Perry Lefko

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.

T.O. is in T.O., but all the talk was on Tiger.

Terrell Owens has been asked numerous questions, mostly about himself, but this time it involved Tiger Woods and his ongoing transgressions.

"That's a personal matter for him," Owens began as he addressed a query posed by the media on Wednesday, one day before the Buffalo Bills play host to the New York Jets at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

"It's unfortunate for him, but Tiger is going to handle his business and the people behind him as well," Owens added.

This will be the Bills' third game as part of their five-year, eight-game package that cost the late Ted Rogers $78 million. This is Owens' first experience as a Bills' player playing in Toronto. It was billed as T.O. in T.O.

Owens is in the Woods' sports celebrity stratosphere, in which every action, reaction -- self-generated or otherwise -- is documented and reported and, in some cases, becomes viral. Woods' alleged infidelities are now being broadcast everywhere, his image as a husband and father no longer pristine or perfect.

Has too much been made of Woods' infidelities, Owens was asked?

"That's just the nature of the business," he replied. "When you're a big-time star like Tiger, those types of things kind of make headlines. I'm sure he's going to handle it and try to keep it in-house as close as possible."

Quite literally.

Woods' halo has been lifted, his image splintered, if not ruined. He is a mere mortal now.

For all Owens has done in his controversial career, the closest thing to transgressions and relationships have included problems with quarterbacks -- Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia, Jeff Garcia in San Francisco and Tony Romo in Dallas -- although in the latter case it involved a teary-eyed defence of his teammate.

Say what you will about Owens -- that he is a narcissist who also happens to be talented at catching passes and extremely petulant when he isn't -- but his image is not cultivated around a high-profile marriage and two young children. He has never been married, but does have two children. While there have been some stories in the news about him and his girlfriend, it’s never been as sensational as what's currently happening with Woods.

Owens is all about himself. There might not be room for any family in his life -- at least not for public awareness. He has managed to keep his personal life private. You don't see images of his wife flashed on TV during games. This is not Kurt Warner and his wife.

Owens knows all about the challenges about being a celebrity, mainly because he has been drawn to it like a moth to light. He has, in fact, craved it, almost like a junky.

"It's definitely a challenge, but with that celebrity status there's a responsibility that comes with it, so you have to carry yourself as a professional and be mature when you're on or off the field," he said. "That's a message for anybody getting into the limelight from high school to college and on into the pros. Those are the types of things we have workshops about to carry yourself as a professional. Any time you go out into the town, out and about, things are going to happen, but you have to be smart about it."

It has not been a particularly good season for Owens in Buffalo, and while he has on occasion shown his immaturity when he hasn't been part of the game plan, he hasn't been involved in any activity away from the game that has impacted on his image.

And that applies to his career as a whole. Clearly he practices what he preaches off the field. On the field, well, that's another matter.

Does he have anything planned for his debut in T.O.?

"I hope so, hope so," he said.

To expect T.O. in T.O. to be anything but a show would be unrealistic. He'll do something, positive or negative, to add something to what is othwerwise a meaningless game for the Bills and Jets. But whatever he does off the field and in the privacy of his home and personal life will almost certainly be kept in-house.

This Tiger is tame in that respect.