Reaction to Parsons' comments just overblown nonsense

ALTOONA, Pa. -- We live in a world where so many people are just looking to be offended and outraged. About anything. Even when there's nothing there.

With that, let's dive into this week's Friday top 5.

1. Micah Parsons is getting unfairly ripped, all because people are obsessed with Cowboys controversy

The Dallas Cowboys lost in the playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers. That's all. Move on.

Ahhh, but we can't. Because the Cowboys are the most nauseatingly overhyped sports team on the planet. They've done virtually nothing for close to two decades, and yet we are constantly barraged by news and analysis about "America's Team" for one reason and one reason only:

They're controversial.

That's it. That's what sells in today's media landscape. Just spend hour after after talking about the most controversial thing, and with the Cowboys, people either absolutely love them or simply can't stand them.

I fall in the latter category, not for any particular football reason, but because of the fact that every little thing that comes out of that franchise is shoved down our throats trying to force us to care one way or the other.

It's pathetic.

Alright, with all that in mind, it's no surprise what has happened the past few days, since the Cowboys lost to the 49ers in the NFL playoffs, 19-12. With Dallas eliminated, so many in the media were left searching for something -- anything -- even remotely controversial just to maintain some kind of ridiculous Cowboys narrative for as long as possible.

Which brings us to Micah Parsons, the very outspoken Penn State product who has become a superstar linebacker in just two seasons in the NFL.

Parsons speaks his mind on a lot of things, and has gotten himself into hot water with some of his hot takes, including this one about the highly controversial Brittney Griner prisoner swap the United States did with Russia.

Parsons got blasted by many people after that and had to walk back his comments later that day. Whether you agreed with him or not -- and many people absolutely did agree -- he was heavily criticized nonetheless.

OK, so back to football.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was lousy in the loss to the 49ers, throwing two interceptions while completing 23 of 37 passes for 206 yards and one TD. The whole world knew he was lousy, and the national media focused on Dak because he gets way, way, way more attention than he deserves simply because he is the quarterback of the Cowboys.

Here's what Parsons said after the game:

“I think that we held them to one touchdown. And if you told me, we would come in this game and hold them up to under 20 points. If you take away the turnover points, you hold them to 10 to 15. You would win the game. So I really want to say that I think everybody left it out there but they made bigger plays.”

That's pretty harmless, right? And obvious.

But noooooo. In Dallas Cowboys land, because everybody's gotta find a story even when there's not one, Parsons was accused of blaming Prescott for the loss because of the interceptions.

Go read the quote again. I mean, sure, the "take away the turnover points" comment does stand out, but that's just common sense.

OK, so two days ago, Parsons sent out a tweet about the QB experience in the conference championship games. It was in response to Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane talking about building a roster.

Again, because this is the Cowboys circus and Prescott is always a hot-button topic, Parsons was accused of throwing shade at the QB.

This is all just so ... dumb.

Look, if a player makes a strong comment criticizing a teammate, then sure, call him out for it. But all this criticism of Parsons for these comments in particular is nothing more than what I wrote at the very beginning of this story: We live in a world where so many people are just looking to be offended and outraged.

ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, who is a very level-headed broadcaster, even got offended by Parsons's comments. You can watch his debate with Stephen A. Smith here, but this is the key takeaway.

"Here's my issue with this," Orlovsky said. "Again, I love Micah. You don't have the right to say that. We do (in the media). We're not his teammates."

At that point, Stephen A. interjected, "Yeah he does."

"No, that's not a teammate," Orlovsky replied. "That's not a teammate. Micah Parsons doesn't need to go and tell everybody that Dak Prescott, or intimate that Dak Prescott played poorly. We see that."

Get the heck out of here. All Parsons did was state the obvious, and did so in a way that really shouldn't have been considered controversial at all. But when we're dealing with "America's Team," outrage and condemnation have become the norm, and places like ESPN have an agenda because it devotes hours upon hours of time to talking about the Cowboys.

Even when they stink, and blow opportunity after opportunity to, you know, earn being talked about so much.

On one hand, I would say Parsons does need to be careful because he's getting a reputation for being a guy who is getting himself into hot water with his comments.

But on the other hand, if he's getting into hot water over relatively benign comments like this, then the problem isn't Micah Parsons. The problem is so many of us are being too damn sensitive about all this stuff and spending way more time than we should talking about the freaking Dallas Cowboys.

2. How about some love for Kevin Givens

No, he's not a star. But the Altoona native has been a good player on the 49ers' defensive line for four years now, and he will be playing in Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Eagles.

Givens started 11 games at defensive tackles this season for the Niners, recording 20 tackles and two sacks. He's a good run stuffer who does his job by clogging up the middle of the line of scrimmage.

Guys like that don't always compile a lot of stats or earn a lot of notoriety. That's how things were for Givens when he was at Penn State, too, but he was always a very important part of the defense.

