Bengals audition several players; and hello again

DIXON, Ill. -- I wanted to get this note Online before I tore myself away from my relatives.

The Bengals tried out several players Monday, including wide receivers Kevin Johnson, Kevin Kasper and Darius Watts, tight ends Tim Day and Matt Kranchick and linebacker Jason Berryman.

The Bengals, clearly, are looking for more help at wide receiver. They apparently are not completely impressed with the health of Peter Warrick's knee or his physical condition. It's hard to believe that if Warrick were healthy and still a shadow of his former playmaking self that the Bengals would not have signed him yet.

On a personal note, as hard as it was to tear myself away from my work last week and to miss covering the Atlanta game, it's doubly difficult to leave my brothers, sisters, in-laws, cousins, aunts and uncles here in Dixon.

We had four hours of visition at the funeral home Monday for my mother, Elizabeth, who died Thursday of inoperable lung cancer. The line was out the door several times.

I'd like to publicly thank Bengals president Mike Brown and his organization, the newsroom of the Cincinnati Enquirer and columnist Tom Archdeacon (and his wife) of the Dayton Daily News for the beautiful flower arrangements they sent to the funeral home. Thank you. My family greatly appreciates your kindness and thoughtfulness.

The funeral this morning and burial were a great comfort. My six brothers and sisters, as well as our extended family, have celebrated a life magnificently lived.

I wrote and delivered the eulogy for my mother, just as she had asked me to do three years ago for my father. It was a great honor both times. I'm drained emotionally and downing coffee to prepare for the drive tonight back to Cincinnati.

I wouldn't know where to even start in counting the blessings in my life. I'm humbled and proud to be a part of the extended Curnutte and Mueller families.

I'll be back at work Wednesday. It's what my mother would expect.

Everyone is clapping

The Bengals just used 10 plays to take a 7-3 lead. Now that silly fight song is playing on the scoreboard.

I guess we're back

OK, it looks like Blogger is finally working again. So to bring you up to speed, Chad Johnson went through all of pregame warmups with "OCHOCINCO" on the back of his jersey in place of his name. As game time approached, the debate became about how much he'd be fined until Carson Palmer ripped off the velcro name tag just before kickoff.

Now, back to the game. Michael Vick made two big plays -- one with his arm, the other with his legs -- to get the Falcons in field goal range on their first drive. But Rudi Johnson is running his way down the field, about to give the Bengals a lead.

C. Johnson the talker, and the blocker

First Chad Johnson baits Chris Crocker into a personal foul penalty, and then he sets a key block to free-up Rudi Johnson for a big gain.

Hello

Hey guys, I'll be filling in best I can for Mark today.

The most noteworthy item so far is that Chris Henry is active.

Bengals inactives for today are: Levi Jones, Rich Braham, Kelly Washington, A.J. Nicholson, Rashad Jeanty, Anthony Wright and John Busing. Reggie McNeal becomes the third quarterback.

On offense, Andrew Whitworth starts at left tackle and Eric Ghiaciuc starts at center.

On defense, Brian Simmons slides from middle to sam linebacker and Ahmad Brooks starts at middle linebacker.

Falcons inactives are D.J. Shockley, Cam Newton, John Leake, John Abraham, Kynan Forney, Frank Omiyale, Daniel Fells and Tommy Jackson.

At right guard, P.J. Alexander will start in place of Forney.

On defense Chauncey Davis is starting at left end in place of Patrick Kerney, who is starting at right end in place of Abraham.

Dustin Dow pinch-blogging Sunday

I'm into my seventh season as the Enquirer's Bengals beat writer and, counting preseason games and the one playoff game, have covered 131 consecutive Bengals games. I smashed my hand in a car door in August in Buffalo before the preseason game and worked; every keystroke with my left index finger was a new experience in pain. I had bronchitis in Detroit in October 2001 -- and was in a car accident en route to the Silverdome -- yet made it into the press box five minutes before kickoff. I love what I do. It's who I am.

I can count on one hand the sick days I've used in 22 years in the newspaper business.

I'll be in Illinois on Sunday and will miss the Bengals-Atlanta game. I am leaving Saturday with my three children for my mother's visitation and funeral, which are Monday and Tuesday in Dixon. Of the seven children, and as the fifth of the seven, I've been honored with the task of writing and delivering my mother's eulogy, just as I did for my father in 2003. I wish sometimes there were two of me so I could do more; I wish often that I didn't have to sleep.

I'll be back to work Wednesday. I need to get my children back into school.

As much as I want to be there to see my siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles, and, most important, honor my mother, I have a hard time letting go of the beat -- even for a short time. I hate the idea of someone else working my blog, too, as selfish as that might sound. This blog has grown to mean as much to me as anything I do professionally. The interaction with readers and casual voice I'm allowed to use are immensely satisfying. I'm just now learning how to use it more effectively. I have a lot more to learn about this medium and its possibilities.

But, even in the short time this season, we have received feedback from readers who rely on the blog and have become accustomed to checking it for regular updates during games.

My colleague Dustin Dow is subbing for me for the game and will handle the blog. Kevin Kelly, my backup beat reporter, is likely to take care of the game story. The Gold Dust Twins.

My mother, Elizabeth, is the one who taught me most about the importance, value and rewards of hard work and smart work. I watched my father work as a Nabisco salesman for 35 years and often helped him stock shelves in grocery stores; he would never let any one out-effort or out-think him. So, like many people, I pride myself on my work ethic. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how difficult it feels (as I sit here at 5:13 p.m. Friday) to be missing a game on my beat.

But it's the right thing and only thing to do.

There's only one way, I think, to cover a major newspaper beat: with absolute devotion. It probably didn't do much to help my marriage, and my attitude toward my work undoubtedly contributed to the demise of the union, but you can't do this job unless you sweat every detail.

In the end, there's a lesson. There's always a lesson. A person's strength can also be a weakness.

Chatman to IR; Henry will play Sunday

The Bengals placed Antonio Chatman on the season-ending injured reserve list today, the third wide receiver they've lost for the season.

Coach Marvin Lewis also said after practice that Chris Henry has been activated to the 53-man roster and will play Sunday against Atlanta. Lewis also said that special teams rookie Ethan Kilmer was moved two weeks ago from safety to wide receiver. Kilmer played wide receiver at Penn State last season and caught a touchdown pass in the Orange Bowl. (Kilmer, by the way, was still listed as a safety on the Oct. 24 official team roster.)

The Bengals have lost wide receivers Tab Perry (hip) and rookie Bennie Brazell (knee) to IR for the season. Fourth-year wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) will miss his second consecutive game.

I like the Bengals on Sunday, but what do I know?

This morning, I'm writing my Edge matchup breakdown for the Sunday paper.

I'll be heading over to WCPO for the noon news show to make my prediction for the Bengals-Falcons game. "Curnutte's Call," my friends at Channel 9 call the segment. Perhaps it should be "Curnutte's Con." (There's a nice softball for readers who want to post comments. You're welcome, in advance. Have at it; I deserve the grief.)

I've lost four in a row. I picked Pittsburgh over the Bengals, then the Bengals over New England and Tampa Bay. Then I liked Carolina against the Bengals last week.

Defensive tackle Shaun Smith, maybe the sharpest needler in the locker room, got me good Sunday after the 17-14 victory against the Panthers. Shaun has a booming voice. "Hey, Mark, you thought we would lose, 27-20."

"Very good, Shaun, you even remembered the score," I said.

"Hey, Justin, Mark thought we would lose," Shaun said to teammate Justin Smith.

"Yeah, Shaun, and I picked your sorry (rear ends) to beat New England and Tampa Bay."

Two points for me. I silenced Shaun Smith. At least temporarily.

Those are good times. The interplay with some genuinely good people, such as Shaun, is one of the joys of this job.

Atlanta will give up a lot of pass yards -- the Falcons are 27th in the NFL at 230.8 yards allowed through the air a game. But they'll tighten (bend, don't break) to keep teams out of the end zone. Even after allowing 38 to the Steelers, the Falcons are eighth in the league in average points allowed at 17.8 a game. The philosophy in Atlanta is stop the run (the Falcons are 11th at 98.5 yards a game allowed) and limit points. Pass yards be damned.

Still, I like the Bengals at home this week. I'm working on a score. But I see it in the 20s for both team.

But what do I know? I was 13-4 picking Bengals games last season. I missed all three Steelers-Bengals games and didn't see the Christmas Eve loss to Buffalo. Otherwise, pretty solid.

This year, I'm 2-4. Not good. Not good at all.

A lyric and a wish for Mom

It's a few minutes after 11 o'clock on the day my mother died.

Fitting, though, that she and my father are reunited in time to enjoy a World Series game together.

We live on hope and faith.

As I sit here and write tonight, I can't get away from a song and a vision.

The song is Springsteen's "The Wish," written about and sung to his mother, from his "Tracks" box set of 1998. I've played it about five times since I got home from work.

"If Pa's eyes were windows into a world so deadly and true
You couldn't stop me from looking but you kept me from crawling through
And if it's a funny old world, Ma, where a little boy's wishes come true
Well I got a few left in my pocket and a special one just for you."

My wish tonight is this: I know human beings cannot understand heaven. Its splendor is beyond our ability to imagine.

Maybe paradise for my parents is simply being together again.

I see a table. I see my parents sitting at their normal spots, Dad at one end, near the floor register and within arm's reach of his radio. It's tuned to the fourth game of the World Series. He has folded a newspaper and placed it on an adjacent chair.

Mom's at the other end of the table, nearest a back window that looks out over a verdant yard. She has put her knitting down.

They've cracked open a quart of beer; I remember brown bottles of Pabst, circa 1972. They've filled matching copper mugs.

Then I hear that sound, the one of dice rattling in a cardboard cup, the familiar rhythm that used to lull me securely to sleep in my bedroom above the kitchen.

The first game of Yahtzee is on.

Elizabeth Curnutte: Aug. 16, 1929-Oct. 26, 2006

I can't thank you enough for sending your warm thoughts and prayers in the direction of my mother and family since I first wrote about her battle with inoperable lung cancer.

I just received the call from Illinois. Elizabeth Ann (Mueller) Curnutte died this afternoon at 2:50 local time at her home in Dixon. My sister Joan and sister-in-law Rose were at her bedside. When nurses told them the end was near, they said a "Hail Mary" together and wondered how many thousands of "Hail Marys" this grace-filled woman had said in her lifetime.

" ... Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

The illness was mercifully short from diagnosis to the end, just a little more than two months.

