👋 Good morning! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I know I did. Mine included my first-ever experience playing bingo at a local fundraiser. I’m gonna be honest: I ignorantly was under the belief that bingo was meant more for senior folks than for young, strapping lads in their prime (like me), but I had such a great time playing. I’ll definitely go again.

I love finding out I’m wrong about things like that. Preconceived notions and biases are silly but we all fall into the trap of assuming something about an event, a hobby, or even people. But who has time for that? Especially on the weekend?! If you have any underground interests, email me some recommendations! — Bobby Karalla

Dak Prescott has suffered some of the most random, gruesome injuries you could imagine over the last few seasons. From his compound fracture in 2020 through the torn-off-the-bone hamstring injury that cost him most of last season, he's had a pretty rough (and unlucky) run. But he's healthy and feeling great at the start of camp, which is... Oh my, it's today! Football season is here!

Dak sat with our Clarence Hill for a lengthy exclusive talking about his health, his mindset, Schotty, and a whole lot more. The starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys is always going to live under a microscope, but Prescott also understands his $60 million salary is only going to further draw attention and criticism when things go poorly. And, let's be honest, things have gone pretty poorly for the team these last few decades. That's not all Dak's fault, obviously, but he's played some level of role in that, bad luck or otherwise.

It's the start of a new era in Dallas though, or so we hope. Schotty seems to have reinvigorated the locker room, and the Cowboys were a nasty Dak injury away from pushing for another playoff spot last season after winning 12 games for three straight seasons. Gigantic running back questions aside, this is a team with a very good quarterback, a very good offensive line, and an unquestionably elite receiving duo. The defense, when healthy, should be good too.

Expectations are high, as they always are. Dak seems ready to embrace the pressure and, hopefully, deliver.

How can the Mavericks build an elite defense around Anthony Davis? We took a look at some clips from last season to see how Dallas can protect the rim, but only as long as all five defenders are committed to staying active. It can’t just be the bigs.

Cody Freeman went to Vegas as a minor-leaguer and walked out of the casino as a major-leaguer. How’s that for getting lucky? Jeff Wilson has the story.

Craig Ludwig broke out the projector to take a look at what happened to the Stars’ vaunted rush offense in the playoffs, and why it wasn’t as effective as it was in the regular season. Can Glen Gulutzan install some new ideas? We think so.

I LOVE “The Knife” as Naji Marshall’s nickname. I am personally devastated. But I respect Naji even more, so I’ll begrudgingly do what he says…

Any suggestions?

Be sure to subscribe to our shows wherever you listen to your podcasts. Traffic can be the worst, and one of the best ways I get through it is by listening to the audio versions of our DLLS shows. You should, too!

Bobby Karalla
DLLS Sports Head of Content​
[email protected]