This and that

• I'm glad Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio considers Sunday's showdown with the Bengals a putt. I sure wish a reporter who heard that quote would've asked, "So Jack, is that like a two-foot putt, or more like a three-footer."

• T.J. is making national headlines with his guarantee that the Bengals will win at least two games because he took it a step further and promised to walk 25.4 miles from his house in Cerritos, Calif., to the NFL Network studios in Culver City. Busy interstate most of the way, apparently. I understand that he expects a win in the home game against Kansas City in the season finale, but I just don't see the other slam-dunk win out of the other seven games. I mean, they're an 8-point underdog at home against Jacksonville! I don't see a game on the rest of their schedule (other than the Chiefs game) where they're going to be any less of an underdog (when the point spread will be less than 8). Browns? I just think I'd have a couple of specific games in mind before I made a 2-win guarantee and vowed to walk 25.4 miles along busy interstate if it didn't happen.

• Quote from another Bengals receiver that's not making quite the same headlines but a newsworthy quote nonetheless: The second item in Mark Curnutte's notebook is something Chad said about how Marvin hasn't lost the team. "The first person he would have lost is me."

• Also, Chad denied a ProFootballTalk.com report that he had an Obama sign hidden in each of the end zones in Houston. If it were Kevin Walter, we would've had a couple of opportunities to find out but since it was Chad (or if it would've been any Bengal for that matter), I guess we'll never know. Maybe he brought them home and we'll find out on Sunday. Yes, he does only have two touchdowns so far this season, but if you look at the numbers in a glass-half-full way he has scored in two of the Bengals' three home games.

• Funny Nick Bakay column about how lousy his fantasy squad is. Would qualify as my non-local link of the day but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that he refers to the receiver mentioned in the previous item as Chad Ocho Stinko.

• Nobody wants to see someone (especially on their own team) get hurt and miss the rest of the season (at least I don't), but news of Dexter Jackson's season-ending injury will at least keep the Dexter Jackson bashers/blamers quiet for awhile.

• NFL.com's Adam Schefter is also reporting that the Colts' Marlin Jackson is out for the season with a torn ACL (not Cincinnati-related, I know, wait for it). Tim Jennings is expected to replace Jackson at cornerback (wait for it) and the Colts may re-sign former Bengal Keiwan Ratliff (there it is) to replace Jackson on the roster.

• This edition is dominated by NFL ... I'm having a tough time finding anything Reds-related ... MLB.com has a nice piece about Robert Manuel, a relief pitcher you may not have heard of (I hadn't) but should become familiar with.

• I'll be curious to see whether the Bearcats can bounce back after losing 40-16 at UConn in a game Brian Kelly said, basically, was much more closely contested than the final indicated.

Sports Network: Bulls and Bearcats duke it out
AP: Cincinnati readies 4 QBs for No. 24 South Florida
GoBearcats.com: Football returns home for BLACKOUT

• Non-local link of the day: From ProFootballTalk.com, Singletary shows his ass, literally