Capers says no to Cowboys

Capers says no to Cowboys
As the Dallas Cowboys close in on hiring Brett Maxie as assistant secondary coach, they now know they will not have Dom Capers on Wade Phillips staff according to the Dallas Morning News.

Capers said�he has decided against accepting a position with the Cowboys early Monday morning. Capers talked to the Cowboys two weeks ago about possibly coming in as a consultant.

The Cowboys interviewed Maxie, a Dallas native, on Friday. He spent last year as Miami's assistant secondary coach. He would assist Dave Campo.

ESPN to whack two from MNF games; Kornheiser's not one of them
I could live without sideline reporters all together, so I'm not terribly upset by Pro Football Talk's report that Monday Night Football is dropping Suzy Kolber and Michelle Tafoya.

It does baffle me, though, that ESPN looked at their MNF broadcast, wanted to change things, and the first thought they had was not, "Let's get rid of Tony Kornheiser."

I don't know what Kornheiser would have to do to lose that gig. Seriously, if he's not bad enough now, what would it take? Would he have to end every sentence with, "... and that's why you should be watching Two and a Half Men on CBS right now"? Would he have to give Russell Crowe a lapdance next time he's in the booth? Maybe if he held his microphone to his crotch, broke wind and screamed, "I'll move those chains for ya! YEE-HA!" every time someone picked up a first down?

Okay, that last one might be kind of entertaining.

I'm not opposed to the idea of ditching sideline reporters, but as long as Kornheiser's in the booth, that broadcast is going to be intolerable, no matter what else is happening. I'd rather ESPN let Tafoya and Kolber do the entire broadcast with constant sideline reports about Jonathan Ogden's poems about unicorns.

• No sideline reporters on MNF / ProFootballTalk

Steelers will talk with Roethlisberger about extension
The Pittsburgh Steelers this week will open contract talks with several players including�quarterback Ben Roethlisberger the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Roethlisberger has two years left on the contract he signed as a rookie in 2004, but both sides have expressed a desire to reach a contract extension this year.

"I'm eager, anxious, because I want to get it done with. I want to say let's go, let's get it over with so the talks can stop, people can stop bugging me about it," he said. "Because I just want to play football.''

Transactions: Great news if you're David Tyree or love cheap shots
Rodney Harrison, who is still following various New York Giants around the greater New York/New Jersey area, looking to get in one more shot before the game is really over, told the Boston Herald that he'll be coming back next year.

I never heard any talk that Harrison was going to retire, but I guess there was enough of it out there to warrant a statement being released on his return. It doesn't come as a surprise to me, because there's no other profession on earth that allows him to commit such gratuitous violence. For example, if Rodney Harrison was a Wal-Mart greeter, he'd be in prison before the week was out.

Elsewhere ...

• The Giants are going to have to make a decision soon on whether or not to trade Jeremy Shockey. I have noticed a distinct lack of an uproar from Giants players insisting that they keep Shockey.

• The Panthers have signed defensive tackle Damione Lewis to a 3-year deal, which allows them to listen to offers for Kris Jenkins.

• All signs point to Rodney’s return / Boston Herald
• A Shockey development? / Boston Globe
• Panthers agree to terms with DT Lewis / Yahoo! Sports