Cowboy Owner Jones Proves to Be a Champion of Largesse

No one can accuse Dallas Cowboy management of skimping on postseason rewards for its players and coaches.

In appreciation of last January’s Super Bowl victory against the Buffalo Bills, each Cowboy player recently received a smaller replica of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is presented to the winning team owner.

The replicas, which are about two-thirds the size of the real thing, feature the names and jersey numbers of each member of the team. Owner Jerry Jones paid for all 98 of the trophies.

Jones also paid top dollar for the players’ and coaches’ Super Bowl rings, which cost $7,500 each.

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Add extravagance: Finishing a close second to Jerry Jones are the friends of Frank Lyman.

Frank who?

Lyman is a Montreal business executive whose friends chipped in and bought the golf services of Lee Trevino as a 50th birthday present. Lyman and his nine pals assembled at Willbrook Plantation Golf Course near Myrtle Beach, S.C., in April for a one-day golf fest.

Lyman shot an 88 and received personal instruction from Trevino.

“They wouldn’t tell me how much it cost,” Lyman told USA Today. “But if I had to pay it out of my own pocket to do this again, I would.”

Trevino usually gets $40,000 per outing.

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Trivia time: Who was the first U.S. Open winner to play each of the four rounds under par?

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Food for thought: Sidelined recently because of a sore back, Cincinnati Red outfielder Kevin Mitchell returned to the lineup and promptly hit a home run in his first at-bat.

Mitchell, who is battling a bit of a weight problem, later watched as Red reliever Rod Dibble blew a ninth-inning lead to the Atlanta Braves. The Braves went on to win the game in extra innings.

Afterward, in the Cincinnati clubhouse, an angry Dibble took out his rage on the postgame buffet. Mitchell’s diet fare didn’t survive Dibble’s tirade.

“I asked him how come he couldn’t save the cantaloupe . . . that was my dinner,” Mitchell said. “Can’t we all get along?”

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Not to worry: So much for the value of pre-draft workouts.

According to Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel, the NBA general managers and player personnel directors still are crazy about Chris Webber.

“Webber, the power forward from Michigan, didn’t impress anyone with his shooting touch when he worked out in Orlando (recently), but that is not expected to deter the Magic from taking him with the No. 1 pick. Despite the myriad offers they are sure to receive, the Magic have no plans to trade the top selection.”

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No questions asked: Based on her newspaper ad, a golf widow in Midland, Tex., has had it with her husband’s love of the game:

“Lost: Golfing Husband and Dog--last seen at Ratliff Ranch Golf Links. Reward for dog.”

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Trivia answer: Trevino. In 1968, Trevino shot 69-68-69-69 and beat Jack Nicklaus by four strokes at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

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Quotebook: Florida Marlin pitcher Charlie Hough on becoming only the 13th player older than 45 to hit safely in a major league game: “I used to have a bat contract, even had my signature on the bats. They stopped making them, though, apparently because one hit in 13 years isn’t too good.”