Super Bowl to choose the Class of 2018 Deandre Baker Jersey , the decision to select Terrell Owens should take less time than it does to microwave a bag of popcorn.

T.O. belongs in Canton. It’s a no-brainer.

Owens is second to Jerry Rice in all-time receiving yards and third in touchdown catches behind Rice and Randy Moss, a finalist in his first year of eligibility.

No. 81 was a five-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowl pick and of the most entertaining players of his generation.

Owens deserved first-ballot induction. Case closed. Yet, he’s been snubbed twice because voters are punishing him for his off-field and locker room ”antics” during a sensational 15-year career.

But there is no ”character clause” for the Pro Football Hall of Fame – and that’s not saying Owens should fail it.

Owens was never arrested nor suspended by the NFL. He didn’t have legal issues or drug problems.

Still, he’s been kept out because of questionable behavior and the perception he was a malcontent.

Sure, Owens often spoke his mind and sometimes got under the skin of teammates and coaches. He threw some of his quarterbacks – Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo – under a rapidly moving bus. He also defended Romo from criticism and famously cried once while doing it.

Owens should be judged for his value on the field. He made every one of the five teams he played for better. He wasn’t the perfect teammate and he was disruptive at times, but when he stepped on the field, he was exceptional and durable.

Owens only missed 12 games in his long career, plus the nine he didn’t play in 2005 after Andy Reid kicked him off the Philadelphia Eagles following a nasty feud with McNabb and a dispute with management over a new contract.

That came only several months after Owens helped McNabb have his best season, then heroically returned from ankle surgery – against doctor’s orders – to play in the Super Bowl. Owens would’ve been MVP of that game against the New England Patriots if McNabb didn’t throw three interceptions in the 24-21 loss.

Anyone who covered the T.O. circus in Philadelphia and the aftermath knows Owens wasn’t solely to blame for the way things went down. McNabb was overly sensitive and didn’t like all the attention Owens received. McNabb was booed by Eagles fans at the 1999 draft and he never forgot it. The same fans embraced Owens from the second he arrived in Philadelphia after eight seasons in San Francisco. More than 20,000 people went to see his first practice of 2004 training camp at Lehigh University. That led to jealousy issues with McNabb that final escalated a year later.

After things got ugly in Philly, the locker room was divided between McNabb supporters and Owens supporters. If the mess was entirely Owens’ fault Oshane Ximines Jersey , some of the well-respected veterans who sided with him wouldn’t have done so.

But it was easier for Reid to dismiss a 32-year-old receiver who wanted more money than a 28-year-old franchise quarterback who never ruffled any feathers.

Owens ended up in Dallas and had three excellent seasons with the Cowboys before he wore out his welcome. He played one year in Buffalo and one more in Cincinnati.

Those who argue that Owens bounced around the league because teams couldn’t wait to get rid of him should consider that Rice played for three clubs, and Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton also played for five. Lofton is on the 48-member selection committee and voted for Owens last year.

This really shouldn’t be a difficult decision. It certainly doesn’t compare to the steroid dilemma Major League Baseball Hall of Fame voters face each year.

Terrell Owens is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and earned the right to receive a gold jacket.

When he finally puts one on, getcha popcorn ready because it’ll be the most must-see induction speech ever.

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Arizona’s offense, so awful in May, is on a scoring binge in June – and Jon Jay joined the party Tuesday night.

Jay got his first three hits for Arizona, including a three-run homer, and the Diamondbacks won their fifth game in a row with a sloppy 13-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

”I can’t stress enough how good this group is and how they’ve welcomed me and made me feel super comfortable,” he said. ”I’m super excited and looking forward to the summer.”

Jay, acquired Thursday in a trade with Kansas City, was hitless in 12 at-bats for the Diamondbacks before his leadoff single in Arizona’s six-run first inning. His opposite-field homer in the eighth broke the game open after the Pirates had rallied from an 8-0 deficit to trail 10-8.

”That was a pretty decisive blow in the game,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.

Starling Marte hit a three-run homer, doubled and made a diving grab in center field for the Pirates.

Fernando Salas (4-4) gave up a run in 1 1/3 innings and got the win.

Nine of the runs in the game were unearned.

The Diamondbacks have scored 51 runs in the last five games. They’ve won 11 of 14 and lead the NL West by three games over the surging Los Angeles Dodgers.

”It’s hard to believe,” Lovullo said. ”You go through a May the way we did Julian Love Jersey , I don’t know how many runs we scored the entire month. It wasn’t a lot.”

The Pirates have lost six of eight and fell to 1-4 on a six-game trip that ends Wednesday afternoon with the series finale in the desert.

Arizona jumped on Trevor Williams (5-4) in the first with six runs, two on Ketel Marte’s seventh triple of the season. Five runs were unearned thanks to three Pirates errors, two on one play.

”We’ve got work to do,” manager Clint Hurdle said of his infield defense. ”We are not playing at the level we are capable of playing.”

The Diamondbacks added a pair of runs in the third, one on David Peralta’s RBI triple, to lead 8-0.

But the Pirates countered with an unearned barrage of their own in a six-run fourth.

A catcher’s interference call against John Ryan Murphy loaded the bases and Clay Buchholz hit Jordy Mercer with a pitch to bring in Pittsburgh’s first run. Buchholz walked pinch-hitter Sean Rodriguez to bring in another. Josh Harrison followed with a sacrifice fly before Marte homered just over the right-field fence to cut what once was an eight-run Arizona lead to 8-6.

Because of Murphy’s error, the last four of the six runs were unearned.

Josh Bell’s RBI double, his third hit of the night, trimmed Arizona’s advantage to 10-8 in the seventh.

”A couple tough bounces their way and it got out of hand in that first inning,” said Williams, who allowed eight runs – only three earned – in three innings. ”It was good for us to fight back and it is awesome that the team showed that fight. I am disappointed in myself that it was out of reach in that first inning and let the team down that way.”

TOUGH START

The first inning was an ugly one for Pittsburgh.

With runners at first and second and no outs, Bell fielded Jake Lamb’s grounder to first base and spiked a throw to second, with the ball bouncing into the outfield.

Marte’s two-out triple brought in two more runs Darius Slayton Jersey , and Jarrod Dyson was intentionally walked to bring up Buchholz. Williams made a pickoff move to first, threw wildly and Marte scored. The speedy Dyson headed for third and second baseman Harrison threw the ball away, allowing the runner to score.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: Harrison was back in the lineup after being hit by a pitch in the shoulder Monday night. The Pirates had said after that game that Harrison would be day to day.

Diamondbacks: RHP Braden Shipley took a line drive to the ribs in the ninth but stayed in the game to get the final out. … LHP Robbie Ray (strained right oblique) is to make his first rehab start Thursday for Class A Visalia. … RHP Shelby Miller (Tommy John surgery) makes his fourth rehab start, for Class A Visalia, on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Arizona, going for its second consecutive three-game sweep, sends RHP Zack Greinke (5-4, 3.53 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. The Pirates counter with RHP Jameson Taillon (3-5, 4.08). Greinke is 16-1 with a 2.53 ERA in his last 25 starts at Chase Field.

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