It is late Sunday night, and Leonard Davis wants to feed his hunger ... or maybe drown his sorrows ... with a meal. Now, the man is 6-6 and 365 pounds, so it might require one of those Flintstonean "brontosaurus burgers'' to do the trick. ... but here he is, post-Chargers-loss, scarfing down a sandwich at a restaurant near his home, when a big fan of his approaches the table.

   The fan introduces himself to the Cowboys offensive guard. It is John Niland, who played the same position for Dallas for nine seasons, six of them ending with Pro Bowl berths, once even making All-Pro.

   "Keep your head up,'' Niland tells Davis. "You guys aren't done. Believe me, I've been there. I know.''

   That’s what Cristal Taylor is saying to the German media from her cell in Vandelia, Missouri (“a hicktown,’’ they call it in Germany), where Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki’s ex-fiancee is serving her five-year sentence. While Nowitzki is experienced yet another MVP-type season, “Broken Cristal’’ claims she is apologetic and hopeless.

   "I'm so sorry for everything,’’ Cristal says. “Dirk is still the love of my life. But I have no hope."

   I know I promised some time back that I’d written my final words about this woman. But as The 75-Member Staff goes through the German-to-English translation here, we decided there are so many laughs and so many lies that it’s worth passing along.

   “These?’’ Roddy said to me the other night at the Frisco D-League franchise party. “Oh, I do tricks.’’

   (Look closely at the photo at left. That really is a deck of cards he'd just pulled out of his pocket.)

    After watching the French-speaking, Guadaloupe-born, fast-as-a-photon kid start his third game of the season in Detroit and perform the same tantalizing magic as he had in two previous turns with Dallas’ first team …

   Yes. Roddy Beaubois can “do tricks.’’