Could the TCU Horned Frogs Overtake the Dallas Cowboys For Football Supremacy?

In North Texas football is king. For the Dallas Cowboys, the team who once were crowned "America's Team," they are about to be replaced by a team who used to be 'that cute little team in Fort Worth.'

The TCU Horned Frogs, fresh off an unbeaten season and a Rose Bowl victory over the Wisconsin Badgers, it seems fans are beginning to stray away from the big silver star and over to the team named for a strange looking animal. And who can blame them?


Tom Pennington/Getty Images



Since his hiring in 2000, head coach Gary Patterson has led his team to top 25 finishes in eight of his 10 seasons including top 10 finishes in each of the last three seasons.

He has his team and his players at the highest level they have seen in years. Sure the TCU football program has had their share of great players, such as NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson, but the 2010 team wasn't filled with big time "stars."

The team had a quarterback, Andy Dalton, who did his job and put up record numbers in his final year. They had the nation's best defense led by hard hitting linebacker, Tank Carder, and departed cornerback Tejay Johnson. Everything went their way and it ended with a goose egg in the loss column and a celebration in Pasadena, California.

For the fans here in the Dallas and Forth Worth areas, they have gotten use to the Dallas Cowboys being the only football in town.

Nevermind the fact they had Southern Methodist University to the east, led by new head coach June Jones who has them on the right track for the first time in a long time, and Texas Christian University to the west. They wanted the far-too-big television screen and the stadium that cost over a billion dollars to build.

For years, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones had done and said the right things to keep fans coming back to his team and his stadium. Even after he built a brand new state of the art football stadium, raised parking prices to $75, and ticket prices to, well, out of range of families and the average fan, people still showed up.

But for the past 16 seasons, the fans have walked away from every NFL season in disappointment. Their team had not won a Super Bowl since 1996 and had just a single playoff victory. Despite all that, still the fans came and brought the same expectations they had the year before.

Could there finally be a changing of the guard? Could the Dallas Cowboys possibly play second fiddle to a college football team?

At this point one might wonder if Jones wouldn't love to have Patterson as his head coach. He has not had any luck finding the right guy since Jimmy Johnson left for greener pastures.

But, for reasons passing understanding, Patterson remains in Fort Worth and with a school who will finish up their final season in the Mountain West Conference before heading to the Big East Conference and a shot at an automatic BCS bid year in and year out.

The Cowboys have had their time in the sun and now it seems the Horned Frogs are making a strong case for fans in the metroplex to believe in what they are selling.

Like them or not, they are no longer the cute little team anymore. Now they have national attention and the fans who normally would not give them a second look, are buying up tickets like it's the last time they will get to see this team.

The final nail in the coffin of the Dallas Cowboys, whether you want to believe it or not, will be the continuation of the NFL lockout. If there is no professional football in 2011, the TCU Horned Frogs are the team who will benefit the most from it.

Before the 2010 college football season began, I remember listening to a good friend of mine on his radio show calling TCU "that cute little team." I laughed and knew it was just the biased opinion that seems to resonate here in Dallas.

But, when the season ended, he admitted to me that he never saw this kind of season coming from a team in the Mountain West.

If his opinion has changed, what are the odds the opinions of the rest of the naysayers have also changed?


Follow Todd Kaufmann on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

Dez Bryant a No-Show to Dallas Cowboys Team Workout

Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant just can not seem to keep his name out of the news. Whether it's getting into a verbal confrontation with Dallas police at an upscale shopping mall or owing thousands of dollars for jewelry he didn't pay for.

Over the last few weeks the stories surrounding Bryant seemed to have died off and the conversations about him on sports talk radio also grounded to a stop.



Ronald Martinez/Getty Images



Until, that is, the media found out Bryant did not show up to a workout put together by the Dallas Cowboy players.

The location was unknown and while quarterback Tony Romo refused to say who was there and who wasn't, a source leaked it to the Dallas media that one of the no-shows was in fact Dez Bryant. It relit the already short fuse some of the fans, and media alike, have for the 2010 first round draft pick.

Drama started his career with the Cowboys after the "shoulder pad gate" after Bryant refused to carry Roy Williams' pads. That incident alone was blown into a story that never should have been as big as it was. Then there was the incident at NorthPark Centre followed by the money owed for jewelry.

It has not been a good off season for the second year wide receiver. There are things he could have done to make sure his name didn't stay synonymous with negative press.

The best thing Bryant could have done for himself was to show up to this team workout. He could have done everything in his power to make sure he was visible at the workout and made absolutely sure people knew he made the decision to be there.

We do not know what kept him from being at the workout and it's what makes this particular story a slippery slope because we have nothing but assumptions at this point. He could have had an absolutely legitimate reason for not being there.

But because of everything Bryant has been through and because of all the negative press that has surrounded his name, the assumptions of those who hear he wasn't at the team workout are going to be that he just decided he did not want to be there. Fans and media are going to assume the worst when it comes to Bryant.

Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, prior to the start of the NFL Draft, was supposed to have a sit down meeting with his wide receiver. During a press conference, Jones made it clear he was going to discuss all of the things surrounding Bryant and make sure the two sides were on the same page.

