{"id":395553,"date":"2026-08-02T13:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T13:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/395553\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T13:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T13:54:10","slug":"fishs-dallas-cowboys-all-time-top-10-training-camp-moments-glory-hole-for-everybody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/395553\/","title":{"rendered":"Fish’s Dallas Cowboys All-Time Top 10 Training Camp Moments: ‘Glory Hole’ for Everybody!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

OXNARD, Calif. – We\u2019re embarking on what is for me my 37th Dallas Cowboys training camp … and if only due to longevity, it figures that even a blind Fish would stumble across a couple of acorns.<\/p>\n

Or something like that.<\/p>\n

Since 1990, if it happened in an \u201cAmerica\u2019s Team\u2019\u2018 summer, I\u2019ve been there to chronicle it, as I am again this time around here in Oxnard, Calif.<\/p>\n

So … under the colorful leadership of Jerry Jones, it\u2019s happening again … though this group of 2026 Cowboys will be challenged to make my Top 10 List of Cowboys Training Camp Tales … a collection of \u201cacorns\u2019\u2018 that combines major news stories, hilarious quotes, dangerous behavior, and in the end, three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

To wit …<\/p>\n

10 – WHERE\u2019S EMMITT? In the spring of 1993, as the Cowboys were prepping to defend their Super Bowl XXVII title, MVP and two-time league rushing champion Emmitt Smith told me he would be seeking \u201cQuarterback Money\u2019\u2018 in a new contract.<\/p>\n

Jerry balked … all the way into the regular season, when Dallas started 0-2. Charles Haley smashed his helmet into a locker-room-area wall in a symbolic protest against Jones\u2019 stubbornness … and the owner relented.<\/p>\n

After Emmitt had demanded a trade and threatened to retire, Jones gaver him a four-year, $13.6 million contract to make him the highest-paid running back in NFL history.<\/p>\n

Quarterback Money.<\/p>\n

Roster Rankings: Do Dallas Cowboys Boast NFL\u2019s Best \u2018Triplets\u2019?<\/p>\n

When it comes to offensive firepower, the Cowboys are better than most, but are they at No. 1?<\/p>\n

9 – SWITZER\u2019S PUNCH New head coach Barry Switzer felt under attack by the media, so he attacked iconic Channel 8 sports anchor Dale Hansen on live TV.<\/p>\n

Switzer accused Hansen of \u201cfabricating stories\u2019\u2018 about what Hansen termed a \u201cpower struggle\u201d amid assistants on the staff. (Hansen wasn\u2019t lying.)<\/p>\n

As the former Oklahoma coach and Jones pal made each of his points, he either slapped at or outright punched Hansen\u2019s shoulder and arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis,\u2019\u2018 quipped Hansen, \u201cis starting to hurt a little bit.\u2019\u2018<\/p>\n

8 – UNKINDEST CUT Offensive lineman Everett McIver thought it was his turn to get a haircut. Team leader Michael Irvin – in what he later described to me as \u201ca moment of temporary insanity\u2019\u2018 – insisted it was his turn.<\/p>\n

And in the conflict at the Wichita Falls camp … Irvin grabbed a pair of scissors and swung, creating a wound in McIver\u2019s neck that would require 18 stitches.<\/p>\n

7 – TUNA VS. \u2018THE PLAYER\u2019 Terrell Owens was immature. But in a way? So was Bill Parcells, who in 2006 opted to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with even having T.O. by refusing to call the future Hall-of-Famer by name.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Player,\u2019\u2018 is how Parcells – himself also a future HOF\u2019er – talked of Owens.<\/p>\n

Owens spent so much time nursing injuries at camp by riding an exercise bike that one day he wore a Lance Armstrong yellow Tour de France jersey.<\/p>\n

The coach didn\u2019t laugh. Little wonder that team never really bonded. And yes, it was as much the mercenary coach Parcells\u2019 fault as anybody\u2019s.<\/p>\n

6 – QUINCY! In 2003, Dallas thought it finally had an acceptable replacement for the retired Troy Aikman as quarterback Quincy Carter helped the Cowboys to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.<\/p>\n

But in the shroud of a 2004 night, Carter left Oxnard … and we soon learned that due to his substance-abuse problem, he was to be cut by the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

5 – SHULA\u2019S JAW The 1990 Cowboys were camping in Southern California and guys like Troy Aikman and Daryl Johnston? They were still kids, trying to find their way … and a little bit of late-night fun.<\/p>\n

But they were among a handful of fellas who missed curfew and were greeted by David Shula, who was the offensive coordinator. Shula – who didn\u2019t seem much older than the players themselves, and who also didn\u2019t have much gravitas – lectured and hooted and wagged his finger …<\/p>\n

