👋 Good morning! - What would Clarence Hills pet cow be named if he did own one? You guys decide and let us know on our next show. - Ali Jawad

Cooper Flagg couldn’t buy one, Anthony Davis sat again, and the Mavericks watched 2025 end the same way too many nights have gone this season, with a late lead slipping through their fingers.

Dallas got a jolt from Max Christie’s flamethrower fourth quarter, but Klay Thompson’s potential game-tying three at the buzzer came up empty as the Mavs fell 125-122 to Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers, dropping to 12-22.

Christie did everything he could to steal it. He poured in 25 points, buried a team-high five threes, and hit three triples in the fourth quarter alone, including a deep pull-up that briefly put Dallas in front when it looked like the game was about to get away.

But Portland had answers, led by Caleb Love’s 24 points, and a decisive 7-0 run in the fourth swung the momentum for good.

And if you’re looking for the story of the season in two possessions, here it is: Naji Marshall missed two wide-open threes late, and the Mavs couldn’t survive it.

Dallas has now dropped seven straight road games (last win: Dec. 1 in Denver), is 10-16 in a league-high 26 clutch games, and fell to 4-14 without Davis.

The DLLS Mavs crew broke it all down, and says a not-so-fond farewell to 2025.

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ProFootballTalk tossed a match on the gasoline over the weekend, reporting “increasing chatter” that the Cowboys could be firmly in play for Vikings DC Brian Flores, and with Dallas staring at an offseason that has to come with real defensive answers, that rumor suddenly feels a lot less like fan fiction.

The big question: is this legit momentum or just January noise, and would Jerry actually make a true outside-the-building splash if it means reshaping the entire identity of the defense?

The Texas Rangers have already thrown punches early this offseason, but with the pitching market thinning out fast and right-handed bats disappearing by the day, the next move feels like it has to come with real urgency.

That’s the tension now: do they swing for one headline addition that changes the room, or keep stacking smaller pieces and trust the internal bounce-backs to carry the weight?

We’re breaking down what’s left, what actually fits this roster, and the one Ranger who has to rediscover his best version for the whole plan to make sense.

That’s is wild.

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Ali Jawad
Dallas Cowboys ​Content Creator/Newsletter Writer
[email protected]