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I didn't know the address of the infamous Valley Ranch White House until I read Boys Will Be Boys, the book on the '90s Cowboys' butt kickin' and hell raisin'.

You'll have to buy the book to get the address of the two-story house, which is within walking distance of the Cowboys' practice facility. But, being football history nerds and nosey dudes, sworn blog enemy Albert "Einstein" Breer and I decided to stop by after eating some BBQ for lunch.

Man, that place is in rough shape. It doesn't look like the lawn has been mowed since Michael Irvin, Alvin Harper and Co. turned out the lights for the last time. The light above the garage is knocked sideways, same with a bunch of the window blinds.

The house is appraised for $277,000. Seems like a savvy entrepreneur could buy it at that price and make a bunch of money by turning it into a museum for folks who love sex, drugs and football.

I meant to read Boys Will Be Boys, the biography that details the on-field success and off-field shenanigans of the '90s Cowboys, during last weekend's trip to Wisconsin. But I cracked the book earlier in the week and had finished it well before the weekend.

This book is a real page turner, especially if you're interested in Cowboys history. Author Jeff Pearlman delivered a thrilling read about a team that won three Super Bowl rings and set NFL records for partying.

Follow the jump for a Q&A with Pearlman, who will hold book signings at the Borders on Preston Road at 7 p.m. Tuesday and the Barnes & Nobles on Mockingbird Lane at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Date: Jan. 7, 1996

Score: Cowboys 30, Eagles 11 (DMN game story)

Prime Time was worth every penny he got from Jerry Jones during his first playoff game in a Cowboys uniform.

Deion Sanders scored his first touchdown as a Cowboy on a 21-yard reverse in the second quarter, when Dallas scored 27 consecutive points to turn the game into a blowout. He also shined at cornerback, his full-time job, picking off a Randall Cunningham pass to set up the Cowboys' final TD.

And, of course, Prime Time starred during the postgame press conferences. Deion seemed to take particular delight in pointing out that the 49ers, the team he helped win the Super Bowl the previous season, lost that day.

"Big guys have to come up in the big games," Sanders told reporters. "If we don't, you guys are damn sure going to let us know we're overpaid. I know all year I supposedly haven't earned a damn dime. But the big guys have to come out and set the tone in the big games because this is it. You lose this, you're going home. Ask Frisco."

Date: Nov. 15, 2004

Score: Eagles 49, Cowboys 21 (DMN game story)

This was probably the high point of T.O.'s relationship with Donovan McNabb.

Monday Night Football opened with T.O. sharing a warm embrace with a nude Desperate Housewife. By the end of the telecast, T.O. and McNabb were clowning around on the sideline after making fools of an overmatched Dallas defense.

T.O. caught six passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns, grandstanding on a star in the end zone after the second one. McNabb threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns.

The play everybody remembers from this game - and perhaps the most unforgettable highlight of McNabb's magnificent career - wasn't a pass to T.O. or a TD. It was his 14.1-second, zig-zag scramble and deep ball to Freddie Mitchell to set up the Eagles' fourth touchdown of the second quarter.

"We had a lot of fun tonight," T.O. said, a rare case of understatement for him.

Date: Nov. 23, 1989

Score: Eagles 27, Cowboys 0 (DMN game story)

A good team beat the stuffing out of a terrible team in a Thanksgiving game that wasn't very interesting until Jimmy Johnson's press conference.

Johnson accused Eagles coach Buddy Ryan of putting a $200 bounty on kicker Luis Zendejas and a $500 bounty on Troy Aikman. Zendejas, an ex-Eagle who was a cheap-shot target after his only kickoff of the day, backed up the story. Rookie Aikman shrugged it off after taking a vicious beating, which was the norm that season.

Jimmy's biggest regret seemed to be that he didn't get the chance to discuss the matter face to face with Ryan.

"I would have, but he wouldn't stay on the field long enough," Johnson said, his face turning bright red. "He got his fat rear end into the dressing room."

Date: Jan. 10, 1993

Score: Cowboys 34, Eagles 10 (DMN game story)

The game itself wasn't a classic, but the historical significance of the day makes it memorable.

