SPORTSDAY

Those hoping that T.O. would have another emotional postgame moment with a quarterback will be disappointed.

I surfed the Web far and wide looking for reports of T.O. and Jeff Garcia giving each other some love after the ex-San Francisco teammates hooked up (for a TD) at the Pro Bowl. Figured that if T.O. can hug it out with Donovan McNabb, surely he could show Garcia some love.

Apparently not. According to ESPN.com's Hashmarks, Garcia was P.C. when asked about T.O. And T.O. was T.O. when asked about Garcia.

"It seemed like old times," Garcia said. "We didn't miss a beat. ... A guy like that, you have to give him opportunities to make plays."

Said Owens: "It doesn't matter who's back there at quarterback -- he does his job, I do my job. It works out for everybody."

Well, that was interesting. And now, the 2007 football season's officially over.

I will say this, at no point of the Pro Bowl was I as bored as I was during the four minutes of NASCAR I had to sit through waiting for the NFL broadcast to start. Watching people run into each other is a lot more fun than watching people drive around in circles, I'll tell you that.

We'll be back to serious business tomorrow.

Adrian Peterson's the MVP, so that means Terrell Owens, with more than 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns, isn't.

Let's all hope that Jeff Garcia sticks up for his old teammate during the postgame media session.

And we wait to see if Terrell Owens is the MVP.

My guess is no. But maybe that's just because I'm not the Cowboys homer that Timmy Tabloid is.

Adrian Peterson probably just put away the MVP award, along with the game, with that touchdown run.

And yes, Timmy Tabloid points out he's a Texas native. So proud, in fact, that he ran off to Oklahoma for college.

Wonder if T.O. will be upset when the Pride of Palenstine gets that trophy, less than an hour after he put himself in the driver's seat.

Moose Johnston is showing blatant anti-Cowboys bias by daring to suggest that Adrian Peterson, not T.O., should be the MVP.

I say T.O. should get it, since his block keyed Peterson's first TD and they both scored twice. But I'm known for being a Cowboys homer.

Tony Siragusa is making sure to carry the mic with his right hand every single time he's on camera.

Why? Couldn't be because his Super Bowl ring is parked on the middle finger of that hand, could it?

I feel like I'm becoming friends with that ring. It's gotten more camera time than just about anything else.

T.O. just caught a TD pass from Jeff Garcia, and the best question Brian Baldinger could come up with was, "It doesn't matter who's throwing you the ball, huh?" All that sensationalizing potential was just wasted.

T.O. did humbly declare himself as being in the "driver's seat" for the MVP. He added that the NFC would close this out, because the players "need that 40 G."

When the AFC was leading 24-7, Terrell Owens was thinking T.J. Houshmandzadeh was going to be MVP. No more.

"They were up earlier," T.O. told Brian Baldinger. "I thought TJ was in the driver’s seat for the MVP, but we switched."

He then called it a "changing of the guard." Earlier, Baldinger asked him if he could tack on a third touchdown for posterity.

"Not a problem," T.O. said, before adding that it didn't matter who the quarterback was.

So Terrell Owens and Jeff Garcia did cross paths after their touchdown hookup.

Nothing exciting to report. A handshake and half-hearted pat on the back from each guy to the other.

I would rather had A) a reconciliation or B) a cold encounter. Instead, we got a whole lot of awkwardness.

Those two fellas putting their differences aside for the NFC cause is enough to make a grown man cry.

I think Jeff Garcia probably was hoping a safety would be there to take T.O.'s head off on the slant, but that wasn't the case. It ended up being an easy TD for T.O. Didn't see the QB and WR hook up to celebrate the score.

Now that T.O.'s TD total matches his drop count -- and the NFC has the lead -- the Original 81 might just be MVP material.

UPDATE: There was a brief handshake and pats on the back when T.O. passed Garcia on the sideline. Shame there was no hug. T.O. hugged it out with Donovan McNabb last year, and McNabb didn't even throw him a TD pass!

Someone needs to be fired over this! Jeff Garcia throws a touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, and the cameras don't even follow T.O. back to the bench.

Come on!

From what we did see, Garcia left the field like a thief driving away from a bank robbery. But thanks to FOX, we can't confirm that. On another note, yes, that was Antonio Cromartie in coverage.

