With Dallas Cowboys training camp right around the corner, it's time to ask the important questions, like how the running back depth chart will look, how George Pickens will mesh with Dak Prescott, how much the defense has recovered and which Cowboys players is best suited to babysit.
Wait, what?
Yes, Cowboys players were recently asked who they would trust to babysit their children (whether or not they had any), and while there were a variety of answers (including some saying they wouldn't trust any of them), a general consensus was reached: Dak Prescott.
the 'boys pick a babysitter pic.twitter.com/AQKjFCNotC
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) June 20, 2025
I mean, what else is there to talk about during the few weeks between minicamp and training camp right?
Funny enough, Prescott actually just had his second daughter earlier this month, so the 31-year-old probably doesn't have a whole lot of time to babysit other people's kids these days.
Prescott is also hoping for better results on the field in 2025. After putting forth an MVP-caliber campaign in 2023, the three-time Pro Bowler struggled mightily last season, throwing 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight games before a hamstring injury ended his campaign.
Dallas went out and landed wide receiver George Pickens to put alongside of CeeDee Lamb this offseason, so Prescott will definitely have more weapons at his disposal in the fall. However, it's on the $240 million quarterback to actually deliver results.
The Cowboys went just 7-10 in 2024, following a stretch in which they rattled off three straight 12-win campaigns. We'll see if Prescott can lead them to greener pastures this time around.
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As of the first Monday of August, there was no indication that 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel or 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders had any real chance to emerge as the Cleveland Browns' Week 1 starting quarterback. During a Monday morning appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan, Browns reporter Daryl Ruiter offered quite a worrisome update regarding how Gabriel has looked during training camp practices. "He's not good," Ruiter said about Gabriel. "He's not an NFL quarterback. Not right now, and the fact that they keep running him out there for first-team reps ... they're cramming this guy down our throats, and it's not good." Numerous NFL analysts viewed Gabriel as a third-day selection before the Browns made him the 94th overall pick of this year's draft. The perception, up until Sanders was held out of Saturday's practice due to arm soreness, was that he has been the team's fourth-choice option at the position behind Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. All signs are reportedly pointing to Flacco getting the start for Cleveland's Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. Gabriel is listed at 5-foot-11, but some who cover the team have expressed doubts about that measurement. It seems that a lack of desirable size for playing the position in the pros isn't all that's gone against Gabriel this summer. "It's not a height thing," Ruiter continued. "It's not personal. He's rolling out and can't hit guys who are wide open. He's not all that great, at times, in the warmup periods. ... He's just not a good quarterback." Ruiter said that he feels Gabriel "has no business being in contention to start a football game" for the Browns this season. "It's god awful when he's on the field," Ruiter added. Browns general manager Andrew Berry revealed in late July that he could stash all four active quarterbacks on the roster for at least Week 1. For an article published on Sunday night, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand wrote that there's "zero chance" either Gabriel or Sanders will be cut this summer. Perhaps Gabriel will look better when he sees some action in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8. That said, it sounds like fans should keep their expectations low for Gabriel's unofficial debut this coming Friday.
The Yankees’ freefall is the headline of baseball right now, so it is not afraid that it has caught the attention of Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. After New York’s fifth straight loss, a 2-0 defeat to the Rangers Tuesday night, Martinez took to Twitter with a message that felt like a challenge. “It’s hard to believe that the Yankees would be at this stage at this time in the season,” Martinez wrote. “I imagine how NY fans are feeling right now. Strap it on boys! #mlbontbs” The loss continued a brutal stretch for New York, now losers of 19 of its last 27 games. Their once-safe playoff position has become a daily fight. As of Tuesday night, they’re barely hanging on to the final American League Wild Card spot. They are just a half-game ahead of the surging Rangers, and now trailing the Red Sox in the standings. Martinez, once a Yankee nemesis during his Red Sox days, didn’t sound like he was taunting the Bronx crowd this time. It was more disbelief than delight. It was almost a bit of tough love from someone who knows what October baseball is supposed to look like. And he knows it doesn't look like this. Aaron Judge returned from the injured list on Tuesday, but his presence wasn’t enough to turn the tide. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and afterward told teammates in no uncertain terms that this is on them. He said it was time to look in the mirror. Martinez’s “Strap it on, boys” had a similar tone. There’s still time for the Yankees to turn things around. But if they don’t, you can be sure the rest of baseball—including Pedro—is going to have something to say about it.
