Ice Bowl Battle along I-10

Driving back to LA from Phoenix yesterday, I saw this guy: a motorist with a big Packers logo sticker on his rear window and a license plate reading "ICE BOWL" on his bumper. As a good Cowboys fan, I only had one choice. My girlfriend pulled a sheet of poster board from the back seat, grabbed a sharpie, and went to work...


Moments later, our "KRAMER WAS OFFSIDES" anti-Ice-Bowl poster was complete. Now to catch up to the Packer-backer.


There he is. Within our sights. Memories of the 1967 frozen classic replaying in my head. Bart Starr diving into the end zone behind a blatantly offsides Jerry Kramer. The (deliberately?) frozen field. I feel that perhaps my redemption is finally coming to fruition.


The Packer fans laughed, gave us a thumbs up, and gestured for us to hold the poster up again so they could take a picture of it. I figure if you've got a license plate reading "ICE BOWL" then having a Cowboys fan pull up along side you and taunt you is pretty much the goal you're going for.


As I told my girlfriend - a big time Dodgers fan, it'd be like if she was driving and saw a car with San Francisco Giants logos on it and a license plate reading "BONDS 762" ... she would be compelled to hold up a sign with either an asterisk or the word "steroids" on it.

This might be the coolest thing I've ever done when driving across the country.

Cutting Owens a mistake

Cutting Terrell Owens is a mistake the Cowboys are too vain to make. The organization hasn't suffered any Owens-sized distractions as the Eagles or 49ers had to deal with. Yes, there have been bumps in the road, but it has been worth it. Owens has been uber-productive in his three seasons with a star on his helmet. Sure he has dropped passes, but he's made up for it with big plays.

And the Cowboys, thinking they have the answer with Roy Williams (WR version) are clearly putting their eggs in that basket. Nevermind Williams was slightly less than an afterthought in the Cowboys offense last season. Sure, he wasn't in camp with the team and didn't already have the rapport with QB Tony Romo, but he's got a long way to go to match the productivity Owens provided Dallas the last three seasons.

Terrell Owens will most likely continue his hall of fame career somewhere else next season. He's too good to simply be passed over by the entire NFL. But the Cowboys future is much more uncertain. Romo now must step up as the unquestioned leader of the offense. Last season until Romo's injury, Owens was arguably the biggest key to the Cowboys offense (and then we learned just how bad the backup QB position really could be). The 2009 NFL season could officially close the window on this Cowboys squad unless this gamble pays off. Does one player really make or break an NFL team? It's entirely possible.

And unless Romo builds his relationship with Roy Williams while continuing to lean heavily on tight end Jason Witten, the Cowboys offense could suffer the blow up everyone expected during the last three seasons.