SPORTSDAY

Bad news, folks: Cowboys cheerleader Christina Parker graces the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover, right by the S. While the team's official site puts its typical positive spin on the story, everybody knows about the SI cover jinx.

Might as well make that franchise-record playoff win drought an even dozen seasons.

Feel free to comfort yourself by checking out the local gal's SI.com photo gallery. If you wanna see a little more skin, view the beautiful slideshow of her dallascowboys.com photo shoot on the Rivera Maya.

Speaking of blonde babes with Cowboys ties who made memorable trips to Mexican beaches, I look forward to the swimsuit edition that features the future Mrs. Romo in the athletes' wives section.

Tony Romo and T.O., who talked to NFL Network earlier this week, also sat down together with FoxSports.com's Alex Marvez.

You can check out that interview here. The Romo/T.O. relationship has progressed to the point that the QB sings love songs to the receiver.

In a touching moment, T.O. reveals that the media made him cry after the playoff loss because he knew what questions were going to be asked about the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta.

On a related note, T.O. expressed concern that Romo is "in way over his head" with the Blonde Ambition star. The Original 81 might have been kidding. Always tough to tell with him.

The only question left is which one in Tony Romo and which one is Terrell Owens?

During a two-segment interview on last night's NFL Total Access, the Cowboys' record-setting duo couldn't settle that. At first, Romo assumed the role of the Boy Wonder, but at the end of their sitdown with Rich Eisen, the QB was looking to become the Caped Crusader.

That was just part of a talk that ranged from how much Owens' emotional defense of his QB at season's end meant to the QB, all the way to how good Romo really is at golf. Follow the jump for the long of the jovial conversation. And as a warning: We mean long.

Actually, "star" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Tony Romo does make a cameo appearance in this Diet Pepsi ad that will air during the Super Bowl.

Rumor has it Romo and Jessica Simpson will be in a Pizza Hut commercial together, too. Ain't that sweet?

Romo might not be at Peyton Manning's pitchman level, but he's pretty popular among ad execs these days. Romo's previous Pepsi commercial did a fine job of foreshadowing the Cowboys' playoff loss.

It's not a Super Bowl championship, but Tony Romo won a very prestigious title this week. Victoria's Secret executives and designers voted him the sexiest male athlete.

(I swear I don't go searching for links like this one. They magically appear in my e-mail inbox.)

Congrats to Miss Simpson's man.

I was disappointed to see that there was no sexiest sportswriter category. I'm sure I would have won, but that's kind of like being the coolest guy in the glee club.

That's what the National Enquirer is reporting, and I'm not sure that publication has ever been wrong.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has dumped Jessica Simpson and is going to propose marriage on Valentine’s Day to his college sweetheart, the Enquirer has learned exclusively.

And here’s a shocker for Jessica: The entire time Tony was dating her, he was two-timing her with Crystal Kasper - a 25-year-old optometrist he first fell for during his student days at Eastern Illinois University.

“If you could see Tony’s phone bill from all the calls and text messages he sends Crystal, you’d be stunned,” said an insider close to the quarterback.

“They couldn’t hook up much during the season. She was finishing her doctoral studies in Florida. But I know Tony flew Crystal to a game in Chicago where they spent time together.

“Tony’s family is happy because he’s dumped Jessica and the Hollywood scene.”

Wait until Jess' lawyer gets wind of this!!!

I don't mean to scoop Timmy Tabloid here, but it looks like anyone who was worried about a certain blonde being a distraction to the quarterback of America's Team needn't worry anymore.

According to the always-reliable OK! magazine, it's all over. Sad day for Timmy Tabloid, I know, because of all the mileage he got out of that relationship. And I'll be looking for some reaction soon from my colleague on Cowboys Blog. Let him mourn the end first, and then I'm sure we'll hear from him.

By the way, I've got nothing against the Boston broadsheet, as Todd may have insinuated. I just had an inkling this morning on what the Herald was running, and thought it'd be an interesting link. For the record, it's worth checking out both stories (here and here), if you're interested in football beyond just the Cowboys.

We're being flooded with stories about how Eli Manning has matured into a franchise QB, and we will be for at least another 10 days. If the Giants pull off an upset over the Patriots, Eli will go from being a bust to having a bust in Canton.

It's amazing how a playoff run featuring four touchdown passes and no mistakes changed perception of Peyton's little bro.

Tony Romo is going to the Pro Bowl. Eli is going to the Super Bowl. Advantage, Eli, who outplayed Romo at Texas Stadium a few weeks ago.

