Eagles won't give T.O. permission to play hoops

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens won't play for Sacramento's summer-league team next week because the NFL club will not give permission.

Owens, the talkative All-Pro who's embroiled in a contract dispute with the Eagles, had recent discussions with the Kings about another foray into basketball, his favorite sport.

But Kings spokesman Darrin May said Friday the franchise wouldn't add Owens to its roster for the Las Vegas summer league unless the Eagles give their consent -- something they did not do, given Owens' value and contract status. The Kings' first game is July 10."

Eagles president Joe Banner said through a team spokesman Friday night that they had not received a request from the Kings, but if they were to receive one, they would not allow Owens to play.

Owens, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard with a quick first step, was a backup on his college basketball team at Tennessee-Chattanooga. He played briefly for the USBL's Adirondack Wildcats in the summer of 2002, while he was still with the San Francisco 49ers.

Owens caught 77 passes for 1,200 yards and 14 TDs in his first season with the Eagles, earning a spot in the Pro Bowl for the fifth straight year.

But after helping Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl last season, he stirred things up in his new home with his demand to re-negotiate the seven-year, $49 million deal he signed in March 2004 - and with his criticism of quarterback Donovan McNabb following the Eagles' loss to the New England Patriots. He held out of the Eagles' recent minicamps to underline his displeasure with his contract.

While Owens won't be in Las Vegas, rapper Master P -- otherwise known as Percy Miller -- will be on the Kings' summer roster, May said.

Miller has pursued his NBA dreams with several teams since 1998, when he tried out for the Charlotte Hornets. He was waived by the Toronto Raptors in 1999, and he participated with the Denver Nuggets' summer league team last year.