Here they are.

Hat Tip – [Larry Borwn Sports]

Former University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson was named as Landry’s replacement.  He was a long time friend and former teammate of Jones at the University of Arkansas.  During his first year in charge, the Cowboys finished a woeful 1-15 , but just a few short years later he was leading them to the first of back-to-back championships.  Although he was not the coach in 1995 when Dallas won their third Superbowl in four years, much of the team that Johnson had built remained the same.

The Dallas Cowboys have struggled since the Jimmy Johnson era, winning only one playoff game in the last 14 years.  After firing Wade Philips during last season, they will hope Jason Garrett can find a way to turn things around.

Here is a clip of Johnson in the locker room after the ’92 NFC Championship game. “How Bout Dem Cowboys”

Notable Birthdays

Paul O’Neill, MLB – Born February 25th 1963 (age 48) in Columbus, Ohio

Anton Volchenkov, NHL – Born February 25th 1982 (age 29) in Moscow, Russia

Joakim Noah, NBA – Born February 25th 1985 (age 26) in New York City, New York

In the past we have given you an idea of what the best seat in the house at Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Stadium looks like.  Now we are giving you a view from what has to be the worst seat in “the House That Jerry Built.”

So is this in fact the worst seat in the house that was being occupied during Super Bowl XLV on Sunday?  I would hope so, seeing as how that giant beams along the top and side make only approximately 20% of the field visible.  As for everything that does appear within that range of visibility, they seem to be no larger than the smallest of peanuts.  This poor guy doesn’t even have a good view of the television screen hanging up ahead.

On second though, I guess it wasn’t all bad.  After all, at least he didn’t have to suffer through the pain of watching that Black Eyed Peas’ halftime show.

Hat Tip – [Shutdown Corner]

Owning a sports team requires a lot of things:a commitment to winning and a big ego. Unfortunately, these two things tend to foul each other up. The best owners in pro sports are the men behind the curtain who surround themselves with talented management and leave it to the team to take the glory rather than themselves. The best owners are willing to wave goodbye to easy money for the sake of the team and the city. The following 9 owners are not like that at all.

9. Dan Gilbert
Dan Gilbert was doing a fine job with his team, managing one of the few points of pride for Clevelanders. Of course, that job was made a lot easier by LeBron James, whose acquisition by the Cavs turned out to be the best thing to happen to Cleveland since…well, ever.

With all his eggs in that one basket, it’s easy to understand his anger and frustration when LeBron took his talents to South Beach and threw up two middle fingers to his former fan base with the debacle that was “The Decision.”However, what’s not understandable was the vitriol that spewed forth from Gilbert following James’ departure. Using a public forum, he went apeshit on James, calling him every name in the phone book while accusing him of checking out during last spring’s playoffs.

While the behavior of Gilbert was childish and petty, it was also short-sighted. When players see an owner like that, it doesn’t exactly cause them to want to start lining up at the Q to throw on a Cavs Jersey.

Oh, and Dan – promising to win rings in Cleveland before LeBron does with arguably the strongest basketball squad ever assembled? You may have overextended yourself there, chief.

8. Jerry Jones
Owner/GM. Is there a more terrifying combination of roles in the world? The combination of these titles allows unchecked spending (and ego) to reign supreme. While Jerry had tremendous results in the mid-90’s, since then it’s been a bumpy ride. His ego has caused numerous fallouts with his coaching staff, resulting in a steady stream of mediocrity following Switzer’s departure.

I mentioned ego before, and I’ll mention it again. The Egyptian’s have nothing on Mr. Jones when it comes to building shrines to themselves. The new Cowboys Stadium is a testament to unchecked ego and hubris. The fact that it’s really, really cool doesn’t mitigate that. People were willing to overlook Jones’ faults when the Boys were winning rings, but it’s been a while, so he’s back under the microscope, and many wish he’d spend a little less time on the field mingling and a little more time restoring the dynasty.

7. Mark Cuban
There are certain things to love about Mark Cuban. During his reign, he has turned the Mavs around from perennial laughing stock to one of the NBA’s elite teams and a constant playoff presence. He’s created one of the best arena experiences in the NBA with American Airlines Center. And no one seems to be more personally invested in his team’s success than Cubes.

It’s that last one that gets a little tricky. Cuban is so close to his players and staff that when it comes time to make an unpleasant decision, no one’s sure if he can pull the trigger. The last time he had to wave goodbye to a player and friend, it was Steve Nash, who ended up getting two consecutive MVP’s with the Suns.

