More Whitlock ... Diss'n on TO and Andy Reid

Kerberos · 01-29-2005, 07:33 AM

By Jason Whitlock
Special to Page 2

There's no way Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie should allow Terrell Owens to attempt his next publicity stunt -- playing in Super Bowl XXXIX on a bum ankle.

No way. The Eagles can't get swept up in the T.O. hype machine. He wants to be Willis Reed and Jack Youngblood rolled into one. I don't blame Owens. He's a competitor. I imagine there's a small part of T.O. that really wants to play in the Super Bowl because he believes he can help the Eagles win. There's a very small part of T.O. that wants to make the same sacrifice as Youngblood, who played in a Super Bowl with a broken bone in his leg.

Hey, T.O. ... start waving a towel and stay on the sideline.

But that small part of T.O. isn't what's driving all the will-he-or-won't-he discussion surrounding his availability. T.O.'s need for attention is driving all the SportsCenter updates and Sal Paolantonio reports. T.O. wants a piece of sports' biggest stage and he'll stop at nothing to get it -- even jeopardizing the rest of his career.

Lurie has to be wiser than T.O. You don't jog on a treadmill one week and stroll across the middle or down the sideline of Rodney Harrison's neighborhood the next week. It's foolish. Harrison shows no mercy. He'd take great pleasure in going medieval on T.O.'s foot.

The Eagles gave Owens a $10 million signing bonus last offseason. This one game isn't worth $10 million, especially when you consider that T.O. at 75 percent won't decide the outcome. He would do little more than provide the Eagles additional inspiration. He can do that in street clothes while standing on the sideline.

I am not bashing T.O. It's cool that in the same playoffs that saw New York Jets defensive end John Abraham not suit up in order to protect his free-agent leverage, Owens is seemingly willing to risk everything. But do you really think he'd risk everything if he was in the last year of his contract and headed for free agency?

Nope. Owens, 31, inked his lifetime achievement contract over the offseason, and he's spent much of this season turning himself into a bigger-than-the-game, endorsement star. Limping on the field and scoring a touchdown in Jacksonville is T.O.'s final self-promotional trick. It would be more talked about than Janet Jackson's lovely exposed breast and Nicollette Sheridan's towel- (and jaw-) dropping "Monday Night Football" performance.

Besides being risky and self-serving, here's what I don't like about T.O.'s stunt.

He's once again overshadowing the game and the real story. We're spending so much time discussing T.O.'s health status that we're not focusing on other, more important story lines. Let me use my favorite Super Bowl XXXIX story line as an example:

You don't get drenched in Gatorade if you're a dummy.

Philly coach Andy Reid isn't getting his proper respect as a football "genius" because he's overweight.

Seriously. Reid's football intellect might be on par with New England's Bill Belichick but no one talks about it because Reid is three bills. Fat coaches never get their due. Ask John Madden or Bill Parcells. Fat coaches are known for their personalities and motivational tactics. You would think Madden, Parcells or Reid never drew a play. Their expertise is in pregame speeches, shouting at players, developing relationships with their "guys," and cracking jokes with the media.

This is a serious issue to me for obvious reasons. I have the double plague of being large and extremely good-looking. No one ever notices the brilliance of my ideas because of my size and looks. When I first started appearing on the "Sports Reporters" six years ago, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News told me that I'd never get credit for the things I said on the show because of my appearance.

"You're nothing more than a sex symbol, hired to attract female viewers," I remember Conlin telling me. "Your words will carry the show, but Lupica, Ryan and Albom will garner the accolades and praise. Rudy Martzke will ignore you."

Conlin was so prophetic. Even here, on Page 2, I asked the editors not to run my picture. I wanted to be judged solely on my words. But corporate bigwigs pressured my editors to at least run my mug shot. (My lawyers shot down an idea to run a picture of me shirtless.)

Jason spends commercial breaks on "The Sports Reporters" chatting with his female fans.

But I digress. This isn't about my struggle to be taken seriously and be known as more than a BBW (big beautiful writer). This is about Andy Reid and other large football coaches. This is about Reid getting what he deserves.

Reid isn't given nearly enough credit for overseeing the development of Donovan McNabb into a legitimate quarterback. Six years ago McNabb was Michael Vick, a tremendous athlete who took the snap from center. McNabb completed 49 percent of his passes his rookie season. Until this year, his career quarterback rating hovered around 79. This year McNabb threw 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, and his QB rating skyrocketed to 104.7. T.O. obviously helped. But McNabb and Reid have navigated through the playoffs without T.O.

Reid, like Belichick, is one of the few NFL coaches who has demonstrated the ability to handle coaching responsibilities, personnel responsibilities and salary-cap responsibilities. Reid is unafraid to let expensive veterans move on. ESPN reported a stat on Wednesday that said a lot about Reid's ability to strategize: He's 9-0 when given two weeks to prepare.