Terrell Owens had some questions in the past on Jeff Garcia's off-the-field decision-making, but I guessing he had no problem with getting the ball there.

Funny thing, if you watched, was that Garcia immediately turned his head for the playcall, and Owens nonchalantly returned to the huddle.

Now, I've finally got something to root for -- a Garcia-to-TO touchdown. Would there be an awkward hug? Or would that make T.O. nervous? Stay tuned.

This Antonio Cromartie pick wasn't from Tony Romo, but there were five Cowboys on the field to see just what kind of corner he is.

And probably one owner/GM cringing along with the play.

Don't be surprised if Jeff Garcia hangs T.O. out to dry across the middle at some point. I guarantee Garcia hasn't forgotten about T.O.'s comments after their time together in San Francisco.

Or maybe it was all in good fun. After all, T.O. told the world in his last press conference that he's always had good relationships with his quarterbacks.

Jason Witten's kickoff return experience wasn't quite as entertaining as DeMarcus Ware's, but it worked out a lot better for the NFC.

Witten took an across-the-field lateral from Devin Hester and hauled about 30 yards or so to midfield. Roy Williams threw a nice block to give his teammate room to run.

Wonder if Wade Phillips got the shakes on that kickoff return -- with Devin Hester throwing the ball back across the field to the Cowboys own Jason Witten. The Tennessee native's catch-and-run was mighty reminiscent of Kevin Dyson's runback that became the Music City Miracle.

No touchdown this time, but they did get the ball to midfield, down 30-28.

I can see Wade yelling "Forward lateral! Forward lateral!" on instinct alone.

For one reason or another, FOX sideline reporter Tony Siragusa is wearing his Super Bowl ring, from 2000 with the Ravens, on his middle finger.

Not sure if this is some kind of salute to anyone, but it certainly looks a little awkward. And it seems like no mistake that the hand-trophy keeps making into camera shots.

Before Einstein gives Massachusetts native Matt Hasselbeck credit for engineering a go-ahead touchdown drive, let me point out that Adrian Peterson is an East Texas dude.

The pride of Palestine, Texas, tip-toed up the left sideline for a TD. Nick Folk's extra point gave the NFC a 28-27 lead.

If you wanna be a Cowboy homer, give T.O. some credit for blocking Ed Reed on Peterson's run.

Where's the excitement!?!? The NFC just came back from a 24-7 deficit to make it 28-27.

And it does seem like things are picking on the field just a bit, evidenced by Asante Samuel knocking Larry Fitzgerald into tomorrow, and all the holding that wasn't called on Adrian Peterson's touchdown run.

Rumor has it that Tony Romo spent much of the week relaxing in the sun with Jessica Simpson, but he played pretty well anyway.

Romo completed nine of 16 passes for 87 yards and two TDs despite two drops by T.O. and a ball that clanked off Chris Cooley's hands right to CB Antonio Cromartie. Romo is done for the day, capping his Pro Bowl performance by connecting with T.O. for a TD.

"Yeah, it was good," Romo said in a sideline interview with Brian Baldinger (Breer's wrong, as usual, about it being Tony Siragusa) that didn't get much more interesting than that.

We're fighting through. This guy can actually be somewhat entertaining. Sort of.

Tony Romo just spoke with Tony Sirgusa on the sideline, and said Packers coach Mike McCarthy left it up to him on whether he wanted to go out for the drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Terrell Owens.

"Coach kinda asked me, 'Do you want to go one more?' I said, 'Yeah, I'll go one more, don't want to leave with a sour taste,'" Romo said. "T.O. did a great job, got open, it's been a great week."

We'll be back for the second half.

Every time I watch this game, there's some injury replacement who jumps out at me.

And my "Hey, what's he doing here?" for today is Colts safety Antoine Bethea. I had no clue he was invited.

Of course, with a couple hundred guys coming out of this whole process with the tag "Pro Bowler" I guess I shouldn't be surprised. ... Hey, the NFC just pulled to within six! That's what happens when there's a Massachusetts native at quarterback.

There was reason for concern after Tony Romo snubbed T.O. to throw a TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald, but it looks like Batman and Robin have patched things up. Romo and T.O. just connected for a TD.

T.O. beat Antonio Cromartie on the play, but it's tough for a cornerback to cover a future Hall of Famer for 17 seconds, which is about how much time Romo had to throw after floating to his left.