Pair his buddy-buddy relationship with the players with reality TV show appearances on both Dancing with the Stars and The Benefactor, and while you may have an owner that’s good for the team and the league at the end of the day, he’s not without a cringe factor.

6. Madison Square Garden Inc./James Dolan
For all intents and purposes, Chairman and CEO of MSG Inc James Dolan “runs the show” in NYC. I used quotes when saying “runs the show” cause that’s actually not what he does at all. 3rd grade lemonade stands have been run better than the iconic franchise. Despite cavalier spending over the past 15 years, the Knicks have yet to turn out one player that matches the caliber of a Patrick Ewing (or maybe even a John Starks). Instead, Dolan tosses the keys of the franchise to walking punch-line Isiah Thomas, who should have taken a cue from George Costanza and followed the opposite of what his instincts told him on every managerial decision.

While hope springs in MSG, the track record suggests that it will take a lot more than wild spending on overpaid free agents, crappy draft picks, and unwavering fan loyalty to turn this thing around. Which may never happen if the MSG board can’t find someone with more capable hands than Mr. Dolan.

5. Peter Angelos
The headlines in Baltimore are ubiquitous: “The Birds Have Flown South This Fall.” When your team is perennially described with such hackneyed phrases about underachieving, the best place to look for change is at the top. SI dubbed him one of the five worst owners in the MLB, and said that he took the least scientific approach to team leadership of any owner in the league today. Hardly high praise.

They kicked off the season 2-16, and while they were able to turn the ship around once Buck Showalter stepped in late in the season, I wouldn’t start the presses on those “Baltimore Orioles Division Champs” shirts just yet.

4. William Clay Ford
Fire Matt Millen! Fire Matt Millen! Guess what the one thing the Detroit Lions owner refused to do for years and years and years? Bingo.

Millen was single-handedly destroying this team through both inaction and ridiculous draft picks and acquisitions, and the one person who could stop it, Ford, sat on his hands as one of the NFL’s most historic franchises turned into the football’s answer to the Clippers.

As an NFL owner, your biggest job is this – keep the stadium full so that the fans can watch their team on TV. Well, as recently as 2008, the Lions had to black out 5 of their last 6 games, with the exception being the gimme Lions home game on Thanksgiving. With the popularity of the NFL, especially in a Midwestern city like Detroit, the inability to perform that simple task means it’s time to hand over the keys to someone who can. It’s a shame city hall can’t step in (then again, look at Detroit’s City Hall). Things are looking better for the Lions these days, but certainly not good.

3. David Glass
Upon his arrival as interim CEO of the Royals in ’93, Glass cut the payroll by more than 50%. Then he urged owners to refuse to negotiate with the players in the days leading up to the strike. Then he advocated the use of scrub players when the players did strike.

He’s become a successful owner in the sense that he makes a lot of money for himself by cutting costs at every opportunity for a personal gain, but of course, that’s not exactly what a city looks for in an owner. Lots of guys can get rich owning a sports team, but only a few can win while they do it. If that’s the guy you’re looking for, you best look past Mr. Glass.

2. Donald Sterling
How excited can you be about a guy that takes a symbol of your town (a sports team) and runs it just like an insurance brokerage firm, with no regard for the sanctity of the sport or the city?

Well, Mr. Sterling, since buying the Clips 30 years ago, has done just that. He has made no bones about making sure everyone knows his concern is the bottom line and nothing else. Win, lose? Doesn’t matter to Sterling, who has figured out that people love sports so much that they’ll pony up to see a bad team, so why spend money on making a team good.

In more recent years, he’s loosened the purse string a little, but it hasn’t made much of a difference. Baron Davis was a poor fit for their offense and hasn’t been the spark that everyone hoped he would be.

Oh yeah. Allegations of sexual harassment and discriminatory hiring practices have been floating around almost as long as Sterling has been there. You run a tight ship, Donald.

1. Al Davis
Where, oh where do we start with the crypt keeper? There was a time when he was a model owner. His teams won, he had incredibly progressive hiring practices, having hired the first Hispanic coach, the second black coach, and a female team president. But that was…a long time ago.

Despite some successes in the early 2000’s which you may or may not admit included a blowout loss in the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay, Davis’ reign since moving the team back to Oakland has been a comedy of errors. Their draft picks have been monumental disasters, their coach’s office has had a revolving door of characters, all of dubious moral fiber (look no further than Tom Cable to see what I’m talking about).

But the good news is that Al Davis will never die and has promised to keep the team until they win two more Super Bowls, which should happen sometime around 2712.

