Tragedy could bind Cowboys

The playoff bubble burst for the bickering Dallas Cowboys late last season. But that wasn't nearly as tragic as Saturday's collapse of the Cowboys' air-filled practice facility.

Oddly, that's one deflation that could end up lifting the team's goals and camaraderie.

Distractions last season ranged from quarterback Tony Romo's relationship with Jessica Simpson to the late-season trade for wide receiver Roy Williams to the persistent whining by wide receiver Terrell Owens.

A breath of fresh air settled over the Cowboys when Owens was sent packing.

But the near-deadly wind that blew down the covered practice facility could be what the team needed, motivation wise.

Certainly a Super Bowl title isn't worth having Rich Behm permanently paralyzed from the waist down. The 33-year-old scouting assistant and father of three suffered the most severe injury in the collapse. He is expected to be able to continue with his job.

Joe DeCamillis, 43, was hired to improve the Cowboys' special teams. He had successful surgery Tuesday to stabilize a fractured vertebra in his neck and shows no signs of paralysis.

Behm has been a rallying point for the Cowboys, and that is likely to continue throughout the season.

Romo and other players have visited Behm, whose life-changing injury might be a reminder to the Cowboys of what's important.

• CURSES -- A few weeks ago, Leftovers touted the unlimited potential of Matt Kemp, the Los Angeles Dodgers' center fielder. His batting average was .386, but it has dropped to .298.

To show Leftovers is not superstitious, we note the torrid start by Kansas City Royals right-hander Zack Greinke. He lifted his record to 6-0 Tuesday, striking out 10 in a complete-game, six-hit shutout. His ERA is 0.40.

Check back in a few weeks.

• PIG BUT NOT SWINE -- A Mexican soccer player was banned for "spitting and blowing nasal secretions" at an opponent's face in a gesture interpreted as a mocking threat to spread swine flu, the South American Football Confederation said.

Hector Reynoso, a Chivas-Guadalajara defender, was provisionally suspended from the Copa Libertadores, South America's top club competition, for the incident involving Everton's Sebastian Penco during an April 29 game in Chile, the confederation said in a statement.

• HOPSCOTCH GLORY -- Olympic decathlon champions might be the world's greatest athletes, but fame wanes as years pass.

Jim Thorpe died in poverty. Bruce Jenner's face looks as artificial as a running surface.

On Thursday, Dan O'Brien, the 1996 Summer Olympics decathlon champ, goes for a world record for the duration of a hopscotch game of 1 minute, 23 seconds.

At least it's for a good cause. The attempt will be with New York City schoolchildren and kicks off National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL