Dallas Cowboys

The Ravens' reward for advancing to the AFC divisional playoffs? No day off. Because the sixth-seeded Ravens are scheduled to play the top-seeded Tennessee Titans on Saturday at LP Field at 4:30 p.m., the players' and coaches' schedule has been shifted. So instead of having today off, players and coaches will practice shortly after 11 a.m. Practice will be held tomorrow and Thursday, and the team will travel to Nashville on Friday. "With the short week, we've just got to move everything up," coach John Harbaugh said yesterday during his weekly media conference at the team's training facility in Owings Mills.

An interesting contrast is developing between the best team in the AFC and the best team in the NFC that will make a great story line should the two make it to the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots are, of course, the best team in the AFC. With apologies to the Green Bay Packers, for the sake of this comparison, let's assume the Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the NFC. (After all, they have the tiebreaker at the moment for home-field advantage in the playoffs.) In New England, we have the Stepford franchise.

And we're back. Sorry for my absence from these pages, but there was a matter of some urgency dealing with my health. Luckily for me, I've recovered. Unluckily for you, the column is back. However, I believe doctors removed that part of my brain that enables me to write about one subject for more than a few paragraphs. Comcast SportsNet is adding an overflow channel, called CSN+, starting Oct. 1. The channel will be activated when Comcast SportsNet carries simultaneous live games of the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards or area colleges.

DALLAS -- A Jewish group demanded and got an apology Tuesday after the Dallas Cowboys' fan newspaper compared a rival team's owner to Hitler.The Zionist Organization of America accused the Official Dallas Cowboys Weekly of "trivializing" the Holocaust by invoking the Nazi leader in depicting Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder as a "dictator."Russ Russell, longtime publisher of the weekly, which has a circulation of about 50,000 worldwide, said he didn't read the column ahead of time and would not have approved it if he had."

Can't Hit This!, TIME CAPSULEMajor-league pitchers threw a record seven no-hitters in one season. Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers (below) hurled his sixth career no-hitter. He was the oldest pitcher (age 43) to pitch a hitless game. (Nolan threw his seventh in 1991.)ON YOUR MARK ... ATHLETES vs. ANIMALSFleet-footed cornerback and wide receiver Deion Sanders of the Dallas Cowboys has been timed at 4.29 seconds in the 40-yard dash. That's one quick sprint! But a cheetah is three times quicker!

IRVING, Texas -- The stakes have increased. The emotions have intensified.The Washington Redskins have waited six weeks for another shot at the Dallas Cowboys. Today at Texas Stadium, the Redskins will look to back up all of their trash talk as well as their NFC East lead in one of the NFL's traditional marquee matchups.If any fans believe that the rivalry has lost its drama, they didn't watch the Cowboys' 21-point fourth-quarter comeback against the Redskins on Sept. 12. If any of them thought that the rivalry had lost its edge, they should have seen the Redskins' locker room this week, where the word "revenge" was mentioned so many times it seemed like it was printed in their playbook.

EastNew York Giants coach Jim Fassel didn't get any style points for his team's 13-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the victory, Fassel was grilled about his inept offense and refusal to yank quarterback Kent Graham, and his decision to try a pooch kickoff with one second left on the clock. It went too far into the hands of Deion Sanders. With several laterals, the Cowboys returned it to the end zone, but a forward lateral nullified the score. On top of that, kicker Brad Daluiso was lost for the season with a knee injury trying to make a tackle on the play.

EastMiami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino will be trying to show he has something left on his fastball today when he duels a young gunslinger, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. There was speculation that his poor performance on Thanksgiving -- five interceptions in a 20-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys -- was an indication that his neck injury has sapped the strength of his arm. Marino's explanation was he was just rusty. "The thing is, I have a hard head. I think I can just walk out there and play.

NEW YORK -- A Subway World Series? If it's going to happen this year, the New York City Transit Authority had better start digging a new subway line to Atlanta.The Yankees are on their way to holding up their end of the deal after coming from behind to beat the Red Sox in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series last night, but the Mets are in big trouble after losing the first two games of the NL Championship Series to the Braves.Things can change in a hurry, of course, as the Red Sox proved with their remarkable Division Series comeback against the Indians.

NEW YORK -- A Subway World Series? If it's going to happen this year, the New York Transit Authority had better start digging a new line to Atlanta.The Yankees are on their way to holding up their end of the deal after coming from behind to beat the Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series last night, but the Mets are in big trouble after losing the first two games of the National League Championship Series to the Braves.Things can change in a hurry, of course, as the Red Sox proved with their remarkable Division Series comeback against the Indians.

