Terrell Owens is called the most controversial man in football because of his notorious temper but since The TO Show began airing on Vh1, people are more concerned with how many children and babymamas he allegedly has. My curiosity wasn’t piqued until I recently overheard a publicist (not his publicist) at a party, alleging that he had a nine-year-old son and two four-year-olds—that aren’t twins. Her tone was extra scandalous, and when the gossipee questioned her source, she said it was from one of her girlfriends who dated him.

Speaking of dating TO, I suspect that Monday’s episode may have really caused a spike in the public’s curiosity. TO was on a date with a Victoria’s Secret model who asked him how many children he had and he avoided the question. Hmmm…

Don’t act like it’s just me who’s curious. A lot of you want answers too. Want to know how I know? It’s that nifty invention called Google. Apparently, the topic of how many children (or lack thereof) Terrell Owens has, has been a Google trend for quite some time.

I’m usually not that nosy (yeah right) but I did some research. I didn’t just google. I asked football fans, including my associate who is a sports editor for a well known sports news chain. The average football fans—all men—could care less, and said sports editor wasn’t entirely sure but he guesstimated two. As far as my googling, I didn’t find much which leads me to believe that if TO does have several children and BMs like folks are speculating, he must be good. Real good. Most high-profile men in those situations get got by their babymamas but I digress.

The last semi-credible source I found was BlackCelebKids.com. Yes, I know that 90% of the blogs on the web don’t fact check but this could actually be a decent source if they’re dedicated to collecting information solely about celebrity kids. However, don’t quote me on this. According to BCK (in an August 2008 article), TO has two children, one of which was asked to model for the clothing brand, Famous Stars and Straps (see the pic below).

What a cutie pie. Overall, I guess all that matters is that TO is taking care of whatever children, whether its two or 200, that he has. What do you think? Is it just two or have you heard inflated numbers too? Let’s get some clarity.

Vh1 is at it again on the reality TV front, with The T.O. Show. Wide receiver,  Terrell Owens is a brash, outspoken superstar in an abrupt transitional phase. The show finds the Alexander, Alabama native at the end of his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys (he got cut), preparing to begin a new chapter in Buffalo, but also trying to straighten out matters off the field when it comes to friends, love and family. TO, with the help of his best friends and publicists, Monique and Kita, will spend some time in LA to  get his life back in order. The goal is to help reconcile the contradictions in his persona. He’s both “TO,” a controversial hero to thousands of fans, and “Terrell Owens,” a single guy still searching for the right woman (he lost a fiancee because of his infidelity).

I previewed the trailer and first episode, and the show looks entertaining—not just in the usual goofball attention-seeking-get-ratings kind of way, but also in a relevant, down-to-Earth kind of way. I’m looking forward to Terrell’s visit with his estranged father, an encounter that will raise two questions: Is Terrell’s relationship with his father why he is the man he is today? And, will it inspire Terrell to rethink his own role as a father?

The show premiers on July 20 at 10pm, but check out the season trailer and snippet from episode one: