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Game Day Guide: Stars vs Sabres | Dallas Stars

Published

1 year ago

October 22, 2024

Press Room

Game Day Guide: Stars vs Sabres | Dallas Stars

First Shift 🏒

Jason Robertson knows a thing or two about goalies – he studies them quite a bit.

So when asked what is the key to Jake Oettinger’s recent success, the Stars’ top scorer for the past two seasons put it plainly: confidence.

“Confidence, confidence, confidence,” Robertson said. “When a hockey player is confident, it makes all the difference. I can only imagine how much it means to a goalie.”

For Oettinger right now, it means the Stars are winning. The 25-year-old netminder is 4-0-0 on the season with a 1.48 GAA and .953 save percentage. The 6-6 goalie said he is seeing the puck well, he is reading the game well, and he has confidence.

“I think I’m just more confident,” he said. “I think as a goalie, you want to be aggressive but, when you’re 6-6 you can be deeper and it helps you get to plays easier. If you’re six inches outside the crease, they’re going to make you look pretty silly, so just the confidence and the reads that I’ve worked on. I can make a lot of saves from the goal line, so if I can just be patient and stay back a little bit more, it kind of slows things down for me.”

Oettinger was able to work early in his career with 6-7 Ben Bishop, and the veteran gave the youngster a lot of tips about being in the right place at the right time and just letting the puck hit him. Now, almost 250 games (including playoffs) into his career, Oettinger said he has a lot of experience to lean on.

“I think five years of playing, great goalie coaches, learning from great goalies, that all helps,” Oettinger said. “Bish has harped on me since Day 1. He’s a different animal, so I can’t play exactly like him, but there are a lot of things I can take from him. Just using my size to my advantage, once you get confident you can do that and stop anyone in the world, the game slows down.”

Oettinger missed much of his summer two seasons ago as he rehabbed from surgery, so having a healthy summer to work seems to be making a difference now, coach Pete DeBoer said.

“He’s healthy,” DeBoer said. “He’s coming off a summer where he actually got to train, unlike last summer. When he’s dialed in, he combines that size with his hockey sense where he’s there before the puck is there.”

And that gives you a lot of confidence.

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Examining the Buzz About Brooks and Dallas

Published

3 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Examining the Buzz About Brooks and Dallas

The Miami Dolphins already have traded star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, there has been speculation about running back De’Von Achane, and now it’s Jordyn Brooks’ turn.

The team’s best defensive player during the disappointing 2025 season, Brooks’ name has come up in reports out of the Dallas Cowboys as they look for a high-end linebacker to anchor their defense.

Dallas was said to be interested in trading for Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen but instead have pivoted to Brooks and Azeez Al-Shaair, according to Cowboys reporter Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

They’ve pivoted off Queen. Al-Shaair & Brooks are being discussed though
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) March 20, 2026

It’s really not surprising to see Brooks’ name being involved in trade speculation given the state of the Dolphins, who already this offseason have said goodbye to mainstays Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, Bradley Chubb, Alec Ingold, Jason Sanders and Waddle, among others.

The Dolphins clearly want to get rid of big contracts and build up some draft capital, and trading Brooks could help accomplish both goals.

It also might be telling that the Dolphins restructured the contracts of both Achane and center Aaron Brewer, but didn’t do the same for Brooks even though they clearly could use the cap space.

WHY MIAMI WOULD MOVE BROOKS

Brooks led the NFL in tackle last season and earned first-team All-Pro recognition in his second season with Miami.

He also was a team captain and would seem to embody the kind of player new head coach Jeff Hafley would want on his roster.

But business is business, and Brooks just might be more valuable as a trade asset than leading a defense on a team that really doesn’t figure to contend in 2026 as he heads into the final year of the three-year deal he signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2024.

So maybe it’s going to come down to the Dolphins not wanting to worry about negotiations with Brooks (through his agent) as he heads into his contract year, particularly if they can get a choice draft pick in return.

The Cowboys already have traded a fourth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for edge defender Rashan Gary, so the big question obviously is what kind of return Brooks could bring.

WHY MIAMI WOULD NOT TRADE BROOKS

Given his position and his contract situation where an acquiring team might be looking at either a one-year rental or an expensive extension, it’s probably not realistic to expect even as high as a second-round pick for Brooks.

And then maybe Dallas asks for a later draft pick along with Brooks in return for whatever pick they send Miami, something like a third-round pick for Brooks and a fifth or a seventh.

Ultimately, the biggest question will be whether the Dolphins see Brooks as a key piece beyond 2026 and whether they’re willing to pay him what he would want to stay in Miami beyond the upcoming season.

If the answer to either question is a no, then we absolutely could see a Brooks trade to follow up the Waddle deal.

But that’s not the same as suggesting a trade is imminent because Miami just might decide Brooks is a keeper for what he brings on and off the field.

But the way things are going this offseason for Miami, it’s easy to understand why the speculation would be there and why Brooks’ name would be mentioned as a trade possibility.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Police tweak off-duty job rule after saying man impersonated police

Published

15 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Dallas Police tweak off-duty job rule after saying man impersonated police

No outside agencies or businesses will be able to directly hire off-duty police officers through the scheduling platform RollKall after police say a man impersonating law enforcement and killed by SWAT officers earlier this month slipped through the cracks.

Police Chief Daniel Comeaux announced the change in a memo Friday. He said Diamon-Mazairre Robinson, 39, who worked security for U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, had a company that was active and compliant with the Texas Secretary of State’s records as of March 2025.

Comeaux said this “allowed him to register as an external RollKall coordinator requesting services and he also fraudulently created an officer account.” Robinson logged into RollKall as early as April 2025.

The police department caught wind of it nearly a year later, after it found an individual using the platform was impersonating a peace officer. The police department’s intelligence unit investigated and the fugitive unit tracked Robinson down earlier this month.

Police said Robinson had multiple active warrants against him, with some dating back to 2017. He worked for Crockett under the alias Mike King, and police said used an alias to connect off-duty officers with work. Police said he maintained a false persona for many years.

Amid questions about the platform’s integrity, Comeaux said Robinson had no access to personal information of officers. No investigations or proprietary information seemed to have been compromised.

Meanwhile, the department met with RollKall executives to review safeguards in place.

The rule change, Comeaux said, will ensure all departmental policies and legalities are followed with “no interruption of off-duty services.” The rule goes into effect March 25.

The police department used RollKall, a job tracking system for off-duty jobs, to help officers find and manage additional work. The city started transitioning to the platform in 2023 after a 2018 city audit called for improvements in the oversight and documentation of the department’s previous off-duty program. RollKall is an Irving-based company.

By late 2024, the platform was deployed throughout the department.

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Taste the ‘Tesla of Coffee’ and More at the Dallas Coffee Festival

Published

1 day ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Taste the ‘Tesla of Coffee’ and More at the Dallas Coffee Festival

Wake up and smell the coffee as the Dallas Coffee Festival returns.

Marina Alvarez

Craft Hospitality’s Dallas Coffee Festival is coming back for a refill — and make it a double. Taking place April 18-19 at Gilley’s, the “immersive coffee experience” will build on 2025’s inaugural success by expanding from one day to two, in anticipation of another sold-out crowd of more than 2,000 java junkies.

New York-based Craft also hosts Coffee Festivals in Austin, Philadelphia and San Diego, among other cities. In addition, the company hosts whiskey, margarita and wine events across the country and operates a restaurant consulting business.

“One of the highlights of the first event was simply seeing how strong the Dallas coffee community is,” a company representative said via email. “Many of the city’s best-known roasters and cafés participated, giving attendees the rare chance to explore a huge cross-section of the local coffee scene in one place.”

With tickets starting around $30, it’s not a cheap date. Here are a few reasons why you may want to shell out the beans.

Find a new local fix.
Dallas Coffee Festival’s Texas representation is strong, with the majority of its three dozen exhibitors hailing from or operating cafés within the DFW area. Many are new to us, and that’s saying something given the volume of coffee we consume, including Flying Squirrel (Mansfield), Forest Flame (Arlington), Tejana Coffee (Dallas) and Kabita Indonesian Coffeehouse (Dallas).

Taste “the Tesla of coffees.”
A curious exhibitor, BVP Coffee Co., is a tech startup focused on applying AI-powered operations to the coffee business. Proudly “building the Tesla of coffees,” BVP aims to increase efficiency and scalability while reducing waste and environmental impact. They’re also seeking investors. Sounds slick, but how does it drive … er … taste?

Connect with a cause (in a cup).
Several booths will be hosted by companies with give-back business models. For example, Dallas-based Elevate Coffee Trading provides a month of clean water for a child in Guatemala with every bag sold. Cofounder Michael Iwasko is returning to the festival after a successful show last year, anticipating another opportunity to “build relationships with enthusiasts and wholesale partners who align with our shared vision for the cause.”

And even if you don’t like coffee…
While you’ll never truly be our friend (sorry), there are plenty of non-coffee perks to enjoy at the Dallas Coffee Festival. On the exhibitor side, Piper & Leaf Tea Co. from Alabama brews leaves instead of beans, and California-based COBA makes caffeinated chocolate bars. The festival will also feature a lineup of four live music acts (two each day) and food from Oak Cliff’s for purchase.

Gilley’s Dallas is located at 1135 Botham Jean Blvd.

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