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QUALITY TIME

Chick Ludwig chats with Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson

Chad's tough, but Oprah's his idol

By Chick Ludwig

Dayton Daily News

Individually, 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."

Landing 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."