good morning. a possible motive? a fellow lab worker tells nbc news accused murderer ray clark was a control freak whose last message to annie le was about dirty animal cages. this morning, the latest on the case and two of clark's lifelong friends speak out. will he release them? iran's president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, speaks out about those three u.s. hikers detained there since july. this morning, ann is live in tehran with her exclusive interview. and what can $1 billion buy you? check it out. it's what some are calling the eighth wonder of the world. we're live at the new cowboys stadium today, friday, september 18th, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

with matt lauer live from arlington, texas, and meredith vieira live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> and good morning and welcome to a special split edition of "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer from the new home of the dallas cowboys. meredith vieira is holding down the fort in new york. and trust me, meredith, this place puts the big in the big "d." this stadium is an engineering marvel, and it boasts some mind-boggling numbers, meredith. how do these sound? 20,000 tons of steel. 3 million square feet of space. it can hold more than 100,000 fans. and, of course, a price tag of $1.12 billion. that's a lot of jack, meredith. >> that sure is. and what a big tv set you've got there. talk about a big head, lauer. >> yeah.

it's a little scary, isn't it? it is the centerpiece of cowboys stadium. it's the largest high-definition video wall in the entire world. to give you a sense of just how big it is, you probably have one of those 52-inch television sets at home, a flat-screen tv. you could take 2,000 of those to fill one side of this hd monitor. 2,000 on each side. and the screen weighs as much as a 747 jet. and if you notice right under that video display, i hope that thing's secure. al roker has made his way to cowboys stadium as well. al, nice view. >> yeah, it's really amazing up here. we're just about ten feet -- this thing's suspended 90 feet from the floor. so i'm about ten feet underneath it. and jim, we are safe, right? >> yes, sir. >> okay, jim says we're safe. >> all right. hang in there, al. >> no, i got no choice. >> yeah, i know, pun intended. meredith, a display is just one of the many first-class amenities that fans will get a chance to enjoy when the cowboys

christen this building against the giants sunday night right here on nbc. we'll show you all around throughout the morning and talk to the man who built it all, jerry jones. but for now, back to you in new york. >> thanks, matt. we're going to check in with you in just a little bit. but we begin with the arrest of ray clark for the murder of graduate student annie le. nbc's jeff rossen is at the campus this morning. jeff, good morning to you. >> reporter: meredith, good morning to you. it is the big question. if ray clark did it, what was his motive? this morning sources close to the case tell nbc it may all come down to a fight over mice. just one day after the dramatic arrest of ray clark at a connecticut motel, we're learning more about the man charged with murder. he worked in the basement of the yale research lab assisting with animal experiments alongside the victim, yale grad student annie le. in an e-mail to nbc news, a lab coworker with ties to the case wrote, "ray has always been very

controlling over what goes on in the mouse room, often bothering people to the point of damn near harassment." clark's job as an animal technician was to clean the mouse cages. and the lab worker says he was territorial. "last thing i knew was annie got a message from him saying her cages were dirty." >> investigators are going through several motives, but this is one of them that they are certainly looking into. >> reporter: that he was so upset with the way she was treating the animals that he would kill her? >> right. of course, it sounds outlandish, but that's one of the things they're looking into. we've confirmed that. >> reporter: still the lab coworker described ray clark as a nice guy, normal. "he has always been incredibly kind and way helpful to me. it's kind of creepy to me that i thought of him as a good guy," the coworker wrote to us. "he knew her so superficially, i would bet he didn't even know she was engaged." >> there was reports about a romantic relationship. none of those are true. >> reporter: police arrested

clark after comparing his dna to dna at the crime scene. there are reports police tracked his movements the day of the murder using his electronic yale i.d. card, putting him in the same room as annie when she went missing. >> this is not about urban crime. it's not about university crime. it's not about domestic crime. but an issue of workplace violence. >> what happened here could have happened anywhere. it says more about the dark side of the human soul than it does about anything else. >> you understood those rights? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: wearing khakis and a polo shirt thursday, ray clark's bond was set at $3 million. "the new york daily news" has interesting reporting today talking about the dna matches. apparently police found blood from annie le on ray clark's boots. they also have a report about a green pan, a special green pen, that everyone here knew that ray clark used. apparently he dropped that green pen at the crime scene.

police recovered it. and they say ray clark came here to the research lab the very next day after the crime was committed to try to get it back. but police have recovered it. and they're using that as physical evidence. meanwhile, meredith, we hear annie le's family who was here in new haven at yale's campus has gone into mourning somewhere else. they have left town. >> jeff rossen, thanks so much for your reporting this morning. maurice perry and bobby heslin are lifelong friends of ray clark. good morning to both of you. maurice, you've known ray clark since you were second graders. you played football with him in high school. what was your reaction when you heard that he had been accused of murder? >> it was a complete shock because ray is definitely not the type of person i would know to be a, you know, violent, you know, just hurt somebody, period. >> how would you describe him? >> friendly. outgoing. funny. he's just, you know, an average guy. >> was there anything in his personality?

co--workers reportedly told police that he was a control freak, very controlling. others said he had a short temper. did you ever see those qualities? >> no, i've never seen those qualities in ray, never. >> bobby, what about you? you guys grew up together. you took the school bus together. >> yes. ever since we were 5 years old. >> you last saw him this past summer. >> yes. actually, this past year. >> did he seem any different? had he changed since high school? >> not at all. ray clark has -- he acted upon towards me as same ray clark i've always known. not as the way he's being depicted right now in the news as a suspect. of a murder case. the most, you know, publicized murder in all of television right now. but ray, to me, has been a long-term friend of mine that i've known forever. and now everybody who have only known him for the past week has now considered him just a cold-blooded killer. and to me, ray's a compassionate person, someone i've known my whole entire life.

so i've known who he is and who he has become today. and it's just -- it's so -- it just doesn't feel real to me. it's -- i mean, you turn the television on, and you see your best friend that you've grown up next door your whole entire life. and it's like you don't want to think it's true. and then you wake up every morning, and there's new evidence that comes about. and it's, like, you almost want to think, is that really the person you've known your whole life? please let it be a stunt double. you know, please let it not be ray. >> but there's something about hindsig hindsight. have you, over the past few days, maurice, is there something i missed in this guy? is there something that i overlooked that would help make this make sense? and again, he hasn't been convicted of anything, and i want that put that out there. >> no. and that's the reason why i'm here is because i just want to let everybody who's been speaking about him negatively, before they even heard about any evidence coming out, he's a good

guy. he's a good friend of mine. we haven't kept in contact recently, you know, actually for a couple years, but for the whole time i've known him, he's just always been the most nicest person and outgoing and friendly. he's not the type of person you would ever think would even commit a murder. >> so at this point do you stand by your friend? >> until a judge says he's guilty. >> i believe -- ray -- any person is innocent till proven guilty. but it's just -- it's surreal to take this all in because, i mean, he's being portrayed as a murderer. and that's someone i've never, ever considered to ever become close to in my life. i've known ray to walk down the street, go wait at the bus, you know, every morning. and then after that hang out in the neighborhood and just talk about normal things. any person that would consider a true friend. >> i'm sure it's shocking to a lot of people who knew him. bobby, we're going to have to leave it at that for now. i greatly appreciate you coming in. maurice as well. >> thank you.

