While Dez Bryant has great expectations of being the Dallas Cowboys’ star receiver this season, he needs to remember that he’s a rookie. Rookies are often forced to do various rudimentary tasks for their veteran teammates in NFL training camps, such as carrying their pads and buying them dinner. As Ephraim Salaam of the Houston Texans told Jim Rome on his radio show Monday, when he broke into the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, his teammates made him sing while he was repeatedly taped to the goalposts among other rituals. Bryant remains resolute, telling the media he’s “here (in San Antonio, home of Cowboys training camp) to play football.” The take, in theory, is admirable. Nevertheless he risks alienating his teammates if he doesn’t acquiesce to their requests. Thus, the onus is upon Bryant to make the most out of his situation. He left Oklahoma State early after losing his eligibility for attending Deion Sanders’ home on an “illegal” visit in the eyes of the NCAA. For now, it hardly seems as if he’s matured. As a fan, I don’t care because I despise the Cowboys. However, as a compassionate human being, I hope he learns from the folly of his ways and makes the most out of his situation.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays’ Matt Garza threw a no-hitter in Tampa Bay’s 5-0 blanking of the Detroit Tigers. This was the first no-no in Rays history and the sixth of the season in the majors. Rare are the times, especially coming off an era where steroids enabled hitters to put up cartoonish numbers, where pitching has been so dominant. Thus, may the purists rejoice while the rest of us hope for more offense.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. As a sidenote, Terrell Owens could be a Cincinnati Bengal, stay tuned….