Owens up to his old tricks

Know what unites fans of the Steelers, Raiders, Eagles, Redskins, Giants and other NFL teams?

Rooting against the Dallas Cowboys.

Which makes this week especially enjoyable.

In a situation as comical as it was predictable, Terrell Owens is blowing up another quarterback and another locker room.

He did it in San Francisco with Jeff Garcia and in Philadelphia with Donovan McNabb.

Now he's at it again in Dallas with Tony Romo. Owens alleged Romo and tight end Jason Witten have conspired to play keep-away on pass plays.

Jim Rome, on his national radio show, compared it to a spat among high school girls about who not to invite to a party.

Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram columnist Randy Galloway blasted Owens but pointed out the Cowboys' problems run deeper than a trouble-causing wide receiver.

"... where is the leadership at Valley Ranch?" Galloway wrote. "How does (Jason) Garrett, for one, allow three whining wideouts to come in for a shoulder cry without first telling them, 'Hey, let me get Romo and Witten in here, and we can all hash it out?'

"... Then there's Wade (Phillips). His reply Thursday was, 'I know nothing.' The sad truth is he was telling the truth. Wade knows nothing."

• HARSH WINTER -- Las Vegas was center stage in the national media this week as Major League Baseball converged on the Bellagio to conduct its winter meetings.

But, in reality, MLB needed to invite only a handful of the 30 teams. All that speculation about where big-name free agents CC Sabathia, Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez might end up?

Well, if you're a fan of a "small-market" club such as the Reds, Royals, Pirates, Marlins or Athletics, that speculation meant nothing. For fans of such teams, the meetings only reinforced the belief that the season is over before the first pitch is thrown.

• 'TIS THE SEASON -- When Arizona and Brigham Young arrive next week for the Las Vegas Bowl, the players should be pleased with their gifts -- Wii System bundle packages as well as Oakley watches and sunglasses.

The NCAA allows such gifts, and bowls don't skimp.

Those in the national title game -- between Florida and Oklahoma in Miami -- get up to $300 in Sony electronics, a Tourneau watch, a New Era hat, Crocs sunglasses and an Ogio duffel bag.

To see the complete list, go to www.sportsbusiness journal.com/article/60900.

• ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL -- The Wranglers, never shy about how they promote their hockey club, will auction a premier seat for their Jan. 30 game against Bakersfield at the Orleans Arena to the highest bidder as a "tribute" to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The Guv, arrested Tuesday on corruption charges, is accused of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat.

The Wranglers will dress in black-and-white prison uniforms with a prison number that begins with ILLGOV and ends with the player's uniform number.

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL