The Newy Factor

At the same time, it's easy to figure out who Laufenberg is referring to when he says, "My number-one concern is credibility. Not just with the viewer, but with the people I cover, too...The players know who's in the locker room actually covering the team and who's not. And if you take shots at them and they never see you so they can confront you or make you explain yourself, it's just not fair."

Again, Laufenberg says he respects all his competitors, and he's just talking about general philosophy. But this is the charge that other sports people level at Hansen all the time: He's not just a bomb-thrower; he's a long-distance bomb-thrower. They say Scruggs' and Laufenberg's more relaxed, less-abrasive style is not just what players want, but what more and more viewers want, too.

"It's obvious the Dallas market has changed," says Michael Hill, an ESPN News broadcaster who had a bitter break with Hansen and Channel 8 a few years ago, one no one can discuss because of signed agreements. "You're getting more and more [outsiders] moving there. Dale and his critical style is played out. New people come to the market, look at him, and it's obvious he's never played before. So they're saying, 'Who does he think he is?' Newy can be critical, but because he is in the locker room and because he doesn't come across as know-it-all, he is more enjoyable to listen to. Bottom line, Newy is simply better."

Scruggs, by the way, does take his shots at players and owners. But he does it with that big grin, not a Hansen smirk. Hansen will heap praise but can't help but sound smart-ass even when he does this. Laufenberg will call out Cowboys players during radio broadcasts but is a former player so is seen as someone who gives them a lot of rope.

And although Hansen firmly believes he is the best at what he does, and that he would rather be seen as an asshole than a kiss-ass (because you're one or the other, right?), he again offers a defense for those who complain that Scruggs goes easy on players because many of them are black.

"Do I like it that some black players will talk more openly to Newy or to Jean-Jacques [Taylor, the Cowboys beat writer for The Dallas Morning News]? No. Makes me mad as hell. I don't think it's right. But I also think it's legitimate when athletes say they've been tired of never seeing anyone in the locker rooms who looked like them, that the people who cover them are always white. That's changing, and it's important. I'd be lying if I said that hiring people of color or a woman wasn't something I take into consideration when I hire people, and Channel 5 would be lying if they said, 'Oh, Newy's black? We didn't even know that!'

"It's just one more thing that makes [the local sports anchors] different. And Channel 5 was smart to get someone who isn't at all like me. 'Cause trying to be me doesn't work."

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The day before our interview, Scruggs got a call from a video photographer at Channel 8, a longtime friend. He'd just been laid off and was crying. He was a single father with two kids and no job. He didn't know what to do.

This bothered Scruggs, because a friend was in need. (He said he would throw as much work his way as possible.) But also because it tapped into the fear that Scruggs says still drives him. He tries to have as many money streams as possible: the radio gig, a fledgling residential real estate business, an Internet marketing company he's started.

"I can't sleep at night because I'm always worrying about how can I make sure I provide for my family. You can't feel too secure in my job, no matter how you're doing. We're in the replacement business. Ratings go down, management changes, you never know. It could all end tomorrow. And I don't want to be the guy who, when they pull my card, I'm thinking, 'Oh, man, what can I do?' I don't want to be that guy."

On its surface, his concern seems overblown. He signed his new five-year contract in January. ("I wish I'd known then there was 'a Newy factor,' he says, dismissing the idea and laughing. "I would have told my agent, 'Hey, there's a Newy factor! I'm Newy! Get me more money!'") The powers that be at ESPN, according to other staffers, love his radio work, although the station is soundly beaten in the ratings by its competitor, The Ticket 1310-AM.

But the doubters remain: Is Scruggs' success a result of his station's good numbers? Is he just a nice guy caught in a good spot--a combination that never lasts? To those who appreciate Scruggs--they like the nicknames, the youthful lingo, the easy-go-lucky on-air manner--they say all this is talent, baby, and that doesn't go away.

"What do you want me to say?" Scruggs asked, defeated by attempts to bring him in the fray. "I'm good at what I do. I know that. I can't worry whether everyone else gives me credit. There are a lot of people in this business who want to bring you down if things are going well. I can't change that.