T.O is who we thought he was!!

Terrell Owens has given all of us a reason to watch TV. Whether it’s because he had just bashed a teammate in the media, did a scripted routine after a touchdown, outside giving an interview while doing sit-ups with his shirt off or just for crying out, “that’s my quarterback.” T.O, as he’s known affectionately by friends, fans and the NFL, has dominated the league over his 15 year career. T.O has been better than any other receiver in the NFL except for his idol, Jerry Rice. He was granted the opportunity to learn from him as a young player in the NFL. T.O took the good from Jerry, his work ethic and approach to the game. But what’s not widely accepted is that Jerry also gave T.O that “ME” attitude. We forget that Jerry Rice never really discussed team often, he talked about his goals, his job and what he needed to do. This isn’t just reserved to Jerry Rice, most of the greatest athletes possessed the attitude, “if I can’t do it, no one can.” Michael Jordan was able to hide this from the public his entire career until his famous Hall of Fame speech. But, the media and fans call that being competitive. T.O celebrated in a way that offended fans, media, and opponents on plenty of occasions. His brash and brut opinions often sent the media and fans reeling. This does more to affect the way fans and the media feel about the player than the team. On the inside of a team, no one really cares. Of course you have the sensitive guys, usually QB’s and some corner backs, but for the rest of the guys, it’s about winning. Usually when T.O comments were made, the team was losing. This was definitely why his comments were always sensationalized. For instance, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs is complaining about his role on the team. The media is widely ignoring it. Why? The New York Giants are winning and Jacobs doesn’t go by the name of T.O. Terell Suggs, just called out his entire offense and the Baltimore Ravens offensive staff, ignored again. What about Sanantonio Holmes offensive comments about the offensive line, quickly brushed under the rug after the Jets have won 2 games in a row. Owens has made these same sorts of comments in San Fransico, Dallas, and the most famed in Philadelphia. These opinions have been the truth according to T.O and although we may not yet be considering him for first team All- Nostradamus, he has been right a lot. He felt like the 49ers were nothing without him. Well they haven’t had a winning season since his departure. He felt like he wasn’t the reason for the Cowboys inability to get into the playoffs and win. Well it looks like everyone in Big D now knows who the real problem is except for owner Jerry Jones. And lastly, his comments about McNabb have been true if we compare it to T.O relentless approach to the game. Terell Owens is a man who came back from a broken leg to be the most dominate player in the Super Bowl in about two months. He also has come back from a torn ACL in 6 months, and looks better at thirty-eight years old than about 80% of the receivers in the NFL. Should T.O be blamed for not biting his tongue? T.O has made himself into a future Hall of Famer and may have ended his career in manner that would greatly be appreciated by Frank Sinatra. T.O would say, “I did it “My Way.”

NO Kobe,Lebron,Wade or Barkley

The NBA is quickly headed into a lockout and fans are upset about the ramifications. The superstars of the NBA won’t be floating through our 3-d laden living rooms to the basket for monster slams. The three point shot of Ray Allen won’t be breaking the backs of teams down the stretch in the 4^th quarter. It will be harder to emulate one of Kobe’s new moves without having the clear televised view. My game will struggle trying to use moves in these charity games having to solely depend on YouTube and its constant loading and its choppy at best picture quality. And worst of all, how can we survive without hearing Charles Barkley? You know, when Sir Charles listens to Kenny and Ernie has a conversation and then ignores them and completely talks about a different topic. Or he’ll all out create a hate campaign on an owner, player, general manager, referee, media member, or even a fan. No one’s safe from Sir Charles. All of this because of a lockout, what’s it all about. Well the owners made a bad deal in 1995 and 2005. In it they gave the players the right to make 56% of ALL of the NBA’s revenue. This put the NBA in a bad spot because teams that weren’t in well supported markets with lucrative TV deals weren’t able to cash in. David Stern (NBA commissioner) said that 22 out of 30 teams in the NBA are losing money. NBPA president Billy Hunter believes that number is really about 8. Why are NBA teams losing money at all? The reason is owners don’t share their money like in the NFL. NFL owners have practiced revenue sharing as a tool for decades and it has kept their league very lucrative. Basketball owners haven’t used this tactic and it has come up to bite them. Instead of using this smarter business plan, they’re individual greed is bankrupting their league. David Stern points the finger solely at the players to get liquidity back into the purses of ownership; however their problem may be solved themselves. The players should and are willing to give a percentage back to ownership, but owners for now seem to want wholesale changes. The owners want to garner majority of ALL NBA profits. They also want a hard cap. A hard cap will force every team to only spend a certain amount of money across the board like in the NFL, and is what helps create parody in their league. This means they don’t want teams like Miami to be able to exist. They want every team to have a superstar. The NBA forgets that their league was built to have major market teams dominate their league. If you think of NBA Champions, only a few markets matter, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Texas. Kobe, Lebron, Wade or Barkley, please, can any of you get us out this mess.

defense

defense?

