Bird of prey

Terrell Owens' tumultuous season came to a culmination Monday when the Eagles suspended him for four additional games and told the wide receiver he would not play another game for the franchise this season.\nIt doesn't bother me that Owens was suspended; his conduct has definitely been detrimental to the team. Every chance he gets, the wide receiver says something that insults someone. What bothers me is how the media, especially ESPN and its NFL crew, have perpetuated the T.O. situation.\nWhen I first saw the now-infamous interview with the league's most out-spoken talent Sunday, I thought it was just Owens' regular spouting off about how he dislikes a.) his team, b.) his coach, c.) his quarterback or d.) all of the above. But what I heard the interviewer say disturbed me much more than anything Owens has ever said. \nIn case you missed it, last Thursday, Owens made some comments that questioned the Eagles' commitment to him and also the ability of quarterback Donovan McNabb. ESPN asked Owens if he agreed with NFL analyst Michael Irvin when he said Philadelphia would be better off with Brett Favre as quarterback instead of Donovan McNabb.\nWhat a profound question.\nWould the 49ers be better if they didn't have a rookie quarterback and no offensive threats?\nWould you have a better grade if you had studied for those tests instead of going out drinking?\nWould the Colts have made the Super Bowl in 2005 if they had won all their playoff games?\nAs ridiculous as these questions seem, they pretty much sum up what Owens was asked -- a hypothetical question that only warranted a hypothetical answer. But it's a question ESPN knew Owens would answer controversially.\nThat's when it occurred to me -- the stories about T.O. pop up every once in a while when everyone thinks the situation is finally under control and has died down. It's ironic that Owens' controversial comments always come when giving an interview. He never calls the local news and tells them he has an important announcement. It's always ESPN tracking him down.\nWhere is Drew Rosenhaus when Owens really needs him? When his commission was on the line while his client was holding out all summer, we saw Rosenhaus on every sports program that exists. But now, when all he needs to do is tell his client to shut up for a couple weeks, he's nowhere to be found.\nWhat troubles me most about this whole situation is the coincidental timing T.O.'s fallouts have with the schedule of the sporting world. During the summer, when midseason baseball was the most exciting event on television, the media had a good three months of material. They captured Owens coming to the Eagles' training facility. They caught his publicity stunt when he did sit-ups in his driveway. \nHow ironic now, that when the Eagles play Sunday night football on ESPN, the news of a brand new, exclusive, shocking interview with Owens is the lead on SportsCenter. \nObviously, the dude has some emotional and social problems, but the media shouldn't use this to its advantage by creating situations to report on. \nBut I guess having some controversial T.O. footage is better at boosting Thursday ratings than the featured Pittsburgh versus Louisville football game.