Reliant Home Run Derby with Dallas Cowboys Knocks it Out of the Park Surpassing $1 Million for DFW Nonprofits
'This year's event was a home run in every sense, raising thousands for local charities and showcasing the incredible spirit of Cowboys fans and our community. Surpassing $1 million in total charitable support is an incredible milestone."
Share
'The Reliant Home Run Derby with the Dallas Cowboys is a fun and exciting competition that brings everyone together for a great cause,' said Andrea Russell, senior vice president, Reliant. 'This year's event was a home run in every sense, raising thousands for local charities and showcasing the incredible spirit of Cowboys fans and our community. Surpassing $1 million in total charitable support is an incredible milestone, and we're excited to keep this tradition going and continue making a positive impact here in North Texas.'
Cowboys players took turns at bat, with each hit and home run earning a donation from Reliant, raising a total of $76,600 to benefit The Salvation Army of North Texas. Cowboys punter Bryan Anger was named the 2025 Reliant Home Run Derby champion with $13,200 raised and eight home runs. The full Dallas Cowboys lineup included:
Bryan Anger
DaRon Bland
Jake Ferguson
C.J. Goodwin
Osa Odighizuwa
Micah Parsons
Trent Sieg
Tyler Smith
Terence Steele
Jalen Tolbert
Majors Paul and Dawn McFarland, Area Commanders for The Salvation Army of North Texas, and local students involved with The Salvation Army attended the event. One deserving student from The Salvation Army's Gene and Jerry Jones Family Youth Education Town in Arlington also earned the opportunity to throw out the first pitch to a Cowboys player.
'Year after year, we are inspired by the generosity and enthusiasm of everyone involved with this event, and this year was no exception,' said Charlotte Jones, co-owner and chief brand officer, Dallas Cowboys. 'We are grateful to Reliant for supporting local charities here in DFW, and we want to thank our amazing fans for their support and enthusiasm.'
Reliant Media League
Before the Cowboys took to the diamond, Reliant invited local media to try their hand at bat for a good cause in the ninth annual Reliant Media League, which featured 11 reporters from across DFW. Together they raised a total of $27,100 for local North Texas charities.
The lineup and their charities included:
Kristi Scales with the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network served as the Reliant Media League emcee.
Reliant supports local communities through volunteerism, charitable giving and collaboration with a variety of organizations throughout the year. In 2024, Reliant donated more than $4.8 million to causes across Texas, with employees giving more than 4,000 volunteer hours to over 200 causes.
About Reliant, an NRG Company
Reliant makes power personal - that's why homes and businesses trust Reliant not only as a provider of electricity, but also as a pillar of support in the communities we serve. From a best-in-class app to breakthrough innovations, Reliant is recognized nationally for outstanding customer service and as the leader in the evolving energy space with offerings that span from EV solutions to solar insights to smart home experiences. As part of NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 energy and home services company, our purpose is to power a brighter future together, one that is safe, smart and sustainable. For more information about Reliant, visit reliant.com and connect with Reliant on Facebook at facebook.com/reliantenergy and X or Instagram @reliantenergy. PUCT Certificate #10007.
About The Salvation Army of North Texas
The Salvation Army of North Texas provides a range of services to combat poverty, addiction, and homelessness at 21 centers of operation in Dallas and Rockwall, Tarrant and Ellis, and Denton and Collin counties. Faithful to our mission, The Salvation Army enables God-empowered transformations of individuals and society through food assistance, shelter, rehabilitation, counseling, spiritual support, mentoring and job placement, and more. For more information, visit SalvationArmyNorthTexas.org.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Can Cowboys buck short, strange, painful history vs their most uncommon opponent?
