MELANIE BURFORD/DMN

Chad Selle of Smurf Yeah was hoping for a home run as he kicked the ball Tuesday on the first night of Texas Liberty adult kickball league play.

For three hours every week, members of the Texas Liberty adult kickball league raid Griggs Park in Uptown to behave like kids again. Some are seeking vindication for being kickball-challenged in grade school. For others, it's an opportunity to dominate the big kids.
Video: Kickin' it old school
Link: World Adult Kickball Association

Former phenom Roy Martin couldn't outrun hard times

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

Roy Martin displays medals from his 1980s heyday when he starred at Roosevelt and SMU and competed at the Seoul Olympics.

Roy "Robot" Martin weighed 172 when he blazed onto the world stage as a 17-year-old Roosevelt High phenom, finishing fourth in the 200 meters at the 1984 U.S. trials to earn an alternate spot on the Olympic team. He helped SMU win the 1986 NCAA outdoor title and later earned a berth in the '88 Olympics. But two decades later Robot largely has been forgotten, even in his hometown.
Video: Martin recalls 1988 Olympics

TOM FOX / DMN

New York Giants WR Amani Toomer (81) scored a key touchdown in last season's 21-17 playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Have the Dallas Cowboys really replaced the New York Giants as NFC favorites? Are things really as bad in the Big Apple as the New York media would have us believe? Don't count on it, writes DMN columnist Tim Cowlishaw, who says the defending Super Bowl champions are the NFC favorites.
 Adam Jones no longer Pacman
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

Courtesy Tennessee Titans

Mike Dukes was with the Houston Oilers from 1960-63.

After playing a season with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers, Mike Dukes defected to the new AFL, became an All-Pro his first season and playing four seasons with the Houston Oilers. Big for the era at his position, he was still athletic enough to drop into coverage, yet tough enough to be a force at the point of attack. Even returned kicks. He soon developed another reputation, as well, writes DMN columnist Kevin Sherrington in this week's Sunday Brunch. A former teammate called Dukes a "party animal" perpetually in the company of beautiful women. Dukes was killed last week in an automobile accident in Beaumont. He was 72.

VERNON BRYANT / DMN

The Hall of Fame bust of former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin catches the interest of rookie Danny Amendola, who stops to snap a picture.

On Friday, Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin accompanied 17 Cowboys rookies to Canton, Ohio, on a tour that was open to the public. The Cowboys were the 19th of the 32 teams that will send their rookies to Ohio at the NFL's expense to learn about football's roots.
 Video
 Photos
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

TAMI CHAPPELL / Special to DMN

Deborah Jones' infatuation with the Pac-Man video game while she was pregnant led to her son's nickname.

Pacman Jones, one of the league's most dynamic players in 2006, must prove he can change a lifetime of bad habits created, in part, by being a spoiled, privileged athlete surrounded by a throng of well-intentioned enablers, writes DMN columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor. This is his last chance. He knows it. We all do.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

Getty Images

Quarterback Tony Romo's productivity makes the Dallas Cowboys a Super Bowl contender in 2008.

The NFL always has been and always will be a game of quarterbacks, writes Rick Gosselin. With that in mind, Gosselin's off-season rankings give Tom Brady and the New England Patriots the nod as the league's best team, followed closely by the Indianapolis Colts and Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.
Gosselin's off-season rankings
Blog: Dallas Cowboys

VERNON BRYANT / DMN

Dallas Stars center Mike Modano doesn't want to make a decision on another season until he has to start working out again

The recent run to the Western Conference finals did more than energize Dallas Stars fans for next season. It probably kept Mike Modano out of retirement, writes columnist Tim Cowlishaw. Modano said getting to the conference finals has him thinking this team can make one more push for the Stanley Cup.
Blog: Dallas Stars

TOM FOX / DMN

More than 1,300 workers are hammering, sawing and welding to complete the Cowboys' new stadium on time.

