DALLAS – The Big Man On Campus, quarterback Tony Romo has more than one teammate that thinks he’s the QB’s best friend.Tight end Jason Witten, is Romo’s roommate and a guy that came into Dallas at the same time as his QB. He also happens to be Romo’s most reliable target on the field.

Terrell Owens, wide receiver for the team had seemingly formed a close relationship with Romo and appeared in public after last season’s miserable playoff defeat and wept as he defended Romo to the assembled media.

Owens has gotten agitated recently about the lack of balls thrown his way. All was seemingly OK between him and Romo until reports this week that Owens thinks Witten and Romo are getting together without him on purpose.

What are they doing? Owens thinks that they are conspiring to cook up special passing routes that exclude him. Doesn’t this sound like a high school scene where one friend in a tight group of three feels excluded when his two pals start eating lunch together and duck out on their buddy? Maybe they disappear from the cafeteria to find a quiet spot elsewhere?

Two guys who want to be the BFF of another guy are no less whiny than girls, well except they don’t wear clothes as cute and their voices don’t squeak and squeal as much. But in this case, Owens has hypothesized about the coaching staff depriving him of getting the ball more and now the unthinkable has dawned on him. It might be his quarterback.

But if that’s true, he humiliated himself in public for nothing by sticking up for him so it has got to be the other guy, Witten that’s coming between him and Romo.

What does Owens do now? He goes to other guys outside the tight group and gets them all stirred up against the conspiratorial two. TO’s teammates are starting to divide down loyalty lines.

Where have we heard this before? Oh yeah, San Francisco and Philadelphia. This BS has clearly taken the spotlight off the New York Giants and their woes related to police investigations of their behavior in the wake of the Plaxico Burress shooting. Right before the Cowboys big game against the G men this weekend. Tom Coughlin should send Dallas a thank you card.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

VIRGINIA – After an appearance in a Virginia state court on Tuesday, Michael Vick’s journey through the criminal court system might have gotten a bit shorter.

Under an agreement with Virginia prosecutors, Vick agreed to plead guilty to one of two charges against him. He was given a three-year suspended sentence from the judge and knows that the last piece of his quest for an early release from federal prison is now in place.

The Commonwealth of Virginia had charged the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback with similar but different crimes that resulted from the dog fighting operation he and his family conducted on the property in Surry County, Virginia.

At the time the charges were brought it felt like a grandstand move on the part of the Virginia authorities.

Those crimes could have easily been folded into the federal case, but Commonwealth prosecutors said the citizens of Virginia were outraged at what they saw and deserved to have their voice heard.

Vick has now performed his public penance by being brought from Kansas to Virginia to personally take his plea and make his apologies to the people of Virginia.

With this resolved, Vick can apply for an early release from Leavenworth where he is still serving out his 23-month sentence. His official release date is July 2009 and as a result of today’s events he can apply to serve some of what is left in a halfway house.

While waiting for final sentencing in 2007, Vick tested positive for marijuana and after his incarceration began at Leavenworth he entered a drug rehab treatment program.

After successful completion of that and the resolution of the pending Virginia charges the path is clear for him to ask for an early release date.

If that happens early enough in 2009, he will certainly apply for NFL reinstatement. Let the discussions begin now about where he would he land if Commissioner Goodell is ready to board the Vick merry-go-round again.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

What’s the biggest moment for you in this Week 12?

Granted there is one more game to play on Monday night but you’ve got to wonder if anything can match McNabb’s benching, TO’s monster day, the Jets beat-down of the Titans or Matt Cassel’s second straight 400+ yard game.

Pittsburgh v. Cincy: This is what the Steelers are supposed to look like. But then again all we’re asking for is a TD once in a while. Finally got one after close to a three game drought. Heath Miller’s return seems to make a huge difference for them. Willie Parker goes down again but it doesn’t seem to matter. 27-10 Steelers

Washington v. Seattle: Jim Zorn is sooooo glad he left that sorry state of affairs they call the Seahawks. The Redskins do just enough to win and Seattle, well they do just enough to lose….again. Redskins: 20-17

Atlanta v. Carolina: Who are the real Panthers? I know I’m stumped, how about you? Steve Smith gives it his all but that defense looked like it took lessons from the Rams. Michael Turner with four TD’s would still be scoring if time hadn’t run out..Falcons: 45-28

New York Giants v. Arizona: The Giants came, they saw, they conquered and relived those fabulous memories from the last time they played in Glendale. It was the Cardinals and not the Patriots but they look like they’ll never lose again, even without Plax and Jacobs. Giants 37-29