Reid is the total package. No one notices because he's so big and because T.O.'s mouth is even bigger.

Jason Whitlock is a regular columnist for the Kansas City Star. His newspaper is celebrating his 10 years as a columnist with the publishing of Jason's first book, "Love Him, Hate Him: 10 Years of Sports, Passion and Kansas City." It's a collection of Jason's most memorable, thought-provoking and funny columns over the past decade. You can purchase the book at TheKansasCityStore.com. Jason can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

Jason
Whitlock
NO T.O.

Kerberos · 01-29-2005, 08:07 AM

Sorry guys ... I thought these pics attached that were with the article.

NewChief · 01-29-2005, 08:15 AM

How ironic. Whitlock writes a column blasting TO and the media for trying to make the Superbowl story about TO while simultaneously making himself the centerpiece of this column. Nice double standard.

stumppy · 01-29-2005, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rxrider

"You're nothing more than a sex symbol, hired to attract female viewers," I remember Conlin telling me. "Your words will carry the show, but Lupica, Ryan and Albom will garner the accolades and praise. Rudy Martzke will ignore you."

I spit coffee all over my screen when I got to this part.

**the Talking Can** · 01-29-2005, 09:04 AM

he's dead on about TO....

Sure-Oz · 01-29-2005, 09:07 AM

I think he should atleast suit up incase if the docs say there is achance but dont put him in there and if you do, only as a decoy if anything.

Darkwolfe · 01-29-2005, 09:41 AM

I wouldn't sweat it too much. Class 1A case of DUMB from TO. Watch him end his career trying this.

The good side is that if that happens, we don't have to hear any more about later.

**RNR** · 01-29-2005, 10:27 AM

"This is a serious issue to me for obvious reasons. I have the double plague of being large and extremely good-looking. No one ever notices the brilliance of my ideas because of my size and looks. When I first started appearing on the "Sports Reporters" six years ago, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News told me that I'd never get credit for the things I said on the show because of my appearance.

"You're nothing more than a sex symbol, hired to attract female viewers," I remember Conlin telling me. "Your words will carry the show, but Lupica, Ryan and Albom will garner the accolades and praise. Rudy Martzke will ignore you."

Conlin was so prophetic. Even here, on Page 2, I asked the editors not to run my picture. I wanted to be judged solely on my words. But corporate bigwigs pressured my editors to at least run my mug shot. (My lawyers shot down an idea to run a picture of me shirtless.)

Jason spends commercial breaks on "The Sports Reporters" chatting with his female fans.
But I digress. This isn't about my struggle to be taken seriously and be known as more than a BBW (big beautiful writer). This is about Andy Reid and other large football coaches. This is about Reid getting what he deserves."

Is this guy for real? I don't read his articles very often, so maybe this is a on going joke. Ok maybe the girls here will correct me, but I have seen this guy on ESPN, and good looking never entered my mind.

jynni · 01-29-2005, 11:44 AM

Quote:

I think he should atleast suit up incase if the docs say there is achance but dont put him in there and if you do, only as a decoy if anything.

I would TTA. Keep him active and let him suit up. Keep him on the bench for most of the game. Let him go in as a decoy once or twice. TO gets to play in the Big One and no one worries about him getting hurt.

I guess I don't see what the big deal is. Let him suit up. He doesn't even have to play. Just let him be active for the SuperBowl.

el borracho · 01-29-2005, 12:12 PM

New England- 482
Philasmellphia- 0

htismaqe · 01-29-2005, 02:11 PM

Three days ago, TO was the catalyst responsible for infusing the Eagles with the attitude needed to reach the Super Bowl.

Of course, this argument was being used to support his "war" against the Chiefs and defend his position on Ty Law.

**Nzoner** · 01-29-2005, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Three days ago, TO was the catalyst responsible for infusing the Eagles with the attitude needed to reach the Super Bowl.

It worked with Freddie Mitchell,did you see where the dumbass called out Rodney Harrison and then when called on it apologized.

Chiefs Pantalones · 01-29-2005, 02:29 PM

TO will play, but who knows how long he'll last. I hope he's healthy enough to help them out, because I want the Eagles to win, but I think they will lose, though.

Don't take Whitlock seriously, he's not being serious when he types all that stuff about him being a sex symbol, etc. He's just being funny. He's not an idiot. He knows that if he were serious, people would think he's on crack.

TO will play no matter what, though, so I don't see why all the sports writers keep blabbing about it. I know it's a hot story, but you'd think there was something else to write about...

**Rausch** · 01-29-2005, 02:32 PM

TO, arse pipe or not, did as much as any other Eagle this year to get them to the bowl. I honestly believe that TO helped Donovan see what "open" was and "open" wasn't. TO was open, most of the time. He was a huge difference.

There's no need for him to play in this game.

