Knapp: In sports dating game, understanding is key

Along with her overbearing daddy, her apple and her serpent, actress-singer Jessica Simpson apparently has exited the Eden of Cowboys mania, no longer able to lead poor Tony Romo astray.
The blond vixen, after all, had to be responsible for the Dallas quarterback's distracted style of play, for the rumors that Romo wasn't bringing his all to football, and for the general state of decline of America's Erstwhile Team.
It had to be the woman, right? It couldn't have been the utterly scattershot and arrogant management style, the deals to bring in head cases galore, the employment of underwhelming Wade Phillips as a placeholder coach. It certainly wasn't Terrell Owens. Nah, it was the blonde.
Romo's past suggests a fondness for celebrity dates, so unless he's willing to consider civilians, his agent might want to steer him toward a star who understands the athletic mentality. Consider Andre Agassi, once married to Brooke Shields, when he found love with fellow tennis legend Steffi Graf. He said her presence in his life made work easier.
Greg Norman contended at last year's British Open at age 53, just a few weeks after marrying Chris Evert. He recently told the Mail of Britain that Evert keeps pushing him out the door to practice when he feels too tired. He thinks his game would have benefited from her presence in his life during his prime.
"I probably wouldn't have played quite so aggressively if I'd had the benefit of Chrissie's game-management skills," he said, "and probably won more."
The pictures of Evert braving British Open weather in a rain slicker appeared constantly on TV last year, with reminders that she and Norman were newlyweds. Unlike poor Jessica, she didn't have to worry about being called a distraction or a jinx. It might have helped that Jerry Jones was nowhere in the vicinity.