The majesty of an NFL franchise that has not been to a Super Bowl since the 1995 season and has not won a playoff game since 1996 was re-affirmed with the release of the 2009 schedule Tuesday.
The Cowboys get three prime-time appearances on NBC, one on ESPN and one on NFL Network. Throw in the Thanksgiving Day game against the Raiders on CBS, and the Cowboys get six guaranteed national television appearances. The Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers? They are back in the pack of teams that have five.
The Cowboys had been penciled in to open the season at Denver on Fox, but those plans were scratched in the wake of the trade of quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago. Meanwhile, the Cowboys open at Tampa Bay in a game with no sizzle. Look for Fox's Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to call the Redskins-Giants opener.
But the Cowboys move center stage in Week 2, when they host the Giants on NBC's Sunday Night Football. That means Al Michaels and John Madden will call the regular-season opener at the billion-dollar JonesMahal. Trust me, that was exactly what Jerry Jones wanted.
And as expected, ESPN's Monday Night Football will swoop in when the Cowboys host Carolina the following week. ESPN will devote most of its Monday programming to proclaiming the JonesMahal one of the wonders of the world.
By the way, there is a chance the Cowboys can be "flexed" into a fourth NBC game late in the season. Of course, they will have to be playing well. Majesty can only get a team so far.