Chiefs Pantalones · 01-29-2005, 02:36 PM

I heard on ESPNnews that TO will be the third WR in their 3 WR sets, with Mitchell and C getting the starting spots.

01-29-2005, 07:33 AM
Kerberos Chiefs Baby Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Henderson, NV Casino cash: $10000632	More Whitlock ... Diss'n on TO and Andy Reid By Jason Whitlock Special to Page 2 There's no way Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie should allow Terrell Owens to attempt his next publicity stunt -- playing in Super Bowl XXXIX on a bum ankle. No way. The Eagles can't get swept up in the T.O. hype machine. He wants to be Willis Reed and Jack Youngblood rolled into one. I don't blame Owens. He's a competitor. I imagine there's a small part of T.O. that really wants to play in the Super Bowl because he believes he can help the Eagles win. There's a very small part of T.O. that wants to make the same sacrifice as Youngblood, who played in a Super Bowl with a broken bone in his leg. Hey, T.O. ... start waving a towel and stay on the sideline. But that small part of T.O. isn't what's driving all the will-he-or-won't-he discussion surrounding his availability. T.O.'s need for attention is driving all the SportsCenter updates and Sal Paolantonio reports. T.O. wants a piece of sports' biggest stage and he'll stop at nothing to get it -- even jeopardizing the rest of his career. Lurie has to be wiser than T.O. You don't jog on a treadmill one week and stroll across the middle or down the sideline of Rodney Harrison's neighborhood the next week. It's foolish. Harrison shows no mercy. He'd take great pleasure in going medieval on T.O.'s foot. The Eagles gave Owens a $10 million signing bonus last offseason. This one game isn't worth $10 million, especially when you consider that T.O. at 75 percent won't decide the outcome. He would do little more than provide the Eagles additional inspiration. He can do that in street clothes while standing on the sideline. I am not bashing T.O. It's cool that in the same playoffs that saw New York Jets defensive end John Abraham not suit up in order to protect his free-agent leverage, Owens is seemingly willing to risk everything. But do you really think he'd risk everything if he was in the last year of his contract and headed for free agency? Nope. Owens, 31, inked his lifetime achievement contract over the offseason, and he's spent much of this season turning himself into a bigger-than-the-game, endorsement star. Limping on the field and scoring a touchdown in Jacksonville is T.O.'s final self-promotional trick. It would be more talked about than Janet Jackson's lovely exposed breast and Nicollette Sheridan's towel- (and jaw-) dropping "Monday Night Football" performance. Besides being risky and self-serving, here's what I don't like about T.O.'s stunt. He's once again overshadowing the game and the real story. We're spending so much time discussing T.O.'s health status that we're not focusing on other, more important story lines. Let me use my favorite Super Bowl XXXIX story line as an example: You don't get drenched in Gatorade if you're a dummy. Philly coach Andy Reid isn't getting his proper respect as a football "genius" because he's overweight. Seriously. Reid's football intellect might be on par with New England's Bill Belichick but no one talks about it because Reid is three bills. Fat coaches never get their due. Ask John Madden or Bill Parcells. Fat coaches are known for their personalities and motivational tactics. You would think Madden, Parcells or Reid never drew a play. Their expertise is in pregame speeches, shouting at players, developing relationships with their "guys," and cracking jokes with the media. This is a serious issue to me for obvious reasons. I have the double plague of being large and extremely good-looking. No one ever notices the brilliance of my ideas because of my size and looks. When I first started appearing on the "Sports Reporters" six years ago, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News told me that I'd never get credit for the things I said on the show because of my appearance. "You're nothing more than a sex symbol, hired to attract female viewers," I remember Conlin telling me. "Your words will carry the show, but Lupica, Ryan and Albom will garner the accolades and praise. Rudy Martzke will ignore you." Conlin was so prophetic. Even here, on Page 2, I asked the editors not to run my picture. I wanted to be judged solely on my words. But corporate bigwigs pressured my editors to at least run my mug shot. (My lawyers shot down an idea to run a picture of me shirtless.) Jason spends commercial breaks on "The Sports Reporters" chatting with his female fans. But I digress. This isn't about my struggle to be taken seriously and be known as more than a BBW (big beautiful writer). This is about Andy Reid and other large football coaches. This is about Reid getting what he deserves. Reid isn't given nearly enough credit for overseeing the development of Donovan McNabb into a legitimate quarterback. Six years ago McNabb was Michael Vick, a tremendous athlete who took the snap from center. McNabb completed 49 percent of his passes his rookie season. Until this year, his career quarterback rating hovered around 79. This year McNabb threw 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, and his QB rating skyrocketed to 104.7. T.O. obviously helped. But McNabb and Reid have navigated through the playoffs without T.O. Reid, like Belichick, is one of the few NFL coaches who has demonstrated the ability to handle coaching responsibilities, personnel responsibilities and salary-cap responsibilities. Reid is unafraid to let expensive veterans move on. ESPN reported a stat on Wednesday that said a lot about Reid's ability to strategize: He's 9-0 when given two weeks to prepare. Reid is the total package. No one notices because he's so big and because T.O.'s mouth is even bigger. Jason Whitlock is a regular columnist for the Kansas City Star. His newspaper is celebrating his 10 years as a columnist with the publishing of Jason's first book, "Love Him, Hate Him: 10 Years of Sports, Passion and Kansas City." It's a collection of Jason's most memorable, thought-provoking and funny columns over the past decade. You can purchase the book at TheKansasCityStore.com. Jason can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] Jason Whitlock NO T.O. Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 5,638

