NERDS AROUND TOWN
Adios AAF, bad judges, rock and roll and so much more
Apr 3, 2019, 6:50 am
ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ
Fawcett comicsBorn with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
It's Wednesday and for all you guys working for the weekend, you're almost there.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
So we've all been there, work is killing you, the phones are ringing, someone's out sick on a Monday (like anyone ever believes that) you got that big meeting later and that's why you tried to get in early today to prep for it, but there was traffic on 45 so you actually got in the office a few minutes late and your boss made a motion to his watch as you passed him in the break room and you just want to scream! But you take 20 minutes for lunch and you head out to the Memorial Park, you walk around a few minutes you sit and listen to the sounds of people being happy, and suddenly you're calm again. That's what Memorial Park does for you, so what do you do for it? The 2019 Brunch Run presented by Green Mountain Energy benefitting The Memorial Park Conservancy is April 6th at 8am and proceeds go towards the parks conservatorship in order to help keep the park looking nice and lovely. I'm not saying you owe it, but… well you kind of owe it.
WHO NEEDS TO ROCK OUT
This weekend is a quiet weekend in live music, so to speak. Citizen Cope is playing Friday night at the House of Blues, and if that doesn't ring a bell then you didn't watch a movie in the early 2000s. They had the song "let the drummer kick" in the movie Accepted. Basically, if there was a scene where the main character was thinking about something important in a key moment then Citizen Cope was likely playing in the background. So go listen to them on Friday night and reconsider all your life choices. On Saturday the music choice gets a little more interesting, at White Oak Music Hall the Bouncing Souls stop by to celebrate their 30 year musical journey.
IS THIS A REMAKE
So this Friday Shazam comes out. Honestly if you're a comics guru like myself, this is the kind of thing that is so crazy. Shazam was originally Captain Marvel of Fawcett comics, Fawcett eventually gets bought by DC comics, during that time while Fawcett wasn't publishing though, Marvel makes their own Captain Marvel comic. Now DC owns a Captain Marvel but the trademark belongs to Marvel so DC comics can publish their own Captain Marvel character but they can't put the name of their hero on the cover of their book, so for literally the last 50 plus years DC would call the book anything but Captain Marvel eventually landing on Shazam!, the magic word Billy Batson yells to become Captain Marvel. When DC comics relaunched with the new 52 a few years back, someone FINALLY convinced DC to abandon the name of Captain Marvel since they couldn't put that name on the cover of the books. They now called him Shazam, and his movie comes out less than a month after Marvel's Captain Marvel came out in theatres. Always the second fiddle…
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THIS BAD
So have you ever been so bad at your job that you accidentally quit? This is a legit question, like how bad are you at your job that you break an automatic termination rule in your first three months? We've all had bad jobs before and we've all had jobs that maybe we weren't perfectly suited for but the idea that you screw up so bad that you are now done in the first three months is pretty crazy. Well a Judge in Harris County just did that. So for some reasons Judges are elected by the people, not sure how that makes any sense, in theory judge should be like a rank that prosecutors earn eventually by serving the interests of the people long enough, but now even district attorneys are political figures so who knows. I bring all of that up because the judge in question released online his plans for running for a higher position later on in his career, however in the Texas Constitution it says once you are a candidate for another office you automatically resign your current position, which he has had for all of three months. Not so smart.
WHAT THE HECK
So that's it for the AAF? What the heck just happened? It seems that Tom Dundon the new chief of the league after investing $250 million into the league about a month ago has no interest in continuing the league under its present conditions. The NFL seemed super gung ho to have this league in a minor league position which the AAF seemed to be courting by asking the NFLPA to let the practice squad players play in this league, with the increased exposure giving players more chances to make an active roster in the NFL. Honestly there's a lot of things going in different directions in this story, the NFLPA doesn't really want to give practice squad players more chances because they want more active roster spots to create more wealth for players and a minor league actually threatens the push to expand NFL rosters. The AAF had been developing some interesting technology with big sports implications and Dundon having access to that might be worth more than the idea of growing a minor league NFL that has a long fight with the NFLPA ahead of it. On top of all that, there were some first year issues including the Florida team practicing in Georgia, and not having signed the contract to hold their championship in Vegas even though the stadium in question was selling tickets for it, the thing that makes me think this is a permanent closure is how they handled the players, they literally just left them all where they were and the players had to arrange their own way home. Not cool.
