Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know?

A little something provocative for those pondering New Year's resolutions:

"Effort is the single most overrated trait in producing success. People rank it as the best predictor of success when in reality it is one of the least significant factors. Effort, by itself, is a terrible predictor of outcomes because inefficient effort is a tremendous source of discouragement, leaving people to conclude that they can never succeed since even expending maximum effort has not produced results."

-M. Scherneck (1998) "The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Academic Performance," PhD dissertation, State University of New York at Albany

You play with your head. Not your heart. In your personal life? Heart. But when you get on the field — you’re a businessman.

At 7-5 there are at least 5 teams who can beat the New York football Giants this season.

The Dallas Cowboys are not one of them, despite two golden opportunities.

This is not the first time they've owned us.

• They beat the Cowboys earlier this year in their home opener at the Death Star (i.e., Jerry World).
• They won the MNF game in which the triplets (i.e., Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith) were inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2005.
• PLUS, the 13-3 and #1 seeded Cowboys were escorted from the playoffs by the Giants in 2007 as they came in and handled up on our bidness.

What can I say? Just tip my hat and call the Giants their daddy.

Just shut up. Play the game. Play it from your heart and you know what, I will show you the Kwan.

Tonight was the last Cowboys game played at Texas Stadium. They apparently handpicked the Ravens in the off-season to be their final home game.

Tonight there were two teams with their backs up against the wall for a playoff spot. But one had the luxury of playing at home and playing with the emotional inspiration of playing the last Cowboys game at Texas Stadium for their fans and their watching legends.

But it was the road team who showed up with the heart, passion, and a sense of urgency. The game could be perhaps seen as another choke. I'm just further convinced this team has no heart.

Watching the legends in the post-game ceremony, I was thinking, "Gun, you think Jimmy would have let this happen? You think Michael Irvin would have let this happen? You think Troy or Roger would have let this happen? You think Darren Woodson would have let this happen? You think Randy White would have let this happen? You think Bill Bates would let the special teams be so bad?"

What a way to end their time at Texas Stadium ... losing to a rookie QB, giving up 33 offensive points, and giving up first recording tying 77 yard TD run by an opponent and then giving up a record 82 yard TD run by an opponent on the very next offensive play.

All in all, they put themselves in a position where they have to win a tough game on the road and get help even to make the playoffs. That's a sad shift of gears from the 13-1 first round bye team last year that sent 13 to the pro-bowl.

P.S. Check out photos of our family tour of Texas Stadium the week after this game.

There's been a slight change in the narrative, an unexpected twist, you might say.

The Cowboys beat the Packers for the first time at Lambeau Field Sunday night.

But I was most impressed with Terrell Owens. He impressed me in ways I never would have expected.

His numbers were pedestrian: 2 catches for 17 yards, no touchdowns, and 1 dropped ball.

BUT ...

1. Despite his lack of involvement and assumed frustration, you never saw Owens yelling or asking, "Why am I here?" or complaining in the least. The camera kept on him on the sidelines with the expectation we'd get some of that, but Owens restrained any personal frustration he might have been feeling.

2. Tony Romo threw an interception in the end zone and the safety had visions of running it back. He did for 61 yards, but it could have been much more. After getting knocked to the ground after the interception, Owens was the one who raced up the field and tackled the thief from behind. The bad guys only got a field goal out of that drive, but it certainly could have been more.

3. Felix Jones had a 60 yard touchdown run and on it Terrell Owens hustled down the field to block for him to make sure he made it into the end zone untouched. Another hustle play whereby he was working hard for the glory of another.

I was surprised we didn't hear Madden or Michaels mention these hustle plays, but they may not like Owens. Nonetheless, those plays contributed to a night where I was the most impressed with Terrell Owens that I've been.

I don't want to overly harsh in criticizing his previous corpus of work or overstate his performance in last night's game, but has Terrell Owens perhaps turned the corner in becoming a team player? If last night is any indication, I'd say he certainly has.

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!

All this talk about Brett Favre and his potential un-retirement brings to mind my favorite Favre game of all time, the 1995 NFC Championship game ... in Dallas.

Enjoy these highlights as you see some guys I wish could come out of retirement.