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Ben Rogers from ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM takes on Ryan Ruocco from ESPN New York 98.7 FM to determine the top dog in the NFC East this season: The Giants or the Cowboys.

The Los Angeles Dodgers sold for $2.175 billion in a deal that was finalized earlier this month.

PODCAST
Coop and Nate discuss Jerry Jones' comments about the window closing on the Cowboys' championship hopes. Listen

And a report in today's New York Daily News that the New York Yankees might be for sale -- one deemed false by the club's management Thursday morning -- raises one question locally: How much are the Dallas Cowboys worth?

They have that billion dollar stadium in Arlington, Texas. They also have one of the more marketable teams in the United States, if not the world.

Several of their key players -- Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Sean Lee, Jason Witten, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant -- are in their primes.

"In some ways NFL franchises (are) more valuable with network deals and (a salary) cap," said ESPN's Andrew Brandt, a former player agent and vice president of the Green Bay Packers who is also full-time lecturer at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. "Yet MLB has high local (television) for marquee teams like L.A. and MLB has no 'minimum' spending from a cap. In terms of legacy franchise having high premiums, yes, (that) bodes well for Cowboys."

So is the Cowboys' worth in the billions?

"Comparing NFL and MLB franchises is a little tricky because the leagues are organized differently from both revenue sharing and media rights perspectives," said David M. Carter, executive director of USC's Sports Business Institute. "While the Cowboys and the Dodgers both have incredible brand strength and loyal followings, the Dodgers sale consists of two important elements not readily available in Dallas, namely the ability to extract billions from a local cable television deal and the potential for sports-anchored real estate development in the parking lots at Dodger Stadium. These attributes drive the total value of the enterprise up."

Andrew Zimbalist, professor of economics at Smith College in Massachusetts, believes the Cowboys are worth more than the Dodgers but cautions that the local money the baseball team attracts is important in terms of sale price.

"The impact, I believe, is indirect and modest," he said. "There are special circumstances in Southern California now, largely connected to competition between Fox and Time Warner to control the (regional sports market) that do not affect the Cowboys.

"I'm not sure that it is safe to assume that, but I do think that the Cowboys would probably sell for above that. The market for sports franchises is thin, so what it sells for depends of various idiosyncratic factors."

IRVING, Texas -- Of the cornerbacks on the Cowboys roster, Mike Jenkins isn't attending offseason workouts and first-round pick Morris Claiborne can't practice because of his recovery from wrist surgery. And then there's Orlando Scandrick and Brandon Carr.

PODCAST
Galloway & Company's Matt Mosley chats about the window closing for the Dallas Cowboys, and just how close they are to the New York Giants. Listen

Carr is the newly signed free agent. Scandrick is the slot corner who is working out daily at Valley Ranch and has watched a massive change take place at the position.

Gone are veterans Terence Newman and Frank Walker along with Alan Ball, who switched between corner and safety the past two seasons. The Cowboys also have a new secondary coach in Jerome Henderson.

"I mean, it was a lot," Scandrick said of the changes. "They released Terence, signed Brandon, obviously he's a great player and [they] drafted another in the top 10. It was an area where we didn't perform up to quota and that needed improvement. So we went out and did it. Hopefully if we play up to our ability, we'll have one of the best groups in the National Football League."

In 2011, the Cowboys allowed the eighth-most passes of 20 or more yards at 57. The league average was 52. When the defense gave up 300 yards to a quarterback, the team went 0-3 -- 11 NFL teams failed to win a game when that happened. The Cowboys allowed 19 plays in which opposing receivers went at least 21 or more yards, tied for second-most in the league. The team's 15 interceptions tied for 17th.

The Cowboys needed to improve the secondary in the offseason -- specifically the cornerback position -- but Scandrick didn't take the offseason moves as a personal slight.

"I don't take anything personal," he said. "This is a job and I'm here to do a job and I'm ready to compete and get better and focus on what I can do help the team get better."

With the changes made this offseason, the popular theory is Claiborne and Carr will start, with Jenkins becoming the No. 3 corner and Scandrick fitting in on passing downs.

In the past two seasons, Scandrick has gone back and forth between slot and outside cornerback. Today's NFL is more of a passing league, and you can almost never have enough corners on the field.

"This is year No. 5 for me here and I try not to think about that," Scandrick said of being mainly described as a slot corner. "This has become a passing league and when you're on a good football team, you're playing with a lot of leads, so teams are going to try and pass to get back in the game. It's not technically a starter, but it's not technically a reserve; it's [an] in-between thing. I kind of look at it as the glass half-full instead of half-empty."

