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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Coach Jason Garrett took home the Cowboys’ home run trophy Wednesday evening, thanks primarily to a strange scoring system that strongly rewarded 250-foot fly balls.

Tight end John Phillips was clearly the star of the show at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, an event that resulted in Reliant making a $40,000 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Phillips was the only one of the contestants, which included nine Cowboys players, Garrett and Troy Aikman, to actually go deep.

Phillips’ shot that landed in the second row of the left-field seats was no fluke. He also had a blast that hit high on the left-center wall next to the 390-foot sign and several shots that landed on the warning track, but he hit mostly hard grounders during the championship round against Garrett.

“He looks like Mickey Mantle, for crying out loud,” said Garrett, who mastered the art of getting the ball up in the air because Reliant made donations for fly balls that left the infield. “I was going up there doing my thing, and he was trying to hit them all out. That’s why I was able to sneak in the backdoor.”

Most of the Cowboys frankly looked like football players who hadn’t swung a baseball bat in years, if ever. Miles Austin, whose best shot smashed off the wall in right-center, ranked a distant second to Phillips on the eyeball test.

Phillips’ baseball prowess is no surprise. He was a heck of a power hitter at itty-bitty Bath County High in Virginia. And he could see himself reporting to work at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington every day.

“When this football thing is over,” Phillips said with a grin, “I want to get a tryout.”

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 -- The Cowboys held the first of four organized team activities that will be open to the media at Valley Ranch on Wednesday, so we bring you some observations from the two-hour workout:

** Maybe it’s the product of not seeing him throw in four months, but Tony Romo was throwing the ball with a tremendous amount of velocity. Romo went 8-of-11 in team and seven-on-seven drills Wednesday with one drop by TE John Phillips.

** LB Sean Lee looked in midseason form by snuffing out a pass to the flat to FB Lawrence Vickers for what would have been no gain or a short pickup.

** QB Stephen McGee and rookie Tyrone Navikoff had a difficult time with the snap, muffing three before Navikoff was pulled in favor of Bill Nagy. And Nagy’s first snap with McGee went to the ground.

** WR Raymond Radway, who missed his rookie year with a broken ankle, was knocked out of practice briefly after getting poked in the eye.

** Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and Dwayne Harris worked as punt returners. Tim Benford, Radway and Lance Dunbar handled kick returns.

** With OLB DeMarcus Ware missing the workout, Victor Butler was with the starters and showed good awareness on a reverse by Harris by not allowing the wide receiver to get outside. Anthony Spencer did the same later in practice on a reverse to Miles Austin.

** WR Andre Holmes made a nice grab on a Kyle Orton throw in seven-on-seven drills while crossing the middle. Earlier, Holmes snared a Romo pass that was a little ahead of him.

** Rookie Saalim Hakin struggled in the rookie minicamp with drops and he struggled Wednesday. Unofficially he had three and the last brought receivers coach Jimmy Robinson over with some encouragement.

** Undrafted rookie CB Lionel Smith intercepted a McGee pass along the sideline.

** Rookie S Eddie Whitley ended practice with a nice breakup of a McGee throw to James Hanna. Whitley broke on Hanna’s route perfectly to bat the pass away.

** RB Phillip Tanner did not look any different after being put on injured reserve last year with a hamstring injury. He was quick and decisive with his cuts.

The appeal of NFL-imposed cap reductions to the Washington Redskins ($36 million) and Dallas Cowboys ($10 million) has ended. Arbitrator Stephen Burbank dismissed their claims today -- for reasons described below -- and the teams have raised the white flag, issuing a joint statement accepting the decision. Interestingly, the two NFL owners who enjoy a good fight the most -- Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder -- have decided to go quietly here, choosing to use this as a chip for political capital down the road.

The NFL claimed the teams gained competitive advantage by maneuvering cap money into the uncapped 2010 year, clearing the deck for future spending without encumbrances from bloated contracts of Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall, Miles Austin and others. Were the teams given a chance to argue, they would have emphasized that there were no written warnings against their conduct, and that the contracts were approved upon submission to the NFL management council (NFLMC). However, they will have no such chance, as the case was dismissed.

