Aikman Believes Cowboys Can’t Play Any Worse

Troy Aikman is standing his ground against those preaching an immediate demise of the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.

He acknowledges that lack of proper training camp work, Michael Irvin’s probation, Jay Novacek’s bad back, Kendall Watkins’ broken leg, no sense of urgency and an overly ambitious offensive game plan helped create the 22-6 debacle in Chicago.

“We’re going to play better against the New York Giants,” Aikman says with a grin. “We can’t play any worse than last week.”

Emmitt Smith worked out in full pads and pronounced himself fit for Sunday’s game against New York.

“I’m gonna play,” Smith said after the workout.

Vikings coach claims foul

Dennis Green got a judge’s permission to tell the Minnesota Vikings’ owners details about his relationship with a woman who claims Green paid her to have an abortion.

But Green refused to answer questions about the case publicly on the day after a television station revealed details of a lawsuit the woman filed against Green this summer.

The woman claims Green got her pregnant in 1992, his first year as the Vikings coach, and later paid her to terminate the pregnancy because he believed the baby would ruin his career.

Reading a prepared statement at his lawyers’ offices in downtown Minneapolis, Green called the case “a frivolous lawsuit which now has been distorted by the media.”

Cleveland fans watch Ravens

Lots of people in Cleveland said they wouldn’t watch the Baltimore Ravens’ opener on television. They did.

According to ratings released by the city’s NBC affiliate, the former Cleveland team’s game against the Oakland Raiders did almost as well as the Browns opener last year.