IRVING, Texas -- It seems ages ago -- how about two years ago? -- that wide receiver Dez Bryant burst onto the Cowboys universe.

Bryant enters his third season in 2012. He was asked after the second day of organized team activities Wednesday whether he feels like a veteran.

"In some ways, it depends on what I'm doing," he said. "I help out the guys when they need it. I show what I know."

Bryant is still working on running routes, commanding the playbook, understanding the NFL way and becoming a dominant force in the passing game.

The Cowboys still like Bryant as an outside receiver and won't move him into the slot as much as they do Miles Austin. But that's OK because Bryant, when he gets the ball, is dangerous.

Last season, Bryant finished second on the team in catches (63), yards (928) and touchdowns (9) to tight end Jason Witten. He missed one game with a thigh injury, had a handful of games in which he went without a catch in the second half and he didn't have a 100-yard game -- he still has only one.

"I feel like every year was just a learning experience," Bryant said. "I got better from [Year 1 to Year 2]. I hadn't played this year yet, but I feel much better and I'm confident in what I'm doing. When Coach calls out a play, I'm starting to already have the play before he already call it out. I'm getting better."

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys first-round pick Morris Claiborne, who is recovering from left wrist surgery to repair ligament damage, probably won't practice with the team until training camp in late July.

Rookies, injured players, quarterbacks and wide receivers will practice at Valley Ranch for a few days before the team leaves for training camp in Oxnard, Calif., in late July.

Claiborne, who is wearing a brace during organized team activities, had hoped to return for the mandatory minicamp tentatively scheduled for June 12, but he said that's doubtful.

"I don't like it, but I know it's what's best for me in the long run and what's best for the team," Claiborne said Wednesday afternoon following the second day of OTAs. "I'm not trying to rush it. I'm just going to take my time and do what the trainers have me doing in the meantime."

Claiborne will wear a brace for two more weeks, then undergo therapy and if he gets cleared by team doctors, should be ready to practice in late July.

"You love to have him out here now," secondary coach Jerome Henderson said. "He's missing valuable reps. He's doing a good job staying in it mentally and standing behind a guy and having good questions. There is no way you can make up for the time you missed, it's tough."

IRVING, Texas – Later today, several Dallas Cowboys players, coach Jason Garrett and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman will head to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington for a home run derby to raise money for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

Reliant will donate $500 for each home run hit during the event as well as more money for players who hit other bullseye targets.

Garrett isn’t counting on the long ball.

“Took batting practice the other night at Coppell High School and I counted I swung at 42 pitches and I hit 37 ground balls to third base, so we’ll see,” Garrett said.

But Aikman might be another story.

“Then to top it off Aikman is involved in this thing and I got a phone call at 6 o’clock last night that he hit three balls into the tennis courts at Coppell High School,” said Garrett, Aikman’s long-time backup. “Story of my life.”

Let's have a little debate, shall we? With nearly four months still to go before the games start, a good, old-fashioned quarterback debate may be just the thing to wake everybody up and get the blood going.

Now, for the purposes of this particular debate, I don't much care which quarterback you think is "better" than the other. Fact is we can't trust you guys to have an unbiased argument about that anyway. Which is fine. You're fans. You're not supposed to be unbiased. I just feel like we can turn this debate a couple of degrees and ask a different kind of question, namely:

Which quarterback is under more pressure to perform in 2012? Michael Vick or Tony Romo?

Yeah, the poll has all four listed, because that only seemed fair. But Eli Manning's a two-time Super Bowl MVP and Robert Griffin III is a rookie in charge of a rebuilding project, so I don't think either of those guys faces the same kind of pressure as Vick faces in title-starved Philadelphia or Romo faces in perpetually unsatisfied Dallas. Go ahead and vote for one of those guys if you really think he's the right answer, but in the context of 2012 only, with Manning coming off a Super Bowl win and Griffin learning the league, I think the answer to this question is between Vick and Romo.

And if you've been reading regularly, you know my pick is Vick. I don't think any quarterback in the NFL this year will be under more pressure than Vick will be. The Eagles are in a must-win situation after their high 2011 hopes flopped, and they can't afford to flop again. Not that the Cowboys can afford to flop, mind you, but I just think Vick is in a higher-pressure situation.

