👋 Good morning! - Hope Joe Hoyt — aka “Trader Joe” — is seeing this, because the Grinch would be an ELITE, CREATIVE ugly Christmas sweater pick. - Ali Jawad

The Stars had looked invincible for nearly a month, until the Minnesota Wild finally cracked the code on Thursday night, rallying from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to hand Dallas a 5-2 loss at Grand Casino Arena.

It had marked Dallas’ first regulation loss since Nov. 18 and snapped an 11-game point streak (9-0-3), plus it had ended a franchise-record 13-game road point streak (9-0-4) in the same breath.

And the way it had started? It had felt like a joke the hockey gods were telling. Dallas had been outshot 9-0 to open the game… then had scored on its first shot anyway when Jason Robertson had buried another power-play goal, with Jake Oettinger having spent the early minutes bailing everyone out.

Even when the Wild had pushed back, the Stars’ special teams had still found a way to keep Dallas in it — including a shorthanded strike that had briefly put them back in front, despite Dallas having managed just nine shots through two periods.

But the tank had finally read empty. Dallas had looked gassed as the night had gone on, Minnesota had kept coming in waves, and the Stars’ streak magic had run out before the third period could save them again.

The loss had come with an extra gut punch, too: Roope Hintz had been helped off the ice after taking a Miro Heiskanen one-timer off the inside of the boot, and Dallas had headed into the weekend needing rest almost as badly as points.

Brian Schottenheimer gave a strangely-worded answer about Trevon Diggs potentially coming off IR, and it raised enough eyebrows to make you wonder if Dallas is bracing for a longer wait than anyone wants to admit.

With the Vikings looming, the Cowboys are forced to confront the bigger question: can you build a “culture” when the results aren’t matching the message?

Plus, we go inside KBBU to set the stage for Sunday night, and what this matchup really means for where the Cowboys are headed.

Dereck Lively II spent last week playing Santa for 25 families at the Mavs’ facility, then got hit with the ultimate gut punch: season-ending surgery on his right foot after weeks of discomfort and multiple specialist consults.

The 21-year-old has played just seven games this season, but Dallas says he’s expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp, with the procedure set to be performed by Dr. James Calder in London.

Now the Mavericks’ “future core” big man becomes the latest test case in the NBA’s long, scary history of 7-footers and foot issues, and the ripple effect on the rotation (and draft outlook) is officially on.

The Winter Meetings are over, but for the Texas Rangers, the real pressure is just beginning, because the big splashes went elsewhere and the roster still has holes to patch.

Now Chris Young’s front office shifts from “listening” to deciding: do they shop a trade, pounce on the second wave of free agents, or get creative to upgrade without blowing the budget?

The next few weeks will tell us whether this offseason is a slow burn… or the calm before a surprise move that changes the 2025 outlook.

Cooper Flagg is finding rythytm.

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!

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