She suffered very little. Mom had to receive oxygen the other night because she had trouble breathing. Her lungs filled with fluid. Her discomfort overnight Wednesday was eased by morphine. The door opened, and she peacefully passed through. When I can pull my thoughts together, I will write about how we all spent our final weekend together, during the Bengals' bye earlier this month.

I'm overwhelmed by gratitude.

I know this fact as much as I know anything. My mother and father, John, apart since Dad's death Feb. 12, 2003, are together now and for eternity.

And I know God loves me. He never had to prove it or do anything else for me. He allowed me to be my parents' son.

Click on cans for FreeStore/FoodBank

This from the people at the Freestore/Foodbank:

Once again, Campbell's Chunky Soups is sponsoring its annual Click for
Cans competition at this website:

http://www.chunky.com/clickforcans.aspx

Visit it and click on the Cincinnati Bengals. The team with the most
clicks by December 15 wins approximately 16,000 cans of soup for their
local foodbank! (One can per pound of weight for each football player on
the official roster.) The Green Bay Packers have won every single year
(so what else do they have to do in Wisconsin???), and it is time for
the Bengals to prevail! We are starting out well, but the competition
lasts a month longer than last year, so you have to keep clicking!

You are allowed one click per day. (Though I suspect if you know more
about 'cookies' than I do, there might be a way to bend that rule.)

Lewis should play Henry

Coach Marvin Lewis has prohibited wide receiver Chris Henry from talking to the media, in line with the policy Lewis has for players who are in limbo. Henry has yet to be promoted to the 53-man roster after serving his two-game league suspension.

I don't know how Lewis doesn't play Henry on Sunday against Atlanta. Wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) is out. Antonio Chatman (groin) was downgraded Thursday to doubtful. The "healthy" WRs are starters Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh and rookies Glenn Holt and Reggie McNeal.

Lewis should not be criticized if he plays Henry. Lewis de-activated him once, against New England. Henry has served his two-game suspension. In other words, Henry has paid the price -- so far -- for his transgressions.

Henry should play.

Lewis: Warrick, Henry 'my business'

Wide receiver Chris Henry will practice this afternoon, but whether he will play Sunday remains coach Marvin Lewis' decision. The Bengals do not have

According to the league, the Bengals don't have to make a decision on Henry until Monday. Henry, coming off a two-game league suspension, is a roster exemption until Monday.

As of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Henry had not been activated to the 53-man roster. Henry also declined comment in the locker room because Lewis has him on a media blackout.

The Bengals also worked out former Bengals wide receiver Peter Warrick on Tuesday. Lewis said the team works-out players every Tuesday and that they didn't bring Warrick in to sign him now.

The Bengals also tried-out nose tackle Chad Lavalais of Louisiana State University.

"Whether we sign him is my business," Lewis said of Warrick, the Bengals' first-round draft pick in 2000 and No. 4 overall.

The injury report is considerably more abbreviated than in recent weeks. Lewis listed linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) and wide receiver Antonio Chatman (groin) as questionable. Jeanty was wearing football cleats today for the first time since the injury.

There's a chance Henry could play Sunday if Chatman is unable to play. Wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) is out. Tab Perry (hip) also is out for the season, with the speculation circulating that Perry's injury is as serious as Bo Jackson's.

Warrick works out for Bengals

Wide receiver Peter Warrick, released during training camp 2005 by the Bengals, has reportedly worked out today for the Bengals. Efforts to confirm through Drew Rosenhaus, Warrick's agent, have not been successful.

The Bengals public relations staff had no information on Warrick's tryout. But other sources inside the Bengals organization said Warrick was at Paul Brown Stadium today.

The Bengals are believed to be concerned about the health of wide receiver Antonio Chatman, the team's top punt and kickoff return man. He reinjured a groin pull Sunday against Carolina. Warrick, who played for the Bengals for five seasons, could step in and return kicks and punts as soon as Sunday. Warrick also knows the offensive scheme of coordinator Bob Bratkowski, having played in it for four seasons.

No. 3 wide receiver Chris Henry is eligible to return to practice Wednesday after serving his two-game NFL suspension for violating its substance abuse and personal conduct policies. Coach Marvin Lewis was typically vague Monday when asked whether Henry would be activated to the 53-man roster or play Sunday against Atlanta.

Warrick was released by the Seahawks during the preseason and had a tryout with the Detroit Lions.

Reporters from the independent media are not allowed inside the Bengals facility on Tuesday during the regular season. Reporters from media not owned, operated and controlled by the Bengals organization also are limited to four, 45-minute interview sessions in the locker room each week and are prohibited from watching practice, other than the initial 25 minutes when players perform light drills and stretch as a team.

This just in from GQ magazine: Chad's cool

In the November Sports Issue of GQ magazine, Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver Chad Johnson is included in a special photo portfolio "The Originals: 16 of the Coolest Sports Heroes of All Time." Johnson is cited for being "the best wide receiver in the NFL" and helping the Bengals morph from "2-14 bottom fish into serious postseason contenders." He is included alongside such luminaries as Joe Namath, Magic Johnson, and John McEnroe.

Lewis: Team came out of Carolina game healthy

The Bengals will be without four players Sunday for the Atlanta game: center Rich Braham, left tackle Levi Jones, wide receiver Kelley Washington and quarterback Anthony Wright.

Linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) will be questionable, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. He also said safety Dexter Jackson (ankle) and wide receiver Antonio Chatman (groin) will be probable. Chatman said his sore groin was aggravated when Carolina players grabbed his "private area" a couple of different times in piles.

Lewis also said tailback Chris Perry weathered his first action of the season well. Lewis declined to reveal whether he would re-instate wide receiver Chris Henry to the roster and play him Sunday against Atlanta. "He could be on the team and down," Lewis said of the possibility that Henry would not play even if he were activated.

Henry can return to practice Wednesday after serving his two-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse and personal conduct policies.

Reader gives game ball to offensive line

One category missing in the vote for the game ball...

__ The O-Line gets my Vote, BIG TIME....

They made the difference in this being a W...

Who-Dey

JT Brofft

Kaesviharn pick saves game for Bengals

The Bengals dodged a late bullet when safety Kevin Kaesviharn intercepted Jake Delhomme in the end zone with a little more than 3 minutes remaining. The Panthers had driven 71 yards to the Bengals 10-yard line. Delhomme threw for Keyshawn Johnson, and Kaesviharn picked the ball out of the air for a touchback.

Rudi Johnson's 23rd carry gave him 100 yards rushing with 2:27 remaining in the game.

With 2:00 remaining, the Bengals lead 17-14 and have the ball on Carolina's 41-yard line.

Bengals go up 17-14 on long drive

The Bengals, trailing 14-10, mounted what might be the drive of the season.
They went 86 yards on 13 plays midway through the fourth quarter to go up 17-14.

Carson Palmer threw 1-yard to T.J. Houshmandzadeh for the touchdown.
Palmer was 8-for-9 passing for 93 yards on the scoring drive, which started with him being sacked for 10 yards by Carolina linebacker Chris Draft.

The Bengals moved to the Panthers 35-yard line and faced a fourth and 1. Coach Marvin Lewis went for it. Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski called a streak down the left sideline, which was caught by Chad Johnson at the 3. He beat excellent coverage by Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble. It was the kind of aggressive call that fans had been pining for during the two-game losing streak.

After the touchdown, Palmer was 19-for-33 passing for 193 yards, two scores, no interceptions and a 94.8 passer rating.

Bengals pull within 14-10

Shayne Graham's 23-yard field goal pulled the Bengals within 14-10 with 7:06 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bengals drove 39 yards in eight plays for the score. The drive started at the Carolina 44 after punt returner Antonio Chatman ran up to field a low Panthers punt at the 50 and ran to the 44.

Rudi Johnson broke off a 21-yard run to give the Bengals a first down on the Panthers 11-yard line. But a third-and-2 play at the 3, a handoff to Johnson, resulted in a 2-yard loss.

The Bengals then settled for the field goal.

Bengals give lead right back, 14-7, Carolina

The Panthers answered the Bengals score with a 63-yard, six-play touchdown drive. The Panthers used only 2:29, scoring on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jake Delhomme to Nick Goings, who was uncovered in the corner of the end zone. Cornerback Deltha O'Neal and linebacker Caleb Miller were the closest defenders to Goings.

The Paul Brown Stadium crowd booed when the Bengals elected not to throw the ball deep at the end of the half.

Bengals pull even on 16-yard TD pass to Reggie Kelly

The Bengals drove 80 yards in 13 plays to pull even at 7 with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter. Carson Palmer, two plays after Carolina cornerback Ken Lucas dropped an interception, threw 16 yards to tight end Reggie Kelly for the score.

The Bengals were 2 for 2 in converting third-down plays on the drive, gaining their initital first down of the game on third and 11 on a 12-yard pass to tailback Chris Perry. The 16-yard TD pass came on a third-and-7 play.

Rudi Johnson ran five times for 24 yards on the drive. The Bengals gained their first seven first downs of the game on the impressive drive.

Bengals go 3-and-out four times in a row

The Bengals failed to pick up a first down on any of their first four possessions, gaining just 26 total yards and getting a deepest penetration of their own 27-yard line.

Bengals gunner Ethan Kilmer was penalized 15 yards on the punt for interfering with return man Chris Gamble on a fair catch. Carolina is starting from its 41-yard line.

Justin Smith collects sixth sack

Bengals defensive end Justin Smith beat Panthers left tackle Jordan Gross to collect his sixth sack of the season.

The sack on third down forced another Carolina punt. Even though Antonio Chatman had an 8-yard punt return, the Bengals are starting at their 18-yard line.

The Bengals have started their four drives at their 10, 11, 20 and 18.

Bengals gain 17 yards, no first downs in 1st qt.

The Bengals were held without a first down, just 17 total yards and minus-1 yards rushing in the first quarter by the Carolina defense.

Panthers tackle Kris Jenkins beat center Eric Ghiaciuc to tackle Rudi Johnson for a 3-yard loss. Then end Michael Rucker beat tight end Reggie Kelly's block to hit Carson Palmer hard on a third-down, incomplete pass.

Chad Johnson has one reception for 4 yards.

Panthers drive for touchdown

Carolina drove 66 yards on nine plays, scoring on a 7-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to tight end Kris Mangum. Mangum was tackled by Bengals safety Madieu Williams and linebacker Landon Johnson. But Mangum reached the plane of the goal line before his knees hit the ground. The Bengals challenged the ruling on the field, but it was withheld on replay.

