Wide receiver Chad Johnson performed like a heavyweight in his conference call with reporters on Wednesday morning. He needed a round or two to warm up, and then he was rolling. A showman playing to the crowd.

Remember that cheerleader he feigned a wedding proposal to after a touchdown last season?

"She took half of everything I had," he said. "I should have never did that. Why are you laughing? I'm serious."

What? You thought the guy who raced a horse this offseason was going to be shy. He just needed a little time to get going on Wednesday morning.

How about his jump into Cleveland's stands last Sunday?

"Dude threw beer on me," Johnson said. "I didn't like that. The beer was kind of cold and it messed up my uniform. The rest of the game I smelled real bad.

"But other than that, something different, man. Pushing the envelope. It has never been done before. No one ever jumped into the opposing team's stands. And actually, they embraced me except for that one person who was drunk."

Does he remember facing Marcus Trufant in the Pac-10? Trufant was a sophomore in 2000 when Johnson played at Oregon State.

"I was only at Oregon State four months," Johnson said. "I can't remember. I was in and out. I didn't even unpack my bags."

Didn't make it too many classes?

"I don't think I made it to any," he said. "Maybe the first week."

He is an original in a league that legislates conformity right down to the length of socks and what hats a player can wear during a post-game interview. He's a man who needs an alter-ego. Remember last year when he demanded to be called "Ocho Cinco." Well here's the videoclip of that interview right here.

Now he rubs some people the wrong way. His antics are so frequent that they've lost a little originality. The checklist of defensive backs he used last season? Well, that's gone downright corporate this season. He has a Web site www.trashtalk85.com sponsored by "Degree" antiperspirant. Voting on his performance against the opponent's secondary requires a donation. Every week he makes some sort of declaration that makes waves.

But in a league where everyone does their best to talk without saying much, there's something that's at least a little amusing about Johnson.

"You've got to remember everything I do is fun," Johnson said Wednesday. "A fun and loving nature."

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis conducted his conference call with Seattle reporters about 3 minutes later, which meant he had a tough act to follow.

"You guys requested him?" Lewis said when told Johnson had spoken before. "He never talks. That's amazing you got him."

Lewis was asked if he ever thought about reining in Johnson and some of his antics.

"How do you rein him in?" he asked. "Do we tell him not to score touchdowns. He's doing it when he scores touchdowns. As long as he does it on the field of play, it's fine. If he does it off the field of play that's an issue he has with the NFL."

As for the oversized gold blazer Johnson put on after he scored in the Bengals' season-opening game against Baltimore on Monday night?

"He'll never be able to get anything -- hopefully -- on our field again, contraband," Lewis said. "We're going to have the contraband spies out looking for him to try and sneak other things in."

Johnson keeps everyone on their toes. Even his coach.

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