Of the 15 players on IR, and 18 sent there, the lengthy list doesn't include Scott Kooistra and Andrew Whitworth who are on crutches; Whitworth has a boot on his "right foot and ankle."

Brad St. Louis was selected as the team's winner of the President's Volunteer Service Award, who honors those that "contribute to their community by encouraging kids to stay active and healthy."

In other supporting your community news, the Bengals and the Salvation Army will kickoff their red kettle campaign this Sunday at PBS.

Fans attending the game are encouraged to "bring a buck or more" to help those in need this holiday season. Last year, the kettle drive raised $473,000 locally. The goal this year is $550,000.

Propelled by a decade of success – having placed more than 2 million pets into homes since it began in 1999 – Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH) takes to the gridiron this football season, teaming up with Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals and Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Browns to spread the word to football fans across the country and help a program that aims to find loving homes for at least 1 million orphaned animals. During the three-month IH4TH “Cats versus Dawgs” initiative, which spans Palmer’s first on-field matchup against Anderson in Cincinnati on Sept. 28, and the rematch in Cleveland on Dec. 21, the in-state rival playcallers will battle to see who can record the most “completions” on the field (a completed pass) and off the field (an adopted pet from each player’s partner animal shelter).

In partnership with Iams, and operating as each player’s shelter of record during the competition, Palmer and Anderson will team up with the SPCA Cincinnati and Cleveland Animal Protective League, respectively.  The quarterback with the most overall “completions” (total number of completed passes plus animal adoptions from their designated shelter) will be declared the winner of the “Cats versus Dawgs” competition, but the shelters themselves are the real winner as throughout the 12-week program, Iams will pledge 10 pounds of pet food to each quarterback’s designated shelter for every completed pass on the football field.

“Millions of football fans across the country share a similar passion and devotion for their pets as they do for their teams, and the football field was an ideal platform to extend the longstanding Iams Home 4 the Holidays program,” said Dr. Kurt Weingand, Associate Director, P&G Pet Care Global External Relations.  “As an Ohio-based company, we know all about the in-state rivalry between Cincinnati and Cleveland, and with the help of Carson and Derek, we look forward to seeing the Cats and Dawgs battle it out during this year’s campaign.”

“Derek Anderson is a fantastic quarterback and a tremendous opponent on the football field, and while it will be fun to battle him for in-state bragging rights, it’s nice to know the real winner is the Home for the Holidays pet adoption program,” said Palmer.  “Carson and I have spent so many years throwing passes, trying to find open receivers, and now through the Home for the Holidays program, we'll be able to toss the ball around as a way to help find open homes for abandoned animals,” added Anderson.

The SPCA Cincinnati is located at 11900 Conrey Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45240, and the Cleveland Animal Protective League is located at 1729 Willey Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113.  To get more information on Iams Home 4 the Holidays and the “Cats versus Dawgs” program, please visit www.iamshome4theholidays.com.

Founded by the Helen Woodward Animal Center in 1999 and supported by Iams, Iams Home 4 the Holidays harnesses the power of nearly 3,000 worldwide animal organizations in a global effort to raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption.  By providing resources and information about participating rescues and shelters, potential pet owners are encouraged to visit animal shelters and rescues to adopt dogs, cats or other animals waiting for a home when they are considering a new four-legged family member.   

Important Facts

• There are as many as 8 million* orphaned pets in the United States.
• As many as 4 million* orphaned dogs and cats will be euthanized this year due to shelter overcrowding.
• For anyone interested in adopting a purebred dog, it’s helpful to know that more than a quarter of all dogs in animal shelters are purebreds.
• More than 15 countries participate in this adoption drive, making Iams Home 4 the Holidays one of the world’s largest pet adoption programs.  There are participating shelters in Canada, Iran, Australia, India, New Zealand, Iraq and more. 
• Iams Home 4 the Holidays has helped more than 1,047,000 dogs, 962,000 cats and 66,000 other animals, such as rabbits, reptiles, birds and more, find homes over the past nine years.

The pet adoption campaign takes place October 1 through January 5, 2009 and anyone who adopts a dog, puppy, cat or kitten will receive an Iams Adoption Starter Kit, which includes a care guide loaded with tips and information about pet care, behavior, training and nutrition.  The kit also includes the new pet’s first meal as well as coupons for great savings on additional pet food, other supplies and animal health insurance. 

To learn about the myriad ways to help an orphaned pet, including finding participating shelters, volunteering and making a donation to support animal organizations and pets awaiting new homes, visit www.Iamshome4theholidays.com. 

About Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH)
As one of the most successful pet adoption programs in the world, IH4TH partners thousands of animal organizations dedicated to finding forever homes for orphaned pets.  Founded by Helen Woodward Animal Center and supported by Iams, IH4TH began in 1999 with just 14 participating animal shelters in San Diego County.  Since it began more than 9 years ago, IH4TH – along with nearly 3,000 pet adoption centers – has helped more than 2 million families experience the joy of pet adoption, including nearly 500,000 pet adoptions last year alone.  For more information, please visit www.iamshome4theholidays.com.

About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.”  Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 57,000 people and thousands of animals annually.  Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the international Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive and the Animal Center Education Services program, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world.

About P&G Pet Care
For more than 60 years, Procter & Gamble Pet Care (NYSE:PG), the maker of Iams and Eukanuba, has enhanced the well-being of dogs and cats by providing world-class quality foods and pet-care products.  To learn more about Eukanuba® and Iams® Dog & Cat Foods or general pet care and nutrition information, call the Iams Consumer Care Center at (800) 446-3075.  You can also visit us on the Web at http://www.iams.com or http://www.eukanuba.com. 

About Procter & Gamble
Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world.  The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, and Braun®.  The P&G community consists of 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.  Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

On Monday, Chad Johnson, in conjunction with Degree Men, will unveil his 2007 Who can cover 85 checklist. The website will allow you, the fans, to vote for the way he checks his list. Not only would you help Chad, but for each vote, Degree Men will donate 8.5 cents to Feed the Children -- an international non-profit hunger relief organization. The website will also include a Risk Cam that will feature Chad and his brother out and about in Cincinnati. The website will launch on Monday, so start cast your votes, help Chad, but most importantly, help a great cause.

TrashTalk85.com

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All of the Bengals players and coaches will be in attendance for the Taste of the NFL event tonight (Friday).

Paper Grocery Bags Help Feed the Hungry
Durobag

Some say that Chad Johnson is a complete jack-ass. I don't agree, but that's their own opinion. However, Chad will be racing against the jack-ass' cousin, a horse, to benefit Feed the Children -- "an Oklahoma City-based charity that provides food, medicine, clothing, and other necessities to children around the world."

No, Chad isn't riding the horse. He's actually racing AGAINST the horse. Yeap. Chad. We love him. And you have to believe that Chad thinks he has a chance. Yeap. That's Chad.

This team holds more benefits and does more charitable work to help the community than they are recognized for. Idiots and talking points artists ensure the black eye never heels for this team by totally avoiding stories that makes Cincinnati look good. And as long as phonies like Colin Coward continue to slam cities while holding onto his estrogen spray in the backseat of his GEO Metro, then they'll continue to play the role of idiot that jacks up controversy because the ratings would suffer terribly.

But I also know, in a way, I'm enabling the problem by not going out of my own way to promote the good when it happens. So we're creating a new "Charity" section that will balance out the bad. Hopefully.