Gone are the days when "defense won games and offense sold tickets." Irrelevant is the slogan, "offense wins games and defense wins championships." Today's game is a complete offensive game regardless of new or old rules. Coaches have figured out if they can score a lot of points, they can win. Only 3 out of the last 11 years has the NFL team with the worst offense won the Super Bowl. Case and point, one of the favorites to win this years Super Bowl is the New England Patriots. They are #1 in the league on offense and last in the league on defense. To add insult to injury , they are coached by a future hall of fame coach who is known for his defensive brilliance. It's far to easy to slice and dice through defenses that play with a bend but don't break mentality. There's only about 5 defenses every year that possess the kind of pride that Mean Joe Greene and Jack Tatum would appreciate. After that, defenses feel like if they can limit an offense then, they played well. Fans constantly cheer for their offenses and then look in total horror as their defense takes the field afraid they'll give up the big play. Far too often it just seems as though the losing team just ran out of time. Where's the D-E-F-E-N-C-E?

NFL week 6

ATL@Carolina

T.Brady,D.Brees, A.Roodgers, and Cam Newton, the list of the best QB's in the league. No, but they are the league leaders in passing yardage. Cam Newton has electrified the Panthers offense and given hope to a once ready to be traded, Steve Smith. The Falcons have struggled, Roddy White isn't the same receiver he has been.Matt Ryan isn't the super QB the Falcons thought either. If they're smart they'll give the Panthers a heavy dose of Michael Turner. Carolina Wins

Indy@Cincy

The Colts are bad. Cincy and Andy Dalton have managed to turn a bad Carson Palmer situation into a winning year so far. Cincy wins

Det@SF

The real big D is going to the Bay area to show their serious. Harbaugh has the once overlooked 49ers in a position to be the best team in the NFC. Detroit still hasn't played the perfect game this season, but they will against the 49ers. The D wins.

*******************Upet Alert**********************

Stl@GB

The Rams are coming off their bye week to play a red hot Packers team. GB has been awesome offensively. The Rams will put Bradford in the gun more this game to counteract the Packers blitzing. Also, to change up to a style more suiting for him. Rams win

Jac@Pitt

The Steelers seem to be back on track after starting the season badly. The Jaguars have steadily improved with Blaine Gabbert at the helm. The physical style nature of this game will play into the hands of a motivated Jaguar team. Jags win

Philly@Wash

Philly will win this game because they have to!!!!

Buf@NY

The Bills are a team that's full of confidence and will use it against a beat up Giants team. Bills win

Hou@Bal

This is the game of the week. Houston is without all-pro wideout Johnson, but they style have their money maker QB Matt Schuab. Baltimore will struggle with the Texans because Flacco won't be able to match their scoring. Texans win

Cle@Oak

The Raiders will continue to play for Al Davis and beat a bad Browns team.Raiders win

Dal@NE

The Cowboys will rally to Romos defense, but still won't have enough for the #1 offense in the league. NE wins

NO@TB

The Bucs will slow the pace of this game and force the high powered offense of NO to struggle. But missing the running game of Blount will prove to be too much for the Bucs to overcome. NO wins

Min@Chi

The boo birds will be out as a much thought bad Vikings team finds a way to beat the Bears.

Vikes win

Mia@NYJ

Jets will win because they need it to save their season. Jets win

OHHHH it's party Time!

