I'm surprised there isn't a hue and cry over Terrell Owens' most recent, strange stunt on Monday Night Football. After catching the winning TD, he actually and brazenly pulled a pen out of his sock, signed the ball, then leapt up and handed it to his and Shawn Springs's "financial advisor." (Springs, BTW, is a beauty.)

Okay, so Owens can give the ball to whomever he wants to, I guess. No rule, okay deal. But this act reeked of showboating and the sort of narcissism that this guy is known for. It elevates him above his fellow SF teammates, who laughed it off, and the Seahawks, whose coach, Walrus, was outraged.

Plus he's running up and down the field with a pen (it was a marker, but...) in his sock? What if he'd fallen the wrong way and injured himself or another player? What if a player used a similar foreign object to wound an opponent in a moment of anger or ('roid) rage? Isn't there a rule about this? Maybe not. It supposedly upset Paul Tagliabue, though, so such behavior will not be tolerated from now on. According to the NY Times, a manager at the company that makes Sharpie pens was delighted to see that Owens had used one in this shameless performance.

All in all, I think Owens is a jerk. He's very talented and does have a beautiful body and really juicy lips, though. But he's still a jerk.

His act was definitely an original 'show boat' moment if I ever saw one. I don't think Terrell has a clue as to the arrogance of his behavior, let alone that it wasn't too cool to stuff a marker away in his sock. I do wonder how many games he's been stowing that thing away waiting for the right moment to pull it out? Does anyone have a clue when all these acts of show-boating originated? Though I expect some excitement and celebration after a TD, some of these dances are unnerving and downright look very silly.

I've been pondering this since I saw this Monday night, trying to determine if I thought he was being fan-friendly or actually taunting the Seahawks. I listened to his interview with Sean Salisbury and Mark Malone and came to the conclusion that he genuinely wanted to give this guy an autographed football once he scored. HOWEVER, the problem I do have is exactly what you said, Fantomas. TO is elevating himself above the rest of the team and thinks he and only he is capable of winning games for the 49ers. He threw conniptions Monday night when he thought he was open and should have gotten the ball on two different occasions. I don't feel he had any regard for the pressure Garcia might have been under at the time; all TO knew was that he was open. He was upset a few weeks ago when they beat the Redskins 20-10. Granted, I don't like Danny Boy or Spurrier but for chrissakes, be happy with the win. I just have issue with these guys that want to be individualists and have these enormous TD and yardage stats and forget that their success is attributed to how the team plays together. To could just suit up by himself and play the rest of the season while the rest of the team watches from the stands if that be the case.

BTW, this takes nothing away from the fact that I think he has a sculpted body!

IMO,the rules should be written so that a player performing antics after a touchdown should cause his team to be assessed a penalty - for delay of game perhaps, if they want to be consistent. It might remove some of the fun for people who enjoy antics but make the game better for those who just like football.

Assuming the regs are clear that it's an offence, for carrying a potentially dangerous object that is not part of his official uniform on to the playing field a player should be suspended for at least two games without pay. That is just too dangerous to be tolerated.

The game is about entertainment so I suspect the first will never be satisfactorily addressed, but the second definitely can and should be.

From what I read, he only put the pen in his sock prior to that TD drive--he didn't have it before. And he hasn't done it before Monday, but this time it was only because of his friendship with Springs and the guy he gave the ball to. It's pretty ridiculous behavior, but the on-field taunting stuff is worse.

In the grand scheme of things, I don't see what the big deal is about TO and the now-controversial Sharpie. Was it irritating to some people? Yes. Dis it give him a competitive edge? No. Whether it was right or wrong isn't really the point here. Everyone's talking about TO, and I think the attention and controversy it created was exactly what he wanted. Personally, I like TO - while some despise his showmanship, I think it makes for interesting football. Let's be honest here, the pen incident does not rise to level of say, repeated drunk driving offenses by the Raiders' Janichowski, which seems to have drawn less attention from the media. Now THERE'S a string of shenanigans.

You opened another can of worms, Jordan. Who's Janikowski screwing in the front office that he's getting off on these violations?

So Terrell didn't get fined for the pen, but he did get fined for not having his shirt tucked in (stupid NFL)...and now he seems to be making it into a racial issue. Lovely.

Owens: Reactions are a black/white issue

Note to Mr. Owens:

A demonstration of where and how to sign an autograph

I think that Terrell Owens is the most athletically gifted wide receiver in the NFL, but his mouth and his actions seem to get the best of him. He may be the best wide receiver on the field, but he has to hold himself accountable, morally, off-the-field, as well. If his reasoning is true, about him giving the TD ball to a friend of another player, then why couldn't he have given it to that person after the game, instead of show-boating during live game action. The gesture would have been just as appreciated after the game, as much as during the game! For a player that has played a couple of years now, and was the supposed understudy of Jerry Rice, he has alot to learn.

Owens is right about one thing: if a white player, like, say, Tom Brady, had pulled the pen thing, he would not have drawn the same kind of negative attention. But then, neither would Donovan McNabb if he'd done the same thing. Of course, Brady and McNabb are presumably smart enough to realize that toting a sharp and potentially dangerous item around in a sock during a game in which tackles make that item a very real threat to themselves and/or others is a moronic thing to do.