>> and we'll talk more about workplace violence in our next half hour with an expert who trains people to spot red flags. but now to an nbc news exclusive. ann curry is in tehran, iran, this morning where she sat down for a wide-ranging interview with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, his first since that country's disputed elections. ann, good morning to you. >> reporter: meredith, good morning. and we asked him about his government's crackdown on the protesters after the june election here and about the missing american hikers who have been detained here for more than a month and also about the international atomic energy agency's concerns about iran's nuclear ambitions. mr. president, you are speaking to us at a critical moment. iran has now agreed to negotiate in what could lead to the first significant talks between iran and the united states in nearly 30 years. what do you want from the united states? >> translator: today a new arrangement should be put in

place based on new principles so that the world is directed towards peace and tranquility. we have always believed in talking, in negotiating, and that is our logic. nothing has changed. >> reporter: you are a father. what do you say to the families who accuse this government of brutalities, torture, disappearances, of their sons and daughters? >> translator: well, you are expressing certain claims that, by and large, are being leveled by those who oppose the islamic republ republic. i'm not in a position to answer or to judge whatever you are claiming. but does your heart really and sincerely go out to the people?

are you really -- is that really the truth? >> reporter: i know people, mr. president. >> translator: i don't believe that. >> reporter: i know people, mr. president, who i believe were innocent, who were tortured. >> translator: it's possible. >> reporter: in prisons. >> translator: i don't have such information. people tortured in prisons. maybe you have more specific information. our judiciary, in accordance with the law, will deal with this matter. >> reporter: i must ask you about americans who are in custody here in iran, specifically the parents of three young hikers, shane bauer, sara shood and joshua fatale. you knew about their case. are asking for compassion. in a letter to you, they are going to be asking for you to

bring their children on your plane to the united states as a humanitarian gesture. would you consider this? >> translator: well, i'm not happy that they have been arrested. but these individuals had violated our borders. and in accordance with the laws, they need to be punished. but i ask you, five iranian diplomats for two years now, well, they were -- they were in prison by u.s. troops. they had not violated the law. they were going about their diplomatic business and life in erbil in iraq. u.s. troops in iraq, without any

documentation, arrested them. the u.s. government, is it going to strike a humanitarian posture by releasing them? will it release them? of course. under an equal condition, we are ready to engage in reciprocal action. the family of the u.s. citizens which are in prison here in iran, i sympathize with them. they need to know that these individuals have trampled -- have violated the law. however, i'm going to do my best for the iranians who are in u.s. prisons to be set free and for these individuals, u.s. citizens here, to be set free as well. i am hoping that this will happen as soon as possible.

>> reporter: it is unclear if the five iranian diplomats he was referring to are the same ones who were already released in july. and meredith, in reference to the stability -- or rather the instability of the world today, president ahmadinejad said, quote, if mr. obama seriously is looking to bring about change, we will assist. we are hoping he will succeed. meredith? >> all right, ann, thank you very much. you can read a full transcript of ann's interview on todayshow.com. and you can watch that interview in its entirety this sunday at 1:00 p.m. eastern time on msnbc. and now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories. natalie morales is sitting in at the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. president obama's decision to revise the u.s. missile defense strategy in europe is drawing both praise and criticism. this morning russian prime minister vladimir putin called the move right and brave. and nato's secretary-general said it was a positive step. on thursday the president announced he is scrapping the bush administration's

controversial plan to set up permanent systems in eastern europe opting instead for a more mobile strategy. many republicans are critical of the decision, though, saying the move empowers iran and sends a message of weakness to eastern european allies. and a programming note for you, be sure to watch "meet the press" this sunday. david gregory is one on one with president obama. investigators are returning to the home of phillip and nancy garrido today africa davr dogs indicated they smelled something behind the house. this as we get our first look inside the home. nbc's george lewis has more. >> reporter: the photos were shot by the county building department late last month just before building inspectors declared the garrido house condemned. unfit for human habitation. the photos were released to the media after a public records request. the inside of the house is in complete disarray with pieces of furniture piled on top of one another and papers strewn on the floor. mounds of dirty pots and dishes

in the kitchen. the bedrooms are also a mess. personal belongings strewn everywhere. authorities allege these are the kinds of conditions jaycee dugard and her two daughters lived in during the time they were kept by phillip and nancy garrido who have pled not guilty to all the criminal charges against them. now authorities are mounting a new search at the house to see if the garridos can be tied to a pair of unsolved kidnap cases in northern california. today investigators will begin digging in that area also using ground-penetrating radar in their search. george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. the massachusetts house of representatives has given its preliminary approval to a bill allowing the governor to name an interim successor for the late ted kennedy. democrats are pushing hard to fill senator kennedy's seat ahead of any vote on health care reform. and a bit of an embarrassing moment for a chief white house correspondent, chuck todd, on thursday. health and human services

secretary kathleen sebelius was giving a briefing when chuck sneezed, and he got a lecture on proper sneeze etiquette. >> i think that -- bless you. >> a possible impediment. >> i'm learning. >> i mean, what is that about? sorry. >> bring chuck up to the level. >> who's got some purell? give that to mr. todd right away, a little hand sanitizer. >> chuck promises he did cover his nose with his hand. but as we saw, you're supposed to do that. it is 7:18 right now. let's go back over to matt at cowboys stadium. >> all right, natalie, thank you very much. yeah, good lesson for chuck. as you saw before, al has come to texas as well. al, this video monitor is scary. a second ago i turned around to look at you. up on the monitor i thought what i saw was a picture of the shiny dome was the back of my head. >> they can see it from the

space shuttle. >> the back of my head or the stadium? >> both when the roof is retracted. thanks a lot, matt. i've got jim joining me. how you doing? why don't you get us a little closer to the ground here as we are just about 90 feet above the ground here at cowboys stadium. an amazing sight. and good thing they've got a retractible roof because it has been raining here in the south for the last few days. and it's going to continue over the >> we are looking at basically improving conditions after a great start this morning. more sunshine this afternoon. into the upper seventies, winds shifting to the southwest.

and that's your latest weather. matt, this place has its own atmosphere, i think. >> yeah, it's amazinamazing, al. thank you very much. most people around the country probably didn't even know the name of the owner of their nfl team. here in dallas everybody knows jerry jones. he bought this team back in 1989 for about $140 million. and in the time since then he's become the face of the team and the architect of the team and in many ways the new cowboys stadium is his crowning achievement. jerry, good to see you. >> great to be with you, matt. >> you've been dreaming about this place since the mid-1990s. as we sit here on a friday morning, a couple of days away

from the christening of this stadium on sunday night, how are you feeling? >> well, first of all, i'm reminded only 7% of our nfl fans have ever been in an nfl stadium. >> right. >> and so what this stadium is about is certainly about the fans that are here, but it's also about perception. probably could have built this stadium for about two-thirdeds what we spent, but how it's perceived, how you talk about it, how al michaels talks about it, all of that was very meaningful, too. >> you and the team of architects did an enormous amount of research in preparing to build this place. not only did you tour sports venues all rnd the world but the nice airport and the sydney opera house. what were you looking for, what kind of inspiration from those locations and what did you incorporate here? >> well, our cowboys have such visibility and the nfl has such visibility today. and we did want it to have some architectural significance. the glass. many of the things that are incorporated in airports are incorporated in other stadiums around the world, wembley, for