It's not whether you win or lose; it's how you play the game. That old adage is especially true in the NFL preseason, when coming away from a game with quality evaluations of individual players, specific personnel groupings, and newly-designed plays and schemes matters a whole lot more than the final score. No one will complain about an August loss if the team looks crisp and disciplined and healthy and ready to roll into September, when the results actually count. Nevertheless, if the Cowboys are able to come away from Saturday night's contest with a W, it will be among the rarest achievements in franchise history. That's because the Cowboys have only ever beaten the Baltimore Ravens- preseason or regular season- one time. The Ravens, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, are easily the Cowboys' most uncommon opponent. They've played just seven times in the regular season. That number is tied with the Houston Texans, but the Cowboys have squared off against their intrastate rivals many times- it used to be an annual preseason tradition- in what is informally known as the Governor's Cup. The Cowboys and Ravens, on the other hand, have just one previous preseason meeting. At eight total head-to-head games ever, the Ravens are by far the team most unfamiliar to the Cowboys. The few occasions the interconference foes have met, though, have provided some noteworthy moments. 2000: Ravens 27, Cowboys 0 The first time Dallas and Baltimore tangled was in the 2000 season. The punchless Cowboys didn't manage to score at all against what many consider the greatest NFL defense ever assembled, losing 27-0 after a three-interception outing from Troy Aikman and a 48-yard day from Emmitt Smith. The Ravens went on to win Super Bowl XXXV two months later. 2004: Ravens 30, Cowboys 10 The 2004 Week 11 game wasn't much of a game at all, with Cowboys quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Drew Henson combining for just 128 total passing yards. Dallas actually led 3-0 at halftime before giving up 30 straight points after the break. 2008: Ravens 33, Cowboys 24 The two teams' 2008 meeting was memorable as the final home game ever played in Texas Stadium. The Ravens ruined that party with a 33-24 win, sealed by a late Le'Ron McClain 82-yard score, the longest run by a Cowboys opponent in the building's history. Baltimore eventually lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship. 2012: Ravens 31, Cowboys 29 2012's Week 6 date provided plenty of drama just off Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Jacoby Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, but Tony Romo and the Cowboys would not go quietly. His touchdown throw to Dez Bryant (capping an 18-play drive) brought the Cowboys to within two points with :32 to play. The pair couldn't connect, however, on the tying conversion attempt. Dan Bailey's onside kick was recovered by Dallas, and a defensive pass interference call on the next snap helped set up a 50-yard field game-winning goal try... which sailed wide left. Baltimore ended the season as Super Bowl champs once again. 2016: Cowboys 27, Ravens 17 Dallas's only win ever against the Ravens came in 2016. It was Week 11, and Dak Prescott, in his magnificent debut season, led the Cowboys to a 27-17 victory and the franchise's first-ever nine-game win streak. Prescott went on to be named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. That game also featured Ezekiel Elliott breaking Tony Dorsett's single-season record for most rushing yards by a Cowboys rookie. The Cowboys' .143 regular-season win percentage versus the Ravens remains- by a large margin- their lowest against all opponents. 2020: Ravens 34, Cowboys 17 Originally scheduled for the Thursday after Thanksgiving, a COVID-19 outbreak within the Ravens organization caused the game to be postponed. The two teams met in an incredibly rare Tuesday game- a first for the Cowboys- that saw the depleted Dallas squad get trounced. Andy Dalton filled in admirably for an injured Prescott, but kicker Greg Zuerlein missed three field goal attempts, and the Cowboys defense gave up nearly 300 yards on the ground. 2024: Ravens 28, Cowboys 25 Last year's Week 3 battle looked much closer in the box score than it was on the field. A furious 19-point Cowboys rally wasn't enough to overcome the 28-6 lead Baltimore had built up over the first three quarters. The majority of the damage was done by running back Derrick Henry, who Dallas had elected not to pursue in free agency; he gashed the Cowboys for 151 yards and two scores. Dallas had been beaten badly by New Orleans the week prior, but this was the game that confirmed to Cowboys fans 2025 would be unbearingly long and painful. Previous preseason meetings The Cowboys and Ravens have met in the preseason just once before, in 2014. Baltimore won that mid-August exhibition by a 37-30 score behind quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor, but early miscues by Dallas gave Baltimore two touchdowns before either of them even took the field. For Dallas, Tony Romo started and tossed a touchdown on his surgically-repaired back but then turned the offense over to Brandon Weeden, who struggled. Dallas and Baltimore were supposed to meet in the 2020 preseason as well, but the NFL memorably scrapped its entire preseason slate that year due to COVID-19. Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans! This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Will Cowboys' painful series history vs Ravens continue in preseason?
