Hard Knocks, Followed by Some Soft Shoe

The Cowboys don’t open the preseason until Saturday night, but tonight arrives what most of you have been squirming for. At 9 on HBO: Hard Knocks. I was at camp in Oxnard last week and, trust me, there’s a camera everywhere everyone turns. Expect owner Jerry Jones to be a…

Jerry Jones: “Yes.”

Or bust? Everyone – from NFL Films prez Steve Sabol to gambling websites to this dork — is picking the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl. But out at training camp in Oxnard, Calif., players, coaches and even owner Jerry Jones are being very careful to avoid hyping the…

Byrd Watching

Amusing. Entertaining. Exciting. But magical? Nope, not yet. The Texas Rangers produced another dramatic climax last night, beating the Yankees on Marlon Byrd’s 9th-inning grand slam. With fans doing that retarded “Byrd Dance” where they girlishly flap their arms like a, um, ya know, bird, Byrd launched the first pitch…

A Grand Slam Breakfast

This morning, I believe — five games back of Boston for the wild card, no problem, not with Marlon Byrd at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Then again, the Rangers still have the White Sox, Twins and Yanks in their way as well. Won’t be easy…

Is it Bigger Than a Bread Basket?

Biggest Dallas sports ticket. Ever. Just got my grubby little hands on what will be one of the hottest tickets in Metroplex sports history – the final regular-season Cowboys game at Texas Stadium. As you can see, the Cowboys certainly think it’s big. The actual ticket to the Saturday, Dec…

Commence: Re-Entry

Anyone remember where I live? Okay, let’s see what I missed here on the homefront while vacationing in Canada and “working” in California. Hmm … *Rough week for our beloved Mark Cuban. First, Ron Artest gets traded to the Rockets, dropping his Mavericks to fourth-best in their own damn division…

Pony Express to Ride Again, If Only For Charity Auction This Month

Eric Dickerson, whose e-mail address still contains the word “ponyexpress,” no kidding. If nothing else, SMU’s trying awful hard to get the old ponies back into the stable after what’s felt like centuries of losing records. A month ago, the school announced that for the upcoming football season, June Jones’…

The Top 10 Most Important Dallas Cowboys

Time to pull back the curtain on the most vital Cowboys. Get it? After a week in Oxnard – yes, I’m back here in our lovely triple-digit clime – I think I have a pretty good handle on the Cowboys’ flow chart. Somehow I missed you-know-who’s appearance, but I did…

Cowboys Camp: Thursday Wrap-Up

Prepared to be dazzled. Or disgusted. Depends on your perspective, I guess. Pacman Jones is full of … tricks. On Monday the dude caught six punts, storing each ball in a different part of his torso, without ever dropping one. Tuesday he was fielding kickoffs with one hand. And yesterday…

Roy Williams: Man or Myth?

Roy Williams, a Pro Bowler? Horse hockey. You might say. I don’t trust Roy Williams. But I do trust Dave Campo. And Campo, the former Cowboys’ head coach who’s back as the team’s secondary coach, says we’ll see the “old Roy Williams” again this year. “From watching film of him…

Cowboys Camp: Wednesday Morning

Not even a clever caption can negate the putrid aspects of my photography. Whew. Pro Bowl pass rusher DeMarcus Ware left practice early this morning, but it looked like nothing serious. He either tweaked his back or took a blow to the head during full-pads scrimmage. But he walked off…

Cowboys Interested in Chris Simms

Better than Brad Johnson, spleen or no. In news that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported earlier this month and the St. Petersburg Times touched on again yesterday, the Cowboys are seriously considering a trade for former University of Texas and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms. A source…

Cowboys Camp: Tuesday Wrap-Up

Who showed up and instantly started haunting my Super Bowl dreams? One guess. The news-making earthquake turned out to be little more than a casual Texas thunderstorm. After a brief “drop, duck and cover”, this is what I survived to see on Tuesday afternoon: *Cornerback Terence Newman’s strained groin will…

Hoops It Up: Kenny Cooper to Keep on Kickin’ It With FC Dallas

Kenny Cooper — or, perhaps, Upright Citizens Brigade’s Ian Roberts? Hoops fans, rejoice. This afternoon FC Dallas announced that star forward Kenny Cooper isn’t going anywhere, at least not this season. Here’s what FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock has to say on the subject: “We received offers from multiple…

Welcome to Training Camp. Er, Paradise

Terence Newman has a groin injury. I have a really crappy camera. I’ve received lots of suggestions on what you guys wanna know about Cowboys’ camp – How’s Felix Jones look? Can Zach Thomas still play? What’s up with Jerry’s hat? – so the best way to attack this thing…

Lame Duck Phillips?

Relax, both coaches could be talking to Tony Romo again next season. I’ll serve up a smorgasbord of training camp insights later this morning, but wanted to get to the news of the day first. Contrary to the asinine sentiments of some columnists, this isn’t guaranteed to be Wade Phillips’…