When the date for the meeting came and went, Jones said the meeting had not taken place and when asked why Jones only responded by saying ,"their schedules had been mixed up."

There are a lot of frustrations with Dez Bryant since he was drafted by the Cowboys. There is no question he has tremendous talent and ability but his actions and decisions away from football could be a lot better.

If he can not stay out of trouble and if he continues to be a no show for the team workouts, one might wonder just how long the Dallas Cowboys are willing to keep explaining things away until they are forced to cut and run.


Follow Todd Kaufmann on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook

Andre Gurode, Dallas Cowboys Say They Have Reached Out to Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant has been the source of a lot of headaches for the Dallas Cowboys during the off season.

With his run-ins at an upscale mall in Dallas and owing money to a jewelry store, some wonder what we still might not know about the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver.

His former mentor, Deion Sanders, has jumped ship and is no longer speaking to the second year wideout. He told ESPN radio a few weeks ago that Bryant needed help and he had told the Cowboys as much in earlier conversations with them. He, however, was done trying to help him out when it seemed Bryant wouldn't help himself.

While "Prime Time" might not be there for Bryant, it seems his Cowboys teammates are ready to pick up the slack.

Cowboys' center Andre Gurode joined 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday morning and was asked about reaching out to Bryant and trying to keep him in line.

"You know, I think we have a close-knit group and we all want the best for Dez," Gurode said. "We have reached out to try and get in contact with him and tell him that this is a situation that you’re going through and we want you to get through it, and get over it. And if you need any help, call one of us and we’ll definitely sit down and talk to you."

Whether or not Gurode of any of his teammates can get through to this young wide receiver isn't a given but Gurode and the rest of his teammates need to make this an internal conversation. If there is anyone Bryant is going to listen to it has to be the veteran's in the locker room, right?

I know there was the drama surrounding him and Roy Williams during training camp last year and it didn't start Bryant's career off as a Cowboy on the right foot. But when it comes to guys who can get through to a young guy who needs to be turned around and put on the right path, Gurode is the right guy to start things off.

Nothing has worked yet, maybe this is a latch ditch effort to see how Bryant responds. If he doesn't and continues to get in trouble, one has to wonder whether Jerry Jones and the rest of the front office and coaching staff might have to make other plans for his future.


Follow Todd Kaufmann @T_Kaufmann on Twitter or find him on Facebook

2011 NFL Draft: Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys Have a Lot to Prove With This Draft

With the NFL Draft just a few weeks away, the projections, mock drafts, opinions, conjectures, and all the rest that come with this event.

For the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, there might be more riding on this draft than at any other point in franchise history. Jones needs to make a splash to prove he still has what it takes to turn this team in a championship contender.

He's failed over the last few years, bringing in players who haven't met the kind of potential most thought they would. Bottom line? Jones' draft picks have flopped.

His most recent and most hyped, former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant, has made news during this off season and not for any good reasons. He and his "friends" were tossed out of an upscale mall in the Dallas area, his third such run-in with security or law enforcement at the same location.

This time needs to be different for the owner who spent most of last season being ridiculed by fans and questioned by every radio talk show and writer in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas. After every loss his team sustained, Jones was in the locker room in front of more than 15 cameras trying to calm everyone's fears about who this team really was.

What he wasn't willing to do was give up the one thing everyone seems to want him to give up--control. Jones' ego won't allow it. He wouldn't be watch some young general manager come swooping in to Arlington and build the team he has failed to build for the past 16 seasons.

Say what you want about the players available in this draft, the big names that could draw big ticket sales the moment after his name was announced, or the safe pick that would make fans and the media groan and let out a collective, "here we go again."

Where the Cowboys need help is on defense, it seems to be the consensus among the die hard fans and those who cover the team.

I've had my own opinions about where the Cowboys need to go and what could shake up the same old picks Jones seems to make.

Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was a hot topic around these parts for quite awhile. However, his name was shot down by just about everyone in the metroplex not only because of his off the field problems at both Florida and Auburn but the lack of being able to fit in head coach Jason Garrett's system.

With Tony Romo, Jon Kina, and former Texas Tech quarterback Steven McGee already on the roster, it seems unlikely they would use a first round, or even a second round, draft pick to bring in yet another quarterback who would be buried on the bench for a good portion of the next two to four years. Not exactly money well spent, right?

Another player who's name was mentioned was former Pitt wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin. But ESPN's AFC blogger, James Walker, seems to think he's a better fit with the Baltimore Ravens. Luckily for Mr. Walker I tend to agree with him.

The Cowboys don't need another wide receiver. They already have Bryant, Miles Austin, Roy Williams, and Sam Hurd not to mention one of the best tight ends in the game in Jason Witten who tends to be a favorite target of Romo's.

A few other names who haev been mentioned in connection with the Cowboys are former LSU cornerback Patrick Petersen who Mel Kiper who has the San Francisco 49ers picking him up at pick No. 7 two spots before the Cowboys; Von Miller the former linebacker out of Texas A&M; Tyron Smith the offensive tackle from USC; Prince Amukamara the star cornerback out of Nebraska, and Da'Quan Bowers the defensive end out of Clemson.