LSU@Tenn

The Vols are a team that just can't get it together. Their fans have started to point the finger at head coach Derek Dooley. Tenn has had trouble getting the ball out quickly on offense. That will spell trouble because the front of LSU will make life miserable for QB Matt Simms. LSU37-13

OKST@Texas

The Cowboys are an explosive scoring offense who will put up plenty of points. Texas defense has struggled, especially last week versus Oklahoma. Texas defense couldn't have improved enough in a week. OKST 55-24

BAMA@OLE MISS

Houston Knutt , mama said there'd be days like this. This will be a blowout. BAMA 48-6

OKlahoma@Kansas

Enough said....OK 70-10

Florida@Auburn

Florida is in trouble. Brantley was an average QB at best, and they lack the experience behind him to make enough plays to win. Auburn has played in tough games and will be able to make just enough plays to win. Auburn 27-18

CLEMSON@Maryland

This is usually a trap game for Clemson. Not this time, Clemson with or without Taj Boyd will play well. They have just enough play-makers on offense and defense to get the job done. Clemson 20-10

ArizST@Oregon

ASU has a powerful offense led by RB Marshall and QB Osweiler. Burfict will also come to play on defense, but they won't be fast enough. Even though RB L.James won't play because of a dislocated elbow, Oregon is still loaded on offense. Oregon 50-27

************UPSET ALERT***************

Michigan@MichiganST

The Wolverines and Denard Robinson have been on fire this season. Brady Hoke has come in and returned Michigan back to dominance....Or so they think. The Spartans will come in and bring Michigan back to reality. Besides the running of Robinson, the Wolverines aren't very good on offense. Robinson has to get better throwing the ball but this won't be the game in which that will happen. Spartans 31-20

KState@Texas Tech

Kansas State has played very well and has been a huge surprise in the Big12. The Baylor win was big, but beating Miami wasn't that big of a deal. Texas Tech is pure offense and doesn't struggle to put up a lot of points on the board. KState won't be able to match their offense. Texas Tech 42-36

Time to make a change!

The 1st quarter of the NFL season has come to an end and the head coaches who are in a bit of trouble will begin to emerge. The proverbial "Hot Seat" is what we'll call it and there maybe more coaches who are deserving, but this is KLew59's list. And yes, the usual suspects are in play.

Jack Del Rio- I know , I know, I said the same thing last year. But Jacksonville needs to fill their stadium and attempt to give LA a fight to keep their team. Winning can solve this, Jack Del Rio just hasn't delivered. Three winning seasons in 9 years just won't cut it this time. Del Rio's seat is up in flames and everyone in J'ville knows it.

Marvin Lewis- Far, far gone are the days with the Superbowl champ Ravens and their glorious defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Oh you probably forgot already because somehow, Baltimore's defense has become known as something Rex Ryan created. Lewis needs to leave, but he's good enough to get another job. The working relationship that he's shared in Cincy is at the best unpleasant. They seem to have never allowed Marvin the full control as the head guy even with the latest Carson Palmer debacle.

Tony Sparano- Let's just face it, Miami is terrible. They need a change immediately. Sparano has had one good year, his 1st as head coach. Since then he's had a losing season every year. It's time for us to stop saying look how Miami is improving, and demand results now.

Steve Spagnola

Three consecutive losing years in a division that flat out stinks can't spell success to the Rams new owner Stan Kroenke. You can argue that Spagnola doesn't have all the pieces to compete, but he's in a division where a 7-9 team went to the playoffs. The excuses end with him and his seat has begun to warm up.

Leslie Frazier

Leslie seat is still is as warm as sitting down in a seat that's been occupied for an hour. He's going to have much more scrutiny in a city that felt like their right on the cusps of a championship. They also need to be in the new stadium sweepstakes and winning always helps with that cause. If it wasn't Frazier's 1st year, he'd be out.

Saturday week 5!!

BAMA@UF

Bama, big,physical. UF small, fast. It's the old story, who will win the turtle or the rabbit. Just one small twist....they're playing football!! Bama 26-13

Nebraska@ Wisconsin

Nebraska finally begins BigTen play.They have played very well so far against lesser opponents. The Badgers have a running game that will be ready to strike. But they also have newcomer Russell Wilson who has the veteran leadership this team needed. Wilson will be the difference in this tough contest. Wisc 34-28

Texas A&M @Ark

The battle of the twins will be in affect as this match up gets underway.Fans will think they are seeing double as both teams will run spread offenses that will throw it fast&furiously. This game could go either way, but because A&M will have more to prove to their new conference (SEC) they'll win. A&M 38-35

Minesota@Michigan

Brady Hoke has finally allowed Denard Robinson to make plays with his athletic ability. After a 200 yd rushing performance last week, Robinson is now back in the Heisman hunt. The Golden Golphers have been down this year and just can't seem to find a way to finish.40-16 Mich

Miss.ST@Georgia

Miss.ST has a good football team that has the misfortune of playing in the SEC. Vick Ballard is having a really good year averaging 100 yards a game thus far.