Commissioner power

Burbank rejected the teams’ arguments that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was not authorized to act on behalf of the NFLMC, the unit of the NFL that gave strident verbal warnings about their cap maneuvers and suggested discipline. Burbank intimated -- but did not expressly hold -- that the articles and bylaws of the NFLMC contemplate the commissioner acting as an agent for them. Thus, the commissioner’s powers may extend past the playing field into the contract and cap decisions made by teams and their ownership.

NFLPA on board

The March 11 letter announcing the reduction (reallocation letter) was executed by both Goodell and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith. Smith was agreeable as long as league-wide cap room remained the same, with the $46 million reallocated to the other 28 teams (the Saints and Raiders were denied reallocation because of similar, but lesser violations). The union’s buy-in -- forged with assurances from the NFL that the team cap number in 2012 would not dip below that of 2011 -- was a factor in Burbank’s dismissal.

Teams on board

With the NFLPA signing off, the March 27 resolution by 29 NFL teams (the Bucs abstained) to ratify the reallocation letter became, in Burbank’s eyes, a valid amendment to the collective bargaining agreement. Therefore, the Cowboys’ and Redskins’ claims of unilateral changes in the cap and collusion by other teams were denied. The key line from the decision reads in part: “the March 27th Resolution effectively ratified the Reallocation Letter, which therefore is binding on the Redskins and Cowboys as an amendment to the CBA.”

Thus, Burbank essentially gave his blessing to two agreements that served to bind and penalize the Redskins and Cowboys without them being a party to either. Commissioner power is strengthened again, 28 teams have additional cap room, and the NFLPA protects its players’ cap room league-wide. Everyone is satisfied except, of course, those two owners.

Something tells me that -- although they are accepting the decision -- they won’t soon forget this episode.

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.

We’re about to finally get a glimpse to see why there’s all this buzz about Andre Holmes.

Wednesday’s OTA session, which will be the first one this offseason open to the Valley Ranch media, will be the first time any of us have seen Holmes actually run a pass route. But there will be a lot of eyes on the second-year undrafted receiver because the coaches and front office are so high on him.

Holmes was the first name out of Jerry Jones’ mouth at the scouting combine in February when the Cowboys’ owner/general manager discussed the possibility of losing Laurent Robinson in free agency. With Robinson taking a rich deal from Jacksonville, Holmes has as good a shot as anyone at claiming the No. 3 receiver role.

Scoff if you dare, but just remember that Miles Austin and Victor Cruz are NFC East examples of receivers who have soared from the obscurity of being a small-school guy passed over in the draft to stardom in the last few years.

Here is what we know about Holmes, who signed with the Cowboys after being cut by the Vikings at the end of preseason and spent most of 2011 on the practice squad:

*He is 6-foot-5, 208 pounds, was timed at 4.51 in the 40 at the combine and measured with a vertical leap of 35 inches.

*Much like Austin at Monmouth, Holmes was a late bloomer at Division II Hillsdale College after playing receiver only one year in high school. After redshirting, he caught only 38 passes for 648 yards and four touchdowns in his first two seasons. He had a breakout year as a junior (77 catches, 1,076 yards, six TD) and the most productive season in school history as a senior (104 catches, 1,368 yards, 11 TD).

*Holmes’ mix of size, athleticism, ball skills and competitiveness impressed the Cowboys’ coaches and front office enough that they promoted him from the practice squad to the 53-man roster late last season to prevent another team from claiming him. They did so despite the fact that Holmes had a hamstring injury because they considered him a valuable prospect.

*He’s part of a pack of receivers who will be competing to replace Robinson. Kevin Ogletree is the only one of the bunch with NFL experience, but he was handed the job last year and failed, opening the door for Robinson to emerge. Others in the mix are Raymond Radway, the former Abilene Christian track star who would have made the team as an undrafted free agent last year if not for a gruesome broken leg suffered in the final seconds of the preseason finale; 2012 fifth-round pick Danny Coale; 2011 sixth-round pick Dwayne Harris; and a handful of undrafted rookies.