Each of those names should be enticing to Jones and would definitely be big time improvements right off the bat. Not to mention each of these guys could come right in and make an impact in their very first season in the league.

As of right now, it looks like Miller and Amukamara will be off the board before the Cowboys' pick comes up. The only way to grab either of those two guys, if they have the most interest from the team staff, is to trade up.

If they want to do that, they're going to need to give up something to get two to four spots higher in the first round of the draft. You're looking at the number seven (49ers) or the number three (Bills) overall pick, both of whom are in need of a quarterback regardless of how much faith new 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh has in Alex Smith or the Bills have in Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Cowboys have someone they can use as trade bait. In fact, they have two players they could dangle just to see how far the conversation goes. Quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant.

You don't deal them right off the bat but dangling them will give Jones the opportunity to see if it starts any conversations at all with either team.

Regardless of what the Cowboys decided to do, this is going to be the most telling draft for Jones since he brought in Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. He has a lot to prove to the players in the locker room and to the fans who have supported this team for as long as they've been alive.

It's time for this team and it's ownership to make a splash, to do something no one is going to see coming. It's the only way this franchise gets back on its feet and gets back to where it used to be.


Follow Todd Kaufmann @T_Kaufmann on Twitter or find him on Facebook

Dallas Cowboys: Should Tony Romo Have to Earn the Starting Role Again?

For the past few seasons the Dallas Cowboys fans have become restless with their starting quarterback, Tony Romo. Most who call into the sports talk radio shows want him traded, benched or otherwise while others will back him tooth and nail.

There really is no middle ground to be seen.

 

The players and owners haven't been able to get together and come to an agreement to make sure there is going to be an NFL season. If there was going to be one, it seems some of Romo's teammates believe he should have to battle for the starting role instead of getting it handed to him.

One such teammate, tight end Martellus Bennett, seems to be lobbying for Jon Kitna who took over for Romo last season after a season ending injury.

Bennett was on the Ben & Skin show on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio in Dallas and said, "I loved playing with Kitna. Kitna is one of my favorite people to play with. Just being out there on the field with that guy just makes you play even harder. He made some things happen in limited time, so I think if he got a longer chance, he'd be able to do more. I hope there's a chance for a quarterback competition this year. Every position, I think we need to put more competition into it."

Bennett isn't the only Dallas Cowboy to favor Kitna over Romo. Wide receiver Roy Williams said Kita is "just as good" as Romo.

While Kitna I'm sure enjoys the support and is flattered, his response was predictably of the political correct variety.

"[Romo] understands that my role here is to support him and to serve him the best way that I can," Kitna told ESPN's Tim McMahon. "There's no awkwardness at all. He understands that, and more importantly, I understand that. That's my job."

However, while there may be more who agree with both Bennett and Williams in that locker room, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones will apparently keep his loyalty and love behind Romo. Especially since he still has three years left on what was a six-year, $67.4 million contract.

The fans here want to see a change because nothing has really changed with this team since Romo became the starter. The team has a single playoff victory in the past 16 seasons. What used to be excellence in Dallas has now turned into a little bit less than mediocrity.

Jones seems to believe he's doing what's best for the team but apparently isn't seeing the lack of results. He can be as upset as he wants after a loss and get in front of the cameras promising brimstone and fire. But when it comes right down to it, not much change takes place.

The Cowboys will come in to the 2011 season with a brand new head coach, Jason Garrett, and apparently a new found outlook for their future.

Don't tell that to Bennett, Williams, or the fan base who don't believe this team is headed for anything but more disappointment.

Until bigger changes occur and until Jerry Jones decides to really shake things up, the Dallas Cowboys will become just another team searching for their identity in the National Football League.


Follow Todd Kaufmann @T_Kaufmann and National Football Authority @NFAuthority on Twitter

Dallas Cowboys: The Affects of a Lockout in a Town Where Football is King

During the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys are king and Cowboys' Stadium is always the most happening place in town on a Sunday afternoon.

If you've ever driven down Randal Mill Road you know the feeling of getting stuck in the kind of traffic that makes you wonder if getting out and walking the rest of the way wouldn't be faster. Sometimes you even consider paying someone just to put your car in park so you you don't have to wonder if you'll ever get to a parking lot.

With the NFL lockout looming and the possibility of not having a football season in 2011, it leaves some fans to wonder if the $1.15 billion stadium and its 80,000 seats will remain empty. Leaving the Arlington area to become a ghost town reminiscent of the old west.

Dallas Cowboys: Dez Bryant, Deion Sanders Cut Ties For Good

Dez Bryant couldn't be having a worse week than this one. Even though it's Friday, which is normally a good thing, it's not a Friday Bryant is going to remember.

After being kicked out of Dallas' upscale mall, NorthPark Center, former Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders told ESPN Radio's Ben and Skin Show this morning he wants nothing more to do with the young wide receiver.

