OWENS GONE - AND HE'S TAKEN EVERYONE DOWN WITH HIM: T.O. SAGA LEAVES FEATHERS RUFFLED.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

Terrell Owens' career in Philadelphia didn't go out with a Super Bowl trophy or on television with a starlet dropping a towel, but you can't say it didn't go out with a bang.

Just look at all the people picking shrapnel out of their backside.

Arbitrator Richard Bloch's judgment this week, upholding the Eagles' four-game suspension of Owens, may have surprised many who expected the suspension to be reduced - including a New York Newsday reporter who prematurely reported that it would be.

Then again, what in this saga has been predictable?

In February, by the time Owens vigorously rehabbed his ankle in time to not only play in the Super Bowl, but arguably be the best player in it, he may had done more to electrify Philadelphia than anyone since Ben Franklin. Or so noted social critic-turned-football analyst Camille Paglia.

Since then, Owens hired agent Drew Rosenhaus, the equivalent of pairing a gas can with blow torch. Soon after, Owens demanded a new contract, promised a holdout, reneged on that one and promised only to be a distraction, was sent home from training camp for bad behavior and finally - the last straw, or match - refusing to apologize to quarterback Donovan McNabb for saying the Eagles would have been better off with Brett Favre.

Kaboom.

As the debris rains down, few have escaped being hit.

First off, there are the Eagles. Heretofore known as Super Bowl conte nders and a model organization that stayed away from sexy players - and their problems - Eagles coach Andy Reid has spent the whole season listening to his inner I-told-you-so. His team has imploded in and around Owens this season, sitting in last place with more losses already than any season since 1999.

Next up is Owens himself. Instead of the new contract he and Rosenhaus wanted, Owens figures to have lost out on nearly $10 million in suspensions, bonus money the Eagles may try to recoup, and the large chunk ($7.5 million) he was due in March if he had remained with the team. The next deal Owens gets is more likely to be game-to-game.

Then there is Rosenhaus. Is it possible he might have garnered some sympathy a few months ago after another of his clients who threatened to hold out because he had out-performed his current contract - Green Bay's Javon Walker - tore up his knee in the season opener? Next question.

The players' union, which in recent years has seen the NFL successfully recoup signing bonuses and exercise greater control over players, was not at all pleased by Bloch's decision.

This was not necessarily good news for Bloch or the NFL. The union says it will exercise its right to remove Bloch as an arbitrator next month and union attorney Jeffrey Kessler promised that the decision would impact the already chilled atmosphere around negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The current one expires after the 2007 season.

``The owners want a new collective bargaining agreement?'' Kessler told The New York Times. ``Well, we need to take a hard look at situations like this.''

That might have been sage advice for Ralph Nadar and Jesse Jackson, who made their marks as social activists - at least until they began sniffing the fumes of political ambition. They've publicly attached themselves to Owens' cause, which doesn't quite ring disenfranchisement the same way as police brutality and exploding Pintos.

Left wondering what's next is ESPN - or as it's become known this season: Eagles Sports Programming Network. It dispatched two reporters to Philadelphia as if it were waiting for black or white smoke to appear from the chimney of Bloch's hotel room. One day last week, the top three stories on SportsCenter were McNabb being placed on IR, an update on Owens' arbitration, and a season-ending injury to cornerback Lito Sheppard.

Until they throw it back to the studio to hear about the other 31 teams in the league, there's always speculation of what happens next. Owens, once his suspension is up this week, will likely be paid not to show up to work the remainder of the season. (Now, I feel Jesse and Ralph's indignation.)

He'll then be released sometime before he's due to collect his bonuses in March and be on the open market. Dallas and Denver seem to be the only ones who would have any interest, though Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said two weeks ago he would have reservations about Owens.

If it seems like a vanishing market now, one general manager said that will change with all the front office and coaching movement that's expected this winter. Also, memories fade.

In other words, in a few months, much can change. That's plenty of time to pick up all the pieces.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) The Eagles weren't the only ones affected by the Terrell Owens' fiasco.

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

(2) Although Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez leads the team with 54 receptions, he has only one touchdown so far this season.

Eliot J. Schecter/Getty Images

Box:

(1) WEEK 12 CAPSULES

- Associated Press

(2) BUMP & RUN