IRVING, Texas — Here they go again: Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb have their signals crossed.
Days before the buddies-turned-enemies face off for the first time since their nasty breakup, a misunderstanding is brewing over a text message McNabb says he sent Owens last week after a trip to the hospital was reported as an attempted suicide.
Owens said Wednesday he never got it. While he stopped short of calling McNabb a liar, the sour look on his face sure seemed to insinuate it.
Asked later if it was possible McNabb sent the message to an old phone number, Owens said: "Look, I'm not trying to start anything. He's a smart guy. If he wanted my number, he could've gotten it."
Earlier Wednesday, in separate interviews with reporters in Philadelphia and on a conference call with reporters in Dallas, McNabb said he reached out to Owens to "let him know that I was thinking about him, praying for him," adding that he hoped "everything would turn out well and that he'd get back out on the field and be healthy."
"And if he needed anything, to call," McNabb said he wrote.
McNabb said he never got a response, but added he wasn't looking for one, either.
"I think the message was sent," McNabb said. "If he read it or received it, then I think he would know."
T.O. and McNabb could hash things out in person — but likely won't — on Sunday when the Cowboys (2-1) visit Philadelphia to take on the Eagles (3-1). While the game is a pivotal early-season matchup for first place in the NFC East, all eyes will be on Owens and how the City of Brotherly Love vents its anger toward him for tearing apart its team.
"Once we win, it will be special," Owens said, later clarifying he wasn't guaranteeing a victory. "We're not going there to taste the cheesesteaks. We're not going there to visit the crack in the Liberty Bell. We're going up there to try to win a ballgame."
Owens was a model citizen when he arrived in Philadelphia in 2004, saying he wanted to catch passes from McNabb and get the team to the Super Bowl after three near-misses. And he did. Although he missed the playoffs with an ankle surgery, he returned for the Super Bowl and played well, but Philadelphia lost.
Then everything went haywire.
Owens trashed McNabb, demanded a new contract and caused all sorts of problems. He was sent home for a week in training camp, then was kicked out for good with nine games left. Finally cut in March, he signed with the Cowboys four days later. In July, he released an autobiography in which he said the root of his problems with McNabb were being cussed at in the huddle; McNabb later referred to Owens' literary effort as a "children's book."
Owens has made no secret about looking forward to getting revenge. He's often said this game has been circled on his calendar since the schedule was released, even telling Sports Illustrated he worked out in sets of 10-8, referencing the Oct. 8 game. McNabb mocked that while talking to Dallas reporters.
"I got my eight in just a few minutes ago," he said, laughing. "I did eight push-ups, eight curls and I was just so focused, I'm ready to go."
Without knowing about that jab, Owens threw one of his own Wednesday, slipping it in while praising McNabb for a strong start this season.
"Obviously, he's gotten himself into a lot better shape this year," Owens said. "I think you can tell that by the way he's running around. ... I wouldn't say he was out of shape. But I think everybody notices he has slimmed down a little bit and he's moving around better."
About the only thing T.O. and McNabb agree on? Neither is interested in a symbolic, hatchet-burying handshake.
"I don't feel like I have to go out of the way to appease you guys, to try to create some type of story," Owens said.
Said McNabb: "The whole world doesn't have to see us shaking hands, high-fiving, hugging, chest bumping. Because after that it will be, 'Well, they made up,' and you guys will come up with some bad cliche or bad little funny jokes about it. We have a job to do."
Owens has started talking to local reporters only on Wednesdays, so he knew this was his day to put on a show. He walked into the locker room ready to do just that, eagerly saying, "Man!" upon seeing the crowd already gathered around his stall.
His first statement came from his wardrobe: a gray T-shirt that read, "Funny little football person," a line angrily said about him last week by the head of the Dallas Police Association.
Owens answered every question for about 20 minutes. He laughed about the kind of reception he's going to get from the crowd ("Not a good one," he predicted), and later playfully sang a chant he's bracing to hear: "O.D! O.D! O.D!" It's a cruel reference to his accidental overdose last week and a twist on the "T.O! T.O! T.O!" chant he heard during his good times in Philadelphia, all sung to the tune of the popular soccer song, "Ole! Ole! Ole!"
"Hey man, I'm having fun," he said. "I'm not going to let what the fans say or do take me out of my game."
Although Owens has often had some of his best performances in games tinged with emotion like this, he's not making any promises.
"There's nothing extra that I feel like I have planned," he said. "I'm going to go into this game and try to score touchdowns and try to go in there and do the best I can do."
Strangely, his take on the significance of this game wavered from one extreme to the other.
At times, he expounded on this being a huge event: "I'm pretty sure it will be the most-watched game throughout the course of the year, besides the Super Bowl." He also said, "To that city, it's almost like a playoff game."
Other times, he made it seem like a minor subplot: "It's been a rivalry around here for years, the Cowboys and Eagles. With me being here, there's just some added excitement."