We live in the era of www.fire_____.com (fill in the blank with your local sub .500 coach). Since that’s the way it is, and considering the amount of effort it would take to change it, who am I to buck the trend? Besides, didn’t Al Gore say that his primary motivation for inventing the internet was so that he could institute a change in the Tennessee Volunteer coaching ranks? It is with that in mind that today we present to you 9 coaches who should call it quits.

9. Lane Kiffin
Most thirty-five year old coaches are just trying to get their first crack at an assistant coaching role. Lane Kiffin is getting ready to tackle his third head coaching gig in as many years. He’s already a journeyman head coach and he has only been legally able to rent a car for ten years. So why do we think he should hang it up already? Well, considering his post-Raider behavior has made Al Davis start to look sane, it’s more a question of where do we start? He bailed on Tennessee after naming his son Knox (sorry kid) and claiming he was there for the long haul. Then he bolted for SC even though he wasn’t on their top three list of candidates because it was his “dream job.” Well, dreams can turn to nightmares awful fast when the NCAA decides to make an example out of you, which is exactly what they are doing at USC. Lane, take our advice and call it quits. Besides, that hot wife of yours can only be neglected for so long before the ballboys start to look real attractive to her.

8. Lou Piniella
Yeah, we know this is his last season, but maybe he shouldn’t wait that long. Lou is one bad call away from a life-ending heart attack. As a fan, I don’t really have a problem with this. As a human, I kinda do. I already had to watch umpire John McSherry die on opening day in 1996, and I don’t necessarily need to see it happen again. That said, Piniella’s outbursts are amazing. Managing the cursed Cubs only makes things worse. When you have Carlos Zambrano taking orders from Sweet Lou you know things are going to get hot, and losing streaks can’t be far behind. If Lou was coaching the Yankees he wouldn’t be on this list, but when baseball’s definition of futility is the team he manages, we can’t in good conscious not recommend he hang ‘em up ASAP.

7. Jim Schwartz
When you are the head coach of the Detroit Lions you have no choice but to do some serious soul searching to find out how you ended up there. Was there no high school coaching job available? The local JUCO didn’t need an offensive line coach? Was this the only option on the table? Maybe Jim Schwartz is a great coach, but unfortunately we’ll never know because he coaches the Detroit Lions. The good news is they already went 0-16. The bad news is that the league is likely to be expanding to 18 games.

6. Tom Cable
The Cable Guy is in way over his head and everyone knows it. The head coach of the Raiders is nothing more than a hand puppet to Al Davis anyway, so what would Cable have to lose by stepping down? Other than a feeling of being a helpless patsy, not much. In fact, he may even discover something he hasn’t felt in a long, long time. A sense of purpose in this world. But Tom Cable isn’t one to give up that easy. After all, he is the one that started Jamarcus Russell all those games in a row. So don’t expect him to leave the Raiders without being stabbed in the back by Al Davis, and I don’t mean that symbolically. He will likely have to literally be stabbed in the back by Al Davis to leave the Raiders.

5. Jerry Jones
The time has finally come for Jerry Jones to quit coaching the Cowboys. George Steinbrenner stopped managing the Yankees and they rattled off an epic run of World Series titles. Why would anyone think that America’s team couldn’t do the same without Jerry Jones getting in the way? At least, that has to be what Wade Phillips is wondering after lucking into the playoffs last year and looking down the barrel of another stress filled year under the overly-watchful eye of Jerry Jones. To his credit, he did build that giant TV screen that keeps fans in the stadium from bothering to watch the game. However, it has yet to distract enough attention away from the fact that he is a terrible owner when it comes to meddling with his coach’s affairs.

4. Charlie Weis
What are you expected to do if you are an elite collegiate athlete and this fat ass tells you to work harder? You are expected to bite your tongue because he used to be the offensive coordinator for Bill Belichick, but there’s only so many orders you can take from such a fat f*ck. Unless Weiss can lose about 100 pounds, he needs to call it quits and focus on not weighing over 300 pounds. That, and he sucks as a coach. While at Notre Dame, all he did was lose to USC every year and make NBC’s once lucrative TV contract look like a bad idea. Will he do any better with KC? Could anyone? Get with the program Charlie! And put that burrito down!!!

3. Richard Williams
Who? Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, that’s who! So why is he on this list? Because he’s already hit on his meal ticket and it’s time to sit down and have some meals. Both of his daughters grew up to be champion tennis players and make obscene amounts of money. He should be on a Caribbean island right now, not on a hot court working on backhands with his daughters. At this point, what does the coaching really do for anyone other than send some cash his way and possibly make his daughters worse tennis players? I don’t know the answer, but I have to figure it is “not much.” So instead of making them worse and allowing Croatia, Sweeden or whatever other country is producing the top female tennis prospects, maybe it’s time you finally hire a professional coach so your daughters can go back to kicking the sh*t out of every overmatched b*tch they see on the court. Got that Richard?

