When Pro Football Hall of Fame voters meet the day before the Super Bowl to choose the Class of 2018 Deion Sanders Jersey Limited , the decision to select Terrell Owens should take less time than it does to microwave a bag of popcorn.
T.O. belongs in Canton. It’s a no-brainer.
Owens is second to Jerry Rice in all-time receiving yards and third in touchdown catches behind Rice and Randy Moss, a finalist in his first year of eligibility.
No. 81 was a five-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowl pick and of the most entertaining players of his generation.
Owens deserved first-ballot induction. Case closed. Yet, he’s been snubbed twice because voters are punishing him for his off-field and locker room ”antics” during a sensational 15-year career.
But there is no ”character clause” for the Pro Football Hall of Fame – and that’s not saying Owens should fail it.
Owens was never arrested nor suspended by the NFL. He didn’t have legal issues or drug problems.
Still, he’s been kept out because of questionable behavior and the perception he was a malcontent.
Sure, Owens often spoke his mind and sometimes got under the skin of teammates and coaches. He threw some of his quarterbacks – Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo – under a rapidly moving bus. He also defended Romo from criticism and famously cried once while doing it.
Owens should be judged for his value on the field. He made every one of the five teams he played for better. He wasn’t the perfect teammate and he was disruptive at times, but when he stepped on the field, he was exceptional and durable.
Owens only missed 12 games in his long career, plus the nine he didn’t play in 2005 after Andy Reid kicked him off the Philadelphia Eagles following a nasty feud with McNabb and a dispute with management over a new contract.
That came only several months after Owens helped McNabb have his best season, then heroically returned from ankle surgery – against doctor’s orders – to play in the Super Bowl. Owens would’ve been MVP of that game against the New England Patriots if McNabb didn’t throw three interceptions in the 24-21 loss.
Anyone who covered the T.O. circus in Philadelphia and the aftermath knows Owens wasn’t solely to blame for the way things went down. McNabb was overly sensitive and didn’t like all the attention Owens received. McNabb was booed by Eagles fans at the 1999 draft and he never forgot it. The same fans embraced Owens from the second he arrived in Philadelphia after eight seasons in San Francisco. More than 20,000 people went to see his first practice of 2004 training camp at Lehigh University. That led to jealousy issues with McNabb that final escalated a year later.
After things got ugly in Philly Breeland Speaks Youth Jersey , the locker room was divided between McNabb supporters and Owens supporters. If the mess was entirely Owens’ fault, some of the well-respected veterans who sided with him wouldn’t have done so.
But it was easier for Reid to dismiss a 32-year-old receiver who wanted more money than a 28-year-old franchise quarterback who never ruffled any feathers.
Owens ended up in Dallas and had three excellent seasons with the Cowboys before he wore out his welcome. He played one year in Buffalo and one more in Cincinnati.
Those who argue that Owens bounced around the league because teams couldn’t wait to get rid of him should consider that Rice played for three clubs, and Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton also played for five. Lofton is on the 48-member selection committee and voted for Owens last year.
This really shouldn’t be a difficult decision. It certainly doesn’t compare to the steroid dilemma Major League Baseball Hall of Fame voters face each year.
Terrell Owens is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and earned the right to receive a gold jacket.
When he finally puts one on, getcha popcorn ready because it’ll be the most must-see induction speech ever.
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LeBron James made the first move. Now what?
Cleveland? Los Angeles? Philadelphia? A surprise?
Stay tuned. Decision III is this summer’s blockbuster, and it’s coming soon.
James told the Cavaliers that he is not exercising his $35.6 million contract option for next season and will become an unrestricted free agent, two people familiar with the decision told the Associated Press.
The decision to decline the option for 2018-19 was expected by James because it gives him more options, which includes him re-signing with the Cavs, who can offer him the most money – a five-year, $209 million contract. James can also sign a short-term deal with Cleveland, something he has done each year since returning in 2014.
