Nowitzki Suing For Custody, FBI Investigating Taylor

((HT: MyFoxDFW))

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki wants sole custody of his former girlfriend's unborn child -- if genetic testing proves he's the father -- according to a court petition.

Nowitzki seeks to be the sole managing conservator of the child due to be born to Crystal Taylor ((pictured, thanks MyFoxDFW)), who was arrested at the player's Dallas home May 6 and is now an inmate in the Jefferson County jail in Beaumont.

The document, a petition to adjudicate parentage, was filed in state district court in Dallas on June 12. It was sealed Friday, shortly after its details were reported by the Beaumont Enterprise.

Neither Nowitzki nor Taylor is specifically named in the petition. However, the petitioner is identified as "D.N." and the respondent as "C.T." The document also outlines circumstances similar to those made public by Taylor, who has said repeatedly that Nowitzki is the father.

Taylor's attorney, Scott Renick, told the Beaumont newspaper that his client knew the documents had been filed but he didn't comment on them. Renick did not immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press.

Nowitzki's attorney in the matter, Katherine Kinser, was unavailable Friday, according to a woman who answered the phone at her office.

Taylor is being held in the Jefferson County jail in lieu of $50,000 bond. She is accused of paying for almost $11,000 in dental work with a credit card she didn't have permission to use. She also faces a probation violation charge in Missouri.

Taylor was administered a pregnancy test when she was booked into the Dallas County jail after her arrest last month, and the test came back positive, she told reporters.

The petition notes that the petitioner has been repeatedly cited as the father of the child by the respondent. It requests that genetic testing be ordered.

The document also contains a request from the petitioner that records in the case be sealed, but that wasn't done until midmorning Friday.

MyFoxDFW's Natalie Solis sits in a studio and gives us details...

But wait, it gets better...

ESPN's John Barr moves this story along a little bit...

Apparently, the FBI is looking in to allegedly threatening phone calls Taylor made to Nowitzki's attorney.

"Taylor's prison phone calls allegedly contained threats as well as demands for money from Nowitzki, whom she has referred to in numerous media interviews as her former fiancé, and many of Taylor's phone calls were made to the offices of Nowitzki's Dallas-based attorney, the sources said."

The Dallas Morning News goes a little deeper into the Taylor saga.

Cristal Taylor, in an article by Brad Townsend, has given birth to three other children- none of whom she has raised. A former roommate spoke to the DMN- pretty good stuff...

Let's all rub our hands together on this one and twist our collective mustaches awaiting the Taylor proceedings in late July...

Cowboys Facility Builder may be in trouble

Ok, so now that the appropriate people are on the case and investigating the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys indoor practice facility, lots of red flags are starting to come out. Apparently, according to several media outlets, the builder of the facility, Summit Structures LLC and their subsidiary Cover-All Building Systems have had some problems on several of their projects.

((photo courtesy: Ron Jenkins/Fort Worth Star-Telegram))

Check out the story from Kansas City.com here

Also, the Dallas Morning News reports that the engineer who worked for the group and designed the Cowboys facility, also worked on a facility in Philadelphia that collapsed in 2003.

Check out their investigation here

Needless to say, as the investigating contiues more issues seem to be coming out. Also of interest to us was a report from the Houston Chronicle which says that apparently, former Cowboys Coach/Lord, Bill Parcells had some ties to the company in question and it was one of his first orders of business upon arriving in big "D" in 2003.

Check out the Chronicle story here

Also, here is an interview done by CBS's Harry Smith with Brett Kelly of KTVT, who was there when the building collapsed.

((courtesy: CBS.com))

Because of the magnitude of what happened, there undoubtedly will be more to come out of this story. It appears at this time that everyone is about to lawyer up and expect that things will get messy. We here at the OSG will stay on top of this...because it should get "Very Interesting".

Tuesday Cowboys Update: DeCamillis, Behm

((HT: picture, thanks Ron Jenkins/ Star Telegram. Story- DMN/MacMahon/Townsend))

"We're pleased everything went as well as we expected it to," said DeCamillis' father-in-law, former NFL coach and Cowboys player Dan Reeves.

He said the family is encouraged but cautious about any complications.

"We're not out of the woods," Reeves said. "We'll keep praying. We're just thankful and truly blessed and hope everything continues."

Given the location of the injury and the absence of paralysis, "the prognosis is excellent," said Dr. David Rothbart, a neurosurgeon and founder and medical director of Southlake-based Spine Team Texas.

Dr. Rothbart, who is not involved with DeCamillis' treatment, said the typical recovery for most operations of this type is six to eight weeks. Based on that timetable, DeCamillis could return for training camp, Dr. Rothbart said.

Reeves said DeCamillis faces about two months of physical rehabilitation, according to his doctors. DeCamillis, 43, was hired in January to turn around a special teams unit that struggled much of last season.

"Once he has completely healed, he should have an excellent chance at being able to take part in the full aspect of coaching activities," Dr. Rothbart said.

A trust fund has been established for the family of Rich Behm. Bank of America, in conjunction with the Dallas Cowboys, will begin accepting donations on behalf of Behm and his wife and three young children starting today.

"We've had an overwhelming number of phone calls and correspondence from friends and fans who want to know how they can help Rich and his family," said Cowboys public relations director Rich Dalrymple. "We are grateful to Bank of America for helping us get this moving so quickly."

Behm was paralyzed from the waist down during the accident involving the Cowboys indoor practice facility on Saturday.

