LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – When Chad Ochocinco arrived at the Bengals games in January of last year, he was determined to take on the Jets. On his path to win, he was also determined to get people out of the way, not just on the field, but also on the interstate. He arrived that weekend to the game in his birthday Super Truck, a monster vehicle (depicted above). Despite the Super Truck, the Bengals’ season ran out of gas. Now, with a salary pay cut, Ochocinco is at the Patriots and is embracing a whole new perspective: Prius hug gangs, as he calls it.

In January 2010, Ochocinco bought for himself a Super Truck before his game against the Jets. While the Truck certainly didn’t motivate his season, it did dominate news. NBC cut into the broadcasting of the Bengals-Jets game to even feature the large than life vehicle, making suggestions that the Bengals offense, like Chad’s truck, will drive through the Jets defense.

It didn’t happen. But it did inspire some reaction. “I believe Chris “Birdman” Anderson has a very similar truck. But good luck tomorrow light em up!” For Ochocinco, the Bengals season never got lit up.

This season, Ochocinco has an entirely different focus. The amazing talent has always slotted him into winning positions on the field. Yesterday he told news and fans that he is slotting himself into the Patriots parking lot in a whole different way. “My teammate, Darius Butler wants to know which car doesn’t fit. Can y’all answer that for me?” Ochocinco was referencing his own red Prius slotted in the parking lot between a Rolls Royces and BMWs owned by other Patriots players.

This season, to go to the Patriots, Ochocinco went green while getting less of the green. He, like defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, made news by taking salary cuts to join the Patriots. Ochocinco was set to earn $6 million this season. But now his base salary has been cut to $1 million, supplemented with a signing bonus of $4.5 million, giving a total of $5.5 million. Next season his base salary grows to $3 million and a $100,000 workout bonus.

Yet off the field, Ochocinco has pledged his green alliance, even if his car doesn’t fit the mindset of Patriots players. He calls it the PGOD – “Prius Gang or Die.” “If we all united we could be 1 huge Toyota Prius car gang with cool jackets. …. Come on Bostonians and New Yorkers it’s all about group hugs and P.G.O.D…. Prius Gang or Die (The back of our leather jackets will have the peace symbol).”

PGOD Pictures
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For a man who once battled the Jets with a SuperTruck and now embraces Prius hugs with Jets fans, Ochocinco is ready to win. But for the pre-season, it’s all about fitting the squad into the Prius as well, one player at a time. “Nice drive n the Prius to Boston with my teammates Brandon Meriweather, Darius Butler, and Sergio Brown but the restaurant was closed.”

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EXCLUSIVE (LALATE) – Evelyn Lozada and Chad Ochocinco got engaged this week.  But a source close to the couple told LALATE exclusively that Ochocinco and Lozada have been talking about starting a family.

After the couple met, Ochocinco was lavishing Lozada with gifts. “Chad wired Evelyn [... a gift...] after knowing her 2 months … a gift so she can trade in her Range Rover …. She is getting her[self] a new car” a source told LALATE in August.

For Ultimate Catch, VH-1 described Ochocino’s lavish lifestyle. “True to his larger than life personality Ocho doesn’t do anything small [in finding love] — if he’s going to do a dating show it’s got to be bigger, hotter, louder and more outrageous than anything we’ve seen before.

A source tells LALATE that Ochocinco flew Lozada during the Bengals’ pre-season schedule. Once the NFL regular season started, the love continued to heat up. By fall, the couple were already talking about their future. “[Chad is] much so [in love] that he has expressed a desire to have a … child [with Evleyn].”

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EXCLUSIVE – LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Evelyn Lozada and Chad Ochocinco have been deeply in love for months, says a source close to Lozada and Ochocinco. When news of the engagement of Evelyn Lozada and Chad Ochocinco may have shocked fans yesterday, the couple have been virtually inseparable since the NFL preseason, a source previously told LALATE exclusively last August.

Even during the Bengals season started, Ochocinco was talking with Lozada about having a family and living together; he even invited her to the team’s training camp.

