Thursday was a black armband day for Tipsheet. The demise of Terrell Owens in Dallas was bad news, indeed, because he provided a LOT of material while toiling for America’s Team.

Only Jerry Jones’ Cowboys would allow T.O. to perform street theater in front of his locker stall every time the media came calling.

Words fail us now as we try to describe our loss. But here is what some others were writing:

Mike Freeman, CBSSports.com: “It seems Dallas is in the middle of a (human waste) jettison movement. They’ve supposedly tossed Terrell Owens overboard which follows their divorce from Pacman “Crimetime” Jones. Thank goodness the Cowboys are finally understanding that you can’t win with a team full of bad guys. And Owens is a bad guy. Dallas has enough talent on the field to win. It doesn’t need Owens or Tank Johnson or Crimetime or the serial quarterback killer Owens to make the postseason.”

Peter King, SI.com: “The biggest winner in the firing of Terrell Owens on Wednesday night? Easy. It’s Tony Romo. You cannot win National Football League games — or North Dakota high school football games or Delaware Pop Warner games — when the quarterback drops back to pass and has in the front of his mind, ‘I’ve got to make sure I look extra hard at one guy.’ And whether he’ll admit it or not, that’s the way Romo had to play the last three years, with one strategic hand tied behind his back.”

Jennifer Floyd Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Just like that, with a single decision, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones morphed from idiot owner to football genius. About time Jerry. And congrats. Wednesday’s news of the Cowboys’ decision to finally cut T.O.’s aging, whiny, turmoil-causing, distraction-generating, wide-receiver butt proves hope remains for Jerry yet. He saved his football soul. Which is saying a lot considering how badly he screwed up muffed non-hiring of Dan Reeves and bringing back Coach Cupcake this offseason.”

Jean-Jacques Taylor, Dallas Morning News: “Jerry wasn’t going to fire Wade Phillips. And Jason Garrett wasn’t going to get another job. And Jerry wasn’t going to sign Ray Lewis. So, Jerry absolutely, positively had to let T.O. go. You know it pained Jerry to do so because he always feels like he can save a lost player. But it wouldn’t work with Owens’ personality is too powerful. Nobody in the locker room has the professional success or the intestinal fortitude to insist that T.O. sit down and shut up. He had to go.”

John Clayton, ESPN.com: “Owens, who advised NFL fans during the past two seasons that they’d better bring their popcorn when watching him and the Cowboys play, may find it hard to get a high-paying job in the NFL. Sure, the Oakland Raiders might be interested. Al Davis loves big-play receivers and he’s not afraid to add a player with a big ego. But the rest of the league might not be as understanding.”

This is how it would go down for T.O. in the real world:

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wonder if Missouri could still earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament:

• Now that Mike Anderson has seen the full potential of Mizzou basketball –with a full house rocking — will he tell his SEC suitors to scram?
• Is there a better job in college basketball than flanking Blake Griffin? Would you ever have to go for a rebound?
• Would anybody ever cover you?

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jerry Greene, Orlando Sentinel: “Where’s the outrage? Jewel has tendinitis in her knees and is supposed to be on Dancing With the Stars when it begins a new season Monday. She posted this on her blog: ‘Hopefully these steroids will really do the trick.’ How’s an honest guy like  Lawrence Taylor going to compete with that?”

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Stan Kasten, once in charge of almost every sports franchise in Atlanta, and I think two Burger Kings and a consignment store, left for Washington to run the Nationals. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But the team stunk last year, the organization was devoid of prospects from bad trades, attendance plummeted after the newness factor wore off (which was quick) and now general manager Jim Bowden has resigned, amid allegations that he was skimming from signing bonuses given to players from the Dominican Republic. Kasten? He has taken over as the Nationals’ GM. ‘I’m in charge,’ he said. I’m guessing that’s not going to open as many doors as he had hoped.”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “New Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has discussed hiring retired NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to oversee Miami’s business-side operations. Tagliabue brings to the table a wealth of lawyerly experience, decades of football expertise and the personality of a cardboard cutout.”

MEGAPHONE

“’I got a lot of support here. There’s no negative talk before I even got here coming from the media about me being here or about what type of player I’d be or anything like that . . . So, there’s just a positive vibe here. From the day I got drafted, I think somebody wrote an article or something along the lines that I was crying because I didn’t want to get drafted by the Bears . . . That was so far from the truth, and I think that kind of just set the tone for my arrival in Chicago.”

Bengals running back Cedric Benson, telling a Chicago radio station why he’s flourishing in Cincinnati after flopping as a Bear.