The Dallas Cowboys have played in prime time the past two weeks, and the topic of owner Jerry Jones' football-playing grandson has made for good fodder.
Quarterback John Stephen Jones, son of Cowboys director of player personnel Stephen Jones, scored two touchdowns in a 16-7 Highland Park (Texas) Class 5A state championship victory over Temple on Dec. 17. He scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run on fourth down in the third quarter.
The youngest Jones scored his first touchdown on a 36-yard run in the first half in front of 35,089 fans at AT&T Stadium, the $1.2 billion home of the Cowboys that was built with a lot of Jerry Jones' money in Arlington.
The junior was named the game's offensive MVP after rushing for 144 yards on 26 carries and completing 9 of 23 passes for 96 yards with 1 interception.
"A state championship in the state of Texas, now that's a big deal," Jerry Jones said after the state title game. "This isn't some other state, this is the state of Texas."
Jerry Jones and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo watched the game from a suite. Stephen Jones watched the game with the rest of the Highland Park parents.
"Of course, love him to death," Stephen Jones said after the game. "Don't know what else to say. It's just raw emotion."
The game received extra attention on Monday Night Football because Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who lost to the Cowboys 42-21, is an alum of Highland Park and led the school to its last state title in 2005. Stafford recorded a message that played on the video board over the middle of the field before his alma mater won the school's fourth state title.
Old-school shot
The "Granny" shot is finally back in the NBA.
Houston Rockets rookie Chinanu Onuaku made his NBA debut Monday night in the fourth quarter of a blowout victory over the Suns and quickly brought the underhanded free throw back to the league.
"I was nervous as hell," Onuaku told ESPN after becoming the first player since Hall of Famer Rick Barry to attempt free-throw shots underhanded. "I'm just happy that I made them."
Onuaku's shots came near the end of the Rockets' 131-115 victory in Houston.
The rookie out of Louisville finished with six points and three rebounds in eight minutes of action in the Monday night laugher.
Don't hold your breath looking for more underhanded free throws in the NBA in the near future since Onuaku is being sent back down to the Rockets' D-league affiliate, according to ESPN.
Onuaku, 6-10, who struggled at the free-throw line as a freshman at Louisville, started going with the underhanded strategy as a sophomore and saw a 12-point bump in his shooting percentage (from 46.7 to 58.9 percent).
Granny shot down
Rick Barry once attempted to convince Shaquille O'Neal -- a notoriously bad free-throw shooter -- to try underhanded free throws while at LSU.
"Sorry, can't do it Rick, I'd rather shoot zero percent," Shaq said in February. "Too cool for that."
Sports on 12/28/2016