Pride At Stake When Cowboys Take On 49ers

Games against San Francisco are always special, no matter the record of the participants.

This year, the 49ers have a chance to put the Dallas Cowboys into a deep hole from which there might be no recovery.

While San Francisco rides high at 7-1, the Cowboys are limping along with a 4-4 record.

Bill Bates, the Cowboys’ special-teams captain who has been around for every San Francisco-Dallas game in the last 15 years, said the 49ers would take special delight in beating the Cowboys on Sunday.

“They see us down and they want to be the first team to dig in a sword and twist it,” Bates said. “This series has always been so competitive.”

Quarterback Troy Aikman said games against the 49ers mean more than the average regular-season game.

“Both franchises have a lot of pride,” Aikman said. “We’re always excited about playing them. This year this may be a bigger game for us than for them. We’re not as good as we’ve been in the past, but we’re still a pretty good team. But there always seems to be a lot at stake when we play the 49ers.”

San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci said he has noticed a different feeling this week.

“I’ve sensed a different atmosphere at our facility,” Mariucci said. “Dallas is all you can hear on the talk shows. Everybody seems to be getting jacked up. It’s always a huge game between two teams who have won 10 of the last 15 Super Bowls.”

Actually, it’s eight of the last 16, but who’s counting.

Elway denies ownership plans

When John Elway sold his car dealerships for $82.5 million on Tuesday, immediate speculation arose that the Denver Broncos quarterback may be positioning himself to become part owner of the football team.

But Elway denied the speculation, saying he has had no talks with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen about buying into the team.

“I really don’t know where this comes from because there has been no talk about that between Mr. Bowlen and I,” Elway said. “Maybe it’s a natural. I don’t know. But there’s been no talk about me doing that.”

Redskins revamp offense

Throw away the program from last Sunday’s Washington Redskins game, because the lineup is out of date. At this week’s first practice, there were six changes on the first-team offense.

Terry Allen was running the ball again after a two-game absence with a sprained knee. Alvin Harper was catching passes in place of Henry Ellard, who dropped two passes in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore. Four of the five offensive line positions were shuffled because of Ed Simmons’ leg injury.

Lions’ Waldroup a marked man

If Detroit Lions defensive end Kerwin Waldroup needed motivation for Sunday’s game at Green Bay, he may have it now.

Citing Waldroup’s recent history of illegal hits against quarterbacks, the league warned him: Stay away from the quarterback’s knees or face suspension.

To Waldroup the ultimatum that accompanied a league lesson on how to properly tackle quarterbacks was a low blow.

“Basically, I can’t touch ‘em nowhere under the knees,” Waldroup said. “Can’t grab ‘em, can’t hit ‘em, nothing.”

Waldroup got the warning from Gene Washington, the NFL’s director of football operations, after they met at league offices in New York.

Lions coach Bobby Ross said he would call Washington to discuss the latest warning, which came just days before a rematch with Green Bay. Packers quarterback Brett Favre complained about Waldroup in a Sept. 28 game at Detroit.

“I have a problem with players being told they’re going to be suspended,” Ross said. “This is a game of aggression.”

Around the league

Buffalo Bills linebacker Chris Spielman plans to resume his career next season after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck… . Cincinnati Bengals safety Tremain Mack was released from jail pending an appeal of his 30-day sentence for drunk driving.