Mike Piellucci

Dallas

Sports Editor, @DMagazine | Alum: The Athletic, FOS, VICE | Best Sports Writing '22 | CRMA Winner | Holler: [email protected]

Articles

Will the Rangers' Dream of a Leiter-Rocker Ace Tandem Ever Become Reality?

22 hours ago | dmagazine.com | Zach Crizer |Mike Piellucci

When the stars aligned and the famed Vanderbilt rotation duo landed in the same major league organization, it did not require a fervent imagination to envision Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker reconstituting their headline-making college dominance in Arlington. During Vanderbilt’s 2021 season, the righthanders combined for a 2.44 ERA across 232 innings. They logged matching strikeout totals: 179, across 122 innings for Rocker and 110 innings for Leiter.
The Great Expectations of Cooper Flagg

2 days ago | dmagazine.com | Mike Piellucci

It’s not terribly fair, is it, to ask an 18-year-old to launder the reputation of our most distressed pro sports team? That’s what Cooper Flagg, now officially the top overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, must do for the Dallas Mavericks, in so many words. Mind you, every prospect of his ilk faces some version of that challenge. Rare is the team that picks first overall when things are going well. They are all looking to be saved from something.
How Daniel Gafford Explains the Dallas Mavericks

2 days ago | dmagazine.com | Jake Kemp |Mike Piellucci

I’m not sure how long this will last, but as of right now, it is still hard for me to make much sense of anything the Mavericks do with their roster. Nico Harrison traded away the team’s future for a shorter, and in his mind, stronger run at a championship. Of course, he was subsequently gifted a new future by lottery luck that will result in the Mavericks selecting phenom Cooper Flagg with the first pick in tonight’s draft.
Buyers? Sellers? The Next Few Weeks Will Decide the Rangers' Deadline Direction

4 days ago | dmagazine.com | Sean Bass |Mike Piellucci

The Rangers are hovering around the .500 mark as we approach the mathematical midpoint of the season. Fans are praying for a level of consistency at the plate to match the club’s stellar pitching. During a nice run of form last week, the club won seven of eight and swept the White Sox, giving some the sense a corner had been turned.
Cason Wallace Is an NBA Champion. We Richardson High Alums Saw It Coming.

4 days ago | dmagazine.com | Mike Piellucci

We have been friends going back to elementary school, golfing buddies since our days teeing it up for the Richardson High School Eagles. And as a group of uber-talented kids from our alma mater put on show after show in early 2022, I could always count on a text from my good friend Dave Goscin. “You’re going tonight, right?” he would type.
There is No Easy Answer to the Stars' Jason Robertson Conundum

1 week ago | dmagazine.com | David Castillo |Mike Piellucci

Jason Robertson is everything the Stars didn’t ask for but wished he could be when he was taken in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft. A big, strong winger with all the offensive chops you would want in a top-six forward. But he’s more than that. He has become a franchise-changer. He was leading the Stars in scoring before the arrival of Mikko Rantanen, and no player his age has scored more than his 394 points since he came into the league.
An Appreciation of Rick Carlisle, Who Keeps on Going

1 week ago | dmagazine.com | Josh Bowe |Mike Piellucci

If you’re a Mavericks fan watching the NBA Finals, it’s not that hard to feel conflicted about it all. About six months ago, it looked like the Mavericks might be the team in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s spot. Then the Luka Doncic trade happened. With apologies to James Johnson, the only Dallas representation of consequence wound up being Rick Carlisle on the Indiana Pacers’ sideline, which has provoked its own set of emotions.
Evan Carter Is Back. Can the Rangers Follow His Lead?

1 week ago | dmagazine.com | Jamey Newberg |Mike Piellucci

Whoever ends up introducing Bruce Bochy at his Cooperstown induction ceremony is sure to talk about the manager’s feel for understanding baseball players. Motivating them. Sensing when to back off. Setting a no-panic tone. Moving lineup pieces and bullpen roles around, often with results as eye-opening as the announcements themselves. The story of the 2025 Rangers isn’t even half-written.
What's Behind the Wings' Sluggish Start?

1 week ago | dmagazine.com | Justin Carter |Mike Piellucci

This was supposed to be the start of a new era for the Wings. Somehow, the results have been even worse than those from the end of the previous one. As a refresher, Dallas finished 9-31 last year, then moved on from two of its most important players, Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard. But the addition of first overall pick Paige Bueckers and a slew of moves from new general manager Curt Miller gave fans reason to be optimistic heading into this season.
The Kid From Maine: How Cooper Flagg's High School Roots Shaped Dallas' Next Star

1 week ago | dmagazine.com | Brian Dameris |Mike Piellucci

It was a crisp December evening, and Beal Gymnasium in South Portland, Maine, was packed to the rafters. The Class A Nokomis Warriors had traveled south looking for a challenge, having scheduled a preseason test against a South Portland team that a few months later would go undefeated and win the Class AA state title. In their second game of the day, with just over nine minutes left, Cooper Flagg caught the ball on the wing.