Updated: 3:35 p.m.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco partied with Terrell Owens here at the Super Bowl on Wednesday and then on Thursday made an impassioned plea for the Bengals to sign the future Hall of Fame and always controversial receiver.
Ochocinco joked, "I'm not going to play if we don't sign him," and he admitted he didn't have any inside information after telling Jay Glazer on his Pre-Party on Fox that he's "sure of it" that Owens will be with the Bengals next season.
"Do you think they'd do that?" The Ocho asked as he roamed Radio Row Thursday, leaving smiles and laughs in his wake.
Told no, that he was most likely too old for the Bengals' tastes, Ochocinco said, "He's got no choice. He's not too old. He'd be awesome if he was 42."
The Ocho appears to be the only one with the club "sure of it." With Owens' one-year deal with the Bills set to expire when free agency opens March 5, Owens is still Buffalo property and the Bengals can't talk about him publicly. Both have the same agent, Miami's Drew Rosenhaus.
But all indications have been that the Bengals are going to stay away from aging free-agent receivers on the heels of last year's deal with 31-year-old Laveranues Coles. Owens turns 37 late in the 2010 season and The Ocho himself just turned 32.
But while The Ocho is jousting at windmills, he's in a much better place than he was two Super Bowls ago. It is a nice contrast to the havoc he was wreaking on Radio Row two years ago when he rampaged down the dial telling the world he wanted to get traded. Now he's trying to recruit players to the depleted Bengals receiving corps.
"I was a bleep," The Ocho said. "I'm at peace now. I'm at peace. I'm happy. Thank you Marvin Lewis. Thank you Mike Brown."
Ochocinco has been a Super Bowl staple this week. News conferences. The Ochocinco News Network. NFL Network. ESPN. Parties. Owens figures to show at The Ocho's own party Friday night that is raising money for Haitian relief.
Told his schedule is going nuts, The Ocho said, "Going nuts equals money." Asked how much he's making this week through his endorsements from Motorola, McDonald's and Degree, he asked, "A million?"
It would probably take more than that to snag Owens, but The Ocho did give a relatively reasoned argument for going after him.
"Laveranues is awesome. Dre, Jerome. I think another veteran presence, a guy that is going to be another target for Carson who is somewhat of that caliber; can we not say the extra step for going farther in the playoffs and the Super Bowl?" The Ocho asked. "Someone who knows how to win in the playoffs. I'm just saying. Why not? More excitement to the city. Another ego."
Asked if Owens could be a team player, The Ocho said it wouldn't be a problem.
"Damn right. He would have no choice," he said. "He'd be with me. I got him. I got him. I'd put him under my wing. 'Hey T, shut up.' I'd put him in a head lock. He's good. He's awesome. Look at his numbers. Why not?"
