Text messages from press row . . .
It’s a lot less titillating, of course, but perhaps Dallas Cowboys fans should concern themselves more with Terrell Owens’ high ankle sprain and less with Tony Romo’s Cabo canoodling with Jessica Simpson. . . .
High-profile romances haven’t slowed Tom Brady. . . .
Matt Hasselbeck, who leads the Seattle Seahawks against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, is one of 11 former Brett Favre proteges who have started for other NFL teams while Favre has made 273 consecutive starts for the Packers. . . .
Favre is 8-3 against his former backups, 3-0 against Hasselbeck. . . .
Favre, by the way, wasn’t much of a backup to Chris Miller as a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons in 1991, failing to complete any of his four passes. . . .
Two were intercepted. . . .
He was traded to the Packers for a first-round pick Feb. 10, 1992. . . .
The New England Patriots, who own the San Francisco 49ers’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, can only hope they’re as visionary with the pick as Bill Walsh and the 49ers were with the Patriots’ first-round pick in 1985. . . .
The 49ers, who owned the last pick of the first round that year, sent their first two picks to the Patriots for the 16th pick overall. . . .
Then they drafted Jerry Rice. . . .
Though of no interest to paparazzi, the Colorado women’s basketball team features Brittany Spears and Whitney Houston. . . .
Spears is a freshman forward from Pasadena, Houston a sophomore guard. . . .
Jimmy Johnson walked away from a chance to win a third consecutive Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys 15 years ago, but Jimmie Johnson won’t walk away from a chance to win a third consecutive NASCAR Cup championship. . . .
Only Cale Yarborough has won three consecutive Cup titles, a record that Johnson will try to match starting next month at the Daytona 500. . . .
While USC’s run of six consecutive Associated Press top-four finishes under Pete Carroll certainly is impressive, it’s no match for Florida State’s astonishing run of 13 consecutive top-four finishes under Bobby Bowden. . . .
The Seminoles’ streak ended in 2000, when they slipped all the way to No. 5. . . .
Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds after scoring 17 points and taking 17 rebounds against the Clippers on Wednesday, could become only the second player in NBA history to average more than 20 points and 15 rebounds while making as many as 60% of his shots. . . .
Wilt Chamberlain did it in the 1966-67 season, averaging 24.1 points and 24.2 rebounds while making 68.3% of his shots for the Philadelphia 76ers. . . .
Remarkably, his shooting percentage was not a career high. . . .
In his final NBA season, Chamberlain made nearly 73% of his shots. . . .
Howard has converted on a shade less than 60% this season. . . .
Injured Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston, the fourth pick in the 2004 NBA draft after Howard went first to the Magic, called the muscular Howard a “new-age Shaq” during the Fox telecast of Wednesday’s game. . . .
Noted the spindly Livingston, “He’s built like an Army action figure.” . . .
Clippers forward Corey Maggette, whose forte is slashing to the basket and drawing fouls, has scored nearly 35% of his 8,472 career points on free throws, the third-highest percentage in NBA history among players with at least 7,000 points, according to research by Stats LLC. . . .
Dolph Schayes and Harry Gallatin, who played most of their Hall of Fame careers in the 1950s, each scored 36% of their points on free throws. . . .
Fans planning a trip to Vero Beach this spring for the Dodgers’ final season in the Grapefruit League might want to note: Joe Torre’s team is scheduled to play its final exhibition in Dodgertown’s homey Holman Stadium on March 17. . . .
Signaling a mushrooming interest in action sports, Shaun White is the subject of an unprecedented double cover in the February issue of Men’s Journal. . . .
The Olympic halfpipe gold medalist is featured on the front and back covers. . . .
Regarding a Thursday note that Nolan Ryan’s career was unsullied by rumors of drug use, reader Craig Lesly e-mails with a wink, “To the contrary, I remember hearing that Nolan Ryan used to take a whole lot of Advil.” . . .
Heretofore not-widely-known Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman made a name for herself this week with a racially insensitive remark concerning Tiger Woods. . . .
Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t a flattering name.
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