The Sports Illustrated scribe was among the first to predict that Jerry Jones would cut Terrell Owens, even as Jones hemmed and hawed in recent days about what he was going to do with the wide receiver. Why come? A gut feeling, he writes this morning, as Dallas Cowboys fans await official confirmation. (Though, isn't a story on the team's official Web site more or less official confirmation?) Writes King:
A couple of weeks ago, Michael Irvin called to have me on his talk show in Dallas after I'd written that the Cowboys would fire Owens by the end of March. "How do you know?'' Irvin said. The fact is, I didn't know for sure. No one did. But as much as we in the media belittle owner Jerry Jones for being star-struck, I also knew this about Jones: He wouldn't let his team continue to be an embarrassment of riches. And the Cowboys were becoming more well-known for their inner churlishness than for football. Now Jones can look at his team, and his fan base, in the wake of cutting Pacman Jones and Owens, and he can honestly say: "The circus has left town. We're all about football now.''But what does this do to T.O.'s reality show? Speaking of, perhaps Owens can spend his downtime with Irvin at the Cotton Bowl, where, starting next week, he'll be shooting his 10-episode tryout series 4th and Long, which will also feature Bill Bates and Joe Avezzano as coaches. And, according to SpikeTV officials, "the players' living quarters [are] within the stadium." So, see, that $57-million facelift finally pays off!
