Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Terrell Owens needs a spanking.

Mind you, I’m not advocating a beating or child abuse. Just a good, old-fashioned, open palm to the rear end spanking. Entire generations were raised this way and, more often than not, grew into mature adults instead of petulant little children in grown up bodies.

Is it a coincidence that in this era of “time-outs� we have a generation without any respect for authority? Then again, a good chunk of them don’t have any respect for decency or life. Why should authority be any different? But I digress.

I’m not sure all the specifics of T.O.’s upbringing. I know he came from a very troubled background and supposedly was whipped often. But I’m guessing he never got the proper discipline he so desperately needed, or is so desperately calling out for. No, too many people along the way enabled Owens and didn’t care enough about him to teach him right from wrong. It’s kind of sad, really. Here you have one of the most talented athletes of his generation flushing his career down the toilet, and not a single person in his inner circle has stepped up to stop the career suicide.

We know his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is only in it for the money. That’s expected. What I want to know is; where’s T.O.’s family? Where are his friends? Not even one person is strong enough to look him in the eye and tell him the truth?

We all have a buddy or relative who’s always messing up. We care for them and offer support. It’s what friends and family do. But at some point, usually after the 20th self-destructive episode or so, isn’t there always one person in the circle of trust who steps forward and says “I love you man, but you’re making Tom Cruise look normal?�

Think about it for a second. 99.99% of the country thinks Owens is a jerk. There have to be more than a few close acquaintances who feel the same way. It’s the law of averages. How can they, in good conscience, watch what’s going on and not try to help? Is the idea of being close to a “star� so alluring that common sense takes a back seat?

You know what’s funny about this whole Bill Parcells-Terrell Owens relationship? It’s that the Tuna is actually the kind of coach the troubled wide receiver would flourish under. Yes, T.O. had a bad childhood. So did Terry Glenn. Glenn had more than his share of flare-ups in the NFL. Even Bill Belichick couldn’t get through to him. Yet there was Glenn in Dallas last year, playing for his first coach and putting up numbers he hadn’t approached since his rookie year with the Patriots.

You remember 1996, don’t you, a frustrated Parcells questioning Glenn’s toughness and willingness to play through a hamstring injury? Sounds eerily similar to 2006, doesn’t it? Remember how it played out, the coach starting a firestorm by referring to his talented but troubled wideout as “she,� the receiver responding by posting 90-catches on the way to the Super Bowl?

See, the spanking doesn’t always have to be physical. Words sometimes do just fine. Too bad the current version of the Tuna doesn’t care enough about the current version of the troubled receiver to step in where so many others failed.

What are your thoughts on Terrell Owens? Will the Cowboys cut him? Is there hope for him to turn his career around?