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The Marshawn Kneeland pick seems a lot about the future for the Cowboys

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The Marshawn Kneeland pick seems a lot about the future for the Cowboys


The Dallas Cowboys looked to be considering a trade back scenario when they were on the clock in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but ultimately they decided to pick at 56. Marshawn Kneeland was the selection, ranked number 32 overall by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler which is a high vote of confidence, and it felt a bit odd in the overall landscape of where the Cowboys are at right now.

While Kneeland certainly offers a lot of potential and has traits that can seemingly be developed (his size alone is impressive, but that he was so productive at Western Michigan while still learning how to rush is exciting), it is an interesting selection in the second round.

Ideally you walk away with someone in the second round who you can plug and play right away. With DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons as the team’s primary edge rushers (not to mention Sam Williams), snaps will be hard to come by for Kneeland, similar to how they were for Williams throughout his rookie year of 2022.

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In fact, we are just now entering a point in time where Williams is expected to see a legitimate workload and a big reason for that is the departure of Dorance Armstrong in free agency. It seems as if the Cowboys are looking at the future in a similar way with Kneeland because this coming year is the final one on DeMarcus Lawrence’s contract.

It is a good and wise thing that the Cowboys are planning for the future so soundly, and taking swings at important positions like pass rushers is certainly not a bad thing. But again, you would have liked to have seen someone who can offer a little bit more right away given the amount of needs the team entered the draft with. Also if we are going to subscribe to a methodology of being forward-thinking (which we should!) how about applying that same disposition to contract extensions?

This discussion is not meant to take away from Kneeland as he is indeed a fun player who can potentially turn into something exciting for the Cowboys; however, this seems about 2025 more than anything barring any sort of surprise.

DeMarcus Lawrence was a second-round pick himself 10 years ago. My how time flies.



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Dallas, TX

What we learned in FC Dallas' win over Memphis

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What we learned in FC Dallas' win over Memphis


Photo via FC Dallas

FC Dallas picked up another much-needed win on Tuesday night, a US Open Cup Round of 32 win over USL Championship side Memphis 901.

This morning, as I am sitting at a pub in the Pittsburgh Airport, I thought I would take a few minutes to discuss the comments made by head coach Nico Estevez and the game’s goal scorer, Logan Farrington, after last night’s win. I’m also going to take a quick look back at a game that FC Dallas had control over…for the most part.

This won’t be our normal breakdown of the game since we do need to quickly turn our attention to Saturday’s game with Austin FC.

For a coach who needed to go for it in a Cup tournament game at home against a lower-division team, Estevez really didn’t push things all that much with his lineup choice. He stuck it out once more with the 3-4-3, as he reintroduced Jesus Ferreira and Asier Illarramendi back into the lineup after the two weren’t ‘fully fit’ enough, Nico’s words there to do so in Toronto last week.

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Dallas moved city workers into an unpermitted building. So why is the truth so elusive?

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Dallas moved city workers into an unpermitted building. So why is the truth so elusive?


We had hoped that the Dallas City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating & Ethics would get to the bottom of how city permitting workers were moved into an unpermitted building. What council committee members received from city staff was obfuscation, incomplete timelines and conflicting explanations. Quite properly, committee members have asked the city auditor to investigate.

Inexplicably, city officials didn’t obtain final occupancy approval for Dallas’ new permitting office along Stemmons Freeway before workers moved into the 11-story tower late last year. Employees were ordered back to their old office in Oak Cliff months later, and the new building was closed after fire and safety violations were revealed.

But last week, Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry provided a different reason to the council committee, one that fails the smell test. Al-Ghafry said he decided to close the building and return staff to their former offices after a few employees wandered from their floor to other unfinished floors. He said the building had a valid temporary certificate of occupancy and that the employees weren’t in an unsafe building. “In full transparency and confidence, there wasn’t any life and safety issues that caused me to do this,” Al-Ghafry told the committee.

Well sort of. Only the fifth floor where the permitting employees were located had a temporary occupancy permit, but final approvals from the fire department and other inspectors weren’t obtained before employees moved in. Al-Ghafry previously said employees were warned not to roam beyond the first and fifth floors. However, Development Services Department Director Andrew Espinoza said employees had been working on the second and third floors between January and March. Espinoza also said no employees were disciplined for being on other floors.

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Consider this revisionist history. Development Services employees began moving into the building in December. In January, an employee’s spouse filed a complaint with the state fire marshal’s office alleging a series of safety issues with the facility. In February and early April, city fire safety inspection reports discovered fire code violations. Al-Ghafry said employees started moving out of the building on April 9 after it was determined that the fire alarm didn’t sound on all floors.

Al-Ghafry, however, didn’t mention roaming employees in his email to the mayor and council on April 9. Instead, he wrote that “this move [from the new building] is the result of additional facility improvements recently identified at their current location.” He specifically cited additional work needed on the fire suppression system, IT equipment, connectivity, elevators, and other improvements.

It is embarrassingly ironic that the city’s permitting unit, long criticized for failing to deliver construction permits in a timely manner, failed to properly obtain permits for its own building before moving employees into it. More distressing is that grossly inadequate, misleading responses continue to keep us all in the dark about what happened and why, an all too common pattern at City Hall when mismanagement occurs.

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Accountability is necessary. The city auditor must unravel the truth and do it quickly.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com



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Live updates: Dallas Mavericks take on OKC Thunder in Game 1 of Western Conference semis

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Live updates: Dallas Mavericks take on OKC Thunder in Game 1 of Western Conference semis


It’s time for Round 2.

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks are on the road against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal Tuesday night. Follow along for live updates, game stories and more from our reporters on the scene in Oklahoma City.

Game updates

— Game 1 is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. at Paycom Center.

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Pregame updates

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Pregame reading

— What the Mavs’ goal should be in Game 1 against the Thunder, according to Dirk Nowitzki

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— Mavericks-Thunder predictions: Will Dallas be making a return trip to the West finals?

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— Why you might hear Oklahoma City fans barking during Mavs-Thunder NBA playoff series

— Mavericks’ Luka Doncic ‘not surprised’ by Jalen Brunson’s playoff dominance with Knicks

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— Why has Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving found peace in Dallas?

— Even without Maxi Kleber, the Mavericks have a favorable matchup against OKC Thunder

— Mavs’ big men, specifically Daniel Gafford, will have increased opportunity vs. Thunder

— Scouting Mavericks-Thunder: Which MVP candidate has the edge in Western Conference semis?

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    Mavericks’ Luka Doncic ‘not surprised’ by Jalen Brunson’s playoff dominance with Knicks
    Mavericks should have one goal ahead of Game 1 vs. OKC, according to Dirk Nowitzki

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.





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