other side found unacceptable.
The Top 100: Players of 2011
The countdown concludes with a two-hour special revealing the top 10 on NFL Network on Sunday, July 3 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a reaction show right after.
So one Colts Austin Collie Jersey set of critical talks now gives way to another. The legal teams for each side will meet in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday, with players and owners returning to the table Thursday and Friday. The format for the week follows the one set for this week's Minneapolis talks.
"We'll continue to meet next week, and our goal is to get a deal done," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said on his way out. NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, again citing the gag order, simply said: "We'll be back at it again next week."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan proved a pivotal figure when things were at their darkest Thursday. Boylan was able to rein the parties in, narrow their focus to Eagles Brent Celek Jersey what was important on the revenue split, and forge a very productive evening.
This was after issues that arose last week in Massachusetts (over the rookie salary system) and Monday (over what the players perceived as a deception play by owners on the revenue system) resurfaced and again proved explosive, with players and owners re-entering the room after legal teams handled the earlier part Authentic Evgeni Malkin Jersey of the week.
Things went so well Thursday that Boylan implored the sides to keep going past 1 a.m. The players and owners convinced the judge -- who ran court-ordered mediation in April and May, but has no binding power Authentic Darren Sharper Jersey in these talks -- that they were spent, but the positive momentum continued into Friday morning.
And realistic hope remains that the league will be able to stage Authentic Darrelle Revis Jersey the preseason in its natural form, without the cancellation of any games, which would save hundreds of millions of dollars. Internal deadlines to have a deal done in order to save the preseason sit around July 15, and part of the ratcheted-up sense of urgency is the acknowledgement by both sides that a settlement will be exponentially tougher to reach if significant revenue is subtracted from the equation.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell led a group that included Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Giants owner John Mara, and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, with Kraft and Mara the two constants for the owners in the five sets of clandestine meetings.
Smith's team included NFLPA managing director Ira Fishman, outside counsel Jim Quinn, general counsel Richard Berthelsen, Colts center Jeff Saturday, Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, Chiefs guard Brian Waters, and former player Sean Morey. Foxworth, like Kraft and Mara, has been a constant presence at these meetings, which started May 31, over the last five weeks.
The four previous "secret" sessions over the past month took place in suburban Chicago, New York's Long Island, Maryland's Eastern Shore and Massachusetts' South Shore. The Chicago talks, the first in the series, started May 31 and lasted three days, with the Long Island, Eastern Shore and South Shore negotiations going for two days apiece.
Unlock HQ Video HQ video delivered by Akamai
The St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, this year's Hall of Fame Game participants, are scheduled to open training camp in 21 days, so time is beginning to run short.
The parties have spent the past four weeks largely discussing the revenue split. And it's not just the revenue now, but also how to account for the league's future growth, particularly when the Authentic Brent Seabrook Jersey 2014 television deals are done, in the players' take. The idea of an "all revenue" model, which would largely eliminate cost credits to the owners and limit revenue projections, has bridged differences over the course of the discussions.
As for the rookie salary system, the numbers aren't the only issue. Finding a way to replace the market effect those contracts have on veterans as well as getting high draft picks to free agency quicker are among the players' concerns. As it stands, six-year contracts are allowed for high first-round picks making big money.
Goodell was invited to the symposium by Smith, who said he was "thrilled" the commissioner accepted and participated. The men stood side by side after the visit Wednesday morning to Florida.
Goodell and Smith, who arrived in Minneapolis on Monday, took a break from talks Tuesday night to fly together to Sarasota, Fla., and speak to assembled players at the NFLPA's rookie symposium the next morning. They returned to Minneapolis on the same plane.
Goodell was invited to the symposium by Smith, who said steelers Ben Roethlisberger Jersey he was "thrilled" the commissioner accepted and participated. The men stood side by side after the event Wednesday morning and vowed to continue working on a deal.
Donte' Stallworth has warm feelings for the Baltimore Ravens, the franchise that gave him a second chance as a football player.
