Dez Bryant

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was caught with his pants down, and has been banned from an upscale Dallas shopping mall. A police statement says officers working off-duty Saturday as security at NorthPark Center encountered Bryant and three companions wearing drooping pants. According to the statement, when the officers asked the four to pull up their trousers because their underwear was showing, Bryant launched into a profanity-laced tirade that prompted the officers to escort the four from the mall.

WHEN VANCE WORLEY took the mound for the Phillies in the top of the ninth inning against the Rockies on Saturday, he wasn't just relieving Jose Contreras. According to reader Dennis Orlandini, of Irvington, N.J. and Spring Hill, Fla., the righthander became the 1,000th player to play for the Phillies since the post-war 1946 season. The first player, according to Orlandini, was Johnny Wyrostek, who appeared with the Phils in April of '46. Orlandini wrote that among the documentation he used to support his findings was retrosheet.

Florida State University president T.K. Wetherell says coach Bobby Bowden's job is safe for now. Wetherell said the football coaching situation will be re-evaluated at the end of the season. He reiterated that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher will be the next head coach when Bowden leaves. "FSU does not make coaching changes in the middle of the season," Wetherell said in a news release. "What message would it send to anyone - friend or foe - to do that at this time?" Bowden repeatedly has indicated he plans to coach through the 2010 season.

IRVING, Texas - How much is it worth to you to not carry a pair of shoulder pads? Well, for Dallas Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant, it was just under $55,000. Remember the overblown incident in training camp when Bryant refused to carry the pads of veteran receiver Roy Williams in a traditional hazing ritual that is an annual rite of passage on most NFL teams? Williams promised that Bryant would pay one way or another, and specifically pointed to a time when the rookie took the veterans out to dinner.

Redskins at Cowboys 8:35 p.m., ESPN Line: Cowboys by 51/2 Skinny: Despite a cracked rib that led to a punctured lung last Sunday, QB Tony Romo seems to have healed enough to start for the Cowboys. Washington (2-0) and Dallas (1-1) are vying for early supremacy in the NFC East. The Cowboys' chances are more tenuous, especially because they are so banged up. Even if Romo plays, he will be without receiver Miles Austin (hamstring) and could be without receiver Dez Bryant (thigh)

TAMPA, Fla. - Tony Romo was nearly flawless in getting the Dallas Cowboys back on track in the NFC East. Romo threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score Saturday night, helping the first-place Cowboys beat the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-15. Dallas stopped a two-game losing streak in which it blew fourth-quarter leads to allow a seemingly solid grip on the division lead to slip away. The victory gave the Cowboys (8-6) a half-game lead over New York.

Remember the panic a week ago, when distraught fans and media thought the new kickoff rule would eliminate successful returns? Hah! There were three returns for touchdowns in the first 14 games, including one of 108 yards by Randall "Corn" Cobb of the Packers on Thursday night, one of 103 by Percy Harvin of the Vikings on Sunday and one of 102 by the 49ers Teddy Ginn on Sunday. Ginn rubbed it 59 seconds later by taking a punt back 55 yards to score another TD!

Thumbs up   To the University of Oklahoma, which didn't win the Big 12 title last season, but did have three Sooners players go in the first four picks last night. Quarterback Sam Bradford was the first overall pick, taken by the Rams. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and offensive tackle Trent Williams went 3-4 to the Bucs and Redskins. A fourth Sooner, tight end Jermaine Gresham, went to the Bengals at 21. Eight of the first 21 selections were players from the Big 12. Five others were from the SEC. To the Cowboys, who wisely decided not to waste another year waiting for Roy Williams to live up to expectations and jumped at the opportunity to trade up three spots and grab falling wide receiver Dez Bryant with the 24th pick, which, ironically, originally belonged to the Eagles, who traded it to the Broncos, who traded it to the Patriots, who traded it to the Cowboys.

New Mexico coach Mike Locksley has been suspended one game and will miss 10 days as punishment for striking an assistant coach. Locksley initially was reprimanded but athletic director Paul Krebs now says the coach will not be allowed to have any contact with the team this week from Tuesday through Friday and Monday through Oct. 24. Locksley won't be on the sidelines when the Lobos (0-6) play their next game against visiting UNLV on Oct. 24. Assistant George Barlow, who coaches New Mexico's defensive backs, will serve as an interim coach.

