Tiger Woods jetted straight from the Presidents Cup in San Francisco last Sunday to Dallas to hang out with Cowboys QB Tony Romo and attend Monday night’s U2 Concert at JerryWorld. Tiger’s presence, which was a highly guarded secret, created quite a stir in the luxury suites, even from people you wouldn’t expect to be star struck. Among those he wound up posing for photos with were Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Jones’ son Stephen, Troy Aikman and Wade Phillips. On Tuesday, Woods lifted weights with Romo at Dallas’ training facility. “He’s an impressive guy,” advised Phillips, who said he had a nice visit with the world’s No. 1 golfer. “He asked a lot of football-related questions that made it obvious he’s pretty interested in the Cowboys. I think he and Tony text quite a bit.” . . . Jamaal Charles did two things to impress Phillips last Sunday in Kansas City. First, the Memorial ex caught five passes for 54 yards, then he went out of his way to look up the Cowboys coach after the game. “We probably talked for a couple of minutes about Southeast Texas stuff, said Phillips, who was already aware his beloved PN-G Indians were 6-0 at the time and that Charles’ Titans had upset North Shore. “I haven’t been around Jamaal much, but I was impressed he took the time to find me like that. He sure made me nervous during the game. He’s a real threat catching the ball coming out of the backfield. I’ll be pulling for him to go on and have a really good season. I’d love to see him help the Chiefs beat Washington this week.”

Bridge City’s Matt Bryant is still waiting to get back in the NFL, after getting a raw deal from Tampa Bay at the end of the pre-season. Bryant’s only phone call to date has been from Cleveland, but the timing of the tryout — the anniversary of his infant son’s death — and the fact he hadn’t practiced with a snapper and a holder, worked against him. The good news is that he’s caught on with the Florida Tuskers of the new United Football League and kicked field goals of 22, 41 and 30 yards in a 29-14 win at Las Vegas Wednesday night. “The main thing is that I’m going to be able to stay sharp by kicking in a competitive situation,” Bryant said. “Plus, it looks like this is the best team in the league. Hopefully I can help them win a championship.” . . . The Houston Texans missed two different chances to sign former UT great Cedric Benson and now must deal with him Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati. Benson, who is pretty much under the radar with the Bengals, has gone from being a bust with the Chicago Bears to the NFL’s leading rusher with his new team. He’s No. 1 in both rushing yards (487) and number of carries (111). Obviously all the guy needed was a change of scenery and the right system. Incidentally, one of the linemen clearing the way for Benson is Beaumont Central ex Anthony Collins. He’ll be wearing No. 73 . . . PN-G ex Chris Stroud, who needs to collect one nice-sized paycheck to move up from 128 on the money list and insure his PGA Tour card for next year, looked like he was on the way Saturday. Stroud, after making birdies on three of the final four holes Friday to make the cut by one stroke, was five under through seven holes Saturday and rocketing up the leaderboard. He played the final 11 holes four over, however, and is tied for 52nd.

Gotta give about four thumbs up to PN-G’s first year coach Brandon Faircloth, his staff and what has become a very good football team. Every time I see the Indians, I’m a little more impressed with what they are doing on both sides of the ball. I’m especially impressed with the way Faircloth calls a game from the sidelines. I’d hate to be a defensive coordinator trying to establish tendencies on the Indians’ offense. Throw in the superior facilities at PN-G and you’ve got something pretty special going on . . . Much as I am turned off by Rush Limbaugh for being a hate monger who plays fast and loose with the truth, I have to give the guy credit for his brilliance. Given what he stands for, Limbaugh knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he’d be approved as part of an NFL ownership team. He also knew the mere fact he was involved would create a publicity firestorm around him that he could milk, and even use to play the role of victim. So I’m giving the devil his due for a brilliant game plan executed almost to perfection . . . Here’s another reason why Limbaugh couldn’t have been serious about wanting to be part of the NFL. With its revenue sharing, salary cap and common draft, few businesses in America are geared more to socialism than the NFL. Former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell even bragged about it a few years ago when pointing out how a small town like Green Bay could be successful in the NFL. “We’re 26 Republicans (NFL owners) who vote Socialist,” crowed Modell. Given Rush’s raving against the evils of socialism, there’s no way he could have embraced the NFL’s policies. Could he ? ? ?

Most intriguing name on the Houston Astros list of managerial candidates is Phil Garner. That would be the same Phil Garner who took the Astros to a seventh game before losing the 2004 NLCS to St. Louis, then guided them to their only World Series appearance in 2005. Two years later he was gone, replaced by Cecil Cooper and we all know how that worked out. It would be highly unusual for a team to rehire a guy it booted out the door, and maybe even more unusual for owner Drayton McLane to admit a mistake, but the fact Garner has interviewed makes you think something is going on. Whoever gets the Houston job, I hope he has the sense to talk to TJ ex Xavier Hernandez about being his pitching coach . . . If Lincoln ex Stephen Jackson really wants Golden State to trade him, and it certainly appears that he does, he might be going about it the wrong way. Publicly trashing Warriors coach Don Nelson and his teammates, the way Jackson did last week, will only send up a red flag to other organizations. In addition, it will lead to low ball offers from teams who see Golden State as having little leverage because of Jackson’s being so adamant about wanting to get away from a situation which seemed so upbeat as recently as last season . . . One of the highest status symbols for college and professional athletes is the number of Sports Illustrated covers upon which they appear. Florida’s Tim Tebow is the runaway winner among college football players. Tebow landed on his seventh SI cover this week, after returning from a concussion to lead the Gators to a 13-3 victory over LSU in Death Valley.

If you are a college basketball nut, you might want to invest in the recently published ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. With a glowing introduction written by Hall of Famer Bill Bradley, the publication is devoted to anything and everything that’s college basketball from the time Dr. James Naismith nailed up the peach basket. Included is a section on all 330 Division 1 programs that names each school’s all time best player, best coach and “game of the ages.” My selections on those categories for Lamar would be Mike Olliver, Billy Tubbs and the 1980 NCAA victory over No. 4 ranked Oregon St. that put LU in the Sweet 16. I’m anxious to see if the book’s authors agree. I also can’t wait to see if the $49.95 price of the book gets through on my expense account . . . Churches in Port Arthur and Beaumont will be doing their part for Breast Cancer Awareness with a charity basketball game Saturday (Oct. 24) at 7 p.m. at Memorial’s old gym. I don’t know anything about the players, but the Port Arthur team has a definite coaching edge with Lincoln legend James Gamble and Memorial AD Andre Boutte calling the shots. Players for the two teams will be pastors, ministers and deacons from churches in Port Arthur and Beaumont. PA churches include First Sixth St. Baptist, Rock Island Baptist and Christian Faith Baptist. Beaumont churches participating are Antioch Missionary Baptist, Harvest of Lost Soul, Ebenezer Baptist and Cathedral Baptist. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased at any of those churches or at the gate. All proceeds to the American Cancer Society. Everybody who attends is asked to wear something pink. Anybody with questions should contact Rev. Van Jordan at 983-0502.

Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net