Owens incident a real mess Since early Wednesday, I've read my share of accounts and opinions on the Terrell Owens suicide attempt/pill mixing incident, and I've heard far too much sports talk radio on the subject.

And what I consider some combination of comical, annoying and insensitive is the way people, will no qualifications to do so, have played the roles of detective, paramedic, psychologist, etc., to try to explain to us what must have happened.

There are many times when journalists are required to read between the lines to get a full story, but this time, the handling of it has been all wrong.

If Owens tried to commit suicide, no matter what you think of him, you should feel sorry for him, for the state that his life is in, and sincerely hope he gets things straightened out. Those close to him should make sure he gets help and be there for him as much as possible. Why must we investigate?

I also heard it suggested that this entire incident may have been a publicity stunt from a guy who craves the spotlight. If so, won't blabbing on about it just give him what he wants?

With that in mind, it's time to move on from this topic. I hope Owens isn't battling depression and I hope he's recovering well from a mishap. I hope he's not suicidal and I have no desire to see anyone in pain. Time to change topics.

And I will. But first I have to ask, did Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, really say that he has $25 million reasons to be alive? Did she? Did

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she basically say that money is a reason for living, while implying that rich people don't battle loneliness, unhappiness and depression?

She didn't say that, right? Jeers

To Phil Mickelson. I've now gone, in one year, from really pulling for Mickelson to now almost rooting against him. His brain-lock performance at the U.S. Open was maddening to his fans, and his showing at the Ryder Cup was embarrassing. On a team with clearly inferior talent to the Europeans, Mickelson was sorely needed, and he may have done the team more harm than good. It's not hard to see why the Americans were routed. Jeers

To Pedro Martinez's season-ending injury. This truly saddens me. With the Red Sox out of the picture, I've been looking forward to watching the baseball playoffs without stress, and Pedro's outings were at the top of my must-see list.

In all seriousness, is it really worth holding National League playoffs anymore? The Mets have the best record, and their first two starters Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine are older than the faces on their money. Jeers

To the U.S. Davis Cup team, which again lost on clay away from home. Each September some commentator tells me that American men's tennis is not struggling because we have all these guys doing well at the U.S. Open. But on other surfaces, Americans are almost always non-factors these days, and they'll never win the Davis Cup until they can produce at least one player capable of winning big matches on clay. Contact Chris Casavant at c.casavant@yahoo.com