It’s Not Exactly a Tearful Reunion

For the first time since his infamous departure as coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1994, Jimmy Johnson sat down to talk with owner Jerry Jones. The reason for the reunion was an interview for Fox Sports, Johnson’s current employer.

“Jerry missed me so much that he actually offered me a contract and I turned him down,” Johnson cracked.

The interview will be aired in two parts, the first on a special edition of “Fox NFL Sunday” on Thanksgiving Day at 12:30 p.m. and the second on the regular “Fox NFL Sunday” next weekend.

Who fired whom? Johnson, in the interview, says, “I’ve heard you say a couple of times that you fired me. If you did fire me, which I didn’t think you did, then don’t you owe me three years on my contract?”

Jones replies, “Well, I thought we made a cash settlement.... The real point is that you weren’t fired and we both agreed that it just wasn’t going to work anymore.”

Happy days: When Johnson asks Jones what he liked and didn’t like about their relationship, Jones says, “Let me begin with that I know I’m not right all the time. I also know that I wouldn’t be sitting here owning the Cowboys right now if it wasn’t for our relationship, which started over 30 years ago.

“What bothered me the most was that any time there were criticisms by other staff members or the media, they were always misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. I interpreted that as a chink in the armor of the organization. But I don’t want to tarnish things any more because, honestly, those were the happiest days I’ve ever had in my professional life.”

Another reunion, of sorts: On Thanksgiving Day, Phyllis George will make her first appearance on an NFL pregame show since her days as a regular on CBS’ “The NFL Today.”

Only George will be on Fox.

“Tune in, you’ll never know what I’ll say to [Terry] Bradshaw,” George said.

Trivia time: Who is the all-time leading scorer in college basketball?

Save it: When Fox Sports Net showed Mark Cuban celebrating after his Dallas Mavericks had defeated the Lakers, Lisa Guerrero said, “That’s great, Mark, that you’ve won 11 straight games. But until you win 11 straight games in June instead of November, maybe you should save the celebration.”

Transparent: CBS’ Dan Marino, explaining the codes the Miami Dolphins had for calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, said, “If it was ‘blue,’ that meant sky for pass. ‘Green’ meant ground for run

It seems opponents could have eventually figured that out.

Trivia answer: Pete Maravich is all-time leading scorer in college basketball with 3,667 points and a 44.6-point average in three seasons at Louisiana State (1967-70).

Finally: On last week’s edition of HBO’s “Inside the NFL,” highlights from the San Francisco 49er-San Diego Charger game included a shot of the 49ers’ Terrell Owens scoring a touchdown, planting the ball under his shoe and striking a celebratory pose.

Shortly thereafter, a microphone picked up Owens saying, “I can’t stand myself.”

-- Larry Stewart