With 2:09 remaining in the first quarter, the Panthers have had the ball for 9:48, the Bengals 3:03.

The Panthers have 95 total yards, the Bengals 16 with no first downs.

Teams trade punts on first two possessions

The Panthers and Bengals traded punts on the first two possessions. Carolina drove 29 yards to its 47 before punting. The Bengals did not gain a first down on their drive.

The Bengals defense is 1 for 2 on third down. The Bengals offense is 0 for 1.

Bengals safety Dexter Jackson is in the game. Bengals tailback Chris Perry went into the game on second down and caught a 5-yard pass before being tackled by Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers.

Game starts with 18 mph wind; 48 degrees

Dexter Jackson, Brian Simmons active

Neither safety Dexter Jackson nor linebacker Brian Simmons will start, but they are active for the game this afternoon against Carolina.

The inactive players are quarterback Anthony Wright (appendix), cornerback Greg Brooks, safety John Busing, center Rich Braham (knee), left tackle Levi Jones (knee), wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) and linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot).

Jackson (ankle) and Simmons (neck) will be playing despite their injuries.

Reggie McNeal is the emergency third quarterback for the Bengals.

Wide receiver Glenn Holt, a rookie free agent from the University of Kentucky, is active and will wear No. 16. Tailback Chris Perry also will play for the first time this season after spending the first six weeks on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

In terms of lineup changes, Andrew Whitworth will start for Jones at left tackle. Eric Ghiaciuc will start at center. On defense, Kevin Kaesviharn will start at strong safety in Jackson's spot. Landon Johnson moves to strong-side linebacker. Rookie Ahmad Brooks will start in the middle. And Caleb Miller starts on the weak-side.

What do football writers talk about?

I had dinner tonight with one of my friends from the NFL beat, Stan Olson of the Charlotte Observer. He's in town, obviously, to help cover the Bengals-Panthers game Sunday.

Stan and I got to know each other while covering the NFL Combine for the past several years in Indianapolis in February. He and I and the Tampa Tribune's Roy Cummings, whom I saw last week at Raymond James Stadium, regularly have dinner together at the end of the day in Indianapolis.

At dinner, at least with the three of us, the topics of conversation are many. What do we talk about? Just about anything but football. Sure, there's some shop talk: Which players are cooperative, what's your particular coach like to deal with? But Stan, Roy and I often talk about music.

One night a few years ago, we happened upon Neil Young. We hit on the regular songs -- "Heart of Gold," "Like a Hurricane," "After the Gold Rush" -- and we all agreed that a great, under-rated Neil Young song of all-time might be "Powderfinger,"
a Civil War story about the personal cost of war.

So, for my friends Roy and Stan, here's a couple stanzas of "Powderfinger:"

" ... Daddy's rifle in my hand
felt reassurin'
He told me,
Red means run, son,
numbers add up to nothin'
But when the first shot
hit the docks I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.

"Shelter me from the powder
and the finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I'll miss her."

Quincy Wilson signed to practice squad

The Bengals this morning announced that they have signed tailback Quincy Wilson to the team's practice squad.

He was waived from the 53-man roster Thursday and cleared waivers.

Bob Dylan featured in lyric of the day

A reader wrote and asked for some Bob Dylan lyrics.

I've resisted quoting Dylan, because you could run an endless stream of worthwhile, thought-provoking, socially significant, entertaining and funny Dylan lyrics.

There are the Dylan-penned hits that have become staples of the American songbook of the last half century. But just about everybody who likes Dylan loves to look into the lesser-known corners of his work.

For example, I could listen to the song "Brownsville Girl" without ever tiring of it.

It's filled with great lines, the best of which might be: "The only thing we knew for sure about Henry Porter is that his name wasn't Henry Porter."

But here's the stanza of "Brownsville Girl" that's most memorable to me:

"Strange how people who suffer together
have stronger connections than people who are most content.
I don't have any regrets,
they can talk about me plenty when I'm gone.
You always said people don't do what they believe in,
they just do what's most convenient, then they repent.
And I always said, `Hang on to me, baby,
and let's hope that the roof stays on.'"

"Brownsville Girl" originally appeared on the album "Knocked Out Loaded."

The Dylan album I can't hear enough of right now is "Blood on the Tracks." The back-to-back songs "Simple Twist of Fate" and "You're a Big Girl Now" are absolutely beautiful.

Adams wants to bring arena football to Cincinnati

Bengals defensive tackle Sam Adams has purchased rights to bring arena league football team to U.S. Bank Arena. It would begin play in April, Adams said Friday.
The still-nameless team would play in the af2, arenafootball2.

Adams’ investment group includes Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr., Adams said. The two became friends when playing in Seattle in the mid- and later-1990s for the Seahawks and Mariners.

Other members of the ownership group are Bengals running back Rudi Johnson and Reds team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek. Bengals players Tory James and T.J. Houshmandzadeh also are expected to join, Adams said.

"It's a great football town. It has great fans who love football,” Adams said of the Cincinnati area. “You have to have something in the (NFL) offseason. You have nothing. You've got baseball, and it's a great baseball town. But to be able to have football year around and to take that burning desire to see live football in the offseason, this is a chance to see something fresh.”

Adams already owns an af2 team. He has run the Everett Hawks since 2002. In that time in Everett, Adams has linked his franchise with several community groups, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers-Big Sisters and the American Diabetes Association.

Adams said U.S. Bank Arena management has been cooperative and good to him.
A coach already is in place, former University of Kentucky player Tony Missick, who played five seasons in arena football as a wide receiver and linebacker.

Chris Perry activated; Tab Perry lost for season

The Bengals made three roster moves today:

-- Activated tailback Chris Perry to the 53-player roster from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list. Perry, a third-year player from Michigan, was the Bengals’ first-round draft choice in 2004. He had been on the PUP list due to ankle and knee injuries that predated the start of 2006 training camp. He returned to practice with the team earlier this week on a roster exemption. He is expected to play Sunday against Carolina.

Perry (ankle) remained questionable on the injury report but did practice today for the third consecutive day.

-- Signed rookie wide receiver Glenn Holt to the 53-player roster from the Bengals practice squad. Holt, who played college ball at Kentucky, first joined the Bengals last May 15 as a college free agent. He played in three preseason games, with one catch for 11 yards and a 16-yard kickoff return. He was waived Sept. 2, and had been on the practice squad since Sept. 4.

-- Placed second-year wide receiver Tab Perry on the injured reserve list, ending his season. Tab Perry has not played since suffering a hip injury on Sept. 17 vs. Cleveland. He also played on Sept. 10 vs. Kansas City, and for the season had five catches for 81 yards and four kickoff returns for a 17.3-yard average.

Linebacker Brian Simmons (neck) remained questionable but did return to practice today. Wide receiver Chad Johnson (shoulder) remained probable and did practice for the first time this week. Cornerback Greg Brooks (knee) remained questionable but did return to practice.

Bengals waive RB Wilson

The Bengals this afternoon announced that they have waived first-year tailback Quincy Wilson of West Virginia.

Wilson played in three games this season, with 2 rushes for 2 net yards and one special teams tackle. The Bengals now have one spot open on the 53-player roster.

The move leaves one spot open on the 53-man roster. That space is expected to be filled by tailback Chris Perry, who is expected to be removed from the physically unable to perform list and moved to the 53-man roster in time to play Sunday against Carolina.

Henry case continued in Clermont County

The DUI case involving Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry was continued to Nov. 27 in Clermont Municipal Court. The prosecution asked for the continuance.

Henry will serve the second of a two-game suspension Sunday for violations of the NFL substance abuse and personal conduct policies. He will be eligible to return to play for the game Oct. 29 against Atlanta at Paul Brown Stadium.

Chris Perry practices, remains questionable

Tailback Chris Perry officially practiced this afternoon, though he remained listed as questionable on the official injury report with an ankle injury. He was removed from the physically unable to perform list today. His return would provide a boost to the Bengals' slumping offense.

In other injury news, strong safety Dexter Jackson (ankle) and linebackers Rashad Jeanty (foot) and Brian Simmons (neck ) are questionable and did not practice. Wide receiver Chad Johnson (shoulder) is probable and did not practice. Defensive tackle Sam Adams (knee) is probable and did not practice. Cornerback Greg Brooks (knee) is probable and did practice.

Carolina missing some key players today

This bit from the wires ...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Thomas Davis and Al Wallace missed practice for the Carolina Panthers (today) and are listed as questionable for the game Sunday at Cincinnati.

Running back DeAngelo Williams also missed practice and is doubtful with a sprained right ankle. He is not expected to return for a couple of weeks.

Davis, a starting linebacker, suffered a rib injury against Baltimore while Wallace, a reserve defensive end, injured his arm against the Ravens. Safety Shaun Williams practiced Wednesday and is listed as questionable for a right foot injury.

Chris Perry returns to practice this afternoon

Explosive third-down back Chris Perry, a playmaker the Bengals' dormant offense desperately needs, will officially return to practice today, coach Marvin Lewis announced early third afternoon. Perry was removed from the physically unable to perform list.

He was listed as questionable for the game Sunday against Carolina with the ankle injury.

Also listed as questionable: strong safety Dexter Jackson (ankle), linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) and linebacker Brian Simmons (neck).

Out is left tackle Levi Jones, who is undergoing exploratory surgery on his left knee today, Lewis said. Also out are center Rich Braham (knee), wide receiver Tab Perry (hip), wide receiver Kelley Washington (hamstring) and quarterback Anthony Wright (appendix).

Asked when Chris Perry might play, Lewis said, "It could be Sunday. It could be the next Sunday. It could be the Sunday after that."

Perry declined specific comment in the locker room but alluded to the fact that he is healthy enough to play.

Carolina, a literary passage and music on my mind

Item 1: I don't see good times ahead for the Bengals. Carolina is a difficult matchup Sunday for Marvin Lewis' team. Wide receiver Steve Smith (Chad Johnson's junior college teammate) might be the single biggest playmaker in the NFL. He beats double-coverage consistently. If the Panthers can score 23 points on an excellent Baltimore defense in winning this past Sunday, they can score 33 against the Bengals. And the Bengals re-worked offensive line is almost certain to have big problems with the Panthers' explosive defensive line; Carson Palmer, meet Julius Peppers.

Item 2: The literary passage of the day comes from a book I was moved to grab today from a shelf here in my home office. I have read bits and pieces of this book, which is filled with personal essays. It's thought-provoking reading. I like this particular passage because, unlike me at times, it is not apologetic or insecure.

