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Born 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. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
All Elite Wrestling debuted last Wednesday and we are now in a new era. The Cody Rhodes led new wrestling promotion kicked off with a barn burner of a match between Cody Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. Seeing the return of wrestling to TNT has a lot of meaning to it, as WCW ended it's run Ted Turner had allegedly said there would never be wrestling on TNT again. Fast forward eighteen years later and Cody Rhodes has brought wrestling back to the Turner channel. A young roster filled with potential and great Indy wrestlers who are media savvy and willing to try big moves and land huge spots, AEW is going to push WWE in many ways.
WWE responded with an extended version of NXT, now two hours to rival AEW, kicking off with a match between Adam Cole and Matt Riddle for the title. It's an interesting move to see Finn Balor come on to NXT, this might be the way to fairly distribute the roster between USA and Fox but the most important take away from NXT is after comparing it to AEW it's just not as technically impressive. Overall as a show it isn't enough to directly compete against what AEW did the same night, although I did like the bit with running over their time like in the old days.
Smackdown kicked off well with The Rock and The Man embarrassing a King. The Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon ladder match being on Smackdown is a great decision with a pay per view event coming up the weekend after this show, hopefully it isn't one they regret. The match was obviously great, and Kevin winning was the obvious outcome but it was fantastic and what a great moment from Kevin Owens firing and stunning Shane. A squash match between Brock Lesnar and Kofi Kingston is so disrespectful and wrong to do to Kofi, who has been a great champ for WWE over the last year. It looks like the Fox era has begun.
Coming out of a disastrous Hell in a Cell where Seth cheated to end a match against The Fiend, resulting in the audience audibly chanting AEW at the end of the event. It's important for WWE to find some footing coming through the draft starting this Friday or AEW is going to keep chopping away at them and leading off with a cheating wife is so 1990s and not the right move at all. Natalya and Lacey Evans put some great work into the first match of the night to help recover some of the damage done by the opening. Overall it was a flat episode coming out of a rough pay per view and those aren't the things you want if you're looking over your shoulder at the new guy.
Feel free to check out my brand-new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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The Houston Astros didn’t just sweep the defending champs this weekend, they changed the tone of their season.
Dominant pitching. Star power. Road swagger. The three-game dismantling of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine wasn’t about revenge or validation. It was about showing, once and for all, that this version of the Astros, short-handed and all, belongs squarely in the conversation with baseball’s elite.
A statement series
The Astros pitching staff was lights out against one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, holding the Dodgers to just six runs across three games, including two contests where LA managed just a single run. Lance McCullers Jr., much-maligned after getting shelled by the Cubs last week, bounced back in a big way. He worked around four walks, giving up just one run on a solo homer, a much-needed course correction as the Astros evaluate their playoff rotation options.
On the offensive side, the stars delivered in a big way. Jose Altuve torched Dodgers pitching with three home runs, seven RBIs, two walks, and just one strikeout. Christian Walker matched him with six hits of his own, including a pair of long balls and six RBIs.
A shift in expectations?
This wasn’t just a series win. This was a proof of concept.
Houston came into the series already heating up, now they’re officially on fire. Over the last 30 days, the Astros rank third in runs and fifth in RBIs. For the season, they’re top 10 in nearly every key offensive category: eighth in OPS, first in batting average, ninth in slugging. Defensively, the numbers are just as strong. They lead MLB in strikeouts and opponents’ batting average, and rank second in WHIP.
Put it all together, and you’ve got a team with top-five upside in both pitching and offense. The pieces are clicking. The vibes are real. And the Astros suddenly look like a legitimate World Series contender again.
Is help on the way?
Reliever Hector Neris rejoined the team this week, offering a veteran boost to a bullpen that’s been leaned on heavily. Neris brings postseason pedigree and a reputation as a clubhouse leader. The Astros hope a return to familiar surroundings, and the guidance of one of the best pitching development staffs in the league, can get him back on track.
Tayler Scott returns on a minor league deal, and while the move may not turn heads, it adds another layer of depth to a bullpen that’s already one of the league’s best.
Background noise in LA
No Astros-Dodgers series goes by without a little extra noise and this one was no different. During the broadcast, former Cy Young winner and Dodgers analyst Orel Hershiser raised eyebrows by implying that Houston’s offensive surge might not have been entirely on the level.
Predictable? Absolutely. Meaningful? Not even close.
If anything, it’s a weird kind of compliment. No one questions legitimacy when you’re losing. But after a lopsided 18-1 beat down people start reaching for answers, or excuses.
Inside the Astros clubhouse, though, that chatter doesn’t register.
They know exactly what this sweep meant. And so does the rest of the league.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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