The new Dallas Cowboys stadium has no seats yet, but some suites already have sliding windows installed. Completion of the retractable roof is still months away, but as the final year of construction starts, the stadium is on schedule for its projected June 2009 completion.
Blog: Dallas Cowboys

DMN file photo

Herschel Walker (34) gained 3,491 yards in two stints with Dallas Cowboys.

Herschel Walker's story of his life with multiple personalities is bizarre. That's the only way to describe it, writes DMN columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor. Whether you read his book, Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder, or chat with him for 30 minutes like I did recently, his story remains strangely fascinating.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Ann and John McClamrock in a photo from 2006.

For 35 years, Ann McClamrock took care of her son, John, who was paralyzed while playing football for Hillcrest High School. John died in March; Ann passed away May 13, but their selfless love and devotion touched many lives, writes DMN columnist Kevin Sherrington in this week's Sunday Brunch.

DMN file photo

The construction at White Rock Lakes makes it especially important for runners, bikers and walkers to be cognizant and wary of each other's presence. Here is some advice from lake regulars.
Fitness Blog: Add your opinion

Grand Prairie AirHogs must draw fans to new stadium – and keep them there 

TOM FOX / DMN

Marcus Dixon is trying to make the Dallas Cowboys' roster as an undrafted rookie defensive end.

An elaborate tattoo stretches from the top of Marcus Dixon's left shoulder and contains a passage from Revelation 20:1-3. On the inside of his left forearm, Psalms 91 is tattooed in cursive. If you had been to hell and back like Dixon, you'd understand why he's permanently engraved religious passages on his body, writes DMN columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

Getty Images

UCLA's Matt Slater was taken in the fifth round by the Patriots, who were attracted by his special teams play.

Two teams befuddle me each year in the NFL draft – Indianapolis and New England, writes DMN pro football columnist Rick Gosselin. Most teams identify ability on the draft board and select it when they go on the clock. But not the Colts and Patriots. They don't covet the best available player with their picks. They covet the best available fit.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

G.J. McCARTHY / DMN

Curtis Lofton's solid junior season made his decision to declare for the NFL draft easier.

Teams have drafted juniors with the first overall selection in the last three drafts and in 11 of the 18 drafts since the NFL opened the door to underclassmen in 1990, writes DMN pro football columnist Rick Gosselin. Juniors have gone 1-2 in the last two drafts. Juniors went 1-2-3 in 1994 and 1-2-3-4 in 1997. Fourteen juniors were selected in the first round in 2007 and a record 15 in 2004.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

Getty Images

Tiger Woods has won seven of his last nine starts.

Tiger Woods begins his annual quest for the Grand Slam on Thursday at Augusta National. "I can see Tiger doing it," Palmer said last month at his Bay Hill tournament. Not only is Woods in top form, but the venues set up well for him.

G.J. McCARTHY / DMN

Josh Hamilton is one player under 26 who could play a key role this season for the Texas Rangers.

2008 Preview: A real possibility exists the Texas Rangers will finish third or fourth in the AL West for the ninth consecutive year. How can the Rangers convince themselves – and perhaps more important, owner Tom Hicks and fans – that they are making progress?
• Rangers preview stories
 Blog: Texas Rangers

JON MALINOWSKI / Special to DMN

Army safety Caleb Campbell (left) and punter Owen Tolson pose in their cadet uniforms at the United States Military Academy's Michie Stadium.

A recently implemented rule at the U.S. Military Academy could change the way cadets are selected in April's NFL draft. And two cadets from Texas, including punter Owen Tolson of Richardson's Canyon Creek Christian Academy, could get drafted this year.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

AP

Texas Rangers prospect Omar Beltre, pitching in the Caribbean Series, may never get to prove himself in the major leagues.

For four consecutive years, Texas Rangers prospects Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando have been denied entry into the United States because of their roles in a marriage fraud scandal in 2004 that involved approximately 30 Dominican minor leaguers.
 Blog: Texas Rangers

DMN file photo

Buddy Dial, an All-American receiver for Rice, went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys. He died Feb. 29 in Houston. He was 71.

