In this day and age where everyone feels the need to have to compare people to one another, allow me to be the one who makes the eyebrow-raising comparison between Allen Iverson and Terrell Owens. Not because they're both future Hall of Famers in their respective sports and go by their initials (A.I. & T.O.), but because they're both in their mid to late 30's and are eying a comeback despite being shown little to no interest thus far.
Since being selected as the number one overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 NBA Draft, Iverson has been one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game. And though he's never won an NBA Championship, his trophy case is anything but empty having won four NBA scoring titles, two All-Star Game MVP awards, a league MVP award as well as a Rookie of the Year award. The last few years, however, have been anything but All-Star worthy for the 36-year old guard. Following his 15-year tenure in the NBA which saw 11-All-Star appearances, Iverson signed a 2-year deal to play ball overseas in the Turkish Basketball League where he helped sell tickets and was promised more playing time, something he wasn't getting enough of back in the states.
But as of this week Iverson is hoping to return to the NBA and has told the media that he's willing to play for anybody in any role including coming off the bench, something he didn't take too kindly of before which eventually factored in his decision to head to Turkey. His timing, however, couldn't be worse granted both the owners and Players Association are in the middle of a labor dispute which has seen little to no progress up to this point with the Commissioner recently announcing the cancellation of games up to November 30. And if the unsettled labor negotiations aren't enough to put a dent in his possible return to the NBA perhaps the fact that he's nearly two years removed from his last NBA game will do the trick.
Meanwhile on the football field, Terrell Owens who's been one of the most dominant receivers in the history of the game is trying to awe scouts in hopes of landing a spot on an NFL roster before it's too late. Earlier this week Owens held a workout in southern California where camera crews caught the 37 year old wide-out running routes and catching passes. But other than the handful of reporters and friends, T.O.'s guest list was limited as no team scouts were in attendance. Much to blame for the empty sidelines is the surgery he had in April to repair a torn ACL suffered during the offseason. Despite there being no scouts or team's actually at T.O.'s workout in person, Owens told reporters that he definitely feels that there are interested teams out there and all they've gotta do is see the footage.
Though he still remains jobless up to this point, T.O.'s job hunting hasn't been a complete disappointment. In fact the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League have reached out to Owens but according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus the team isn't on his wish-list. Rosenhaus also said that if his client doesn't sign with a team this year that he'll try his luck next season as well. Something I see being even less likely to happen than signing with a team this year. Earlier this month Owens held what many thought was a retirement speech in front of a live television crew before pranking those on the set and admitting it was all a joke.
Given the notorious reputation Owens has garnered over the years as being a virus both on the sidelines and in the locker room as well as being somewhat of a drama queen for calling out his fellow teammates most notably his quarterback, it wouldn't be a complete surprise if he were to remain a free-agent. What would be surprising, however, is if he didn't even receive a single phone call by an NFL team. To his defense, the man can still play and put up numbers as he proved last season in Cincinnati where he led the team in receiving. While team's like the Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears are all competing for a playoff spot in spite of lacking a productive receiver, I don't see why either team would not try and sign a veteran like Owens.
With the odds of a possible return in neither Iverson nor Owens' favor at this point, which athlete would you care to see more and which do you think has a greater chance at staging a comeback?
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