Indoor facility at Valley Ranch collapses during practice

[manufan10]

I bet all Cowboy fans were wishing either Wade or Jerry himself were under the rubble.

What stupid, ignorant remarks. Why do people wish harm on other people? You may not like either, but you shouldn't wish ill will on anyone. I dislike the Lakers, but I would never want Kobe to be "under the rubble." It shows how classless some people are. I've read people saying, "Too bad Romo wasn't under there." "Jerry Jones caused this to happend by bad karma." "The Cowboys usually collapse in December." I understand some people hate this team, but when a man is left paralyzed for the rest of his life then it is no joking matter. I don't mind Cowboys jokes and making fun of the team, but using an event of this maginitude where people have been injured is just plain wrong. My prayers go out to all involved.

[duncan228]

In wake of sorrow, a football problem
Buck Harvey

They reacted as they should have. One man is paralyzed from the waist down, another had surgery Monday, and this is no time to talk football.

At least publicly. When cameras aren’t around, the Cowboys are likely already assessing how Saturday impacted them, because this is their business and this is what they do.

What they worry about: If they have to fix what they thought had been fixed.

It’s better they not say this out loud yet, and Jerry Jones knows. He was at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, enjoying himself, when news came that the Cowboys’ practice structure had collapsed on players, coaches, media and staff.

Just 10 minutes later he was standing with NBC’s Bob Costas for an interview. No one knew the extent of the injuries — or if anyone had died — and yet Costas chose to preface his question about the terrifying accident this way:

“Before we talk about the Cowboys’ home opener in their spectacular new stadium on Sunday, Sept. 20th, ‘Sunday Night Football,’ on NBC against the Giants ..... ”

What was Costas thinking? He could have mentioned a few sponsors.

So sometimes the wrong things are said. And sometimes, even if care is taken, the next comment or paragraph is likely to be out of place.

That’s the nature of sports. Few activities can look so deadly serious, then become comically trivial when life’s events step in.

This time the two mixed, all within one man. Joe DeCamillis, 43, was supposed to be the coaching solution. Now he’s part of the tragedy.

He underwent what they termed “successful” surgery Monday to stabilize a fractured vertebra in his neck. There were no signs of paralysis, and he remains in stable condition.

He should be released from the hospital later this week, and here’s wishing him well. Here’s also wishing others could have seen him Saturday morning before the storm hit.

Then, DeCamillis looked like everything the Cowboys had hoped he would be. He was vibrant, yelling and putting the rookies into proper positions. Had those unfamiliar with the Cowboys sat in on practice, they would have thought DeCamillis was the Dallas head coach.

That’s possible with nearly anyone, of course, with Wade Phillips around. And that’s a reason the Cowboys brought in DeCamillis. After an awful season of special-teams play, they needed an experienced, active leader to revamp this!area.

DeCamillis had the résumé. He got his career break by becoming Dan Reeves’ son-in-law, and he followed Reeves from Denver to New York to Atlanta. But he earned his place over 21 years, always on special teams.

Surely he could improve a Dallas group that ranked 29th in average starting field position and 22nd in net punting, right?

“I’m not a savior,” DeCamillis told the Dallas Morning News just a day before the collapse.

Jones wouldn’t mind a savior, and he gave DeCamillis the resources. The Cowboys didn’t mind picking low in the draft, in part, to find special-team players.

So there DeCamillis was on Saturday with his rookies, just beginning this journey, when the wind blew, and lives changed.

Everyone roots for him to get better.

The Cowboys, privately, still root for him to make them better.

[manufan10]

Special Teams coach Joe DeCamillis showed up to the Cowboys OTA's this week. This is good news to hear.

[samikeyp]

Special Teams coach Joe DeCamillis showed up to the Cowboys OTA's this week. This is good news to hear.

[manufan10]

CARROLLTON, Texas -- Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was supposed to take six weeks off to recover from a broken neck.
Two weeks turned out to be plenty.

