Trash Talk: Is this the year of the Cowboys?

After three straight gutsy wins, Dallas making a run in the NFC East

Tony Gutierrez / AP

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten,?left,?congratulates Brandon Carr?after Carr's interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime on Sunday, Dec. 16. Dallas won 27-24.

Opinion

By Michael Ventre

NBCSports.com contributor

updated 6:30 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 2012

Michael Ventre

If ever there were a ?Year of the Cowboys,? this just might be it.

I?m not a big believer in the Dallas Cowboys. They send a message of excess. They throw money around on players and a stadium, have an attention-seeking owner who is more prominent than any of the players, and they tend to choke and fizzle in major moments.

Until this year. Maybe all the despair is finally getting to them. Perhaps they?ve been so hardened by disappointment that they?re suddenly feeling invincible.

Their overtime win Sunday against the Steelers was gutty and resilient. But so was their effort the week before against the Bengals, and the week before that against the Eagles. They?re not just showing signs of life, but of determination and perseverance.

They also had to deal with the recent death of a teammate. Jerry Brown was killed in a car accident in which his friend Josh Brent was driving. Brent has been charged with intoxication manslaughter, yet he was allowed to stand on the Cowboys? sideline Sunday, and has been embraced by Brown?s family. It?s impossible to gauge just what all that means to the Cowboys, other that it suggest strength in the face of real adversity.

The Cowboys have two contests left ? Sunday, at home, against New Orleans, and a week later on the road against the Redskins. Dallas is 8-6, and so are the Redskins and Giants in the NFC East. It?s a muddled division, and who knows which teams will be playing in the postseason and which will be on holiday.

But I do know this: These don?t seem to be the same old Cowboys. That?s got to be a big relief in Dallas.

Now that's a deal!
Over the weekend, the New York Mets accelerated the process of trading away their aging breakout star, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, to Toronto for ? in part ? two young players: Travis d?Arnaud, considered the top catching prospect in baseball; and 6-7 righthander Noah Syndergaard, the No. 1 prize on the Jays? pitching farm.

The deal makes sense, because the Mets need a lot of help, and Dickey was their only real trading card. But it does create the perception that the Mets ? once willing to throw money around to entice free agents and attract fans ? have gone uber-frugal.

Yet the Dickey move is not as bargain-basement as Groupon.

Right around the time the Dickey trade was happening, Groupon sent out a blast advertising Mets tickets at a discount. Among the options, tickets normally priced at $12 are now $9. In other words, you save $3. So far, 100 such ducats have been purchased. Groupon warns that there is a limited quantity available, although I suspect they?re limited to the number they can sell.

There are 20 options available, with single game and four-game packs to choose from. It doesn?t say anything about whether the offer extends to playoff tickets, but I think I can guess why.

Now I love Groupon. But when I get a Groupon e-mail, I expect to see offers for half-off hang-gliding lessons, or Thai massage, or hyperallergenic pillows. I don?t expect to see deals for New York Mets tickets. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. But it leaves me with the same impression I used to get when I would go to a bookstore and see a Rick Pitino book on leadership and success selling for a buck.

What?s next, Mets? Ticket booths at flea markets?

Center of attention
Andrew Bynum made some comments this past weekend, and if he were anyone else he?d be skewered and ridiculed. After all, the former Laker hasn?t yet played for his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers. And he has an eye-catching new hair style sure to bring him added scrutiny.

But Bynum has no filter. And in his case, that?s a good thing.

For instance, he said that playing with Kobe Bryant on the Lakers stunted his growth as a basketball player. Usually, other players can only speak of Kobe in reverential tones. But Bynum was just being matter-of-fact. And he was right. Kobe takes a lot of shots, thereby denying Bynum touches. No less an authority than Kobe Bryant himself agreed with Bynum?s observation.

Then Bynum referred to the Lakers? current center, Dwight Howard, and said L.A. traded No. 1 for No. 2. In other words, Bynum feels that he, and not Howard, is the best center in the game.

That notion is a tad ludicrous coming from someone who has spent more time in doctor?s offices than Howard has on the court. But it isn?t that far-fetched. In the rare stretches when Bynum was healthy for the Lakers, he played some dominant basketball. He offered glimpses of what he could be ? and it was at least possible that he could develop into the game?s top center.

Even if you laugh upon hearing a man in street clothes claiming he?s better than a man in uniform, you have to give Bynum points for confidence. He believes he?s better. That sort of gumption comes in handy on the hardwood.

Now ? if he can only get back to the hardwood ?

A game of pepper
When it was announced that Michigan suspended three players for the Outback Bowl against South Carolina, an obvious question arose: Who gets their goodie bags? ?

If Edgar Allan Poe were alive today, I think he?d take one look at the Ravens and then change the name of ?The Raven? to a scarier bird. ?

I wonder if, when Jerry Jones sees an outcome to a Cowboys? game like he saw Sunday, he gives the guy who cleans his glasses a tip? ?

I don?t think Pau Gasol should be allowed to use exclamation marks in his Tweets ? English and Spanish versions ? until he returns to the court. ?

Because of the NHL lockout, does that mean the Los Angeles Kings have been carrying the Stanley Cup around all this time? And are their friends starting to say things like, ?Yeah, we saw it already.? ?

I don?t know a thing about professional wrestling. I just found out wrestler Steve Borden?s nickname is Sting. Didn?t he do ?The Ring?s Too Big Without You?? ?

Michael Ventre is a regular contributor to NBCSports.com. Follow him on Twitter.?

? 2012 NBC Sports.com? Reprints

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