T.O. wonders why he’s still unsigned
Terrell Owens can’t figure out why he hasn’t gotten any offers to play this season. After all, he says, you don’t see him acting foolish like some of the other NFL “golden boys.”
NEW YORK » Terrell Owens would like to point out that he’s never been disciplined by the NFL for off-field conduct, unlike some of the league’s "golden boys."
No team has yet to sign him as a free agent, and the polarizing receiver worries they’re swayed by the perception he’s a troublemaker. A perception he believes he disproved with his agreeable behavior in Buffalo during a disappointing season last year.
"There were a number of times where prior I probably would have reacted, said something I wasn’t supposed to say," Owens said yesterday. "I really had some restraint, very patient."
Did any owners notice?
"It’s almost like I didn’t play last year," he lamented.
Training camps open for veterans in about two weeks, but Owens sounded as though he may even prefer waiting to sign until after the start of the preseason. The 36-year-old promises he’ll make sure to be in excellent shape. And like many players he believes camp is too long, anyway.
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"Anything can happen from now to the beginning of the season," he said. "Injuries, anything, to where I may be brought in to help a team win."
As long as he signs early enough "to get some rhythm, some chemistry, learn the offense, and develop that camaraderie with the guys."
"It’s not like I can’t play," Owens added. "There is some type of influence that they’re making in the minds of teams and owners and GMs."
"Some of the golden boys that they kind of highlight throughout the course of the season, those are the guys that are getting in trouble," Owens said. "Somehow I get lumped into those topics, which blows my mind.
"I’ve never been in any trouble. I know right from wrong. I try to make the right choices and judgments when I’m out in the public."
Report: Tomlin extended
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers have given coach Mike Tomlin a three-year contract extension.
Terms were not available.
Tomlin had one year and an option left on his 5-year deal, which was worth about $2.5 million annually.
L.T. pleads not guilty
Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor pleaded not guilty yesterday in New City, N.Y., to an indictment that alleges he had sex with a 16-year-old girl.
The former NFL star allegedly paid $300 to the girl, a Bronx runaway, for their encounter in May.
