Signature Move by Owens Is Paying Off

Terrell Owens took plenty of heat last October for the stunt he pulled after catching a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks.

Few were amused when, after the play, the San Francisco 49ers’ All-Pro receiver whipped a Sharpie felt-tip pen from his sock, autographed the ball, and delivered it to his financial advisor seated in the front row of the stands.

But from Owens’ unsportsmanlike act a beneficial partnership has been formed, and this week the receiver and Sharpie were in Atlanta to launch a nationwide charity campaign designed to bring money and supplies to needy schools.

Owens doesn’t have a contract with the pen-maker, but Greg Stoner, vice president and general manager of Sharpie, said the company is happy to make the donations considering all the free publicity Owens generated.

“I was just having some fun with the game,” Owens said. “But now I have the chance to make a difference with kids ... all over the country.”

Trivia time: Which professional sports league prohibits players from tucking in their uniform tops?

Bugged: The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology is warning nature lovers that insect stings resulted in at least 40 deaths last year and that about 5% of the population is at risk for “potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.”

In an advisory, these critters were listed as the five most likely to sting: yellow jackets, honeybees, paper wasps, hornets and fire ants.

Of the ants, it said, “When they attack -- and they do without warning -- they fasten their jaws in your skin, arch their backs and insert a rear stinger into the skin. Then, these bloodthirsty little monsters pivot and typically give about eight stings in a circular pattern.”

Not if you step on ‘em first.

New heights: Georgia Tech is sending Georgia football fans into the nosebleed sections of recently renovated Bobby Dodd Stadium.

For the Nov. 29 game between bitter rivals, all but about 785 of the 8,500 tickets designated for visiting Georgia fans will be in the upper deck. And of those lower-level seats, more than half -- 446 -- will go to members of Georgia’s Red Coat Marching Band, leaving only 339 for Bulldog season ticket holders.

Of course, next year Georgia Tech can expect similar treatment when it visits Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, where a second upper deck is being added to the north side of the stadium.

Georgia ticket manager Freddy Jones told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “We’ll see how Tech fans like those seats.”

Uncharacteristic: Kevin McHale, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ general manager, didn’t pull any punches when the St. Cloud (Minn.) Times asked him how important a player’s character is in determining where he is taken in the NBA draft.

“If we were looking for citizenship,” he replied, “we’d disband the league.”

Trivia answer: The WNBA.

And finally: The Portland Trail Blazers -- tabbed the “Jail Blazers” because of their many off-court transgressions last season -- are said to be committed to polishing up their reputation.

So whom did they take first in the draft?

Travis Outlaw.

-- Mike Hiserman