Vick was far more responsible for his team's 2011 flop than Romo was for his team's. Vick has not demonstrated the same kind of year-in, year-out production that Romo has, so he has less of a track record on which to stand. And fair or not, Vick is always going to be judged against his own brilliant 2010 season. A lot of the Eagles' plans last year were based on the idea that Vick could do many things no other quarterback could do, and that that gave them an edge against the other good teams in the league. He may not have to be as incredible as he was in 2010, but he's going to have to show some of that ability in order to make teams fear him and the Eagles.

Vick is in a fascinating situation. He obviously has to mature as a quarterback and a decision-maker in order for the Eagles to succeed. But he has to do so without sacrificing too much of what sets him apart, athletically, from the others who play his position. It may well be an impossible balance to strike. But Vick is being asked to do it anyway, and I think that puts him under a different kind of pressure than Romo or anyone else faces in 2012.

What do you guys think? Play nice!

The Cowboys have released the tentative schedule for their training camp, which will be held on the fields next to the Marriott Residence Inn in Oxnard, Calif.

The schedule, which is subject to change (Pacific Coast times):

Monday, July 30 – 2:30 p.m. practice
Tuesday, July 31 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Wednesday, Aug. 1 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Thursday, Aug. 2 -- No practice
Friday, Aug. 3 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Saturday, Aug. 4 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Sunday, Aug. 5 – 2:30 p.m. Blue-White scrimmage
Monday, Aug. 6 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Tuesday, Aug. 7 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Wednesday, Aug. 8 – No practice
Thursday, Aug. 9 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Friday, Aug. 10 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Saturday, Aug. 11 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Sunday, Aug. 12 – Walkthrough TBA
Monday, Aug. 13 – Preseason game at Oakland
Tuesday, Aug. 14 – No practice
Wednesday, Aug. 15 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Thursday, Aug. 16 -- 2:30 p.m. practice
Friday, Aug. 17 – Walkthrough TBA, break camp

The Dallas Cowboys begin three weeks of organized team activities today at Valley Ranch. It's the first time the entire team will be available to the Cowboys coaches on the field since the 2011 season ended.

We tell you what's going on.

PODCAST
Jean-Jacques Taylor gives us the latest on Mike Jenkins' desire to be traded. The Cowboys' star doesn't mean as much to players as it used to. Listen

Jenkins won't be here: Cornerback Mike Jenkins will not attend the three days of organized team activities. Yes, the OTAs are voluntary, but most, if not all, the players are expected to show up for the three-day teaching sessions. Jenkins, who is seeking a trade from the Cowboys, is irked somewhat by what's going on at the cornerback position. Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne are the projected starters at corner, with Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick battling for the No. 3 cornerback position. Most of the people that matter at Valley Ranch have praised Jenkins' play last season, when he was tied for the team lead with 10 pass breakups while playing through shoulder, neck and knee issues. Without attending the sessions, it will be difficult to know far Jenkins has progressed from offseason shoulder surgery. Jenkins has attended only a handful of voluntary workouts at Valley Ranch.

Rookies will be here, too: If a rookie is not here, it's because school is still in session. One rookie who will attend the sessions but not participate is first-round pick Morris Claiborne. Claiborne is still recovering from left wrist surgery. He got three pins taken out recently and will wear a soft cast. He said he wants to be ready for the veteran minicamp, but it's doubtful if the team will allow that. Expect Claiborne to get a majority of practice reps when training camp starts in late July.

Who is injured? Let's see, Jenkins and Claiborne won't get any work in. DeMarco Murray (ankle) said he's 100 percent and should be a full participant in the sessions, though it wouldn't surprise any if he was limited. Bill Nagy (ankle), Raymond Radway (leg), Barry Church (shoulder), and Phillip Tanner (hamstring) finished the season on injured reserve and will get a chance to work out fully. Newly-signed guard Mackenzy Bernadeau (hip) will not be available to work out because of his recent surgery. Bernadeau won't be around until the second week of training camp. Also, fourth-round pick Kyle Wilber (finger) will not be around due to his surgery. He should be ready for training camp.

No media access until Wednesday: The media has access only one day, Wednesday, so please don't ask how certain players are doing today because we won't know. The media will speak with certain players and coaches once a week for the next three weeks during OTAs.

Notes: There were no OTAs last year because of the lockout and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan said that led to rushed teachings of his defensive scheme once the players were allowed to attend training camp. With OTAs and minicamps, Ryan can take a more measured approach to teaching his 3-4 scheme. ... Much has been made about leadership this offseason. It will be interesting to see who is the most vocal on the practice fields among the players. ... With Jenkins and Claiborne out, reps at corner will start with Carr and Scandrick.

