Dallas, TX

The Dallas Cowboys are almost a top 5 roster according to ESPN

Published

1 year ago

June 26, 2024

The Dallas Cowboys are almost a top 5 roster according to ESPN

For the most part opinions about the Dallas Cowboys are the same among people. It is generally agreed that this is a talented roster but that it likely has a ceiling on it that could have been risen with a bit more help over the course of the offseason. Perhaps the team will break through that ceiling and finally do the thing, but odds are stacked against them cause of, well, everything.

Sifting through the national media can be difficult in this sense because opinions get so farfetched and silly. Standard and normal conversations about this team are far and few between on that level because they create such attention with opinions at either end of the spectrum.

As we get closer and closer to training camp we are starting to see the waters calm a bit here, which is something that we talked about recently what with how PFF ranked the Cowboys roster as just inside of the top 10 at number 9.

Somebody has Dallas even higher than that.

ESPN ranked the Dallas Cowboys roster just outside of the top 5

Whether or not you believe the Cowboys should have been more proactive with one or another contract extensions is up to you. Whatever your degree of upset-ness in this regard, the lack of extensions do not change the makeup of the roster for the 2024 season.

The fine folks over at ESPN assessed each roster in the NFL looking ahead to the upcoming campaign specifically and apparently think quite highly of the Cowboys.

Dallas comes in at number 6, the third team in the NFC trailing the San Francisco 49ers (1) and Detroit Lions (5).

Biggest strength: Edge rusher. One of the league’s top defenders, Micah Parsons has led the position in pass rush win rate each of the last three seasons. In fact, since his arrival in 2021, Dallas sits first in pass rush wins (809) and fifth in sacks (3.0 behind first). DeMarcus Lawrence is now 32 years old but hasn’t lost a step — he posted one of the top tackle rates and pass rush win rates among edge rushers last season. Sam Williams returns as solid depth, and the team added Marshawn Kneeland in the second round of April’s draft. — Clay
Biggest weakness: Running back. This wasn’t a tough choice for a pretty good Dallas roster that very clearly decided to deprioritize running back this season. Out is Tony Pollard and in is soon-to-be 29-year-old Ezekiel Elliott as the lead back. Elliott is a franchise legend, but he’s no more than the football equivalent of an innings-eater at this point in his career. That was further evidenced last year in New England, when he posted his fourth straight season with below-average yards per carry and yards after the catch marks. Additionally, there’s not much to get excited about behind Elliott (Rico Dowdle, 179-pound Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman). — Clay
X factor for 2024: Rookie offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe. Assuming they start, they’ll play a critical role in protecting QB Dak Prescott. And it’s a bit of a scary proposition for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Most rookie offensive linemen — even first-round picks — are below average in Year 1. Dallas needs its picks to overcome the odds. — Walder
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Nonstarter to know: Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. The Cowboys’ 2023 third-round pick didn’t see the field as a rookie because of a torn ACL from the preseason. He’s a patient linebacker with elite speed and strong (ex-safety) awareness in coverage. Don’t be surprised if he’s getting snaps ahead of Damone Clark by midseason. — Schatz

These are interesting categories to break the roster down into in terms of specific blurbs and each one obviously requires a bit of context.

Let’s get into them.

Biggest strength

ESPN listed Micah Parsons as the biggest strength of the Cowboys and that is very difficult to refute given what he has done through the first three years of his career.

It is worth mentioning that gone is defensive coordinator Dan Quinn who Parsons has praised repeatedly over the last thousand days. Will he remain the same player? Can new DC Mike Zimmer utilize him in the same way?

Biggest weakness

If Cowboys fans agreed on anything universally it seems like it would be this. The running back position is… unique, to say the least.

But if you have to have a weakness and obviously everybody does, is it not even mildly encouraging that it is a position that many people believe (for lack of a better term) doesn’t matter? To be clear running backs and the run game specifically do matter, but there are obviously circumstances beyond the position itself that matter a great deal relative to the overall cause. Being “weak” here feels like a rich person problem, so to speak, regarding the overall roster.

X factor for 2024

In a similar sort of vein, if we had to blindly trust the Dallas Cowboys on one thing, wouldn’t that one thing be offensive line evaluation?

The track record here is not just very good but sterling. History (the last decade and change) shows us that the Cowboys know how to find premium offensive linemen and turn them into all-world type of players. It is a risky thing to bet on but they know this game and almost have it rigged against the house.

A different sort of x-factor might be that Trevon Diggs and DeMarvion Overshown are both returning from serious injuries. The floor of the defense should theoretically improve there. Speaking of!

