THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170209
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
You know what CFL stands for, don't you?
With all due respect to the Pirates of Hampton Roads and anyone else with connections, no matter how tenuous, to the Great White North, the letters CFL stand for Cowboys Football League.
Perhaps you've noticed that it is impossible to escape the Dallas Cowboys.
Try to go a day without Deion in your face. Can't be done.
Imagine life without a puffed-up Jerry Jones. Wouldn't it be nice?
Turn your TV to Comedy Central and dare to find something more off-the-wall than Barry Switzer's coaching.
The news, views and blues of America's Team dominate the pro football scene the way the O.J. Simpson trial dwarfed everyday life in America.
During the ``trial of the century,'' America was all O.J. all the time. Now we are overdosing on Dallas.
Or is that overdozing?
My point is, we've heard more about the Cowboys than O.J.'s DNA.
The testimony of Rosa Lopez during the Simpson trial honestly made more sense than some of the recent football ramblings from Switzer. But not even O.J. is as guilty of overkill as the media in their handling of baffled Barry's botched fourth-down call.
OK, he screwed up big time. The Cowboys lost. But if this had happened to any other team, it's a local story. Just another moment on another Sunday.
The media's fixation with the Cowboys makes everything associated with Big D a Big Deal. Too big of a deal.
Almost every week sees a crisis of some sort in Cowboyland. Troy's calf. Emmitt's knee. Charles Haley's back.
When Deion doesn't dazzle, people wonder if Sanders is at full speed, giving him an excuse he doesn't need. Besides, what pro football player is at full strength in December?
The fixation starts with Jones. He's the one who in 1994 said, ``There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team.''
Then he went out and hired a former college coach who proved he was no better than 501 in the coaches' pecking order.
Stubborness in hiring is not all that sets Jones apart from other owners.
By signing separate licensing deals with Nike and Pepsi, he broke league rules, enhanced his maverick image, and was sued for $300 million by the NFL.
Jones stuck out his chest and called the other owners cheapskates. To show he wasn't one, he gave Sanders nearly as much bonus money as Emmitt Smith's entire contract.
Nobody blames Deion for the Cowboys' troubles. Or for taking the $13 million Jones is paying him this season.
Still, his contract is more noteworthy than his play. With Sanders in the lineup, the team is 4-3. Without him, the Cowboys are 6-1. In seven games, he's had two interceptions.
Maybe Deion is saving himself for the playoffs. Or for more commercials.
There's a school of thought that says not even Switzer can mess up this team once the playoffs start. Dallas remains pro football's most potent franchise, while San Francisco is not as talented as last season's Niners.
The postseason can't get here soon enough. In the meantime, there is no avoiding the Cowboys. While you sit unsuspectingly in your den, Jones and Sanders appear on TV promoting the benefits of eating pizza backwards.
Where is Roger Staubach when you really need him? by CNB