Sep. 8--CLEVELAND -- It sure looked like Jerry Jones was putting on a sales pitch when he had a pregame chit-chat with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James on the field.
The Cowboys have some issues with depth at wide receiver, and King James was considered one of the nation's premier high school pass catchers before he decided to focus on hoops. Don't you think signing LeBron would satisfy Jerry's quest to find a "wow" receiver to complement Terrell Owens? But Jerry said that his sales pitch focused on trying to get James to attend a game at Texas Stadium. Not that he isn't intrigued by the thought of Tony Romo throwing fade routes to a 6-9, 260-pound physical freak. Jerry just doesn't think it's a deal that even he could close.
"He's doing pretty well to entice him over to the football field," Jerry said, adding that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is in the same boat.
-- False start: Speaking of Bolt, the referees apparently didn't find T.O.'s track tribute too funny. He was flagged for touching the ground during his touchdown celebration, when he got down in a sprinter's stance.
Chalk it up as another case of the uptight NFL keeping T.O.'s creativity down.
"You can't have fun," T.O. said. "You can't do anything."
-- All bark: The Dawg Pound didn't appreciate it when I informed them that Wade Phillips thinks they've softened up since the Browns moved from Memorial Stadium.
"Come over here!" John Big Dawg Thompson said, shaking a yard-long bone at me. "We'll show you soft!"
The Dawg Pound dudes sure do take themselves seriously. Thompson, who wears a dog mask, orange collar and brown No. 98 jersey, pulled an Ocho Cinco-like move and made Big Dawg his legal middle name years ago.
-- Just need six more of those: Browns fans responded to coach Romeo Crennel's decision to kick a field goal with 10:13 remaining with a chorus of boos. Thousands of folks did so while fleeing for the exits after Cleveland cut the Cowboys' lead to 18.
Perhaps Crennel just wanted to make sure that kicker Phil Dawson, a Lake Highlands product, got some face time.
-- Quick hits: The Ohio State marching band performed at halftime. A wise guy suggested that since Bobby Carpenter wasn't too busy that he should have dotted the i. ... There were two "T.O. HAS B.O." signs on the wall in one end zone. They didn't seem to bother T.O. when he scored a touchdown right in front of them. ... You have to appreciate the enthusiasm of the Cowboys fan who made a sign that said, " 2/3 of the Earth is covered by water ... The rest is covered by Roy Williams."
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