And then Johnston took a swing at the famous Shula (Jr.) Jaw … missing the coach but creating a hole in a hotel lobby wall.<\/p>\n

Aikman and Johnston eventually made their marks in Dallas, as you know. Shula eventually opened a restaurant in Miami, or something.<\/p>\n

4 – MICAH\u2019S NAP Jerry and Micah Parsons thought they had a deal in the spring of 2025. Parsons\u2019 agent David Mulugheta disagreed. And thus began one of the most infamous (and infantile) contract protests of all-time, culminating in Parsons\u2019 decision to show up to a preseason game at AT&T Stadium …<\/p>\n

But not to play.<\/p>\n

Instead, he walked up and down the tunnel eating pregame nachos. And once his teammates took the field, he chose to lie down atop a table and pretend to take a nap.<\/p>\n

Parsons\u2019 theatrics worked. Shortly thereafter, he was traded to the Packers.<\/p>\n

A year later, the Cowboys remain desperate for a defensive stud like Micah Parsons. But it\u2019s gotta be somebody who doesn\u2019t sleep during games.<\/p>\n

3 – JIMMY\u2019S PRANK – AGAINST ME! It was August 1993, and I was in London with the team for a preseason game. My teammate Richie Whitt and I decided it couldn\u2019t hurt to skip just one meaningless walk-through practice in order to tour the city – once-in-a-lifetime, right?<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

When coach Jimmy Johnson realized we\u2019d missed the workout, he put an army of Cowboys people into action – from Troy Aikman to Michael Irvin all the way up to Jerry Jones – to prank us.<\/p>\n

He staged an elaborate and emotional scene in which cameras caught him railing against Jones\u2019 interference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sick of this (expletive)!\u201d Johnson yelled. \u201cIf I can\u2019t have my best players, then his (expletive) can start coaching this team!!\u201d<\/p>\n

As a \u201cfavor\u2019\u2018 to Whitt and me – once we ambled back to the team hotel – a Channel 4 cameraman showed us the video.<\/p>\n

Oh my God! Our newspaper sent us all the way to London and we\u2019d missed the story of the summer!<\/p>\n

We scrambled. Called sources. Got confirmation. And very quickly wrote a story that would appear in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a few hours.<\/p>\n

And then we got summoned to Jimmy\u2019s hotel room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow was your vacation, ladies?!\u201d he taunted. \u201cGotcha! … I bet you won\u2019t miss any more of my walk-throughs, huh?\u2019\u2018<\/p>\n

It was a fake. A flattering (the great \u201cJimmy Jenius\u2019\u2018 noticed us?!) fake.<\/p>\n

2 – FALL FROM GRACE This is my answer to those who think, \u201cThe Cowboys should\u2019ve won six straight Super Bowls!\u2019\u2018<\/p>\n

In the summer of 1997, Irvin was just a year removed from a felony conviction, Nate Newton was accused of sexual assault, Erik Williams was served with a paternity suit and Leon Lett was suspended 13 games for failing a drug test … and by the time the Cowboys left St. Edward\u2019s University in Austin, players had trashed the place.<\/p>\n

Guys get old. Tired. Bored. Arrogant. Whatever. Three Super Bowl wins in four years will simply have to do.Since 1990, if it happened in an \u201cAmerica\u2019s Team\u2019\u2018 summer, I\u2019ve been there to chronicle it, as I am again this time around here in Oxnard, Calif.<\/p>\n

1 – \u2018GLORY HOLE!\u2019 In 2012, Jerry launched into his annual \u201cState of the Union Address\u201d by explaining just how much he craves Super Bowl success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want me some glory hole!\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n

What does that phrase mean to most people? (I\u2019ll let you look it up, but don\u2019t allow the kiddies to peek over your shoulder.)<\/p>\n

What does that phrase mean to Jerry? Team PR boss Rich Dalrymple tried to keep a straight face by swearing that \u201cglory hole\u2019\u2018 is a well-known oil-drilling phrase.<\/p>\n

But Jerry wouldn\u2019t play along.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u2019\u2018 Jones said. \u201cThat\u2019s news to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And to this day, I\u2019ve unbendingly called the annual \u201cState of the Union Address\u201d the \u201cAnnual Glory-Hole Press Conference.\u2019\u2018<\/p>\n

Like what you see? Try<\/a> the Fish Report!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OXNARD, Calif. – We\u2019re embarking on what is for me my 37th Dallas Cowboys training camp … and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-395553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}