EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - If Jessica Simpson gets tired of going out with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, there's a gap-toothed New York Giants defensive end who wouldn't mind a date with the singer-actress.

Veteran Michael Strahan came to Romo's defense on Thursday, saying the young heartthrob had every right to go to a Mexico resort with Simpson and other teammates during the Cowboys' recent bye week.

``You guys love to say, 'Oh, he is coming off the beach and he is dating Jessica Simpson' -

The 6-foot-2, 303-pound Dorsey said earlier he would have regretted leaving early for the NFL. He said he didn't prefer any particular team to draft him in April, but said he was a fan of the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys as a kid.

Former Oklahoma star Lee Roy Selmon also was on hand to accept a trophy for the Outland he won in 1975, after two years of leading a dominant defense on back-to-back national title teams. Winners didn't start getting an actual trophy unt

IRVING, Texas (AP) -Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, your job is safe. So says owner Jerry Jones.

While there really shouldn't be any question about Phillips' job status after a 13-3 record in his first season that earned Dallas the NFC's top seed, there has been some speculation Phillips has to win a playoff game to ensure his return.

``There's nothing that can happen in the playoffs that could change my thinking about him being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys,'' Jones said Thursday. ``And I d

IRVING, Texas (AP) -Terrell Owens ran routes and caught passes in his return to practice Thursday, showing only a slight limp at times. The All-Pro receiver seems on track to play in the Dallas Cowboys' playoff game against the New York Giants.

Owens, recovering from a sprained left ankle, didn't go against any defenders during the short period of practice open to the media. But he took part in some team drills after that.

While he was taking full strides running routes and making some cuts without any

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -New Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland says the team moved quickly to hire David Lee as quarterbacks coach because of the job's importance, even though the head coaching position remains vacant.

Lee is a former Dallas Cowboys assistant.

``There was an urgency to find the right person to coach the most important position on the team,'' Ireland said in a statement. ``We didn't want to lose the ability to add someone as talented as David to our staff, so when he became available

Defensive end Anthony Spencer, a captain in 2006 and a rookie this year with the Dallas Cowboys, said Tiller is trying to relate better to today's players.

``He's definitely a good coach, but he's probably more stuck in the old ways,'' Spencer said. ``He has been working to become more of a players' coach. I could see that last year, and yea

IRVING, Texas (AP) - It was a quarterback's dream. DeMarcus Ware was nowhere to be found.

The linebacker who had the most sacks in the NFL this season was supposed to be in a hallway behind the Dallas Cowboys' locker room to talk about becoming All-Pro for the first time.

However, Ware had slipped into an office, safe from reporters.

Nothing unusual about that. For someone so visible during games, Ware does his best to avoid attention the rest of the time.

Lately, though he would prefer to be left

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Jim Fassel knows the predicament Wade Phillips is going through as the Dallas Cowboys prepare for their NFC semifinal against the New York Giants.

Beating a team three times in a season is a nightmare for a coach.

Fassel's stomach still churns discussing his most pressure-packed game in seven seasons as Giants coach.

It wasn't the Super Bowl against the Ravens in 2001, nor the NFC title game against Minnesota just before that. It came in the NFC semifinal that year against

All the second-round draft pick from Southern California could think about on Wednesday was his toes. They were blue, courtesy of a little dye put in his shoes by Plaxico Burress a couple of days ago.

Even with the NFC semifinal against the Dallas Cowboys on tap Sunday, the life of rookie doesn't change until the season ends.

Tackle Adam Koets, a sixth-round draft pick who played for the first time last week, still has to buy pizza for the linemen on Fridays, bring breakfast sandwiches on Saturday

IRVING, Texas (AP) -First, a teary apology by Tony Romo to his teammates after the botched hold that cost the Dallas Cowboys their first playoff victory in 10 years.

Then came the long wait for another chance.

The way Romo has played this season proves the flub didn't haunt him. But even his closest friend on the team admits to having had his doubts.

``That play, all of us were really wondering how he would overcome that,'' All-Pro tight end Jason Witten said.

Romo never wavered in his self-confide