The Eagles were the initial playoff speed bump to Super Bowl XXVII, the first one won by the Jerry Jones era Cowboys. And Jimmy Johnson was so confident the Cowboys would whup Philadelphia that he inquired about muddying the Valley Ranch practice fields (to simulate the conditions in San Francisco) days before the Eagles came to town.

The Cowboys gave Johnson no reason to worry. A 10-point burst just before halftime all but secured the win, and the Cowboys played scrubs late to make sure the stars would be healthy for the NFC championship game.

A playoff win on the road to a Super Bowl title is certainly memorable. Derek Tennell and Derick Gainer, the dudes who scored the Cowboys' last two touchdowns on this day, are about as forgettable as it gets.

BLOGGER'S NOTE: With the Eagles coming to Texas Stadium for the last time (barring a playoff visit), I figured this would be a fine time to reminisce about Philly's most memorable trips to Texas Stadium. We'll count down the top five throughout the day.

Date: Sept. 15, 1997

Score: Cowboys 21, Eagles 20 (DMN game story)

It had all the makings of a Monday night heartbreaker for the Cowboys.

Troy Aikman and Co. performed poorly most of the night, but they managed to take the lead for the first time with less than a minute remaining. Aikman scrambled and found Anthony Miller in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead TD with 51 seconds to go, only to watch from the sideline as the Eagles marched the length of the field.

All Philadelphia needed to win was for ex-Cowboy kicker Chris Boniol to make a chip-shot field goal. He never got the chance.

Holder Tom Hutton bobbled the snap, then fumbled the ball as he tried to run before becoming the foundation of a Cowboy dogpile.

Cowboys fans might consider this a fonder memory if not for that Seattle Slip thing that happened a couple seasons ago.

We've pretty much steered clear of Brett Favre talk on this here blog lately, because ... well, the Cowboys give us plenty to write about, and he's a Packer, sort of.

But old pal Matt Mosley managed to tie in an interesting Cowboys story in his Favre column. (Why is an NFC East guy writing a Favre column? Because everybody at ESPN.com apparently has to pitch into the Favre/Packer breakup coverage.)

It reminds me of a story I once heard about former Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith. He walked into Tom Landry's office in 1969 and said, "Coach, I'm thinking about retiring."

Not missing a beat, Landry answered, "Don, I think that's a good idea."

Years later, Bud Shrake, the newspaper man turned famous author, told me Meredith was crushed that Landry didn't try to talk him out of retiring.

In Meredith's case, though, he walked away from the game for good. Favre retired briefly and then began a comeback campaign in which he leaked information through selected family members and farm workers. In this three-ring circus, Favre tried to play ringmaster from the comfort of his home in Mississippi, but he eventually had to come out of hiding. The Packers had taken the unfair step of taking Favre at his word, and general manager Ted Thompson would play the role of the villain.

Doesn't make the way Jerry Jones ended Landry's legendary tenure seem so heartless, huh?

From Rick "Goose" Gosselin's Inside the NFL column:

I received an advance copy of Jeff Pearlman's book Boys Will Be Boys, detailing "the glory days and party nights of the Dallas Cowboys destiny." I've been a fan of Pearlman since reading his biography on Barry Bonds, Love Me, Hate Me. He's a gifted storyteller. Pearlman doesn't pull any punches in documenting the rise and fall of the 1990s Cowboys. What they did on the field was admirable, but what they did off the field was at times despicable. This is a tale of self-destruction - and not just publicly at the top where Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson could no longer co-exist. This team self-destructed in the locker room as well. Pearlman dug deep in his research, speaking with the likes of Rob Awalt, Cory Fleming, Derrick Lassic and Clayton Holmes in addition to franchise A-listers Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, Mark Stepnoski and Darren Woodson in printing what went right and wrong during the dynasty. More went wrong than most Cowboys fans would care to know. It's a real page-turner.

You might recall Pearlman's gut-wrenching story on Clayton Holmes for ESPN.com. I don't know how pleasant this book will be to read, but it ought to be mighty interesting.

A pal of mine at ESPN.com wanted me to link to this survey asking that question.

I'd go with:

1) Emmitt Smith -- NFL's all-time leading rusher carried Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles.

2) Roger Staubach -- Captain Comeback is on the short list of best QBs in NFL history, a bit above Troy Aikman.

3) DT Bob Lilly -- Mr. Cowboy, the team's first draft pick and foundation of the Doomsday Defense, played in 11 Pro Bowls

Not everyone gets to sit down with a Hall of Fame receiver in their daily job, but Calvin Watkins gets to. And he gets to do it in California. Must be nice.

Check out the video of Calvin's discussion with Michael Irvin, and read Todd Archer's impressions of Irvin's day at camp.

Just got off the phone with Kevin O'Neill, the former Cowboys trainer who followed Jimmy Johnson to Miami.

O'Neill was a good friend of former Cowboys player personnel director Bob Ackles, who died Sunday at 69.

"In a tough industry, he was a good guy who you just liked being around," O'Neill said. "Whether he was dealing with the equipment manager or the club president, he was genuine in the way he treated people."

Ackles was a bit of a renaissance guy, as an author and accomplished painter, O'Neill noted. The two last spoke about three weeks ago. O'Neill said that Ackles sounded upbeat and didn't mention any health problems.

Bob Ackles, who spent six years with the Cowboys and helped rebuild the team's talent base as director of player personnel, died today.

The 69-year-old Ackles, who was president and CEO of the Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions, suffered a fatal heart attack.

He worked in the Cowboys' front office from 1986-92. Ackles was originally hired by Tex Schramm as the club's first director of pro personnel following 32 years in the CFL. After Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989, Ackles became director of player personnel. Jones fired him in May 1992, a surprise to Ackles and an unpopular move with some.

Here is an excerpt from Frank Luksa's column on Ackles' firing:

He answered a routine summons to Jones' office Thursday morning. Larry Lacewell had been hired to replace the resigned Dick Mansperger as director of scouting. Lines of authority in Ackles' province required discussion.

"We talked about reorganizing and restructuring,' Ackles said. "I questioned a couple of things. It upset him [Jones]. He fired me.'

Ackles was stunned.

"I was surprised, yes, although I've been in the business 40 years and nothing should surprise you. But it's the first time in my life I've been fired.'

Co-workers were shocked. "A tremendous, tremendous worker,' one said of Ackles. "Everyone in the country likes him. Everyone in the field of professional sports.'

Well, almost everyone. Another recalled how hard Ackles did work.

"If Bob's wife hadn't brought him a noon meal, he'd never have eaten lunch. He'd be in the office at seven in the morning, work until eight or nine at night and then go home."

First, I'd like to thank Tim for the gracious welcome to the ol' Cowboys blog. You won't get much Patriots talk out of me. If memory serves, my first Cowboys game was a preseason scrum against the Packers in 1984. That has to be right, because the next season was `85 when the Bears administered the 44-0 spanking. I just remember thinking, "Holy you-know-what! The Cowboys lost 44-0 at home?!"

I need to pull Jacques aside and ask him a question I've been wondering for years: Which practice field is the "asthma" field anyway? There's only one man who knows for sure.

Granted, we're about to hit July but I've got a lot of other questions about the Cowboys. I may not have all the answers, but here's a promise. By the end of training camp, I will have made many trips to In-N-Out Burger all while steering clear of the Hard Knocks cameras.

So says Cold Hard Football Facts, which ranked all 32 NFL franchises in a historical context. Makes for fun reading during this oh-so-slow time of the off-season.

The site makes the claim that America's Team is often overrated because of its media-darling status. But CHFF acknowledged that the Cowboys are behind the Packers by 1 yard -- the distance of Bart Starr's winning TD sneak in the Ice Bowl.

USA Today went through a lot of trouble to try to figure out the worst team in the Super Bowl era. The first Cowboys team of the Jerry era fell just short, losing to the eventual champion (or however you want to word it) 1990 Patriots in the semfinals.

Here's how the '89 Cowboys were remembered:

Jerry Jones' first season as the Cowboys' owner was eventful for all the wrong seasons as the franchise endured its worst campaign since its inaugural season in 1960, when Dallas finished 0-11-1.

