===LUDWIG AT LARGE asks for 4 minutes and 12 seconds of your precious time. If you give it to me, I promise to make you laugh. Just click on the picture below and you’ll be entertained by newscaster Howard Beale in the 1976 classic “Network.” According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Beale’s “Mad As Hell” speech “ranks as one of the most memorable scenes in film history. The line made No. 19 on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 great movie quotes. Beale was played by Peter Finch (who won a posthumous Oscar for the role).” It’s almost as if Beale is speaking directly to Cincinnati Bengals fans.===
Friends and family are asking LUDWIG AT LARGE, “What the hell is that on your face?”
My response: “IT’S MY CINCINNATI BENGALS’ WINLESS PROTEST BEARD. AND IT’S COMING IN QUITE NICELY.”
It’s red, of course, with flecks of gray, showing my age. I’m 54, which means I was born in 1954 … a very good year.
I’d like to think my protest beard is “scarlet & gray,” in honor of my — yes, MY — Ohio State Buckeyes.
At any rate, I promise not to shave until the Bengals win a football game.
The Cincinnati Bengals travel to New Jersey — again — for a game against the New York Jets on Sunday, Oct. 12,
That’s a good thing for Bengals president Mike Brown, who is the owner of the franchise that’s trapped in what ABC and ESPN football analyst Kirk Herbstreit calls “the great abyss.”
The Bengals return home to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 19 and that’s when the coaches, players and front office will feel the full effect of a fan protest.
Some Bengals fans are planning to fly a “STEP DOWN MIKE BROWN” banner around Paul Brown Stadium prior to the game.
“I don’t think this has reached the extent of the ‘Millen Man March’ that happened in Detroit back in 2005,” one of my colleagues tells me, “but it is a sign of the growing frustration amongst the fan base.”
It took 24 hours, but I finally got what I wanted:
A warm shower.
As I was preparing to leave my room at the Dallas Marriott Las Colinas for Texas Stadium on Sunday afternoon, a piece of paper was slipped under the door.
I LAUGHED … THEN CRIED.
“We are writing to notify you that the City of Irving will be shutting off the water from 10:30 p.m. (Sunday) to 6 a.m. (Monday) in our area to perform necessary maintenance. As a result, our hotel will be without water during these hours.
“While this isn’t our choice, they were able to schedule after hours execution of this maintenance to reduce the impact of our guests’ needs.
“This will require that we close our food & beverage outlets at 10:30 p.m.
“We will have complimentary bottled water available upon request. We do have beverage vending machines on each floor and will have extra sandwiches prepared for any requests after this time.”
In a nutshell, here’s how my day went:
Bengals choke and lose to the Cowboys, 31-22; The Chickster writes three stories (deadlines 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.; I race back to the hotel, fire up the TV and — just after Ben Roethlisberger’s TD pass to Hines Ward — I jump in the shower, which is COLD — and towel off by the 10:30 deadline. (Remember, I’m on Central time in Dallas.)
Sure enough, the water is turned off.
Up at 5 a.m. for my 8:35 flight out of DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport), I use bottled water to (a) make coffee, (b) brush my teeth and (c) rinse off my toothbrush.
By the time I arrive home at The Miamisburg War Room, I have just enough time to let the dog out and race to The ‘Nati for head coach Marvin Lewis’ Monday news conference at 3 p.m. Eastern.
I finally get my warm shower, 24 hours after my cold shower.
Oh, the joys and perils of travel.
Covering the Cincinnati Bengals just might kill me.
===LUDWIG AT LARGE earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from The Ohio State University in 1976. As part of my electives, I close Classics 120 (Greek Civilization) and Classics 121 (Roman Civilization), and scored As in both classes. However, I got punished with a B in Classics 222 (Classical Mythology). But I learned enough in the class to remember “Sisyphus.”===
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was caught being crafty and deceitful. As punishment, Sisyphus was forced to roll a boulder uphill only to watch it roll back down again, and he was forced to repeat this act throughout eternity.
Sisyphus would’ve made a great Cincinnati Bengals player.
Just when you think they’re on the verge of winning, they lose. They keep pushing the boulder uphill only to watch it roll back down again.
Over & over & over & over & over again.
The Bengals have already lost as many games in 2008 as they did the entire 2005 regular season when Cincinnati reached the postseason for the first time since 1990.
Imagine … 18 years and 1 playoff appearance.
Sisyphus is back. Reincarnated. Living in the ‘Nati. Wearing Bengals stripes. Pushing the boulder uphill. Watching it roll down. Doing it all over again.
QB Carson Palmer came out of the Dallas game in good shape with no further damage to his right elbow.
“His elbow is fine,” head coach Marvin Lewis said. “We’ll see where he is Wednesday. But he came through the game fine.”