2. Phil Jackson
C’mon Phil, you’ve got the record. Red Auerbach rolled over in his grave and you credited a Zen mentality for all of your success. You have more than enough money and you are banging Jerry Buss’ daughter. What more do you need? Do you really want another season of Kobe busting your chops, Odom rolling late to practice with his camera crew and awful Kardashian wife and Ron Artest screaming about how “he got Wheaties!” every day of the week? In short, you don’t. If you win, it was what you were supposed to do. If you lose, you were a fool for coming back. Like it or not, that’s the way it is, so take a page out of John Elway’s book and ride off into that sunset with a championship banner tucked under your belt and a huge Zen doobie tucked tightly inside of the banner. You know, just in case you need some herbal assistance in finding that ever elusive inner peace.

1. Joe Paterno
Ah, good ol’ Joe Pa. Twenty-five years ago he was relevant, but twenty-five years ago he was 58 years old. Ever since then he has led a long, slow decline of a once prominent NCAA football powerhouse in a once dominant conference. His legacy somewhat mirrors that of the rust belt state that he made his name in. The unwillingness to be progressive and cling to the old way of doing things has crippled the American Midwest. This very same mentality has crippled the Nittany Lions football program for years. Sure, Joe Pa is an institution, but all worthy institutions eventually know when it is time to step down and pass on their legacy. Paterno may have been blessed with many skills, but unfortunately for the students and alumni of Penn State, knowing when his time is up isn’t in his DNA. Unfortunately, staying alive long enough to destroy Penn State’s program forever may be.

Tony Romo

You know what the most amazing thing about this video is?  That he didn’t fumble the mic when it was handed off to him.  Hopefully Romo knows the Cowboys playbook better than he does the words to that song.  We all know what Jerry Jones thinks of Romo’s performance.  It’s nose-picking good. Nose-picking is considerably more fun than listening to Romo sing.  We also know how choked up Romo can get at times.

That was probably exciting for Romo, but maybe the Cowboys will bring T.O. back for one more season.  Now that would be exciting. Believe it or not, they need some more star power down in Big D.  And I’m not talking about big haired, heavy metal cover bands.  Of course The Boys did win the divisi0n last year so maybe they don’t need to add much.  Either way, the locker room will be better if Romo just talks and doesn’t sing.

One of the downfalls of being such an outspoken and recognized owner of a football franchise it you can expect to accumulate several minutes of television face time each week when you team takes the field.  While that is not entirely a bad thing, it can be when they catch you picking your nose in the press box.

In the first quarter, following a Bruce Johnson interception return for a touchdown, cameras focused on Jones, who most would expect to be fuming after seeing Tony Romo deliver an easy seven points to the Giants.  Instead he was preoccupied trying to unclog his nasal passages with his thumb.  Maybe that is where he found all the gold that helped pay for the new stadium.  I’m guessing he may have been looking for some more in order to buy his club a new defense as well.

It was a rough night for Jerry and the Cowboys, but there is no need to worry.  With Jake Delhomme and his Carolina Panthers coming to town next Monday night, they will no longer have to worry about having the most turnover friendly quarterback on the field.  As for the nose picking, lets just say he isn’t the first to get caught on camera this year.

Hat Tip – [Sports Rubbish]

The big winners of the post season so far have been the Patriots. They already picked up Fred Taylor, Sam Baker (a relative unknown, but the Pats are great spotters of talent – do you remember that relative unknown Wes Welker?) and the 34th overall pick in the draft, and this week they focused on their weaknesses by upgrading their secondary with the acquirement of Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. I’ve said before that I’m a big Bodden fan and blame horrible Lions’ management for his down year and not the player, so the Pats have really stolen one here. Springs’ talent is too often hidden behind injury and an aging body.

They also added Joey Galloway who is enough of a deep threat to draw the attention of safeties and clear the middle of the field for Welker; the Pats don’t need an elite number 2, just enough to turn Randy Moss triple teams into doubles. Greedily the Patriots look set to sign one of the league’s premier rush experts, Julius Peppers. On paper he should fit into a 3-4 since he has the speed and technique to shed one-on-one blockers, but there is an element of doubt and he isn’t getting any younger; having said that these are minor criticisms of what is a serious upgrade to the meager New England pass rush of 2008.