Yes, as usual Mark Richt is on the hot seat again. Yep, the Bulldogs are loaded with talent again. Yea, it's a big game, they'll lose again. 23-17 Mississippi ST

LSU@Kentucky

Bad match-up, very bad outcome. 38-10LSU

Auburn@South Carolina

Auburn was exposed at Clemson. Their inability to cover in the passing game led loss. Steve Spurrier has to be excited knowing that he can finally get huge numbers out of his QB. Only problem is that QB is Stephen Garcia, a QB who is very inconsistent. Doesn't matter, Marcus Lattimore will shoulder the load and continue to be very effective in the running game. This game will boil down to both teams fight to win the rushing attack. Dyer vs. Lattimore. 29-20 SC

Baylor@Kansas.ST

No one is talking about him, the big schools fans don't believe. But I do. Robert Griffin III, is a beast. He's having a heck of a year and is the best QB in college right now. 85% completion rate, are you kidding. As long as he continues on this path, KST won't have a chance. 45-30 Baylor

GTECH@NCST

I have bite my tongue, Paul Johnson has done a fantastic job with this team so far. He also has AutoBot (mini Transformer) by the name of Stephen Hill (6-5 206), who is a Megatron (Calvin Johnson) in the making. Why did Tom Obrien ever leave BC? He's on the hot seat now. NCST needs GT to have a bad game in order to have a chance to win this game. They won't. GT 38-13

Clemson@VTech

Clemson always plays well at home, but it's something about leaving Death Valley that doesn't usually bode well for them. Clemson has wrangled another Florida speedster Sammy Watkins, who has electrified their offense. His speed makes him dangerous anytime he touches the ball. Clemson's hot streak will get cooled off by the Hookies defense.VTech hasn't really played a tough opponent yet, but they are back to Beamer ball, good special teams and great defense. VTech 28-24

Iowa ST@ Texas***UPSET ALERT****

Iowa St is a team on a mission and a lot of resentment for Texas, a team that usually dominates them. But, not this year. Texas still hasn't found their "mojo" in recruiting. They are still ripe for a couple of upsets this year.IowaST 29-27

NFL Week 3

NE@BUF

The Pats are going to the Bills to face a Bills team who is very confident. Offense will be at a premium as both defenses, especially NE's secondary, STINKS!! NE WINS CS

JAC@CAR

Newtown vs Gabbert! Newton vs Who???? That's what I said during the week of the draft when so-called draft guru's said this guy was better than Cam Newton. CAR wins CS

SF@Cincy

Alex Smith just isn't the guy, Harbuagh can't wait until he can draft Luck in next years draft.

SF wins TP

Miami@CLE

Brandon Marshall is a beast and Henne has figured out that he needs to force him the ball frequently. The Browns are continuing to improve and Colt McCoy continues to make belivers out of his doubters. Miami wins TP

Det@Min

Detroit is still feeling like this is their year, but the Vikes need a win desperately. Megatrone is a little banged up for Detroit, so we will see if Stafford can carry them. MIN wins OR

Hou@NO

The Texans have run into a more determined Saints team that has a lot to prove. Arrian Foster is down and the Texans depend on their running game. Saints Wins CS

NY@Phi

New York is the most banged up team in the league. This will hurt them and force them into a downward spiral until they can get healthy again. Plus, Vick is playing.Philly wins CS

Den@Ten

Tebow..Tebow...just kidding. Kyle Orton is playing well, and the Broncos will play well enough to beat the Titans. Will the real Chris Johnson please stand up? Broncos win OR

NYJ@OAK

This is the perfect game for the NYJ's, their defense was built to stop the run and the Raiders will run the ball. The Raiders will be able to run the ball and show the rest of the league while they"ll be in the playoffs this year.Oak wins OR

KC@SD

The college team impersonating as a NFL squad will get beat down this week. SD wins CS

BAL@STL

The Rams hope to rebound from last weeks miserable performance. They can't, Steven Jackson is hurt. Bal Wins CS

GB@CHI

GB is on fire on offense. Jay Cutler is ready to quit because of the lack of protection. GB wins CS

ARI@SEA

Bad teams!!!!SEA Wins OR

ATL@TB

The Falcons need to give Michael Turner more carries to take more pressure off of Matt Ryan. ATL wins

PITT@IND

Pitt destroys the Colts. CS

WAS@DAL

Romo plays. Wash Wins OR

TP-take points...CS-covers spread....OR-outright win

No work! Ditch the kids! It's Saturady...Gameday!!!