"I'm upset but not surprised whatsoever," Sanders told them. "He needs help. He needs help. I told the Cowboys from day one that he needs help. Matter of fact, they have a team in place to help him. But you cannot tell a grown man what to do."

When the news reached Bryant, as you can imagine his reaction was less than cordial. "I wish Deion would come to me as a man and talk to me," Bryant told ESPN Dallas. "I've been reaching out to Deion. I've never done anything wrong to Deion or disrespected him. I've never lied to Deion."

Though Sanders stopped mentoring Bryant more than a few months ago, this news send "Prime Time" over the proverbial edge and forced him to cut ties with him completely.

"I don't have a problem with you lying to me. That's one thing," Sanders said on the air Friday morning. "But when you lie to yourself as a man, you have a serious problem and that's where this kid is. And I can't condone it. I really can't. It tarnishes everything else I'm trying to develop in these kids [in his youth program]. I can't allow you to poison other kids that I'm trying to mentor and take to another level."

When asked if he would reach out to Bryant or speak to him Sanders replied, "I haven't spoken to the kid. I have no desire to speak to the kid. In regards to me, I can forgive, but I can't forget. You can't tarnish the other things that I have going on and the other kids. It's sort of like I can't allow something to poison the fruit of many other kids. I can't do it, so I cut off those ties a long time ago."

This is just the latest hit to the Cowboys' wide receiver. A player who came in with a lot of baggage and speculation he would be a problem.

Though it doesn't seem like he's had any negative affect on the field, his off the field problems have been what most would call a public relations nightmare for Jerry Jones. A man who had a lot of faith in Bryant when he drafted him out of Oklahoma State in the 2010 NFL Draft.

There's no indication if the Cowboys will punish Bryant internally and there's been no comment from Jones himself. But that probably has more to do with him worrying about the lockout more than a player's conduct off the field.

However, Jones won't be able to ignore this for long. Whether or not it will affect Bryant's status with the team may not be seen for some time.


Follow Todd Kaufmann @T_Kaufmann and National Football Authority @NFAuthority on Twitter

Super Bowl XLV: Cowboys Stadium Readies For Their One, and Only, Super Bowl

When the NFL awarded Jerry Jones and Cowboys Stadium Super Bowl XLV, the cities of Dallas, Forth Worth, and Arlington especially were ecstatic. They were ready to show they could be the best host city that's ever been.

The restaurants, bars, and clubs knew they be packed with patrons and celebrities alike. They didn't want to disappoint, they wanted to be ready.

Jones told the media just weeks prior to the big game that he wanted this to be the biggest Super Bowl party that anyone had ever seen. He wanted to break records and be remembered for the most attendance every in a Super Bowl game.

One week prior to the game, there was a buzz in the air and you could feel it. This town was ready.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to intervene and throw the biggest curveball that this area had seen in more than a decade.

On Tuesday, ice, sleet, and snow made roads treacherous to drive on and it closed the two major airports in town. Delaying fans and NFL workers alike coming in from out of town.

The temperatures stayed below freezing through Wednesday and Thursday. Media members and players staying in Dallas and Fort Worth found it hard to impossible to get from where their hotels to Cowboys Stadium for any media events. But that wasn't the worst of it.

According to a source I spoke to on Wednesday told me the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth, the team hotel for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was losing power every 15 minutes, making it difficult for anyone to keep their laptops or phones charged and available for anyone to contact them.

They weren't the only ones having problems.

Marty Caswell of 1090 AM in San Diego tweeted on Friday, "the NFL Media hotel in Dallas is canceling their own shuttles to airport & impossible to get a cab. Getting out will be futile." When I asked Caswell where exactly they were saying she responded, "we are in Dallas. I think. Or the North Pole."

She's not the only member of the media who's experienced problems since coming in to town. I talked to CBS Sports' Mike Freeman who had plenty of complaints about the roadways around the Dallas area.

At one point, though sarcastic, Freeman said "let's have the Super Bowl in Green Bay. Seriously. Green Bay knows what a snow plow looks like."

But the roads weren't the only problem the visiting media, as well as the teams playing in the big game, were having. Freeman told me the heat in the hotel he was staying at, though he didn't disclose the name of the hotel, had lost power as well as heat more than a few times on Friday. To top that out, the elevators quit working as well.

The conversation between he and I turned to the city refusing to use salt to melt the ice on the roads to make them a little safer for those traveling on them. A response to that popular question was given by a spokesperson from Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) who said, "it's corrosive and it's bad for the environment."

Out of all the answers that could have been given, that one was probably the worst.

Drivers in Dallas, Fort Worth, and points in between found it difficult to gain any traction on the freeways as well as the side streets which were virtually ignored by any of the sand trucks being used in the area.

This city was supposed to put on a good show for those coming in from out of town. What they did was fail miserably and the ones left to blame is TxDOT themselves. While the argument can be made that the state of Texas will not invest in snow plows that would never be used more than one or two times a year, there's no excuse to at least not be ready for a weather system we all knew was coming.

A week prior to the arctic cold front was to move through the area, meteorologists warned that it was very possible this was going to come in and it was going to make driving conditions difficult to say the least.

