LABengalsFan09 Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 Q & A w/ Chuck Ludwighttp://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/cont...ily/0725qt.html QUALITY TIMEChick Ludwig chats with Bengals wide receiver Chad JohnsonChad's tough, but Oprah's his idolBy Chick LudwigDayton Daily NewsIndividually, Chad Johnson has reached the NFL's summit with three straight 1,000-yard seasons and two straight Pro Bowl trips. Now his sights are set on the Mount Everest of daytime television — "The Oprah Winfrey Show."ToolsPrint this pageE-mail this pageMost popularTop 5 storiesGarciaparra, Chiefs sweep Dragons UC assistant coach reinstated to team Rogers' 20-game ban upheld Occasional golfer hits million-to-one shot Steelers sign first-round pick VideoChad Johnson really wants to be on 'Oprah'Q & AFive questions with Chad JohnsonLanding a guest appearance on "Oprah!" has become Johnson's passion. He said he wants to help the less fortunate and improve himself as a person, and figures the best role model to turn to for guidance is the rich and famous TV celebrity, movie star, philanthropist and humanitarian.• "It might sound unusual for a man looking up to a woman, but she's just someone I would need to sit down with and talk to on how to better myself, all around, as a person. She's one of the only people I think about. There's Oprah, Bill Cosby and Magic Johnson. Bill, he's completely out of the way. Magic is somewhat reachable because he's a sports figure. But Oprah would just be the best. She's nice."• "I've been watching her all my life. My mom watches her. My grandma watches her. What she's accomplished, there aren't even words for it. That's what I'm trying to do, but in my own way. She networks real well. I don't have that network ability, so I need that networking person who can help me out in whatever way possible because I don't get that here. All I get here is football. So Oprah, call me."• Johnson barely graduated from Miami Beach (Fla.) High School in 1996 and got thrown out of Langston (Okla.) University for fighting and not attending class. Then it was off to Santa Monica (Calif.) Junior College, where he played in '97, was academically ineligible in '98, and played again in '99. In his only season at Oregon State, Johnson caught 37 passes for 806 yards and eight TDs. The Bengals picked him in the second round of the 2001 draft.• "In high school, when you're a top player, there are ways of getting eligible, ways of getting out of going to class. It made going to the next level, which is college, that much harder. I'm not supposed to be here at all. It's a miracle. It took three years to get out of junior college because I couldn't get my grades right. When it was time to go to a four-year college again, I still was short some credits, so I had to fight to get through. It's a good thing Oregon State is on quarters. If they weren't, I wouldn't have gotten in there, either. They called me that one-year wonder at Oregon State. Once I got to that big stage, that's all I needed."• "The springboard to get myself right was the death of my grandfather, James Flowers. He was my only father figure. I was a sophomore at Miami Beach and it was the first round of the playoffs. I could not figure out for the life of me why he didn't show up because he never missed a game. He got shot and killed that night. I didn't get right completely because I struggled through school. But I had to make it so I would be able to take care of my grandma. I had to fill that void."• Johnson is known for making guarantees and rolling up fines with end-zone celebrations. Last year, he sent the Browns defensive backs FedEx packages that contained bottles of Pepto-Bismol. "Everybody says, 'He's always talking.' But out on the field, I'm walking the walk, baby, every Sunday. I messed up one time. That freaking Pepto game. But I can't let that change me. This is me. I'm going to celebrate. But I'm going to do it within the rules. Sept. 11 (in Cleveland) is the second annual Pepto game. I'm already calling out every person that has to cover me."• Johnson, 27, got a $10 million bonus as part of a $25 million extension he signed in 2003 that keeps him a Bengal through 2009. But he hired high-profile agent Drew Rosenhaus in the offseason and has indicated he wants to renegotiate his contract in 2006.• "I have the greatest agent of all time because he knows the ins and outs of the business. He knows when fair is fair and when something is not going right. In my situation, I didn't have to hold out, right? I didn't have to take the strong-armed action. He gave me the best advice, which is why I'm doing what I'm doing now. That's why I'm here, because of Drew. We sat down and I said, 'Drew, you tell me what you like, tell me what you don't like, and then I'm going to give you my opinion.' We'll put our heads together and (decide) what's the best way to go about this. Then we'll approach the organization and say, 'This is what we want to do,' and go from there."It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Until then, CJ do your thing out on the field baby! :player: :player: :player: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABengalsFan09 Posted July 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 oops, I just realized my typo......I called him Chuck instead of Chick. Sorry Brotha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 He's definitely trying to lay the groundwork for a new contract, huh. Hopefully he'll learn from all of Rosenhaus's clients this year that have blabbed and blabbed all summer but are still reporting to camp. If he goes about this the right way, I have no problem with it, just as long as he continues to excel on the field. If he turns it into a T.O. fiasco, I will sour very quickly on him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 OH, and watch out for Oprah, I have a few conspiracy theories on her. One, I think she is trying to unite all women to eventually take over the "man;s world" If we let her do it, we all may never get laid again. I also see her duking it out with Arnold Swartznegger for the Presidencey one day. Scary s**t, I'm telling you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 • Johnson barely graduated from Miami Beach (Fla.) High School in 1996 and got thrown out of Langston (Okla.) University for fighting and not attending class. Then it was off to Santa Monica (Calif.) Junior College, where he played in '97, was academically ineligible in '98, and played again in '99. In his only season at Oregon State, Johnson caught 37 passes for 806 yards and eight TDs. The Bengals picked him in the second round of the 2001 draft. There was a very nice feature on the NFL Network recently about Chad's JUCO head coach. Highlights included.... The head coach got Chad's attention, after he transferred from Langston, by getting in his face while asking..."Why are you mad at us? We haven't done anything to you. You just got here, and if you don't like it here you can go back to Miami [beach]." Not only was he a bit of a headcase...Chad was considered the 4th best WR on the team. It included current Carolina Panther wideout Steve Smith, a 28 year old player who was the top guy but later killed in a car crash, and another wideout who was very badly injured after transferring to a larger school. They showed video of Chad on the sideline while he was ineligible to play. Try to picture a swarm of football players surrounding a tall man decked out from head to toe in a pastel green pimp suit. There was then some smack talk about his matching pastel yellow outfit as well as Barney, the pastel purple version. Chad still calls the JUCO head coach on a regular basis...including just prior to the kickoff of Bengal games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 Something I found on NFLplayers.com that I found interesting...You and T.J. Houshmandzadeh played together at Oregon State and both ended up in Cincinnati. What kind of relationship do the two of you have? "It's a great situation. We did some great things in college when we were there. I look for more great things this year. I don't think anybody even knows this but back in college, I didn't know the plays. He used to be able to tell me the plays from the other side of the field or when we left the huddle using hand signals. We had our own communication thing going on because I didn't know the plays. I don't have that problem anymore but it's good to have someone on the other side that's on top of everything." If this was posted already, my bad, just found it interesting...WHODEY !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 So much for chad being the boss o_O seems drew has his arm shoved firmly up chads ass controlling the show o_O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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