instance. >> right. >> but really, at the end of the day, we wanted to transcend to some degree taking the staff, making the tackle and having it reflect some of the other things, art or architect. >> let's talk about timing. this stadium is opening as we are in the midst of a recession. some say we are coming out of it, others are still hurting. let's face it, you could have done it different ways. you could have refurbished the old texas stadium. you could have built a stadium for $500 million, but you've spent $1.12 billion. and some people say that money should be spent in a different way. how do you respond to that? >> well, first of all, i'm so sensitive and we all are sensitive to the times that we are in. but at the end of the day, the way we're going to get out of this is to sell our way out of it. the nfl is arguably -- >> so this is a stimulus package in some ways? >> well, in a way. obviously, it brought great economic benefit to this region, just the building of it. but that's small in comparison to the businesses, the services that are going to want people to

be aware of them. advertising is what i'm talking about. >> right. >> the nfl is the leading place to do that for the decision-makers. and this stadium says, boy, we believe in the future of the nfl, but we believe in the future of this country, and we believe the way to go get it is to sell our way out of it. >> and real quickly, if the cowboys take to the field here and stink up the joint, that's not going to be good in a brand-new stadium like this, is it? >> you know, this would be a great business if you didn't have to play those football teams. >> exactly right. that's true. jerry, congratulations. thanks for your hospitality. much more ahead from cowboys stadium including a tour of this place from one of the cowboys' all time greats, emmitt smith, and more from newew

just ahead from new york, a look at workplace violence and how you can spot signs of trouble. matt? also ahead here from cowboys

stadium, jenna bush hager joins us, and we've got much more ahead. but first, these messages and your local news. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm stan stovall. baltimore city police are searching for the person or persons who opened fire on four people in west baltimore. it happened it just after 12:30 this morning. one of the victims, an adult male, was shot several times in the side. all four victims were taken to hospital with what were described as minor injuries. time for the morning commute and sarah caldwell.

>> a few delays and accidents out there, but not too bad overall. one at pulaski highway and rosedale ave. and york road and wight avenue, watch for a crash there. backing down in the out of the west side. 25 miles per hour your average speed on the outer loop. he spent seven looking at delays towards 29. east -- down 70 looking at delays towards -- eastbound 70 looking at delays towards 29. we will switch over to the west side of liberty, where we have the standard delays. >> a great -- a great start to the morning. in a bit of drizzle perhaps, but it will be nice for the afternoon. we will see some more sunshine. in mid-70's to upper seventies this afternoon. here you see the specifics.

p.m. son, so things will tighten up this afternoon. 75 and mostly sunny tomorrow. 77 on sunday. >> be sure to check the bottom of your screen for updated as a traffic information. our next live update added 25 pence. $5 for the sub, huh? what about the drink and the chips? extra. think a $5 sub is a good deal? it's time to unthink. kfc's new $5 fill-up boxes, each with a side... and medium drink for just $5 bucks. unthink. and taste the unsub side of kfc.

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♪ 7:30 on this friday morning, september 18th, 2009. and these women you see need no introduction, the dallas cowboys cheerleaders. matt and al will catch up with them, i'm sure, a little later as they show us more of this magnificent stadium. i'm meredith vieira back in new york. matt lauer is at cowboys stadium. hey, matt. >> hey, meredith, i am in the inner sanctum. check it out. this is the cowboys' players locker room. one of the most impressive places i've ever seen. i mean, it really is. they've done this place from soup to nuts. the shower room, which is just behind here, is as big as my whole apartment in new york. you've been in a lot of players' locker rooms, meredith. how does this one compare to you? >> oh, you're such a wise guy. it's very impressive, actually, matt. but i have to ask, when i hear all the figures, more than $1 billion, 3 million square feet,

how in the world do they get that place ready for a game? >> well, it's not easy, as a matter of fact. you know, this is a huge, huge facility. on a game day, there will be 10,000 people working, working here at cowboys stadium. all the concession people, all the people, the electricians, the security people. 10,000 people on a game day just to get this place up and running, meredith. by the way, where i'm walking right now, this is the exact path -- the players come out of the locker room where i was a second ago, during the game and during halftime, they walk down this hallway when they're taking the field and leaving the field. >> i'm sure you're walking towards the cheerleaders. >> who just happen to be on the field. >> yeah. isn't that a coincidence? are you aware, matt, as you walk around of just the sheer cost of it all? >> yeah, it's hard to say that you can ignore that. here's a statistic for you, meredith. and listen to this because it's kind of amazing. texas stadium where the cowboys used to play, they played there

for 35 years, it cost, when they built it, $35 million. and that seemed like allot lot money at the time. the hd monitor we showed you a second ago cost $42 million. so just the monitor here cost more than the old texas stadium to build. and by the way, now i have joined al, and we are in a club, one of these great clubs that is on the field. fans can come in here and can drink, eat. >> they eat. then when it's game time for the game to start, the players actually come through here. people can high five the players. >> hold on a second. >> like that. >> come on. >> yeah! they bring their own atmosphere. >> is this always like this? >> yeah, it's constant. we have constant fog. it's unbelievable. >> is there a problem here we should know about? >> that's right. >> it's actually pretty impressive. >> they do serve chili here. >> that will clear some of the fog out of here, no question. you knew there would be a chili

joke, meredith. anyway, we're going to show you around a little more in a couple minutes. as i mentioned before, legendary player emmitt smith will take me on a tour of this facility coming up. >> all right, guys, we'll see you in a few minutes. we'll begin by talking about a very serious issue here, workplace violence. we'll talk with two experts in just a moment. first, natalie's here with more. natalie? >> meredith, after arresting yale lab tech nation ray clark, police were quick to label this a case of workplace violence. but to some experts that broad termite not do justice to the more personal nature of the crime. >> reporter: the arrest of 24-year-old lab worker ray clark for the killing of annie le highlights the potential danger that women may face from unstable or aggressive coworkers. >> this is not about urban crime. it's not about university crime. it's not about domestic crime. but an issue of workplace violence. which is becoming a growing concern around the country. >> reporter: to most people, the term "workplace violence" suggests images like these,

sudden chaotic events in which a disgruntled employee goes on a shooting spree. but experts say that scenario is relatively rare. more often there's an underlying resentment among coworkers who know each other well. >> it may well be that we find that this offender had some type of a romantic focus on this young lady. >> reporter: the president of yale university said there had been nothing in clark's work history to raise red flags. but john lane, an expert in workplace violence prevention, says that subtle clues were probably there. >> it's pretty safe to say that in all the cases that do transition to violence, when you do a biopsy of those cases, you'll find that there were a number of warning signs that should have been picked up on and responded to. >> reporter: investigators are looking at e-mails and text messages between clark and le which include his concerns about

le's handling of lab mice for which clark was responsible. >> if these e-mails prove to be somewhat heated, that should have been an early indicator and perhaps hindsight being 20/20, that she should have notified someone about. >> and meredith, it doesn't sound like police are going to learn much more from ray clark. he's now hired a new lawyer, and police say at this point neither are talking. meredith? >> natalie, thank you. attorney carolyn wolf specializes in safety issues on school campuses and trains people to identify red flags. pat brown is a criminal profiler. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> carolyn, if i can start with you, police are not letting people know what the motive is, but they say this is workplace violence. how do you define workplace violence, and what are the red flags that can go up that could let someone know they could be in trouble? >> red flags themselves are signs, warning signs, that if you are trained to identify and act on, you can take some action

