Terrell Owens reported to practice Wednesday after being asked to leave for a week by the Eagles. AP
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An NFL official told Eagles management not to cave in on Terrell Owens' demands because it would send the wrong message to other clubs -- namely that a guy can get what he wants by applying pressure and attempting to embarrass the team and its coaches.

This information was provided by a source close to the team. Privately, an unnamed Eagle (bald? golden?) says the following:

"If T.O. would have come in quietly, without all this hoo-ha, something could have been worked out. We didn't feel the demand was unreasonable, given the circumstances regarding how he came back from his injury last year and had such a great Super Bowl. But when a guy puts a gun to your head, you're only creating more problems when you give way."

Every case is different, as we know. Defensive end Richard Seymour held out in New England and eventually got a new deal. He had outplayed his contract and the Patriots were astute enough to realize this and shortstop the situation before it got any further. And this is an organization that doesn't like to be shoved around. Lawyer Milloy found out. So did Ty Law, for whom the team has the ultimate respect but still wearied of his constant demands for upgrades through the years.

"But when he's on the field he plays his ass off," said Patriots general manager Scott Pioli.

Sideline Circus

I see stormy seas ahead. The networks have decided to let sideline interviews, or sometimes just yack-yack in the booth, obliterate whole sections of live game action. Hopefully this is just an exhibition season phenomenon, but you never know. The geniuses on the other side of the headsets just might decide it's a better show with empty words replacing football action.

Nowhere was this phenomenon more apparent than during ESPN's Monday nighter, naturally. I started counting plays that were lost during Suzy Kolber's sideline interviews. At times they came in bunches. It wasn't unusual to see a whole series go unreported or even mentioned. Hey, who got that sack? Who's the DB who broke up that pass downfield? Is that a rookie? We'll never know. We've got to hear about the mood in the locker room. Or the nude in the changing room. Or whatever ...