Jerry Jones

The Dallas Cowboys can no longer use Bozo the Coach as a scapegoat.When the Cowboys went from America's Team to America's Most Wanted the last couple of years, Barry Switzer, given the Bozo the Coach nickname by one of the New York tabloids, got much of the blame because of his laid-back style.When Chan Gailey, the former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, was hired to replace Switzer, things were supposed to change.Although Gailey's play-calling, especially in the AFC title game last year, has been suspect at times, nobody questioned he was a straight arrow who would hold the players to a higher standard.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- They have been called America's Team.They also have been called America's Most Wanted.Whatever the label, the Dallas Cowboys are usually the main attraction wherever they play, and that will be no different today when they meet the Carolina Panthers in an NFC semifinal game.Carolina is a second-year expansion team that won its division and is playing its first playoff game -- a great story.But the Cowboys were the team leading off the sports -- and national -- news all week, and not because they're trying to become the first team to win four Super Bowls in five years.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- To understand the difference in the styles of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, it is only necessary to look at the teams'media guides.Jones has a five-page spread in the Cowboys' guide, starting with a full-page picture. His son, Stephen, gets another page.It's a bit harder to find Dan Rooney in the Steelers' media guide. Under administration, there are two lines of type: DANIEL M. ROONEY, President.The guide also has a three-page, decade-by-decade history of the Steelers that starts with how his father, Art Rooney Sr., founded the team in 1933.

When in doubt, blame Jerry Jones.Whenever there's a problem in the league - from the shredding of the salary cap to the Browns' proposed move from Cleveland to Baltimore - the Dallas Cowboys owner seems to get blamed.Jones was on center stage Jones again last week when he filed a $750 million lawsuit against the league to coincide with his team's appearance on "Monday Night Football." Jones' action countered the league's $300 million suit against him over his marketing deals.The last time the Cowboys were on Monday night, opening the season, Jones announced the signing of a deal with Nike.

Turning Jerry Jones into a sympathetic figure is perhaps the most amazing achievement of Paul Tagliabue's career as NFL commissioner.OK, maybe "sympathetic" is putting it a little strong. The smug, egomaniacal Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is hardly huggable. A group of his season ticket holders has filed a class-action lawsuit over his handling of parking passes. He is frugal with scouts, secretaries and other little people, according to Jimmy Johnson. An unauthorized biography, in the works, reportedly portrays him as a philanderer.

IRVING, Texas -- When you walk into Jerry Jones' office, you say "hello" and then wait for the echo.It's big, like everything else in Texas, decorated with brown leather furniture. A spacious wall unit is filled with game balls and pictures: Jones with President Bush, Jones shaking hands with President Clinton, Jones chatting with Elizabeth Taylor. All types of Dallas Cowboys memorabilia line the wall as one makes the long walk from one end of the room to the other.And finally, here sits Jones, the latest NFL executive to strike out on his own."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The NFL last night extended its exhibition season for at least another night.That fiasco on "Monday Night Football?" Nothing more than an early-season checkup on America's Team. Michael, Emmitt, Troy and the 'Boys are doing just fine, thank you.The Dallas Cowboys opened their 1995 season with a 35-0 whipping of the New York Giants before a crowd of 77,454 last night at Giants Stadium.It was actually picture day for the Cowboys, who spent more time mugging for the cameras than they did expending energy against the Giants.

A lot of Washington Redskins season-ticket holders plan to get their money's worth tonight: They're staying home and skipping the final exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at RFK Stadium.The Redskins, who don't require their season-ticket holders to buy tickets for exhibition games, drew only 40,778 for their first home exhibition game and aren't expected to do much better for this one.The Redskins usually sold out preseason games in the Joe Gibbs era, but they're not as much of an attraction now that the team is losing.

A lot of Washington Redskins season-ticket holders plan to get their money's worth tonight: They're staying home and skipping the final exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at RFK Stadium.The Redskins, who don't require their season-ticket holders to buy tickets for exhibition games, drew only 40,778 for their first home exhibition game and aren't expected to do much better for this one.The Redskins usually sold out preseason games in the Joe Gibbs era, but they're not as much of an attraction now that the team is losing.

LOS ANGELES -- Taking apart a football team and putting it back together is not exactly like playing with an erector set. The Dallas Cowboys, to be brutally frank, are both good and lucky.They have accomplished more in a shorter time span than any organization in the history of the NFL, from a 1-15 season four years ago to the Super Bowl.It's an unprecedented attainment, enough to make you want to wonder if the entire scenario is more fiction than fact. But, no, it's not an illusion; it's reality.

