Who would have thought that the egomaniacal Terrell Owens would get his comeuppance from a model on a dopey prime-time TV show?

Who would have thought that I would write anything about that dopey prime-time TV show, ABC's "The Superstars," in this column? It's certainly not something I gave even a passing thought.

But the confrontation between Owens and "supermodel" Joanna Krupa was so unexpectedly, deliciously entertaining — in the worst tradition of reality shows — that I couldn't turn away.

"The Superstars" is a meaningless competition featuring eight two-person teams — one (sort-of) celebrity and one athlete. Owens, the all-star receiver who's made trouble wherever he's gone in the NFL, was paired with Krupa.

It didn't go well.

Seemingly headed for a win and a ticket to the second week of the competition in a two-man kayak competition, Owens and Krupa capsized.

Krupa was clearly furious and just as clearly blamed Owens.

The kayak mishap sent them to an obstacle-course event. And, while T.O. appeared to be the best-conditioned athlete on the show, he got his foot tangled in cargo netting, resulting in another defeat.

"I don't want a teammate like that!" Krupa yelled. "Calls himself an athlete? What does he get a million dollars for?

"You're the one that (bleeped) up! We could have won! So shut up!"

(It's always classy when a supermodel has to be bleeped because she's dropping f-bombs on a silly TV show.)

In the final round of the obstacle-course competition, it was Krupa who got tangled in the cargo netting. And she and T.O. were eliminated from the show.

Even though the final loss was her fault, Krupa's temper tantrum continued. While T.O. tried to be a good sport — he told Krupa "Good job" and tried to high-five her, she walked away in disgust.

"Just shut up! ... I am so (ticked). I am not standing there," Krupa said. "Unbelievable. Calls himself an athlete. I have nothing to say to anybody. I'll be a prima donna like you been.

"So cocky? For what? You got in the NFL?"

It was a ridiculous overreaction that made Krupa look like a fool. For the first time in his career, Owens was actually the good guy.

You could even sympathize when, goaded by Krupa's bad behavior, T.O. said, "I feel really bad for your boyfriend."

But you've got to wonder if T.O. understood the irony. I'm guessing that Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo and a lot of Owens' other former teammates certainly enjoyed the irony of the receiver being in the same position he had put each of them (and lots of other teammates) in over the years.

And maybe his new Buffalo Bills teammates are hoping T.O. actually learned a lesson on "The Superstars."

But I'm not holding my breath on that one.

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com