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Can Cowboys buck short, strange, painful history vs their most uncommon opponent?
It's not whether you win or lose; it's how you play the game. That old adage is especially true in the NFL preseason, when coming away from a game with quality evaluations of individual players, specific personnel groupings, and newly-designed plays and schemes matters a whole lot more than the final score. No one will complain about an August loss if the team looks crisp and disciplined and healthy and ready to roll into September, when the results actually count. Nevertheless, if the Cowboys are able to come away from Saturday night's contest with a W, it will be among the rarest achievements in franchise history. That's because the Cowboys have only ever beaten the Baltimore Ravens- preseason or regular season- one time. The Ravens, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, are easily the Cowboys' most uncommon opponent. They've played just seven times in the regular season. That number is tied with the Houston Texans, but the Cowboys have squared off against their intrastate rivals many times- it used to be an annual preseason tradition- in what is informally known as the Governor's Cup. The Cowboys and Ravens, on the other hand, have just one previous preseason meeting. At eight total head-to-head games ever, the Ravens are by far the team most unfamiliar to the Cowboys. The few occasions the interconference foes have met, though, have provided some noteworthy moments. 2000: Ravens 27, Cowboys 0 The first time Dallas and Baltimore tangled was in the 2000 season. The punchless Cowboys didn't manage to score at all against what many consider the greatest NFL defense ever assembled, losing 27-0 after a three-interception outing from Troy Aikman and a 48-yard day from Emmitt Smith. The Ravens went on to win Super Bowl XXXV two months later. 2004: Ravens 30, Cowboys 10 The 2004 Week 11 game wasn't much of a game at all, with Cowboys quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Drew Henson combining for just 128 total passing yards. Dallas actually led 3-0 at halftime before giving up 30 straight points after the break. 2008: Ravens 33, Cowboys 24 The two teams' 2008 meeting was memorable as the final home game ever played in Texas Stadium. The Ravens ruined that party with a 33-24 win, sealed by a late Le'Ron McClain 82-yard score, the longest run by a Cowboys opponent in the building's history. Baltimore eventually lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship. 2012: Ravens 31, Cowboys 29 2012's Week 6 date provided plenty of drama just off Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Jacoby Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, but Tony Romo and the Cowboys would not go quietly. His touchdown throw to Dez Bryant (capping an 18-play drive) brought the Cowboys to within two points with :32 to play. The pair couldn't connect, however, on the tying conversion attempt. Dan Bailey's onside kick was recovered by Dallas, and a defensive pass interference call on the next snap helped set up a 50-yard field game-winning goal try... which sailed wide left. Baltimore ended the season as Super Bowl champs once again. 2016: Cowboys 27, Ravens 17 Dallas's only win ever against the Ravens came in 2016. It was Week 11, and Dak Prescott, in his magnificent debut season, led the Cowboys to a 27-17 victory and the franchise's first-ever nine-game win streak. Prescott went on to be named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. That game also featured Ezekiel Elliott breaking Tony Dorsett's single-season record for most rushing yards by a Cowboys rookie. The Cowboys' .143 regular-season win percentage versus the Ravens remains- by a large margin- their lowest against all opponents. 2020: Ravens 34, Cowboys 17 Originally scheduled for the Thursday after Thanksgiving, a COVID-19 outbreak within the Ravens organization caused the game to be postponed. The two teams met in an incredibly rare Tuesday game- a first for the Cowboys- that saw the depleted Dallas squad get trounced. Andy Dalton filled in admirably for an injured Prescott, but kicker Greg Zuerlein missed three field goal attempts, and the Cowboys defense gave up nearly 300 yards on the ground. 