👋 Good morning! We’re already halfway through the week. We’re doing great. You’re doing great, even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like you are. Don’t listen to that voice in your head, though. You’re crushing it. Here’s to you! — Bobby Karalla

If you asked Micah Parsons or Trevon Diggs if they think Jerry Jones is doing his best, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that no, they do not believe that’s the case. The Cowboys’ biggest defensive stars held court yesterday in Oxnard in response to Jerry’s bizarre state of the team address, in what our Clarence Hill reported was agreed upon beforehand by the disgruntled leaders.

Diggs got $500,000 docked from this season’s base salary for rehabbing his injury away from the team. Diggs said that action “hurt (his) feelings,” then posted the following on Twitter:

Parsons, meanwhile, surprised some people by not only showing up to practice, but doing so in a uniform and with his helmet on. Parsons has said he doesn’t plan to hold out, and he’s a man of his word. Jerry Jones, though? Maybe not so much. Parsons has long claimed the two sides had a deal in place, and all Jones needed to do was call Parsons’ agent David Mulugheta to iron out the final details before putting pen to paper. That last part hasn’t happened, and it’s unclear when it ever will.

“At one point another grown man has to be willing to reach out of himself,” Parsons said. “Communication works both ways. They reached out. So that needs to happen too. They got to want to do it on their part.

“There’s not really much movement,” Parsons added. “I want to be here. I’ve always stated I want to be here, but they sign the checks like always, and let’s see if they want me to be here at the end of the day.”

As a reminder, here’s what Parsons retweeted two days ago:

Here’s the part where I say it doesn’t have to be this way around here.

And here’s the part where we all nod our heads in resignation because it’s not going to change anytime soon.

Jerry, if you’re out there reading this, please just pay Micah. Give the man his money. He’s one of the best players at one of the most important positions in the sport. Give him his money so he can get on the field and make your team better. While the DLLS Sports newsletter is a powerful platform that reaches millions*, I promise you that building a healthy culture based on mutual trust is so much more important than getting exposure in this space. Get a deal done!

If the season started today, where would the Mavericks rank in the Western Conference? We discussed it on yesterday’s show, and this morning Tim Cato took a bit of a deep-dive into the West waters to put together a way-too-early power rankings.

Spoiler alert: The Mavs rank lower than you probably want them to. Here’s Tim:

Kyrie Irving won’t be healthy for months. Anthony Davis’ status for opening day isn’t clear. Dereck Lively II had offseason surgery. Those are, quite frankly, this roster’s three most important and best players to begin next season. (It’s a matter of time before Cooper Flagg changes that, but I still think it will take some time, which should be granted to a guy who’s still only 18!) Even if Davis and Lively are ready to go opening night — they absolutely may be — it still does suggest caution to the incoming season.

The Rangers won again last night! They’re only 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, although it’s a pretty crowded race. But after taking two out of three against the Tigers and so far taking care of business against the A’s, I’d forgive you for feeling a pretty good amount of optimism. This could happen.

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve done a DLLS Wings show for a variety of reasons that don’t really matter in this context. BUT we’ll be back with a fresh new episode tomorrow afternoon! Give us a follow on the bird to get notified when we’re going live.

*Taco Bell gong*

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]