WANT TO clear a jammed Lincoln Financial Field in record time? Just unleash a one-man tornado warning named Terrell Owens on the Eagles' secondary. The joint was so empty by take-a-knee time the other night that NBC's John Madden observed, "There's not enough fans left in here for a boo."
T.O. is headed for another Pro Bowl, which could come shortly after he appears in his second Super Bowl. The Eagles are swirling downward in a bowl of a different kind.
There is a deep-rooted Cycle of Stupid that has undermined the relationship of some of the town's professional sports franchises with a number of their best and brightest stars. By definition, the cycle is set in motion when a sports team is forced to move a highly skilled athlete for reasons of economics, miscalculation or inept problem solving.
"Our Way or the Highway" might rate high on the list of locker-room slogans, but it went out of style around the time free agency became a way of life and powerhouse sports agents became middlemen with muscle.
Well, by God, the Phillies really showed Curt Schilling who was boss, didn't they? Dave Montgomery hit the ground running with that one. Guy doesn't like our "commitment" to winning and takes his gripes to the media? Seeya. Besides flashing some of baseball's thinnest skin, the firm of Montgomery Wade also trusted the opinion of the crack medical staff. Schilling's troublesome labrum would lead to more DL time and surgeries down the road.
Schill went on being Schill in Arizona and Boston, alternately promoting himself and the genuinely magnificent work he and wife Shonda do on behalf of ALS research. The guy just won his third World Series ring. And if the soon-to-be 41-year-old righthander is willing to work on a 1-year deal, the same Dave Montgomery who toed a line in the sand before the 2000 trade deadline apparently will pay him handsomely, although a deal to return to Boston appears to be in the works.
So that's three rings for Schill. One for Scott Rolen, a multiple All-Star and Gold Glover who has now played in 32 postseason games. The Yankees just picked up Bobby Abreu's expensive option. The Phillies got who for him? Phillies-spurner J.D. Drew is an overpaid underachiever, but he has his Series ring, as well, and played up a storm last month.