with regard to those. it's actually the bigger issue here is really what are organizations doing to train their employees or their staff to identify them, follow up on their feelings and then take some action. i mean, i'm amazed, as i travel across the country, consulting on college campuses with fortune 500 companies, how the attitude is it will never happen here. this will never happen to us. and, in fact, there is training and education that needs to go on to help people understand what a potential threat is and to follow up on that. >> but again, how do you identify that threat? you're in this workplace. when do you know this could be a problem? >> i think the first issue is trust your gut instincts. you probably know more and feel more than you think you do. if something is uncomfortable, if it doesn't feel right, it's not right. and once you have that feeling, we can actually train people to understand that, to react to it, and then to set up a system

where you can take that information to someone in authority who can then act on it. >> you know, pat, i know you're not comfortable where police have said this is an example of workplace violence, and you're not comfortable with that definition here. why is that, pat? >> exactly, meredith. it really upsets me that it's called workplace violence. this was not about mice. this was about women. and this could have happened to annie le anyplace she was at, whether she was in school or living in ray clark's apartment or she she lived next door as his neighbor, he would have had some excuse to go up against her because he was angry against women. we look at his history, and his buddies from high school say oh, we liked ray. he was a great guy. yeah, this kind of guy sucks up to men, sucks up to his friends. but for women we have a charge in high school that he raped his girlfriend. we have neighbors saying he's very controlling of the girlfriend he has now. his issue was with women. and my take is that he did have a thing for annie le, she didn't give him the time of day, but

now she's going to pick some other white guy. which is a club he might have joined, asian culture club, there's asian women there, i can get myself a girlfriend, and they're easier to control than the other american women here. i think he's always had an issue with women, he had an issue with her, and that was his last shot. and that thing he sent about the mice was an excuse. let me get her in here, get angry at her for this and then i have a justification for being angry that she never gave me the time of day. >> pat, carolyn, thank you very much. again, we don't know the motive at this point. police are not sharing that with us if they know it. it's just a warning for people to be careful in the workplace. >> it absolutely is. thank you. >> thanks, meredith. now we go back

>> it is going to be mild here today. things were going to improve by this afternoon. we're looking at a little more sunshine. 76 to 79 degrees. we will see a few more cuts by we will see a few more cuts by late son

that's right. and, of course, you know, we're here in dallas. and that can mean only one thing. "sunday night football night in america"! that's right. we're in the house that jerry built as the giants come to town. it's going to be a hot one for them. partly cloudy, warm, temperatures in the mid-80s. they're opening the roof because they're going to blow the roof off on "sunday night, football night in america"! man! >> couldn't be more dangerous than you have a live audience for that, al. thank you very much. when we come back, future halfle famer emmitt smith's going to take me on a remarkable tour of this facility. we'll see all the bells and

whistles. also ahead, jenna bush hager will introduce you to a remarkable young man here in texas. but first, a look at these messages.

♪ we got a new home ♪ it's a one of a kind dome and welcome back to the new cowboys stadium in arlington, texas. originally they estimated the cost of building this place would be about $650 million.

but if you've ever built a house, you know that never works out. quickly the price tag ballooned to $1.12 billion, making it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built. >> reporter: as the saying goes, everything is bigger in texas. and for the new cowboys stadium here in arlington, texas, that saying has never been more true. at 3 million square feet, this spectacular new home to the dallas cowboys, one of the most illustrious franchises in sports, has been nicknamed the eighth wonder of the world and at a price tag of $1.12 billion, it has the best and biggest of everything. >> it's awesome. it's clean. it's big. it's like the neiman marcus of football stadiums. >> we've been to the old stadium before, and it's really, really tiny compared to this one. >> i couldn't even describe it. it's huge. >> reporter: who better to show me around than former dallas cowboys great and future hall of

famer, emmitt smith. so emmitt, as a player, one of the greats of the game who spent a lot of years here in dallas, just give me your initial reaction when you walk into this new stadium. >> i'm, like, wow! if you're a player and you cannot get fired up to play at this venue on this stage, you don't deserve to be on the dallas cowboys or the national football league. >> so there are 300 luxury boxes in this stadium. they're in all different levels. i think the ones that are going to get the most attention, emmitt, are these right here. they are right on the field. from a player's point of view, is that distracting? you're right there. >> it can be a little distracting, but as a player, we've always been taught to ignore everything that's in the stands. >> they're eating steak and they're having beers in there, and you're getting yelled at by your coach right here. >> hey, it is what it is. >> reporter: and if the field-level suites don't bring you close enough to the action, maybe you should check out the field club where players can actually high-five you as they take the field.

players suited up, ready for the game. they come down this tunnel. and emmitt, they walk through crowds of people here. they come right through the middle of the fans to enter the field. >> this is a way for the dallas cowboys to give their fans something unique. >> reporter: also unique, the 2300-inch high-def monitor that hangs just 90 feet above the field. it's the largest in the world and will guarantee that fans will always be able to see highlights of their favorite team. you're a ledge end in pro football, future hall of famer. do you mind if we watch a couple of highlights together? >> sure. why not? >> all right, good. roll the highlights. >> this is "today." with matt lauer. and meredith vieira. oh, man. look at that. >> that's beautiful, isn't it? >> oh. whoa, emmitt! this is living. >> any given sunday, baby. >> reporter: on any given sunday, there could be more fans here than in any other nfl stadium in the country. there are about 80,000 seats in this stadium, but they're

mounted on sliding rails. if they want, they can take the armrests in between the chairs out, squeeze them closer together and get up to 100,000 seats in here. while filling those seats will be easy, feeding them could be another story. but here, they've covered that, too. dallas fans love their football, and they also love to eat. so how do you feed them? 824 concession stands. stands that feature everything from kobe burgers to chili dogs and, of course, beer. >> ice cold beer! >> reporter: so the game's exciting, but you've been eating and drinking from all those concession stands, and you've got to go. at the new cowboys stadium, it's not a problem. 1,700 toilets. no waiting. it all fits under a roof soaring 300 feet in the air, supported by two massive arches. it's so high it could actually fit the statue of liberty base to torch. >> welcome to the top. i'm going to allow you the opportunity to open the roof.

>> you're going to let a giant fan open the roof at cowboys stadium? >> reporter: the roof opens at the touch of a button. all right. are you ready? exposing a cut-out that was designed, they say, so that even god has a good view of his favorite team. splitting right in the middle. >> yes, it is. >> reporter: how cool is that? i'm opening the roof at cowboys stadium. with the roof, the field and one of football's greatest wide open, i saw my opportunity and seized it. right over the middle. >> okay. >> reporter: go! >> i'm not going real fast. >> reporter: go, emmitt! he could go all the way! and he will right into the hall of fame. this is one of those luxury boxes. you want to get it for the season? $200,000. you want to buy it outright? 2 million bucks. we'll show you more around here, and we'll check in with the world-famous cowboy cheerleaders. but first, these messages.

coming up, bill cosby joins us live. >> and jenna bush hager introduces us to an amazing kid after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i'm stan stovall. let's get a check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> really not that bad out there. the delays are a lot lighter than we normally see. one accident scene in rosedale at west on pulaski highway, that one is off to the side. no substantial delays out of the 95 white marsh area. 31 miles per hour on the northeast outer loop in the area of harford road. that is starting to improve just a bit on the west side outer loop. southbound 795, as you approach the beltway northeast. looking at delays southbound on the j.f.x. just south of the beltway.

really not all that bad overall. but harford road, easing up in this area. these delays are also getting a little bit better. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> you can see some clouds that are rolling through. the majority of the brighter clouds are down to our south. we will see a general clearing trend with high-pressure bringing cleverness into the west, starting to build in today. sunshine by this afternoon. up to 78 degrees. 75, was the sunny, for saturday. pretty decent for sunday, too. false starts officially on tuesday. >> you can check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. our next live update at 8:25.

