For my money, the best sports columnist in Dallas-Fort Worth is the Telegram's Jenn Floyd-Engel.
Always biting. Always thinking. Never backing down. Staying relevant and actually having an opinion.
She had a doozy Wednesday. She took the Dallas Cowboys, its fans, media, Dez Bryant and everyone in between to task for the latest and greatest of exploits from the wide receiver, which now includes various bills for expensive jewelry in Fort Worth and New York and unpaid apartment bills in Stillwater.
It's a mess. Bryant is, apparently, a mess. Like a Tiger Woods mistress, once one came out, they all came out.
Floyd-Engel's column is great. Sarcastic and pointed. Its sharp and challenging.
She brought it. Unfortunately, it contradicts a lot of the opinions she's had in the past. Never once in the recent column did she eat her own bowl of crow.
Floyd-Engel:
"The Cowboys never should have drafted this idiot. But they did. And everybody at Valley Ranch and beyond who argued that his talent justified this leap: this is what you signed up for, so quit looking so surprised."
The problem, as The Big Lead points out, is that Floyd-Engel has written just the opposite in the past 365 days.
Floyd-Engel in past columns:
"There also is the “absolutely must keep” crew, who do not merit much discussion, either, with Tony Romo and DeMarcus Ware and Dez and Witten and Ratliff and Bradie and Miles and Spencer and Doug Free and Mike Jenkins."
“The dude is a beast, one of those players teams will kick themselves for years for skipping over. Turns out, all of the “expert” reasons to draft Dez have proven valid while none of the reasons to take a pass has materialized."
“This team needs Dez; his swagger, his cocky, his intense drive to show up and show up big, his burning passion to not just be great but do it right now, immediately."
The odd thing about Floyd-Engel's column is that it would have been incredibly easy to admit that she was one of the millions that bought into the talent-over-attitude debate. We got taken in. The physical prowess mesmerized us. It's now clear to most that the Bryant-Cowboys marriage will not end well. Prediction from me: Dez Bryant will not be a Dallas Cowboys in two years. In 2013, we will be discussing his release.
Floyd-Engel is human. She's a sports mortal just like all of us. She makes mistakes. And just like every other human, she's rather unwilling to accept her comeuppance or admit to her own judgement on Bryant's attitude and personality.
However, to come out swinging, throwing uppercuts at everyone's chins looking for a knockout blow (if I can draw this boxing analogy out any further) and then not to look in the mirror (analogy switch!) is pretty sorry.
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