Oakland v. Denver: The luck of the Denver Broncos ran out as their offense couldn’t overcome their sloppy D against Shanahan’s arch rival the Raiders. Don’t tell me Mike isn’t kicking over every Gatorade bucket in the vicinty. Raiders: 31-10

Baltimore v. Philadelphia: The headline of the game was McNabb’s benching after half time. The real story is the Eagles lack of a running game and Andy Reid’s precipitous decline as a head coach. Very sad. Ravens: 36-7

Houston v. Cleveland: Remember the Brady Quinn era? This just in: he plays like crap with a broken finger and we saw the return of Derek Anderson. It didn’t matter. Houston got a long overdue road win as Sage Rosenfels was able to find his receivers when it counted. Texans: 16-6

San Francisco v. Dallas: TO has his second highest yardage day of his career and all is well in Cowboy Land. But didn’t Martz/Singletary remember that they have to give Frank Gore the ball enough for them to win? I guess not. Cowboys: 35-22

Tampa Bay v. Detroit: The quest for the winless season continues as Culpepper starts, gets benched and goes back in. Didn’t seem to matter. The Bucs ride that ageless wonder, Jeff Garcia to another victory. Bucs: 38-20

Minnesota v. Jacksonville: What happened to the Jags? It seems to have unraveled with the benching of its defensive leader after a clubhouse incident. Maybe Del Rio might want to rethink that. Gus Frerotte wins again and you wonder how. Vikings: 30-12

Buffalo v. Kansas City: The Bills are still scoring as I write this. And the Chiefs have a decent quarterback but no defense. Bills: 54-31

New England v. Miami: The Pats were ready for the Wildcat and Miami wasn’t prepared for the maturation of Matt Cassel. Belichick opened up the playbook and boy is Randy Moss happy. Patriots: 48-28

Chicago v. St. Louis: If you look at the Rams you wonder how they won two games under Jim Haslett. His temper is starting to show. Kyle Orton looked good and the Bears don’t miss Devin Hester on kick-off returns. Bears: 27-3

New York Jets v. Tennessee: If you were one of the many that wanted the Titans to lose so that the pressure of going undefeated stopped buiilding, well you got your wish. Favre doesn’t throw much past 10 yards from the line of scrimmage and the running game keeps on chugging along. Are you sure this is a Brett Favre team? Jets: 34-13

San Diego v. Indianapolis: LT looked like he had a pulse and the defense continues to improve.but it coughed up another last quarter score and the Chargers lost. Peyton gets it done when he has to and Vinatieri still has the toe from heaven. Colts: 23-20

There is no way to write an article about Michael Vick and please readers. Those who will never forgive him don’t want him to have a life outside of prison or in the world of professional sports.

His fans who never wanted to see him incarcerated don’t take kindly to the suggestion that he might never return to the NFL.

In light of this situation, I offer two separate pieces of news that came to my attention:

Vick’s bankruptcy lawyer is trying to convince a judge and a multitude of creditors that he can earn enough after he is out of jail to repay a portion of his debts to each of those that have been left holding the bag.

Thus a document filed by his lawyer makes it seem that it is inevitable his client will be reinstated by the NFL.

The second piece of news is that many of the dogs that were rescued from Vick’s home in Virginia are alive and still healing from their experiences. That is according to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, in Utah. Those dogs have become a symbol to animal rights groups who are using images of the animals to raise money. A wine company has created a brand of wine called “Vicktory” and the rescued pooches are the face, literally, of the wine collection.

I see how this collection would be an item of interest and earn money for the winemaker and the charities but it would assist Vick as well. I am waiting for his debtors to squawk to the bankruptcy judge and Vick’s lawyer that his client should be getting a cut of the wine sales.

Even though there is no picture of Mike Vick on the wine bottle, the clever use of his name in the brand name of the wine while attached to images of the dogs makes it plain that Vick is being used to sell the product.

If that’s true, despite his criminal record, he is entitled to lend his name for profit to companies that market goods and services. That means he should be paid.

And if he’s paid, his creditors will be able to recoup a small amount of what is owed to him.

I have not taken a position on all this and have tried not to be light hearted about it all. I’m just putting two news items together and wondering how it will all play out.