Palmer threw for 217 yards and 2 TDs against the Cowboys, and showed fairly good accuracy except for a wild overthrow to Chris Perry while scrambling out of the pocket.
“He was on the move,” Lewis added. “And I’m sure he wishes he had it back, but we didn’t make a good connection there.”
Lewis said the club expects to re-sign backup TB Kenny Watson after he was terminated in favor of WR Chris Henry, who didn’t catch a pass.
As TB Cedric Benson learns more of the offense and understands the blocking in pass-protection that’s needed, his role will expand because starter Chris Perry (5 fumbles, 3 lost) has become a liability with his lack of ball security.
Who gets cut when Watson comes back?
It wouldn’t be a total shock if Henry gets cut.
He looked lost on the field and wasn’t in the game when he was needed most — the ugly 2-point conversion attempt that failed with 7:39 to go.
Trailing 24-22, Palmer and TE Ben Utecht didn’t hook up on a low-percentage fade patter in the left corner of the end zone.
Palmer’s pass was bad and Utecht’s attempt to catch it was worse.
The lives of everyone who knew Lamar “Boo” Davis Jr. changed.
I was in the upstairs “bonus room” of The Miamisburg War Room, helping my son put together a weight set — the bench, bar and free weights — when the call came in.
“Boo” was gone.
The Trotwood-Madison High School freshman basketball star had collapsed and died during an open-gym workout at Wayne High School. He was 15.
Boo, a 6-foot-5, 210 pounder, averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots per game for the Dayton Basketball Club’s Kingdom Elite AAU team and was considered one of the finest players for his age — not only in Ohio, but the Midwest.
Boo’s jersey number “21” was retired in a ceremony at the Kingdom Sports Center in Franklin, Ohio. His jersey is encased in glass on Kingdom’s “Wall of Fame.”
Grief counselors told grieving families that the best way to honor “Boo” is to keep his memory alive with stories. So if you see Boo’s family —parents Lamar Sr. and Gerie; his sister, Tarea, 11; and brother, Amari, 7 — don’t shy away. Mention Boo and the impact he had, and still has, on your life.
And you can still sign Boo’s “Guest Book” — powered by Legacy.com and brought to you by the Dayton Daily News — at:
1. Tight end Reggie Kelly whiffs on quarterback Carson Palmer’s first pass of the game and it’s intercepted by linebacker Greg Ellis at 14:46 of first quarter, leading to a field goal and 3-0 Dallas lead.
2. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph misses a tackle on Felix Jones’ 33-yard TD run around right end at 6:00 of the first quarter as the Cowboys take a 10-0 lead.
3. Kyle Larson’s 54-yard punt is downed at Cowboys’ 3-yard line, but Kyries Hebert is flagged for illegal touching and the referee rules a touchback at 3:09 of first quarter. The Cowboys answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that QB Tony Romo finished with a 4-yard TD pass to TE Jason Witten.
4. Tight end Ben Utecht’s 21-yard catch at Dallas’ 2-yard line at 8:19 of the second quarter is overturned by instant replay and ruled incomplete. Video evidence showed Utecht didn’t get right foot down. Shayne Graham kicked a 41-yard field goal.
5. A holding penalty on wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh nullified tailback Chris Perry’s 17-yard TD run at 1:02 of the second quarter. Graham kicked a 31-yard field goal as the Bengals trained at halftime, 17-6.
6. Chad Ocho Cinco’s false-start penalty pinned the Bengals at their 4-yard line at 5:14 of the third quarter. Kyle Larson’s 40-yard punt gave Dallas the ball at the Bengals’ 49.
7. Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers intercepted Romo and raced 39 yards to the Cowboys’ 41, but Cincinnati squandered great field position and had to settle for Graham’s 40-yard field goal, pulling the Bengals within 17-16 with 14:02 to go.
8. After the Bengals recovered Graham’s onside kick, Cincinnati was driving for the go-ahead score when Perry fumbled at Dallas’ 37. Two plays later, Romo hooked up with Terrell Owens for a 57-yard TD and 24-16 Dallas lead at 11:46.
9. Palmer throws a 10-yard TD pass to Houshmandzadeh at 7:39, but the 2-point conversion attempt is a low-percentage fade pattern to tight end Ben Utecht in the deep left corner of the end zone. Ocho Cinco and Houshmandzadeh are split to the right, but get ignored.
10. With 1:52 remaining, Romo throws a left-side pass toward Miles Austin that tips off his hands. Bengals cornerback Jamar Fletcher is right there, but can’t deflect the ball that lands in the arms of Patrick Crayton for a 15-yard TD and 31-22 victory.
Atrium Walk to Remember
Homecomings of the past
Spotted: Optimist Run at VOA Park
Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.
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chick you can probably hear me yelling in the burg from tampa everything being written and heard about