But which QB would you rather have as a franchise cornerstone? A fella in a New York state of mind might say that he'll take the guy who has proven he can win a playoff game. Of course, Eli was 0-2 in the postseason before this year, so I wouldn't worry too much about Romo's playoff failures.

While Eli has certainly proved me wrong this month, I'll still take Romo, whose regular-season numbers over the last two years are far superior. Plus, Romo provides much better blog fodder.

Word was that Tony Romo reinjured his thumb early in the Cowboys' loss to the Giants, but it apparently has already healed.

Jason Garrett said he had a nice chit-chat with Romo today after deciding to stick around Valley Ranch. Romo invited him to play basketball with all the quarterbacks today, so his thumb must be feeling fine.

Tony Romo doesn't have to look too far for somebody who understands what he's going through. Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki knows all too well how it feels to be the star of a team that follows a spectacular regular season with a painful, premature playoff exit.

Dirk stuck around Dallas to pick up his MVP trophy and then got the heck out of the country. Dirk spent a few weeks last summer in the Australian Outback with mentor Holger Geschwinder, who isn't quite as easy on the eyes as Jessica Simpson.

What advice would Dirk give Romo on how to handle the devestating disappointment of playoff failure following such a fine regular season? Well, since the primary purpose of this post is to promote our Mavericks blog, you'll have to read Dirk's response there.

That's the rumor coming out of Pebble Beach. So says The Monterey (Calif.) Herald, which reports that the buzz is that Romo, Tom Brady and LaDainian Tomlinson could play in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Well, Romo, Brady and Tomlinson were all selected to the Pro Bowl, which is held the same weekend of the AT&T. Now players routinely skip the Pro Bowl but usually cite injury as the reason. Since players aren't contractually obligated to the Pro Bowl, the NFL is generally fine with that as long as they are not embarrassed.

Saying you're too injured to play in the Pro Bowl and then showing up on national TV playing golf at Pebble Beach may not be the smartest of moves. Brady has been the exception — he skipped the Pro Bowl in 2004 to play in the AT&T — but of course, as a three-time Super Bowl winner and perhaps the NFL's biggest star, Brady is the exception.

Romo and Tomlinson? That might be a tougher sell.

How the Giants came after Tony Romo on his 40 pass drops:

3-man pressure: 2 of 40 snaps (2 first half/0 second half)
4-man pressure: 25 of 40 snaps (7/18)
5-man pressure: 4 of 40 snaps (1/3)
6-man pressure: 5 of 40 snaps (4/1)
7-man pressure: 3 of 40 snaps (1/2)
8-man pressure: 1 of 40 snaps (0/1)

ROMO NUMBERS
First Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
Vs. 4-man pressure: 4-6, 42 yards; 1 rush, 7 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 1-1, 13 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 2-4, 16 yards, TD
Vs. 7-man pressure: 0-1
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0
Second Half
Vs. 3-man pressure: 0-0
Vs. 4-man pressure: 6-16, 71 yards, INT; Sack; 1 rush, 11 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 3-3, 32 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 0-1
Vs. 7-man pressure: 1-2, 16 yards
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0; Sack
Overall
Vs. 3-man pressure: 1-2, 11 yards
Vs. 4-man pressure: 10-22, 113 yards, INT; Sack; 2 rush, 18 yards
Vs. 5-man pressure: 4-4, 45 yards
Vs. 6-man pressure: 2-5, 16 yards, TD
Vs. 7-man pressure: 1-3, 16 yards
Vs. 8-man pressure: 0-0; Sack

WHAT IT MEANT: For one thing, the lackluster numbers against standard, four-man pressure meant that the Giants covered well in those situations. The sack was a result of coverage, and in plenty of other cases, the coverage was good enough to get the linemen into Romo’s face, with a collapsing pocket. And after Romo showed an aptitude for dealing with the Giants’ five-man pressure, Steve Spagnuolo seemed to approach a bit of all-or-nothing approach, sending either four or the house and crowding the line at times to disguise it.

My friends at tysportsblog.com unearthed this 2004 video of an unknown backup quarterback discussing pop culture and hoping that someday he'll be able to find a beautiful 5-8 blonde.

Any criticism surrounding the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta is patently "absurd." Or, at least, that's the way Patriots QB Tom Brady -- who's quite the authority on celebrity girlfriends (see: Reid, Moynahan, Bundchen) -- put it.

Speaking during his weekly appearance on WEEI, a sports radio station in Boston, Brady took up for Cowboys QB Tony Romo.

“Everybody has lives,” Brady said. “We work seven months, eight months, out of the year. You still have a life to live. On the weekends you do whatever you do to relax and rejuvenate. It’s not like they can go to the local eatery in Dallas and hang out.”

With three rings already in his possession, Brady also knows what usually separates right from wrong in these situations.