In 1964, the Dallas Cowboys planned to use the fourth pick of the first round on a player out of Ohio State (Paul Warfield). But the Steelers called at the last minute with a proposition, and Tom Landry liked the player they offered, writes DMN columnist Kevin Sherrington. So the Cowboys drafted Scott Appleton from Texas and traded him for Buddy Dial.

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

Jason Terry routinely fills ticket requests from family when the Dallas Mavericks visit Seattle.

Every season, when they play on the road, Dallas' professional athletes engage in the art of mass ticket-buying for everyone in their lives. Anybody with Internet skills, street smarts, dogged determination and deep pockets can get a pair of tickets to a game. Just try to score 50 or 60.

As she once put it, Margaret Koy Kistler became a "partner" with her father, Ernie Koy Sr., when she was 2. "The most natural place in the world for me," she told The Dallas Morning News more than 40 years ago, "was sitting beside him at a game."
 Archive: Bellville's Koy family has been bullish on football for three generations (11/10/1999)

Getty Images

Dallas Cowboys OL Marc Colombo tells players "You're your own CEO."

Classes to prepare players for the NFL Scouting Combine have become a hot commodity as players look to deduct a tenth of a second from their time in the 40-yard dash or add another repetition to their weightlifting test. But they are also being coached on interview techniques.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN

At 14, Zach Peters of Plano is already 6-9, one reason why the Hoop Scoop rating service ranks him as the top eighth-grade basketball prospect in the nation.

Zach Peters of Plano is 6-9 and weighs 220 pounds. He's ranked as one of the top boys basketball prospects in the nation - for the class of 2012. Peters is 14 years old. John Crowder, 15, is the No. 5 prospect for 2012. Some college coaches may say it is insane to rank eighth-graders. But most can dissect the boys' games to the most detailed nuance.
Video: Boys chasing hoop dreams
Archive: Telfair was a marked man as a seventh-grader

Getty Images

Pat Knight has dived into his new job with eyes wide open and a keen sense of perspective.

Those who know new Texas Tech men's basketball coach Pat Knight insist his approachability - the polar opposite of his legendary father, Bob - is genuine. They cite personality as the No. 1 reason his daunting task of succeeding his father might actually work.
Archive: Different as Knight and day
• Tech falls | More Tech
Blog: Colleges

Washington Post

New Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton, here with his daugher, Sierra, lost 3 1/2 seasons to drug addiction before being signed in 2006 by Cincinnati.

Faith. It comes up often in the story of 26-year-old Joshua Holt Hamilton. It's virtually impossible to tell his story without it. Faith, the Texas Rangers' future center fielder testifies, put him back in baseball after four years of addiction problems that almost destroyed his life.

AP

The British Open ranks among the top 10 days on the sports calendar, Tim Cowlishaw writes.

Championship Sunday blows the Super Bowl away when it comes to the passion of the home fans witnessing the completion of the mission to get to the Super Bowl. It's one of the best days on the sports calendar, but not quite right at the top, writes DMN columnist Tim Cowlishaw.
 Tell Us: What’s the best day in sports?

Dallas Cowboys coach's family made for football

VERNON BRYANT / DMN

Wade Phillips' wife of 38 years, Laurie, praises her husband's forward thinking as he faces his first playoff game as head coach in eight years.

Today's divisional playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at Texas Stadium can't rectify the result of Wade Phillips' last playoff game – a 22-16 loss to Tennessee in the "Music City Miracle." But in terms of 60-year-old Wade's head coaching legacy, a victory today would constitute a do-over.
 Blog: Dallas Cowboys

Bill Masterton's death changed hockey forever 

Courtesy of Masterton family

Bill Masterton led the University of Denver Pioneers to NCAA titles in 1960 and '61.

The death of Bill Masterton 40 years ago this week was tragic, unnecessary and foolish. And it changed hockey forever. Such is the legacy of the only man who died because of injuries caused in an NHL game.