One of the scariest wrecks in racing this year occurred a little more than a week ago, when Stewart Friesen was involved in a horrific crash. Friesen suffered a broken pelvis and a fractured right leg. It was the kind of crash that gets everyone in the sport’s attention. It could have been much, much worse. “This is just an absolutely horrifying wreck right here,” Kevin Harvick said on the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “You see him just hit the end of that wall and then hit by cars and fires. Just glad that he’s not in worse condition than he is. It was a tough couple weeks for dirt racing with everything that happened at Eldora with the sprint cars. And then you have Friesen’s wreck right here. So glad everybody’s still here.” Stewart Friesen is now recovering. His wife has posted multiple updates, and he’s since been transferred to a hospital in New York. He’ll have to undergo multiple surgeries. In the meantime, folks like Harvick are using the wreck as a reminder of the importance of the work NASCAR does in ensuring driver safety. Harvick spotlighted it on his podcast. “These series don’t have the investigations and things, and that’s one thing NASCAR does a really good job at, is making sure they understand each wreck,” Harvick said. “Making sure that they look at all the equipment. They hold the people accountable to wear their equipment right, to get their headrests right. That doesn’t happen in the short track world. Some of the stuff you see is pretty scary.” Stewart Friesen’s wreck may well be the warning call to some of the smaller series to take safety a little more seriously. No one wants to have blood on their hands. But it goes beyond just the racing organizations themselves policing things. Team owners and crew chiefs also need to keep their guys on point. “And that’s one thing I stress to all of our young guys and just people in general that just get a little lax about it from the safety side,” Harvick said. “You’re not preparing for every time you get in. You’re preparing for that moment like we just saw with Stewart Friesen. “So it’s super important that all that stuff is right and you evolve with the safety aspect of it. That’s the difference between weekly racing and Cup, Xfinity, Truck racing … that NASCAR holds you accountable. Not so much the case on stuff like this.”
The Boston Celtics got under the second luxury-tax apron by trading Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz Tuesday. The move also gives them a huge incentive to deal their most expensive new player. The Celtics have dramatically reduced their payroll in the wake of Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury. With their superstar unlikely to play in 2025-26, the Celtics traded away starters Jrue Holiday ($94.4M for three years, plus a $37.2M player option in 2027-28) and Kristaps Porzingis ($30.7M next season). They also let Luke Kornet ($2.8M) leave as a free agent, and Al Horford ($9.5M) is almost certainly gone as well. They received Georges Niang ($8.2M) in the Porzingis deal, but traded him Tuesday for undrafted R.J. Luis Jr., a rookie on a two-way deal. That effectively takes Niang's full salary of their books and gets them under the second luxury-tax apron, freeing them from the penalties and restrictions that go along with second-apron status. According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Celtics have saved a whopping $286M in salary and taxes with their moves. Still, the team can reap a larger long-term reward by dropping below the luxury tax entirely, which requires reducing their payroll by just over $12M more. The Celtics don't seem inclined to trade Jaylen Brown, Derrick White or Payton Pritchard, wanting to keep some core members of their 2024 title team together for Tatum's return. Sam Hauser is on an affordable four-year, $45M deal, but losing his $10M salary wouldn't get them under the tax line. That's why Anfernee Simons, acquired in the Holiday trade, is likely not long for Boston. The 26-year-old guard makes $27.7M in the last year of his contract, making him the perfect trade piece to get Boston under the luxury tax. Not only would getting under the tax line free the Celtics of their tax obligations and save them as much as $40M, but it would make them eligible to share in the money from tax-paying teams. The Celtics would also be able to avoid the dreaded repeater tax penalties, which make every dollar over the luxury-tax number progressively more expensive every year a team stays over the tax line. This doesn't mean Simons is going to be traded this summer. Boston has until the Feb. 5 trade deadline to move Simons, since luxury tax is calculated on the team's total payroll the last day of the season. But given the massive savings they'd get back from losing Simons' salary, it seems inevitable. The Celtics have lost a lot of talent this summer, but they've saved a tremendous amount of money in the process. They might have to attach draft capital to get off Simons' deal, but if he plays well in Boston, he might even bring back something in a trade next season. Tatum's injury threw a huge wrench in the Celtics' plans. If they can use this season to get under the luxury tax, they'll have the flexibility to reload and contend again when their star is back in a year.
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