♪ this is our house ♪ these are my people welcome back, everyone, to the new home of the dallas cowboys in arlington, texas, all 3 million square feet of it. $1.12 billion. obviously state of the art. we showed you the retractable roof, meredith. take a look at what else they have here at each end through the end zones, they have the world's largest sliding glass doors. these things are enormous. they take about eight minutes to open fully. and how's this for a fact, meredith? they've got to open both ends at the same time because if they don't -- and they only open one side -- the wind blowing in here could blow the roof off of cowboys stadium. and that would not make jerry jones happy, okay? now, as you walk in here, you're on the second floor platform. this is called a party platform near the concession stands.

they can pack people in here. they only pay $29 for a standing-room-only seat. and actually, that's the reason the cowboys feel they can get about 100,000 people in the stadium for a game like sunday night. that's probably what they'll have. meredith? >> yeah, it's such an exciting place. you'd love to be there. i'm sure they'll pack it in every night, at least on the cowboys' end. >> they'll have between 80,000 and 100,000 for just about every home game. by the way, this morning it is not only about football. jenna bush hager will join us with the story of a young man, an 11-year-old guy, who is a celebrity in texas. if you're not one of the half million or so people who have watched dalton sherman on youtu youtube, you'll be blown away, meredith. also ahead from here in new york, the one and only bill cosby is joining us. he is known for his comedy, but this morning he has an important message he wants to share with parents. we'll talk with him in just a moment. first, it is time to find out "where are we today?"

on thursday we showed you this shot of an undisclosed location. and if you guessed the skydeck at willis tower in chicago, you were right. ♪ chicago chicago >> reporter: looming over the chicago river is willis tower, standing proud at 1,353 feet. ♪ chicago >> reporter: formerly called the sears tower, it was the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1973. from the observation deck on the 103rd floor, you can feel the building sway in the strong winds. the tower is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the windy city. today willis tower is the tallest building in the united states and the fooift tallest freestanding structure in the world. and we'll have another location for you to guess next week. but for now, ann curry is on assignment, as you know. so natalie morales is standing by at the news desk. >> good morning to you. and police this morning -- connecticut police are focusing on possible motives after a yale animal lab tech nation, raymond

clark, was arrested and charged with the murder of annie le. a lab coworker tells us clark was controlling over what went on in the lab, harassing people, and annie received a message from clark saying her cages were dirty. now to the murder trial of american amanda knox. her lawyers are challenging key crime scene evidence. keith miller is in italy. keith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. in fact, this murder trial is all about forensics. and this morning the defense attempted to discredit the prosecution's evidence. sitting in judgment is one of the highlights of knox's day. and today the defense called a crime scene investigator to refute claims that bloody footprints found at the crime scene belonged to the defendants. the prosecution claims that knox, her former boyfriend, rafael, and another man murdered knox's roommate, meredith kercher. they claim they were at his

apartment on the night of the crime. today the defense witness testified that the bloody footprints were not his but matched rudy. the prosecution contradicts their own experts. knox's father in italy to attend the trial said the contradictions are baffling. >> my personal opinion is it's only going to be settled with an independent survey of the dna and the physical evidence because they are so far at two ends of the spectrum. >> reporter: if an independent expert is called, it could take months to file a forensic report. in the meantime, knox remains behind bars. her dad says she is coping well with prison life. but after 21 months in prison, she is saying she is feeling the loss of her freedom. natalie? >> keith miller in italy, thank you, keith. an anonymous buyer has paid more than the $8.75 million asking price for bernie madoff's long island beach house.

proceeds will help repay victims of madoff's massive investment fraud. wall street is hoping to extend a rally after losing some ground thursday. cnbc's trish regan is at the new york stock exchange. trish, what might we expect there today? >> it's certainly been good as of late. a little bit of a pullback yesterday, natalie. so people are watching very carefully to see just exactly how this market ends up today. one little bit of good news here for you, american households saw an increase in their household wealth for the first time since 2007. it actually increased about 3.9% in the months april through june over the previous three months. so a little good news to hang your hat on. natalie. >> we like that, especially as we head into the weekend. thanks, trish regan. it's 8:05. let's go back to cowboys stadium and al. >> "where are we today" is brought to you by comfort suites and the other fine choice hotels.

>> and fans who come here to cowboys stadium are going to get not just grere

>> we are going to be warming up this afternoon and be up to 78 degrees. more sunshine. same deal for the shores of ocean city, in the mid-70's today. a gr

and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al, thanks very much. when we continue on a friday morning, the cos, bill cosby will join us speaking out about children and what he wants every parent to know. and as you can see, jenna bush hager joins us as well. >> i'll introduce you to an 11-year-old boy you'll never forget after these messages. my name's lisa. i'm from fayetteville, north carolina, ...and i smoked for 29 years. the one thing about smoking -

is it dominates your life, and it dominated mine. and the sad thing about it is that you can always use an excuse if cigarettes don't kill me, oh well - something else will. but, you can't use that as an excuse. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. it was very interesting that you could smoke on the first week. chantix gave me that extra help that i needed to get through a tough time. (announcer) chantix is a non-nicotine pill. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it is proven to reduce the urge to smoke. i did have an unopen pack of cigarettes in my purse and then i think i opened my purse and realized it was still there. and i said, "what the heck, i don't need these..." ...i said, you know, "bye, i don't need you anymore, you're not my crutch, i don't need a crutch." (announcer) talk to your doctor about chantix

and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you are taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit smoking products.

as a non-smoker it's wonderful. the best thing that ever happened. the best thing i have ever done besides my husband, and dogs, and family. with the chantix and with the support system, it worked. it worked for me. (announcer) talk to your doctor to find out if prescription chantix is right for you. good. ( laughs ) ( gasps ) do you hear that sound? they're popping! - really?! listen. - ( laughs ) ahhhhh... mmm. where'd the sound go? even when they've stopped popping, is it in your tummy? they haven't stopped working. now, every box of kellogg's® rice krispies® cereal... has antioxidants and nutrients... that help support your child's immune system. ( laughter continues ) bonus on every single purchase.

what you do with it is up to you. what will you get back with your cash back? it pays to discover. in the 1930s, to replenish the barren soil of the american dust bowl. today, we take that same historic bean, mix it with fruit and bake it... into soyjoy. welcome back to arlington, texas. today's new contributing correspondent, jenna bush hager, has made her way to cowboys stadium as well. we didn't waste any time putting her to work. she met up with dalton sherman, a sixth grader here in dallas with an extraordinary gift for public speaking. >> our special guest today, mr. dalton sherman. >> reporter: so "d," i'm really new at this and i'm kind of nervous. give me some tips.

