Thanks for the sanity check, Nick Eatman

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet - William Shakespeare

Thank you, Nick Eatman. This whole idea about whether Adam Jones should dump the nickname Pacman has become a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. Eatman sums it up nicely in his latest article. I’m not saying that a man can’t choose his own name. BTB-regular Wmillion reminded us in the comments of a previous thread that a person has the right to be called what he wants, using the movie Coming To America to make the point.

Saul: A man has the right to change his name to vatever he vants to change it to. And if a man vants to be called Muhammad Ali, [goshdangit] this is a free country, you should respect his vishes, and call the man Muhammad Ali!

It was obvious that Jones had no intention of dropping the name Pacman when he showed up in Dallas, he made that explicitly known in his interview on the Michael Irvin radio show and confirmed it in the months that followed. Only recently has this idea been seriously floated of dropping the moniker and the men behind the curtain, Irvin and Deion Sanders, are the obvious proponents of it.

It’s great that Irvin and Sanders have taken such an interest in Jones and are trying to help him turn his life around. If they can help in that endeavor then it’s only a good thing. It helps the Cowboys as a team but it's also noble work to intercede on the behalf of somebody else and point them in the right direction. But they should quit with the pop-psychology of the whole name-game. Whether Adam uses the name Pacman or not has no bearing on his future actions.

As Eatman rightly points out, Irvin never dropped the name Playmaker and he certainly had problems that in the new NFL under Roger Goodell would have landed him in more trouble than it did in the old days. Pacman is a great nickname. In five years, when Adam has turned his life around and is winning big with the Cowboys, that nickname would serve him well. Plus, his mom gave it to him. There’s something to be said for that.

I remember when Terrell Owens came to the Cowboys. There was a push by some fans for him to drop the name T.O., to make a clean break from his past and become a new person under a new identity. That never happened and it didn’t need to. When Tank Johnson came over, there was no need for him to drop the Tank and become known as Terry Johnson. Both players have successfully shed their past without the superficial changing of their nickname. Pacman Jones can do the same thing.

If Adam Jones comes out publicly and says he doesn’t want to be called Pacman, I can respect that although I will still believe that it’s Irvin and Sanders pulling the strings. But I say to you, Adam "Pacman" Jones, be strong and be proud. Be Pacman and show us through deeds and actions that you aren’t the same guy you were a couple of years ago. Don’t try and fool us with a name change.

I know from reading the comments on the blog that a lot of you guys don’t agree with me. That’s cool, feel free to argue the point in the comments here. But I really hope that Adam Jones remains Pacman. I love the nickname, he’s loved the nickname his whole life and he shouldn’t be pressured to renounce it. Then again, I do admit, the whole thing seems silly to me in the first place.

Chris Canty wants to get paid. We all do. But Canty has done something a little unusual, he’s made no public protestations that he’s not being treated fairly; he’s attended every voluntary activity the Cowboys have held and has shown he’s a guy of high character. The Cowboys are still working on getting a deal done. Hopefully, that business will be concluded sometime soon.

"Obviously, I would like that financial security as soon as possible," he said. "It doesn’t necessarily work out in the timing that you want all the time, but I’m confident that something will get done in the near future."

Is the Breerman, Alber Breer, leaving the DMN? According to this blog from a guy who covers the Boston sports media, he is. 

Former MetroWest Daily News writer and Patriots beat guy, Albert Breer, will be leaving the Dallas Morning News on June 26 to take a national job with The Sporting News on July 7. Breer, 28, will be moving back to his native Boston (a Lincoln-Sudbury graduate of 1998) and be based here for TSN. "This is what I want to do," said Breer. "My goal has been to cover the league, not just one team, and that’s what I’ll be doing now."

If it’s true, congrats Breer. I enjoyed your work on the DMN blog. Now who is Timmy Mac going to fight with?

Jason Hatcher in his hometown newspaper.

"I'm looking to have more playing time — if not start," Hatcher said. "Hopefully, I'll be starting."

[snip]

"As of right now, they've got me playing on both sides right end and left end," Hatcher said. "I was talking to my defensive line coach, and he was saying that they're going to let me use my strengths to help the defense out. They're going to put me in and let me do what I do best rush the passer and stop the run when I can."