Life will continue to be difficult and complicated for Vick after he is released from prison. Maybe that is the way it’s supposed to be.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

Los Angeles – Manny Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras has made it clear that the Dodgers’ offer (he still won’t confirm the details) wasn’t sufficient. The length of the proposed contract is too short for Boras’ taste. To buttress his negotiating position that age shouldn’t matter in the case of a hitter like Manny, Boras offered this:

“There is evidence of major league teams giving a player that’s older a contract for five years.”

Of course, that refers to the contract Barry Bonds signed when he was 37. And look how well that worked out for the San Francisco Giants, right? They got the revenue from his chase for the record books as he passed Hank Aaron on the career home run record and were able to dump him immediately thereafter when his the contract expired.

Ned Colletti, the Dodgers GM, was quoted yesterday as warning Boras that the Dodgers offer, whatever it is, would not be on the table forever. I’m sure Scott is shaking in his boots. Do you think he wears boots?

In Southern California, sports talk radio has been ablaze with talk about the Dodgers offer to Manny Ramirez and if it will fly with his agent Scott Boras.

Boras threw out the fishing line at season’s end with the announcement that the bidding would start at $25,000,000 for a multi-year deal of four years or more. The Dodgers have a short and exclusive period to see if they want to bite on what Boras is dangling on that line and Wednesday afternoon the team released a cryptic statement about an offer.

It was described by the Dodgers as “the highest average annual value in the history of the franchise and the second-highest average annual value in baseball”.

In other words, the offer was less than what A Rod makes and more than Johan Santana’s annual haul. Neither Dodgers’ GM Ned Colletti nor Scott Boras was willing to be specific about the dollar amount or the length of the deal on the table.

Notice the use of the words, “annual average”. Obviously this is a multi-tiered compensation package that either front-loads or back-loads some of the money and might include various bonuses. As I wrote yesterday, the looming new tax bite on the top income earners has agents trying to get clubs to shell out bonus money prior to year’s end.

The Dodgers are being very tight lipped about it as is Boras. No one else can intervene with an official offer until fifteen days after the final game of the World Series was played. But you have to presume that Boras was mixing and mingling with club officials and owners during the meeting held this week here in So Cal and knowing winks and nods were presumably exchanged. Whether they turn into definitive offers remains to be seen.

What is certain is that Dodger fans are saying their prayers that their team lands the biggest fish they’ve had in their pond for a couple of decades.

When the police arrived at the Hooters restaurant in North Carolina last week, John Daly the golfer and Hall of Fame party guy reportedly didn’t want to go to the hospital. 

He was so intoxicated he had passed out on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. So the cops took him to the drunk tank.

It gives me absolutely no pleasure to post this picture. I am doing it just to show you what he has been reduced to.

The restaurant employees didn’t want him back inside and the group he had been traveling with didn’t want him back in their vehicle.

Daly, who has given up trying to get sober, has hit a new low and my concerns for him are well founded.

I have written to ask PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem whether he is going to wait until Daly is critically injured before says that Daly isn’t welcome on the tour until he’s been somewhere to get his act together. No response yet from Finchem.

Golf pros aren’t employees of the PGA and it has little control over them. If golfers continue to make enough money each calendar year to qualify to play they are welcome on the tour. But Finchem can go to the sponsors of individual tournaments and ask that they stop giving exemptions to Daly. He needs them because it’s been at least two years since he earned his right to play on the tour.

Sponsors have ignored his behavior up to this point because he draws fans and has proven to be one of the most popular golfers to show up on a golf course. But after a while, even fans have to wonder if they are going to see a train wreck or a golfer.

No one is doing Daly any good by encouraging him to continue on his present path. I know he has more than one alimony and child support payment to make each month but if he’s in jail or dead his former wives won’t get paid, right?

Give the guy a break and make him face reality. It might just save his life.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

And I thought I’d have to wait until next week for another Mike Singletary sound bite.

Silly me.

I believe he could be the NFL’s equivalent of that quote machine named Hank Steinbrenner if this last five days is an example of what we all have to look forward to.

For some reason, the San Francisco 49ers decided to confirm a report on an Arizona radio station that Singletary dropped his pants in front of his players during halftime of that ugly loss to the Seattle Seahawks. I cringed when I heard it at first but then I read the Singletary quote.

“I used my pants to demonstrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for us.”

OK, then. With that backdrop (no pun intended) I now more fully appreciate the rant he ripped off at the post game press conference. If revealing the color of your boxer shorts isn’t enough of an incentive for your players to make the supreme effort I guess you’re entitled to say what you want.

What’s next, Samurai Mike and MJ doing Hanes ads?

Come to think of it…