Here it is: "I have always laughed at the critics saying I am bitter and full of hate. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am not jealous or envious either. I am just me. And I do have strong feelings about that. I do not and did not and most likely will not ever feel that I have to justify that. I do not have to be a role model, a good preson, a credit to my race."

The book is titled "Racism 101. It was published in 1994 by William Morrow and Company, Inc. It was written by poet Nikki Giovanni.

Item 3: The lyric of the day returns after a three-day absence. It's a song for an election year from the first of two "Mermaid Avenue" album projects (1998), in which Billy Bragg and Wilco set previously unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics to music. Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy did the music for the song "Christ for President."

"Let's have Christ our President
Let us have him for our king
Cast your vote for the Carpenter
That they call the Nazarene

"The only way
We could ever beat
These crooked politician men

"Is to cast the moneychangers
Out of the temple
Put the Carpenter in

"Oh it's Jesus Christ our President
God above our king
With a job and pension for young and old
We will make hallelujah ring

"Every year we waste enough
To feed the ones who starve
We build our civilization up
And we shoot it down with wars

"But with the Carpenter
On the seat
Way up in the capitol town

"The USA
Be on the way
Prosperity bound"

Levi Jones out for Carolina; Whitworth new LT

Coach Marvin Lewis announced this afternoon that left tackle Levi Jones is out for the Carolina game Sunday with a left knee injury and might have to undergo arthroscopic surgery.

Rookie Andrew Whitworth will be the starting left tackle.

"We'll go as we finished (at Tampa Bay)," Lewis said.

Eric Steinbach will return to left guard, his normal position. Eric Ghiaciuc will play center.

Wide receiver Kelley Washington, who suffered a hamstring injury toward the end of the loss Sunday at Tampa Bay, also is out. His loss leaves the Bengals with three experienced, healthy wide receivers: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Antonio Chatman.

Also out are center Rich Braham (knee), wide receiver Tab Perry (hip) and quarterback Anthony Wright (appendectomy).

Questionable are linebackers Rashad Jeanty (foot) and Brian Simmons (neck) and strong safety Dexter Jackson (ankle).

Tailback Chris Perry (ankle) is eligible to be brought off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. "Chris Perry has a chance to be cleared for action Wednesday," Lewis said.

The two other players on PUP, defensive lineman Jonathan Fanene and offensive lineman Adam Kieft, however, will not be brought up, Lewis said. The Bengals have a three-week window in which to make a decision.

Bengals get 3 more from Graham

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals moved to a 13-7 lead with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter on a 47-yard field goal from Shayne Graham. The kick was set up on a 51-yard reception by Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson that moved the ball to the Tampa Bay 29-yard line.

Graham is 2 for 2 and made the kick against a strong wind.

Wide receiver Kelley Washington has left the game with a hamstring injury and will not return.

Chad Johnson catches 51-yard pass from Palmer

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals, leading 10-7, moved into scoring position on a 51-yard pass play from Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson. The catch was Johnson's longest of the season, betting his previous best of 18. The catch gave Johnson six receptions today for 99 yards.

The Bengals now have have a second and 10 on the Tampa Bay 29.

Graham's 37-yard FG gives Bengals 10-7 edge

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals answered the Buccaneers' scoring drive with one of their own, moving 54 yards in 11 plays to regain the lead on a 37-yard Shayne Graham field goal. The Bengals lead 10-7 with 2:29 left in the third quarter.

Tight end Reggie Kelly had a 27-yard reception on the drive's first play.

Buccaneers pull even at 7

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who played at Toledo, threw a touchdown pass of 2 yards to tight end Alex Smith, who beat coverage by safety Kevin Kaesviharn in the end zone.

Tampa Bay went 80 yards on 11 plays. Robert Geathers was called for roughing the passer, which moved the ball inside the Bengals 10-yard line, and cornerback Tory James missed a tackle in the backfield, allowing Carnell Williams to run to the 2.

Half-time stats: Palmer has 108.8 passer rtg.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals had 134 yards, compared to 130 for the Buccaneers, in the first half.

Carson Palmer is 15-for-20 passing for 132 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh had six catches for 64 yards, Chad Johnson for 43.

Rudi Johnson had three yards rushing on seven attemps.

Bengals will receive second-half kickoff

James, Jones out with knee injuries

TAMPA, Fla. -- Cornerback Tory James currently is out of the game with a knee bruise but is expected to return. Johnathan Joseph is playing cornerback in his place.

Left tackle Levi Jones also is out. Versatile Eric Steinbach, the regular starting left guard, returned to left guard. Eric Ghiaciuc is now playing center. Andrew Whitworth, who started at left guard, is playing left tackle.

Jones' return is questionable.

The Bengals regained possession inside the 2-minute warning on a Kevin Kaesviharn interception.

Bengals get 7-0 lead on Palmer TD pass

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals lead 7-0 with 9:08 remaining in the second quarter after Carson Palmer tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Houshmandzadeh beat cornerback Ronde Barber on a pass down the left sideline.

Palmer led the 80-yard drive in eight plays. Chad Johnson had two receptions for 22 yards on the drive. Houshmandzadeh had two catches for 40 yards.

The Bengals continue to struggle on the ground. They have just three rush yards.

Pre-snap penalties limit offense

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals had an illegal formation penalty and a delay on its first two snaps of the most recent possession.

Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson continue to fail to connect. Johnson looked surprised by the early arrival of an out pass on third and five. Kyle Larson punted 43 yards.

The Buccaneers have first down on their 41-yard line and are beginning to gain an edge in field position.

First quarter ends in scoreless tie

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals and Buccaneers are tied at 0 at the end of the first quarter.

Tampa Bay will punt on the first play of the second quarter.

The Bengals offensive line in struggling. The offense had 18 pass yards and 0 rush yards in the first quarter.

Cornerback Tory James, who missed a tackle in the open field, appeared to have intercepted a Bruce Gradkowski pass. But the pick was overturned on review because the ball bounced before James took possession.

Bengals offense sluggish

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals have just 12 yards of total offense in their first two possessions.

The revamped line is not playing well. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth missed a block on a dump pass to Rudi Johnson. Center Eric Steinbach and quarterback Carson Palmer fumbled a snap.

Chad Johnson has not had one ball thrown in his direction.

Bengals-Tampa Bay 0-0 at 10:18 first quarter

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals and Buccaneers traded punts on their first two possessions.

Wide receiver Antonio Chatman, thanks to a strong block from tight end Tony Stewart, had a 19-yard punt return for the Bengals. It is their longest of the season, bettering an eight-yard return by Keiwan Ratliff.

Center Eric Steinbach, who moved from left guard, had a fumbled snap with quarterback Carson Palmer on third and 9, which forced Cincinnati's punt.

MLB Simmons out; rookie Brooks will start

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals will be without middle linebacker Brian Simmons today. He woke up this morning with a neck problem, and it will prevent him from playing.

Simmons was not listed all week on the injury report because he had practiced.

In Simmons place, rookie Ahmad Brooks will start at middle linebacker. Strong-side linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) is inactive, as well. Landon Johnson will shift to strong-side linebacker, and Caleb Miller will start at weak-side linebacker.

Strong safety Dexter Jackson (ankle) is out, too, and Kevin Kaesviharn at strong safety.

On offense, Eric Steinbach will move from left guard and start at center. Rookie Andrew Whitworth will start at left guard.

Former Miami RedHawks star John Busing, signed to the 53-man roster Saturday, is active and will wear No. 36. He could see some time at linebacker, where he played at Miami. At 221 pounds, Busing could be the sixth linebacker. Besides the starters, only newly-acquired Andre Frazier and special teams ace Marcus Wilkins are available.

Doug Johnson is the No. 2 quarterback today behind Carson Palmer. The regular backup, Anthony Wright, underwent an emergency appendectomy Friday morning and is out indefinitely.

Reggie McNeal, the rookie wide receiver, is the emergency third quarterback.

Miami U's Busing signed to 53-man roster

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Bengals today signed safety John Busing to the 53-player roster from the team's practice squad. Busing is 6-feet 2, 221 pounds and played college ball at Miami University. He has been on the Bengals' practice squad since the beginning of the regular season. He was originally signed as a college free agent May 5. He played in all four of the Bengals preseason games, ranking seventh on defense with 12 tackles (nine solo) and recording one pass defensed. He also had one solo special teams tackle in preseason.

Busing has impressed coaches with his knowledge of the defensive scheme. There's no indication whether he will play Sunday against the Buccaneers. With starting strong safety Dexter Jackson unlikely to play because of an ankle injury (he was downgraded to doubtful Friday and did not practice all week), Busing might be needed to help the run defense.

The winner of the Madieu dance contest name is ...

This email landed this morning from an Enquirer reader in Texas. The original email, suggestion the "40 Bounce" for the name for Madieu Williams' dance celebration had been sent anonymously.

In this morning:

Just read about the Madieu nickname. He's got good taste! I recommended it about a month ago.

I came up with the 40 Bounce, because he's number 40, and it's close to "40 Ounce," which refers to a quart of beer (as in "gimme a 40 ounce"). And since Madieu dances around when he makes a big play, he kind of bounces around... so "40 Bounce" fit on a few levels.

Given several members of the team's off-field transgressions this year, you might want to keep the 40-oz. reference out of it, though. ;)

Sincerely,

Ted Merlo
Coppell, TX

Dexter Jackson downgraded to doubtful

The Bengals will play Sunday without strong safety Dexter Jackson, who was downgraded to doubtful this afternoon with an ankle injury. He did not practice. Strong-side linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) also was downgraded to doubtful. He did not practice, either.

Linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who would not have played any way, was added to the report this afternoon as questionable with a hamstring injury.

The good news, if you're a fan, is the return of defensive tackle Sam Adams to practice, though he remains probable with a knee. He will start at play Sunday.

Lyric of the day: `Buick City Complex'

Time to lighten the mood -- if recalling the closure of a Michigan auto plant is reason to smile -- on a Friday afternoon.

The Old 97's are one of the forefathers of the alt-country movement, though the band -- which took its name from the Johnny Cash Song "Wreck of the Old 97" -- is a pretty much mainstream rock-pop group these days.

Being a son of the Rust Belt, born and brought up in a small town near Rockford, Ill., I pull for the old industrial part of the country. I like Youngstown (a great Springsteen song, by the way.)

The Old 97's have a great drummer, better than any alt-country band normally has -- and the band's lyrics are humorous, filled with word-play and irony.