UPCOMING: Eagles: San Francisco, at Buffalo, at Washington. The natives are getting restless, so the Eagles need to right the ship - and quickly. Dallas: Washington (tonight), Detroit, Bye. Oddly big game tonight for the Cowboys this early, especially with an improved Detroit team before the bye and at New England after it. Giants: at Arizona, Seattle, Buffalo. Big Blue detours into the NFC West before getting a bye week. Given their injuries and struggles in Week 1, they have be pretty happy with 2-1. Washington: at Dallas (tonight)

ARLINGTON, Texas - Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys came out with a sense of urgency, as though they had something to accomplish. They wound up having a great weekend that put them back in first place in the NFC East. And yet, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is approaching this Saturday's game against the Eagles with trepidation. "Well, after what happened to us in Philadelphia, there's no confidence," Jones said after the Cowboys won at Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

For Cowboys fans, the easy win over Tampa Bay on Saturday night was more about the team doing what was needed and Tony Romo avoiding the dreaded December choke. The Cowboys eased past the inept Bucs, 31-13, after racing out to a 28-0 lead. There was no repeat of the embarrassing chokes of the previous weeks against Arizona and the New York Giants. "It was a good win," head coach Jason Garrett said. "I thought we came out and played particularly well in the first half, and then I thought we managed the second half fairly well.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tony Romo was nearly flawless in getting the Dallas Cowboys back on track in the NFC East. Romo threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score Saturday night, helping the first-place Cowboys beat the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-15. Dallas stopped a two-game losing streak in which it blew fourth-quarter leads to allow a seemingly solid grip on the division lead to slip away. The victory gave the Cowboys (8-6) a half-game lead over New York.

Ray Rice , like DeSean Jackson, was drafted in the second round of the 2008 draft. Both are in the final season of their rookie contracts and both have far outplayed their original slot. But the comparisons end there. Rice, the former Rutgers star, is earning his new contract the old fashioned way - on the field. "I let my game talk," Rice told SI.com. "This isn't the time to talk about that stuff. I have the hope that when the time comes, I'll get taken care of, and I believe I will.

Wondering whether to start Tom Brady and Calvin Johnson, or to bench T.J. Yates and Ryan Torain? The networks specialize in that kind of advice. If you need help with your real starting lineup conundrums, read on. Here are my picks to roll, and get rolled, in Week 13 of the 2011 season.   Watch 'em roll Cam Newton, QB, Panthers at Buccaneers. Some of the shine has worn off the rookie sensation recently, as Newton has failed to keep up the ridiculous pace he set at the dawn of his NFL career.

LANDOVER, Md. - Tony Romo went this way and that way, scrambling to find Laurent Robinson for the game-tying touchdown and Jason Witten for the go-ahead score - both in the fourth quarter. When that wasn't enough, the Dallas quarterback used his feet again in overtime, buying enough time to spot Dez Bryant on a third and 15. The 26-yard completion set up Dan Bailey's winning field goal Sunday as the Cowboys won their third straight, topping the hard-luck Washington Redskins, 27-24.

LANDOVER, Md. - Tony Romo went this way and that way, scrambling to find Laurent Robinson for the game-tying touchdown and Jason Witten for the go-ahead score - both in the fourth quarter. When that wasn't enough, the Dallas quarterback used his feet again in overtime, buying enough time to spot Dez Bryant on a third-and-15. The 26-yard completion set up Dan Bailey's winning, 39-yard field goal yesterday as the Cowboys won their third straight, topping the hard-luck Washington Redskins, 27-24.

TONY ROMO IS finally healthy and now he's got a running game, too. Throw in an opportunistic defense and a kicker who hasn't missed since mid-September, and it's clear the Dallas Cowboys are headed in the right direction. Just ask the Buffalo Bills. Facing the best team he'll see for a month, Romo guided touchdown drives on his first four series, and Terence Newman returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown, sending the Cowboys cruising past the Bills, 44-7, yesterday in Cowboys Stadium.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Tony Romo is finally healthy, and now he's got a running game, too. Throw in an opportunistic defense and a kicker who hasn't missed since mid-September, and it's clear the Dallas Cowboys are headed in the right direction. Just ask the Buffalo Bills. Facing the best team he'll see for a month, Romo guided touchdown drives on his first four series, and Terence Newman returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown, sending the Cowboys cruising past the Bills, 44-7, on Sunday.

Where art thou, DeSean? DeSean Jackson has disappeared from the offense. He has just eight catches for 93 yards in the last three games. Has just one touchdown catch since Week 1 and hasn't had a red-zone reception since Week 1. He has been targeted 43 times in the last six games, but has just 21 catches in those six games. Another dangerous return threat: Dez Bryant plus Devin Hester equals Patrick Peterson. The Cardinals' rookie punt returner has Bryant's size and tackle-breaking ability and Hester's speed and elusiveness.