This was a weather system that was predicted and yet there was no effort made by the city to be ready for it. The Super Bowl was the biggest event this town had seen in quite some time, next to the American League Championship series that featured the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.

Restaurants and other business were counting on big crowds and a large influx of cash from out of town visitors to the area. Because of the slow timed response from the city crews, some of those businesses either had to shut down or saw a very small number of customers. What was supposed to be an economic boom for this town because an economic drop through the floor.

So, the heavy snow fell just 48 hours prior to Super Bowl Sunday, cabs and hotel shuttles ground to a halt. The media who were expected to gain audio quotes to be transcribed for print, instead were stuck in their hotels unable to do anything at all.

The talk at that point centered around whether Dallas would ever get another Super Bowl because of the failure of the city to make absolutely sure they were ready for anything.

As the sun finally made an appearance and the snow on the ground began to slowly melt, it finally started to look like things were looking up. The roads were beginning to thaw out and the driving conditions started to become a little better than the last 72 hours.

But just when you thought all might be well leading up to Sunday, insult was added to an already devastating injury.

Snow and ice that was melting from the roof of Cowboys Stadium, came sliding off and fell to the ground below, injuring seven contracted workers from the NFL.

If there ever was a straw to break the camel's back, this was it. If their fate wasn't sealed for ever getting a Super Bowl, this freak event most likely might have done the trick.

While TxDOT finally did bring more than 50 snow plow trucks into the area from west Texas, it was too little too late. The damage was already done and the reputation of Dallas as host city was already more than tarnished.

For those that believe Jerry Jones has enough pull to bring the Super Bowl back to his stadium and the city of Arlington, what has transpired over the last five days might be enough for them to turn him down before Jones ever gets his full speech out.

This city failed and did so miserably. It's no fault to Jones or Cowboys Stadium, or even the city crews who were called upon to work around the clock to try and clear the roadways. They received their marching orders far too late.

There is absolutely no excuse to not at least have the trucks in and ready for whatever showed up. They had ample time and ample warning of this storm system and yet they didn't respond until it was already too late.

As far as not throwing salt down to melt the ice before bad became worse, the environment was a bigger issue to them than the safety of their citizens or to ensure safe passage for those that traveled here to work on the biggest game of the NFL season.

To wrap up all of this in a neat little bow, I think I'll let Mike Freeman say exactly what a lot of the media, and out of town fans, think of Dallas after this past week.

"New motto for Dallas Super Bowl: rolling blackouts, unpaved roads, and falling ice...We Are Dallas. Come see us!"

You better enjoy this Super Bowl while it's here, because it's highly unlikely this city will ever see one again.


Follow CBS Sports' Mike Freeman on Twitter

Super Bowl XLV: Media, Fans Facing Treacherous Conditions Just Days Before The Big Game

From all the complaining that has gone on throughout this week, you'd think there was going to be a boycott of Super Bowl XLV here in Arlington, Texas. You would have thought the out of town media members were going to pack up their things and go home, if the game wasn't moved to a city where they wouldn't have to wear parkas and gloves just to stay warm.

But we here in north Texas wanted to make the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers feel right at home. Apparently Mother Nature is a football fan and loves these two teams. Why else would the weather, and the temperatures, absolutely suck over the last four days and counting?

On Tuesday, the Dallas/Ft Worth metro-plex had an arctic storm system blow through that brought sleet, driving snow, and below freezing temperatures. Mix those together and you have icy streets that are hard to walk on let alone drive on, not to mention below zero wind chills.

That set off a firestorm of complaints from the media members that traveled here from out of town. I will grant them that this isn't exactly the kind of weather any of us want to see for the big game either, but we didn't flip a switch and make sure it was nice and cold for the game's arrival.

While most us that live in this area don't understand the complaints from those that get to stay in nice hotels and have nice accomodations, you may not know the whole story. Reporters are having to deal with icy streets which make it hard for them to walk where they need to go. Not only that, but according to a source I spoke to, there have already been injuries to a few different media members that have required medical attention.

This is the information you won't hear and this is why we've heard so many complaints about the weather since the out of town media began arriving sometime on Monday night into Tuesday when this storm first rolled through.

At Pittsburgh Steelers' team hotel in Fort Worth, this same source told me the hotel would either lose power or have brownouts every 15 minutes. That would make it difficult to almost impossible for cell phones to remain charged as well as laptops running for stories that needed to be filed for local newspapers.

No one is going to tell this story because most publications know they're not going to get any sympathy from fans because they may not believe that these nice hotels are having these kind of problems.

To add insult to injury, six inches of snow on Thursday night into Friday made for an even more dangerous situation for those trying to make their way to radio row at Cowboys Stadium.

Conditions on every freeway and every side street has made commuting around the metroplex almost impossible. Cars are getting stuck and having to be pulled out, even police cars and emergency vehicles are finding it difficult to go where they're needed.

For those that wonder why there are so many complaints coming from the media here in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex, you'll understand why these aren't the best working conditions around.

The ice is still hanging around and even though there is more than six inches of fluffy snow on the ground, underneath that is the same dangerous layer of ice that's been hanging around since early Tuesday morning.