"Buick City Complex" is probably the greatest Rust Belt song of all time, right up there with "Cadillac Ranch."

"Complex" recalls General Motors' 1999 closure of its Buick City complex in Flint, Mich., its last operating assembly plant in the city. Flint was the birthplace of both the giant car company and the United Auto Workers union, which lost tens of thousands of auto jobs during the 1980s and '90s.

GM ended Buick production in Flint, where the large model cars have been made since 1904. The 235-acre Buick City facility had only 1,200 workers left, and just 1,000 full-time employees. They were a small fraction of the 28,000 auto workers who once produced cars there during the peak production years of the mid-1980s, according to the World Socialist Web site.

"In 1984, GM brought together a half dozen factories to form the massive complex and dubbed it Buick City," according to information on that site. "This was supposed to be GM's answer to rival Toyota City and a symbol of the US carmaker's determination to fight foreign competition. Since then, however, the company's share of the car and truck market share has declined from around 40 percent to 30.7 percent in 1997."

The Old 97's stripped the news down to simple human terms in "Buick City Complex."

"Do you wanna mess around?
Do you wanna spend the night?
I've known both kinds of love
But I want to get it right this time

"I don't wanna settle down
I don't want to make no plans
Exept for what I'm gonna do
With a pair of idle hands

CHORUS:
"They're tearing the Buick City Complex down
I think we're the only people left in town
Where are you gonna move, where are you gonna move?
Do you wanna mess around?

"Do you wanna be my girl
Do you wanna be my friend
Do you wanna start it off
Just to see how it will end

"Do you wanna mess around?
I mean deep down in your bones
In hotel swimming pools
On public telephones

"They're tearing the Buick City Complex down
I think we're the only people left in town
Where are you gonna move, Where are you gonna move?
Do you wanna mess around?"

QB Wright out because of appendectomy

Bengals second-string quarterback Anthony Wright will miss the game Sunday at Tampa Bay after undergoing an emergency appendectomy this morning, coach Marvin Lewis said this afternoon after practice.

Doug Johnson will be the No. 2 quarterback. Lewis would not say who will be his third quarterback -- or if he will even have one -- saying, "I finally get my chance."

The Bengals do have wide receiver Reggie McNeal on the roster, who was a college quarterback at Texas A&M. McNeal has not been active for a game this season.

Injury report: Levi Jones practices

Bengals left tackle Levi Jones remained probable today with an ankle injury, but he did return to practice.

It was the only change to the injury report from Wednesday.

After practice, coach Marvin Lewis declined to confirm, deny or otherwise discuss any possible changes on his offensive line.

It appears that left guard Eric Steinbach is moving to center to replace second-year backup Eric Ghiaciuc, who has started two games because of a serious knee injury to Rich Braham. If Steinbach moves to center, rookie Andrew Whitworth is expected to play guard.

Whitworth started and played the entire Week 2 game at left guard when Steinbach started and played left tackle in place of Jones.

For Tampa Bay, starting center John Wade did not practice but remained probable with an ankle injury. Backup cornerback Juran Boldon did practice but remained questionable with a hip injury.

NFL continues to limit access for independent media

The latest flap involves restrictions on what newspapers can put on their Web sites from game-day coverage. An increasing number of newspapers, including The Kansas City Star, are posting game stories and still photographs from games on their sites during and immediately after games.

However, the NFL will not allow newspapers (or any non-rights holders) to show their postgame coverage of news conferences or locker-room interviews on their Web sites. Even video from a newspaper’s reporter asking questions of a coach or player at a podium or locker cannot be posted on the newspaper’s site.

Post-practice injury report for Bengals, Bucs

Defensive end Robert Geathers is probable with a knee, according to the post-practice injury report.

Geathers did practice in 11-on-11 team drills.

Greg Brooks (knee) is probable and did practice. Safety Dexter Jackson (ankle) is questionable and did not practice. Linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) is questionable and did not practice. Defensive tackle Sam Adams (knee) is probable and did not practice. Left offensive tackle Levi Jones (ankle) is probable and did not practice.

For the Buccaneers, starting cornerback Brian Kelly (foot) is questionable and did not practice. Starting defensive end Simeon Rice (shoulder) is questionable and did not practice.

Bucs video spoofs Palmer

The team-owned Tampa Bay Buccaneers Web site posted a spoof of Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer on a game show.

Palmer took a look at the video before his news conference today. He laughed.

"It's a fun thing. It's not meant to be anything other than something that makes people laugh, I'm sure," Palmer said.

Asked by an out-of-the-loop TV reporter if the video would serve as motivation, Palmer said, "I could care less about what they have on their Web site."

Jackson, Jeanty questionable for Tampa Bay

Strong safety Dexter Jackson (ankle) is questionable for Tampa Bay on Sunday, coach Marvin Lewis said early this afternoon in his weekly media conference.

Lewis also listed outside linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) as questionable. Jeanty is out of his protective boot and was walking well in the locker room over the noon hour.

Jackson and Jeanty are key players in the Bengals run defense. Tampa Bay has under-achieved in its run offense, given its talent and depth at running back with Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, Mike Alstott and Michael Pittman. The Buccaneers (0-4) are 28th in the league in run offense at 79.3 yards a game.

The Bengals are 27th in rush defense, at 113.3 yards a game, including an average of 203 yards in the past two games.

Lewis also said that cornerback Greg Brooks (knee sprain), defensive tackle Sam Adams (knee) and left offensive tackle Levi Jones (believed to be ankle or knee) are probable.

Center Rich Braham (knee) and wide receiver Tab Perry (hip) are out, and Lewis said there would be no clarity in their situations for a couple of weeks. He did say Braham and Perry were being "weaned" off crutches.

Lewis would not say whether he was making any changes on the offensive line. Left guard Eric Steinbach has had increased work at center in the past two weeks, and he might start at center with rookie Andrew Whitworth playing left guard. Eric Ghiaciuc has started the past two games at center in place of Braham.

Lyric of the day: Ryan Adams' `September'

Ryan Adams' "Jacksonville City Nights" is a quiet, understated alt-country record that illustrates the gulf between the alt-country/Americana/No Depression movement and much of the the mass-market, pop-country Nashville is producing right now.

Adams' record, recorded with the Cardinals, is intelligent, the song-writing personal, honest. "City Nights" was not done to sell a million copies. It's too good.

"September" is a short story, told with the accompaniement of an acoustic guitar, of a woman receiving a disease-related death sentence from her doctor.

"Laura lays on the foot of the bed
Mimics a noose with a telephone cord
Doctor's on the phone
Then she hangs up and says
`I ain't never gonna see the winter again'
And I don't know how, but she smiles
September, September
September, September

"They carved your name into the stone and then
they put it in the ground,
I run my fingers through the grooves
When no one's around
Drink till I am sick and
Then I talk to myself in the dog days of the summer
Then I feel you coming but I don't know how
September, September
September, September"

Lewis not happy with questions about center

Eric Steinbach was at center at the start of practice with the first-team offense this afternoon. Rookie Andrew Whitworth lined up at left guard, beside Steinbach.

Second-year lineman Eric Ghiaciuc, who started the previous two games at center, worked at center with the second-team offense, led by quarterback Anthony Wright.

Wright and starting quarterback Carson Palmer both took snaps from Ghiaciuc.

After practice, coach Marvin Lewis clearly was not pleased with a line of questions from reporters about the center situation.

Asked if Steinbach were taking snaps to prepare for a start at Tampa Bay, Lewis said, "He's practiced there all summer."

Is your plan to start Eric Ghiaciuc at center? "Our plan is to be our plan. No different than it's been."

So you have no changes to announce? "No. Would I ever announce it?"

You might have announced that Ghiaciuc would be your starter at center? "I did. I did announce that."

Are you announcing that for Sunday? "I already did that four weeks ago. I
said I announced that four weeks ago."

Missing from the start of practice were strong safety Dexter Jackson and linebacker Rashad Jeanty, both starters on the defense the Bengals are hoping to get back for the game Sunday at Tampa Bay.

Fullback Jeremi Johnson was not in his practice uniform, but he did stretch with the team but wore a hooded sweatshirt.

Defensive end Robert Geathers and cornerback Greg Brooks, both of whom suffered sprained knees against New England in Week 4, were in practice gear for the start of the practice.

After practice, Lewis threatened for the second time in three weeks to close practice to reporters that work for independent media. Reporters from newspapers, television and radio stations were limited to view practice for 15 minutes at the start of practice this afternoon.

Steinbach gets snaps at center; Jackson better

Bengals starting left guard Eric Steinbach said early this afternoon that he received some snaps at center during practice last week.

There has been talk of switching Steinbach to center and using rookie Andrew Whitworth at left guard. Whitworth started and played left guard when Steinbach played left tackle in place of injured Levi Jones in Week 2 against Cleveland.

Eric Ghiaciuc has started two games and played much of the Cleveland game when starting center Rich Braham went down with a knee injury. The Bengals are calling Braham's injury a "deep knee bruise," but Braham is believed to have a fractured bone in the lower leg. Braham said today he was hoping to be back by the end of the season.

"I'm happy at guard, but we'll see," said Steinbach, the most versatile offensive lineman on the team, yet the one the Bengals have chosen not to re-sign to a contract extension. Steinbach will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and starting and playing well at three line positions increases his value on the open market.

The Bengals returned to work today after getting three days off for the bye week and will practice this afternoon.

In the locker room, strong safety Dexter Jackson, who sprained his ankle in the Brown game, walked through the locker room without any brace on his leg or ankle. He carried a jump rope and walked with assistant strength coach Ray Oliver. Jackson was not available because he went into the trainer's room.

The return of Jackson against his former team, Tampa Bay, on Sunday would help the Bengals poor run defense.

Also, outside linebacker Rashad Jeanty still wore a protective boot on his left foot but was moving much better as he walked to his locker. He said the plan was for him to play Sunday against the Buccaneers.

NFL suspends Henry for 2 games with $20,000 fine

The NFL has notified the Bengals that second-year wide receiver Chris Henry has been suspended without pay for the team’s next two games for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct and Substance Abuse policies.

Henry also will be fined $20,000.

Under league policy, Henry will be held out of practices as well as Games 5-6, but he will be allowed to attend meetings and to work out individually at team facilities. Games 5-6 are Oct. 15 at Tampa Bay and Oct. 22 at home against Carolina, the Bengals said early this afternoon in a press release. The Bengals have a bye on this weekend’s NFL schedule.

