Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo sounded a wistful note Tuesday, a week after announcing his retirement from the NFL without the league's biggest prize.

"I feel like I left something out there that I always wanted to accomplish," said Romo, a four-time Pro Bowler who is the Cowboys' all-time leader with 34,183 passing yards and 248 touchdowns, but never managed to take the team to a Super Bowl crown.

"And I've got to live with that," Romo added. "That's part of playing sports. It doesn't always go the way you expect. You can put everything into it and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't."

Romo said he'd received hundreds of messages and phone calls since announcing his retirement and move into the broadcast booth as an announcer for the CBS network.

"It's been overwhelming," he said.

As he reflected on his transition from the league, Romo was speaking not at a Cowboys-organized farewell press conference, but at the American Airlines Center arena of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, where he was suiting up Tuesday as a Maverick for a day in recognition of the regard in which he is held in Dallas.

"Standing here today I feel a little bit embarrassed, to be honest," said Romo, who was a standout basketball player in high school. "Just in the sense that you're lucky enough to be in a position that someone cares enough to do something to honor you. I'm a lucky guy."

source: AFP