NFC East blog

ESPN.com's Matt Mosley writes about all things NFC East in his division blog.
• Blog network: NFL Nation


Wearing a neck brace and shouting into a bullhorn, the Dallas Cowboys' special teams coach was back on the practice field Tuesday. That's only 15 days following surgery to repair broken vertebrae from the collapse of the team's indoor practice facility.
"He is showing a lot of toughness and dedication," tight ends coach John Garrett said. "I don't know as a special teams player how you can sit in a meeting room and not feel 100-percent dedicated while you are out there. He is an inspiration. He is a tough guy."
DeCamillis was injured when the tent-like structure fell apart during a storm May 2. Eleven others were hospitalized, including scouting assistant Rich Behm, whose spine was severed. The 33-year-old father of three is paralyzed from the waist down.
The debris also ruined the team's two outdoor fields, forcing them to use a nearby high school stadium for the next few months. Players were bused in for Tuesday's workout, the first organized team activity of the offseason. The Cowboys will have OTAs for four weeks, then hold a weeklong minicamp.

for the first day of OTAs wearing a neck brace but walking around among the players, less than three weeks after getting hurt in the collapse of Dallas' practice facility.


DeCamillis wasn't expected to be around for any of it. The club already had said assistant coach Wes Phillips would fill in for DeCamillis, with the coach scripting out the schedule and watching video at home every night.
But DeCamillis showed up at team headquarters last week and -- with his doctors' permission, insisted head coach Wade Phillips -- he spent Monday getting ready to take the field. He met with coaches at team headquarters Tuesday morning, then drove to the practice field with his wife.
DeCamillis stayed for all of the special teams work, which lasted about 20 minutes. He was in charge during that time, walking among players with notes in hand and barking out orders. This actually was his first time with the full squad after being hired just a few months ago.
"It all went well," Phillips said. "In fact, it went real well."
Because of the electric megaphone, DeCamillis' words were heard by all -- and they weren't very quotable, not after removing the expletives.
"That's the way it goes in coaching, so we're not going to change that," Phillips said, smiling. "I think it's inspirational, I really do. ... That's what you tell the team. There's things that they can do that they don't think they can do. If you can get through that barrier, you can be better in whatever you do. So that's a great example."
DeCamillis left after the special teams drills finished. He did not speak with reporters and the team declined a request for a statement from him.
Also Tuesday, golfer Rich Beem announced a fundraising campaign he's starting for the injured Cowboys staffer whose name is pronounced just like his. Fittingly, it's called Beem Fore Behm.
"If the guy's name was Bob Smith, would I have done it? I don't know, but it wasn't," Beem said. "His name was Rich Behm and you can bet I'm going to help out."
Beem is donating $100 for every birdie he shoots during PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this weekend (Byron Nelson) and next weekend (Colonial). He also will be giving his clubs and other memorabilia for an online auction and spurring more donations with the offer of a chance to win customized clubs from Calloway. A neighbor of his already has pledged $10,000 per stroke under par he shoots in the two events.
"I just have to go make birdies now," Beem said.
When Behm's name became part of the story, the golfer received several phone calls to make sure he was OK.
"It threw me for a loop a little bit, I must say," Beem said. "I was reading it on the Internet and it kind of freaked me out a little bit."
Combining the connection with the Tour's visit to the area compelled Beem to come up with some way of helping. He got the ball rolling with his agent last week and it's grown from there, with the PGA Tour and the Cowboys getting involved, too. Beem is hoping to meet Behm next week.
"I spoke to his brother today at the Cowboys' facility, and he was telling me a little bit about his brother and how much kind of a stubborn guy he is," Behm said. "He's not going to let this thing beat him, which is an amazing thing to hear.

[samikeyp]

Also Tuesday, golfer Rich Beem announced a fundraising campaign he's starting for the injured Cowboys staffer whose name is pronounced just like his. Fittingly, it's called Beem Fore Behm.

That is cool.