We did like him when he was on the Eagles, sort of -- he had cool dances and stuff

But we didn't like him in the aftermath of the Super Bowl two years ago, especially when he started doing sit-ups in his plush Cherry Hill driveway. And we really don't like him anymore, what with the ME ME ME all the TIME TIME TIME.

Anyway, there's something utterly and totally satisfying about the following AP story by Stephen Hawkins:

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Terrell Owens is 0-for-2 against the Philadelphia Eagles. That's the least of his problems.

While he wore a Cowboys-branded Santa hat on his head, Owens certainly wasn't joyful Christmas night. His frustration was evident after a 23-7 loss, when he scored the only Dallas touchdown, then complained several times that not enough passes are coming his way.

"I just feel like I'm not involved early in the game," Owens said. "Everybody knows that's what I do. Every team that I've played on, I've been involved early and often. It's hard to get in the flow when you're getting a ball here, a ball there."

Owens had only three balls come his direction before halftime, all on the drive that ended with his 14-yard TD pass with 36 seconds left to get Dallas within 10-7. He also caught a 9-yard pass and another attempt resulted in an illegal contact penalty against the Eagles.

Those were Owens' only catches in the game.

After the Eagles stretched their lead to 16-7 in the third quarter, Owens let an almost perfectly thrown deep ball by Tony Romo go right through his hands along the sideline. He said there should have been a penalty on Brian Dawkins, who was defending him.

"He bumped me way down the field and I started to regroup. By the time I looked up and located the ball, it was right on me," Owens said.

"All receivers are going to drop the ball," Romo said, downplaying it.

Romo, the Pro Bowl quarterback whose 142 yards were his fewest in his nine starts, threw toward a double-covered Owens early in the fourth quarter. Dawkins was there again, making a nifty over-the-shoulder grab for an interception.

"Late in the game, they start throwing to me," Owens said. "By that time, it's too late. I'm giving full effort. I want to be involved."

Owens didn't have a catch in the first half in his much-hyped October return to Philadelphia, when he finished with only three grabs for 45 yards and the Eagles won 38-24.

This time, Owens hardly had an impact and the Eagles took control of the NFC East race. Dallas could have clinched its first division title since 1998, but now must beat Detroit and have Philadelphia lose to Atlanta in the regular-season finale. The Eagles and Cowboys are both 9-6 and guaranteed playoff spots.

"It's not necessarily embarrassing that we lost to them," T.O. said. "I was embarrassed by the way we played offensively."

Owens insisted it wasn't a personal grudge match for him against the Eagles, the team that he helped lead to the Super Bowl in 2004 before being suspended midway through last year. That included his bitter and public feud with quarterback Donovan McNabb.

T.O. certainly doesn't have a problem with all the Eagles. He spent part of Christmas Eve visiting with some of his former Philadelphia teammates at their hotel.

"What about it?" Owens said. "That shouldn't have any bearing on the game. That's my time and you know those guys are my friends. I'm not going to shy away from my friends for anybody."

As for what he might say to his current quarterback about getting the ball more, Owens indicated that the problem wasn't Romo, but rather the plays being called.

"I don't think it's necessarily anything Tony and I need to talk about. He knows that I'm going to try my hardest to make some plays for him," he said. "When the plays aren't really designed for me to get involved in the offense, he's going to go with the plays that are called."

Owens even got in on defense for a play, as a deep safety about 30 seconds after his touchdown at the end of the first half. But Jeff Garcia, 4-1 since replacing the injured McNabb, instead dumped the ball for a shorter gain and left 1 second on the clock for a half-ending field goal.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez, Getty Images).