This drive has featured three things Cowboys fans see on a regular basis.

1) A drop by T.O.

2) A false start by Flozell Adams.

3) Tony Romo scrambling around to make something out of nothing, hitting T.O. on a crossing route after avoiding a sack in this case.

It's probably bad form that the 13 Cowboys here are performing the way they are, considering that there's just one player from the Giants on their team. Tony Romo and Terrell Owens did just bounce back to convert a fourth down and connect for a touchdown. Here's the ugliness of the rest of it:

-- Two drops by Owens.

-- One drop by Jason Witten.

-- Fumble by DeMarcus Ware, who mistakenly identified himself as Gale Sayers on a kickoff return.

-- Interception by Tony Romo (though that was facilitated by Chris Cooley).

-- False start by Flozell Adams on a fourth down.

-- Unsightly squib kick by Nick Folk to start the game.

They might have used a K ball on that one. Tony Romo dropped the snap before hitting T.O. across the middle.

The pass was a bit behind him, but the Original 81 should have had it. Art Monk, who was being interviewed at the time, sure would have.

Speaking of Monk, anybody notice Rowdy getting his goofy mug in the frame while Hall of Fame inductees Monk and Darrell Green were being interviewed? My guess is that Jerry ordered Rowdy to ruin the Redskins' moment in the sun.

This is what was supposed to happen last week, with an AFC team bludgeoning an NFC team.

Somehow, I don't think it's any consolation to the good people back where I'm from.

That's the score, just in case anybody cares. And if you do, seek help.

That pick wasn't Tony Romo's fault, since it clanked off Chris Cooley's hands before Antonio Cromartie caught it.

But it does give me a great opportunity to point out (again) that the Chargers drafted Cromartie one pick after the Cowboys took Romo traveling buddy Bobby Carpenter.

He's got an excuse for that one. T.O.'s hands might be slippery from wiping away his tears.

Blame the media!!

Add one more to the Cowboys' record total of Pro Bowlers. Rowdy is on the scene.

I'm not sure how many mascots are selected -- might be all of them -- but that makes it 14 folks representing the Cowboys.

Rowdy busted out the classic no-that-field-goal-that-went-right-through-the-pipes-was-not-good routine. Never gets old, huh?

DeMarcus Ware just provided picture perfect coverage on Browns TE Kellen Winslow to force the field goal, atoning for his gaffe on the kickoff.

Wonder if he can give Roy Williams some pointers?

The Cowboys have used a linebacker as a kickoff returner, but DeMarcus Ware doesn't exactly remind anybody of Hollywood Henderson (and that's a good thing off the field).

Ware's return after he fielded a squib kick is bound for blooper reels. It started off well, but then Ware decided to show the world his amazing elusiveness.

And it got ugly from there. Ware rambled backwards for a bit before stumbling and fumbling.

Ware didn't appear to be too distraught, judging by his big smile as he was getting up off the turf.

Not doubt, DeMarcus Ware was looking for his Sportscenter moment there.

And he actually looked decent running the ball until it started to jiggle loose. From there, it was disastrous.

Maybe when he realized he wasn't going to score, he was just looking to get a few more snaps, which giving the ball back to the AFC has done for him.

Peyton Manning learned his lesson when Greg Ellis nearly came up with a pick on the first Pro Bowl series of his career.

Manning stayed away from Ellis the rest of the drive, which he capped with a TD pass to Bengals WR T.J. H.

Darren Sharper was burned badly on the play, proving that Roy Williams isn't the only Pro Bowl strong safety who can be exposed in coverage.

What's Tony Romo thinking, throwing to Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald on third down in the red zone?!

Fitzgerald scored, but betcha T.O. ain't happy about not getting the ball from his boy in that situation. The FOX cameras will probably catch the Original 81 ranting and raving on the sideline after the commercial break.

That play could cause chemistry problems at Valley Ranch that last through next season.

On his first three plays, Tony Romo looked his January self. And then, after the fake punt, he looked more like November Romo.

I wonder how the FOX cameras haven't found Jessica yet. She's there and, I'd guess, she's not making herself scarce.

Look out once they spot her. The over/under on shots might be set in the triple-digits.

DeMarcus Ware is no dummy. He knows that there's really no point in