From The Sports Desk: T.O. & The Messiah - Eerie Similarities?

I'm sorry, but I just had to post this. It is a symptom of our modern disease. (Drew Rosenhaus gets a pass from me, though he is culpable too.)

That "J" on Owens' "WWJD" bracelet is not for Jerry. It's for Jesus.
That's not a major surprise. The fact that T.O. sees himself and J.C. as peers? That was a major surprise.

But that's the message in Owens' comments in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday. Asked about his contract problem with the Eagles, Owens didn't invoke the name of Curt Flood or even NFL free-agency pioneer Reggie White.

He went right over their heads. Waaaay over.

"At the end of the day," Owens told the Miami Herald's Jason Cole, "I don't have to worry about what people think of me, whether they hate me or not. People hated on Jesus. They threw stones at him and tried to kill him, so how can I complain or worry about what people think?"

While there is no mention in the King James version of the Bible of people who "hated on Jesus," you get the point. There's a direct correlation between the man the New Testament says died for the sins of all mankind and T.O., who wants a new contract from the Eagles.

At first it seems absurd. But mull it over for a little while, reflect on the story of Jesus a bit, and there is more common ground than you think.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Owens' Eagles career began at training camp in Bethlehem, Pa.

Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes. Owens wants more bread and thinks there was something fishy about his original deal.

Jesus walked on water. Owens reminds people of Ricky Watters.

Jesus rose from the dead after just three days. Owens came back from a broken ankle in just five weeks to play in the Super Bowl.

Jesus made wine from water. Owens made whine from a $49 million contract.

So you see, they are more alike than it first appears. And it makes perfect sense for Owens to compare reaction to his holdout to the persecution of Jesus.

Well, in T.O.'s mind, at least.

(Can we rewind back to this "hated on" thing? This is a really common, really despicable conceit, that you either adore and worship everything an athlete does or you're somehow "a hater." Criticizing Owens' course of action over the last few months is reasonable and fair and has nothing to do with hatred, OK? This self-serving use of the word by athletes is an insult to everyone who has been the victim of actual hatred. End of sermon.)
(Thanks to Phil Sheridan and the Monterey County Herald.)

The bottom line is this: A contract is a contract. Unless you have enough leverage to get out of it.