>> say the words clearly so people can understand them. splat. >> splat. hat. sat. >> that gets your tongue, like -- >> moving. >> -- moving. >> so i can pronounce words better? what grade do you give me? >> i give you an "a" plus. >> an "a" plus? amazing. dalton, you're 11, right? >> yes. >> tell me about your first time you ever gave a speech. >> the first, first time i ever gave a speech was when i was in first grade. >> and then what inspired you to get back into giving speeches? >> my fourth grade teacher inspired me, miss redmond. she noticed i was talkative and it was my gift. she said i'm going to put you in a speech contest. >> instead of punishing him for talking too much, you encouraged him to go out and become active in these speech competitions. >> when i first met him, he was in first grade, he spoke to me. i was, like, oh, my goodness. this kid has a beautiful voice. we used it to his advantage, and it has worked out perfectly for

him. >> you went and gave this huge speech in front of all of the dallas public schoolteachers, right? >> yes. >> i believe in me. do you? believe in me? >> what were you thinking when you were standing on that stage and saw 17,000 teachers below you? >> i was thinking, daddy, this is a lot of people. >> i also heard that after your speech, a teacher came up to you and said, "i was thinking about quitting." >> she said, "dalton, i was thinking about quitting -- quitting teaching this year, but now that you said that speech, i'm going to keep my job." and so that was really meaningful for me. >> so will you go ahead and just tell me the first couple verses? >> i believe in me. do you believe in me? do you believe that i can stand up here fearless and talk to all of you? thank you.

>> that was awesome! >> thank you. >> good job. >> do you believe in my classmates? >> yes. >> reporter: 500,000 people have viewed dalton's speech on youtube including ellen and oprah who each invited him to appear on their shows. even esteemed poet dr. maya angelou took notice. >> the best highlight for me was meeting dr. maya angelou. and she told dalton dr. king was a good friend of hers and his speech really touched her heart. >> it is unbelievable. how do you feel with all the media and when you knew 500,000 people watched dalton on youtube? >> i'm just proud. i'm totally just amazed by the attention he's gotten and by the people wanting to hear him. >> reporter: but despite dalton's extraordinary ability in public speaking, his hobbies are as ordinary as your average 11-year-old. >> yeah! >> reporter: dalton's interests include hanging out with friends and playing basketball. so i challenged him to a little

one-on-one. i'm going down. told you! good one, "d." tell me a little bit about the message, what you were trying to say in that "believe in me" speech. >> well, the message was to get teachers to believe in their children and to let them know kids will be kids. >> even though dalton inspired 17,000 teachers, you were a major influence and inspiration in his life. >> oh, i feel very honored. he inspired me to be a better person and a better teacher. >> he's had a lot of great teachers. but we all remember that one teacher in our life, and i think for dalton, it will always be miss redmond. >> dalton, tell me what you did to prepare for all of these speeches that you've been giving. >> i spend three days a week and an hour each day. it was for three weeks straight. and it was a long time. practice and practice and practice and practice makes perfect. >> sometimes i think i'm talking to somebody that's 33 years old.

but you're very mature for an 11-year-old. >> thank you. >> what do you want to become when you're older? >> strive for my goal to be a news anchor. >> a news anchor or any other profession? i heard -- >> maybe president, but if that doesn't work out, i'll stick to being news anchor. >> news anchor. so after all of this, it's been hours, right? do you still want to be a news anchor? >> yes, i still want to be a news anchor, and i just have to say it -- say something real quick. >> okay. >> watch out, matt lauer, because i might be taking your job. >> it's very, very possible. i love the fact that a teacher took what could have been a negative and turned it into a positive. >> exactly. miss redmond is a terrific teacher. she's been teaching for 33 years. and she saw the best in him. and you can see, in his speech, that he really believes, believe in me, because he's had a teacher that's done just that. >> and now he's carrying on the message to other young people. it's fantastic. we're here at cowboys stadium. i can't leave without you finding out a lot of bush family history in texas, houston and dallas. are you a cowboy fan or a texan

fan? >> my grandparents are going to kill me, but i'm from dallas so i've got to root for the cowboys. >> i don't know if that's the truth. >> and the ravens. >> jenna, good to have you here. thanks so much. zyrtec® itchy eye drops. now i have new it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to 12 hours. no other allergy itchy eye drop works faster or longer. which is good, 'cause there's a lotta paws to shake. with new zyrtec® itchy eye drops i can love the air™. (announcer) find it in the allergy aisle next to other zyrtec® products. dinner's ready! let's eat. (announcer) today, there's i can't believe it's not butter! it has no trans fat, 70% less saturated fat than butter, and less saturated fat than smart balance. i can't believe it's not butter!

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more than 13 million children live in poverty in the

united states, taking a toll on their health, education and general outlook on life. issues that will be addressed in a special live event featuring bill cosby this sunday on msnbc called "about our children." he is with us now along with the event's moderator, msnbc political analyst michelle bernard. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> michelle, if i can start with you, this was really your idea to do this. i mean, you talked to bill and said i'd love for you to get involved. >> yes. >> and he did. but what is behind this? what do you hope people will take away from this? >> sunday night is what i'm hoping is the first day of a nationwide, grass-roots mobilization effort by parents, grandparents and children who will say, you know what? we're going to take the bull by the horns. this is about our children. we will take an honest look at ourselves and see what we can do to change our lives to make the world a better place for our children. whether it is going to systems that are failing and saying, you know what? give me back my tax dollars

because this isn't working. give me back my money and let us figure out how to make the system work and how do we fix the education system so that every child in this country truly has a shot at the american dream. >> why -- you know, you have been talking about this forever -- why hasn't there been an outcry like michelle is trying to get? >> i think because most people who are crying out want something for themselves. this is a nation that -- it appears that they really don't like children. i mean, for instance, let's just think about we have intelligent, stupid. a child is absent from school for no real reason for 11 days. so the system says, suspend the kid for five days from school. intelligent or stupid? but people let it go. you just had an 11-year-old kid

on who spoke and said, "do you believe in me? i believe in me." it's simple. yet people don't go about behaving that way towards their children. the first thing that happened when i was going around, and i had had enough of this. and i kept saying to groups of people, our children are trying to tell us something, and we're not listening. this program -- by the way, she doesn't tell it correctly. >> oh, boy, michelle. >> i sat down at the table. allen was sitting here and she is sitting here. first of all, she's taller than both of us. so she says, i'm going to do a town hall. will you be there? would you like to be there? i said yes. alvin said yes. and then she said, well, i'm doing this town hall. will you be there? i said yes. she said really? i mean, this went on for another half hour.

