Chad Ochocinco's pretend $1 bribe is going to cost him a lot more.
The Cincinnati Bengals receiver was fined $20,000 and reprimanded by the NFL for taking a dollar bill onto the field during an officials' review of one of his catches last Sunday. Ochocinco held the dollar in his right hand at his side but didn't give it to the official, who motioned for him to stay away.
Ochocinco said he was just having fun.
Ray Anderson, the league's executive vice president of football operations, sent Ochocinco a letter that said: "The very appearance of impropriety is not acceptable. Your conduct was unprofessional and unbecoming an NFL player."
During the third quarter of Cincinnati's 17-7 win over Baltimore, officials initially ruled that Ochocinco got both feet down at the sideline for a 15-yard catch. The Ravens challenged, and the call was overturned.
In response to the fine, the company that made Ochocinco's iPhone application said it will donate $20,000 in the receiver's name to the Hillview Acres home for abused children in Chino, Calif.
Noteworthy
* Terrell Owens returned to practice with his Buffalo Bills' teammates yesterday and declared himself ready to play tomorrow against Tennessee.
Owens said he fell asleep on his couch Monday night after practice, and woke up feeling stiff. He was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday, and the team reported he had a strained hip.
* Clinton Portis' concussion will keep the Washington Redskins running back out of tomorrow's game, one of many injury concerns for coach Jim Zorn as his team prepares to face the Denver Broncos.
Portis was hurt in a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first quarter of Sunday's 31-17 loss to Atlanta. He underwent tests this week and was not at the practice facility Thursday.
Portis is having a disappointing year by his standards, with only 494 yards rushing. He last missed a game in 2006, when hand and shoulder injuries ended his season early.
Portis' injury means Ladell Betts will get his first start since 2006, assuming Betts is able to play. The backup is nursing a sprained ankle and did not practice Thursday, although Zorn said he expects him to be available.
* Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield said his injured right foot was still painful and he will not play against Detroit tomorrow. The Pro Bowler had pract ed in full gear all week.
* Chicago Bears star Brian Urlacher and former Bear Tank Johnson wrote letters to a federal judge last year that praised a disgraced Chicago politician facing sentencing in a $1.5 million real estate kickback scheme.
The letters, both dated December 2008, were part of a newly released court file in the case of former Alderman Edward Vrdolyak, known in Chicago political circles as "Fast Eddie."
In his Dec. 19 letter, Urlacher said he spent time with Vrdolyak on family vacations and during the offseason. The Pro Bowl linebacker said Vrdolyak had been generous with advice.
In his letter, Johnson told the judge, "My relationship with Mr. Vrdolyak had a direct result in my turning my life around."
Also, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler had been fined $20,000 for abusive conduct toward a game official during a 41-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Cutler drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play in the third quarter with the Bears trailing 34-7. The league also fined Bears defensive lineman Tommie Harris $7,500 for punching Cardinals offensive lineman Deuce Lutui
* Cleveland coach Eric Mangini defended the length and intensity of his practices after running back Jamal Lewis had complained that the Browns' players are being worked too hard.
"I feel good about the way we practice, the time we practice," said Mangini. "Two hours of work on the field is a very reasonable time. The only time that practices are extended is if we don't execute something the right way."
* The governor of Massachusetts said there is no connection between big donations to him and the Democratic Party from the family that owns the New England Patriots and the state's support for development across the road from Gillette Stadium. Gov. Deval Patrick said that Patriots owner Robert Kraft had asked him about using $9 million in federal stimulus money on a footbridge to an industrial site he owns. Patrick says the state supports it because it will leverage job creation.