Henry will be eligible to rejoin the Bengals’ active roster on Oct. 23. During the suspension, he will be placed on Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner, and will not count against the team’s 53-player roster limit.

Henry did not play Sunday against New England. Coach Marvin Lewis de-activated Henry. In three games, Henry has 11 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He had a single-game career high 113 receiving yards in Week 2 against Cleveland.

Friday morning my hometown (plus Bengals stuff)

DIXON, Ill. -- A few housecleaning items:

Item 1: Thanks to everyone for the kind messages regarding my mother and our family in this trying time. I appreciate having the opportunity to write about these personal times. I had asked Mom for her permission to write about here when she was first diagnosed in August with inoperable lung cancer. Typically, she thought of other people first and said, "I would be honored."

She's sleeping now. She had a restless night but enjoyed her scrambled eggs and pumpkin bread for breakfast. She commented on the beautiful colors on the trees outside of her front window. I asked how she felt, and Mom said, "I can't complain."

Then her mind went somewhere else.

Item 2: Thanks to my Enquirer colleagues Dustin Dow and Kevin Kelly for picking up the slack on the Bengals beat while I was off for a few days. I can't believe how much talent those guys have, and they're still so young. Dustin handled the daily news Wednesday and Thursday, and Kevin has a wonderful feature story running in the Enquirer on Sunday. I can't tell you what it is, but you'll definitely want to check it out. I did file my NFL insider column and Power Rankings for the Sunday paper, so have at me if you disagree with my rankings. There's some good stuff in there about former Mid-American Conference quarterbacks, including Ben Roethlisberger's top-10 hit list. Go RedHawks, says this Miamian. Like wanting to see MAC teams do well in non-conference and bowl games, I like to see former MAC players do well in the pros. There's still a relative perspective in the MAC as "college" athletics, unlike the major conferences.

Item 3: I'll be back at work Monday when the Bengals head back to practice for the Oct. 15 game at Tampa Bay. As you know, the Bengals are off this weekend.

Item 4: Lyric of the day -- from the Jayhawks' song "Break in the Clouds." I listened a couple of times to the band's live acoustic show from 2002, and though the song is a romantic one, it fit my mood as I drove from Cincinnati the 383 miles to Dixon. It was a clean, crisp autumn day, ablaze with color, and I six hours in the car was not enough time to count my endless list of blessings.

"Every time I see your face
It's like cool, cool water
running down my back."

Item 5: I will never not post Bengals news on this blog when I get it. I will always have it here. There just hasn't been much happening the past few days. But I will continue to post a variety of material. Please just skip over it if you don't care to read it. We will continue to publish 20-30 Bengals pieces in the newspaper and online during a given week, not including the related material about fans written by my Tempo and Metro section colleagues. Read Chuck Martin in Tempo. The guy is a scream. Writing humor is not easy. Chuck does it exceptionally well. He's always be Food Boy to me, but I'd read his grocery list. He's that good.

Item 6: In case you did missed this piece on Tuesday, we did run a quarterly report card in the Enquirer and on our Web site. I ran through a bunch of numbers and considered some trends in putting these grades together. I'm sure many of you would disagree. I'd like to read what you think.

(From The Enquirer, Oct. 3, 2006:)

The Bengals have reached the quarter of the season with a 3-1 record. The quarterly report card:

RUN OFFENSE, B-minus: The Bengals rush yardage has dropped the past three weeks, from 160 against Cleveland to 71 Sunday against New England. Rudi Johnson has four touchdowns and a 4.1-yard average on 87 attempts. Despite Johnson’s consistent performance, there are problems here. The Bengals have just 22 first downs on the ground, compared to 46 through the air. Part of the problem is with the offensive line.

PASS OFFENSE, C-plus: The problems start up front with the high-priced offensive line. It’s not all the fault of second-year backup Eric Ghiaciuc, who’s filling in for the injured Rich Braham. Carson Palmer’s knee has held up, despite 15 sacks through four games. He looks a bit rusty with six touchdown passes and four interceptions. Palmer had nine and two after four games a year ago. Teams are taking the big play away from Chad Johnson, who has a long reception of 18 yards and an 11.2 average, down from his career norm of 14.7 yards a catch.

RUN DEFENSE, C-minus: Credit the Bengals for solid games the first two weeks, when they allowed an average of 85 yards on the ground. The Patriots had 125 in the third quarter alone. Stopping the run is the Bengals’ single biggest problem. Tackling is embarrassingly bad.

PASS DEFENSE, B: Opponents really don’t need to pass much when the Bengals can’t stop the run. Third-down efficiency defensively has risen to 37 percent.

SPECIAL TEAMS, B: Punter Kyle Larson could join buddy Shayne Graham in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Injuries to Tab Perry and Antonio Chatman have hurt the return games. Coverage has been solid, save for Kevin Faulk’s 43-yard punt return for New England.

COACHING, B-plus: The Bengals are 3-1 after a fourth of the season, and that’s the bottom line. They’re on a 12-4 pace. But there are dark clouds on the horizon, and they’re shaped like opposing offense’s running backs. The Bengals’ biggest problem remains their run defense. It has allowed an average of 203 the past two games. Coaches on both sides of the ball have work to do. The Bengals must fix a disjointed offensive line that’s allowing Palmer to get hit too often.

The seasons change; a few words; a blessing

DIXON, Ill. – There’s a rise on Interstate 39 over a county road where the highway points north from Bloomington-Normal.

From the top of the bridge, some of the world’s flattest land spread out before me in a blaze of harvest colors, like an oversized autumnal quilt that seemed to stretch all the way to the next topographical recess, the Illinois River valley at LaSalle-Peru, 54 miles up road.

Squares of brown, tan, green and gold were stitched together by clumps of trees, township and range, at their corners. A yellow sun illuminated a sparkling blue sky, interrupted only by some low clouds in the farthest corners of the panorama.

As I steered north, the change of seasons became more pronounced. Leaves were dryer and more colorful. By the time I turned off I-39 at Troy Grove (home of Wild Bill Hickok, the sign reads) some trees were afire with orange foliage. A combine moved smoothly along in just about every field I passed.

Winter always arrives earlier in my hometown of Dixon than it does in Cincinnati, obviously. And no more than this year, my mother’s last.

My sister-in-law Kathy met me in the front yard of Mom’s house. Mom had just gone to sleep. Give her an hour, Kathy said. A few minutes later, after we had walked to the backyard, the nurse came to the back door.

“Betty saw Mark pull up,” she said. “She is very excited.”

“Are you ready?” Kathy asked. “Your mom looks a lot different than the last time you saw her.”

“I’m ready,” I said as I pushed through the screen door.

As I rounded the corner into the living room, my eyes followed the frame of the frail body tucked beneath the blue blanket. It was pulled up to her neck.

Mom’s big blue-gray eyes met me. They opened wide. She smiled.

“Mark, you made it,” she said.

“Of course I did.”

I kissed her forehead and stroked what remained of the brown hair on the top of her head. She coughed and smiled again.

“How are your little ones?”

“Good, but they’re not so little any more. Emma made a card for you. She wanted me to give it you as soon as I got here.”

“Grandma Betty. I love you. Get well soon. Love, Emma.”

“Look, Mom,” I said. “Can you see the little heart she drew?”

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

I sat in a folding chair beside the hospital bed. Mom closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I wouldn’t get many words for the next few hours. She was in and out of sleep.

We turned the Mets-Dodgers playoff game on television. I asked Mom which team she rooted for.

“Mets.”

She honored her late husband’s wishes of disliking the Dodgers. Dad was a huge Reds fans. That NL West rivalry from the 1970s lived, 30 years after the fact, in my mother’s house.

Treatment for her inoperable lung cancer has taken most of Mom’s hair. She coughs a rumbling cough. She has trouble focusing her eyes.

Just a few minutes ago, after my sister and brother-in-law left to go across town to their house, and Kathy stepped outside to make a phone call, I had a few quiet moments with Mom in the darkened living room. The nurse had just checked her and went back to the den.

I sat down in the folding chair.

Mom opened her beautiful, big eyes and smiled.

“Mom, do you know how much I love you?”

She shook her head up and down to say yes.

“Do you know that I thank God every day that you are my mother?”

She shook her head again and said, “Yes. Mark, you and I have always appreciated each other.”

She closed her eyes, as if fatigued by the short conversation.

Her legs moved gently, almost in rhythm, beneath the covers.

“Now I know where I get my fidgety feet from,” I said.

She smiled and coughed through a chuckle.

She brought her right hand out from beneath the blanket.

I took her right hand in mine and rubbed the back of it with my fingertips.

I softly ran the fingers of my left hand through the hair on the top of her head.

She smiled again.

“You used to do this to me when I was upset,” I said.

She pulled her right hand away. I put my forehead down on my right arm, which rested atop the rail of her bed. It had been a long day.

Just then, she started to rub the back of my neck and head with her right hand.

The story of a real-life hometown hero

Sometimes, as an NFL beat writer, I think I help to create false heroes and simply make really rich people filthy rich.

But there are real heroes around us in daily life. Kelly Chambers is one of them. She is 37, and in September, reached 20 years of living with HIV and AIDS. She has survived longer than any female in this area. But she hasn't just counted days on a calendar. She has filled them by reaching out to children "infected or affected" by the disease.

On Oct. 14, a few hours before flying to Tampa, Fla., to cover the Bengals game the next day, I will attend a fundraiser lunch and silent auction to Carrabba's Italian Grill in Crestview Hills that benefits the organization started by Kelly Chambers and her mother, Dixie Sucher. It's called F.A.C.E., For Aids Children Everywhere. Right now, F.A.C.E. is helping brighten the lives of 113 Tristate children.

I first wrote about Kelly Chambers in March 1999. She almost died in 2002. My phone rang a couple of weeks ago. It was Kelly. We're pretty open and honest with each other. I told her, a few minutes into the conversation, that I thought she had died and that, embarrassingly, I had not stayed in contact or said good-bye and thought I had missed her services.

Hearing from her made my day.

I met with her and her mother for an hour this morning at their Holmes Hospital office. Same one we sat in early in the reporting process in 1999. I got a huge hug from Kelly when I arrived and one when I left.

I had one piece of Bengals memorabilia in my house -- a gift from a grateful public relations firm for writing a brief about an item -- that I gave to Kelly and Dixie for their silent auction. I don't keep gifts. It's not ethical. I give them away to charities, send them back or tell people up front not to bother.

This item was pretty nice. I had hung onto it, waiting for the right organization. Kelly didn't even have to ask on the phone. I asked if she needed something.