Cowboys owner: A. Jones reinstated by league nfl The NFL is giving Adam Jones another chance. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said yesterday that the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games - Sunday and the next game on Thanksgiving. He will be back Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh. "He much appreciates the Cowboys and Jerry Jones for standing behind him and encouraging him, and he's grateful to the commissioner," said Worrick Robinson, Adam Jones' Nashville-based attorney.

Cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones won't be disciplined by the Dallas Cowboys for a scuffle with his bodyguard that team owner Jerry Jones said resulted from joking banter that got out of hand and was quickly settled. "They were literally kidding each other," Jerry Jones said yesterday. "They were jiving around ... and all of a sudden one of them started saying some things, and here you go." Dallas police were called to an upscale downtown hotel because of the disturbance late Tuesday night.

Body parts Between Tom Brady's right foot and Peyton Manning's left knee, the NFL's two best quarterbacks didn't play a snap during the preseason. Both injuries were shrouded in mystery by the Patriots and Colts. There was even speculation Manning (above) had two knee surgeries in the offseason. The AFC crown could hang in the balance. Feeling the heat The Dallas Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996, a drought that covers five losses. Jerry Jones (above) shelled out $70 million in guarantees to keep seven players and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, and added Adam Jones.

Jerry Jones has a way of irking his NFL "partners." That would be the other 31 owners in the league. Going back more than 10 years, Jones cut deals with Nike and Pepsi that ran contrary to agreements that the NFL had with other sporting goods companies and Coca-Cola. The league even went to court over it. Well, in this Jason Garrett situation, with Jones persuading Garrett to spurn the Ravens and stay in Dallas, you can be sure that the Cowboys' owner just cost his fellow owners collectively a fair amount of money.

From a national standpoint, the "yawn" factor has quickly arrived at Valley Ranch. Now me, I think the local intrigue is as deep as ever, but the media boys back East were Big Bill sound-bite, hang-on-every-quote disciples. Combined with the explosive mix of Jerry Jones and, for the past year, Eldorado Owens, flights were repeatedly oversold between LaGuardia and Dallas/Fort Worth. Irving, Texas, was the place to be. Until now. OK, Wade Phillips is not exactly an East Coast media "it" guy, but he's real big down in the Cajun country of Texas, where the roots of the Phillips football family run deepest.

On January 31, 2004; MARGARET E.; beloved wife of the late Edward Jones. She is survived by five sons, Andrew Pearson, David Jones, Kenneth Jackson, Jonathan and Jerry Jones; one daughter, Darlene Tisdale; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two sisters, Alethia Ringgold and Ellin Brown; two brothers, Frank and John Brown; nieces, nephews, cousins, one son-in-law, two daughters-in-law; one sister-in-law; one brother-in-law, other relatives and...

On January 31, 2004; MARGARET E.; beloved wife of the late Edward Jones. She is survived by five sons, Andrew Pearson, David Jones, Kenneth Jackson, Jonathan and Jerry Jones; one daughter, Darlene Tisdale; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two sisters, Alethia Ringgold and Ellin Brown; two brothers, Frank and John Brown; nieces, nephews, cousins, one son-in-law, two daughters-in-law; one sister-in-law; one brother-in-law, other relatives and...

On January 31, 2004; MARGARET E.; beloved wife of the late Edward Jones. She is survived by five sons, Andrew Pearson, David Jones, Kenneth Jackson, Jonathan and Jerry Jones; one daughter, Darlene Tisdale; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two sisters, Alethia Ringgold and Ellin Brown; two brothers, Frank and John Brown; nieces, nephews, cousins, one son-in-law, two daughters-in-law; one sister-in-law; one brother-in-law, other relatives and...

The Dallas Cowboys can no longer use Bozo the Coach as a scapegoat.When the Cowboys went from America's Team to America's Most Wanted the last couple of years, Barry Switzer, given the Bozo the Coach nickname by one of the New York tabloids, got much of the blame because of his laid-back style.When Chan Gailey, the former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, was hired to replace Switzer, things were supposed to change.Although Gailey's play-calling, especially in the AFC title game last year, has been suspect at times, nobody questioned he was a straight arrow who would hold the players to a higher standard.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- They have been called America's Team.They also have been called America's Most Wanted.Whatever the label, the Dallas Cowboys are usually the main attraction wherever they play, and that will be no different today when they meet the Carolina Panthers in an NFC semifinal game.Carolina is a second-year expansion team that won its division and is playing its first playoff game -- a great story.But the Cowboys were the team leading off the sports -- and national -- news all week, and not because they're trying to become the first team to win four Super Bowls in five years.