Well, it's about time to post a new blog. Yeah, I know this one is long overdue. Why the delay? I really don't know. No excuses, no particular reason.

On second thought, I did manage to come up with some excuses-reasons for the delay. So...

Here is my Top Ten list for not writing up a new blog in a while.

   10. The dog keeps eating up all my rough drafts.

     9. I promised myself I would never post any more stories on Terrell Owens.

     8. I haven't seen "Avatar" yet.

     7. I lost track of time while listening to all my old George Jones records.

     6. I was going to write about the lovely view from atop the Eiffel Tower, but my flight to Paris-by way of Hong Kong and Siberia-got canceled.      

     5. I lost my stat sheet on the Winter Olympics.

     4. TTTThe tttt key on tttthis keyboard ttttttends ttto stttick from ttime tto
        tttttime-all ttthat backspacing tttttires me outtttt.

     3. Dave Letterman called and said, "Hey Steve, why don't you do a Top Ten list on why you've been slackin' on the blog front.

     2. My Dallas Cowboys don't play in March...or April, or May, or June, or July; They didn't play in February either.

     And the number one reason for not writing up a new blog in a while(this is the part where you always hear that fancy drum roll):

     1. The notes on my masterpiece "1000 ways to prepare Chicken In A Can" vanished into thin air--blame it on the dog!
     

Thanks for taggin' along on this one. Until next time-hopefully soon-have a GREAT day!
    

The Dallas Cowboy team that looked so sharp over the past several weeks didn't show up at the Metrodome on Sunday. It was Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings that were ready to play, posting a 34-3 victory. Favre shined while going 15/24 for 4 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions. Favre's favorite target was Sidney Rice who caught 6 passes for 141 yards and 3 td's. Folks keep wondering when Favre is going to have a bad, bad game this year. He most certainly did not against my Cowboys on Sunday. He's probably had the best year of his career, rolling over to his first playoff game this year.

Tony Romo had one of his bad games. After a little success moving down the field early on, the Viking defense shut down the Cowboy offense, and they couldn't do much of anything. The boys up front couldn't stop the Viking pressure, and Romo was running for his life pretty much all game long. He was sacked six times, fumbled three times, losing two. He also threw a costly interception. Romo finished 22/35 for 198 yards-0 touchdowns.

Of course there were no touchdowns at all for Dallas in this one. They couldn't get anything rolling offensively. The Dallas defense was able to halt some Viking drives, but the offense wasn't able to counter with anything-that Viking defense was just to good. The only points the 'Boys could tack up came from a Shaun Suisham 33 yard field goal in the 2nd quarter. That's it! Ugly to watch. I doubt Suisham will be back next year; he's not that good a kicker. He missed on attempts of 49 and 48 yards.

Another tough loss for Cowboy fans to swallow as the Vikings took control of this game on both sides of the ball pretty much all day long.

Bad, of course, for Cowboy fans-great for Viking fans-great for ratings. The broadcast of the game on Fox earned a 23.9 overnight rating and 46 share, making it the highest rated divisional playoff game in the early time slot since the Cowboys-Eagles game in 1996.

Early indication is that Wade Phillips will be back as head coach next year. Several players left the team meeting following the playoff loss saying that management wants to keep things the way they are, meaning that owner Jerry Jones will likely pick up the option on Phillips' contract for next season.

Overall, a pretty decent season for my Cowboys. They did get that first playoff win since '96, the first for Romo and Phillips. Many, including myself, really thought they could make the Super Bowl this year. They looked very good heading into that Viking game, but the train ran off the track, abruptly.

There are positives to build on for the 2010 season. This is still a very good team, and I think they'll be in the thick of the Super Bowl hunt again next season. If they can make it to the big game next year, they'll be playing it in their home stadium-Cowboy Stadium, home of the 2011 Super Bowl!

Until next season, Cowboy fans, stay happy!!!

