Larry Brown Sports

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has plenty of choices when it comes to picking a favorite team. With the four major American sports, he gets to choose between the New York Mets, New York Yankees, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, New York Jets and New York Giants. For the most part, he sticks to that collection of teams.

However, Christie revealed to an elementary school in New Jersey on Tuesday that his favorite NFL team is not from the area. In fact, the team is the most hated rival of many residents of New York and New Jersey — the Dallas Cowboys.

“I was a big fan when I was your age,” Christie admitted, via For the Win. “I was a big fan of Roger Staubach, who was the quarterback for the Cowboys back then. And the Giants and the Jets pretty much stunk when I was a kid and my father was a Giants fan and I used to remember watching him when I was eight, nine years old and every Sunday he would watch the Giants and yell at the TV set. I used to think to myself why would I want to root for a team that makes you angry?”

Well, the Jets still stink. The Giants have won two Super Bowls in the past five seasons and Tony Romo has managed to turn the Cowboys into the team that makes you angry every Sunday. Too bad Christie can’t go back in time, because the last five years would have been mighty enjoyable for him if he could.

Typically we rip politicians for trying to talk sports because it results in embarrassing moments like this, but Christie actually seems to know his stuff. The fact that he’s a Cowboys fan is his own loss at this point in time.

Antrel Rolle has always been an outspoken player. Whether he’s getting upset with TV announcers or predicting that his team will make the playoffs, the New York Giants safety speaks his mind.

During an interview with NFL Network’s Total Access on Tuesday, Rolle was asked to give an assessment of his NFC East competitors. He saved the best for the Dallas Cowboys, whom he described as a “good team” that’s missing pieces. Oh, and those pieces? They’re not the players.

“The Dallas Cowboys are a good team,” Rolle said. “I think they’re a good team. I think maybe they’re missing a couple pieces of the puzzle, but I don’t think the pieces they’re missing are actually the players.”

Despite taking an obvious shot at Dallas’ coaches and/or front office, Rolle still thinks the Cowboys will be competitive.

“They’re always contenders, they’re always right there in the mix, and I’m looking forward to meeting those guys twice a year.”

We don’t know if Rolle was talking about head coach Jason Garrett, owner/GM Jerry Jones, someone else, or both with his comments, but he is not alone in his thoughts.

Jones recently indicated that Bill Callahan will take over play-calling duties for Dallas from Garrett, who has disappointed as a head coach. And Jones has been so bad building the team he even admitted last year that he would have fired himself as GM if he weren’t also the team owner.

This is generally the sort of comment that would fire up Cowboys fans, but I really don’t know too many who would disagree with Rolle. He’s on the mark saying that Dallas doesn’t have the right pieces in place.

H/T ESPN Dallas

Remember Susie Sanchez? Sure you do — she’s the 39-year-old woman who made the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad two years ago when she was 37. She also happens to be a mother of three and grandmother of one. That’s right, a grandmother was once an NFL cheerleader and recently went for it again.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Sanchez was one of over 400 women to try out for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad over the weekend. Of the hundreds, she was the only grandmother. She tried out for five years before finally becoming a Raiderette in 2011.

“The year I was on that team, some of the girls were born the year I graduated,” Sanchez explained. “If you look at the numbers, it’s ‘What am I doing?’”

Sanchez will turn 40 in August, and she says she felt like she had to give NFL cheerleading one last shot. Believe it or not, she was not the oldest person at the tryout, as one woman was 41.

“I thought why not?” Sanchez said. “I got to go to the big guys. I’ve got to go to the best team in the NFL.”

Of course, she means the best cheerleading team in the NFL. No offense to Tony Romo, but the Cowboys aren’t quite there yet. Unfortunately, Sanchez only got to audition in front of the judges for 90 seconds before being dropped during the first round of cuts. She said this will be her last year trying out.

As far as seeing a 39-year-old cheerleader at Cowboys tryouts is concerned, I doubt anyone was surprised. If you remember, we showed you another grandmother who tried out last year that was 16 years older than Sanchez. One of these nanas are bound to make the team eventually.

After the Class 5A Division II high school state championship game between Spring Dekaney and Steele on Dec. 17, 2011, Dekaney coach Willie Amendola was one of several people who were struck with a golf cart. Many of you have probably seen the video clip at some point, which showed a scary moment featuring an unmanned cart that somehow got loose and appeared to have a mind of its own.

According to MySanAntonio.com, Amendola and his wife Valarie have now filed a lawsuit against Cowboys Stadium, which is where the game was held. The couple is seeking more than $1 million in damages. The lawsuit can be read here.