It was Replica Brent Celek Jersey the Ravens who signed Stallworth after the one-year suspension and short jail term that followed a driving under the influence manslaughter conviction in 2009. But the wide receiver, who will become an unrestricted free agent when the lockout is lifted, has regrets about his limited time on the field in Penguins Andre Fleury Jersey Baltimore.
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“Yeah, there's mixed feelings,” Stallworth told the Carroll County Times in Friday's edition. “The organization was nothing but great to me. I appreciate the opportunity they gave Replica Ben Roethlisberger Jersey me. The guys were great and the fans welcomed me. They tell me all the time Premier Archie Manning Jersey they hope things work out for me and that I would come back. From the foot injury standpoint, it definitely derailed a lot of things that I was looking Blackhawks Bobby Hull Jersey forward to doing.”
Stallworth broke his foot in an Aug. 28 preseason game and didn't make his Ravens debut until October. By that point, the team had signed veteran receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, relegating Stallworth to a reserve role. Stallworth finished the season with just two catches for 82 yards and five rushes for 45 yards.
“We picked up T.J. and he played really well and I was hoping that maybe at some time I would get an opportunity to do what I feel like I can do,” Stallworth said. “I didn't really get that chance for whatever reason, but I still have a lot left in the tank.”
Stallworth's fate with the Ravens is all Jets Braylon Edwards Jersey but sealed, a reality the receiver is aware of. The team drafted University Replica Clay Matthews Jersey of Maryland speedster Torrey Smith in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft and it's expected the rookie will assume a key role in the offense.
Stallworth has no ill feelings toward Smith, who he's worked out with in Miami this offseason.
“That's my boy,” Stallworth said. “I'm excited that he got drafted by Baltimore. I know the coaching staff wanted to get younger and faster at that position and that's exactly what they did. He's a really good kid.”
It remains to be seen what kind of interest Stallworth would draw among NFL teams. The free-agent and trade market figures to be flooded with veteran wide receivers like him. It's certain he won't get a contract that comes close to the seven-year, $35 million deal he got from the Cleveland Replica Austin Collie Jersey Browns before his suspension.
“I can't say exactly where I'm going to go, but there are a few teams that like me that I'm interested in as well,” Stallworth said. “I'm only 30 years old. I feel like I have a lot of years left. I can still do good wherever I end up next year. Hopefully, I'll have that opportunity.”
Terrell Owens' plans to return for a 16th NFL season are in jeopardy after he recently had reconstructive knee surgery Premier Andre Fleury Jersey to repair a torn anterior cruciate Replica Braylon Edwards Jersey ligament, NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi confirmed Monday through a league source.
Wyche: Lonely road back for T.O.
Steve Wyche envisions a rugged path to redemption for 37-year-old receiver Terrell Owens, who faces the "damaged goods" tag
in wake of his offseason knee surgery. More... Premier Austin Collie Jersey
ESPN initially reported Owens' surgery Sunday night, Premier Ben Roethlisberger Jersey saying the earliest the six-time Premier Archie Manning Jersey Pro Bowl wide receiver could return to action is in mid-to-late November, according to sources familiar with the injury. Owens, 37, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent once the NFL lockout ends.
How exactly Owens injured the knee remains unclear. One source said he suffered the injury while taping a segment for his VH1 reality show. Another source said Owens injured himself during Premier Bobby Hull Jersey personal workouts.
Owens and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Premier Clay Matthews Jersey weren't available for comment. Rosenhaus' brother and business partner, Jason, told ESPN: "I don't like to deny stories or confirm or deny anything. It's really something for Drew (to address)."
Owens played for the Cincinnati Bengals last season, catching 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns. He missed the end of the season after tearing meniscus cartilage in his left knee during a Dec. 19 game against the Cleveland Browns.
Owens had the meniscus injury repaired by Dr. James Andrews. The noted orthopedist also administered the latest surgery, Premier Brent Celek Jersey ESPN reported.