Cowboys' HD Scoreboard Stays Put for Punts

The world's largest HD screen in a sports facility will remain pretty much where it is — specifically, hanging 90 feet above the Dallas Cowboys' new playing field and wide enough to cover more than half the length of the playing area — will not have to be raised, despite the fact that at least one punter was routinely using it for target practice prior to an exhibition game a couple of weeks ago.

The mammoth scoreboard for the Cowboys' new $1 billion-plus stadium caused some raised eyebrows around the league over possibly requiring the team to raise the structure after one Tennessee kicker managed to hit its underside during the practice game itself.

But for now, the word is the NFL will leave things as they are. Yet what might happen if the scoreboard should "again interfere" with a punt or kick-off (intentionally or not) that might possibly determine a game's final outcome (including a possible Cowboys loss) — then most observers on ESPN and elsewhere outside of Dallas seem to think all bets are off and the scoreboard will be ordered raised.

Also, a handful of tech Web bloggers are saying this week that two large cranes were seen on the field the day after the Tennessee game and appeared to be adjusting the scoreboard in some fashion anyway. But the Cowboys, for their part, said their state-of-the-art scoreboard has not been adjusted upwards.

As a new season is about to get underway… stay tuned.