Jones' decision to dismiss the wildly popular Tom Landry, the only head coach in team history to that point, was the first of many lowlights.

Quarterback Troy Aikman began his Hall-of-Fame career in 1989 and lost all 11 of his starts while suffering numerous beatings behind a leaky line. Running back Herschel Walker, the team's best player, was traded to Minnesota in the middle of the year.

Given that, it's little surprise Dallas averaged 12.8 points per game, worst in the league, and was outscored at a nearly 2-to-1 ratio.

Of course, Aikman improved, the draft picks netted in the Walker deal were used to restock the franchise, and the Cowboys were Super Bowl champions three years later.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a story about ex-Cowboys starting QB Quincy Carter, who is now a backup for the Arena Football League's Kansas City Brigade.

Saying his mind and his body are right after spending nearly six months working with former Dallas Cowboys linebacker and drug-addiction survivor Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, Carter, 30, is attempting to approach this comeback with a very simple attitude.

"I'm living a day-to-day life now. I can't take it beyond that," he said, repeating the mantra that was central to his most recent stay in drug rehab.

"I have to control what I can control today and not worry about tomorrow. When I do that, that's when I get in trouble."

Each stop along Carter's career seemingly has represented a crisis-rich crossroads. From leading Southwest DeKalb to a state title in 1995 to his three-year run at Georgia and on into professional football, Carter has been a lightning-rod figure. Scrutiny and controversy and negative headlines have followed him much of the way.

He would take the Cowboys to 10 wins and the postseason in 2003, only to be released in training camp the following year after failing a drug test and opening himself to questions about leadership. The New York Jets let him go after one season, the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League released him after just a month, amid more reports of drug problems. Back in Dallas, he was arrested on a marijuana charge in late 2006.

The backstory is much the same this time.

Former Packers general manager Ron Wolf thinks so. Here's what Wolf told Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z about Woodson in a column about Hall of Fame candidates.

"Played a unique position for the Cowboys. Did everything a safetyman had to do, strongside or weak. Hell of a special teamer, too. Yes, a terrific player, a Hall of Famer."

Woodson, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champ who holds the franchise tackles record, darn sure deserves to be in the Ring of Honor. Perhaps he could join Drew Pearson and Charles Haley in the first class to be inducted at JerryWorld.

That comes from a pretty good source: Jerry Jones himself.

Jerry said this is the best that he's felt about the Cowboys' cornerbacks since the 1995 season. That's when they signed Deion Sanders and had Kevin Smith and Larry Brown returning. But Smith tore his Achilles tendon in the season opener, knocking that cornerback crop from phenomenal to good.

Pacman Jones, who has the potential to be Terence Newman's Pro Bowl partner, could be gone in the flash of a cop's sirens. Even without him, the Cowboys could have an outstanding crop of corners if first-rounder Mike Jenkins and fifth-rounder Orlando Scandrick come along as quickly as anticipated.

Unless Jerry Jones changes his mind, Texas Stadium has seen its final Ring of Honor ceremony.

"We've got our thoughts on timing, as we go through the year, as we play each of the games," said Jerry, the one-man selection committee. "We want to give a lot of sensitivity and we didn't think it would be the right timing for the Ring of Honor, for a player going in the Ring of Honor, for what we're doing in leaving Texas Stadium. So we won't be doing anything in the Ring of Honor this year."

I can't think of a better way to honor the history of Texas Stadium than to give a couple great players who came before Jerry's reign their long overdue day in the sun.

Drew Pearson, who made the biggest catch in America's Team history, deserves that. You could make a strong agument that Pearson belongs in the Hall of Fame. He has a Super Bowl ring and stats that compare favorably with Canton-enshrined Lynn Swann's numbers. He should join Bob Hayes and Michael Irvin as Ring of Honor receivers.

Deceased DE Harvey Martin, the South Oak Cliff product who was co-MVP of Super Bowl XII, would be next on my list. His franchise sacks records -- a would-be NFL-record 23 in a season (in 1977, before sacks were an official stat) and 113 in a career -- might never be broken.

But Jerry plans for The Triplets, who were inducted in 2005, to be the final Ring of Honor class inducted in Texas Stadium. That's a shame.