IRVING, Texas -- Miles Austin did not mean to cause a stir with his comments in a Men’s Health magazine video last month regarding his conditioning in 2011.

To refresh, here’s what Austin said: “I'm feeling great right now, by the way. Right now I'm working with the trainers at our facility. I feel like last year, I wasn't prepared for the season in the way I should have been condition-wise, even though I looked and felt like it at the time. That's one thing I have to keep an eye on, to make sure I'm in the best physical shape I can be."

Austin, who missed six games with two different hamstring injuries in 2011, was asked about the comments at the Cowboys’ sponsorship golf tournament Wednesday.

“I feel like I’m working differently now than I did then, that’s what I meant by that,” Austin said.

Last year’s lockout prevented the traditional offseason program. Austin took part in all of the player-run practices, worked out with a handful of players and was in shape. This year Austin and his teammates are under the supervision of strength coach Mike Woicik and his staff, working on more football-specific conditioning.

“It’s just a great thing to be in such a team environment right now working with our guys,” Austin said.

Cowboys lead running back DeMarco Murray told a crowd in San Antonio on Sunday that, "I'm back 100 percent."

The quote comes from the San Antonio Express-News, who covered the Cowboys' Fan Fest, a marketing event designed to keep the team's name alive in their former training camp home. The Cowboys will have training camp in Oxnard, Calif., this summer.

Dez Bryant, Sean Lee, Miles Austin and Murray attended the Fan Fest.

Murray suffered a fractured ankle in a loss to the New York Giants on Dec. 11, ending a fantastic rookie season. Murray saying he's 100 percent should be viewed as good news for Cowboys fans. He's expected to participate some at the veteran minicamp next month.

Murray, who led the Cowboys with 897 rushing yards in 2011, said he's enjoying the voluntary offseason conditioning program led by strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik.

"Mike Woicik has been great to work with," Murray said. "In college, usually everyone did the same type of program. But here it's more position specific. I definitely feel better prepared."

Here's more from the event.

The NFL announced recently that teams can have up to 90 players on their roster heading into training camp.

With the Cowboys adding cornerback Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on Tuesday, they have 88 players on their roster and more are on the way as the team is expected to sign some players who tried out last weekend at Valley Ranch.

But the free-agency period is still ongoing and it begs a question: Should the Cowboys sign a veteran free agent?

We look at three positions that could use a veteran.

Wide receiver: The starters are Dez Bryant and Miles Austin, talented and explosive players. The No. 3 receiver is uncertain. There's a gaggle of players battling for the final three receiver spots, leading with the underachieving Kevin Ogletree, but the Cowboys drafted Danny Coale from Virginia Tech in the fifth round as a possible slot receiver. Signing a veteran could help bolster this unit, considering how Bryant and Austin battled injuries last season. Patrick Crayton comes to mind, but it's doubtful the Cowboys would go back to the talkative receiver, especially after he asked for a trade when Bryant was drafted. Jerheme Urban is another possibility but it's not known if the Cowboys like his skill set.

Running back: This position, like wide receiver, is a strength for the Cowboys. DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones are a solid 1-2 punch. Phillip Tanner can play special teams and get some snaps as a No. 3 runner, but all three running backs were injured at some point last year. Murray didn't finish the season, needing surgery to repair a broken ankle. You can't have four running backs on the roster, yet signing someone such as Patrick Cobbs (North Texas) to mainly play special teams and become an insurance policy might be a good move. Ronnie Brown, a former first-round pick, while he might not play special teams, is someone to look at too.

Punter: Chris Jones is the favorite to win the job, but Mat McBriar, who is a free agent, is recovering from leg surgery. There's some uncertainty regarding McBriar's availability for teams, because some might want him to prove he can punt after recovering from surgery. McBriar should be ready to kick in training camp. Daniel Sepulveda (Baylor) punted with Pittsburgh last season and in eight games had a 40.6 net average. If Jones struggles and McBriar is unavailable due to health or signing with another team, getting a veteran such as Sepulveda might be worthwhile.

