OXNARD, Calif. -In the middle of what had been a very routine practice on Friday, there was a heated scuffle between center, Phil Costa and defensive end, Clifton Geathers. The altercation ended with a number of teammates pulling the two players off of each other after they had both been taken to the ground.
Geathers, who stands at 6-7 and weighs 325, began to downplay the altercation.
"It was just a heat of the moment thing," said Geathers. "You never let guys get the best of you out there."
Geathers then added, "When they deserve it they deserve it, but we're teammates. We resolved it. It's over with."
It is unclear who or what exactly initiated the scuffle and Geathers was very vague when addressing how it reached the point it did.
"There was some stuff," claimed Geathers. "Football players, you know, we do things.
Phil Costa denied talking to the media after practice, but head coach Jason Garrett chimed in when asked if the first fight means training camp is "officially" underway.
"Yeah, I think it does mean that," Garrett said. "That's a big part of camp. It's always been a big part. I think our guys handled it well. We're trying to put these guys in competitive situations and they're competitive guys. When you do that, fights break out. That's football. I thought our guys handled it well."
Sensabaugh Cleared to Practice
* *On Friday, safety, Gerald Sensabaugh was cleared by the trainers to practice. Sensabaugh had arthroscopic knee surgery on July 16th to address a lingering problem in his right knee. After missing mini-camp because of the issue, Sensabaugh and the trainers finally decided to undergo surgery so that it would not be a problem by the start of the season.
"In minicamp I got a series of shots and that didn't really do anything," explains Sensabaugh. "So I went and got a scope and I feel good as new now."
Sensabaugh claimed that he is prepared to suit up and participate in full contact drills as early as Saturday.
* *"I've been getting the mental reps," he says. "I've been running on the side, I've been working. I can't say my legs are all the way fresh, but I can't wait to get out there."
While Sensabaugh has been unable to perform Barry Church and Danny McCray have filled in and taken the majority of his reps. With Sensabaugh back healthy and eighth year player, Brodney Pool, now having passed his conditioning test, the two veterans may end up playing first-team reps alongside each other.
Sensabaugh finished second on the team last season with 73 tackles. In the offseason he received a five-year, $22.5 million contract extension.
First-Ever Rain
It typically rains only five or six times a year in this beachside agricultural community, and in fact it's never rained in any of the Cowboys' seven trips here for training camp, but a pretty strong storm put a damper on Friday's afternoon practice.
In addition to the cool temperatures, grass fields and convenient setup of the adjacent hotel, the dry weather is a major reason the Cowboys practice here. The team's other training camp home in recent years, San Antonio's Alamodome, is shielded from the elements as well.
Friday's session is only the second in pads since camp opened on Monday.
*-Josh Ellis *
Livings To Miss Time
The Cowboys' need at the guard position seems to keep growing, as starter Nate Livings will miss an unknown number of workouts with a hamstring injury.
"He is going to miss at least a few days here," head coach Jason Garrett said. "It is a hamstring injury. Initially we thought it might have something to do with his knee, but we think it's more hamstring related. We'll see him day to day like a lot of those soft tissue injuries. You just have to see how they respond."
*-Josh Ellis *
