Dirk Nowitzki defends Tony Romo

On the day the locked-out NBA was supposed to start training camp, Dirk Nowitzki decided to take on a difficult defensive assignment.

Nowitzki defended beleaguered Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who is being ripped after his three-interception performance keyed the biggest blown lead in franchise history during Sunday's 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions.

"Dear tony romo. Don't worry abt all the critics," Nowitzki wrote on his Twitter account. "I heard that same garbage for a long time. Keep working hard and keep improving."

Nowitzki silenced the critics by leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA championship last season. It was sweet vindication for a superstar often stereotyped as soft. His team had blown a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals five years earlier and made three first-round playoff exits in the next four seasons.

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/7054627/dallas-mavericks-dirk-nowitzki-backs-dallas-cowboys-tony-romo

Another Dallas thread? Who woulda thunk?

But last I heard there were at least 21 other players on the team and a couple of coaches.