PITTSFORD - This was a day of several storylines at St. John Fisher.

It was the Bills’ first practice in pads after a pair of two-a-days in shorts and helmets.

Second-round draft choice Andre Levitre, who signed Sunday, participated in his first workout and immediately took his place at left guard with the starting unit.

And owner Ralph Wilson made his initial appearance at his team’s summer home, offering a brief post-practice pep talk.

Of course, given how quickly training camp can become a drag, any fresh news is a blessing for the media.

But on Monday afternoon the Bills’ press corps pushed those stories to the background and focused on the same subject that has dominated the sports pages and airwaves since players reported on Friday: Terrell Owens.

The 35-year-old, Hall-of-Fame-bound wide receiver has been “the story” since the Bills signed him to a one-year, $6.5 million contract last March.

And while there’s disagreement among Buffalo fans about the wisdom of adding a player whose previous three stops ended in controversial fashion - leaving embittered quarterbacks and coaches - there’s little doubt T.O. attracts cameras, microphones and tape recorders like Brad Pitt does the paparazzi.

Owens doesn’t have his own reality show and a guest stint on the current version of “Superstars” because he’s No. 2 on the all-time list for receiving touchdowns and third in career receptions. He’s there because of a monster ego, an overdose of charisma and a knack for making outrageous statements.

As one Rochester TV sportscaster noted, “You’d like to follow other stories, but (Owens) talks every day ... the public relations staff really has no control over him, and you feel obligated to be there in case he says something newsworthy ... which he often does, like Sunday with Michael Vick.”

A day earlier, T.O. opined that the former Falcons’ quarterback had already paid his debt to society by spending two years in prison for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring and that for the NFL to add a suspension amounted to piling on.

Yesterday, Commissioner Roger Goodell gave Vick another chance, reinstating him “with conditions,” meaning he won’t be allowed to play at least until Game 6. Still, T.O. was one of the only players in the league to come forward in Vick’s defense ... on the record.

THE FANS’ verdict on T.O. is already in.

The stands at training camp erupt every time he touches the ball, the most routine catches evoking boisterous cheers. And after practices, the faithful adoringly chant his initials hoping to lure him to the fence to sign autographs after he talks to the press.

But T.O. isn’t necessarily what you’d expect.

The ego is always there, but it’s sometimes hidden.

He speaks relatively softly, usually thoughtfully and tends not to mangle the language.

And so it was on Monday.

WHEN ASKED about meeting Wilson, Owens admitted, “It was definitely a pleasure ... he’s a nice guy and I was looking forward to it at some point (and) I think he was looking forward to meeting me as well. Other than meeting him today, I spoke to him briefly once when I signed back in March. I’m looking forward to this opportunity that he’s given me and I’m just going to give it my best shot.

“Obviously I can’t be more thankful with the opportunity ... being blessed just to be here, to come out here working with the guys and there’s a lot of expectation for myself and for this team. I definitely feel that all those expectations can be met.”

He added, “Trent (Edwards, quarterback)) is doing a great job going through his reads and hitting the open guys. (But) the guys up front are going to be key to our offense this year, keeping Trent upright to get the balls in our hands and obviously everyone knows that we’ve got a backfield full of capable running backs, so it's going to be an exciting year for us.”

When asked what Wilson had said to the team, Owens chuckled, and noted, “He said that after seeing us practice today, he wondered why we lost so many games (9) last year. That shows you he’s been around a number of talented teams.

“I'm sure he’s been very personable with a lot of the guys that have come through here: Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, all of those guys. He may be up there in age, but he's very conscious of what’s going on and cognizant of the players and what he sees out there on the field.”

AS FOR the team’s trip to Canton for the induction of Wilson and Smith into the Hall of Fame, plus the pre-season opener against Tennessee, T.O. noted, “ I’ve played in the Hall of Fame game before, when I was with Philly.

“I know the question always comes up as far as myself being in the Hall of Fame, but I don’t really worry about that. Actually, my jersey’s already in there from the 20-reception game that I had against the Bears, so I m already in the Hall of Fame.”

But he admitted, “Somewhere down the road, I'll sit back and reflect and have insight on (being in the Hall of Fame), but at this point I don’t really think about it.

“Early in my career, my agent at the time mentioned something to me about being in the Hall of Fame, but that’s not something I shoot for. I think the numbers will take care of themselves and whenever that is and whenever I get in, I get in. “

And the reality is, no matter what he does in Buffalo, those numbers are already in place.

(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)

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TheQG wrote on Jul 29, 2009 7:32 AM:

" "For newly signed Buffalo Bills wide reciever, Terrell Owens, this has been an extremely eventful off-season. He was released from the Dallas Cowboys, signed with the Bills, moved to Los Angeles, and filmed an entire season of his very own reality show. While it may be too early to tell what this will do for his career, the first episode didn’t set the bar very high."

READ MY FULL REVIEW OF "The T.O. Show":

http://thequintessentialgeneralist.wordpress.com/2009/07/23/tv-review-the-t-o-show/ "

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