Nonstarter to know

I suppose that DeMarvion Overshown classifies here, but I think we all think that he will wind up starting the majority of games. Still though it is a fair choice.

Expanding the parameters a bit to what we will call “role player to know”, how about whatever tight end winds up surprising? Assuming that happens of course.

John Stephens Jr. could become a thing. We did see it in training camp and the preseason last year, after all. Hopefully the options here only continues to grow and we look back upon a massive list of contenders.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Stars blow out Anaheim Ducks as offense explodes for third straight win

Published

4 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Dallas Stars blow out Anaheim Ducks as offense explodes for third straight win

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jason Robertson had two goals and an assist, and the Dallas Stars beat the Anaheim Ducks 8-3 on Friday night for their third straight win.

Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley each had a goal and an assist, and Oskar Bäck, Sam Steel, Ilya Lybushkin and Adam Erne also scored for the Stars. who are an NHL-best 13-2-4 on the road. Mikko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen each had two assists, and Casey DeSmith had 23 saves.

Ryan Poehling, Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks, who have lost four of five. Lukas Dostal gave up four goals on seven shots before he was pulled with 5:41 left in the first period. Petr Mrazek came on and stopped 14 of the 18 shots he faced the rest of the way.

The Stars’ eight-goal output tied a season high, matching their 8-3 win at Edmonton on Nov. 25, and was the most the Ducks have given up.

Bäck gave the Stars a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal 2:37 into the game after the Ducks turned the puck over behind their net.

Poehling tied it 55 seconds later, scoring in close on the rebound of a point shot by Radko Gudas.

Hintz put Dallas back ahead at 4:42, getting a pass from Robertson in the slot, sliding backwards and firing a shot past Dostal for his 11th.

Steel pushed the Stars’ lead to 3-1 with 7:19 left in the first, scoring past Dostal while crashing into the net and dislodging it. The goal was confirmed after a review.

Harley made it a three-goal lead 1:38 later as he got a pass from Rantanen and scored from the right circle.

Robertson scored in front on a power play with 8:50 remaining in the second, and then put a backhander past Mrazek from the right circle 4 minutes later to make it 6-1. It gave Robertson a team-leading 22 goals.

Erne made it a six-goal lead with 1:30 left in the middle period.

After Sennecke pulled the Ducks back within five 1:01 into the third, Lybushkin got his first of the season 41 seconds later to extend the Stars’ lead to 8-2. Granlund capped the scoring with 5:38 remaining.

Up next

Stars: Host Toronto on Sunday.

Ducks: Host Columbus on Saturday.

Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Dallas, TX

Don Stone, Dallas philanthropist and arts advocate, dies

Published

16 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Don Stone, Dallas philanthropist and arts advocate, dies

Don Stone, a Dallas civic leader and strong supporter of the arts, died on Sunday. He was 96.

Angela Stone, Don’s youngest child, said her father was one of a kind, a rare mix of sweet and tough.

“He was just the most wonderful man I ever knew, just generous to a fault, smart, charming. He influenced so many people,” she said.

Stone gave widely across North Texas, including $500,000 to endow college scholarships for musically gifted Dallas ISD students. Stone also held leadership positions at several North Texas arts organizations, including the Dallas Public Library, Voices of Change, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Fine Arts Chamber Players, Orchestra of New Spain, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, Shakespeare Dallas and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

“He just believed that all of our lives would be so much poorer without music, art and theater. He said in our country we have the freedom to support whatever we want and that we needed to support the arts so that they would continue to exist,” Stone said.

Stone, a businessman who lived in Turtle Creek, worked for Sanger Harris, which later became Macy’s. He was a 2018 TACA Silver Cup Award honoree for his arts and culture advocacy in North Texas.

Maura Sheffler, president and executive director of The Arts Community Alliance (TACA), said in a statement that Stone’s legacy will continue to inspire the local arts community.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Don Stone, a devoted champion of the arts whose leadership and generosity,” she wrote.

Stone’s wife of over 72 years, Norma, died in June. She was the one who first got her husband involved in the arts, according to their daughter Angela.

Michelle Miller Burns, the DSO’s president and CEO, said the Stones had a profound impact on the DSO.

“It is with such a heavy heart that I received news of Don Stone’s passing earlier this week. Don was a devoted patron, a donor and a board member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and his leadership and generosity really have helped shape the Dallas symphony across five decades,” she said.

In 1980, Stone served as DSO’s chairman of the Board of Governors and helped launch efforts to raise $80 million for Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and secure architect I.M. Pei.

