Ding-dong, the witch is gone.

This past weekend, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys.

17-10. That drops the 'Pokes to 4-5 and into third place in the NFC East.

It's become official. Dallas isn't a Super Bowl contender any more.

But that doesn't make watching them lose any less fun. It's purely personal--there isn't a team that deserves to be hated more.

Just to name a few reasons why:

Wide receiver Michael Irvin is a jerk on the field, taunting his opponents and screaming at officials. He's not so good walking off the field either. On a live national-TV interview, he started spewing four-letter words, including ones which have other meanings such as "to copulate" and "manure."

Believe it or not, he's even worse off the field. Unless you think that allegedly getting caught in a hotel room with a couple of hookers and a nice plate of crack is no big deal.

At least Dallas has great front office leadership. Owner Jerry Jones has been a model of good citizenship except for the time he allegedly went to a bar, got hosed and then groped a woman who happened to be a Dallas radio personality.

Hmm. It can't get worse, though Don't let two bad apples spoil the lot. Well, defensive tackle Leon Lett is currently serving his third drug suspension. Erik Williams has been charged with more crimes than any current NFL player (including allegedly going statutory with a 14-year-old). And Broderick Thomas was charged with two illegal possession of firearms and a DWI last year.

This shouldn't become a laundry list of Cowboy transgressions, however.

I mean, the fact that defensive line-man Shante Carver, defensive back Clayton Holmes and wide receiver Cory Fleming have combined for five more drug suspensions is irrelevant.

Or is it symptomatic of a team that's out of control? These players have lost their touch with the real world, and this comes straight from the top.

Jones has shown his flagrant disregard for the league and its rules. He signed huge contracts with Pepsi and Nike in direct violation of league policy.

He even advocates teams regulating drug transgressions on their own. Gee, I wonder why.