California, here they come

California, here they come

IRVING (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys already knew that to start strong in 2005 they needed to do well in California in late July and August. They learned Wednesday that they better keep it up out there in September and early October, too.

After holding training camp in Oxnard, Calif., the Cowboys will play three of their first four games in California. They open in San Diego, then after playing Washington at home on a Monday night, Dallas will have games at San Francisco and Oakland.

The Cowboys' first home game on a Sunday is Oct. 9, when they play host to the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. That game will kick off at 3:15 p.m., so Dallas won't have a noon game until the following week, Oct. 16, against the division rival New York Giants.

Then it's back out to the West Coast for a game at Seattle. That makes four of the first seven games in the Pacific Time Zone.

"Playing four games on the West Coast will present some challenges, but we knew a long time ago that those games were on the schedule," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "I actually like the fact that we get that part of our road schedule over with in the first half of the season."

The payback for the heavy early travel schedule is a long stretch at home.

Starting with the game against the Eagles, the Cowboys have an eight-week span featuring only two road games - against the Seahawks on Oct. 23, and Monday night, Nov. 14, at Philadelphia. That span also includes five home games and a bye the first weekend of November. It wraps up with Denver visiting Texas Stadium for the annual Thanksgiving Day game.

Perhaps in exchange for working that holiday, the Cowboys will be off on Christmas even though it falls on a Sunday. Instead, Dallas will play at Carolina on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.

The finale will be New Year's Day, but fans can sleep in because the game is at night, at home against St. Louis. It will be the second straight season the NFL concludes with a Cowboys game and the first time Dallas has ever played a regular-season game on Jan. 1.

Despite coming off a 6-10 season, the Cowboys still have enough star power to attract four nationally televised games - the pair on Monday night, Thanksgiving and the Sunday night finale. Jones proudly noted three of them are at home.

"It's a nice showcase for our region," he said, "and it's special for fans at the stadium."

+ Super Bowl in Big D? : The Cowboys have played in a record eight Super Bowls, winning a record-tying five. About the only thing they haven't done is host the big game - and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is confident that will change once the team moves into its fancy new home.

"Whether it's 2011 or 2012, I'm quite certain you'll see a Super Bowl in that stadium soon after it opens," Tagliabue said Tuesday during an appearance in Dallas.

The Cowboys used the lure of a Super Bowl as part of their campaign to get voters in Arlington to approve raising taxes to pay for $325 million of the stadium's $650 million price tag. The 75,000-seat, retractable-roof facility is scheduled to open in time for the 2009 season, making the 2010 game the first it would be eligible to host.

With New York tentatively getting that game, the Cowboys already are eagerly eyeing the next available slot.

"I think it has a helluva shot of getting it," Tagliabue said. "Nothing in life is a shoe-in. There will be competition for it."

Jones likes his chances.

"We know the type of facility we're going to have is going to be attractive for the Super Bowl - not only initially, but Super Bowls," he said.

+ NFL adopts new drug rule : The NFL and its players have agreed to follow stricter standards for testosterone levels for the start of the 2005 season.

Tagliabue said Tuesday the union had approved the new standards, which continue the NFL practice of using the guidelines set by the Olympics.

Under the previous guideline used by the International Olympic Committee and the NFL, a ratio above 6:1 of testosterone to epitestosterone, another natural hormone, was considered a failed test. Now it's 4:1.

The most likely natural ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in humans is 1:1.

"I know we've reached some preliminary agreements with the players last week and we'll probably finalize them next week," Tagliabue said during a speech in Dallas

The NFL's program - which includes random testing and suspensions for first-time failures - has been widely credited as being among the toughest in professional sports.