I thought Givens made a mistake declaring early for the draft instead of coming back to college for one more year. He went undrafted in 2019, but he made enough of an impression on the 49ers as a practice squad player that they kept him around. Now he's become a productive player for them.

Givens will be a restricted free agent after this season, and he's gonna get paid! He made $895,000 this year and should be in line to at least double or triple that next season.

His decision to leave Penn State early was a big risk, but good for Givens for going out and proving his value in the NFL.

3. Massive wrestling meet on top between No. 1 Lions and No. 2 Iowa

This should be awesome!

The Lions host the Hawkeyes tonight at 8:30 at the Bryce Jordan Center in the most-anticipated dual meet in the country this season. BTN will carry the broadcast.

Here's a great note from Mark Wogenrich of All Penn State:

Over the past eight seasons, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson is 61-1 in Big Ten matches. The only loss was to Iowa in 2020. Conversely, Iowa coach Tom Brands is 35-1 in the Big Ten since 2018. The only loss was to Penn State last season.

Penn State has the best wrestling program in the nation, and is seeking its 10th national title under Sanderson. Iowa used to have the nation's best wrestling program, and obviously would like nothing more than to beat Penn State and earn back more respect.

Here are the projected lineups and national rankings for each wrestler, with Penn State listed first:

125: Gary Steen (5-9) vs. #1 Spencer Lee (10-0)
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young (9-0) vs. #17 Brody Teske (4-0)
141: #4 Beau Bartlett (14-0) vs. #2 Real Woods (9-0)
149: #13 Shayne Van Ness (11-2) vs. #7 Max Murin (13-3)
157: #9 Levi Haines (12-1) vs. #15 Cobe Siebrecht (8-2)
165: #5 Alex Facundo (11-1) vs. #13 Patrick Kennedy (12-2)
174: #1 Carter Starocci (10-0) vs. #16 Nelson Brands (4-3)
184: #1 Aaron Brooks (6-1) vs. #12 Abe Assad (14-2)
197: #4 Max Dean (12-2) vs. #7 Jacob Warner (11-2)
285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet (8-1) vs. #3 Tony Cassioppi (16-0)

Note, there is a chance Haines could sit for Penn State at 157 and junior Terrell Barraclough could take that spot. If the freshman Haines wrestles one more match, he won't be able to redshirt. But this is No. 1 vs. No. 2, it's Penn State vs. Iowa, so it's hard to see Sanderson sitting the better wrestler. Expect Haines to be on the mat.

4. Bubble wrap

Penn State is now listed as the fifth team out in the NCAA Tournament in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology for ESPN.

Here's a look at all the teams in play on the bubble:

The Lions are 4-5 in the Big Ten and have what amounts to a must-win game at home Sunday against Michigan. It tips off at noon on BTN.

Penn State cannot afford to lose that kind of game and fall further back on the bubble, because getting six more wins in the Big Ten would be a daunting task given the remaining schedule.

5. How much could Notre Dame be interested in Micah Shrewsberry?

On the surface, it looks like a no-brainer that Notre Dame could come after Shrewsberry as its next head coach. He's from Indianapolis, went to college there (Hanover and Indiana State) and was an assistant coach for Butler and Purdue.

So, with Mike Brey retiring and the Fighting Irish really struggling this year (9-12 overall, 1-9 ACC), the program faces a major crossroads and needs to get this hire right.

Brey is making $2.5 million at Notre Dame, according to The Athletic, while Shrewsberry is believed to be making about $2 million at Penn State.

If Notre Dame can bump its salary into the $3.5 million range, it would have a whole slew of candidates who would be very interested. So, it just depends on how much more of a commitment the school wants to make in order to right the ship.

Shrewsberry is in just his second season as a head coach, and hasn't accomplished anything yet in his position. That would change, obviously, if he can lead the Lions to the NCAA Tournament, which would increase his stock and his leverage at Penn State.

Still, even if Penn State doesn't get to the tournament, Shrewsberry still has a great resume and all kinds of ties in Indiana. If the Fighting Irish really want him, it's just hard to see him turning that down to stay at Penn State.

Coaches simply cannot know all the things they'll be up against as Penn State's head coach until they are actually in the job. Shrewsberry saw the Penn State situation while he was at Purdue and probably knew a lot about the tough circumstances, but he surely could not have imagined how difficult things would be with the Lions.

Yes, he has more support from the administration. That's big. But Shrewsberry is a competitor and wants to win. He's been spending time complaining about how a Big Ten official didn't even know his name, and it's grown tiresome, in all honesty, how much he complains about officiating and that the Lions don't get any calls.

All of that stuff is about respect. And in the world of college basketball, Penn State has just never been afforded a whole lot of respect, simply because the program hasn't been good enough to earn it.

If Shrewsberry decides he doesn't want to beat his head against the wall fighting for respect at Penn State, then sure, he could want out. And Notre Dame would be a great landing spot for him.

Then again, until Shrewsberry accomplishes something at Penn State, it may limit how much he's desired elsewhere.