Despite the upcoming confirmation hearing for Samuel Alito and the stalled hearings on other Bush nominees – not to mention the delay in sending a constitutional amendment to the states banning gay marriage – Arlen Specter still has too much time on his hands. Now he wants to tell the Eagles how to deal with Terrell Owens.

Sen. Arlen Specter accused the National Football League and the Philadelphia Eagles of treating Terrell Owens unfairly and said he might refer the matter to the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs.

Specter said at a news conference Monday in Harrisburg it was "vindictive and inappropriate" for the league and the Eagles to forbid the all-pro wide receiver from playing and prevent other teams from talking to him.

"It's a restraint of trade for them to do that, and the thought crosses my mind, it might be a violation of antitrust laws," Specter said, though some other legal experts disagreed.

The Eagles suspended Owens on Nov. 5 for four games without pay for "conduct detrimental to the team, and deactivated him with pay on Sunday after the suspension ended.

Arbitrator Richard Bloch said last week the team's actions were supported by the labor agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association.

How did the Pennsylvania RINO and expert in arcane Scottish law come to this conclusion?

Specter emphasized that he was "not a supporter of Terrell Owens."

"I am madder than hell at what he has done in ruining the Eagles' season," the Pennsylvania Republican said. "I think he's in flagrant breach of his contract and I believe the Eagles would be within their rights in not paying him another dime or perhaps even suing him for damages."

But Specter said, "I do not believe, personally, that it is appropriate to punish him (by forcing him to sit out the rest of the season). He's not committed a crime, he's committed a breach of contract. And what they're doing against him is vindictive."

Uh, Arlen, you are right – it is vindictive. But the Eagles are fulfilling the terms of T.O.’s contract – paying him every penny they legally owe him. They are simply not using the services they are paying for. That is simply a business decision. If they want to spend that money and keep him benched, they are within their rights to do so. It is no different than what goes on in radio and television – stations buy the rights to syndicated shows but to keep them out of the hands of rival stations, but do not broadcast them.

And Senator, therea re some folks who are much more versed in sports and labor law than you are who have a very different view on the matter.

"The arbitrator's decision is consistent with our collective bargaining agreement, and it simply enforced the terms of the player's contract," Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said Monday.

"To have an antitrust violation, you have to have a contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade," said Robert McCormick, a law professor at Michigan State University.

Matthew J. Mitten, director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University, said, "We're in the labor arena, not antitrust."

And quite simply, Specter, there is no federal issue here – so shut up and let the Eagles take the course of action that is best for the NFL.

Posted by: Greg at 01:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, now we know why that guy ran on to the field during the EagleÂ’s game against the Packers on Sunday. He was spreading his motherÂ’s ashes, since she was an EagleÂ’s fan.

Christopher Noteboom, of Tempe, Ariz., ran onto the field holding a plastic bag, leaving a cloud of fine powder behind.

As he reached the 30-yard line, he dropped to his knees, made the sign of the cross and laid down on his stomach. Security personnel reached him moments later and he offered no resistance as he was escorted from the field.

The 33-year-old Noteboom, a native of Doylestown, said his mother died of emphysema in January 2005, shortly before the Eagles' Super Bowl appearance.

"She never cared for any other team except the Eagles," Noteboom told WPVI-TV after he was released from custody Monday. "I know that the last handful of ashes I had are laying on the field, and will never be taken away. She'll always be part of Lincoln Financial Field and of the Eagles."

Noteboom, a bar owner in Arizona, was charged with defiant trespass. He has a hearing scheduled for Dec. 27.

"It's bizarre, but we have a zero tolerance for people who run on the field," Police Inspector William Colarulo said. "We especially have a zero tolerance for people who run onto the field and dump an unknown substance in a stadium full of people."

Eagles spokeswoman Bonnie Grant said the team has declined requests to spread ashes on the field.

You know, if they changed their minds on allowing human remains to be spread around the field, perhaps they could assign such duties to Terrell Owens – I hear he isn’t working right now.

Posted by: Greg at 01:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ordinarily, I would have deep admiration for any performer who announced plans to boycott Red China over the torture and cruelty that regularly occurs in that country. After all, that regressive dictatorship oppresses nearly one quarter of humanity, and the world ought to make their liberation one of its priorities.

Unfortunately, Sir Paul McCartney doesnÂ’t give a crap about the lack of human freedom in China. HeÂ’s refusing to perform there because of the killing of dogs and cats for fur.

The ex-Beatle was given a preview screening of undercover footage taken in a fur market in Guangzhou, southern China.

Dogs and cats are shown being thrown from the top deck of a converted bus onto concrete pavements.

In another piece of footage, cats are seen squirming inside a sack before being thrown into a vat of boiling water.

Smiling, laughing workers are also filmed senselessly beating the animals to death.

The report, which was filmed by an investigator linked to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) campaign group, will be shown on Monday night on the BBC's Six O'clock News.

Sir Paul and wife Heather were close to tears as they watched the undercover report.

Sir Paul told the BBC: "This is barbaric. Horrific. It's like something out of the dark ages. And they seem to get a kick out of it. They're just sick, sick people.
"I wouldn't even dream of going over there to play, in the same way that I wouldn't go to a country that supported apartheid.

"This is just disgusting. It's just against every rule of humanity. I couldn't go there. If they want to consider themselves a civilised nation they're going to have to stop this."

So let me get this straight. The political oppression and general violations of human rights that occur on a daily basis in Red China and which have been known for years are not sufficient to get McCartney to stand up to the butchers in Beijing – but cruelty to animals put the Communist dictatorship beyond the pale.

