T.O. and Ricky Different, Yet the Same

Terrell Owens is a jackass who thinks he has a viable education. Ricky Williams is a thinker who plays football. While both men have put themselves ahead of the team, if you choose to see it, Ricky's struggle is about life while Owens' is about attention and insecurity.

Ricky Williams focused on football his entire life while holding back other hopes and dreams. He is no different than the accountant with three kids and a wife who quit his job to try stand-up comedy, or the basketball player who decided to try baseball.

Williams spent last year trying out other interests such as travel and yoga. He took the time to discover who he is and what makes him happy. While Ricky clearly should have taken a walkabout years ago, he did it when he did it, and one has to respect the fact that he was responsible enough to take care of himself. If Pete Rose took a year off to attend Gamblers Anonymous, nobody would call him a bad teammate. I don't recall much disdain for Michael Jordan when he went into baseball, leaving a defending three-time champion team.

Ricky's whole problem was the media attention about his marijuana smoking. The media played it out as if Williams was the only American smoking pot. The reality is that there are 71 million Americans who have tried marijuana, about 25% of the population. Certainly, Ricky is not the only NFL player rolling doobies and the odds are he isn't even the only Miami Dolphin bending to reach the bong. So, really, Ricky's plight isn't about marijuana, it is about life and not leaving things behind you undiscovered.

Terrell Owens, on the other hand, is an anomalously gifted trouble making egomaniac. His vision of self-worth doesn't reach beyond his bank account. If you want to compare intelligence, I have yet to see Ricky Williams need to have a babysitter during an interview the way his agent Drew Rosenhaus has tried to keep T.O. in check.

Last week's interview by ESPN's Chris Berman was like watching an unrehearsed juggling act by the blind. Rosenhaus tried several times to guide Owens to a sensible answer that didn't make him look like a third-grader throwing a fit. Terrell went ahead and threw the fit anyway, saying he didn't think he and QB Donavan McNabb could work things out, and that he was unsure of his future status as a Philadelphia Eagle. Terrell also complained about head coach Andy Reid telling him to shut up. Oy!

Perhaps if Owens wasn't whining all the time, attacking his quarterback, or hell-bent on disrupting the Eagles' training camp and season things could be worked out. It is specifically what gets you there that kills you in the end and for Owens, it is his desire to be number one. With Donovan McNabb in Philly, that is never going to happen.

Williams is in camp trying to get his football career back on track, Owens is in camp causing a scene and purposely going out of his way to create havoc. So now ask yourself, who is the better teammate?