EVEN THOUGH NOBODY ASKED ME
Another refinery fire? It's interesting now to hear so many people complaining about regulation and enforcement of the rules considering that we as a state have long been in favor of deregulation including recently an odd push to drop the licensing requirements for cosmetologists. This new plant fire at KMCO is apparently not a big surprise as it seems KMCO has numerous violations in its past, this lax attitude towards rules and regulations leads to issues like this, so maybe it's time for a cultural shift on regulations.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Wednesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back tomorrow and we'll be bringing more good times your way. Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House, or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where every shirt is now under $20 or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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Cal Raleigh becomes the first catcher, switch-hitter to win the Home Run Derby. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.
Cal Raleigh approached the All-Star Home Run Derby like a day on the lawn. Dad was on the mound and baby brother was behind the plate.
Only this time, there were tens of thousands looking on at Truist Park and a $1 million prize.
“It goes all the way back to him coming home and me forcing him to throw me a ball and hit it in the backyard or in the house or something probably shouldn’t be doing,” a beaming Cal said, flanked by Todd and Todd Jr. after defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round Monday night.
Todd Raleigh, former coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina, threw the pitches and Cal’s 15-year-old brother, Todd Raleigh Jr., did the catching. A first-time All-Star at age 28, Cal became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He’s the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr., who was on the field, snapping photos.
“Anybody that’s ever played baseball as a kid dreams of stuff like this,” Cal’s dad said. “I dreamed of it. He dreamed of it. When you’re a parent, you look at it differently because you want your kids to be happy.”
Leading the major leagues with 38 home runs at the All-Star break, Cal almost didn’t make it past the first round. The Mariners’ breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper and the Athletics’ Brent Rooker each hit 17 homers, and Raleigh advanced on a tiebreaker for longest long ball: 470.61 feet to 470.53 — or 0.96 inches. At first, Cal wasn’t aware whether there would be a swing-off.
“An inch off, and I’m not even in the final four, which is amazing,” Cal said. “So I guess I got lucky there. One extra biscuit.”
Raleigh totaled 54 homers. He won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over the right-center field seats was the longest of the night.
Cal Raleigh's #HRDerby by the numbers:
Total HR: 54
HR of 425+: 31
Top distance: 471 ft
Avg distance: 430 ft
Total distance: 23,212 ft
Top exit velo: 112 MPH
Avg exit velo: 102 MPH pic.twitter.com/0pV6nGWLsA
— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025
Cal’s brother, nicknamed T, kept yelling encouragement to the brother he so admires.
“His swag, the way he plays, the way he hustles,” T said.
Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers — MLB counted one that a fan outfielder caught with an over-the-wall grab. Using a multicolored bat and down to his last out, Caminero took three pitches and hit a liner to left.
“I didn’t think I was going to hit as many home runs or make it to the finals,” Caminero said through a translator.
Cal was just the second Derby switch-hitter after Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman in 2023. His dad was a righty and wanted both his sons to hit from both sides.
“Did it from the first day, when he was in diapers, literally,” Todd Sr. said. “I would take that big ball and he had a big red bat. I’d throw it slow and he’d hit it. Then I’d say stay there, pick him up, turn him around, switch his hands and do it again. I was a catcher. I played a little bit, and I just knew what a premium it was. I didn’t want either one of my boys to ever say, am I right-handed or left-handed?”
There was a downside.
“I don’t recommend it if you have two kids, they’re both switch hitters, if you want to save your arm, because that’s a lot of throwing,” said dad, who had rotator cuff surgery.
Raleigh hit his first eight homers left-handed, took a timeout, then hit seven right-handed. Going back to lefty, he hit two more in the bonus round and stayed lefty for the rest of the night.
“Was grooving a little bit more lefty so we were like, since we have a chance to win, we might as well stick to the side that’s working a little better,” Cal said.
Caminero beat Minnesota’s Byron Buxton 8-7 in the other semifinal. Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, the New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rooker were eliminated in the first round of the annual power show.
Cruz’s long drive was the hardest-hit at 118 mph.
Wood hit 16 homers, including one that landed on the roof of the Chop House behind the right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not go deep on his first nine swings and finished with 15, Chisholm hit just three homers, the fewest since the timer format started in 2015.fter it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.'s wife, is surrounded by baseball.
After it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys’ mom and Todd Sr.'s wife, is surrounded by baseball.
“We kind of leave it in the cage. We’ve got a cage at home, a building,” Todd Sr. said. “Or we leave it in the car on the rides home. There’s probably been a few times where she says, yeah, that’s enough.”