PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : Cowboys’ Smith Wired for Title Game

Running back Emmitt Smith showed continued improvement from his pulled hamstring on Thursday as he bounced around the Dallas Cowboys’ locker room in Texas.

At one point, Smith had electrodes that had been attached to his left hamstring in his hand.

“Need to get these reattached,” he said.

Smith has vowed to play in Sunday’s NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers even if Candlestick Park is a swamp.

“I’m a pretty good mudder,” Smith said. “But I’ll be out there.”

Reggie Roberts of the NFL office said “the field is still a little wet right now, but we think it could be fine on Sunday.”

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New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner announced he is part of a group that has offered to buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and keep the team in town.

Steinbrenner, who refused to say how much his group offered or name his partners, made his announcement amid speculation the team could be sold to those planning to move the team to Baltimore.

“I’m not a white knight,” Steinbrenner told a news conference. “I’m a gray-haired old man.”

Steinbrenner answered carefully when asked if his group’s bid would top the $205 million offered by Peter Angelos to move the team to Baltimore. Angelos is owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

“We finished ahead of the Orioles last year,” Steinbrenner joked. “I don’t like losing to the Orioles or to Peter, but he’s a worthy competitor for this team.”