Having the Super Bowl in Dallas, or Arlington as it were, is looking a lot worse as the days go on. Schools have been closed for four days straight and the roadways haven't been treated the way they should be because Texas Department of Transportation won't use salt to melt the ice because, as one spokesperson told the local news, "it's bad for the evironment."

So before we start taking shots at the media for complaining even though they get to cover the biggest game of the NFL season, you might want to remember the conditions they're having to deal with just leaving their hotel rooms.

This isn't the most thankful job around and some might call it a "cush job," but it's a job none the less. With the conditions outside, it's making that job even more difficult.

If the NFL is hesitant to give Dallas another Super Bowl, you'll understand why this weather and the road conditions would lead them to that conclusion.

Unless the ice and snow melts between Friday afternoon and Saturday, it could make the drive, and walk, to Cowboys Stadium, an event in itself. The game might not be the biggest story on Super Bowl Sunday, it very well could be the weather and lack of readiness by the city crews.

Jerry Jones doesn't want to be knows as having the Super Bowl in his stadium during some of the worst conditions that's ever been seen a week before the big game. Unfortunately, it's something he may not be able to get away from.

Can Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush Provide a Change in the Dallas Cowboys?

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images


The 2010 season is not one that New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush will look back on fondly. While he spent most of the season battling injuries, he'll also remember 2010 as the year he voluntarily gave back the Heisman Trophy he won as a member of the University of Southern California.

Not exactly a memory he wants to remember.

However, that might be the least of his worries. According to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, Bush's career with the Saints might be coming to an end.

Saints' general manager Mickey Loomis, while on NFL Radio with Marvez and co-host Jim Miller, told them there was no question the team wants to sign quarterback Drew Brees for the longterm. But when it came to Reggie Bush, Loomis was anything but clear on the running backs' future.

"We've talked a lot about the position (internally) because we had a lot of injuries," Loomis told Marvez and Miller. "It's pretty difficult to prognosticate injuries. I've got to be a little careful about just because a guy was hurt one year assuming he's going to get hurt the next. We're going through that evaluation process right now."

To me, it sounds as if Bush might be seeing his time with the Saints come to an end. Though he's made it known he would be willing to renegotiate his rookie contract in order to stay with the team, there's no telling if the Saints are willing to continue to have the same relationship.

A little more than 800 miles to the north, up in Cincinnati, another controversy is brewing and another former USC Trojan could be seeing the end of days with his respective team.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has made it clear he no longer wants to be a member of the Bengals and has asked the team to trade him or he would consider retirement. To this point, the team has no plans to give him what he wants.

In a story from Cindy Boren in the Washington Post, ESPN's Chris Mortensen cited sources that said Palmer is financially secure and the threat of retirement is not an idle one.

Two former USC players, two different situations, both seem to be at a crossroads in their respective careers. One thing they may have in common is the ability to bring change to another NFL team in the state of Texas.

It's no secret the Dallas Cowboys need a change on the offensive side of the ball to improve the team from their abysmal 2010 season. A season where they would win just one of their first eight games before firing head coach Wade Phillips.

While there is a love affair with quarterback Tony Romo regardless of being able to lead the team anywhere when they do get to the playoffs, one position the team needs to upgrade badly is at running back.

Fans have tired of Marion Barber and haven't seen enough of Felix Jones or Tashard Choice to believe they can be the next big thing in Dallas. They were spoiled with long time running back Emmitt Smith and having not seen anything like him since his retirement has brought a lot of frustration down on Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones.

It looked like Barber was going to be the heir apparent for awhile, but as soon as he was given the starting job it quickly became clear that he wasn't ready to be an every down back.

Choice has made his share of big plays and, when challenged by Jones in the media, came up with a huge game to prove he be starting material.

However, the Cowboys still need one guy that can make an immediate impact. Not necessarily a guy who can come in and be the starter right away, but a guy who can line up with Choice and make defenses think twice about keying in on one guy.

Bush brings speed as well as the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He can take pressure off of the other running backs as well as off of Romo who, at times, seems to have to do things on his own.

As for Palmer, most will tell you that he won't accept a backup job anywhere. While I can understand that sentiment, the Cowboys need a backup quarterback not named Jon Kitna. He did a respectable job when Romo went down, but if it happens again, the Cowboys need a guy who can come in and not miss a beat. Not only that, but a guy who can be just as good if not better going forward.

For those of you who have read my thoughts on the Cowboys, and Romo, in the past you know I'm not a fan of his nor do I think he's the right quarterback to get this team over the hump and back into the championship spotlight.

That being said, maybe having a guy like Carson Palmer would help push Romo a little bit harder. Maybe it would force him to play at another level knowing he has a proven NFL starter behind him waiting to take his job.

However you want to see this, the one thing that can't be questioned is the number of changes that need to be made to a team that was a foregone conclusion for the Super Bowl more than 15 years ago.

Now, fans wonder if they'll get out of the first round of the playoffs or even get that far.

You may not be a fan of Palmer or Bush for that matter, but these two guys can provide a spark that is badly needed at Cowboys Stadium.

Jones can draft all the guys that he wants, but he's shown over the past few years that he's lost his touch. The past two drafts have been a flop and it's time that a new strategy is put in place. One that will bring this team to a new level of success.

These two guys might not be the most popular names in town, but fans in Dallas are ready to try anything to see their team as Super Bowl champions again.

Are the Dallas Cowboys Really Shopping Dez Bryant?

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

With all the goings on with the Dallas Cowboys this past off season including hiring Jason Garrett as their new head coach, there was an interesting rumor that came out today.

As most of you fans know, wide receiver Dez Bryant surprised a lot of people this season but missed the last few weeks because of a fractured ankle. Next to that, he was a guy that the Cowboys loved at wide receiver.

At least I thought so.

Making it's way around the Twitterverse today was a rumor that the Cowboys were allegedly shopping their first year player for a pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Keith Whitmire of Fox Sports Southwest has a piece out this afternoon talking about this apparent rumor and shoots down that the team would even be remotely curious about trading a guy that Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones loved from the moment he drafted him.

What Whitmire also talks about are the whispers that Bryant wasn't the most focused person on the team. He apparently was late to several team meetings and didn't exactly study the playbook as much as he should have.

Late to team meetings? Didn't study the playbook? Maybe the Cowboys see another Terrell Owens forming in Bryant. Then again, there may be nothing to this talk and it'll die off in the coming days or weeks.

But, on the flip side, this talk may heat up especially with the draft just a few months away. We know Jones loves him. Why else would Bryant be handed the No. 88? A number worn by two big names in Cowboys' history. But could new head coach Jason Garrett not be a fan of Bryant's and could that really be the writing on the wall that sends the rookie out of town?

The problem with the reports that surfaced today is the fact that we don't even know if there's going to be a season in 2011. As far as we know, with no Collective Bargaining Agreement signed, we could be looking at a work stoppage and silent NFL stadiums around the country.

So with so much unknown at the moment, why trade what seems to be a very talented young man for a draft pick that may not be anywhere near the caliber of Dez Bryant and someone that may not even see a practice or game until the 2012 season?

Those questions would lead me to believe that these rumors have absolutely nothing to them. Although, that's been said before about rumors we thought had nothing to them and watched as they became reality.

For right now, Bryant is still a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Who knows, maybe all the talk is a shot across the bow and a wake up call for someone who thought he could do what he wanted to do because the owner liked him.

If this is a preemptive strike from the Cowboys it's one that couldn't have come at a better time. They could be bluffing and it could get the reaction they need.

It could also be the start of what could be one of the more shocking moves for this team in quite some time. We won't know until someone from the Cowboys comes out and denies all the talk that's been going on today.

Until that time, I'm not so sure a team like the Dallas Cowboys would be ready to give up on a player they've had for a single season. A player they drafted with their very first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

If I'm wrong about this, then maybe this team is starting to change their stripes and becoming more serious about winning games and not just selling merchandise.

If that's the case, it's about time.

In Terms of Mediocrity, the Dallas Cowboys Get Four More Years

 
Leon Halip/Getty Images

Since their last Super Bowl victory in 1995, the Dallas Cowboys have since won just a single playoff game in 16 years. That's what I would call far less than mediocrity and here I thought that word was as bad as you could get in sports.

Apparently not.

This afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys announced a four-year contract for their new head coach. No, it wasn't Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden is still in the broadcast booth and Jim Harbaugh is still with Stanford. At least for now.

So if it wasn't those three big name coaches who did Jerry Jones bring in? After a dry spell like they've had surely Jones would want a proven coach who has been to the Super Bowl and knows what it takes to bring home the biggest prize in the industry. Surely he wants to bring a championship back to Dallas to show off in front of the home fans as well as the bandwagon jumpers.

For those of you think like I do, unfortunately we were both wrong. Jones decided to bring him yet another "yes man" to be his next puppet also known as the next head coach. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages I present to you the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett.

HUH?

Yes Cowboy fans you can rejoice that a brand new era is about to begin in Arlington and it will be under good ole 'red head' himself.

Now before you Cowboys fans who still have their blinders on start ranting and raving about how he "earned" this job I would love for you to tell me how he earned it? And don't give me "he finished 5-3 when Wade Phillips was only 1-7," speech. I'm bored with that one already and it has nothing to do with that.

Garrett was going to be Jones' boy regardless of who the owner should have hired. It didn't matter how Garrett did when he took over for Phillips, he knew he had the job wrapped up.

Jones is not going to give up control to anyone. That being said I do know that Jones has given final decision rights in hiring and firing of assistant coaches to Garrett. But that's not saying a whole lot because you know Jones is going to give his opinion and if Garrett does end up hiring the guy Jerry wants, he can still say "hey, it was my head coach's decision not mine."

As you can tell I'm not at all sold on this hiring and I think it has everything to do with Jerry's ego and not on the right guy being hired. If Jones wins a Super Bowl with Garrett as his head coach, he can say "see, I told you I didn't need a proven coach."

Ego wins the day. Better get used to what you've had over the last 16 years because there's more where that came from.