Sir Paul – where are your priorities and sense of proportion? Why are animals more important to you than human beings?

Posted by: Greg at 10:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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As long as they pay him, the Philadelphia Eagles can deactivate loud-mouthed lockerroom malcontent Terrell Owens if they feel it is in the best interests of the team. Owens has no right under the NFL collective bargaining agreement with the players to actually play football. So says the mediator in Owens' grievance case against the Eagles.

For conduct proven to be a "destructive and continuing threat" to his team, an arbitrator ruled Wednesday that the Eagles were justified in suspending their All-Pro receiver for four games — and are within their rights to deactivate him for the rest of the year.

The Eagles will now look to trade or release Owens before next March, when he's due a $5 million roster bonus.

Arbitrator Richard Bloch wrote in his 38-page decision that there was "no violation of the labor agreement inherent in the club's decision to pay Mr. Owens, but not to permit him to play or practice due to the nature of his conduct and its destructive and continuing threat to the team."

Well, T.O -- sit home and count that cash. Oh, and don't expect to get picked up for next season, especially since not even my hapless Houston Texans are willing to put up with your crap for a chance to becoem a winner. Your skills simply do not overcome your personality defects.

Posted by: Greg at 10:40 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've got season tickets for the Houston Texans, so I would be glad to see Bob McNair's franchise do just about anything to improve fromthe dismal 1-7 start that we have seen this year.

But signing Terrell Owens is something that would make me walk away fromt eh four-season-old franchise. He is a malignant influence upon the game of football.

So it is with great relief that I read this from the Houston Chronicle.

Texans owner Bob McNair would love to have a chance to acquire a lot of NFL players to help solve his problems, but Philadelphia receiver Terrell Owens is not one of them.

During a break in preparations for Sunday's game at unbeaten Indianapolis, McNair was asked if he would consider signing Owens once Philadelphia has washed its hands of him.

"He's almost dismantled the Eagles; why would you wish that on us?" McNair said with a laugh. "I've already got enough problems."

The Texans are 1-7 and in need of help at a lot of positions, but McNair wouldn't consider the controversial Owens, who has been suspended for four games by the Eagles and was placed on the reserve/suspended list Wednesday.

Owens is hoping an independent arbitrator will rule that he can play this season — if not for the Eagles then for another team.

"Some things can overcome talent, and he's figured out how to do that," McNair said. "Football's a team sport, and when a player thinks he's more important than the team, it's just not going to work."

Amen, Bob. The last thing we need is the arrival of T.O. and his Circus of Self-Promotion here in Houston.

Posted by: Greg at 11:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, well, Terrell – I see contrition comes late, and only after you’ve been told that the Eagles plan on sidelining your sorry, self-centered, arrogant butt for the rest of the season. No TV time, no on-field heroics, not highlight reels for you, not unless you can get yourself back into the good graces of Coach Reid, your teammates, and the Eagles management.

In your statement, you almost sounded sorry for your words and actions.

"I fight for what I think is right. In doing so, I alienated a lot of my fans and my teammates," Owens said, reading a statement outside his house outside Philadelphia.

No, letÂ’s tell it like it is. You fight for Terrell Owens, for his press clippings and his personal satisfaction. Right has nothing to do with it. After all, we all know that Andy Reid is a straight-shooter, and look at what he said.

The decision resulted from "a large number of situations that accumulated over a long period of time, during which Terrell had been warned repeatedly about the consequences of his actions," Reid said.

Wanna know what you can do to make yourself beloved among fans and make it clear you are willing to sacrifice for the team? Here it is – demand that the team renegotiate your contract. Insist that you will not take a penny OVER the league minimum for the rest of the season. Demand that the contract drop any and all incentive bonuses beyond those tied to TEAM accomplishments, such as playoff and Super Bowl appearances. Include a gag order on yourself until training camp next year. In other words, make an entirely self-effacing move to show that you are really all about the game, not all about T.O.; prove to us that you recognize that you recognize that the game is more important than any one player.

Maybe then you will convince some of us that you are worth caring about or cheering for. Otherwise you will just b one more piece of rubbish cast by the roadside – talented, but too unstable and self-important to fit on the playing field with 10 other guys in the same-colored jersey.

Posted by: Greg at 01:35 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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If a hacker did this, there would be jail time involved. SonyÂ’s installation of malicious and dangerous code on computers without disclosure merits similar treatment.

Earlier this week, computer security researcher Mark Russinovich published an analysis showing that some new Sony CDs install software that not only limits the copying of music on the discs, but also employs programming techniques normally associated with computer viruses to hide from users and prevent them from removing the software.

Russinovich's findings -- posted on the Web site (http://www.sysinternals.com/) that he runs with another researcher -- indicated that the CDs in question use software techniques that behave similarly to "rootkits," software tools that hackers can use to maintain control over a computer system once they have broken in.

He found that traditional methods of uninstalling the program would not work, and that attempts at removing it corrupted the files needed to operate his computer's CD player, rendering it useless.

Sony spokesman John McKay said the technology has been deployed on just 20 titles so far, but that the company may include it on additional titles in the months ahead.

Did you get that – Sony has knowingly installed programs that are hidden and which damage your computer if you try to play some of their CDs. Not only that, they plan to keep installing it, even knowing that attempts to remove the programs will destroy your computer. That arrogance is criminal, and merits prosecution.

Posted by: Greg at 02:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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