rkhaze;2601154 said:
I keep reading the majority and Ray Lewis here as do I because I have a ton of respect for the guy. But as long as TO is here and claiming he will retire a Cowboy it will never happen.
Remember a couple years ago Owens took a shot at Ray Ray saying in a press conference saying hes being accused of double murder and all this other stuff and no one talks about him. It was something along those lines.
So i don't think it would work at all.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-7158875_ITM (registration is free)
Owens takes another jab at Ray Lewis, alludes to murder case.
Publication: Philadelphia Daily News (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)
Publication Date: 03-NOV-04
COPYRIGHT 2004
Byline: Les Bowen
PHILADELPHIA _ This week, there is no grudge match looming for Terrell Owens. But it isn't too late to rekindle last week's controversy.
T.O. began Wednesday's weekly media session noting support he received from Steelers linebacker Joey Porter in a Tuesday newspaper story. Porter, whose team hosts the Eagles this week, endorsed Owens' celebrations, specifically his mocking of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, during the Eagles' 15-10 Sunday victory. That does qualify as news. The last couple of weeks, the story has been opponents' feuds with the Eagles' standout wide receiver.
But while reveling in Porter's words, Owens re-lit the Baltimore fuse, highlighting a Porter reference to Lewis' involvement in a 2000 double-murder case.
Porter, who also has feuded with Lewis, sounded a favorite T.O theme in Tuesday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: other players celebrate flamboyantly, and some of them have even had off-the-field issues, which Owens hasn't, yet few are as widely reviled as T.O. In Lewis' case, those off-the-field issues include that agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor obstruction of justice and testify against two of his friends after a double-murder at an Atlanta-area nightclub in January 2000. (The friends were acquitted.)
"It's fine for this guy to celebrate, but it's not fine for this guy," Porter was quoted as saying. "It's good for this guy to be creative, but it's not good for this guy. Why isn't it funny when Terrell does the pom-poms? You guys can make who the good guys are. The media has total control over that.
" . . . But this guy (Lewis) just comes off a murder case and he comes back dancing and goes to the Super Bowl and you love every minute about it. He gets a four-minute introduction when he comes out. They absolutely go crazy for it. He makes a tackle, he dances every play and you guys love it. Terrell scores a touchdown and he does his celebration and, for some reason, you guys just choose, `We don't like you. You aren't one of the guys we pick.' I never thought it was fair."
This was music to T.O.'s diamond-studded ears. Owens has puzzled over his lack of endorsements and the league's apparent reluctance to market him.
"I'm obviously not one of those who are a face of the NFL that they're going to have on commercials . . . It's discouraging at times that I get labeled and put in that same mold and that I'm the worst guy that ever put on a uniform in the NFL," he said. "It's funny, it really is. I listen to all the comments and at times, it baffles me.
"I've never had any off-field problems. I've wanted to say it for a long time, but since Joey put it out there, you have a guy like Ray Lewis, who I thought was pretty much my friend. This is a guy, double-murder case, and he could have been in jail, but it seems like the league embraces a guy like that. I'm going out scoring touchdowns and having fun, but I'm the bad guy. So I don't understand it, I really don't.
"I listen to ESPN and all the guys that report on there, it's really funny . . . I just take it with a grain of salt and I keep ticking. I know they're looking for me to do something (off the field) or something to come up, but it's not going to happen."
In an instance of art imitating life, or something like that, Owens' words quickly made it to ESPN Wednesday evening, with a panel of analysts that included ex-Eagle Mike Golic expressing sympathy for Lewis and condemning Owens for bringing up the murder business. ESPN also read a statement from the Ravens, who thought they'd traded for Owens' rights last March, then were forced to accept a fifth-round draft choice instead when the NFL brokered a trade to the Eagles. "Like the rest of the NFL community, we would expect nothing less from Terrell Owens," the statement said.
Then, on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon found rare agreement, bashing Owens for bringing up Lewis' brush with the law.
Earlier, Lewis told reporters in Baltimore that he'd had a chance to see Owens' imitation of his signature dance on tape, and likened Owens' version to "my four-year-old" trying to do the dance. At that point, apparently, Lewis did not know about Owens' comments Wednesday.
For what it's worth, Owens had a defender Wednesday night on the NFL Network's "NFL Total Access." Ex-star receiver Sterling Sharpe said: "I think Terrell Owens says a lot of what people in the NFL want to say. I'm not talking about specifics with Ray Lewis, I think T.O. is a guy that says what's on his mind and what a lot of other people think. I think he's correct in saying that there are a lot of people in this business that we're in that treat this guy unfairly, because all he does is go out and help his football team win games . . . The thing is, I don't know if a lot of guys in our business like T.O."
Coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that Owens' current teammates like him just fine. "I think it starts with T.O., and the way he takes in his teammates and makes them feel a part of the whole thing as far as the team goes," he said. "He doesn't stick himself out in the locker room as an individual. He's part of the team, and that's important. And the way the guys have allowed him to be part of the team I think also is a big thing." [You should have call Miss Cleo, Andy Reid. You should have called Miss Cleo.]
There certainly have been potential flash points for teammates, as they've navigated messy T.O. conflicts with the Ravens, or with Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia, or Lions coach Steve Mariucci. Owens, who leads the Eagles with 42 catches for 697 yards and nine touchdowns, is the only Eagles wideout to score a touchdown this season. After Sunday's game, Freddie Mitchell lamented his own lack of catches.
Owens said Wednesday he feels FredEx's pain. "There were some situations where he was open and for whatever reason, Donovan (McNabb) just didn't see him," Owens said. "Those are things that we'll work out throughout the week of practice and we have to find some ways to get him the ball. It's not like Donovan is doing it intentionally . . . It is frustrating. I know how it is as a receiver, and Freddie is a team guy. He blocks well and he feels like he should be rewarded. He'll get his chances."
Toward the end of his time with reporters Wednesday, Owens - apparently not realizing he had ignited more controversy with Lewis - said he was going to enjoy the lack of any built-in conflict, as he prepared for Pittsburgh.
"It's going to be a stress-free week for me," he said. "I'm pretty sure my teammates are relieved that they don't have to answer a bunch of questions about `whatever.' (But) the week is not over yet."
___
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