Arkansas@BAMA

Arkansas losing Nile Davis right before the season cost them a chance to upset BAMA. The Razorbacks have been completely one dimensional which plays right into the hands of Nick Saban's dominant defense. This one won't be pretty but Bama will play the bully role again.BAMA20-10

LSU@WV

The Mountaineers and their usual high powered offense will face LSU and it's NFL defense. The END!!!LSU23-7

FSU@Clemson

The Seminoles weren't able to match the ability of Oklahoma but they did show they are a team on the rise. Clemson had a huge win against Auburn last week, but they started off slow again. FSU will start off fast and because of their defense, FSU will run away with this game. FSU 38-20

OSU@TEXAS A&M

Oklahoma St and Justin Blackman are ready to introduce themselves to the rest of the country. Yes, they're a passing team. Yes, they have a go to receiver, and No A&M will not be able to stop them. OSU 48-31

UNC@GTech

Paul Johnson will continue to see that there's a reason why big time college programs have abandoned the triple option.... #1 You can't recruit with it.#2 You can't win with it. Johnson was blessed with talent on his arrival at GTech and won the ACC championship, since then, he has gotten worst every year as his non recruited players have since graduated. UNC seems to continue to amaze us all. Having struggled through suspended players last year, and a fired Butch Davis a few weeks before opening day. This team has been resilient and steady so far this year. UNC 28-20

SAN DIEGO ST@MICHIGAN ****UPSET ALERT****

Brady Hoke wasn't envisioning being the Head coach of Michigan when he scheduled his then Aztechs against the Wolverines. The Aztechs are a well balanced team with good overall speed. Unless Michigan finally unties Denard "shoelace" Robinson, and allows him to do more improvising, they'll lose. Because the Wolverines won't, they'll lose. SDST 34-30

NFL Surprises,Deebo's and I told ya boys!!

NFL Surprises, Deebo’s, and “I told ya Boys”!!

The NFL is the best league in professional sports because predicting its results is next to impossible.

Surprises- The Washington Redskins are 2-0. Okay they haven’t played expected Super Bowl contenders, but they are 2-0 with Rex GROSSman. The Skins have won the old fashioned way, playing team ball.

The Buffalo Bills are also 2-0. I predicted they would win 3 games for the year. They have played very well especially QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. He has begun his year with a pro bowl type attitude.

Minnesota has shocked the league with their 0-2 start. Of course everyone is blaming Mcnabb, but their real problems seem to be a defense that continues to make huge mistakes.

Deebo’s (Juggernauts, bullies, teams or players that beat you down)

The Jets are continuing to dominate and beat down their opponents. Teams are going into games against them knowing they’ll lose the physical battle.

Deebo’s don’t always come in big packages. Steve Smith (5-9’ 185lb) WR of the Carolina Panthers is overpowering his opponents. Cam Newton’s throws it up and he goes to get it.

Darren Mcfadden, #2 in rushing, is finally looking like the back the Raiders saw in Arkansas. His bruising style of running along with his top end speed is a recipe for fear to his opponents.

“I told ya boy”!

Cam Newton, has been exactly who I thought he would be. He’s an athlete unmatched in his ability. He has a top ten arm and about to play his third game. He’s a winner that is playing for a losing franchise, but that will soon change. Cam is a beast! Where are all the Blaine Gabbert fans? Still waiting……..

The Patriots are on a tear and ready for the Super Bowl. I’m sure no one else is wondering why their my Super Bowl pick.

I said the Chiefs would be 6-11, they may be worse than that. Last year was a fluke, and the rest of the league already knows it.

Kevin Lewis is a retired NFL linebacker who now trains, consults and gives clinics to coaches and athletes. He also does sports talk radio. Please contact him at klew59.com,klewis59@msn.com or 352-354-2134.