How 'bout them Cowboys!!! What a win!!! The playoff drought is over!!! The 'Boys posted their first postseason win since late December of 1996 with a 34-14 trouncing of the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday night. Make it 3-0 against Philly this year, taking right up where they left off in the shutout win to close out the regular season. Total domination, again. With all those exclamation points up there, you'd think the Cowboys just won the Super Bowl. There'll be more !!!'s if they do. Not trying to get carried away here, but I'm a happy Cowboy fan after this win. It marked the first playoff win for coach Wade Phillips, and for Tony Romo, who is starting to gain more and more respect for just what he is-a great quarterback. Tony R has had his bumps along the way (who hasn't), but I believe he could go down as the greatest QB in Cowboy history. Of course, he hasn't played long enough to match career numbers of Staubach and Aikman, but he already holds several single season and single game records, including most yards in a season-4,483-set this year,breaking his own record in that category. The only thing missing on his pedigree is postseason success and Super Bowl rings. Take away Troy Aikman's 3 Super Bowl rings,would he be considered as great a quarterback? Not likely.

Romo has had a great year, especially late in the regular season. It carried through on Saturday night as he completed 23 of 35 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw an interception, that was reversed to an incomplete pass on a Wade Phillips challenge. They later scored on that same drive. Dallas opened the game with great field position on it's first two drives, but penalties and a couple of sacks on Romo prevented them from scoring. The Eagles were pinned deep in their own territory on their first two drives, and could go nowhere. The Cowboy defense was outstanding all game long, allowing only one big play for a score, when Michael Vick entered the game and threw out to Jeremy Maclin for a 76 yard td. Maclin did have good numbers-finishing with 7 catches for 146 yards. Maclin's performance was about the only bright spot for Philly.

Speaking of Vick, he also botched a handoff that resulted in a fumble recovered by the Cowboys who would score off the turnover to go up 24-7 late in the 1st half.

Romo td strikes to John Phillips and Miles Austin, and a 1 yard plunge into the end zone by Tashard Choice, plus field goals of 25 and 48 yards by Shaun Suisham accounted for the 'Boys 27-7 halftime lead. All 27 points came in the 2nd quarter-most in a single quarter in Cowboy postseason history.

The lead was increased to 34-7 in the 3rd quarter on a 73 yard touchdown run by Felix Jones. What a great run! Jones finished with a total of 148 yards on 16 carries. Tashard Choice added 42 yards on 14 carries. Marion Barber saw only limited action in the 1st quarter, still nursing a left knee injury.

The receiving group was led by Miles Austin with 7 catches for 82 yards, and Roy Williams with 5 catches for 59 yards. Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton combined for 7 catches and 61 yards.

Dallas turned the ball over only once on a sloppy trying-to-hand-to-another-player fumble by Mike Jenkins after he intercepted a Donovan McNabb pass. Philly had a total of four turnovers, including a fumble by McNabb. McNabb was sacked four times-Romo twice.   

The'Boys need to work on the penalty bug. They were flagged 14 times for 112 yards. 14 times? Ouch! The Eagles weren't much better with 9 penalties for more yards actually-116. The 228 yards penalized by both teams is the most ever in an NFL playoff game.

The Cowboys hit the road for round two of the playoffs against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. It certainly seems now that my Cowboys are legitimate contenders for a trip to the Super Bowl in Miami. I hope Tony Romo has a better game than his childhood idol Brett Favre. With a continued focus on great play, just like they've been doing lately, my Cowboys can hopefully get their second consecutive playoff win, getting Tony Romo one step closer to his first Super Bowl ring-joining the list of great quarterbacks to do so.

The Vikings ARE beatable.

GO COWBOYS!!!

Wow! What a win for my Cowboys in the regular season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Another shutout victory,24-0. This after blanking the Washington Redskins the week before. The Cowboys have been in the league since 1960 and had never posted back-to-back shutout wins until now. That feat hasn't been accomplished by any NFL team in 9 years.

Yeah, the win was great-any win is-but the way the playoff seedings panned out, we have to turn right around and play the Eagles again in the first round. If the 'Boys had lost, it would have been a trip to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. With the win, Dallas was crowned NFC East champion and got a home game in the first round, which is great, even though they have to play the Eagles again. They won both games over Philly during the regular season and will have to do it again in the playoffs. The Cowboys totally dominated on Sunday, but it may be tougher in the postseason match-up this Saturday night. They always say it's tough to beat a team three times in an NFL season. This may be true, but the Cowboys are on a roll and are playing very well headed into the 2nd season, and I think they can keep it rollin' past the Eagles in the first round. I do have some concerns about this game-Philly will be super pumped to get back at the Cowboys in a game where the loser goes home-but I think my 'Boys can prevail.

I just loved that 24-0 pasting Dallas put up on Philly. Call me a greedy fan, I wish it would have been more. It could have, but a lot of 2nd half drives stalled out, and after a nice march down the field, newly acquired kicker Shaun Suisham missed on a 30 yard field goal. Boo! 27-0 has a better sound to it. Oh well, it was a great win, and Suisham did make a 44 yarder. Cowboy fans are STILL reeling after that 44-6 drubbing by the Eagles to end  the season last year. The 'Boys have paid it back twice. I hope they can a third time.

The Cowboy defense played outstanding in pressuring Donovan McNabb and providing tight coverage on his receivers for most of the game. They also killed the Eagles running game; only 37 yards on the ground.

The offense clicked along nicely with Tony Romo passing for 311 yards and 2 touchdowns. Romo broke his own record for all time passing yardage in a season by a Cowboy quarterback-4,483 yards. The Wisconsin kid is on fire!

The 'Boys missed out on having 2 rushers and 2 receivers go for 100 yards in a single game by a total of 29 yards. Felix Jones carried the ball 15 times for 91 yards, including a 49 yarder for a score in the 3rd quarter. Marion Barber ran 14 times, also for 91 yards.

Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, and Jason Witten all had great games. Crayton hauled in 4 passes for 99 yards and a td, Austin caught 7 for 90 yards, and Witten had 6 grabs for 76 yards and a td.

Hopefully, the good fortune continues. Dallas needs a playoff win badly. They haven't had one since 1996. Tony Romo needs a playoff win badly. He's never had one.

Here's to a win over the Eagles. Get them Eagles! Get them Eagles again!!

GO COWBOYS!!!

P.S. This may be a bad omen(maybe not). CBS Sports' Pete Prisco has now picked the Cowboys to make it to the Super Bowl. Boy, I hope he's right! You can check out Pete's full story at CBSSports.com.

The Dallas Cowboys locked up a playoff spot with their 17-0 win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday night. The 'Boys can still wrap up the NFC East title with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season finale. If they lose, they fall back to the wild card spot with the Green Bay Packers. With the division crown, they are guaranteed at least one home game in the playoffs. They(or the Eagles) could wind up as high as a #2 seed. For that to happen, a lot of things have to fall into place just so-I doubt they all will. It would be nice to clobber the Eagles and get the division title. If not, the wild card route will do.

My Cowboys are starting to play very well, and at a good time. The month of December has not been kind to Dallas the last few years, no big secret there, but this year it's been better. That win at New Orleans was huge, and the shutout in Washington was good.

It was a dominating performance all around in the win over the Redskins-as it should have been. A fine effort, despite only scoring 17 points. The ground game was lead by Marion Barber and Felix Jones, with Barber plowing in for a 3 yard score in the 2nd quarter. Roy Williams caught a 4 yard pass from Tony Romo for the first points in the opening quarter. Miles Austin had another great game, hauling in 9 passes for 92 yards. It was Jason Witten who put up the bigger yardage figure, though, catching 6 passes for 117 yards, including a 69 yarder in the 2nd quarter, the longest of his career. Tony Romo had a good game, although he threw an interception(off a deflection), his first in over 160 pass attempts. The Redskin defense did step up nicely on a couple of 4th down and short plays, stuffing Marion Barber on both occasions.

The shutout win was the first Dallas has had in 6 years. The last time was a 27-0 win on December 14, 2003 against who else-the Redskins, in Washington.

I do think this Cowboy team has the tools to compete with any of the other postseason players in the NFC. If they keep playing like they have the past couple of games, they can certainly make a run. Let's see first how they handle the Eagles in the regular season wrap-up on Sunday in Big D. They could be facing Philly again in the playoffs in quick turnaround fashion. We'll see how it all turns out.

GO COWBOYS!!!