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The cries of wolf went answered again by corporate sponsors, as the Cincinnati Bengals avoided a blackout. Sunday's game against Baltimore can be seen on Channel 12, WKRC at 1 p.m.

The Bengals asked for a blackout extension for the third time this season Thursday, were granted the extension and sold a total of 3,000 tickets in the last 24 hours thanks to Kroger, who will donate 250 pairs of tickets to military families, WKRC and the Bengals.

Kroger will distribute pairs of tickets to the first 50 people with a valid military ID at each of these five Kroger locations -- Lebanon (11 a.m. to noon), Union (11 a.m. to noon), Hyde Park (10-11 a.m.), Anderson Towne Center (1-2 p.m.) and Fairborn (11 a.m. to noon).
It's the third time corporations and the organization have bailed out Bengals fans -- WKRC and Kroger aided the sellout for the opening game against Denver, while Motorola bought the remaining tickets for the Oct. 18 game against Houston.

The Bengals' sell-out streak will reach 49 games on Sunday. The Bengals' last blackout was Nov. 9, 2003 for a game against the Texans. Despite the fact it is referred to a sell-out, there are tickets available for sale at the Bengals' ticket office.

"We are thrilled with the response from our fans, Kroger and Local12, and we are pleased that Bengals fans across the region can watch our game on Sunday," Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn said in a statement released by the team. "We have great fans and their vocal support will give us a real home field advantage for this big AFC North game. We are especially pleased that we will have so many members of the military on hand."

None of the Bengals remaining home games are sold out -- Nov. 29 vs. Cleveland, Dec. 6 vs. Detroit and Dec. 27 vs. Kansas City.

SMITH'S STATUS UNDER WRAPS -- Before the bye week, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said rookies Andre Smith and Chase Coffman may get a chance to play this Sunday against Baltimore, but since then he's backed off any insinuation of those players getting to play.

On Friday, he again said "we'll see" when asked if Smith would play Sunday.

Talking in a more general fashion, he discounted some of the grumblings from fans about Coffman, the third-round pick out of Missouri, not getting into a game yet.

"That's perception, and perception and reality are two different things," Lewis said. "People are focusing on college, on what guys did in college or supposedly did in college and not what I want them to do every day here. I coached a couple of very good football players -- one that was drafted in the second round in Pittsburgh by the name of Levon Kirkland, who did not play a single defensive snap. Leon Searcy, a first-round pick, did not play a single offensive snap as a rookie. There are a number of other guys who have done that and had great Pro-Bowl careers.

"Be ready when your time comes, that's what keep stressing. Because when your time comes -- and it's going to come -- be ready for that opportunity and don't look back."

FUI FITTING IN -- Fullback Fui Vakapuna, signed this week from Arizona's practice squad, impressed Lewis with the way he practiced with the team this week. Vakapuna was cut before the regular season began.

"I've been impressed, his retention of things we had been doing in training camp was good," Lewis said. "I think having a good grounded understanding of the fundamentals is helpful."

Lewis said Vakapuna's put on some weight since he left and is now up to 275 pounds, something he likes.

"I think he had the muscle, but he's made more of a transition from being a ball-carrier and runner to be more of a lead back-type of guy," Lewis said. "So you gain the skills of him being able to run and catch-and-run and then the other part is how to explode and roll your hips as a blocker, and I think he's done well at that. There's nothing like practicing every day to get good at something."

CLIMBING BY SITTING -- Bengals rookie punt returner Quan Cosby moved up in the punt return rankings, moving from fifth to fourth in the NFL and from fourth to second in the AFC with a 13.1 yard per return average. He did that despite not having returned a punt since the last time the Bengals faced the Ravens, Oct. 11 in Baltimore.