The Dallas Cowboys Now Play in a Building Without Cowboys in its Name

   ARLINGTON - Great, now the Dallas Cowboys play in a stadium that's home to both Ma Bell and Papa John.
   Couple of surprises from today's expected announcement in Arlington. First and foremost, Cowboys Stadium is now AT&T Stadium. Whoa.
   I was betting on AT&T Cowboys Stadium, and I'm also betting a lot of football faithful are going to have a problem with their team's name being redacted from their own stadium.
   Joked owner Jerry Jones about "Cowboys" no longer being in the title, "I'm more worried that 'Jerry's World' is gonna be forgotten."
   I get that the $1.2 billion stadium will host major events outside the NFL like, for example, the inaugural college football national championship game in January 2015. But still, to hear Jerry succumb to anything other than promoting his team is weird, if not a little disturbing.
   "This place goes beyond Cowboys' games," Jerry said.
   Though initially jarring, I'm sure Cowboys fans will learn to deal with a corporate sponsor for the first time in the team's 53-year history and the lack of "Cowboys." After all, the franchise won five Super Bowls playing in stadiums - Cotton Bowl and Texas Stadium - without the nickname attached to the structures.

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   As I wrote Monday, the name change begins immediately and in time for the 2013 NFL season. Alongside Jones on the podium were AT&T officials, who promised that part of the deal would be a doubling of the stadium's wi-fi capacity. Other changes/developments: Legends Way that runs alongside the east of the stadium will be re-named AT&T Way, and the City of Arlington will get 5% of the naming rights moolah.
   Details of the deal weren't disclosed at the press conference, but I'm told the annual check to Jones will be just under $20 million. That might, in turn, help pay for the team's new headquarters in Frisco. Jones did admit, however, that the deal wasn't the richest in sports for naming rights, which comes as another surprise.
   The marriage of America's Team and America's Telecom will only push the prominence of the stadium. And, according to Jones, the goal is unfathomably high.
   Boasted Jerry, "I'd like this stadium to be more familiar than The White House."
   We're assuming he means the one the President hangs out in, not the one in Valley Ranch where in the '90s Cowboys' players entertained "hired help."
   For now, can we just call it the world's biggest phone booth?

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Cowboys Connecting with AT&T, and Other Stuff We've Learned During the First Week of Training Camp

   I'll be at Cowboys Stadium today at Noon for the official unveiling of the news I told you about on Monday: AT&T Cowboys Stadium.
   I won't make it out to Cowboys' training camp in Oxnard, California for another two weeks, but have been able to glean some info by talking to those who have seen every snap from one vantage point (scouts) or another (players) during this first week.
   As the Cowboys hit their first off day, this is what we think we know:

   10. No shocker, but Dez Bryant is again stealing the show. Physically dominating cornerbacks and catching everything thrown his way. And he's even talking to the media, which is an encouraging sign of maturity and growth.
   9. Because he's one of several players nursing a hamstring injury, Jeremy Parnell so far is doing nothing to push Doug Free at right tackle.
   8. Coaches like new outside linebacker Justin Durant's athleticism so much that he's on the field in Nickel packages as well.
   7. Among the draft picks, safety J.J. Wilcox is already turning heads and making an impact with ball-hawking aggressiveness. Cornerback B.W. Webb has been a flop.
   6. Tony Romo's full of extra pounds and full of hyperbole. He told Sirius XM's Gil Brandt this week that this was the "most complete team" he's been on as a Cowboy. The '07 team won 13 games and featured 13 Pro Bowl players. Let's all just chill.

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   5. Most pleasant surprise of camp? Undrafted rookie receiver Eric Rogers (Cal Lutheran). Uses his big body (6-3) to shield defenders and makes catches in traffic as well as anyone on the field.
   4. Even after his minor surgery, coaches are worried about the long-term condition of defensive end Anthony Spencer's knee. Should be ready for the season opener. Should.
   3. No secret to when new/old defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is pissed. Several times already he's thrown his cap to the field in disgust.
   2. Biggest concern so far is the lack of depth at defensive tackle, where the temporary loss of Jay Ratliff is exposing the position. Ben Bass looks like a legit contributor, however.
   1. Cowboys have called a "major business-related  press conference" for Noon today at Cowboys Stadium. If you've been paying attention in here you already know what it. AT&T ring a bell?

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Cowboys Stadium On Verge of Corporate Naming Rights Partner - AT&T

   The world's largest telecom company is about to connect with one of the planet's most iconic sports franchises. And, for the first time in its 53-year history, America's Team will have a corporate name on its home field.
   Welcome to AT&T Cowboys Stadium.
   According to team and industry sources, the Dallas Cowboys will announce this week at training camp in Oxnard, California - or perhaps in Arlington - that they have reached a multi-year, multi-million-dollar naming-rights deal that, possibly beginning with the 2013 season but 2014 at the latest, will re-brand Cowboys Stadium to include its new AT&T partner.
   As camp commenced over the weekend owner Jerry Jones caused a buzz by denying that this season is an "Armageddon year" for head coach Jason Garrett, second-team defensive end Tyrone Crawford suffered a season-ending Achilles injury and quarterback Tony Romo arrived weighing more (236 pounds) than middle linebacker Sean Lee.
   But when the Cowboys finally break camp in mid-August and return to Arlington for their Sept. 8 opener against the New York Giants, their home will have a new, yet very familiar name.

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   Since their inception in 1960 the Cowboys have played in stadiums sans corporate naming rights - Cotton Bowl ('60-'71), Texas Stadium ('71-'08) and Cowboys Stadium ('09-). But the enormous cost of building the stadium in Arlington combined with the allure of being associated with one of the world's most valuable and recognizable sports brands led to persistent speculation that Jones would land a giant corporate sponsor.
   The owner looked long. But he didn't have to look far.
   AT&T - America's 11th-largest company in 2012 and the naming-rights partner of the Giants' baseball park in San Francisco and Texas Tech's football stadium in Lubbock - is headquartered in downtown Dallas. It sponsors the annual Cotton Bowl Classic played in Cowboys Stadium. And the company's logo is already affixed to the Cowboys' practice jerseys.
   The marriage makes perfect sense.
   In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
   In 2013, AT&T finally bundled the Corporate Cowboys.

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