Whether It's Jason Garrett or Tony Romo, The Dallas Cowboys Need To Make a Change

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys are about to carve another notch in the 'Tree of Disappointment' as soon as this season comes to a close.

As of right now, it has 15 marks in it. When this season comes to an end the team will put a 16th mark on it. Those marks signify the number of consecutive seasons without a Super Bowl title.

Over that same time span the Cowboys have just one playoff victory. No Super Bowl appearances, no NFC titles, just a single playoff win which came in 2009.

Yes, a change needs to be made in Dallas. Only problem is, will it be the correct change or just one good enough for Jerry Jones to still have his thumb on this ball club? Or maybe a little of both?

When Jones fired then head coach Wade Phillips, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett took over as the new head coach and has since picked up four wins in the seven games he's been in the position. Doing so without Tony Romo, maybe more impressive than most would think.

But with that change came questions from media and fans alike as to who would be the man going forward. Would Garrett remain in the position for the long term or was Jones looking for "his guy" behind the scenes? The answer to that question would depend on who you ask.

Newy Scruggs of NBC 5 doesn't believe Garrett is the right guy for this team going forward not to mention not being the guy that can lead this team to another Super Bowl title. On the flip side of the coin, Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer believes the opposite and thinks Garrett deserves the job.

For those that have been fans of this team and have watched what has transpired over the last five to 10 years, you know that Jones will only hire someone that he can control. A 'yes man' if you will.

Garrett is exactly that. Phillips was exactly that. Bill Parcells was not that.

When the season ends for the Dallas Cowboys you'll hear the rumors start being thrown out quicker than you can keep track of them. You'll hear names like Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden along with Jason Garrett and several others thrown around and there will be numerous opinions as to who it will be.

If the Cowboys are going to turn things around, Garrett is not the guy to do that. No matter how many people believe Jones will bring him back as the next head coach of this team, it's not the right decision for this team's future.

Jerry Jones wants two things. Control and another Super Bowl Championship banner being hung at his stadium. But when push comes to shove, will he be able to give up one to get the other? We've seen over the last 15, soon to be 16, seasons that total control has given this team nothing but a single playoff win. It hasn't given this team a lick of success.

There's another factor in the story of success for this team. It's quarterback.

This has been a topic that I haven't given fans the warm fuzzies when I bring it up. While most would agree they don't want Garrett as their head coach, they are still hanging on to their love affair with Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo.

We can sit here and argue just how good Romo has been since he's been the starter and what he's been able to accomplish. However, at the end of the day, what has he really accomplished?

You can compare his numbers to quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and try to say he's just as good but, in the end, both Manning and Brady have Super Bowl rings.

Romo does not.

So now that I've picked on both Jason Garrett and Tony Romo, the next question that I would normally ask someone that doesn't want a certain player around is, who do you want instead?

I'm glad you asked.

If Jerry Jones really wants a Super Bowl there's only one decision and one phone call he needs to make. Bill Cowher. Only problem with Cowher is he wants complete control of player personnel decisions as well as his own coaching staff. Something Jones isn't like to give any coach.

Here's how I look at this situation. If Jones really cares about this team and really wants to celebrate a Super Bowl Championship at the stadium that he built, than something has to give. Jones needs to give up control or risk making it 17 seasons or perhaps even more.

Cowher is a proven winner, something the Cowboys desperately need. He's a guy that can bring out the best in his players week in and week out. If Jones is really serious about turning things around, this is his guy and this is the right time to make that move.

As far as the quarterback position goes, that's more of an open-ended question. Romo hit the sidelines during their week seven loss to the New York Giants. Since then, the team has won just three of their next seven games, though there really hasn't been a lot to blame on backup Jon Kitna who has played better than a lot of fans, and media, expected.

That being said, 3-4 in seven games is still not playing Cowboys' football. They need someone that can light up the scoreboard and move this team up and down the field every time he's in the game.

Romo, Kitna and third-string quarterback Stephen McGee out of Texas Tech don't exactly have that capability. Kitna has held his own but he's also had his share of problems.

One quarterback who's also had his share of problems, and could also find his way out of the city he's currently in, is Cincinnati Bengals' quarterback Carson Palmer.

I know the name is going to surprise a lot of you but this is a quarterback who has a lot of talent and can do some big things with a team like the Cowboys. Over the years, he's been able to show what he can do when he has the right players around him.

Though he's struggled throughout the 2010 season, he hasn't had nearly the kind of players he had in his first few years with the Bengals. Bringing him to Dallas and putting the kind of players that the Cowboys have around him would allow him to be the kind of quarterback he can be.

There are those of you who are going to disagree with me and that's fine, that's why we have debate, it's why sports is what it is for a lot us fans.

But the bottom line is the Dallas Cowboys need to make a change if they're going to bring a Super Bowl back to Dallas. Those changes need to start immediately.

If they're not made, Garrett and Romo will remain with the team and it will be the same old same old over the next few seasons.

Maybe a few good regular seasons are in store but when it comes to the playoffs, they'll end up falling short as they've done for the past 15 seasons.