ESPN Dallas' Ben Rogers and Skin Wade give their most interesting analysis yet as they look forward to the Cowboys' season after the NFL draft.

Free agent safety Deon Grant told Sirius/XM that the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are interested in his services.

Multiple sources have said the Cowboys are not interested in Grant.

Last season, the Giants credited Grant with 58 total tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and six pass breakups.

Grant, 33, plays free safety and with the addition of Brodney Pool in free agency to pair up with Gerald Sensabaugh, it doesn't make sense for the Cowboys to sign him.

Also, the Cowboys used a fourth-round pick on safety Matt Johnson from Eastern Washington.

If anything, the Cowboys are trying to get younger in the secondary, as evident by the team moving up to draft cornerback Morris Claiborne and signing cornerback Brandon Carr in free agency.

When quarterback Jon Kitna was hanging around Valley Ranch he talked about what he would do when he retired: Go back to high school.

The Seattle Times' Danny O'Neil writes a good story about Kitna going back to Tacoma, Wash., and teaching at his old high school, Abraham Lincoln.

Here's the story.

Kitna retired following the season when his back just couldn't respond for him anymore. The Cowboys placed Kitna on injured reserve Dec. 14. He finished his career with 29,677 yards and 169 touchdowns and 165 interceptions.

He played his last game Nov. 13 versus Buffalo, when he took a knee for the final two snaps. Kitna threw the last touchdown of his career to Miles Austin Sept. 18 at San Francisco, for five-yards. Kitna replaced an injured Tony Romo (ribs), who later returned.

PODCAST
Colin Cowherd unveils his list of the most delusional fan bases in sports. Listen

Colin Cowherd unveils his list of the most delusional fan bases in sports. Do Dallas Cowboys fans deserve the No. 4 spot? Who would you put at the top of the list?

Colin’s list:
1. Tim Tebow
2. Notre Dame football
3. Penn State football
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. Oakland Raiders
7. Big Ten football
8. College basketball
9. New York Knicks
10. Chicago Bulls

DALLAS – The Cowboys and Salvation Army are working on their 15th year as teammates, and the team’s rookie class got its first taste of the association on Wednesday.

More than 20 rookies, including first-round pick Morris Claiborne, served meals for more than 200 less fortunate men and women at The Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service Center on Wednesday as part of National Salvation Army Week.

“Just helping people,” fourth-round pick Kyle Wilber said. “We’re in position right now to help people out and we want to be active in the community, show our faces that we’re just not on the TV screen playing football, but we have a personal life.”

This is the first time the Cowboys have kicked off their Rookie Club in the offseason. In addition to workouts and on-field teaching sessions, the rookies will have life skills classes during the offseason to help get them ready for life in the NFL. The draft picks will head to the Rookie Symposium in June.

“It’s a great feeling having people look up to you,” guard Ronald Leary said. “Just seeing the smiles on their faces, they’re grateful and we’re grateful for them.”

Guard Mackenzy Bernadeau underwent hip surgery over the weekend and will be out for as long as 12 weeks. He will most likely miss the entire offseason of work at Valley Ranch, including the veteran minicamp in June.

He could even miss the first week of training camp and return in August.

You can take this as a major blow to a team that just signed Bernadeau to a four-year, $11 million deal in free agency. Or it can be seen as a chance for other players to get some reps with the first-team offense.

The Cowboys have depth in the interior of the line with David Arkin, Bill Nagy, Kevin Kowalski and Ronald Leary.

Arkin wasn't active for any games last season as a rookie, getting a redshirt if you will. Nagy started three games before his season ended with a broken ankle.

The coaches like Kowalski's toughness and his ability to play center. Leary can play both guard spots and, despite a chronic knee problem, had a mid-round draft grade on some NFL teams' boards.

Of course, the Cowboys have Nate Livings, whom they signed in free agency along with Bernadeau. Livings said he can play left and right guard, which is a positive thing for a team that wants versatility with its linemen.

While yes, Bernandeau's loss should concern you a little, there are others waiting to get some work over the summer and the early stages of training camp. That can help with the overall development of the team.

And to say Bernadeau's injury could lead to more problems is unfair. He was listed just once on the injury report last season with Carolina, and that was in Week 1.

Bernadeau should be ready to go at some point in 2012. Until that time, there is depth on the roster, which is good.