TO in Purgatory

[WilliamPitt]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2234834

Decision leaves Owens waiting for '06 release
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Among the many talents of arbitrator Richard Bloch is sleight of hand. And so it was on Wednesday, as a legion of NFL pundits suggested Bloch would reduce the suspension of Terrell Owens and order him returned to the active roster immediately, the independent arbitrator ruled against T.O., opting for prestidigitation over presumption.

Just like that, poof, the Philadelphia Eagles' recalcitrant wideout has disappeared for the rest of this season. And there isn't any abracadabra formula or purportedly righteous recourse left for the often misguided crusaders at the NFL Players Association to turn to now for relief.

Sometimes, it seems, not even the mighty collective bargaining agreement is enough to overturn common sense. The NFLPA weaseled Owens out of one tough spot in the spring of '04, as the union was key in having his trade to the Baltimore Ravens voided, and then helped broker the agreement that sent the talented but tainted wide receiver to the Eagles in a three-franchise swap.

After the ruling Wednesday, though, the NFLPA is batting just .500 for Owens. As for Owens, well, he's out of the lineup, and out of luck, at least for a few more months. The ruling is binding and cannot be overturned.

(snip)

Sometimes, it seems, you've got to admit when an experiment fails. Wouldn't Dr. Frankenstein have been a lot better off had he never zapped that lightning bolt into his creation? There are occasions when a move blows up that one is better served to break out a handkerchief, wipe off the mess and move on. On Wednesday, the Eagles brass washed its hands of the Owens fiasco.

And did so with the endorsement of an independent arbitrator.

As for Bloch, he demonstrated again that attempting to read his tea leaves is an exercise in the murkiness of his magic. The popular perception, after last Friday's hearing dragged on for 14 hours, was that such a ponderous proceeding did not bode well for the Eagles organization.

Wednesday afternoon, one Eagles official noted smugly that tea-readers had failed to allow for even the remote possibility that the case against Owens was so considerable -- remember, the team has been amassing a dossier of his disruptiveness since the spring, with every incident fastidiously detailed -- that it took 14 hours simply to get through the massive body of evidence.

Fourteen hours, though, will seem like nothing to Owens, given that he now faces an hourglass through which the sands will filter slowly before he gets back on the field again.

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