John Thornton held his Ninth Annual Jock Biz's Bowling for Charity event on Saturday. And during the event an auction was held in which defensive tackle Geno Atkins won an Xbox Kinect. What did he do with it?

Awesome. Just awesome.

With the maddening NFL draft updates that were pumped through last month, there were some stories that we ended up not posting or reacting to. It was a matter of time and space and we knew at some point after the draft, things would settle down into a more streamlined routine, save for our Organized Training Activity updates.

One of those stories regarded Joe Reedy's piece on the good work by Bengals cornerback Morgan Trent, who recently "returned from a six-day trip to Haiti where he was part of a church group that conducted youth rallies and visited hospitals, a prison and orphanages."

"You have no idea about the conditions until you see them first-hand. How they are living and continuing to survive are examples of true faith."

Read the rest of Reedy's post on Trent's mission here. We rarely hear and post the good stories by Bengals players, who have worked hard to ditch the negative rap the team earned during the 2006 offseason.

Tendered a contract before the lockout, Bengals offensive guard Nate Livings was previously given a decent endorsement by offensive line coach Paul Alexander that he played well enough to keep his job as the team's starting left guard. As we pointed out in the same article, we wrote:

Pro Football Focus graded Livings with a score of -7.6, which is 13.8 points worse than Evan Mathis, who only played in 114 snaps -- which is somewhat confusing because Mathis had a base salary of $1.2 million compared to Livings' $470,000. Livings was also credited with the most quarterback pressures allowed in 2008 with 28.

That translates to a facepalm and a shot of tequila.

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In an effort to reverse the characterization that Bengals players are character issues, we wanted to help promote the good that Bengals players (and coaches, and god forbid, ownership) do for the city of Cincinnati, as well as other regions.

You can't blame us. It's better than talking about franchise quarterbacks wanting to be traded, how leading scientists discovered that the Bengals front office is one of the leading causes for heart disease and anything that Chad Ochocinco does -- or, as is the case these days, what he tweets.

On Tuesday Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe joined children for breakfast at Winton Hills Academy as part of the "Fuel up to Play 60 program." The Fuel Up To Play 60 program, sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, educates children on the benefits of healthy eating.

Ndukwe will be presented the City of Cincinnati Proclamation by Mayor Mark Mallory no Thursday for his impact for young children through the Ndukwe Foundation.

Cincinnati Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe, drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft, is set to become a free agent in 2011 when the new league year begins on March 4. That's the date known to many as the date the owners will lock out the players indefinitely until the two sides come to a resolution on the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

In other words, that's going to be the date that your girlfriend is planning on breaking up with you. It could be sooner now that the cameras caught your girlfriend hand-feeding you popcorn during the Super Bowl, the most watched television event in the country.

Ndukwe is well known for being a hard hitter off the field, but he's also one of the more, if not most, community minded Bengals players.

On Thursday, February 10, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory will declare it Chinedum Ndukwe Day, presenting the Bengals safety with the City of Cincinnati Proclamation for his impact for the young of Cincinnati through the Ndukwe foundation.

Ndukwe played 12 games in 2010, leading the secondary with 58 tackles, which also ranked fifth on the team. Nduwkwe also recorded a shared sack, an interception, fumble recovery and three passes defenses. Ndukwe also posted five tackles on special teams before his season ended with a major knee injury against the Super Bowl looooooooosers, the Pittsburgh Steelers. We kid because we care.

I had a pretty exhausting weekend, full of friends visiting from out of town, Regina Spektor, Nelly, and fireworks. I managed to watch just a few innings of baseball over the entire weekend, and I'm almost as big a Reds fan as I am a Bengals fan. After the Reds lost yesterday (still in first place, 30-21!), one of the members at Red Reporter posted this link to try and cheer me up, knowing that I write for Cincy Jungle.

We all know Chad Ochocinco - we know he isn't at OTAs, we know he's out in Hollywood filming Dancing With the Stars and some VH1 show about 85 Dates. He's establishing his own brand as his football career closes in on its inevitable end. But he's also doing something that not that many people, only 5 at the time of writing, are talking about. Chad (Johnson, as you'll see he let's a certain lucky child call him) Ochocinco makes dreams come true.

Ruben St. Hilaire, Jr, lives with his mother in a homeless shelter in New York City. He's a huge fan of Ochocinco and the Cincinnati Bengals. Children Mending Hearts is a prominent organization based in Hollywood, California that recently held its gala fundraiser (Rich Eisen was there for NFL.com, and so were celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel and a couple of other people I don't recognize by name) in Los Angeles. Its mission statement reads:

Children Mending Hearts is a global arts exchange between at-risk children in America and children living in conflict zones that educates, empowers and encourages children and gives them a voice, inspiring them to a sense of empathy and desire for peace.

Ruben certainly qualifies for empowerment and voice, as written by the above mission statement. Luckily for him, his letter to Ochocinco made it all the way to the player himself. He received an autographed jersey, and wrote Chad a thank you letter that in part read:

Mr. Johnson, you really make me happy. One of my goals in my future life is to be just like you when I grow up. I wonder who was your role model when you were little? I have three role model(s) in my life that's my mom, Mr. President Barack Obama and my favorite football player Mr. Chad Johnson. To me you are the best football player in the NFL. May God bless you and your family...

Well, Ochocinco and Deion Sanders found out that one of Ruben's dreams was to go to a football camp. Now he's going to one of the most exclusive camps in the country, with a price tag ranging from $400-$760, prohibitive to Ruben and his mother. Sanders donated a spot in one of his camps to Ruben, and Mr. Chad Johnson was on hand at the Children Mending Hearts Gala to present young Ruben with the award. To top it all off, it was Ruben's birthday, and Chad led the entire crowd in singing happy birthday.

Here's a link to the video. Somehow the media was 2 weeks late on this one. Regardless, I was close to tears when Chad came out from back stage to greet Ruben.

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.