Tuesday, July 28, 1998

Cowboys sign new quarterback

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys signed former Rice quarterback Josh LaRocca on Monday and cut former Texas Christian quarterback Max Knake.

LaRocca has played for the Barcelona Dragons in the NFL-Europe league.

Quarterbacks coach Buddy Geis said the Cowboys went to LaRocca because he has more experience.

"Max was able to get a lot of repetitions and we just thought we needed another backup quarterback who had pro experience," Geis said.

LaRocca joined the team for the morning workout.

--- Leon Lett catches coach Gailey's eye

Leon Lett, who missed all but two games of the 1997 season because of an NFL-mandated drug suspension, has impressed new coach Chan Gailey.

"He can be a great player," Gailey said. "Time will tell. Greatness is proven over the years. I'm excited about where he can be. He had a very good off-season."

Gailey said he wasn't worried about Lett's past problems with drugs.

"I expect everything to go right for Leon and his life. I don't spend time worrying about him," Gailey said. "I'd rather him know that I trust him."

--- Cowboys draw over 4,000 fans a day

An average of 4,133 fans per day are attending Cowboy practices at Midwestern State University.

With that average, almost 100,000 fans will have attended practices by the time training camp ends on Aug. 15.

Training camps at St. Edward's University in Austin averaged between 90,000 to 110,000 per season.

--- Deion gets a lesson

Deion Sanders is back after minor May surgery on his left ankle and he showed in practice on Monday that he is not 100 percent.

Sanders was beaten on back-to-back pass plays.

Stepfret Williams beat Sanders deep on a pass from Troy Aikman.

On the next play, Billy Davis fooled Sanders for a 15-yard gain.

--- Sprinkles Fall

For the first time during training camp, a rain drop actually fell on the practice field.

A single cloud dumped a few sprinkles of rain for about 10 minutes. The crowd cheered.

Then the cloud went away on another 100-plus-degree day.