2024: Ravens 28, Cowboys 25 Last year's Week 3 battle looked much closer in the box score than it was on the field. A furious 19-point Cowboys rally wasn't enough to overcome the 28-6 lead Baltimore had built up over the first three quarters. The majority of the damage was done by running back Derrick Henry, who Dallas had elected not to pursue in free agency; he gashed the Cowboys for 151 yards and two scores. Dallas had been beaten badly by New Orleans the week prior, but this was the game that confirmed to Cowboys fans 2025 would be unbearingly long and painful. Previous preseason meetings The Cowboys and Ravens have met in the preseason just once before, in 2014. Baltimore won that mid-August exhibition by a 37-30 score behind quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Tyrod Taylor, but early miscues by Dallas gave Baltimore two touchdowns before either of them even took the field. For Dallas, Tony Romo started and tossed a touchdown on his surgically-repaired back but then turned the offense over to Brandon Weeden, who struggled. Dallas and Baltimore were supposed to meet in the 2020 preseason as well, but the NFL memorably scrapped its entire preseason slate that year due to COVID-19. Follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
American Press
2 hours ago
- American Press
Jim Gazzolo column: It's time to revive backyard rivalries
Last week, McNeese State's men's basketball team finally finished its schedule for the upcoming season. In what is becoming a yearly tradition, the Cowboys are being forced to wait as college basketball teams throughout the country play hide and seek when it comes to scheduling. Especially against good mid-major programs like McNeese. The Cowboys finished with two good money games, at Michigan and Rhode Island, but it's not ideal. Both those games will come after they have started their 22-game Southland Conference schedule in December. New McNeese head coach Bill Armstrong said he would prefer not to do that, but understands his team's dilemma of becoming too good to play and not high-profile enough to lose to. Just three years ago, before Will Wade came to town, McNeese basketball was everybody's homecoming guest. The sad part of this is, it would be so easy to change. Roughly three hours from Lake Charles sits 11 Division I basketball teams that don't play in the SLC. Seven of those clubs are in Louisiana. All are crying poor when it comes to travel costs for games. They include some power conference programs as well, led by LSU and Houston, just two hours in each direction on Interstate 10. Houston is a top-10 team in the country, The three others in range from Texas are Sam Houston State, Rice, and Texas A&M. The optics look even worse from Louisiana. McNeese does play Louisiana-Lafayette each season, so give the Ragin' Cajuns credit for not backing out. But that leaves six more possible games. There is Tulane, those LSU Tigers, Grambling State, and Southern University from the SWAC, and Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Tech. That should be more than enough to choose from, yet not a sound. McNeese used to have thrilling games against Tech and played the Bulldogs two years ago in a multi-team event in Ruston. Tech even won that game, so there's no reason not to play again. That's a rivalry that would be good for both schools once again. Instead, McNeese will once again have to play a couple of non-Division I games at home, something that hardly thrills the fan base. Last season the Cowboys got Santa Clara and Texas State to come to Lake Charles and have return games with both set for the next two years. It means McNeese will travel to both the East and West Coasts. Yet they won't be getting on a bus to play LSU, which is a game that would have huge in-state interest, given the current status of both programs. The cost of travel for any of these games would be perfect. And we know McNeese fans would follow their team if they could. Yet common sense has never been a big part of college athletics, and this is just another indication of that. It does go against good business, which says you have to give the people what they want. McNeese fans want to see their Cowboys play the best around the area as many times as they can. But college coaches have other ideas, and that means for now those teams will stay off the Cowboys' radar. Oh well, maybe next season. Then again, I put that on your schedule. • Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@
