The Dish: Owens Pipes Up Again

Terrell Owens will never win a championship.

Neither will Randy Moss, Barry Bonds, Jeremy Shockey or Kellen Winslow Jr.

But today I'd like to talk about Owens, the anti-New-England-Patriot, the man about whom nothing surprises anyone, the Dennis Rodman of the NFL, the man who is positive that the world was created primarily to praise him. You know about his big contract stink with the Niners a couple years back, when his agent forgot to cross some Ts and dot some Is, and Owens accidentally missed free agency. You know how he vetoed a trade to Baltimore by threatening not to report, and you know how he muscled into Philly. You know how this offseason, he stomped and whined like Angelina Jolie standing before a fake-boob detector, because he didn't like the incredibly lucrative contract he signed the year before. But do you know T.O. wasn't pleased that the Eagles didn't stop the game and hold a ceremony in honor of his 100th career receiving touchdown two weeks ago?

That's right, horror of horrors, Owens came out this week and questioned the entire Eagles organization because, in the middle of a terrible skein in which the defending NFC champs look like they could struggle to finish with a winning record, the team didn't single out an individual achievement for a player who's been louder than Cyndi Lauper. And this after the Eagles did recognize his 100th overall TD just a few weeks ago. Then, after calling out the organization, Owens set his sights on QB Donovan McNabb, saying that it's Donny's fault the team is losing, and that if the Eagles had Brett Favre at the helm, they'd be undefeated. Is the man insane? They lost 49-21 last week. Does McNabb plug rushing lanes? Does he defend bombs? Does he blitz? Does he tackle?

No, T.O. is through in Philly, just as he's through in San Fran and through in Baltimore. He'll never get the fans back now, and he'll probably be gone this offseason, gone to another franchise who'll buy into the fool's gold of his physical talents, and who will guarantee themselves, like the Niners and Eagles before them, that they will never win a title with Owens aboard. I feel a huge NFL game in the offing. How do you see the Colts/Patriots game next Monday night? Even if you don't want to tell us who your pick is, tell us how you think bettors will behave. Where do you think the public will wind up, and why?

Rob Gillespie, BoDog.ws: Colts undefeated, defense getting respect, coming off a bye week. The Pats' injuries are common knowledge and they looked mediocre against the Bills on national TV. The public will be in on the Colts and even a few pros have appeared to jump that way early. The Patriots have been amazing in finding ways to frustrate the Colts in recent years, but the injuries at running back make the challenge especially tough. I can see it being closer than people expect, getting 3.5 at home would be enough for me to bite.

Ditto for the huge tilt in Blacksburg this weekend: Miami against Virginia Tech. Does Tech have another huge conference win in them? Does Miami have enough offense to score? Where will the public be on this one, and what do you expect the national title implications will be?

RG, BoDog.ws: Going to be an interesting game. Both teams have not played a tough opponent for weeks. Miami has been a double-digit fav in their last five games (and 20-point-plus faves their last four), while VT has been a double-digit fave their last seven games. Whoever gets out of the gate quick will have a huge advantage. Tech has held Miami in check the last two years and I can see that happening again. I expect public action to be split as people really aren't sure about either of these teams. If VT can win, orbetter yet, win big, they can maybe pull a couple of votes away from USC or Texas, but the reality is they won't get themselves into a title game unless one of those teams lose. They should get a boost in the computer polls which will help keep them ahead of Alabama and UCLA. Miami would likely only climb one spot with an upset and would need several teams to lose to have a title shot.

Is there any way Reggie Bush doesn't win the Heisman?

RG, BoDog.ws: Yes. If UCLA holds him to 30 yards on 20 carries, he fumbles three times returning punts and the Trojans lose 48-10. Or if Vince Young puts up 500 combined yards a few more times in comeback wins.

What do you think of Theo Epstein resigning as GM of the Boston Red Sox? Is the world going to fall off its axis (as everyone in Boston seems to fear), or will the Sox will be a major contender in '06?

RG, BoDog.ws: If you asked me a month ago which of Epstein or Cashman would be with their team next year, I would have been wrong! The Red Sox must have some front office troubles; they win the World Series and Pedro bolts. Now they are contenders and ManRam wants out. Why do players want to go to the Yankees and leave the Red Sox?

Christopher Harris is a featured writer for the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com