BY MAIL:
Donations will be accepted by mail at the following location:
Bank of America
c/o Shelby Kirksey
5500 Preston Road, Suite B
Dallas, Texas 75205
Checks made payable to Rich Behm Family Trust Fund

IN PERSON:
Also, those wishing to help the family can walk into any Bank of America branch and specify that they would like to make a donation in person to the Rich Behm Family Trust Fund.

Fox4's Matt Grubs has the update on the investigation...

DMN Report: Cowboys Didn't Have Roof Work Inspected

((HT: DMN/Formby, Carlton, Egerton))

The Dallas Cowboys applied last year for a building permit to replace the high-tension fabric roof on the indoor practice facility that collapsed Saturday and injured 12 people ((pictured, thanks Ron Jenkins/Star-Telegram)). But the team never had city officials inspect any completed work, which is required by Irving's building code.

In city documents released Monday, the team is listed as the general contractor for the reroofing project that was estimated to cost $600,000. Irving does not issue a building permit unless the general contractor is registered with the city. The Cowboys registered as a general contractor on the same day they requested a permit for the roof work.

City officials were aware that work began on the roof last year but never received word from the team that it was complete.

Team officials declined to answer questions about the work Monday.

It was unclear Monday what level of rains or winds the building was built to withstand. The roles that weather and the structure's design or construction played in the collapse may not be known for months.

OSHA investigators will interview witnesses, survey the site and "get as much information as we can" to determine what specifically brought the building down.

No findings will be made public until OSHA completes its investigation, which could take up to six months.

"Every case is different," said OSHA spokeswoman Elizabeth Todd.

The site will not be cleared until agency officials have completed their investigation, Todd said.

Gary Miller, the city's planning and inspections director, said the city probably will not pursue a building code violation citation. He said that if the building were still standing, the city's approach would have first been to issue a warning notice.

But he said city officials will closely watch the results of any investigations.

"We would rely on any reports that come out of this investigation just to become more intelligent out of what happened," Miller said.

Here are the 911 calls from the complex ((Thanks, DMN-MacMahon- who made Call #1))
Call 1
Call 2
Call 3
Statement from Summit Structures

8:30 Update: Cowboys Facility Collapse

((HT: Myfoxdfw.com/KDFW))

There were about 70 people in the facility, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said. ((The facility is pictured, thanks myfoxdfw.com))

Ten of the injured were taken by emergency vehicles. Two others went to hospitals on their own.

"This worked out very, very well from a medical point of view," said Dr. Paul Pepe, head of emergency medical services for Dallas County. "Right now, I think we don't have anybody who is in a life-threatening situation."

The white, tent-like building is large enough to be seen from miles away. It was built in 2003, for Bill Parcells' first season as coach.

Storms often make loud noises inside the so-called bubble, but this time overhead lights swayed violently. One of the team's video staff was the first out the door, followed by Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com. Eatman was hit by something and went down a few feet away, then heard someone screaming for help. He recognized it was Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News.

Eatman and colleague Josh Ellis tried freeing Archer but the structure wouldn't budge. "It was like a car," Eatman said. Then safety DeAngelo Smith and linebacker Brandon Williams were able to get it up just enough for Archer to squirm out.

"All I saw was blue jerseys," said Archer, whose right elbow and legs were scraped. "I was trapped, I couldn't move. Then those guys lifted it up -- not very far, but I was able to move from my side to my back. ... Once I got out of there, I looked back and the whole thing was down."

Archer said that as he fled for shelter, other players appeared to be stepping through the debris looking for others in need of help.

Eatman said one of the swaying lights wound up more than two football fields away. The giant blue star atop the building lay crumpled on the ground. The storm knocked out power at team headquarters and splintered trees across the property.

Larry Rodriguez, a local television cameraman who was in the news several years ago after he was attacked by Kenny Rogers while filming the former Texas Rangers pitcher, was treated with six stitches for a cut on a hand.

"We checked and we can't find any other damage than this particular location," said David Tull, an Irving police spokesman. "The nearby area didn't have any reports of structural damage."

Here's video of the collapse from Rodriguez's camera...

DMN's Todd Archer on the Collapse

((HT: NBC5-Dallas))

Cowboys beat writer Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning news was trapped underneath one of the exit doors after the practice facility came crashing down. Two of the Cowboys players actually moved some of the debris so Archer could wiggle his way out from underneath it all.

Here's his account...

"We're lucky no one got electrocuted with all the water in the building," head coach Wade Phillips told NBC5. "A couple of players had minor injuries, but they were all right."
"I saw it coming down and didn't have time to react," secondary coach Dave Campo said. "I hit the ground and was able to get back up."

T.O. Out The Door

The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star - Telegram are reporting that Terrell Owens has, in the words of the Dallas Morning News, been fired by the Dallas Cowboys. A harsher term to the fact that T.O. has been released.

Jerry Jones had to make a change after the Cowboys imploded last year and missed the playoffs. Owens is 35, his ego is now writing checks his declining talent can't cash and was a cancer in the locker room. He had to go.

The Cowboys will take a salary cap hit. Owens will count $9.675 million in dead money for the 2009 season, however the team will lose only $680,000 in actual salary-cap room by cutting him.

Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News adds his take to T.O.’s out route in Dallas.

Jim Reeves of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram says by getting rid of T.O., the Cowboys gain a football team.

The posse at the OSG HQ are thrilled the T.O. is S.O.L. in Dallas. The act it over, move on and become an ESPN football analyst. Or just go away.

Photo Courtesy: AP

UPDATE: Jerry Jones isn't done on the firing line. OSG has found out that safety Roy Williams has also been released from the Dallas Cowboys. Williams was sidelined most of the 2008 season with a forearm injury. Sorry Roy and T.O. for that matter, you won't be able to play at Jerry's new palace with the Silver Star on the side of your helmet.