Pearlman writes that Michael Irvin, incensed that tackle Everett McIver, in mid-haircut, would not leave a barber chair at training camp in 1998 so Irvin could get his haircut first, stabbed McIver in the neck. McIver was rushed to the hospital and survived, but not without losing a lot of blood. Irvin's silence on the charge has been deafening. I asked a Cowboy who played on that team if the story was true. "Absolutely,'' the Cowboy said. "I'm surprised it was kept quiet over the years.''
Pearlman writes in great detail about the White House, the house of ill repute Dallas players owned and managed near Valley Ranch, and he lampoons Deion Sanders, quoting Dallas corner Kevin Smith thusly: "When Deion came in, something changed for the worse. Guys who should have been studying football on a Wednesday at 12 o'clock were focused on other things. Deion was such a freaky athlete that he could shake one leg and be ready to cover anyone. But the guys following his lead weren't nearly as talented.'
In the first defensive team meeting Sanders attended, Pearlman writes, Sanders put his feet up on a table, and when defensive coordinator Dave Campo asked him to break down a play, Sanders said, "Hey, coach. I got that dude right there. Wherever he goes, I go. All that Cover Two stuff you're talking about -- y'all work that out.''
Pearlman writes that Troy Aikman was disgusted by Sanders. And Barry Switzer too. He also notes that Switzer's liquor tab during the week of the Pittsburgh-Dallas Super Bowl in Arizona was $100,000. That's a heck of an example to set, Barry. What a great hire.