“If they caught the ball in the end zone at the end, nobody makes any mention (of the Mexico trip),” Brady said. “You alleviate a lot of criticism by winning. That’s what I’ve realized for eight years.”

Tony Romo suddenly has a reputation as a quarterback who can't win a big game. That's the result of an 0-2 playoff record and two average-to-mediocre postseason performances.

If you really want to pile on, you could point out that Romo never won a playoff game at Division I-AA Eastern Illinois, either.

The Cowboys' confidence in their $67 million quarterback remains strong, however. Wade Phillips reiterated that a coach can't believe in a quarterback any more than he does in Romo. Pro Bowl tight end/travel partner Jason Witten attributed Romo's winless playoff record to bad luck as much as anything.

"I have 100 percent confidence he's going to lead us to the Super Bowl in the future," Witten said.

Tony Romo was in tears after his first NFL playoff loss. He felt like he let the franchise down with the Seattle Slip and said as much.

Romo's eyes were dry during his postgame press conference today, but he certainly wasn't smiling. Did he feel any different than last season in Seattle?

"No," Romo said. "They both sucked."

Romo (18 of 36 for 201 yards with a TD and an INT) was average against the Giants, as noted by superstar columnist Tim Cowlishaw. He got outplayed by mistake-free Eli Manning (12 of 18 for 163 yards and two TDs).

Don't blame it on Cabo.

Tony Romo did not play up to his Pro Bowl standards in the Cowboys' playoff loss to the Giants. Romo spent the previous weekend relaxing at a beach resort.

Those two facts are not necessarily related. The Giants' blitz packages are more to blame for the Cowboys’ premature playoff exit than Romo’s participation in the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta.

And I thought that even before T.O.'s passionate defense of his quarterback. T.O.’s designer shades hid tears that welled up while he talked about how "unfair" it'd be to link Romo's getaway with Jessica Simpson to the Cowboys' loss.

"I thought I was making a good decision not going to Vegas and drinking for two or three days," said Romo, whose weekend of relaxation didn't ruffle the feathers of any of his bosses.

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

T.O. knows what's coming for Tony Romo.

He knows folks are going to blame this loss on the Cowboys' franchise quarterback after Romo's mediocre performance (18-of-36 for 201 yards and a TD with an INT). And he know Romo's focus will be questioned after the much-publicized Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta.

And T.O. made it clear that this loss shouldn't fall on Romo's shoulders. Tears formed behind T.O.'s designer shades while he stuck up for Romo in his postgame press conference.

"You guys can point the finger at him," T.O. said. "You can talk about the vacation, and if you do that, it's really unfair. It's really unfair. That's my teammate. That's my quarterback. If you guys do that, man, it's unfair. We lost as a team. We lost as a team, man."

The New York media is firing away at the Cowboys' franchise quarterback.

Here's the lead of DMN-ex Gary Myers' column that accompanies the classic New York Daily News backpage.

IRVING, Tex. - The last non-stop flight tonight from Dallas to Cabo San Lucas leaves about 30 minutes after the Giants plan on having the Cowboys eliminated from the playoffs.

It will be a bit of a rush job to get Tony Romo to the airport, but he could then cuddle with Jessica Simpson all week on the beach with his baseball cap turned backward and not have to worry about the NFC Championship Game Eli Manning will be playing in a week from today in Green Bay.

Newsday writes about Romo crossing the bridge to becoming a Celebrity Quarterback. Steve "Liberace" Serby writes about the potential for Eli Manning, a good, ol' low-key kind of fella (who arrived in New York after acting like a prima donna to force a trade), outshining Romo despite being the Other Quarterback. The New York Times even hops on the tabloid fodder, with Bill Rhoden writing he'd rather have Eli than Romo in a column headlined, "A Chance for Romo to Return to the Beach."

Kind of like this backpage this morning from the New York Daily News.

I doubt Romo will struggle today.

Troy Aikman made it clear during his Sporting News Radio show that he didn't think the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta would have any effect on Tony Romo's performance against the Giants.

But Aikman didn't think it was a wise decision for Romo to go south of the border, whether T.O. paid for the trip or not.

"I would never want to be put in a position where, if I played poorly, I gave anybody a reason as to why I played poorly -- other than, you know what, I just played bad," said Aikman, who will call the Giants-Cowboys game for Fox. "That was me, and I think that's probably pretty consistent with a number of these guys. I mean, I think that's consistent with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and Brett Favre and a number of them."

Jimmy Johnson, who wasn't shy about criticizing the "relaxed-type atmosphere" at Valley Ranch, said Tony Romo taking part in the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta is no big deal. From Barry Horn's Hot Air:

Would you have minded if your quarterback went off to Mexico with a tabloid magnet on his days off?

