Headlines

It’s time again to take a stroll through the sports headlines and see what is interesting and what needs to be commented on. Here we go.

Owens apologizes to Eagles, McNabb and fans

MOORESTOWN, N.J. (AP) -- For once, Terrell Owens put aside his pride, admitted he was wrong and pleaded for a second chance with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The team appeared unmoved.
A contrite Owens, hoping to overturn his dismissal from the Eagles, on Tuesday apologized to coach Andy Reid, quarterback Donovan McNabb, the team's owner and president, and fans.
``The mentality that I have, my greatest strength can also be my greatest weakness,'' Owens said, reading a statement outside his house. ``I'm a fighter. I've always been and I'll always be. I fight for what I think is right. In doing so, I alienated a lot of my fans and my teammates.''
``This is very painful for me to be in this position,'' he said. ``I know in my heart that I can help the team win the Super Bowl and not only be a dominant player, but also be a team player. I can bring that.''
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Owens made a public apology in hopes of returning to the Eagles immediately.

You have to give Owens credit for doing what needed to be done and saying what needed to be said. Unfortunately it was too little too late for Owens! His career in Philly is over because you just can’t go back and rebuild those bridges.

The best part of the press conference was when Rosenhaus took the mike. He came in guns-a-blazin. I almost had the feeling like I was watching the old WWF, he could have been saying, “When T.O. and I step into that squared circle we are going to break the backs of McNabb and Reid,” and I would have thought we were looking at a tag team match.

It was great to hear him say about his star client, “I love this man and I will always stand behind him.” That’s great Drew why don’t you actually give him some good advice for once? Why don’t you tell him to just shut up and earn you some money with his play, in fact why don’t you show him how to shut up by modeling it?

Rosenhaus and Owens shot a hole in the floor and are now riding the sinking ship all the way down. My absolute favorite was when a reporter asks Rosenhaus, “What have you done for T.O. other than getting him kicked off the team?” If you get a chance to see the video again look at T.O.’s reaction to that question, it’s very entertaining.

Phillies pitcher Urbina held pending formal charge of attempted murder
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ugueth Urbina was arrested and held Tuesday pending a formal charge of attempted murder.
Last month, Urbina and a group of men allegedly attacked five workers with machetes and poured gasoline on them in an attempt to set them on fire. All five were injured, some of them with cuts and one with burns on the back and right arm, police said.
Urbina, who was detained late Monday, has insisted he had nothing to do with the violence at his family's ranch Oct. 16.

Here is your basic every day headline from the world of psycho professional baseball pitchers. I can hear the spring training locker room conversation. “I took a great vacation to my own private island during the off season. What did you do, Uqueth?” “Ummm, I attacked some guys with a machete and tried to catch them on fire.”

MSU's Croom takes exception to Alabama's play
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom isn't impressed by his alma mater's class -- or its talent.
Croom, whose Bulldogs were beaten 17-0 by No. 4 Alabama last weekend, spoke to the Huntsville Quarterback Club Monday night.
The former Crimson Tide All-American was asked what about unbeaten Alabama impressed him the least.
``I didn't think they played with as much class as Alabama teams usually do,'' Croom said. ``All that bumping and some of the other little things they did between plays ... I wasn't impressed with that at all.
``They've got good schemes and they're well-coached and they play hard. But some of those little things may catch up with them at some point.''

I don’t have a team that can beat them but if I did we would be better at beating them than they are at beating us. Give me a break! This is football, you are supposed to bump and push and intimidate. Alabama is undefeated Sylvester, until you get there we don’t want to hear how your team would play if…

College Basketball Officially Under Way

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Even though No. 16 Syracuse was sloppy in its season-opener, Bethune-Cookman was no match for the Orange's smothering defense.
Terrence Roberts had 15 points, Demetris Nichols added 11, and Syracuse beat the Wildcats 68-37 in the first round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic on Tuesday night. It was the fewest points allowed by Syracuse since an 84-37 victory over South Carolina on Jan. 24, 1998.
``Defensively, we did a good job, as well as you could expect at this stage of the year,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. ``We really helped each other. Our inside guys did a nice job. We really didn't give them too many open looks. We were very good.''

Kudos to Boeheim for not getting ejected in this game, I guess it takes two games to get back to ribbing the refs in a way that allows you to watch your team play from the sidelines and not the locker-room.

Rudd to walk away
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- After 31 seasons and 786 consecutive starts, Ricky Rudd is just about done racing.
Rudd said Tuesday he's stepping aside from full-time Nextel Cup racing after this season, bringing an end to an ``Iron Man'' streak of starts that began in 1981.
``I have not taken a vacation or sick day in nearly 30 years of racing, and with my contract with the Wood Brothers expiring at the end of this race season, it seemed like the perfect time to step back and take a break,'' Rudd said.

Rudd will make his 787th consecutive Cup start this week at Phoenix International Raceway. He became NASCAR's reigning ``Ironman'' when he broke Terry Labonte's record of 655 consecutive starts in 2002.
Rudd will forever be recognized as a symbol of NASCAR's earlier days, when drivers struggled to break into the top series, and once there did everything possible to race each weekend. It meant fighting through every ache and pain, broken bone or torn muscle to get behind the wheel.
``The early years were real tough -- we raced when we could scrape up enough money to race, which was not very often in the beginning,'' he said. ``We traveled all around the country in a pickup truck pulling an open trailer with one racecar.
``We slept five or six to a hotel room, tore down engines in the hotel room, ate more fast food than I care to remember, but somehow made it work. I will always be grateful to my family, who had enough faith in me to spend all those years trying to put together a race team.''

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