Watchdog

Just got off a conference call with Jerry Jones, NFL Films boss Steve Sabol and HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg to discuss the premiere Wednesday night of the latest edition of "Hard Knocks," featuring the Cowboys.

More on that in the paper next week. But just to stir up trouble I asked Sabol whether he considered the Giants for this season's show, given the fact their head coach would be as likely to give cameras unlimited access behind the scenes at training camp as he would be to go club-hopping with the Jeremy Shockey in Vegas.

"We were thinking about them this year, but the Cowboys were our first choice,'' said Sabol, who acknowledged Tom Coughlin likely would have been reluctant. (Not to mention Giants ownership.) "A lot depends on the head coach," he said.

Sabol said the Bucs and Saints also were considered.

"The Cowboys were our first choice, so it never went beyond talking to Jerry and Wade [Phillips] about it."

By the way, Sabol called the Cowboys "the presumptive Super Bowl favorite." Really? Why?

Jones said one of the highlights NFL Films' cameras caught during the first week of camp was Jessica Simpson's father checking out the site the day before she was to visit.