Owens gets blasted because he's a jackass, plain and simple. The same kind of jackass that sees a racial bias (or at least tries to shift the focus that way) in announcers and the press pointing out his tomfoolery.

Still it was VERY wrong for Owens to be singled out by the NFL for the shirttail violation. Mike Alstott hasn't had his shirt* tucked in for a minute in any NFL game he's ever played! He should be fined $200,000 a game until he keeps it tucked.

*blocks an extraordinarily nice view.

Alton, I'm with you on that. The NFL now looks stupid for being such cowards to not fine Owens when they really wanted to but then turn around and fine him for an untucked shirt that probably was pulled out of his tights around the 15 yrd line when he broke the tackle on his way to the infamous touchdown. But as you say, Mike Alstott never tucks his jersey as evidenced here. Why no fine? Because TO is the trouble child and must be disciplined.

The NFL's actions are bizarre--far more than TO's act.

One aspect of his stunt is that the recipient is his self-proclaimed "financial advisor "(and friend, supposedly), and so is charged with looking out for his financial interests. He would obviously know that a signed game ball--especially the winning ball--from TO would be a valuable commodity, whether it's for him to keep or later sell on eBay. Which is to say, TO completed a financial transaction at the end of his play more so than rewarded some disinterested fan or friend, or celebrated his team's win.

I don't think this is racial at all, and it's annoying to have TO say so. Why not just ban the act of signing away game balls during the time of play? Was the ball even his to give away? The league (or at least the team) should have a policy on this.

[quote]Originally posted by Joe in Philly:
Owens: Reactions are a black/white issue

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From the article:

[quote]"We're (African-Americans) more expressive than the white guys," Owen said. "You look at the skilled players. We're the ones that get into the end zone. We get in the end zone more than they do."

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Would he consider Jerry Rice expressive. Ten touchdowns a year over his career so far. I haven't seen any antics in the endzone from him. Has anyone else?

[ October 18, 2002: Message edited by: sportinlife ]

I like what TO did, mainly because he was rubbing it in the Shithawk's & Walrus' face, and I agree that if Brett Favre, Tom Brady or Ed McCaffrey did the same thing, there wouldnt be this big fuss. And I dont think it's fair for him to be compared to Randy Moss, he's never been in jail or did anything illegal. What about Mark Gastineu's sack dance, every one loved that.

If he can't be fined for carrying a potentially injurious object in his uniform then what's to stop someone from carrying a miniature boxcutter under his padding.

Untucked shirts are not only relatively harmless, they're sexy and should IMO be required occassionally by certain players.

But sharp objects are NOT a joke. Would any of us want to tackle someone with that kind of thing on their person?

Gotta disagree with you on the shirttails, Sportinlife; they block my favorite athletic attribute!


[quote]Originally posted by gp43:
I like what TO did, mainly because he was rubbing it in the Shithawk's & Walrus' face

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The problem with that reasoning, GP43, is that you probably WOULDN'T like it if he did it to YOUR team. Fair is fair. What he did was not only potentially dangerous, but arrogant and selfish. If you're as good as he thinks he is, you should let your playing speak for you, and not resort to classless grandstanding.

[quote]What about Mark Gastineu's sack dance, every one loved that.

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Well, I didn't love Gastineau's sack dance, and I blame him for helping start this obnoxious showboating trend. I've heard lots of people say that this kind of thing makes the game more exciting. Far as I'm concerned, the spectacle on the field is exciting enough.

And the game is usually pretty exciting too.

[ October 19, 2002: Message edited by: Alton ]

[quote]Originally posted by Alton:
Gotta disagree with you on the shirttails, Sportinlife; they block my favorite athletic attribute!

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Sigh, Ok, if you insist. We'll cut off the shirttail entirely and reveal those impossibly receded navels on their six-packs.

Siiigghhh, Oh the sacrifices I make for the enjoyment of others.

Terrell Owens talks about himself in the third person. So Jim Allen thinks that T.O. is a total dickhead for doing so. Jim Allen also thinks that people that do a lot are possibly insane.

Yeah, it's all about Owens. All his shit talk after the appalling run to the center star at Texas Stadium--TWICE--shows that he's more concerned about being "expressive" than any team concept. Should be interesting when the Seahawks play the Niners again in December (12/1, I think). I'm sure the 'Hawks DB's and LB's are taking bets on who lays him out first.

And the NFL IS lame for the "shirt tucked in" excuse they gave to fine him. It's not called the No Fun League without reason.

[quote]Originally posted by sportinlife:


Sigh, Ok, if you insist. We'll cut off the shirttail entirely and reveal those impossibly receded navels on their six-packs.

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See that? You give a little, you get a little!

[quote]Originally posted by sportinlife:
If he can't be fined for carrying a potentially injurious object in his uniform then what's to stop someone from carrying a miniature boxcutter under his padding.

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The NFL announced that from now on, players with potentially injurious objects--and they said pens would count--are subject to a 15-yard penalty and possible ejection from the game.