In case you missed it, Adam "Pacman" Jones spent three hours on "The Michael Irvin Show" in Dallas earlier today. Irvin and his co-host Kevin Kiley did a nice job squeezing all they could from a man who isn't all that compelling.
It took an hour and a half to make it through Pacman's tragic early years and his subsequent arrests. At one point, the Titans cornerback said he wanted to do "a 360" with his life, which might not do the trick.
Pacman made it clear that he wants to play for the Cowboys, which is good because no other teams seem remotely interested in his services. He said he would be responsible for at least two wins per year in Dallas, and guaranteed four touchdowns in the return game.
The good news for the Cowboys is that apparently Pacman did nothing wrong in at least six of his arrests, and may have been framed in the others. The radio station was supposed to ensure that only Ed Werder and Hashmarks were granted access to the studio on the fourth floor, but that lasted about four minutes.
By the time Pacman walked out of his marathon therapy session, we were joined by four local beat writers, six cameramen, four TV reporters and a man handing out passes to Baby Dolls.
Of course I'm only kidding about the beat writers.
I spent the morning negotiating an exclusive with Pacman via his agent, Manny Arora. The unassuming man seems to have a great deal of influence in young Adam's life. I approached Pacman during a break in the psychotherapy, and asked if he would mind joining Werder and me in an adjacent room.
Pacman, who was wearing faded jeans and an untucked button-down shirt, looked past me to Arora, who said, "It's up to you, Pacman."
"I'll decide afterwards," said the player.
Later, several reporters and cameramen joined in my exclusive, asking deep questions as, "How do you like Dallas so far?"
I did have a chance to ask Arora a question on behalf of my readers in Nashville.
"Is there any chance Pacman remains with the Titans?"
"I'm very optimistic about that," Arora told Hashmarks.
Right before leaving the parking lot, Pacman said, "Thank y'all. I'll be back here real soon."
And no, I didn't get to ask him what his neighbor, George "Possum" Jones, thought about him relocating to Dallas. In my brief time with Pacman during the radio show, he said Dallas was the only place he wanted to play. Asked why he thinks he could keep his nose clean here, he said, "I'm tired of basically going to court."
I have no clue why Pacman subjected himself to a three-hour radio show. Quite honestly, he's not interesting enough to warrant that much time. He came across as contrite, but he spent too much time trying to explain away his numerous arrests. I wish Michael and Kevin asked how he felt about the bouncer at the strip club who is paralyzed as a result of a melee involving Pacman during the NBA All-Star weekend in 2007.
Pacman explained that he only had about $60,000 in his bag that night instead of the $85,000 that was reported. We're not sure that's an important distinction.
He apparently came straight from the craps tables, and didn't have time to drop off his bag. I thought his worst moment of the interview was when he explained that other celebrities were "making it rain" too. He might be immensely talented, but he sounds like a child at times.
Even though strip clubs seem to be his kryptonite, Pacman wasn't willing to rule them out in the future. Asked if he planned to ever walk into a gentlemen's establishment again, Pacman said, "I cannot say ever, ever," Pacman said. "But I can say they won't see me [in strip clubs] for the next three or four years."
Now that must make Roger Goodell rest easy at night. And speaking of Goodell, Pacman said he hasn't spoken to him in several months. The commissioner has said he will revisit Pacman's suspension before training camp, but Arora has asked that he do it before the draft so his client will have more value. Manny, I've got news for you: The commish doesn't give a damn about your client's value right now.
Jerry Jones will sign this kid because he believes in second (ninth) chances. He knows that he can sign Pacman to a relatively risk-free contract, and that the potential reward far outweighs the downside.
It's easy to believe in second chances when they don't cost much. The only risk would be a backlash from fans, but that's nothing a couple of touchdown returns couldn't solve.
"I'm the best. Hands down," Pacman said of his skills. "As far as the complete package goes, I'm the best."
That's probably a little strong, but he might be a top-10 cornerback in the league. It's only matter of time before he's wearing a Cowboys uniform.
How long he lasts is up to him.