NFL Newman's late interception lifts Cowboys over Panthers Terence Newman returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown with 5:07 left, cracking open a tight game and sending the host Dallas Cowboys (2-1) to a 21-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers (0-3) on Monday night. - Box score, PG 3 Dolphins: : Quarterback Chad Pennington tore the capsule in his throwing shoulder against the Chargers on Sunday, likely ending his season - and perhaps even his NFL career. A magnetic resonance imaging Monday revealed the damage, which likely will be surgically repaired in the coming days.

He was the smallest offensive tackle of his day, and maybe the smartest. It wasn't size but savvy that made Bob Vogel one of football's top linemen and a pillar of the Baltimore Colts' storied front wall. Vogel, the team's top draft choice in 1963, spent the next decade taming sack packs and clearing paths for Colts' runners despite a 240-pound frame that even then was underwhelming. "I wasn't one of those guys who could lift the stadium," said Vogel, who attended Ohio State. "I was purely a technician.

Ray Lewis will be a Raven for life. The longtime face of the franchise ended longer-than-expected negotiations and agreed in principle on a multiyear contract with the Ravens yesterday. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, who reached the agreement with the 10-time Pro Bowl linebacker at 4:15 p.m. yesterday, wouldn't disclose the length of the deal. But he said: "Ray Lewis can retire as a Raven." Lewis, 33, is expected to sign a three-year, $22 million deal, according to multiple sources.

Wow, talk about having too much time on your hands. At 5golden rings.net, a blog by and for Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the authors conducted a count of NFL-related material being sold on eBay on a recent day and found this ranking of the top five teams: Steelers (16,567), Dallas Cowboys (10,987), New York Giants (7,633), Green Bay Packers (7,445) and Chicago Bears (7,057). Among the items: a 1976 Steelers coloring book, a Bill Parcells-style Giants sweater and a "no Jessica" T-shirt (referring to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's distraction, Jessica Simpson)

Word around the NFL is that the Dallas Cowboys are very interested in obtaining Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis if he becomes a free agent. The speculation is that they are willing to give him a three-year deal worth $27 million to $30 million, with $25 million guaranteed. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ravensinsider)

The Ravens' reward for advancing to the AFC divisional playoffs? No day off. Because the sixth-seeded Ravens are scheduled to play the top-seeded Tennessee Titans on Saturday at LP Field at 4:30 p.m., the players' and coaches' schedule has been shifted. So instead of having today off, players and coaches will practice shortly after 11 a.m. Practice will be held tomorrow and Thursday, and the team will travel to Nashville on Friday. "With the short week, we've just got to move everything up," coach John Harbaugh said yesterday during his weekly media conference at the team's training facility in Owings Mills.

IRVING, Texas - For all those conspiracy theorists who believe the NFL is out to get Baltimore - especially after Sunday's controversial finish - tonight won't change your mind. As the Ravens make their final push toward the playoffs, they must overcome another roadblock laid down by the league. The Ravens (9-5) play the Dallas Cowboys (9-5) in the final game scheduled at Texas Stadium, a situation in which it is usually tough to pull out a victory. Since the beginning of the 1996 season, teams are 11-2 in the last regular-season games at their old stadiums before relocating to new ones.

Forget the drama surrounding the Dallas Cowboys' Terrell Owens, the wide receiver who spurned the Ravens in 2004 in favor of the Philadelphia Eagles. The biggest potential headache for the Ravens' defense is not T.O., but T.R. Tony Romo is ranked among the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL in several passing categories, and he orchestrates a Dallas pass offense ranked eighth in the league. "He can do some amazing things with the football," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who saw enough of Romo when Harbaugh coached the Eagles' secondary last season.

Going into the 2008 season, there were certain Ravens who were irreplaceable, such as inside linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. You can now put cornerback Fabian Washington on that list. Yes, Fabian Washington. The Ravens have reached a point where they cannot afford any more injuries in the secondary, and the Ravens are not sure whether Washington can play Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys because of an injured hamstring. Washington suffered the injury in the Pittsburgh game Sunday and wasn't on the field during the Steelers' 12-play, 92-yard game-winning drive at the end of the fourth quarter.

If the Ravens are as resilient as they've been all season, they will make the playoffs. The Ravens (9-5) control their postseason prospects because they can earn a berth by winning their last two regular-season games. That means beating the Dallas Cowboys (9-5) in the final game at Texas Stadium and the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-9) at M&T Bank Stadium. But that also means the Ravens moving past Sunday's frustrating 13-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a shortened week. "We're going to go there ready to play," quarterback Joe Flacco said.