BENGALS CUT GARY RUSSELL

Whenever someone can explain to me what really happened to Gary Russell's career, I'll be glad to pass it along. But for now, I'm still in the dark.

After roughly a week as a Cincinnati Bengal, Russell has been released for the second time this month, according to ESPN's Len Pasquarelli. The Bengals did a minor housecleaning, also ridding themselves of former first-round pick RB Chris Perry, safety Mike Doss, TE Nate Lawrie, and DE Eric Henderson. And with the addition of Manzier spokesman Andre Smith in the draft, they're also planning to dump OT Levi Jones, he of the Joey Porter Vegas fight a few years back.


The Bengals picked up two running backs in the draft: 6th rounder Bernard Scott, from Abilene Christian, and seventh-rounder Taufui Vakapuna from BYU, which apparently made Perry and Russell expendable in the eyes of the always-competent Bengal management.

So who's up next in line for a week of Gary Russell? Can we interest you, Mr. Mangini?

Bengals cut former first-rounder Perry [ESPN]

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The Going Rate to Punch a Bengal? $1,000.

Snitch spokesman Joey Porter pleaded no contest Wednesday and paid a $1,000 fine for his amateur boxing match with Bengal Levi Jones on March 18th at the Palms Casino. Unofficially, it was the biggest fight held at the Palms this year.

The 30-year-old Dolphin did not appear in court, but his lawyer entered the plea to a misdemeanor battery charge. I'm sure the $1,000 will be of little concern to Mr. Peezy, who has 32 million reasons to be happy with the slap on the wrist.

New Dolphins head coach/spin doctor Cam Cameron used the opportunity to somehow turn this into a positive, with these comments:

Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron issued a statement in Miami crediting Porter with informing the team of the incident.

"Joey has been upfront and honest with me since joining our team," Cameron said. "He fully understands the type of character we expect from our players, both on and off the field, and I am confident he will learn from this."

Yeah, that's a real stand up guy. He tells you when he's arrested. If he's drunk and three hours late for his own wedding, he somehow will find a way to make it there! His pit bulls may kill a mini pony, but at least he's not breeding them to fight other dogs, like that lowlife Michael Vick. You know what? Cam Cameron is right. In fact, I think we need more guys like Joey Porter.

Rocky VII

This just in...an eyewitness at the Joey Porter-Levi Jones fight last weekend described the melee as "something out of a Rocky movie".

On Tuesday, witness Dave Benz came forward, describing the fight as something out of a "Rocky" movie.

"They were throwing down," said Benz. "They must have each gotten in a good three or four swings. Then all of a sudden, the bigger guy who I found out later was Levi Jones, picked up Joey Porter and tossed him probably 10 feet like he was a rag doll."

Benz said there was about 10 seconds where people broke the fight up, but said Porter broke loose and went after Jones again.

"Joey Porter broke free and ran full sprint at Levi Jones and dove through the air at him like he was trying to tackle Ladanian Tomlinson. Took him down with a tackle, then the two of them got up. They were throwing fists again. It sounded like a 'Rocky' movie."

Benz said Porter later kicked Jones in the head, causing some bleeding.

Benz said the whole incident started when Porter confronted Jones while he was playing poker.

That certainly sounds like a pleasant situation. I can't wait for the inevitable video footage, since every square inch of Vegas is caught on film.

In other Porter-Jones news, it looks like Dolphin fans are actually excited by the turn of events in Vegas.

Levi Got Jacked

In the latest chapter of As the Peezy Turns, Levi Jones is now claiming that he was attacked by as many as seven people, and that he had jewelry stolen in the altercation with Joey Porter & Co.

Officer Martin Wright of the Vegas police said Monday that Jones said he had some jewelry stolen in an incident that apparently has roots in on-field trash talking that goes back several years.

Some sources indicated Monday that as many as seven people, including Porter, were involved in an attack of Jones, but police wouldn’t confirm the report and said they were attempting to find out if the incident is on tape.

“If it’s on tape, I would imagine it would be part of the report,” Wright said. “There were other people there. All we know is that when we arrived at the scene we heard there were words and one guy hit another guy and the victim wanted to press charges.”

I (as well as you) can't seem to get enough of this story, so here's some additional info from around the web:

---From our very own post on the topic earlier today, we have an in-person report courtesy of reader Gavin:

"We actually saw Peezy rolling craps on both Saturday and Sunday at the Palms. He was rocking a Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount throwback jersey on Saturday and his arms are roughly the size of the average fire hydrant. He was living large with his new contract. "

From the Joey Porter Bengal Punch '07 Collection

---And the official comment from joeyporter.com? Well, there's no mention. Of course, their site is still in Steeler colors, so I take it things don't move too quickly over there.

---An enlightened reader of The Big Lead website (one of the first to break this) gives their opinion:

"Well poor little Bengals..maybe that will teach them to shut their mouths… he’s was just jealous and Joey put him in his place! That’s my boy!!! Show him how a real football player rolls… backs up what he says! The Bengals are a bunch of criminals!!!

The Bengals may be criminals, but as far as I can see, the only thing Levi Jones did here was:

A. Open his big, fat mouth and B. Get punched in the face.

The last time I checked, those were not criminal activities. But thanks for your opinion, obnoxious, wanna-be gangsta Steeler fan.

---Porter's birthday is March 22, 1977, which means he'll be turning 30 on Thursday. I haven't heard for sure that he was in Vegas celebrating his birthday, but it's probably relevant.

---As far as I've heard, no other Steelers were present. Big Ben wasn't there, because he was busy with the Sprint "Power to Play" minicamp at Neville Island, roughly his 938th public appearance of the the offseason.

More details as they come in...or as you send them in. Thanks to the numerous readers who've sent tips so far.

Instant Classic

It was a very busy weekend in the Pittsburgh sports world...Pitt's men are in the Sweet 16, the Pitt women won their first tournament game ever, and the Penguins won in yet another shootout. These are all things that you already know. So we'll start Monday morning with some breaking news instead, courtesy of the Las Vegas Review Journal:

A National Football League player was cited for misdemeanor battery after he punched a league rival in the face Sunday night at a gaming table in the Palms, Las Vegas police said.

Linebacker Joey Porter, a longtime Pittsburgh Steeler who signed a five-year, $32 million deal with the Miami Dolphins this month, was cited for the brief fight he had with Levi Jones, an offensive tackle with the Cincinnati Bengals, in the casino about 6:55 p.m., Las Vegas police Lt. Kevin McMahill said.

"Apparently these two have a history with each other, a history of trash talking on the field," McMahill said.
Jones was treated by medical personnel at the scene, McMahill said.

Seriously, do I even need to write a punchline? Joey Porter, a Bengal, Las Vegas, a punch in the face...this stuff writes itself.

As far as the tale of the tape, Jones is 6'5", 307. Porter is 6'3", 250. But I assume this was a case of "size of the fight in the dog", because it was Jones who was treated by medical personnel.

More details from this incredible story as they become available. Stay tuned.

UPDATE from profootballtalk.com:

The altercation started at a gaming table at the Palms casino.
Per an e-mail from a reader who claims to have witnessed the incident, "They started talking sh-t, Joey Porter saying he'll always be a Steeler. He showed off the Super Bowl ring and Jones got up to him, and Joey Porter pretty much kicked his ass . . . . Jones never got a shot in."