“They met face to face for first time in late June … because Chad was in LA filming his show.” The source said the two got close “[a]fter the second date at Miami spot Prime 112.” The friend claimed after that second meeting “Ochocinco has fallen hard for Evelyn.”

Chad fell deeply in love, fast, said the source. “So much so [in love] that he has expressed a desire to have a 5th child with her. Chad calls Evelyn all the time and tells her “loves” her.” “

Once the season started, Ochocino had flown Lozada to several of the Bengals games. “Chad has flown Evelyn out to see him in Ohio from Miami twice now. Once at training camp and the weekend before last for the first preseason game. He had one of his homeboys pick her up at the airport.”

Last summer, Ochocinco even told Lozada that he wanted her to decorate his home and have him move in with. “Chad also asked Evelyn to help re-decorate his Miami home so her and her daughter could possibly move in with him.”

VH-1 said of Chad earlier this year “His bigger than life personality on and off the field, and his notorious skills as a social networker, connecting daily with his fans, makes him a perfect fit for VH1.”

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LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Chad Ochocinco is battling a losing football and tv season; but as Ochocinco heads into Monday Night Football this week, it remains in question whether this season can still be turned around.

On the field, Ochocinco has produced a mere two touchdowns this season. With a start as slow as his rookie season, Ochocinco’s numbers have dropped off significantly; in 2009 he delivered nine touchdowns. But while he has produced decent yards and receptions season to date, Ochocinco is clearly struggling his  tenth season with the Bengals. As James Walker puts it, the “32-year-old receiver [is] having his second bad season in three years. Ochocinco has more television shows (three) than touchdowns (two).”

Ochocinco’s current contract expires at the end of the season with a one year option remaining. Insiders are unsure if the Bengals will pursue exercising the option after the season.

On TV, it’s been just as bad for Ochocinco. He started the season with T.O. proclaiming that they would be introducing a new genre of television. Versus programming vice president Andy Meyer called it a brilliant idea giving “two of loudest mouths who’ve been in the league” their own tv show. The idea proved otherwise. A mere 100,000 viewers were attracted during a recent week of the show. Ochocinco failed to create a new genre but generated one of the lowest rated weeks in tv ratings this season, a mere 0.1 ratings share.

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CINCINNATI (LALATE) – Chad Ochocinco’s cereal box for Ochocinc’O’s (photo above) offers an 800 phone number for charity donations. A misprint on the phone number is causing a cereal controversy that Ochocinco is getting frosted over today; but the Bengals star and the honey oats vendor say they won’t flake after this unlucky, no so charming, slip-up.

Ochocinc’Os is the latest product roll out from the Bengals star that features Chad on the box cover in team attire for the “low fat Honey Nut Toasted Oats” product. Pittsburgh-based PLB Sports Inc. reportedly manufactured the product. This week, Chad told fans to buy the cereal and “Start your day with a lil suga.” Unfortunately, Ochocinco hadn’t given his own box a complete inspection before the suga-tweet.

On the box was a charity phone number to solicit donations for  Feed The Children. When you call the number, you get a female’s voice in a recorded statement. Rather than talking about charities, the Bengals, or frosted oats, the woman says in she’ll “do anything you want for only $2.99 a minute!” The mixup is the result of an incorrect area code printing on the box.

Chad had said this month of the box “Not only do I have my own cereal, but it’s going to help a good cause I’m close to”. The brand is the “14 ounces of Low Fat, Honey Nut, Toasted Oats goodness.” But when one suburban family called the phone number, their reaction was “oh my goodness”.The correct toll free number for Feed the Children is 1-888-HELP-FTC.

PLB Sports said in a news statement to WCPO “We don’t need anything to give our Bengals a bad name, especially Chad. He’s obviously trying to do something great by doing this [for] ‘Feed The Children.’ “

“We apologize to anybody who was offended by the message they may have heard on the incorrect phone number and we certainly don’t want this to overshadow the great work Chad Ochocinco and the cereal company are doing on behalf of feeding children and families worldwide.”

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