The other day, first-round pick Morris Claiborne talked about possibly getting some reps at wide receiver.

PODCAST
Cowboys first-round pick Morris Claiborne recaps his draft experience and talks about growing up a Cowboys fan and his expectations playing in Dallas. Listen

"I would love to be a two-way player," Claiborne told Galloway and Company on Monday afternoon. "If they gave me that chance to be able to go both sides of the ball, I'll love it and I won't turn it down. I'd get in and give it 100 percent."

It sounds nice to see if Claiborne can get a few snaps at wideout, but this isn't a good idea. The Cowboys have two solid wide receivers in Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant needs as many reps as possible at the position.

There are younger receivers who also need to get practice and game reps in Raymond Radway, Andre Holmes, Dwayne Harris and now rookie Danny Coale.

We don't believe coach Jason Garrett wants to see Claiborne at wideout. If he plays another spot, it'll be on special teams as a returner.

The Cowboys don't need to entertain this.

The secondary is where the Cowboys had their biggest problems in 2011 -- some would even say 2010 as well. And if that's the case, let Claiborne learn how to play the position in the NFL.

He was a standout at LSU -- even called the best defensive player in the draft -- so don't switch him to the other side when he needs to get the time in on defense.

Coming off an 8-8 season and consecutive seasons of missing the postseason, this is not the time to experiment.

"I'm very excited to get right in and get around those guys," Claiborne said of defending Bryant and Austin in practice. "Try to learn as much as I can learn from the receiver standpoint to the cornerback standpoint. And both of those guys are great, big receivers. I'm looking forward to getting some work in with them so they can make me better."

It's not time to get cute. Just play the position you're drafted to play and keep it moving.

The Cowboys open rookie minicamp on Friday at Valley Ranch, and that makes me think about Dez Bryant, who is entering his third season this fall.

When Bryant went through his rookie minicamp in 2010, a mini-firestorm flared up concerning his conditioning -- or possible lack thereof. During his very first practice, Bryant was wheezing and bending over. On the last day of the session, he tweaked his ankle.

Bryant has battled through some health issues during his first two NFL seasons, but he caught 63 passes for 928 yards and nine touchdowns last season. He endured several games where he was almost non-existent in the second half, finishing third on the team with 370 receiving yards after halftime.

When the veteran minicamp begins in June, Bryant has to enter with the mindset that he'll be better this season. He's a better talent than Miles Austin, just not as polished. The Cowboys need Bryant to play much better than last season.

Bryant totaled 12 catches for 132 yards during the last two games of 2011. In the first meeting against the Giants, he had one catch for 50 yards. You can talk all you want about coverages and whether or not Bryant knows the routes, but you can't have a talent like Bryant finish with just one catch against anybody, let alone your divisional rivals.

The Cowboys need to find a way to get him the ball. Other good teams make sure their playmakers get the ball, so why can't the Cowboys?

Bryant led the Cowboys with 20 third-down catches that resulted in a first down. That being said, Bryant wasn't as good as Laurent Robinson when it came to finding open spots on the field when plays broke down and Tony Romo was scrambling.

One would think Bryant learned plenty from watching Robinson excel with Romo in those situations. And with wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson in Bryant's ear again, maybe things will get better.

When the rookies and undrafted free agents invade Valley Ranch this weekend and try to impress the Cowboys coaches and scouts, think about how Bryant started things.

Then think about how close he is to possibly becoming what the Cowboys expect him to be.

With the Washington Redskins releasing wide receiver Jabar Gaffney it meant two of the NFC East's leading receivers from 2011 are gone.

The Cowboys lost wide receiver Laurent Robinson, who led them 11 touchdown receptions, when he signed a five-year $32.5 million deal. Paying Robinson that type of money was too much for the Cowboys because they have Miles Austin and Dez Bryant on the roster along with tight end Jason Witten, considered one of the best at his position, to help the passing game.

