Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas is once again the venue for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders auditions. Five hundred
candidates with dreams of making the 2011-2012 DCC team arrive before sunrise for the preliminaries including several familiar
faces cut in training camp last year. For DCC Director Kelli McGonagill Finglass, DCC Choreographer Judy Trammell, and Executive
VP Dallas Cowboys Charlotte Jones Anderson, these auditions are extremely important because they have an unprecedented number
of slots to fill. Fifteen girls retired from last year’s squad leaving only 18 DCC veterans committed to returning this year.
After the grueling preliminary auditions, 122 young ladies are invited to compete at semifinals the following weekend. At
semis, the candidates struggle to learn a powerful DCC dance routine and the signature DCC kick line routine. The auditions
come to an end with 69 girls invited to Finals auditions – now they are one step closer to Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Training
Camp.

By Beau Bagley – Sports Anchor/Reporter

Thursday, August 18, 2011 – 5:54pm

The Dallas Cowboys, meet the San Diego Chargers.  These two teams will practice several times with each other before Sunday’s second preseason game at Cowboys Stadium.  The game is featured on Sunday Night Football on NBC Newschannel 9.

The Cowboys’ first outdoor practice of 2011 was a joint workout with Sunday’s preseason opponent, the San Diego Chargers. The teams spread out on two fields and conducted a normal practice schedule featuring individual and team work.

Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett credits the Cowboys’ former offensive coordinator and current Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner (1991-93) as one of his mentors. While backing up Troy Aikman, Garrett played under Turner on two Super Bowl teams.

“Norv has been very influential to me, both as a player and as a person,” Garrett said. “He just has such a great grasp of football, of offensive systems, of people and how to coach. And for me to be a quarterback and be in the meeting room with him, with Troy Aikman, and Steve Beuerlein, and Bernie Kosar and some of those guys, each and every day it was really a great learning environment.”

Garrett counts hundreds of coaches as influences on his personal style, including many who he played under as a professional, but his offensive playbook is descended from the lineage of Sid Gilman, Don Coryell, Ernie Zampese and Turner.

“I think everything evolves, but the basic principles stay the same,” Turner said. “We’re geared on getting the ball out of your hand fast and getting people on the move, and getting big plays.”

The teams have scheduled a situational practice Friday at Cowboys Stadium, similar to the Cowboys’ Blue-White scrimmage in San Antonio. Competition in certain facets, including red zone and two-minute work, but no tackling.
 

ARLINGTON, Texas – Marcus Spears was prepared to accept the real possibility that he might have played his last game for the Dallas Cowboys.

Spears missed the second half of last season because of a calf injury. Plus, the Cowboys had salary cap issues and were hoping to retain Stephen Bowen, the defensive end who had replaced Spears in the starting lineup after he got hurt.

But Spears got to stay, suddenly getting a new five-year contract from the Cowboys only after Bowen took a five-year deal from Washington. That came once the NFL lockout was settled just in time for training camp to start.

“I might not have been the first guy they wanted to bring back, but it worked out that way,” Spears said. “The day I agreed to terms, everybody was excited about it and we just moved on. I understand that it’s a business aspect to this. And then it’s this part, it’s football.”

During training camp Monday at Cowboys Stadium, the defensive front seven was going through some alignment drills with new co-ordinator Rob Ryan at one end of the field. Lined up to the right of Spears was linebacker DeMarcus Ware, the 11th overall pick by the Cowboys in 2005, nine spots before they got Spears out of LSU in the same draft.

Dallas switched Ware from defensive end to linebacker in their 3-4 defence. He has since developed into one of the NFL’s top defensive players, a five-time Pro Bowler.

While Spears has been a solid starter at end throughout his career, his primary job often is to occupy offensive linemen so linebackers can make plays. That means he doesn’t pile up a bunch of big stats.

“I appreciate it, he’s one of the best at what he does and he just gets after it,” linebacker Bradie James said. “Spears, he’s great. He’s great in the locker-room, he’s a great person and taking those blockers. Taking two guys is tough, but he does it, and he does it with grace and style.”

There were questions last season about whether Spears was still part of the Cowboys’ long-term plans. Consider that backup ends Bowen and Jason Hatcher were both paid more after Spears, then a restricted free agent, accepted a tender offer at an “original draft choice” rate of US$1.2 million last year.

“From the way it happened, there was some doubt,” Spears said. “I got injured, didn’t play eight games, and you know it was made a point that they wanted Bowen to come back. … I went by what I was getting from them, and I got a phone call and said they wanted me back and I was happy to be back”

Now Spears has some stability with his new contract and is still starting.

