He wants a reason to celebrate

The Tennessee Titans need to win their final two games and also need some help from the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday to have a chance of making the playoffs.

Titans Coach Jeff Fisher is not only hoping that the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns, he’d also like to see Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson have a big day.

Fisher said on Fox Sports Radio last week that he couldn’t believe Johnson wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl.

“I voted for him,” Fisher said. “I hope he goes out this weekend and wants to prove to everybody what a good receiver he is.”

Johnson is known for his excessive celebrations after scoring, but none of that would bother Fisher.

“I’ll stop short of saying I’ll pay his fines,” he said. “I just want him in the end zone about four times.”

Trivia time

Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh has emerged from Johnson’s shadow this season and was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time. What do Houshmandzadeh and Johnson have in common besides being Bengals teammates?

Major project

ESPN’s Dick Vitale had some lesions removed from his left vocal cord this week, and the good news was the lesions were benign.

But Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times couldn’t resist this line: “Not that the guy has a big mouth or anything, but the surgeons reportedly had to work in shifts.”

The power of PR

Tennessee women’s basketball Coach Pat Summitt had heard Fox Sports Radio’s Andrew Siciliano had been critical of the women’s game. So she decided to do something about it. She invited Siciliano to sit behind the Volunteers’ bench Wednesday night for her team’s game against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.

On the air the next day, Siciliano thanked Summitt for the invitation and said, “Sometimes I can be a jerk, but I’m glad that you gave me the chance to come down, see your team, get great behind-the-scenes access to your team -- see a good game, a good win for you.”

Siciliano’s broadcast partner, Krystal Fernandez, told Summitt: “Coach, I think Andrew has actually learned something. He called me this morning, he was a changed man.”

Said Summitt: “Come on, Krystal, I can’t be that powerful.”

No wrong answer

Gaylon Krizak of the San Antonio Express-News offered this multiple-choice quiz:

“Who said the following in 2007: ‘It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I have let my country down, and I have let myself down.’?

“a) Bud Selig.

“b) Marion Jones.

“c) Michael Vick.

“d) It’s not so much who said it as who could have said it; namely all of the above and then some.”

Trivia answer

They were also teammates at Oregon State in 2000, when the Beavers, under coach Dennis Erickson, finished 11-1 and beat Notre Dame, 41-9, in the Fiesta Bowl. Johnson caught two touchdown passes in that game, Houshmandzadeh one.

And finally

Norm Chow is no longer in the running to become the next UCLA football coach, and that doesn’t surprise Shannon Sharpe.

A week ago on his Sirius Satellite Radio show, Sharpe was pushing Chow, as well as Kansas City Chiefs Coach Herm Edwards, for the UCLA job when he said:

“I think for Norm Chow to get a head coaching job, he’s going to have to, like, kidnap the president and say, ‘Unless y’all give me the head coaching job, I’m not returning him.’ Because I don’t know what else he has to do to get a head coaching job.”

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larry.stewart@latimes.com