Bring T.O. to New England!

And make him play defensive back.

Seriously, he can't be any worse than what the Patriots are trotting out right now can he?

Okay, I don't want T.O. to come to New England. Here's what I do want. When his whole fiasco started I made a concious decision to wait it out and not comment on it until the end. There is no creativity in blasting T.O. or Drew Rosenhaus anymore, everyone has done it and there is no way I'll ever be able to do it as well as Steven A. Smith. (Good lord did he let them have it. I'm not a Steven A. fan by any means but that was quality ranting and raving.) So, what I do want is to give my opinion on the situation and be done with it. Everyone is sick of talking about it, everyone is sick of writing about it, and most of all everyone is sick of hearing about it. A few paragraphs and then as far as the Slant is concerned it's over.

The most encompassing thing that I've taken from this situation is that T.O. is crazier than a kitten in a sock drawer. He's crazy to think that he can badger the Eagles into giving him a new deal just 1 year into a 7 year agreement. He's crazy to think that he can rip his quarterback and other teammates and coaches in the media and not have a backlash. He's crazy to think that his talent will allow him to behave in manner he chooses. He's crazy to think that he is being wronged by his supension. He's just crazy.

But, and I say this only to show both sides, T.O. has some excuses for being crazy. He was literally whipped as a child by his grandmother. Whipped. He was never allowed to leave the yard to play. He developed a potentially incestuous relationship with the girl who lived across the street from him when he was 12 because he was unaware that she was his half sister. (Yes, his father lived right across the street from him for 12 years and he didn't know it.) He was given every opportunity and every impetus to fail from every possible influence in his life.

Forget the movies, television, or other media, parental influences can screw a kid's head up worse than playing Doom, while watching a snuff video, and listening to Marilyn Manson.

Are these set backs excuses for his behavior? No way. Everyone has crosses to bear, his might be heavier than others but it does not justify a fight with a teammate, public slander of your team's leader, and financial extortion of your company.

You simply cannot, in this age of the NFL make yourself larger than the game. We may be heading towards a league in which you can do so, but while the model for success still resides in Foxboro with coaching, discipline, game planning, and execution players like T.O. will always find themselves on the periphery of acceptance.

That being said there is no doubt that he will find a home next year. He's just too talented not to. He's a jerk and a locker room cancer no one can deny that anymore. His past two teams have said, "We'd rather lose without you than win with you." In a league where results hold a premium a step beyond all others this is an incredible statement to see once, nevermind twice. Still, someone will take a chance on him with a one year deal. They'll sign him to an incentive based contract off of a minimum base salary and hope that somehow they'll be able to keep the ship righted from July to February. But no one will go into it with their eyes closed anymore, there are no more second chances for T.O. just desperate GMs.

The ultimate irony is that when this all started in the off season it was about money. Now by getting suspended and proving that he is without a doubt the worst teammate in the NFL and guaranteeing that he'll never see a long term deal again he has probably cost himself upwards of 50 million dollars over the course of his career. So out of all this he has lost a job, lost his considerable salary, aliented a fan base with long memories and spiteful grudges, and distanced his unreachable personality from his undeniable talent. Not even an idiot of Owens' ilk can look at that and be proud.

One last note on this. The Eagles should cut him and let him play elsewhere if someone is willing to take a chance on him. This suspension and subsequent promise to deactivate him is essentially cutting him off at the knees and that isn't fair. He may have been a cancer to their organization but they should just get rid of him plain and simple. If you get fired from a real job they can't tell you that you aren't allowed to get another one, why should the Eagles be allowed to do so here?

Other News:

- Am I the only one who thinks that the manager of the year award is one of the most predicatable awards in sports? The season is so long that it becomes so obvious who is making the most out of what they have that to suggest that there is any mystery in it is just untrue. I don't like Guillen but he combined luck, guts, and an unconvential attitude to make a great team. Cox took probably his least talented Braves team of their 14 year run and still took the division easily. They are both deserving, but not surprising.

- Another potetial BCgate this weekend against N.C. State at home. Prepare for a meltdown if they lose this one.

- I'm done apologizing for why the Patriots lost on Monday, stop antagonizing me about it. Yes they lost, no the Colts are not the Super Bowl Champions yet, and I know that this defense is just bad. Thank you, but I got the picture.

- Speaking of the Patriots (I can't believe I'm about to say this) but this game against the Dolphins on Sunday is a must win. Look how far we've fallen, a game in Miami is now a must in. Hopefully Gus Frerotte won't shred their secondary like P-town.

- If you have Larry Johnson on your fantasy team do a backflip and jump for joy. Not only do you now have a runner in one of the most prolific offenses in the league but you just had your carries per game doubled and are guaranteed every important/goal line carry for your boy.

- I can't write another whole blog on this and keep my sanity, even though it deserves a month's worth. The Red Sox cannot trade Manny right now. From a baseball standpoint and almost as importantly from a public relations standpoint you CANNOT trade your best player after allowing one front office executive to mortage your future in a clash of egos.

- I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier but it's so amazing that I don't care if I did. No bathroom has been so fortunately graced as the ladies room at Bananna Joes in Tampa which was the site of the infamous cheerleader sex scandal. Apparently 2 Carolina Pathers cheerleaders, (get this) a nurse and a student, were occupying the bathroom for a little too long while engaging in...er...Skinemax behaviors. Another woman complained as they exited the stall and one of the cheerleaders punched the woman in the face. Bad thinking, the other was underage with a fake ID. Both were arrested, fired, and then offered shoots in Penthouse. It's the American way.