All indications were that there were no serious injuries when the incident took place. Amendola, who is the father of New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, seemed to be in good spirits and even made a sarcastic comment about it.

“Did you guys get that? Wonder what the UIL is going to do about that?” he asked the Express-News at the time.

Apparently things got worse as time went on, because the lawsuit Amendola filed claims the incident caused physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity and loss of enjoyment. The video went viral and has been popular over the past year or so, which Amendola and his wife say “caused great personal embarrassment.” It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Tony Romo hit the jackpot on Thursday, as the 32-year-old quarterback reportedly agreed to a six-year, $108 million extension with the Dallas Cowboys. The real shocker for many people has been the $55 million in guaranteed money that Romo is expected to receive, which is about as good as it gets in the NFL. It’s even better when you consider the fact that Romo has never won a Super Bowl and has only one playoff victory in his career.

That being said, quarterbacks are at a premium across the league. An above-average quarterback is an incredibly valuable asset, and Romo has put up tremendous stats despite his typically poor play in the clutch. That doesn’t mean Donovan McNabb agrees with the deal. In fact, the former Pro Bowler thinks it’s downright crazy.

Tony Romo 6 yr 55 million dollar extension. Wow really, with one playoff win. You got to be kidding me

— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) March 29, 2013

My bad everyone it 55 million guaranteed. It’s a total of 108 million, wow

— Donovan McNabb (@donovanjmcnabb) March 29, 2013

If McNabb thought giving Romo a $55 million extension over six years was insane, he must have hit the roof when he realized that was just the guaranteed money and the deal itself was worth twice that. Although, I find it tough to believe anyone could think Romo isn’t worth an average of just over $8 million a year.

Aside from the fact that players-turned-analysts usually don’t speak as candidly as McNabb did, the former Phildelphia Eagle has once again made himself look like a dufus on Twitter. Remember the whole congratulatory tweet for Danica Patrick? Someone needs to tell Donovan to start taking a deep breath before he fires off a tweet.

Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

As the years pass, more Dallas Cowboys fans are becoming fed up with owner Jerry Jones serving as the team’s general manager. The Cowboys have not won a Super Bowl since 1995, and Jones is 70 years old. Many believe the game is starting to pass Jerruh by, but he is committed to remaining involved with football decisions and not just being the checkbook behind the operation.

Not only that, but Jones wants to make sure he gets some credit in the event that the Cowboys do eventually hoist another Vince Lombardi Trophy while he still owns the team.

“I pretty much go with what I did the night I bought the team,” Jones said at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last week, via the Star-Telegram. “I said I was going to be the GM. … It would be a facade if someone else was sitting in my shoes and someone thought they were spending the money. It would be deception. … I would grant you the decisions that have been made over the years have not produced a Super Bowl, two Super Bowls or three Super Bowls that I would like to have been a part of. And the only thing I am going to do there is keep trying and then make sure I get the credit when we do get that one. Y’all are going to give it to me, aren’t you?”

Don’t worry, Jerruh. If there’s one thing we know about sports, it’s that fans are capable of forgiving and forgetting quicker than any other collection of people in any other facet of life.

Jones once said he would have fired himself as GM by now if he was on the outside looking in. Fans have submitted a petition to the White House requesting that Jones be removed as the Cowboys’ owner. Should Dallas win a Super Bowl in the next few years, none of that will matter. If they don’t, the resentment toward Jones will continue to grow at a rapid pace.

Helmet smack to Shutdown Corner

The offseason has barely even begun, but the Dallas Cowboys wasted no time making a huge splash. Although the free agency period has not opened, that didn’t stop Jerry Jones from making a $2 million acquisition. Meet “The Elegant Lady” — the Cowboys’ new state-of-the-art motorcoach.

The bus contains more television sets than the average household. It also has what driver Emory Tyler describes as a “salon.” The back stateroom area, where Tyler said Jones primarily hangs out, includes three flat-screen TVs. We wouldn’t want anyone having to turn their head now, would we? The motorcoach made its debut at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

“People were there with kids in their Cowboys pajamas wanting to take pictures of me and the bus,” Tyler told the Dallas Morning News. “I know I’m not a celebrity, but people want my autograph anyway. A lot.”

Before you go ranting about how the Cowboys can spend money on a $2 million bus but can’t put together a championship team, just remember there is a salary cap in football. Jones may be the wrong man for the general manager job in Dallas, but people with personal eyeglass cleaners (yes, we know that wasn’t really the case) generally aren’t afraid to throw money around. At least he can sit in his new motor coach and watch other teams fight for a Super Bowl.