Gaffney was acquired in a trade last year and excelled for the Redskins. In two games against the Cowboys, Gaffney had 12 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown. But this offseason the Redskins signed Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan in free agency and it became clear Gaffney was expendable.

It's interesting to note just how fast things change in the NFC East with the Redskins and Cowboys, who at the end of the 2011 season were on the bottom half talent wise in the division.

Washington will have a new quarterback and two new starting wideouts to start the season, the Cowboys will have a new starting running back and quite possibly two new starting cornerbacks as well.

The head coaches remained the same, but you have to say the talent level at the top of the division remains with Philadelphia and the New York Giants.

IRVING, Texas -- Over the years the Cowboys have been wildly successful finding undrafted free agents and turning them into starters. Tony Romo and Miles Austin are at the top of the list, but don’t forget about a guy like Stephen Bowen, too.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones anticipates the Cowboys adding 13-17 undrafted players.

The Cowboys have been willing to pay solid signing bonuses to undrafted players over the years, totaling more than $100,000 on occasion.

Those days are over.

According to the new collective bargaining agreement, teams can spend only $75,000 total in signing bonuses to undrafted players.

Will that discourage the Cowboys and other teams from signing players? Not really. What teams did last year to get by that rule was to guarantee a small portion of the player’s base salary so it would not count toward the $75,000 limit.

Last year the largest signing bonus the Cowboys gave was to offensive lineman Jose Acuna ($6,500). Wide receiver Lyle Leong received $6,000 to sign.

The four undrafted free agents who made the 53-man roster -- Kevin Kowalski, Dan Bailey, Alex Albright and Phillip Tanner -- combined to make $10,500 in signing bonus money. Bailey had a signing bonus of $2,500.

IRVING, Texas -- The NFL announced Tuesday rosters can expand to 90 players instead of 80 for training camp. It's the second consecutive year NFL teams can go into training camp with 90 players.

Last year was because of the lockout.

The same practice will be followed this season, and it gives teams more opportunities to find undrafted free agents who can have an impact.

"I think it’s a good thing for the NFL and a good thing for us because of our player development," executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "We pride ourselves in college free agency and at the end of the draft and it puts pressure there because there you have 32 teams trying to pick up 10 more players apiece. We look at it as a great opportunity for us to find some players. Obviously, historically we’ve done well in that area and found some really good football players at the end of the draft."

Two of the famed undrafted players on the current Cowboys roster are quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Miles Austin.

In an interview with Men's Health magazine, wide receiver Miles Austin said he wasn't in the best of shape for the 2011 season, which might have led to the hamstring problems which cost him six games.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said Austin's comments were taken out of context. However, he hasn't spoken to Austin yet.

"I think that was probably taken a little bit out of context with the way he was talking to the media," Romo said. "I haven’t talked to Miles, but that would be my guess. I was around Miles and I saw him and he was running all the time [last year]. I think what he probably meant to stress was – once again I probably don’t even want to go there because I haven’t talked to him about it – but after seeing it, it’s probably just the football metabolics. You can’t duplicate it."

Austin, who finished with 579 receiving yards last season, did try to clarify his thoughts last week.

"What I meant to say is that I felt prepared," he said last Thursday. "I felt prepared, but what I’m doing now with [strength and conditioning coach Mike] Woicik and our team is different than what I was doing."

Austin isn't one of those players you need to worry about from a physical standpoint. He's always in shape, but the lockout last year messed up several players in terms of their conditioning. Players worked out on their own with trainers not affiliated with NFL teams during the lockout.

"Miles is a guy who goes 100 miles per hour or nothing," Romo said. "He’s not a guy who just coasts because it’s the 13th rep. And, so, his greatness is that he never gets tired. He goes and goes and goes and then his body falls apart. That’s what makes him so good, so gifted. From my perspective, he was in shape. He just has to probably understand his body a little bit sometimes. He’s doing that. The guy works so hard. Anybody who talks about his work ethic has no idea about Miles Austin. That’s not him at all."