OXNARD, Calif. Elfrid Payton Jersey . -- Tyron Smith has a new contract that will probably make him the most important blocker for the next Dallas quarterback after Tony Romo. The Pro Bowl left tackle signed an eight-year, $98 million extension Wednesday that pushes the total value of his deal to $110 million over 10 years, locking him up through 2023. The extension includes a $10 million signing bonus and $40 million in guaranteed money. Smith joins Romo as the only Cowboys with contracts valued at more than $100 million. Smith was just 20 when the Cowboys took him ninth overall in 2011 out of Southern California. That was Jason Garretts first draft as coach. "That first one says a lot about what you believe," Garrett said. "Hes something else. We really emphasize the importance of mental toughness. We believe thats a distinguishing trait in players and in teams. And he represents that in spades. Hes off the charts." In a statement through his marketing agency, Smith said the Cowboys approached him with what is a cap-friendly deal for the franchise, and the lineman asked his agents to weigh the pros and cons of signing it. Smith said part of his reasoning was rewarding owner Jerry Jones for standing by him during a difficult time that included Smiths lawyer accusing the players parents of taking money from him after he had set up a way to give them a portion of his rookie contract. "Theyve looked out for me and I just wanted to look out for them," Smith told reporters after Wednesdays late practice. "The deal they offered me, didnt really need much and its something I was really comfortable before I took it." Executive vice-president Stephen Jones said the Cowboys wanted to make Smith the highest-paid left tackle in the NFL, which he said was accomplished through a $12.2 million average for the eight-year extension. "Tyron deserves it," Jones said. "Hes 23 years old, and it may be the first 10-year deal Ive ever done in football where I think the guy will be playing in the last year of his contract." Smith has started all 47 games in his career, missing one game with a sprained ankle in 2012. He played right tackle as a rookie before moving to the left side, and this year hell be protecting Romos blind side with the 34-year-old coming off back surgery. "Hes just been everything we wanted to build this program and this team around," Garrett said. "He was a really young player we put in really in minute one of day one. Hes everything we thought he was going to be, physically and intangibly and just as a person. His work ethic is fantastic." Smith became the first-round model in three of four drafts for the Cowboys -- proven players from major college programs. They took centre Travis Frederick from Wisconsin late in the first round last year after trading down and grabbed right guard Zack Martin out of Notre Dame in the middle of the first round this year. "On draft day, youre optimistic about the players you take, particularly that high in the draft, but when you see them develop as quickly as he has into the kind of leader and the player you want, not only for your team but your program, its really satisfying," Garrett said. "Hes a cornerstone player in this franchise." As with Smith, Frederick and Martin have been plugged in as starters from the start of their first off-season. They were born within four months of each other and will each be 23 when the season starts. "You see those relationships developing before your eyes," Garrett said. "Its a special bond, particularly when you play a position like offensive line where the communication is verbal but also has to be almost by feel." Drew Gooden Jersey . The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma City dominated the first half and led by 22 at the break, but saw its lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard Jersey .Y. - The NFL has fined Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $20,000 for making an obscene gesture during last Sundays NFC championship game, a person with knowledge of the fine told The Associated Press on Thursday.Scoring in five of nine innings goes a long way to posting a W. The Winnipeg Goldeyes (15-9) did just that in a 7-4 win over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (15-9) at Newman Outdoor Field in North Dakota Sunday afternoon. The win is Winnipegs first regular season victory in Fargo since August 2012 and avoids a third consecutive sweep in Fargo to the RedHawks. The Goldeyes scored single runs in each of the first three innings, including a lead-off home run by Ray Sadler in the top of the third inning that gave Winnipeg a 3-1 lead. After Fargo responded with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game, Winnipeg restored the two-run lead in the top of the sixth.  Josh Mazzola singled in Donnie Webb, and Reggie Abercrombie scored on the same play thanks to a throwing error by Fargo third baseman Ronnie Bourquin, who was trying to catch Mazzola in a run down between first and second base. An inning later, Luis Alen dumped a single into centre field, which scored Tyler Kuhn and Jake Blackwood.Fargo tallied a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, but the RedHawks comeback bid fell three runs shortt. Khem Birch Jersey. Alen was Winnipegs leader offensively with three RBI in the game. "Thats what Luis does," Goldeyes pitching coach Jamie Vermilyea said on the Jewel 101 post-game show. "He puts the ball in play, finds the gaps and gets the big hits with men on base." On the bump, Chandler Barnard went 5 1/3 innings in his Goldeyes debut to get the win. He allowed three runs on six hits. "He has a hard, heavy sinker," Vermilyea said. "Once he established that and threw it over the plate, they didnt put too many good swings on it. He looked good, especially joining a new team in the middle of the season." Kyle Bellamy pitched the ninth inning for his fourth save of the season. Fargos starter Danny Gutierrez suffered the loss for the RedHawks. After playing the Field of Dreams Golf Tournament tomorrow, the Goldeyes begin a six-game homestand Tuesday night against the Grand Prairie AirHogs, who will be making their first visit to Shaw Park. The St. Paul Saints will make their first of three visits to Winnipeg next weekend for the back half of the homestand. ' ' '