The cost of all these moves? Aging Mike Vrabel would have been replaced in the draft anyway and Matt Cassell, who holds zero value to New England. They’re hard to like, but you have to admit that New England have dominated free agency. Entering the draft they can do whatever they want with their only priority being youth at linebacker, and may even take a shot on an elite runner like Knowshon Moreno or Chris Wells in the first.

In other moves the Ravens bizarrely put pen to paper with former Eagle LJ Smith; the guy can’t catch and isn’t a phenomenal blocker to make up for it, so what are the Ravens really doing? Remember when Todd Heap was good and they threw his way more than 35 times in a season? Baltimore management would cite his inability to stay healthy, but even when he was in the line-up he wasn’t used. LJ Smith is like Todd Heap but worst in every way, so I don’t get this move. Last week I heralded the free agency full back class at the top of which sat Leonard Weaver, well Weaver found a new home as an Eagle which was surprising since Brian Westbrook doesn’t necessarily need a conventional lead blocker. Sure he’ll love a talented blocker like Weaver in front of him, but Westbrook’s skills suit broken play and nifty cuts not driving between tackle and guard. Maybe Andy Reid will use him more as McNabb’s personal protector when Westbrook splits out on swing routes. Speaking of former Seahawks, Bobby Engram got a job as a Kansas City Chief: old and injury prone, I doubt he makes an impact.

Who’s Out

Matt ‘Coke’ Jones was cut by the Jags after mid season cocaine issues, and character problems combined with a possible suspension are a shame for a physically gifted player who could have done something in the league. Maybe he gets picked up, but it won’t be for a lot of money and he won’t be the focus of a team like he would have been in Jacksonville. Oh and when Carolina lose Peppers they’re getting an F for their off season effort. Do they know they are allowed to sign players as well as lose one of the most talented defensive linemen in the league? So much for consolidating on a promising season.

3 to Watch…

1) Bit of a selfish one here since I am a Browns fan, but the next week could be the difference between 2-14 or 9-7. Is Edwards on the block? Does Shaun Rogers get the release he wants? What role does Mangini have in the Cutler ordeal, and does Quinn become a Bronco? Donte Stallworth’s punishment?

2) I talked like it’s a done deal but Jerry Jones is just about crazy enough to hijack this deal from the Patriots, and make Peppers a Cowboy.

3) When speculating about Cutler’s future in a recent post, I mentioned the Browns and lo and behold they get involved. The other team I mentioned was the Eagles since McNabb for Cutler and a whole bunch of picks make a lot of sense for both sides. I’m just saying.

“When we played Ray Lewis and Baltimore at the end of the season, he came over and pointed to my helmet. He said: ‘I want to wear this star on my helmet. That’s my dream … that’s my dream.  When we got to the Pro Bowl, he did it again. He came at me every day. He’s trying to get down where the star is. He told me he needed me to get him [owner] Jerry Jones’ phone number for him. I just busted out laughing.”

With free agency set to start on Friday, it will be interesting to see how this develops.  Some believe that Lewis, who has never been a free agent in his 13 year career, is using the Cowboys as leverage to up his price with the Ravens, but Ware does not believe that is the case:

“Believe me, he is genuine.  He talked to me two years ago about it. He calls me about once a week and talks about it then. I even said: ‘Hey, Ray, I’m tired about talking about this. You need to find Jerry Jones’ number and fly out there and talk to him.’”

Another interesting fact to consider is just how would the Cowboys be able to afford him.  They are already close to the salary cap and intend on signing Ware to a high priced extension.  With that being said, it will still be interesting to see just what happens to the man many consider to still be one of the best linebackers out there.

This is not the only storyline with free agency approaching.  Other interesting reports include T.J.Houshmandzadeh possibly being pursued by the Eagles, the Cards close to resigning Warner, and Jeff Saturday testing the market.

I wonder how many kids will be asking their dads for the Cowboys End Zone for Christmas.

The Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones and Neiman Marcus are selling one of the 2 end zones at Texas Stadium after it closes down this season. But thats not it for $500,00 heres what you get,

“Our exclusive package also includes the VIP treatment for the last regular season Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. Your crew gets pre-game photos in your zone with Jerry Jones, a luxury suite for the game, and a once-in-a-lifetime post-game tailgate party on your soon-to be new backyard (with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, no less). There’s also autographed memorabilia from Cowboy legends, and a VIP package to attend the opening of the new stadium in 2009.”

The Cowboys and Jerry Jones will then donate all the money to the Salvation Army. So if you have a net worth of over $10 million and live on more then an acre then estate then you can afford to buy this extravagant souvenir from one of the most historic stadiums in the world.

If you are interested in buying Dallas Cowboys End Zone for $500,000 then you can find the item available at NeimanMarcus.com