With the exception of Denny McClain's bizarre lounge act, they almost always try their hands at rap. That's why it's refreshing, and not a little terrifying, to hear that three Dallas Cowboys have signed a deal to put out a heavy metal record.

Offensive linemen Marc Colombo (guitar/vocals), Leonard Davis (bass) and Corey Procter (drums) are Free Reign, and bill themselves as "heavier than metal." (Get it? Because they're grotesquely overweight?) They've signed with Australia's Riot Entertainment, label of such luminaries as Chris Jericho's band Fozzy, and someone called The Berzerker. But guess what? They're not bad!

Give a listen to them on their MySpace page. OK, lyrics like "A meltdown of humanity/Watching our world die/A stream of brutality/It flows from hatred" could have been written on my Trapper Keeper in 7th grade, and first single "Last Goodbye" sounds like Godsmack gone soft. But they play their own instruments, and they're competent, and that's enough to dub them best crossover athlete/musicians in history.

Davis was at his house in Arizona, and he saw across the street — and I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me — a horse named Ranger waist deep in mud.

Davis sprung into action, throwing a rope around the horse, and pulling the big filthy lug out of the sinkhole. And then, because he's a really nice guy (and because no one likes a dirty horse), Davis got out his hose and gave Ranger a bath.

He downplayed his heroic act, saying, "I was just doing what anybody else would have done." And thank goodness he did, it was hard enough to find a divine Cheeto that looked like Barbaro. Finding one to capture the unique features of Ranger would've been too much to ask.

No horsing around: Davis comes to the rescue [CowboysPlus]