On the ropes

At least one Falcon is more animal friendly

Here's a change in Atlanta: A Falcons player showing some love for animals.

Providing quite a contrast to Michael Vick's gruesome dogfighting operation, tight end Tony Gonzalez and his wife, October, posed in the nude for an antifur advertisement for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The newly released ad shows the couple sitting together on green turf for the group's "We'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. They're following celebrities who have posed in the buff, including Dennis Rodman, Pamela Anderson and Dominique Swain, while others such as Paul McCartney and Charlize Theron have worn clothes in the campaign.

"It looks good," Gonzalez said Wednesday, glancing at the photo on a reporter's cell phone while standing at his locker. "It's something me and my wife talked about. It's something we feel very strongly about. That's a great cause, especially when you educate yourself and find out what is happening out there in the world."

The long-running PETA campaign has relied on star power in an attempt to persuade people not to wear furs or other clothing made from animal skins. The group claims that animals are often beaten, strangled, stomped, electrocuted and even skinned alive.

Gonzalez said he was appalled when he saw pictures and videos provided by the group.

"I've never done something like this before. I'm usually not a political person," said the 10-time Pro Bowler, who holds the NFL record for most receptions by a tight end. "The pictures I saw were pretty gruesome, pretty cruel. If done the right way, maybe. But done the way I saw it, it's definitely inhumane."

Some of Gonzalez's teammates had not seen the new ad until it was shown to them by reporters. But it's likely to be all over the locker room soon.

"Oh yeah," receiver Roddy White said, breaking into a big smile, "we're going to give him a hard time about that."

Bring it on, said the 33-year-old Gonzalez, who's in his first season with the Falcons after spending a dozen years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"If you do something like this," he said, "you better be prepared for the guys in the locker room. They're going to let you know what they think about it."

Chris Houston studied the picture closely before offering up a tongue-in-cheek critique.

"He's got his Chad [Ochocinco], T.O. thing going on," the cornerback said. Then, he acknowledged, "I'm looking more at her, though."

While prepared to take some good-natured gibes from his teammates, Gonzalez is serious about the anti-fur campaign. He became interested in animal right issues about three years ago and went on a vegan diet during the season, giving up meats or even foods that come from animals.

Gonzalez didn't last long as a vegan. He abandoned it after three or four weeks, saying the diet caused him to "lose a little too much weight." But he became more conscious of the meats he consumed and wound up writing a book about his methods, "The All-Pro Diet."

"I eat a little meat now, but it comes from clean sources: grass-fed cows, free-range chickens, wild fish, stuff like that," he said. "I'm OK with it as long as you do it humanely."

If nothing else, Gonzalez and his wife have provided a different face [and then some] for those animal lovers who might have still harbored a negative image of the Falcons, remembering they were his employer when heinous crimes were being carried out against dogs.

"We're going to get some good publicity out of this thing," White said.

No mustard for Bengals' hot dog

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has put the kibosh on condiments.

Receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted this week that he planned to send mustard to the Pittsburgh Steelers in advance of their game today at Heinz Field. When Lewis got wind of the plan, he put an end to it.

Ochocinco said Wednesday that Lewis has prohibited him from sending anything to Pittsburgh. Last week, the receiver sent deodorant to some of the Baltimore Ravens a few days before their game. The Ravens came to Cincinnati and lost 17-7, with Ochocinco having a big game.

The Bengals and Steelers are tied for first place in the AFC North at 6-2.

Funny stuff

Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups had the last laugh, and not because his free throw sealed a 90-89 victory Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.

With .3 of a second on the clock, Chicago forward Brad Miller caught an inbound pass from Kirk Hinrich and buried a jumper from the top of the key. After reviewing the play, referees ruled Miller didn't release the ball in time.

It was the Bulls' premature celebration that left Billups with the chuckles.

"I was laughing because they were dancing and jumping around like they had just made the Sweet 16," he said. -- From Wire Reports