Cowboys 28, Chargers 24
(game story)

It wasn't a perfect performance, but the Cowboys play just well enough to beat the 'Bolts in San Diego Sunday.

Drew Bledsoe was more than solid...but it's only one game.

Julius Jones (26 carries, 93 yds) showed the same flashes of brilliance that we saw in his limited action last season.

Patrick Crayton (6 catches, 89 yds) did his best to keep Peerless Price on the deactivated list.

The new-look 3-4 defense had its moments as well...but almost gave the game away late by letting the Chargers pick up a 4th and 14 to keep a drive alive.

The Cowboys got a lot of breaks in this one, but they totally deserved to win...and, at least for one week, things seem to be back on track out at Valley Ranch.

Gilligan Has Left The Island
(Bob Denver - 1935-2005)

Now two things this week that are making me feel very old. The first was Jerry Rice retiring...now Bob Denver has died.

'Gilligan's Island' was hardly a cinematic masterpiece...in fact, there were probably more holes in the plot than Swiss cheese. But it's still a big part of my childhood...coming home and seeing it everyday on the TV. Even today if I see 'Gilligan's Island,' it reminds me of my time as a youngster, just wishing that summer was here and not knowing a thing about the 'real world' and what was in store for the future. Much simpler times...

Oh well, I guess the motto here is: growing old sucks...

Cowboys 27, Jags 20
(game story)

Cowboys finish off the preseason at 3-1 with win over Jacksonville. Some thoughts:

*RB Tyson Thompson nailed down a roster spot with another strong performance (57 yds rushing, 2 tds). Hard to believe he's the first player raised in Irving to ever make a Cowboy roster.

*The whole 1st-team offense looked pretty good...but remember, they were playing against Jacksonville's 2nd-team defense (the Jags sat most of their starters).

*Our first look at rookie defensive end Marcus Spears was positive. He had a sack in the 3rd quarter and seemed to be fitting in nicely despite all the time out with his injury.

*As for the quarterbacks, nothing spectacular to talk about. Drew Bledsoe did have the 40-yard TD pass to Terry Glenn in the first quarter, but other than that, a pretty average night. Drew Henson got a break when he came in in the 4th quarter. On his first pass, he was intercepted...however the play was reviewed and ruled that the ball hit the ground before the pick was made. I'm sure Drew still got his balls busted by Bill for the less-than-accurate pass.

Cowboys now have until Sunday to get the roster down to 53...interesting to see who stays and who moves on.

Regular season starts Sept 11 at San Diego...

Cheaters Never Win...Literally...
(full story)

It took 65 home games, but Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle finally broke the Rangers code for hitting success at home. No, it's not the hitter-friendly surroundings of Ameriquest or the fact that the team has some pretty good offensive players. According to Buehrle, the Rangers apparently have a spy out in a centerfield office using some sort of light signals to tip the Texas batters off on what pitch is coming.

Surely, he cannot be serious.

I really would hope if the Rangers were cheating at home that they would have a much better record this season than the current 36-29 at Ameriquest.

Cowboys 21, Texans 9
(full story)

The Dallas defense continued to impress in Saturday's win over Houston. Terrence Newman seems to have his confidence back, Demarcus Ware (1 and a half sacks) showed us again why he's going to be a stud in his rookie year and Roy Williams looks like he is already in regular season form with some of the licks he passed out.

On the offensive side of things, Big Bill kept Drew Bledsoe and the first-team offense in the game until midway through the 3rd quarter (quite a lot longer than most probably expected). Because of that, Drew Henson never even took a snap in the contest, just another indication (whether he admits it or not) about Bill's feelings about him.

Cowboys wrap up their preseason next Thursday at Texas Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

FNG: Season Two
(Friday 10-midnight on The Ticket)

Turley says I never use my blog for anything productive...so I'll change that right now to remind people that Friday Night Gladiators, the Ticket's weekly high school football show (co-hosted by yours truly), gets back up and running August 26th from 10 to midnight. We'll have teams, coaches, scores, and oh so much more. Check it out...

Farewell Jacob...
(full story)

The Jacob Rogers era is officially over in Dallas after the Cowboys cut the creampuff/offensive lineman on Wednesday. And this is the guy Big Bill a few weeks ago was trying to say was in the running for the starting right tackle job? Was he trying to fool us or himself?

We've been hearing about Rogers' lack of intensity for awhile. Here's a segment of his 2004 Draft profile on NFL.com:

Negatives: Shows inconsistent intensity and effort (will do enough to get the job done) … Has exceptional skills and the power to dominate, but prefers to outfinesse his opponent rather than maul him (needs to show more aggression in his play) … Has all the tools you want in a quality left tackle, but needs to work on his up-and-down intensity (has the potential to be one of the best left tackles in the game if he can develop a "search-and-destroy" nature).

Hmmm...wonder why Jerry and BIll didn't read this?

Rogers reminds me of a kid I played football with in junior high. His name was Darrell Farmer. Not sure exactly why he wanted to be on the team, because Darrell found every excuse in the world not to play or practice. From being hurt to having equipment problems, you name it, Darrell used it as an excuse. Now I know how much we hated having Darrell Farmer as a teammate in 7th grade...how do you think Jacob Rogers' NFL teammates felt having him around? A big pansy that's just taking up space that other more committed guys could be using to actually help the team. Something tells me not many tears were being shed out at Valley Ranch...

Somehow, Jacob Rogers fell through the cracks that kept other marshmallows like Darrell Farmer from moving very far in football. You've got to give the guy credit: Rogers parlayed his talent all the way to a major college football program (USC). However, I think Rogers may have finally come to end of the line...unless he's a fan of Arena Football?

By the way, Darrell Farmer also had the worst BO in the world, but that is another story...

Does It Really Matter?
(full story)

Evidence is mounting against Lance Armstrong that he did use some type of performance-enhancing drug during his first Tour de France win in '99. But you know what, I still don't care because I think what he has accomplished is remarkable. Remember, Armstrong was basically handed a death sentence back in 1996 when he got testicular cancer, which spread to other parts of his body. For anyone to come back from something like that to win one of the most grueling sporting events SEVEN STRAIGHT TIMES is nothing short of a miracle.

The French are still just pissed because the 'dirty American' beat them at their own sport. Shut up, Frenchy, and get back to what you do best: surrendering.