In professional sports, talent almost always trumps everything. The list of players who've been given second, third and even fourth chances was long before Bryant's name was added. Ultimately, though, the plan is bound to fail. No matter how great the lure of a possible Super Bowl run - and it's a long shot for the Cowboys even with Bryant - you can't babysit a grown man forever. The NFL Referees Association with Adidas Originals Men Running Shoes Black-White-Red was locked out in early June and talks on a new collective bargaining agreement have gone nowhere. Replacements have been used throughout the preseason, with mixed results. In 2001, the NFL used replacements for the first week of the regular season before a contract was finalized.

The speed of the game and the amount of time starters are on the field increase exponentially for real games, making the replacements' task more challenging. Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, told the clubs in a memo Wednesday that the replacements will work ''as much of the regular season with new Adidas Originals Men Running Shoes Black-White-Red as necessary,'' adding that training with each crew will continue. The NFL noted it has expanded the use of instant replay as an officiating tool this year to include all scoring plays and turnovers. Officiating supervisors will be on hand to assist the crews on game administration issues.

Anderson said the sides remain considerably apart on economic issues, including salary and retirement benefits. He also told the teams there is a substantial difference on operational issues. One of our key goals in this negotiation is to enhance our ability to recruit, train, and replace officials who are not performing adequately,'' Anderson said. ''We believe that officials should be evaluated and performance issues addressed in the same way as players with Adidas Originals Men Running Shoes Black-White-Red as wholesale fashion shoes, coaches, club management and league staff. We have proposed several steps to accomplish this, including having a number of full-time officials and expanding the overall number of officials.''