Applause is in order for Philly

My respect for the Philadelphia Eagles grew exponentially this week. I suspect I'm not alone.

With their playoff hopes reeling, but still very much alive, the Eagles told Terrell Owens, talented receiver and team tumor, that he was no longer welcomed. Philly coach Andy Reid instantly becomes the leader in the clubhouse for NFL Coach of the Year.

That assumes, of course, that at some point the Eagles won't relent and allow Owens to rejoin the team. Coaches are a forgiving sort.

Owens' NFL career, however, is likely far from over. If a team thinks T.O. is the missing piece in its Super Bowl puzzle, it will lavish Owens with a contract offer that won't be for the league minimum. All it takes are two interested teams to drive up his price.

Should the Cowboys try to sign him in the off-season? My own answer pains me. Yes, they should, but only if Bill Parcells wants him and is convinced that he can muzzle T.O. After all, don't forget that Parcells handled that noted wallflower, Lawrence Taylor.

One final observation: Every time that I see Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, on TV, I feel like I have to take a shower.

Banner performances

The fan's sign was hard not to notice.

"Rebuilding the Superdome: $150 million

"Rebuilding New Orleans: $250 billion

"Keeping the Saints in New Orleans: Priceless."

The game was lousy Sunday, but the fans' feelings about the Saints were unmistakable.

"Welcome back to your real home, Saints," one sign read.

"Please don't break my heart, Mr. Benson," said another banner.

Yet another: "Benson, way to kick us when we are down."

For the first time that anyone could remember, beer was legally sold Sunday at the Tiger Stadium concession stands.

The beer didn't help. The Saints lost in dismal fashion, 21-6.

Forget the booze. For next week's game, all Saints fans attending should immediately be administered a morphine drip.

Home sweet Saints

It was the Saintliest, most well-behaved mob in town.

  More than two hours before Sunday's Saints-Dolphins kickoff at LSU's Tiger Stadium, hundreds of black-and-gold-clad New Orleans fans were clustered in one small nook of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

There were women wearing Saints-colored (black and gold) Mardi Gras beads. Men dressed as Saintly crusaders, with the fleur de lis sewn across their chests.

These people, you could tell, have been here before. Not here exactly, waiting to claim their season tickets in typically disorderly Tom Benson style, but here to see the Saints, their beloved hometown team.

The Saints' relocation, plus the split schedule between Baton Rouge and San Antonio, has been a logistical nightmare for the team. Many fans, such as Winston Hoffman of New Orleans, had given up trying to call the Saints' temporary San Antonio offices and opted to claim the tickets in person before Sunday's game.

Hoffman's life, as with most New Orleanians, has been anything but normal since Hurricane Katrina struck.

"It'll be a lot worse, though, if Benson announces he's moving the Saints," Hoffman said.

In the line in front of him, Ben Arendt and Leo Chicas were dressed in tunics adorned with the Saints logo.

"We're crusading," explained Arendt. He was one of the lucky ones. His New Orleans home near Tulane University was spared from the flooding that submerged much of Orleans Parish. Now he's worried about Hurricane Benson.

"He's just driving me crazy," Arendt said. "It's been very upsetting. We're here to support the team. We're willing to buy tickets to show that we want the team. We're not here, though, just to give our money to Benson."

Some of the season ticket holders had to wait in line for more than 90 minutes to claim tickets for the four games to be played in Baton Rouge.

"It's not that bad," said Ryan Guidry of Metairie, La. "We're just happy that we're getting to see the Saints play."

Sleaze in San Antonio

Cut it out, San Antonio. You're embarrassing yourself.

The city's shameless coveting of the New Orleans Saints, led by Mayor Phil Hardberger, raises serious moral and ethical questions and is nothing more than looting.

Four of my relatives have lost their homes in New Orleans and Slidell, La. For many New Orleanians, all that's left of their former lives is what they could carry in a plastic bag or suitcase.

The city is in no position to fight for its beloved Saints, yet Hardberger and his stooges on the City Council are courting the NFL franchise as if it's a business decision.

Hardberger insists upon comparing the tickets that San Antonio sold for last week's Saints-Falcons game to sales for the team's Oct. 30 game, the Saints' first in Baton Rouge.

Hey, Mayor Sleaze-berger, your city is five times the size of Baton Rouge. Think that matters in selling tickets? Louisiana has been through two hurricanes. Many New Orleanians have lost their jobs and homes.

According to Baton Rouge reports, the Saints didn't even have a local ticket office before last week.

Only one ad has appeared in the BR newspaper. Sleaze-berger called the Saints' ticket situation in Baton Rouge "a disaster" -- what a classy choice of words.

It's sad when a city has such low self-esteem that it has to prey upon another city's misfortunes. The mayor, meanwhile, is listening only to Saints owner Tom Benson, when he should have heeded what NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.

Namely, San Antonio should not be on anyone's list for an NFL franchise. Benson will have major trouble getting enough votes to move the Saints there.

In the meantime, San Antonio remains Cowboys country. The city's Fox affiliate last week showed the Cowboys-Giants game, not the Saints-Falcons.

You're pathetic, San Antonio. And the rest of the nation is going to think so, too.