In 1997, the Stones launched the Norma and Don Stone New Music Fund and committed $1 million to continuously support new works. Some of the works supported through the fund include this year’s world premiere of Angélica Negrón’s requiem For Everything You Keep Losing. The fund also supported a Grammy award-winning violin concerto by Aaron Jay Kernis co-commissioned with the Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony and Melbourne Symphony.

“I think it is rare for a couple who so firmly believes in the future of classical music and creating opportunities for new musical voices to be heard to really put support behind that in a meaningful way to fuel that process, to ensure that it can come to fruition,” Burns said.

She said the DSO will continue the Stones’ legacy by commissioning new works through the Norma and Don Stone New Music Fund.

Stone is survived by his children Michael, Lisa and Angela, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. The family will have a private funeral.

Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.

This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.

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Dallas, TX

Daniss Jenkins sparks rally but Detroit Pistons fall in OT to Dallas

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Daniss Jenkins sparks rally but Detroit Pistons fall in OT to Dallas

DALLAS — A late comeback attempt fell short for the Detroit Pistons.

They fell to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime, 116-114, after recovering from a third-period 18-point deficit. A dunk by Anthony Davis gave the Mavericks the lead for good with 1:32 to play in overtime.

Cade Cunningham (29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists) missed a short jumper with 7 seconds left that would’ve tied the game at 116, and Jalen Duren (17 points, 13 rebounds) couldn’t convert two offensive rebounds into a tip-in basket. Davis corralled the rebound with 0.9 seconds left, and the Mavericks called timeout.

The Pistons fouled Davis after the inbounds pass with a foul to give. Daniss Jenkins, who scored 11 points after halftime, stole the second inbounds pass with 0.6 seconds left but didn’t have enough time to get a shot off.

The Pistons trailed by 18 points with five minutes to play in the third quarter. Their bench unit was instrumental during a 31-11 run that gave the Pistons the lead again, 99-97, midway through the fourth quarter. They held Dallas to 38.5% shooting and forced nine turnovers in the second half.

No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg gave his Mavericks the lead, 110-109, with under 20 seconds to play with a midrange jumper. Isaiah Stewart was fouled by Davis on the other end with 3.4 seconds left, and he split the trip to the line to tie the game at 110. Klay Thompson missed a floater at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

‘Dallas’ unit leads Detroit back from big deficit

Down 86-68 with 4:57 to play in the third quarter, coach J.B. Bickerstaff looked to the end of his bench for a spark. Jenkins, Marcus Sasser and Paul Reed checked into the game for the first time in consecutive order, joining Ron Holland and Javonte Green. The Pistons have a Dallas-centric roster — Holland, Sasser and Jenkins are all from the city, and Cunningham is from nearby Arlington.

They led an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 10, tallying four steals during the stretch — two for Green and one each for Jenkins and Reed. Cunningham checked in for Green to open the fourth quarter, and the run continued. A 3-pointer from Jenkins, coast-to-coast layup by Holland and midrange jumper from Jenkins extended the run to 21-7, cutting the deficit to 93-89 with under 10 minutes to play.

As he has done several times this season, Jenkins rose to the moment in the final period. An entry pass from Jenkins to Holland created an open layup to slash Dallas’ lead to two, and Jenkins made a layup over three Mavericks defenders to tie the game at 95 with 7:46 remaining and push the Pistons’ run to 27-9.

With 59 seconds left in the fourth, a pair of free throws from Jenkins extended the Pistons’ lead to 3, 109-106. He played 11 minutes and 32 seconds in the final period, second only to Cunningham, and overtime.

Ausar Thompson ejected in second quarter

The Pistons lost Thompson — their primary defender on Flagg — midway through the second period after an exchange with an official.

With 5:09 remaining before halftime, Thompson tied up Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard under the rim and was whistled for a foul. Thompson didn’t like the call and got in the ref’s face, and was instantly ejected. NBA rules make it an auto-ejection when a player makes physical contact with an official.

It was a strong start for Thompson prior to the ejection, as he had eight points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal in nine minutes of play. Stewart entered for him in the second quarter.

In all, it was a rough night for the Pistons regarding the officials. Cunningham was whistled for a tech late in the second quarter after disagreeing with a call, and Bickerstaff was whistled for a tech during halftime after arguing with an official.

Duncan Robinson exits with left knee injury

With 11:08 to play in the third quarter, Robinson suffered a knee-to-knee collision with Mavericks wing Naji Marshall. Robinson limped off of the floor and was initially ruled “questionable” to return until he was downgraded to “out” in the final period.

Robinson finished with two points and two rebounds, shooting 1-for-7 overall and 0-for-5 from 3. He missed two games in early December with a right ankle sprain.

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