01-29-2005, 08:07 AM	#2
Kerberos Chiefs Baby Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Henderson, NV Casino cash: $10000632	Sorry guys ... I thought these pics attached that were with the article. Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 5,638

01-29-2005, 08:15 AM	#3
NewChief In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Fayetteville, AR Casino cash: $7160204	How ironic. Whitlock writes a column blasting TO and the media for trying to make the Superbowl story about TO while simultaneously making himself the centerpiece of this column. Nice double standard. __________________ In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. - H. L. Mencken
Posts: 21,845

01-29-2005, 09:04 AM	#5
the Talking Can Supporter Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: street Casino cash: $9172208	he's dead on about TO.... __________________ Clark Hunt: "Thank god for the Dominican pool boy"
Posts: 51,585

01-29-2005, 09:41 AM	#7
Darkwolfe A shadow with LARGE teeth Join Date: Sep 2004 Casino cash: $10004900	I wouldn't sweat it too much. Class 1A case of DUMB from TO. Watch him end his career trying this. The good side is that if that happens, we don't have to hear any more about later. __________________ *I ain't gonna give up yet!*
Posts: 503

01-29-2005, 10:27 AM	#8
RNR America is great assholes~ Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: In some people's mind~ Casino cash: $10027990	"This is a serious issue to me for obvious reasons. I have the double plague of being large and extremely good-looking. No one ever notices the brilliance of my ideas because of my size and looks. When I first started appearing on the "Sports Reporters" six years ago, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News told me that I'd never get credit for the things I said on the show because of my appearance. "You're nothing more than a sex symbol, hired to attract female viewers," I remember Conlin telling me. "Your words will carry the show, but Lupica, Ryan and Albom will garner the accolades and praise. Rudy Martzke will ignore you." Conlin was so prophetic. Even here, on Page 2, I asked the editors not to run my picture. I wanted to be judged solely on my words. But corporate bigwigs pressured my editors to at least run my mug shot. (My lawyers shot down an idea to run a picture of me shirtless.) Jason spends commercial breaks on "The Sports Reporters" chatting with his female fans. But I digress. This isn't about my struggle to be taken seriously and be known as more than a BBW (big beautiful writer). This is about Andy Reid and other large football coaches. This is about Reid getting what he deserves." Is this guy for real? I don't read his articles very often, so maybe this is a on going joke. Ok maybe the girls here will correct me, but I have seen this guy on ESPN, and good looking never entered my mind. __________________ The Trump campaign and Black Lives Matter movement are perfect for each other. Both sides filled with easily led and angry nitwits convinced they are victims~
Posts: 31,085

01-29-2005, 12:12 PM	#10
el borracho In Pat We Trust Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Albuquerque, NM Casino cash: $2519148	New England- 482 Philasmellphia- 0
Posts: 12,276

01-29-2005, 02:11 PM	#11
htismaqe 'Tis my eye! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Chiefsplanet Casino cash: $8109900	Three days ago, TO was the catalyst responsible for infusing the Eagles with the attitude needed to reach the Super Bowl. Of course, this argument was being used to support his "war" against the Chiefs and defend his position on Ty Law.
Posts: 104,421

01-29-2005, 02:29 PM	#13
Chiefs Pantalones GO CHIEFS!!!!!! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $6868717	TO will play, but who knows how long he'll last. I hope he's healthy enough to help them out, because I want the Eagles to win, but I think they will lose, though. Don't take Whitlock seriously, he's not being serious when he types all that stuff about him being a sex symbol, etc. He's just being funny. He's not an idiot. He knows that if he were serious, people would think he's on crack. TO will play no matter what, though, so I don't see why all the sports writers keep blabbing about it. I know it's a hot story, but you'd think there was something else to write about... __________________ Don't be fooled by my username, I'm white.
Posts: 26,653

01-29-2005, 02:36 PM	#15
Chiefs Pantalones GO CHIEFS!!!!!! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $6868717	I heard on ESPNnews that TO will be the third WR in their 3 WR sets, with Mitchell and C getting the starting spots. __________________ Don't be fooled by my username, I'm white.
Posts: 26,653