By RICK HERRIN

It’s almost here. The Dallas Cowboys report to training camp Thursday in Oxnard, Calif. They break camp Aug. 12. Because of a conflict with the Alamodome in San Antonio, the Cowboys will train in Oxnard this year and return to San Antonio next summer. Oxnard was the host site for the Cowboys from 2003-2006. With the regular season beginning Sept. 7 at Cleveland, here’s an early look at the Cowboys:

Top 5 NFC East off-season story lines

1Washington coach Jim Zorn replaces legend Joe Gibbs.

2New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan

retires.

3Cowboys trade for

suspended cornerback Adam Jones.

4Philadelphia signs cornerback Asante Samuel from New England.

5Giants stars such as Plaxico Burress want new deals, more money.

Real TV

The Cowboys, HBO Sports and NFL Films will team up again for an all-access, sports reality series titled Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys. Beginning at 9 p.m. Aug. 6, a one-hour episode will air each week for five consecutive weeks ending Sept. 3. Of course, there will be no shortage of story lines with players such as Terrell Owens, Adam Jones and Tony Romo and his social life. Hard Knocks made its debut with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, followed by the Cowboys in 2002. The series resumed in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

By the numbers

The jersey numbers for some key new players and one veteran with a new number:

Pos.	Player	New	Old
CB	Adam Jones	21	32
RB	Felix Jones	28	25*
RB	Tashard Choice	29	22*
CB	Mike Jenkins	31	4*
SS	Roy Williams	38	31
LB	Zach Thomas	55	54
TE	Martellus Bennett	80	13*

*College number

2008 Draft picks

Rd	Pos.	Player	College
1	RB	Felix Jones	Arkansas
1	CB	Mike Jenkins	South Florida
2	TE	Martellus Bennett	Texas A&M
4	RB	Tashard Choice	Georgia Tech
5	CB	Orlando Scandrick	Boise State
6	LB	Erik Walden	Mid. Tenn. St.

Top undrafted rookies to watch

Pos.	Player	College
WR	Danny Amendola	Texas Tech
DE	Marcus Dixon	Hampton
RB	Keon Lattimore	Maryland

New coaches

Pos.	New coach	Previous job
OL	Hudson Houck	Miami off. line coach
DB	Dave Campo	Jacksonville asst. HC/secondary
DB	Brett Maxie	Miami secondary coach
DL	Todd Grantham	Cleveland def. coordinator
LB	Reggie Herring	Texas A&M def. coordinator

Remembering Oxnard

Year	Memorable moment	Record
2001	Starting quarterback Tony Banks released and Quincy Carter takes job	5-11
2004	Carter released after failed drug test	6-10
2005	Rookie first-round pick defensive end Marcus Spears dodges serious injury scare	9-7
2006	Terrell Owens misses 14 consecutive practices with hamstring injury, wears Tour de France attire on stationary bike	9-7

Key dates

Thursday	Cowboys report to training camp
Friday	Training camp practices begin
Aug. 9	Preseason opener at San Diego
Aug. 12	Cowboys break camp
Aug. 13-14	Cowboys practice with Denver
Aug. 26	Roster cut down to 75
Aug. 30	Roster cut down to 53
Sept. 7	Regular-season opener at Cleveland

Training camp daily schedule