Dallas Cowboys camp outlook: Buzzword is urgency

Editor's note: As offseason work across the league winds down, the focus is shifting to the steamy summer workouts ahead. The countdown to training camp has begun. To get you fully primed for the preseason and beyond, Sporting News will provide in-depth looks at all 32 teams over the next six weeks. First up, the NFC East. Today: Dallas Cowboys. Friday: Washington Redskins.

No matter how much quarterback Tony Romo and coach Jason Garrett play the urgency of the 2012 NFL season, it's Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who sets the tone. Jones says the window is closing on the Cowboys and he is heading into training camp feeling a sense of urgency to make a Super Bowl run.

After watching the former dynasty team of the 1990s win one playoff game the past 16 years, Jones, who will turn 70 this year, says he doesn’t have time to wait much longer. Nor does he want to.

“From my perspective right now, I don’t have time to have a bad time,” Jones said. “There is an urgency. It’s my perception that decides when the windows are and where they are. With that in mind, I’m saying that we need to get out here, get down to business, get in some playoffs and get knocking on the door.”

source: aol.sportingnews.com

Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware lauds Giants' late-season swagger

The intensity of the Cowboys-Giants rivalry didn't stop Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware from paying the Giants a compliment. The Giants beat the Cowboys twice last season, including their crucial showdown in Week 17.

"I really don’t like to talk about the Giants, but their team camaraderie, where they had the adversity right at the beginning, and then all of a sudden, it really kicked in," Ware said on NBC Sports Talk. "The last maybe eight games, the blood sweat and tears really kicked in, the guys started feeling it, and they had that swagger about themselves."

Had the Cowboys beaten the Giants in the 2011 regular-season finale, the Cowboys would have won the NFC East, while the Giants would have missed the playoffs. Instead, the Giants went on their Super Bowl run, while the Cowboys went on vacation. For the Cowboys to become the championship contenders they hope to be, Ware said the onus is on the players.

"It’s not on the coaches at all, it’s all about the players," Ware said.

source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2012-04-24/cowboys-demarcus-ware-lauds-giants-late-season-swagger

Studio 23 to air Azkals vs Aussie U-23 tonight

MANILA, Philippines -- Studio 23 will be airing the friendly game between the Philippine Azkals and Australia's Qantas Under-23 team on Thursday night.

The Nationals will wrap up their 10-day training camp as they face the Aussie team in Dubai.

The kick-off will take place at midnight (Manila time).

Studio 23's coverage begins at 11:30 pm.

The Azkals are coming off a 3-1 win over Qatar's Al Ahli after bowing to the Uzbekistan Olympic team, 0-3.

The friendlies are part of their preparations for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup in March.

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/02/16/12/studio-23-air-azkals-vs-aussie-u-23-tonight

Madonna dazzles with slick Super Bowl halftime show

Pop superstar Madonna dazzled football fans and more than 100 million television viewers on Sunday when she performed during a glittery, spectacular Super Bowl halftime show.



Madonna, the first female Super Bowl halftime headliner since the notorious Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" of 2004, was carried, Cleopatra-style, into Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium by a cadre of muscled gladiators.

Wearing Egyptian regalia, complete with headdress, and spiked black boots, the pop superstar launched into her seminal hit "Vogue," with lighting and other visual effects contributed by the Canadian performing troupe Cirque du Soleil.

Next came "Music," which included LMFAO, followed by a cheerleader-themed "Give Me All Your Luvin'," from Madonna's latest CD. Madonna was joined by Nicky Minaj and M.I.A., with the latter preferring a fleeting obscene one-fingered gesture on-camera.

In a nod to the sport whose fans she was entertaining, the Material Girl performed much of her act on, or in front of, bleachers, with high school marching bands and drumlines augmenting the show, which lasted about 10 minutes.

After a mini-medley of her hits "Open Your Heart" and "Express Yourself," Madonna closed her act decked out in a Gospel-goth black gown, performing "Like a Prayer" with Cee Lo Green before dropping out of sight in a puff of smoke.

Madonna was not the only pop superstar to grace the high-profile Super Bowl on Sunday, one of U.S. television's most-watched programs: Kelly Clarkson performed the national anthem.

Last year's Super Bowl attracted 111 million U.S. viewers, the largest for a single TV broadcast in the United States.

The halftime show has increasingly featured high-profile pop acts, a far cry from the first Super Bowl in 1967 when college marching bands entertained the crowd.

Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, U2, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, The Black Eyed Peas and Janet Jackson have been among recent performers.

Jackson's 2004 appearance made headlines worldwide with her infamous "wardrobe malfunction," during which fellow performer Justin Timberlake tugged at her costume, exposing her nipple to millions of TV viewers.

Madonna had promised that all efforts were being made to ensure her show would not be marked by a similar episode.

"Great attention to detail has been paid to my wardrobe. There will be no wardrobe malfunction - I promise," she said.

Madonna, who was born in Bay City, Michigan, told reporters last week her appearance was "a Midwesterner girl's dream, to be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show."

"In over 25 years of performing that I've done, I have never worked so hard or been so scrupulous or detail-oriented or freaked out as much as I have."

source: interaksyon.com