Coach Jason Garrett said the six-foot-four, 311-pound Spears understands how to use leverage and his hands in the run game, and gets a push in the pocket as a pass rusher to get in the backfield.

“He is a strong guy. He loves to play. He’s very passionate about it,” Garrett said Monday. “He’s a great teammate to a lot of these guys, which is something we think is a positive thing.”

Because of the salary cap issues, Garrett said the Cowboys didn’t think they were going to have a chance to re-sign Spears and Hatcher. They got both after Bowen decided to go to the NFC East rival Redskins.

“All along, this is where I wanted to be. … Now that I’m here, I don’t have anything to complain about,” he said. “You can let it get personal, but I’ve seen it get personal and I’ve seen it get ugly. I’m a football player, I don’t deal with peoples’ emotions and why they make decisions.”

Spears insisted that he “wasn’t trying to pick Stephen and Jerry’s brain” — referring to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and executive vice-president Stephen Jones — about the team’s plans for him since his contract was up again.

“As it turned out, they appreciate and value what I do,” Spears said. “And I value the type of guys they are and how they run the organization, and it worked out. … I like the fact that I have to earn some things, and I like the fact that they made a commitment to me and I’m making a commitment to them to just give them good work.”

Notes: Backup QB Jon Kitna missed practice with soreness in his lower back. Stephen McGee took second-team snaps. … Garrett said G Montrae Holland (back stiffness) is making progress and that “hopefully that he’ll be practising next week.” … Bill Nagy, the rookie centre from Wisconsin, got some work at left guard with the first-team offence. … WR Dominique Edison was released. The Cowboys still have 87 players on their roster.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcus Spears was prepared to accept the real possibility that he might have played his last game for the Dallas Cowboys.

Spears missed the second half of last season because of a calf injury. Plus, the Cowboys had salary cap issues and were hoping to retain Stephen Bowen, the defensive end who had replaced Spears in the starting lineup after he got hurt.

But Spears got to stay, suddenly getting a new five-year contract from the Cowboys only after Bowen took a five-year deal from Washington. That came once the NFL lockout was settled just in time for training camp to start.

“I might not have been the first guy they wanted to bring back, but it worked out that way,” Spears said. “The day I agreed to terms, everybody was excited about it and we just moved on. I understand that it’s a business aspect to this. And then it’s this part, it’s football.”

During training camp Monday at Cowboys Stadium, the defensive front seven was going through some alignment drills with new coordinator Rob Ryan at one end of the field. Lined up to the right of Spears was linebacker DeMarcus Ware, the 11th overall pick by the Cowboys in 2005, nine spots before they got Spears out of LSU in the same draft.

Dallas switched Ware from defensive end to linebacker in their 3-4 defense. He has since developed into one of the NFL’s top defensive players, a five-time Pro Bowler.

While Spears has been a solid starter at end throughout his career, his primary job often is to occupy offensive linemen so linebackers can make plays. That means he doesn’t pile up a bunch of big stats.

“I appreciate it, he’s one of the best at what he does and he just gets after it,” linebacker Bradie James said. “Spears, he’s great. He’s great in the locker room, he’s a great person and taking those blockers. Taking two guys is tough, but he does it, and he does it with grace and style.”

There were questions last season about whether Spears was still part of the Cowboys’ long-term plans. Consider that backup ends Bowen and Jason Hatcher were both paid more after Spears, then a restricted free agent, accepted a tender offer at an “original draft choice” rate of $1.2 million last year.

“From the way it happened, there was some doubt,” Spears said. “I got injured, didn’t play eight games, and you know it was made a point that they wanted Bowen to come back. … I went by what I was getting from them, and I got a phone call and said they wanted me back and I was happy to be back”

Now Spears has some stability with his new contract and is still starting.

Coach Jason Garrett said the 6-foot-4, 311-pound Spears understands how to use leverage and his hands in the run game, and gets a push in the pocket as a pass rusher to get in the backfield.

“He is a strong guy. He loves to play. He’s very passionate about it,” Garrett said Monday. “He’s a great teammate to a lot of these guys, which is something we think is a positive thing.”

Because of the salary cap issues, Garrett said the Cowboys didn’t think they were going to have a chance to re-sign Spears and Hatcher. They got both after Bowen decided to go to the NFC East rival Redskins.

“All along, this is where I wanted to be. … Now that I’m here, I don’t have anything to complain about,” he said. “You can let it get personal, but I’ve seen it get personal and I’ve seen it get ugly. I’m a football player, I don’t deal with peoples’ emotions and why they make decisions.”

Spears insisted that he “wasn’t trying to pick Stephen and Jerry’s brain” — referring to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones — about the team’s plans for him since his contract was up again.

“As it turned out, they appreciate and value what I do,” Spears said. “And I value the type of guys they are and how they run the organization, and it worked out. … I like the fact that I have to earn some things, and I like the fact that they made a commitment to me and I’m making a commitment to them to just give them good work.”

Notes: Backup QB Jon Kitna missed practice with soreness in his lower back. Stephen McGee took second-team snaps. … Garrett said G Montrae Holland (back stiffness) is making progress and that “hopefully that he’ll be practicing next week.” … Bill Nagy, the rookie center from Wisconsin, got some work at left guard with the first-team offense. … WR Dominique Edison was released. The Cowboys still have 87 players on their roster.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Texas high school football championships are returning to Cowboys Stadium for the second straight year, this time for even more games.

The University Interscholastic League said Monday that the $1.3 billion home of the Dallas Cowboys will be the site of every 11-man title game, from Class 5A to 1A. The six-man Division I and II championship games are returning to Abilene.

Last year, Cowboys Stadium played host to the finals in the three largest classifications, while games in the smaller classes were elsewhere in the Dallas area.

This year, the 3A Division I game will be Friday, Dec. 9, followed by three games each on Dec. 15, 16 and 17. The 5A championships are the final two games.

The six-man games will be Dec. 10.

Super Bowl XLV, Lawsuits

The NFL and the Dallas Cowboys have asked a judge to dismiss the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Super Bowl XLV ticket holders who were denied their seats at February’s game.

A motion filed Thursday says the NFL went “beyond its contractual obligations” with offers of compensation to the displaced ticket holders. It also says no one was defrauded because the league worked through the afternoon on the day of the game to deal with the issue.

“These offers were made to be accommodating to the NFL’s valued fans, but in fact, they exceed the amount to which any of the ticket-holders is entitled,” Jones and the NFL stated in the filing, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The suit was filed after about 1,250 temporary seats couldn’t be completed in time for the Feb. 6 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium in suburban Arlington.

Class counsel Michael Avenatti says the filing shows the league and the team don’t understand their legal obligations. The lawsuit claims fans suffered damages in excess of $5 million.

An earlier filing by Jones and the league said they made an offer to pay 3,296 fans $4.5 million to $9.3 million.

The league’s first offer to displaced fans in February was for $2,400 — three times the face value of the affected seats — and a ticket to next year’s Super Bowl. The league soon added a second option of a ticket to any future Super Bowl plus airfare and hotel costs.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league later emailed fans with a subsequent offer of either $5,000 or reimbursement for “actual documented” Super Bowl XLV expenses, whichever figure is higher.

When 1,250 seats were declared unsafe hours before the Super Bowl, the NFL scrambled to find new seats for about 850 fans. The remaining 400 were forced to watch from standing-room areas or on televisions from places with no view of the field, which led to the suit against the league and Cowboys.

Documents released after the game show the Cowboys were slow to respond to requests for building permits needed to install the seats and indicated that a contractor walked out on the job in the days before the game.

Earlier this month, Cowboys Stadium manager Jack Hill told the Star-Telegram he plans to leave his position June 1, but he said the seating problems at the Super Bowl in February didn’t factor in his decision to resign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DALLAS (AP) — The NFL and the Dallas Cowboys have asked a judge to dismiss the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Super Bowl ticket holders who were denied their seats at February’s game.

A motion filed Thursday says the NFL went “beyond its contractual obligations” with offers of compensation to the displaced ticket holders. It also says no one was defrauded because the league worked through the afternoon on the day of the game to deal with the issue.

The suit was filed after about 1,250 temporary seats couldn’t be completed in time for the Feb. 6 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium in suburban Arlington.

Class counsel Michael Avenatti says the filing shows that the league and the team don’t understand their legal obligations.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DALLAS (AP)—The NFL and the Dallas Cowboys have asked a judge to dismiss
the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Super Bowl ticket holders who were
denied their seats at February’s game.

A motion filed Thursday says the NFL went “beyond its contractual
obligations” with offers of compensation to the displaced ticket holders. It
also says no one was defrauded because the league worked through the afternoon
on the day of the game to deal with the issue.

The suit was filed after about 1,250 temporary seats couldn’t be completed
in time for the Feb. 6 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh
Steelers at Cowboys Stadium in suburban Arlington.

Class counsel Michael Avenatti says the filing shows that the league and the
team don’t understand their legal obligations.