I've always dug Marion Barber's style. He gives the stiff-arm to defenders and the media. You know what's the best way to avoid being misquoted or judged? Don't talk to 'em. Some people haven't figured this out yet (read: T.O.)

JJT tries to dig into Barber's psyche with his latest article. Problem is, there is nary a Barber quote in the story. Gotta love that. An in-depth feature about a player that won't even talk to you.

Under the circumstances, JJT does his best.

When Barber isn't playing football or blasting the stereo in his black Denali, you can often find him hanging around receivers Hurd and Miles Austin.

Hurd taught Barber to play dominoes, while Austin has passed along poker tips – at least that's how the story goes.

"He's a pretty good poker player because he has courage," Austin said of Barber, who likes wearing shades at the table. "You can't bluff him off a pot. He'll stay in there until the end."

Hurd and Barber are partners in dominoes.

"He wasn't the quickest learner, but once he got it down he was good," Hurd said. "Every time we score, we say, 'Show me the money.' "

Games of dominoes between teammates? Now that sounds like '90s Cowboy clubhouse stuff right there. I love it. It also makes me think of this old school diddy.

Word to MB3 and others. I'm a dominologist of the highest order. I give lessons and perform clincs for a small fee. Usually it's $55.50 an hour but if your BTB I'll give you the first lesson for free.

Hat tip and shout out to scottmaui for his fanshot here.

Romo goes big time as the N.Y. Times does a feature on our boy wonder.

Linebacker Bradie James, the team’s leading tackler, who came in as a rookie with Romo, says he enjoys watching the quarterback do to other teams what he has done on the practice field since he was running the scout team.

“He had been tearing us up since we’ve been here,” James said.

First it was the scout team. Now it's the league. Pretty soon it'll be the history books.

Hat tip and shout out to scottmaui for his fanshot here.

Skip Brainless be damned. I think the media is starting to figure out T.O. isn't the monster some portray him to be. He really is all about the team.

What’s also true, according to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, is that Owens was never the villain he was made out to be.

"That was not him," Jones said. "I will attest to that. He is not the guy the critical things that have been written and said about him. He is another guy."

Jones has had a hand in Owens’ success, fostering an environment — especially since the hiring of Wade Phillips to replace Parcells — that has allowed Owens to be comfortable.

Owens, who has put up Hall of Fame-caliber career numbers, caught 81 passes for 1,355 yards and a team-record 15 touchdowns last season. The yardage and touchdown totals were his most since racking up 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns with the 49ers in 2001.

I never really bought into the mythology that T.O. was the worst thing to happen to sports. At worst, he came off as a loudmouth. He will never be forgiven for the star. Just the way it is. But all the other stuff was small potatoes to me.

And let's not forget he's worth the trouble. Check out those numbers from last year. Are you kidding me? The only receiver we've had since I was born that could sniff those numbers is in the Hall of Fame right now.

Pat Watkins gets ambitious.

Watkins said he wants to break the Cowboys' single-season record for special teams tackles. Since the club only started keeping that stat in 1990, the official record is 32, set in 1996 by former linebacker Jim Schwantz, who was selected to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player that year.

But Watkins doesn't just want to break the record.

"I want to smash it in 10 games," Watkins said. "Whatever the number is, I want to break it in 10 games. You have to set your goals high all the time.

"Of course, I want to be starting and playing every down. But if not, I'm going to make the most of whatever opportunity I get."

Heck yeah! That's what I'm talking about.

Cowboys Quickies:

Doug Free and Evan Oglesby played well Saturday during practice.

Isaiah Stanback is making the transition from weight room phenom to dependable receiver.

So who gets the nod if Flo gets hurt? Here's five views of his primary backup.

Get to know Marcus Dixon. I'll pulling for ya big guy. Even though you went to Hampton (just kidding).

Dat Nguyen and Zach Thomas have a lot in common. More in common than just their age and stature.

The guys at DC.com think Orlando Scandrick has looked pretty good thus far.

 Nick Folk just wants to be accepted. Buddy you won one of the highest awards anyone can ever ask for. That's not acceptance? I do thank my lucky stars for Folk. I remember the list of vagabonds we used to trot into camp. Bums off the street. I'm glad we got serious and plucked Folk from the draft.