She's more of a hero than anyone I've written about on the football beat in almost seven years.

When I think about Kelly, the Beatles song "The End" comes to mind:

"And in the end,
the love you make
is equal to the love
you take."

Please read this story. Not because I wrote it. Read it because you'll be glad to learn about Kelly Chambers and her work, if you already don't know. Like me, you'll be better for it.

March 21, 1999

HEADLINE: One of the Faces of AIDS

By MARK CURNUTTE

The Cincinnati Enquirer

This is an obituary about somebody who's still alive.

That's the idea two callers had. The somebody is Kelly Chambers. "She's a
person who deserves to read her obit," one said.

Kelly is 30. She has been HIV-positive since 1986, the year she graduated
from Oak Hills High School. "Unprotected sex," she said. "I know who I got it
from."

Crystal Chambers, Kelly's daughter, died from AIDS on Nov. 16, 1991. She was
14 months. They were at home in Cleves. Kelly was holding her. Sesame Street was
on TV.

Kelly didn't know she was HIV-positive until Crystal was 6 months old. Kelly
found out from doctors treating her daughter at Children's Hospital Medical
Center. The baby is HIV-positive, they said. Dad is negative. Mom is positive.

Kelly ran from the room. Her cries echoed in the hallway. "Oh, I've killed
you."

Now Kelly's time is running out. "It is," she whispered when her mother
turned her back to answer the phone in the Holmes Hospital office they share.
Dixie Sucher doesn't like to hear Kelly talk that way. Dixie is vice president
of Kelly's organization, For AIDS Children Everywhere. They call it FACE.

FACE has assisted children in more than 150 HIV-positive families --
"infected or affected," Kelly said -- with peer counseling, groceries, household
and hygiene products, clothing, recreational outings, holiday and birthday gifts
and transportation to clinic appointments and group meetings.

"And I can tell you each one of their names," Kelly said.

It's what she has done through FACE that has won her admirers. She didn't
crawl in a hole. "Almost," she said.

Why not? "I said I'd follow her down," Dixie said.

"I couldn't have that," said Kelly, who instead redirected her grief into
helping other people like her and her daughter. Dying mothers with dying
children.

Kelly co-founded the group in January 1992 with another HIV-positive mother
who'd lost a baby to AIDS.

Kelly and her FACE co-founder were soul sisters. They helped each other cope
with their children's deaths. They buried the girls beside each other in the
infant section of Spring Grove Cemetery. The women also picked out their plots
together, too. They are side-by-side, not more than 50 feet away from their
daughters' graves.

But the two women are now estranged.

Kelly's co-founder, who thinks she got AIDS from IV drug use, took a
sabbatical from FACE in October 1996. In November 1997, with her name still
associated with FACE, the woman broke into the group's office in Holmes'
basement, took money and checks made out to Kelly and signed Kelly's name to
them. Kelly had to sell her car and several belongings to buy gifts to give to
youngsters at FACE's annual Christmas party.

Kelly filed a complaint, and the woman is now serving a one-year sentence for
theft and possession of drugs, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation
and Correction records.

Kelly has no plans to reconcile with the co-founder. She won't let heartache
slow her.

"In my condition, I can't let anyone bring me down, emotionally or
physically," she said.

Now it's Kelly and Dixie. They don't take a dime from FACE. Their hospital
office is donated space, and it's a busy place. There are boxes of tissues
everywhere. Health books and directories are squeezed onto shelves, competing
for space with photographs of Crystal and bumper stickers: "My next office will
have a window." "Fight AIDS. Not people with AIDS."

Dixie, who's in her late-40s and lives in Delhi Township, quit her job with a
cleaning service to work with Kelly. She will take over when Kelly dies. "I
wanted to be with her to watch her," Dixie said.

Kelly has had full-blown AIDS since 1994. An infection took the hearing from
her left ear; she turns her right ear toward people to hear them speak. She has
constant leg pain. She and her doctor decided to take a break from her medicine,
which is rotting some of her teeth. She used to have a round face beneath her
strawberry-blond hair. Over the past two years, AIDS has whittled her once-full
figure into a stick.

"Please put some weight on her," Dixie said to a photographer taking Kelly's
picture.

Kelly's relationships with the people around her changed after she went
public with her AIDS. So did her circle.

"I lost all my friends when I told them I had AIDS," she said. "I told them I
had cancer originally. One friend, I knew her since we were 4, she told me she
couldn't watch me die piece by piece, the way we watched Crystal die. But I have
made new friends."

And admirers.

Aside from its 13 directors, FACE's board has eight high-profile honorary
members. That list includes Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls and Dr. Peter Frame,
director of University Hospital's Infectious Disease Clinic and Kelly's doctor.

FACE is thought to be the only group of its kind nationally.

"There is an organization in Texas for women and children with AIDS, but it
wasn't set up by women with AIDS," said Pam Daniel, a nurse in the infectious
disease clinic who met Kelly when Crystal was hospitalized at Children's.

"I liken FACE to what people who come through drug treatment say. There are
two kinds of counselors: People who've gone to school and people who are
recovering. The people who are recovering are the ones who get the respect. I'm
as empathetic as I can be, but I can't understand."

Kelly does. "AIDS drains your bank account," she said. "It can make a wealthy
person a poor person. Before I got hooked up with the government, my meds were
costing me $2,800 a month."

Beyond money, dying women and children have many emotional needs.

"Isolation and fear. I felt like I was the only woman in the world with a
baby who died of AIDS," Kelly said. "When I formed FACE, there was not another
group geared toward women and children. I was alone. It hurt. I didn't want
another woman to hurt the way I did.

"We don't judge. It doesn't matter how you got it."

Many people with HIV and AIDS marvel at Kelly's ability to put them first.
FACE is short on bureaucracy and long on personal touch.

Eric Gamble, 30, of Lincoln Heights met Kelly when the mother of his child
was diagnosed with HIV. The woman died in 1996.

"Kelly tried to do everything to comfort her," said Mr. Gamble, who is also
HIV-positive and sees a specialist every two weeks at Holmes. His child, now 4,
is HIV-negative.

"Kelly got us food, toys, money at times when I was in a bind," he said. "She
gets close to you when nobody else will, you know.

"Whenever I'm at the clinic, I stop in to see her. She lifts my spirits."

Good times are few for families with an HIV-positive or AIDS-stricken child.
Kelly knows this, too. That's why FACE tries to create what she calls "Memory
Making Outings."

As a mom, she is sustained by the memory of Crystal's first birthday. The
party is part of a manuscript Kelly has written and would like to get published
about her daughter's life and death.

"We had aunts, uncles, friends, tons of presents and cake," Kelly said.
"Crystal stuck her hand in the cake. It was a great day. We didn't have to go to
the hospital. She could be a normal kid. There was no needles and no probing.
Nobody stuck her. There was no crying, no spinal tap, no IV. She screamed
because she was happy. She was happy."

The tears flow down Kelly's face, but she keeps talking.

"Sometimes, that's all us moms have -- memories. A lot of our kids are so
sick, and their parents are so poor and sick, that their outing with us might be
their last adventure."

She pulls a scrapbook from a shelf. FACE took a dozen kids to Sea World in
Aurora, Ohio, in 1995. They petted dolphins, ate pizza, stayed overnight in a
hotel and forgot about hospitals for a couple of days.

A handmade thank-you card falls from between the scrapbook's pages. It is
made of orange construction paper, folded in half, and has a yellow paper flower
on the front.

"Thank you," the little girl wrote. "I like my doll. I like my game."

On the back, she cut the shape of a school bus from a sheet of lined notebook
paper.

"That's her on the bus going to Sea World," Kelly said. "She died a month
after that trip."

FACE takes children to sporting events. The Mighty Ducks and Cyclones hockey
teams are generous with free tickets and souvenirs. FACE has a Christmas party
every year for children and their families. Santa gives each child a new toy.
Local Marines involved in the Toys for Tots program have donated dozens of new
games, dolls, trucks and balls. Cincinnati's gay, lesbian and bisexual community
has been supportive from the beginning. Loveland and McAuley high school
students and the Wellness group at the University of Cincinnati are some who
have organized canned food drives.

Dixie keeps organized an adjacent storage room in the Holmes Hospital
basement. There's not much in there right now.

"We need everything," Dixie said. "We gave everything away."

The budget is so small that the organization, as a tax-exempt nonprofit, does
not have to file a financial form.

FACE receives no public money; it operates entirely on private donations and
within the last year has turned around about $20,000 in goods (food, clothing,
birthday and holiday gifts for children, household items) and services
(transportation and trips).

"We've survived this long by begging," Kelly said.

Pam Katz is a three-year FACE board member and Blue Ash CPA who volunteered
to do the group's books.

"I don't know how Kelly and Dixie do everything they do," she said. "Kelly's
legacy will be how she touched children who were infected or affected and by
educating huge numbers of people -- like me -- who had questions in the
beginning about AIDS based on lack of information."

Kelly is a tireless public speaker and will address 60 first-year students in
Northern Kentucky University's nursing program in April. It will be the fourth
consecutive year she has been there.

"She came over one year with pneumonia," said Frances Mosser, an associate
professor of nursing at NKU and Kelly's contact.

It's one of 13 times Kelly has had pneumonia since 1994.

"She was weak and had chills, and we tried to send her home," Ms. Mosser
said. "But she wanted to speak. So we sat her down and wrapped a blanket around
her. She spoke and answered questions for more than an hour."

Kelly is Catholic. Her faith is strong.

"I was angry with God for having Crystal endure so much pain before taking
her," she said. "I was angry that somebody in my family circle would be
infected. But it's not his fault. It's nobody's fault.

"He gave me the strength I have today. I should honor him. I hope I am doing
his work.

"I don't read the Bible. I don't go to church. I believe in God. I believe in
life after death. I believe church is anywhere you choose to pray. There are
times you pray, "Come get me now. I'm tired of suffering.' Then you have good
days.

"I believe this has happened for a reason. I took something ugly and bad and
turned it into something good, and not just for myself, but for everyone I have
met. If I can take a teen-aged girl and make her realize she's not invincible
and prevent her from getting AIDS, I've done something good."

Clarence and Kelly Chambers have been married for more than 10 years. He's
HIV-negative and works for his father on the family farm near Brookville, Ind.
He supports her work. At Kelly's request, he has even talked to some fathers of
HIV-positive children.

But Clarence doesn't have a lot to say publicly.

Kelly has a lot to say about her husband. "I'm the luckiest woman in the
world," she said. "We wanted four kids, two boys and two girls. I wanted to stay
home and be a mom."

She worked as a waitress before Crystal was born. Then Kelly stayed home.
Then she and her husband found out why their baby was always sick.

"When our daughter was in the ICU, I told him, "Divorce me. Get a healthy
wife who can give you healthy children.' He told me no. He said his vows were
for better or worse, sickness or health. . . ."

More tears. More talk. She's fervently trying to make the most of the time
she has left.

Kelly and Clarence are legal guardians of another child. The child's parents
had AIDS. The mother committed suicide. The father died in Kelly's arms.

"I've seen people who had nobody," Kelly said. "People have been afraid to
say they had AIDS, even to their own family. This man was alone. I climbed into
his bed at the hospice and put his head in my lap. I stroked his hair and said,
"I've got your baby. I'll take care of your baby. Your baby will be OK. Go ahead
if you want to. It's OK.' Then he took a deep breath and died."

Clarence will care for the child after Kelly dies.

There's only one problem with writing Kelly Chambers' obituary ahead of time.
She has a lot of life left in her, even if her time is short.

The news last week wasn't good. Her T-cell count is down, and T-cells are
what ward off infection. Kelly had to go back on her AIDS medicine cocktail. It
has major side effects, and she had been off it since Dec. 22.

"I have to take pills to go to sleep," she said. "I have to take pills to
wake up. I have to take pills to go to the bathroom."

There are many side effects. "The meds got her teeth," Dixie said. "She's
missing one of the front ones. I want her to get it fixed before she goes out
again, so she can smile."

Still, she's working to come up with money to take another group of dying
children to Sea World this summer. She needs at least $2,000. FACE's storage
room is bare, and there are always phone calls to make to ask for donations. She
maintains a busy speaking schedule; Aiken High School is up next.

Kelly pauses long enough in the FACE office on a winter afternoon to talk
about herself. The woman who has made wishes come true for more than 100 dying
children has a couple of wishes of her own. Three to be exact.

She'd like to go on an Alaskan cruise and see whales in their natural
habitat. She'd like to meet Diana Ross and have her sing and dedicate the song
"Do You Know Where You're Going To?" to her.

Kelly also wants to go bungee jumping.

"That's the last thing," she said. "When they tell me I have two weeks to
live, that's what I'm doing."

How to help

What: For AIDS Children Everywhere (FACE).

Where: P.O. Box 19783, Cincinnati 45219. The office is in the basement of
Holmes Hospital, corner of Eden and Bethesda avenues, Corryville.

Mission: It is a nonprofit, tax-exempt agency dedicated to providing services
to children and their families who are infected or affected by HIV - AIDS. It is
in need of nonperishable food items and nonfood items that are not covered by
food stamps, such as diapers and household and personal hygiene items.

The organization also is attempting to raise money to take HIV-positive
children on an overnight outing to Sea World in Aurora, Ohio.

Information: 584-3571.

Two practice squad moves

The Bengals today made the following practice squad moves:

-- Signed free agent offensive tackle Alan Reuber (6-6, 307), a second-year NFL player from Texas A&M. Reuber first entered the NFL as a college free agent with Minnesota in 2004. He played in three games for Arizona in ’04 and spent most of last season on the Arizona practice squad.

-- Released guard Kyle Takavitz, first-year player from the University of Cincinnati. Takavitz played in all four of this year’s preseason games and had been on the practice squad since Sept. 20.

Lewis expects Jeanty, Jackson back for Bucs

Coach Marvin Lewis held his regular Monday news conference this afternoon and said that injured linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) and safety Dexter Jackson (ankle) could be back for the Tampa Bay game Oct. 15.

Coming out of the blowout Sunday against New England, Lewis said that defensive end Robert Geathers and cornerback Greg Brooks each sprained a knee Sunday but are expected to be available for the Buccaneers.

Lewis, initially reluctact to discuss the hit by safety Kevin Kaesviharn that drew a penalty, said his safety "turned his shoulder" before the hit against Reche Caldwell and that it looked to be "shoulder to shoulder" to him.

Lewis also went into detail when asked about deactivating wide receiver Chris Henry, saying he didn't have to worry about taunting and other improper on-field behavior.

The bye weekend will be for a final good-bye ...

Every NFL coach says the bye weekend comes at a good time for his team. He has no choice. What's he going to say? "I wish we had the bye three weeks from now."

For this NFL newspaper beat writer, the bye will be invested in driving home to Dixon, Ill., where I will meet up with my three brothers and three sisters to say a final good-bye to the saint of a woman who brought us into the world and sacrificed everything to bring us up the right way.

Elizabeth Curnutte has been sent home, basically, to die. Two months, tops.

All treatments, radiation and chemotherapy, have been suspended. Doctors say there is nothing else to do for her inoperable lung cancer. Her first and only chemotherapry session put her in the hospital with stroke-like symptoms and almost killed her. Her body, at 77-plus years, is broken.

Her doctor says she is going back and forth between this world and the after-life. She is conversing at times with her late husband, our father, John Curnutte, who died in February 2003.

They truly had a storybook marriage that weathered many tough times, financially and otherwise. They had the type of resilient love I failed to generate in my broken marriage. They reacted to challenges by getting closer, not further apart. There was no blame, just a shared dedication to finding solutions. They had a model marriage, one I had hoped badly to duplicate.

Mom's optic nerve is bad, so her vision is going. We want to be there so she can see us one more time. We want her to hear us tell her how much we love and adore her and how thankful we are that we were born to her. If I get any private time, I want to sit beside her hospital bed -- which is in her living room -- hold her hand and read a short story to her. It's nothing I've written. It's much better.

I woke up this morning, feeling like I had been hit emotionally by a truck -- it's that way every Monday after a game -- but I stumbled toward my coffee maker, as I do every morning, thanking God for everything in my life: my three children, my family, friends, the different communities of which I am a member (St. Vivian Parish, the Powell Crosley YMCA, Finneytown Public Schools, The Enquirer, Enquirer readers), my faith, my health.

I can't begin to explain what my relationship with Enquirer readers means to me. I need to write these entries. It makes me feel better. I start these personal entries at one point and don't really know where I'm headed. Then 15, 20 minutes later I'm there and I've learned something. Some answers come when my fingers are on the keyboard. A writer, well, writes. I value the honest relationship I've developed with readers through the past 13 years at The Enquirer, whether I've been in Sports or Metro or Tempo. Sometimes, I wonder why I've stayed. But then the answer comes. Where else would I want to be?

I wonder why God has given me so much. I can't explain. I can't help but think of the families I know in Gonaives, Haiti, with whom I spent two-plus weeks in May.

Why am I do damned competitive? Why do I have such a pronounced mean streak? Why can't I just give everything away? Why can't I surrender more to God's will? Why do I think so much? Why can't I turn off my brain?

I'm about to lose my second parent. That umbrella is gone, the safety net pulled away. I'm the net for three children.

I didn't put any music on today, but there is one song that has been going through my head for more than a week. It's from Jackson Browne's "The Pretender," which like Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town," is a touchstone record I go back to often.

I don't mean to be a downer. This place is where I am. But there's a yellow sun and a spotless blue sky outside my window. I'm headed there.

This is the song "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate:"

"Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder
Where my life will lead me
Waiting to pass under Sleep's dark and silent gate

"I found my love too late
Running around day after day
Looking for the time to play
While my old friends slipped away

"Never should have had to try so hard
To make a love work out, I guess
I don't know what love has got to do with happiness
But the times when we were happy
Were the times we never tried

"Sitting down by the highway
Looking down the road
Waiting for a ride
I don't know where I've been
Wishing I could fly away
Don't know where I'm going
Wishing I could hide
Oh God this is some shape I'm in
When the only thing that makes me cry
Is the kindness in my baby's eye

"Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder
Where the years have gone
They have all passed under
Sleep's dark and silent gate"

OK, if you said they'd be 3-1 at bye ...

The wheels fell off in the final three quarters Sunday, and the Bengals are losing 38-13 with 2 minutes remaining.

Cincinnati limps into its bye at 3-1, a game behind the 4-0 Ravens in the AFC North.

Why was Carson Palmer in the game to get pummeled midway through the fourth quarter?

Patriots push out to 21-13 lead

Laurence Maroney ran 25 yards for a touchdown with 4:27 left to up New England's lead to 21-13. Four Bengals -- tackle John Thornton, linebacker Caleb Miller, cornerback Tory James and safety Madieu Williams -- missed tackles on the run.

James also was beaten on a 19-yard completion on a third-and-9 play, when Brady connected for a 19-yard pass to Doug Gabriel. The drive was five plays for 75 yards.

The Bengals have allowed first downs on third down plays with 9, 13, 5, 3 and 6 yards to go.

Bengals march 62 yards for TD; Rudi in from 2

Carson Palmer completed a third-and-6 pass to wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who ran through the Patriots secondary for a 32-yard gain and a first down on the 26-yard line. Two nine-yard completions to Chad Johnson set the Bengals up on the 2, with a second and 1, and Rudi Johnson ran 2 yards for his fourth rushing touchdown this season. Chad Johnson has six receptions for 64 yards. The Patriots lead 14-13 with 6:59 to play in the third quarter. Houshmandzadeh has three catches for 62 yards.

Chad Johnson has bruised shoulder, will return

Chad Johnson is back on the field after leaving the field at the end of the first half with a bruised shoulder. ... New England's Stephen Gostkowski missed a 48-yard field goal, wide right, and the Bengals take possession at the 38-yard line. Tom Brady ran for 22 yards on a third-and-13 play, with cornerback Tory James missing a tackle that would have stopped Brady short.

Bengals trail 14-6 at halftime, will kickoff

The Bengals played well in the first quarter, leading 6-0, but allowed 14 unanswered points in the second quarter.

James, Kaesviharn beat for TD pass

Cornerback Tory James and safety Kevin Kaesviharn bit on the short receiver and let Doug Gabriel roam free down the left sideline for an easy touchdown pass from Tom Brady. It came on a third-and-five play from the Bengals 25-yard line. New England leads 14-6 with 1:54 left in the first half.

Special teams, run defense playing poorly

The Bengals gave up a 43-yard punt return by Kevin Faulk to put the Patriots in scoring position. The Bengals run defense has been weak against NE's run offense, having allowed 63 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown at the 2-minute warning of the first half. The Patriots lead 7-6 and have six first downs in the second quarter, compared to one for the Bengals.