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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 and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
It's been a crazy week in the world of esports.
Dreamhack has announced the Dreamhack Showdown at Dreamhack Valencia an all female CS:GO tournament in July. This is a massive and interesting development in the world of competitive gaming as this isn't an industry known for its inclusion. Last season there was only one professional female Overwatch player in the league and that was after the last place team replaced most of its roster in an effort to break its losing streak. There will be several qualifying events held in the build up to the July 5th through 7th event with a $100,000 prize pool at stake. May the best women win!
Riot Games has announced State Farm has signed a three year extension to stay on as a main sponsor and has even stepped up their participation to include global tournaments for the first time. Which is a big big deal for the League of Legends creators. They've been running a very successful league for awhile and building up momentum with sponsors for several years now and this is part of the natural growth and evolution of the League of Legends competitive scene. Many people speculate that fanbases will grow tired of these games at some point and the interest will peter out, but I would like to point out that Starcraft 2 is over ten years old and is still a staple of competitive gaming.
The last thing to mention this week is with the influx of money in esports comes the issue of protecting players and their rights. Audi and Gamestop have both recently announced their intention to get into gaming so there is money pouring in from every angle and the end result of all of that money is teams are signing players to contracts that make them the majority owners in the player's earnings with the intention of being a profitable business. That isn't the way other pro sports operate technically, collecting money from the players or only paying the player select amount of money from their winnings. The other leagues go the other way; they figure out what percentage of revenue should belong to the players and pay based on that number. In essence, the esports teams are working the problem from the opposite end, instead of giving the player everything they promise but base their promises on expected revenue, they are taking large percentages from the players to create a profit. This creates the atmosphere of disappointed players, they hear they won $10k but after the team takes their cut the player only receives $4k hypothetically. This kind of business model isn't going to last long.
Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help fight cancer 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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4 important elements that could tip the scales in Texans-Colts matchup
Oct 25, 2024, 2:30 pm
This week, the Houston Texans take on the Colts in a matchup with division supremacy on the line. If the Texans are able to come away with a victory, they will own the tiebreaker over Indy and enjoy a comfortable lead in the division.
However, a loss to the Colts means the Texans will be in a virtual tie with Indy in the AFC South. So what do the Texans need to do to secure a win?
On offense, they'll have to do a much better job of protecting CJ Stroud. In their last game against the Packers, Stroud faced immense pressure on third downs, with 12 of his 14 dropbacks resulting in pressure.
During one series, Stroud was flushed from the pocket and forced to scramble on three straight plays. They have to clean up the protection, or it will be another long day for the offense.
Fortunately for the Texans, this game is at home. So hopefully the communication issues the Texans o-line dealt with on the road last week won't be an issue at NRG.
Rushing attack
Houston can't afford to rely solely on Joe Mixon and the run game to carry the offense. While Mixon has been terrific, contributing significantly in recent weeks, the Texans will need a balanced attack. Which means Stroud must have time to operate in the pocket.
Bulls on parade
The defense last week was another story for the Texans. They played well against Green Bay, limiting them to 24 points. This week, they face a very different type of quarterback. Anthony Richardson is dead last in passer rating and completion percentage, so that's definitely working in their favor.
We know what Richardson can do with his legs, and Indy is expecting running back Jonathan Taylor to return from an ankle injury, so the rushing defense will be tested.
Richardson's accuracy is certainly a weakness, but he does throw a good deep ball that gave the defense problems in Week 1 this season.
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are favored by 5 points and the total is set at 45.5 points.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we share our in-depth breakdown of the game, as well as our predictions for Sunday's contest.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.