Morning report: Pleading Pacman’s case

According to the Dallas Morning News, suspended Cowboys cornerback Pacman Jones met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week in Atlanta, seeking reinstatement to the league.

Jones, suspended for his problems with the law while he was with the Tennessee Titans, has not been allowed to visit the Cowboys' practice facility in suburban Valley Ranch, or take part in any organized team activities.

The paper said that if the NFL doesn't allow Jones to practice with the team, the Cowboys are hoping the league will allow him to undergo counseling at the facility and interact with his new teammates.

Last week, Jones cleared up a $20,000 gambling debt at a Las Vegas casino after the local district attorney threatened to bring felony charges against him.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told ESPN.com that both he and the league office were aware of the player's overdue gambling debt.

Jerry Jones said he has no time frame for any league decision.

More Cowboys. The rest of the NFL may just have gotten a break.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has reignited his romance with Jessica Simpson.

The key to the reconciliation, according to Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times, was telling Joe Simpson, the singer's father and agent, to "seriously back off."

Joe Simpson has earned a reputation as being extremely difficult to work with, Zwecker said.

Zwecker, citing a close friend of Romo's at Eastern Illinois University, said the quarterback told Jessica their renewed relationship is "a trial thing," dependent on Daddy Joe "leaving them alone" and stifling his tendency to tell Romo how to run his life, career and endorsement deals.

So there!

Geography lesson. Most Americans couldn't find Latvia or Lithuania on a map of Europe. Many wouldn't know the two Baltic Republics are in Europe. And a fair number couldn't find Europe, either.

But now the good news - a lot of Europeans are just as shaky on geography as we are, especially when it comes to the new countries that popped up after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When the Czech Republic faced visiting Lithuania in a soccer match on Tuesday night in Prague, the Latvian flag was in the game program along with a photo of the Latvian national soccer team. Before the match, Czech organizers played Latvia's national anthem.

The Czech Republic's soccer federation yesterday apologized to its Lithuanian counterpart and to the Lithuanian embassy in Prague.

Federation spokesman Vaclav Tichy took responsibility and resigned. His deputy was fired and another federation official fined, the Czech federation said in a statement.

What will happen when they play Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan is anybody's guess.