>> well, she got you here. let me ask you, michelle, there are three types of panels. first focused on parenting, then health and then education. that order was specific for you. it was by design. why? >> absolutely. education, i believe, firmly is the great equalizer. but until -- we can't even get to education until we can talk about what is effective parenting. what are the health needs of children? one of the things that we're going to talk about on sunday night that i think is really very different and spectacular -- >> and this is live. >> -- and this is live, live studio audience. people will be able to ask questions during the program, we're going to talk about depression, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. this affects blacks. it affects whites. it affects hispanics. we don't want anyone tuning in to think this is just about black people which often when you hear poverty, you think black people. poverty affects everyone. we're going to talk about depression, education, parenting. you can't do one without doing the other. >> and offer solutions. >> well, that's the important thing. we've got to go at this point.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. 11 news has learned that a maryland soldier from glen burnie is among the latest casualties in afghanistan. the 29-year-old sergeant first class was one of three soldiers inside a vehicle patroling the helmand province when an explosive device struck it on tuesday. he died wednesday from his injuries. he is an 11-year veteran and leaves behind a wife and three children. let's check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and sarah caldwell. >> not a bad commute out there, has not been bad all morning. route 32, watch for closures at i-70 due to a crash coming in the last few minutes. rosedale, that one is clear, but

magothy bridge, anne arundel county, watch for accident location there. 14 minutes on the west side outer loop. here is a life of your traffic at wilkins ave. here you are in great shape. to lay-free on the top part. easing up on the west side outer loop at liberty. >> you can see the gray skies out there, light fog that is still out there. we will see a slow improvement today. turning partly cloudy, warmer. right now we're still in the 60's. 64 downtown. into the 70's, 76 to 79. tomorrow will be lovely. mostly sunny, 75 degrees, ice tonight and tomorrow night. >> thank you for joining us. we will have another update at 8:55.

bringing the world into sharper focus. >> did you steal this election? >> reporting the news and making headlines. >> racism. how worried are you? >> most watched. most honored. nbc news. 8:30 now on this friday morning, september 18th, 2009, on this special split edition of "today" from new york and the brand-new billion-dollar home of the dallas cowboys. outside on the plaza, i'm meredith vieira along with natalie morales. matt and al are at cowboys stadium. guys, you aren't mentioning much about being from new york, are you, after the cowboys play the giants on sunday night? >> hello? >> hello? >> what, are you nuts? >> are you crazy? >> you don't come to cowboys stadium and say i'm a giants fan

too loud. not at all, meredith. we're not dumb, okay? >> stupid, maybe, not dumb. >> exactly. >> they're wearing their t-shirts. >> what do you have coming up? >> hey, you know what? besides football, we've got food to talk about. and lucky for us, we've got some unique tastes. unique brand of food that they've got -- they're serving here at cowboys stadium and some drink, too. can you believe a cowboyrita? >> we'll try that. also, they performed for us a little earlier. we'll go behind the scenes with the world-famous dallas cowboys cheerleaders. we have three of them sitting right here alongside us. they don't look so great in the morning, but that's okay. >> get those shorts on, and boy, they're something. >> we'll introduce them in a second, meredith. >> yeah, tell them to shave their legs. it's just not the right look otherwise. just ahead from here, you'll meet a pair of college roommates who have turned shared love into a multimillion-dollar business. and you could do the same thing. and also how to give your entire family room a brand-new look for under 500 bucks.

we'll slow you how coming up. let's go back to matt and al. >> all right, guys, thanks very much. as we mentioned a couple of times this morning, they're going to officially cut the ribbon on this stadium sunday night with a game between the cowboys and the new york giants. we've got the team that will be broadcasting that game for nbc. we've got bob, al and cris. guys, good morning.

>> we are seeing 76 to 79 by this afternoon. great start out there now. things will get better by tomorrow for sure. nice on sunday as and that's your latest weather. and, of course, we're coming up on sunday night, and that means "sunday night, football night in america"! here in cowboyland, they're opening the big house, the house that jerry built!

the giants come in here taking on the boys. partly cloudy, warm. temperatures in the 80s. it will be about 100 on the field. that's right. on "sunday night, football night in america"! gentlemen. >> i'm stone deaf in this ear. al, thank you very much. when we come back, we're going to chow down at this stadium. but first, this is "today" on nbc. ( piano music playing )

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one of the chefs here at cowboys stadium. nice to see you. good morning. >> good morning. >> we love to eat. al and i love to eat. so what have you brought this morning? >> we have some of the top sales items in the suites which is the mac & cheese, the truffle mac & cheese. >> truffle mac & cheese at a football game? >> at a football game, yes, sir. >> what goes into this? >> it's a blend of cheese. brie, white cheese, white cheddar cheese and macaroni, reduced cream and herbs. >> it smells great. i haven't even tasted it and it smells great. as we move down. >> we have caesar with roasted jalapeno caesar dressing which we have corn and cornbread croutons and parmesan cheese. >> are prices reasonable? >> i think with the quality of food we have, it kind of makes the -- the quality makes the price because we make everything

fresh. we make everything in house. we try to not buy anything already made. we probably cook 800 pounds of shrimp for a game, which is -- >> and the dipping sauce kind of special? >> it's special. traditional cocktail horseradish sauce which is homemade, too. >> can i try it? >> got to dip. that's good. what do we have in front here? >> what we have here, this is the same thing, concession items. the top sellers. we have the kobe burger. cowboy burger. it's a kobe fresh patty. we get it the day before. it's fresh made. we make it to order. >> and a cheesesteak sandwich? >> cheesesteak sandwich. it's really good. we probably sell 15,000. >> wow! that's a lot of cheesesteak. >> you're going to make something quickly for us here that is going to be one of the

signature dishes here at cowboys stadium, braised shortrib. >> braised short rib. >> how do we get started? >> we're going to start with a little bit of oil. then we're going to season the short ribs. >> that's pretty simple seasoning. >> yeah, salt, pepper. salt, pepper. and then you're just going to kind of sear them. >> and you brown those on both sides? >> yes. and then we're going to start here with our cowboy grits. >> these are cowboy grits? >> yeah. >> ooh. >> a little red pepper. >> red pepper, onions. a little bit of garlic and chives. >> you like grits, ol? >> i love grits. >> i do, too. >> so it's a lot of savory in

there with the garlic, tomato, onion, pepper. >> we try to make it flavorful. it's more rich. >> what we're going to do is we're going to pretend that has been made. and we're going to just say the name of the drink, by the way, also? >> that's a cowboyrita. >> cowboyrita. >> cowboyrita. >> chef juan, thank you too much. you take this. good luck on opening night, all right? great to have you. much more ahead from cowboys stadium on a friday morning. much more ahead from cowboys stadium on a friday morning. first this is "todayay

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back now at 8:44. this morning on "today's entrepreneurs," create a budding new business even during these tough economic times. a pair of business school roommates turned clothing designers are now shaking things up in the world of men's apparel. "today" national correspondent tiki barber has their story. >> reporter: spend an afternoon

at the offices in new york city, and it's hard not to catch the enthusiasm. where 19 employees, all part owners, willingly double as models -- >> i like that. that looks good. >> reporter: and pitch in packing boxes for the afternoon pickup. a dose of humility and a sense of humor required. but all fun aside, it's a serious business. created to fix a real problem. >> you can never find trousers that fit. the designer stuff was too slim and too tight in the leg, and the mass-market stuff was baggy and gave me khaki diaper butt. i was always caught in the middle. >> reporter: athletic guys, i have this problem, have a skinny waist, big thighs, big butts. and so you crunch up your waist to fit pants. how are your pants different in the design? >> they have a contoured waistband that has a curve that better approximates the waist of an athletically-built guy. but what we found, it's not just for an ex-nfl star like yourself. >> reporter: design novice brian

spaley figured out by altering the waist and narrowing the thigh using great fabrics and hip details, he could make awesome-fitting pants for most guys. so who is your client? is it the geek? is it the fashionista? is it the jock? who is it? >> it's anybody who needs pants that fit better. >> reporter: they are betting that today's man not only cares about style, but he hates to shop. >> guys like to wear nice clothes. we've seen a real change in the last, i'd say, five to ten years. >> it's okay to care about how you look now. but you don't necessarily want to spend the weekend doing it. >> so you go online for 15 minutes and you're good. >> we make it easy for you. >> reporter: in fact, the duo has made internet-only sales and great customer service two of the hallmarks of their brand. >> we hire intelligent, driven, bright, motivated college-educated folks to come in and talk to our customers and to build a real experience and a loyalty that now has our customer saying we love your pants, but when are you going to make shirts?