James had until 11:59 p.m. to express his intentions to the Cavs and his agent Rich Paul informed the team in the morning.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – The deadline for Kevin Durant to opt into his contract with the Warriors for next season passed without him doing so, making the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP a free agent – yet his intention has always been to stay put and re-sign with Golden State.
Much like a year ago Sean Lee Jersey Womens , Durant declined to opt in for the second year of his deal, allowing him to work on a more lucrative contract once the signing period begins Saturday night.
Durant only had to inform the Warriors if he planned to opt in, and the team had long been prepared for this move – merely a procedural decision – knowing his plans for months.
The 29-year-old Durant could sign for as many as four years and about $160 million. He has made clear all along his commitment to the Warriors, especially after winning a pair of championships in his first two seasons with Golden State.
DALLAS (AP) – The Dallas Mavericks are making another run at DeAndre Jordan, three years after the center jilted them in free agency to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jordan has opted out of the final year of that contract he signed with LA in 2015, and the Mavericks intend to pursue him as an unrestricted free agent, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.
Dallas also intends to decline the $5 million club option on Dirk Nowitzki’s contract and re-sign him once its salary structure is more settled, the person told the AP. The move on Nowitzki is designed to create more room under the salary cap, as were the decisions to rescind qualifying offers to shooting guard Doug McDermott and center Salah Mejri, making both unrestricted free agents.
NHL
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) – When Barry Trotz resigned, the Washington Capitals didn’t even bother with a coaching search.
There was only one candidate and he got the job.
Top assistant Todd Reirden will take over the Stanley Cup-champion Capitals M.J. Stewart Buccaneers Jersey , promoted from the bench in a move that allows Washington to maintain a sense of continuity. Reirden coached the defensemen the past four seasons, was a finalist for another NHL head job two years ago, earned a promotion to associate coach and played a substantial role in the first championship in franchise history.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan hopes promoting Reirden from within will allow the team to ”transition seamlessly into next season and beyond.”
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) – Defenseman Drew Doughty has agreed to an eight-year, $88 million contract extension through the 2026-27 season to stay with the Los Angeles Kings.
After cracking the Kings’ roster as an 18-year-old, Doughty has been among the NHL’s top defensemen throughout a 10-year career spent entirely with the Kings.
He won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2016. As an aggressive, skilled two-way blueliner, he has been a finalist for the award in three other seasons – including 2017-18, when he scored a career-high 60 points while playing in all 82 games for the fourth consecutive season.
Doughty played a major role in the Kings’ Stanley Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2014, and he also has two Olympic gold medals from playing for Canada.
GOLF
POTOMAC, Md. (AP) – Beau Hossler has been hanging around the lead on the weekend in search of his first PGA Tour victory, and he gets another chance at the Quicken Loans National.
So does Tiger Woods.
Hossler Brian O'Neill Vikings Jersey , the 23-year-old in his first full year on the tour, birdied four of his last five holes and finished with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 18 for a 4-under 66, giving him a share of the lead with Ryan Armour and Brian Gay.
Armour (65) and Gay (64) each made short birdies on the par-3 ninth hole to finish their rounds and tie for lead.
Woods finished a steamy morning on the TPC Potomac at Avenel with two pars that felt just as big. On a day in which he made seven birdies – all but two of them from 15 feet or longer – Woods didn’t let a good round go to waste at the end. He saved par from the bunker on the eighth and ninths holes for a 65.
KILDEER, Ill. (AP) – Lydia Ko birdied the first hole and just kept rolling from there – all the way into contention for another major victory.
Ko shot a 6-under 66 in the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to move two strokes off the lead. The 21-year-old New Zealander shook off an opening 74 at Kemper Lakes to reach 4 under and give herself a shot to win her third major.
First-round leader Sung Hyun Park (72), 2016 winner Brooke Henderson (71) and So Yeon Ryu (69) were tied for the lead at 6-under 138. Carlota Ciganda (69) was one stroke back, with Ko, Moriya Jutanugarn (72) and Annie Park (69) at 4 under in the third of the LPGA Tour’s five majors.