I wouldn't have worried about it. Everyone in the media is searching for something to write about or talk about. I might have been glad. It would have kept people from asking me about the game.

You know, come to think of it, Romo didn't have to talk about the Seattle Slip much this week. Maybe that was part of the reason he jetted off to Cabo with Jessica Simpson. Brilliant!!!

Sophia Bush, an actress I never heard of until she started dating Tony Romo, now says that she never actually dated Romo.

"Tony Romo and I never dated," she tells OK! at the Fuze Resolution Slenderize event benefiting the American Diabetes Foundation. "We went out to dinners. We had that moment when we realized that we’re gonna be friends. We were looking for different things."

Huh? I thought if single people of the opposite sex went to dinner together it was a date. Plus, I know for a fact that Bush went to a Guitar Hero shindig at Terence Newman's crib with Romo. Sounds to me like somebody is trying to act like she's not heartbroken after getting dumped for Jessica Simpson.

In a futile attempt to make this post relevant to this week's game, I'll mention that rumor had it that Bush was at Giants Stadium when Romo lit New York up for four TDs in November.

For this here blog ... I'm Timmy Tabloid.

Sometimes, father knows best. In this case, it's especially true.

Ramiro Romo, Tony's pop, spoke to Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver on Thursday about the mounting criticism surrounding the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta. And dad knows that son's priorities are in the right place.

"All this stuff people talk about, it's kind of just – I don't know how else to put it – media driven," Romo said. "It's designed to sell papers and get hits on the Internet, but it doesn't mean a thing. At the end of the day, it's about what you do on the field."

Makes sense, right? Although I don't know if I'm all for this calling out the media business.

If you think Jerry Jones is concerned about his franchise quarterback jetting off with Jessica Simpson, think again.

"I have no concern about Tony's social life and about his relationships," Jerry said yesterday. "I've had a lot of players in 19 years that I've had concerns in those areas about, so I'm not a novice. I don't have any. There's not one concern about his relationship and about how he relaxes and what he does with his time."

Jerry, who famously warned Romo that some ladies can "smell fresh cash" after he signed his $67 million deal, was asked why he didn't get invited to the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta. Jerry replied with a gem of a one-liner.

"I was the one taking the pictures," he cracked.

That was a joke -- Papa Joe was probably behind the camera -- but Jerry sure doesn't mind the marketing effect of Romo's crossover celebrity.

You'll have to watch.

So says superstar columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor, who thinks all the fans worrying about the Simpson Family Bye Week Fiesta are silly.

They believe they own him 25-8-366, because celebrating a Super Bowl championship is among their inalienable rights, and they don't want Romo's perceived lifestyle to affect whether the Cowboys win the Super Bowl.

My response: Shut up and get a life.

The sooner, the better.

Never has more time been wasted on something so ridiculous. It does not matter one iota – as mama used to say – whether Romo spent the weekend in Cabo San Lucas or South Beach or LA after leading Dallas to a 13-3 record and a first-round bye. It's his life; he can do as he chooses.

On a somewhat related note, I hope Romo doesn't consider Todd Archer's in-depth breakdown of his locker further invasion of his privacy.

Several New York scribes made their way to Valley Ranch today, so Wade Phillips was asked a bunch of questions about Tony Romo's focus that he answered Monday.

Phillips wasn't too fond of this line of questioning, so he made it as clear as possible that he has confidence in Romo.

"I don't know that you can believe in a quarterback more than I believe in him," Phillips said.

So says SI.com's Don Banks, who ranked the eight quarterbacks still playing. He put Tony Romo at No. 5, one spot behind Eli Manning.

5. Tony Romo -- One touchdown pass, five interceptions, five sacks, three fumbles, one sore thumb and one over-exposed girlfriend (you know what we mean) in his past three games. For a second straight December, he went from Romo to No-Mo (as in, no momentum).

Call me crazy, but I'd still take the two-time Pro Bowler over the guy who only goes to Hawaii to watch his big brother.

We'll find out Sunday whether Tony Romo can shake off a late-season slump and get back into Pro Bowl form on the field. But there's no doubt that his wit is as sharp as ever.

ESPN star Ed Werder asked Romo whether it bothered him that he's not given the benefit of the doubt regarding off-field activities after the great season he had. Romo replied that he didn't care and wasn't worried about perception.

"I'm going to be able to sleep at night," Romo said. "I know it's tough on you with that haircut for you to sleep at night."

Ed took the insult like a man, which is a good thing. Would have hated to see tears cause his makeup to run.