>> so are you ready for the ultimate challenge? fit me. ♪ >> woo! >> these look great. it flatters your figure. it makes you look like the handsome guy that you are. ♪ don't you like my style ♪ i know that you like my style ♪ ♪ turn you out ♪ everybody in the place get loud ♪ >> holy cow. >> there is little to no chance that i would ever wear these other than right here. and, of course, i'm on national television. >> so you're saying there's a chance. >> i'm saying there's a chance. >> reporter: but do these guys have a chance of breaking into the mainstream fashion industry? do you want to be viewed as a threat? >> we want to be viewed as an alternativ alternative, you know, that there's a different way you can do it, and we think it will work for a lot of guys. >> and since launching in the fall of 2007, bonobos has sold more than 27,000 pairs of pants and brought in more than $3.5 million. we're going to bring in donny deutsch, chairman of deutsche inc. and the author of "the big idea." >> great to be here. >> you love the flowered pants.

let's get that out of the way. >> i'm not going to be able to be an expert because tiki in the flowered pants was working. it's concerning me. >> let's talk about this sort of company. they saw a problem with pants and decided we're going to address that and provide a solution. you're used to the big idea. is that enough of a big idea? >> that is the big idea. it's simple. i say this all the time. if in any part of your day any product or service is not meeting your needs, i'm a guy, why can't i find a pair of pants that fitted me? there are probably 1 million other guys feeling that. that's the beginning of a big idea. >> i think people get intimidated that they have to come up with the newest thing out there. they don't. >> here is the way -- everybody at home, you at home, will find your next big idea in the next week. keep a diary. and basing the next time at any point in your day you go, wait a second, why are socks always falling down? why can't i get a fruit that does this? that's the big idea. so it's not coming up with the next nasa experiment. it's not coming up with the next genetic breakthrough code. it's civil solutions for eve everyday problems.

those are the big ideas. >> people say boy, they went out on a limb, because times are tough. this is not the right time to start a business. >> wrong. there are so many young, hungry people out on the street almost willing to work for nothing. then there's partners. you get people on the cheap. and now is when everybody's looking for new ideas. it's when things are great status quo stays the same. during the great depression, more new businesses started. and i say what the heck. that's when you go for it. >> this is also a hard time to get a loan. >> if you're sitting at home saying i need $1 million to start a business, wrong. businesses can be started on $1,000 or $5,000. especially they started online. there's no bricks and mortar. so today the internet is -- >> that's what i was going to ask you. >> -- everybody's barrier. it could cost you $1,000, you're up and running. and young people are -- they talked about the premise of that business, young people out of college, hungry, none of them had any experience also. i also say sometimes no experience is what makes a great

business because you don't know what you don't know and you go for it. >> these guys are being told by friends and people buying from them not just pants now. we want the next thing. is it dangerous to expand? >> no, as long as you stay true to your core competency. they're in the clothing business, better fashion solutions for men. that's one wide swath. i wouldn't start selling blenders the next day, but no, you can go from that. as long as they stay true to their core brand, we have cool new solutions for men who are not kids but don't want to wear daddy trousers which i'm getting to that point now. >> i was going to say, if you're a real man, donny, the next time you're on you'll be wearing those flower pants with pride. >> in fact, i will wear them tonight. >> that is so cable. we're not going there. >> it's just wrong. >> donny deutsche, thank you so much. >> good to be here. up next, matt and al, two guys who wear flowered pants as well, hang out with the dallas

♪ god bless texas welcome back to that beautiful building right there. each year hundreds of hopefuls descend on dallas with a dream of becoming a part of one of the most famous teams in professional sports. >> but not the dallas cowboys. >> the dallas cowboys cheerleaders. ♪

>> reporter: they're america's sweethearts, cheering on america's team. ♪ rockin' them beats >> reporter: the dallas cowboys cheerleaders clad in their trademark blue and white star-spangled uniforms have achieved iconic status alongside the football team they support. ♪ boom boom >> reporter: back in the 1960s, the cowbells and beaus rallied fans in a more collegiate style, but it was the cowboys' legendary general manager text schram who in 1972 recognized what a glamorous squad of accomplished dancers on the sidelines could do for the game and television. the dallas cowboy cheerleaders not only became the darlings of the nfl, they took hollywood by storm. they sailed on "the love boat," spent a saturday night on live tv. they even starred in their own made-for-tv movie. today they're featured in a reality show on country music television's "dallas cowboys cheerleaders making the team."

♪ distancing with myself >> reporter: when they're not on the stage or on the field, they're performing countless acts of kindness in the dallas area and beyond. their place in dallas cowboy loren sured that they would not be overlooked as the organization moved into a new home. >> this is so awesome. we have lockers larger than my entire body. they have our names on them. they have a picture of us above it. >> reporter: but with an upgrade comes some additional pressures. >> yeah, 65,000 people in the stands at texas stadium. here you have 80,000 to 100,000. and the screen stretches from the 20 yard line to the 20 yard line. so they don't miss anything. so everything has to be perfect. ♪ a good good night ♪ woo hoo >> this was fun watching the piece. you think ooh, ah! >> there's jamie! >> what is it like being in the new stadium? >> it is amazing. it's larger than life here.

you should see the difference between our locker from the last stadium and this stadium. here it's just so big. it's so massive. it's just amazing to be able to perform in front of all of these people. that's the biggest difference. >> yeah, what's it going to be like with 100,000 people in here on sunday night? can you even describe that? >> i think it would be absolutely wild. the first two preseason games were amazing, for sure, because we were all, like, wow! this is so new and so huge. but i think with a full, completely packed house, first regular season game against the giants, it's going to be amazing. >> yeah. bh who's going to win? >> we are. >> all right. >> good luck. >> meredith and natalie, we know who they think's going to win. the game is sunday night, and this is some place, folks. >> it's so nbc? >> it's on nbc. >> do you even want to come >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning.

i am mindy basara. baltimore city police are searching for the person or persons who opened fire on four people in west baltimore. it happened just after 12:30 this morning. police said that one victim, an adult male, was shot several times in the side, and all four victims were taken to hospitals with what is being described as minor injuries. back in a minute with a check on today's forecast

>> now let's take a look at the forecast with sandra shaw. >> we are dealing with a gr ay start to the day. the sunshine will warm us up to about 78 degrees. 75 on the shores of ocean city, a very bleak cloudy, more

sunshine and the latter hours of the afternoon. mostly sunny throughout the entire day tomorrow sunday, 77, increase in the clouds by the afternoon. fall officially begins on tuesday. >> we will have another update at 9:25. it gets an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon, and was named an iihs top safety pick.

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