WRESTLING REPORT
An exciting week as both Raw and Smackdown gear up for Fastlane
Feb 27, 2019, 6:51 am
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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 shows www.facebook.com/nerdthugradio!
In recent history WWE has struggled to be entertaining from week to week, but in the build up to Fastlane, WWE is hitting an interesting stride.
With Raw starting off with the big announcement of the return of Roman Reigns, the tone was set early. Showcasing Ricochet and Alister Black in another tag match against the Revival brings to question exactly what the future plans are for these two. The first tag match featuring the new female tag team match was exciting and the Ronda, Charlotte, Becky Lynch story took an interesting turn with Ronda making a bold power play to get Becky Lynch back in the match. Perhaps the most exciting event of the night came during the Dean Ambrose/Drew Mcintyre no DQ match when the Shield reuniting was strongly hinted at. Raw even managed to end on a strong note when Bautista ambushed Ric Flair during his birthday celebration. Bringing to mind the rumors that circulated during Bautista's run a few years ago where his planned storyline was to end with a match against Triple H in Wrestlemania, is that the case now? Well there's no Guardians of the Galaxy movie to promote this summer, so Bautista won't be busy, or will he?
The shocks continued as Smackdown kicked off with a huge shock as fan favorite Kofi Kingston lost his spot in the Fastlane title match against Daniel Bryan to the newly returned Kevin Owens. Vince McMahon in recent weeks has positioned himself as the "evil authority" making big decisions that are "best for business" which harkens back to the older, perhaps higher rated days of a few years ago. Surprises continued as Matt Hardy made a return in an abbreviated match against The Bar, but it lacked a certain style because honestly, Matt is painful to watch at this point. The showcase continued for Ricochet and Alister Black, maybe this is the way forward for NXT call ups in an effort to try and keep the NXT guys from falling to the wayside, this time against Rusev and Shinske Nakamora. Perhaps the big misstep this week was ending on the predictably flat tag match between Kofi Kingston/Kevin Owens vs Daniel Bryan/Erick Rowan but it was great to see Kevin Owens in action again.
Fastlane and Wrestlemania both had some interesting developments this week and WWE put together two exciting shows, which is something they've struggled with recently. Here's hoping the this is a trend setting week and the positive momentum continues.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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