O where will T.O. Go?

In following one of my absolute favorite sports venues, I'm forced once again to hear of the repetitive problem within the NFL known to the world as T.O. Did it catch any of us by surprise that this season would not pass without some drama that generates seemingly from every team T.O. finds himself on? Did it catch any of us off guard that he would indeed find himself without an NFL home at the end of the 2009 season?

Although I will be the first to admit that he is a talented player and still capable of playing several more years barring any substantial injury, but how much are most teams willing to pay an over sized ego who can't ever seem to admit that he is human and subject to having a bad day. How many teams will he go through or be a active member of, only to find himself at the center of attention because he has openly criticized coaching staff and fellow players for his short-comings. At some point you have to wonder what is most beneficial to a team, an average player that plays hard on every play, comes to all mandatory practices and team meetings, a player who is not considered the "creme of the crop" but willing to work hard to be a team player and improve mentally and physically to help his team. Or do we continue to see bidding over a player who is above average in talent but basically makes everyone cringe at the idea of him being on the team. A player that is so arrogant that just his very presence causes other players and coaching staff alike to keep their guard up as you never know when he will throw a tantrum and blame everyone else for the lack of adequate strokes to his ego.

The following was a direct quote of the sports reporter who covered his recent partings with Dallas:

"If one thing has been borne out during Owens's tumultuous career it's that the teams he alienates were better off while he was alienating them than they were without him.

While Owens was with the Niners they had five 10-win seasons in eight years. But a record-setting 20-reception game and an impossible playoff-game-winning TD catch hardly mattered when the organization decided it didn't need someone in the locker room questioning the sexual orientation of the Pro Bowl quarterback. In the five years since T.O. left (it must feel like 15 to San Francisco fans), the Niners have gone 25-55 (.313) with zero 10-win seasons.

In Owens's first season in Philadelphia the Eagles went 13-3 in 2004, the highest win total of Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb's eternal bridesmaid careers. The Eagles were 13-1 when Owens broke his leg — courtesy of a Roy Williams horse collar — in Week 15. They lost their last two regular-season games without him."

So with such stats as noted above, what prevents T.O. from being a "team player"? Has he still not learned that he is not a "one man team"? How many more NFL teams will risk stability of the team to try and accommodate this guy? Is he not the poster child for a spoiled grown man who has had opportunity that millions of young players would love to have and only to disgrace and embarrass himself and every team he finds himself a member of? How many times have we shook our heads at the astronomical amount of money some players make only to find that when the playoffs arrive that team is not one of the top teams to play and their featured player has been the headline for legal problems or problems getting along with other team mates.

If you were the owner of an NFL team would you be willing to pay him millions of dollars only to take on the headache that comes with his mere presence? When will enough be enough?

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