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Just Say No to T.O.

A lot of people (OK, 2, maybe 3) are probably wondering how I feel about Terrell Owens signing with the Eagles today.

As a Ravens fan, this deal totally sucks. The Ravens got completely screwed. They got their 2nd round pick back, and got a 5th round pick from the Eagles. Believing their trade with the 49ers was valid, the Ravens thought they had the receiver they desperately need, and thus didn't pursue any of the other free agent wide receivers -- Darrel Jackson, David Boston, and Justin McCarreins, to name a few. Now they are left holding the bag as the Eagles get Owens, and the free agent market has dried up.

And to boot, the 49ers get a player (Brandon Whiting) out of this deal. This makes even less sense to me. There are two scenarios: The 49ers either acted in good faith, or didn't, when making the trade with Baltimore. At best they are grossly incompetent for not knowing how to read a $#@!$#@ contract (which they wrote!). At worst, they maliciously tried to get back at Terrell Owens by trading him to a team they knew he didn't want to go to. In either case, they have no business being rewarded with a player.

But make no mistake about it, I will not miss seeing Terrell Owens in Ravens purple one bit. The moment he opened his arrogant, stupid mouth and said, "Mommy, I don't wanna play for Baltimore!" I said, "We need to get rid of this asshole." (Just Say No to T.O.!) As for the Eagles, it just got much harder for me to root for the Eagles. It's unfortunate because I really like Donovon McNabb and some of the other players on the Eagles. But T.O. is such a selfish punk that I don't know if I can root for him. When the Ravens and Eagles meet this season, I hope the Ravens beat T.O. (if the coward even plays against us) 44-6 just like the Ravens beat T.O.'s old team last season.

Some other random asides:

I was walking to lunch from my office at work yesterday. About a block away, I saw a modest gathering of cameras, microphones, and reporters. They were all hanging around and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then it hit me: I was standing outside one of the University of Pennsylvania Law School buildings. Inside the NFL and Players Union were arguging their cases to arbitrator Steve Burbank. I heard one of the reporters say that they were expected out any minute. So I figured, "What the heck" and stuck around. First came out some guy that I didn't recognize at the time. It later turned out that he was Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer for the Players Union. In fact, I was standing right next to the photographer who took this picture as he was taking it. Anyway, after that Gene Upshaw, director of the players union, came out looking all spiffy in his three piece suit. Quite a tall fellow, that Gene Upshaw. Then I went and bought a gyro and went back to work.

Do you think Dennis Northcutt's agent is checking his contract right now for some special clauses?

Will the Ravens please sign Warren Sapp already??