Trap Game Becomes Yap Game For Dallas Cowboys

Detroit seems like the classic trap game for the high-flying Dallas Cowboys. Coming off an emotional win over the Green Bay Packers, having played - and won - three huge games in just twelve days, sitting fat and happy in the catbird's seat, one might expect a letdown from the Boys come Sunday. That might be especially true when you remember that the Lions have lost four games in a row and will be playing without one of their top performers, wideout Roy Williams.

But the trap game has become the "yap" game thanks to the bonehead bragging of journeyman Lions' QB, Jon Kitna. After Detroit got an improbable win against Dallas in the last regular season game last season (the win was just the Lions' third of the season), the inexplicably smug Kitna (inexplicable because while his season was over, the Cowboys were still playing...in the playoffs) blasted the Cowboys' defense, even calling out a couple of its members in particular.

Kitna said of Bradie James in an interview on a Seattle radio station:

"There were some times that we were watching on film before we played Dallas that we really felt like [James], sometimes, I don't know that he knew where he was at."

In the same interview, Kitna took a perceived shot at cornerback Terence Newman.

"We definitely felt like Terence Newman was the best corner that they had, so we knew we needed to be careful with him, but even with him, I mean, he's not [Seattle cornerback] Marcus Trufant, in my opinion. He doesn't have that kind of ability. It wasn't like you were scared to throw at him, I guess."

Seems like the big-mouth with the noodle arm and the thick skull has given the Cowboys plenty of reason to show up Sunday. He ought to be thanked by all Cowboys fans for slamming the trap door shut on this "trap" game. Both Brady James and Terrence Newman have made strong statements regarding Kitna's classless crowing.

Said Bradie James:

"No, I don't know him, and I don't want to know him. He's going to get to know me. I'm going to talk it before the game and back it up, not after the game. That's how I feel about it."

Newman's response was even stronger, resulting in his receiving a stern reprimand from NFL headquarters:

"Basically what it boils down to is you've got to watch what you say. He better just hope I don't blitz off the edge because I've got 15, 25, 30 [thousand dollars], however much it would be for a fine. ... Revenge will be sweet definitely."

Thanks, Jon. At least now America has a reason to watch her team this Sunday.

Durant Done Ran But Da Horns Don't Mind

It is hard to fathom, but the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team actually seems better this year...without Kevin Durant, the second player taken in the NBA draft. While Durant proves that a skinny kid can be dominant in the NBA while he finishes growing up and filling out, the Longhorns are proving that they were more than a one-man show last year.

Returning starters D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams are leading the surging Longhorns to their most impressive NCAA start in years. After knocking off seventh-ranked Tennessee, the Horns went into Pauley Pavilion and shocked UCLA, the number two team in the country. The Longhorns jumped all over UCLA in the first half, building a double-digit lead, then, after losing the lead in the second half, performed last-second heroics to come away with an improbable 63-61 victory.

The Horns were led to the Final Four a few years back by a fellow named T.J. Can D.J. and A.J. lead them back to the Promised Land? We'll see. One thing, however, seems pretty clear: the Horns aren't dismissing themselves just because they are missing Durant.

Maybe...they don't miss him at all.