NERDS ROUND TOWN
Avengers Endgame, Game of Thrones, Esports and coral reefs
Apr 15, 2019, 7:31 am
ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ
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!
Hey Nerds!
Alright, ignore the hangovers and shake off the miss the weekend blues, it's the most important day of the week, MONDAY!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week we're going to focus on helping some people right in the circle of nerds, at the Spring Charity Drag Show. It's a themed drag show within Houston's nerd community and will feature pop culture, gaming and nerd icons as well as prominent drag queens in the "Gaymer" community. The proceeds go towards this group which all year long put on events for their community and give those people a place to go and be accepted.
KEEP ON LOSING
The Hosuton Outlaws played their first game of Stage Two and started off with another loss. They were playing the talented Vancouver Titans who won the Stage One playoffs, but they posted a lowly 1-3 match score and honestly they didn't impress in the outing. Other than Stage 1 of the first season, The Outlaws have struggled to find consistent rhythm and sound strategy and honestly, they've been losers and this initial loss in Stage Two now drops them back to 12th place in the standings and doesn't present a lot of of hope for this season either. Hopefully there's a change in team coordination or maybe it's a chemistry change that has to be made and a trade is necessary but either way, as it's presently composed, The Houston Outlaws aren't much of a threat in the Overwatch League.
NETFLIX TO THE RESCUE
For those who sometimes feel like one man (or woman) can't make a difference, this little tidbit should give you hope. Single time plastic usage has dropped over 50% in just one year, and in the UK they're calling it the "Attenborough effect". Essentially the concept is that data taken in the UK has broken down that while women and the newer generation are most swayed by the messaging in things, even Men at a strong rate have been moved to take an interest in the amount of plastics being used and where they go afterwards. Named after the guy who has put two different docu-series about nature on Netflix (Blue Planet II and Our Planet), David Attenborough. It's very cool to know that people are actively getting involved, they're seeing the effect we're having on this world and realizing we aren't being very good guests and trying to do better. So what difference can one man make, a lot if he tries. So are we all trying enough?
IN OTHER GREAT NEWS
Now I'm not a marine biologist and I don't pretend to even understand the importance of coral reefs. I've been told they are massively important to the ocean's ecosystems but I couldn't give you a lot of reasons why. I know they're dying due to the rise in seawater temperatures oceans wide and that without them overall the ecosystems of the oceans are in danger and that between 25 and 40% of them have now died off in these current conditions. Recent breakthroughs though may have finally given conservationists a short cut to helping these reefs grow back and going back to the previous articles question of "can one man change the world?" we have one man to thank for it. David Vaughan basically discovered by accident that you can sort of replant the reef over and over and it's base system can break off, stay behind and continue to grow helping speed up the process of regrowing large coral reefs in a much shorter amount of time. So that's pretty cool, Apocalypse delayed.
EARTH'S MIGHTIEST INDEED
So tickets are available in pre-sale for Avenger's Endgame which still doesn't come out until NEXT weekend, but the sales have soared to record breaking levels. It's is incredible to see and think, but Avengers Endgame has now sold more pre-sale tickets than Aquaman, Avengers Infinity War, Star Wars The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel combined! Those were the top four movies in pre sales before Avengers came through, meaning this thing is rolling through all the records. This is a essentially a 20 plus movie pay off and there's no telling where the numbers on this thing could go with some estimates have an opening weekend at a mind crushing $800 million. The story of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor may be seemingly coming to an end but the world and Disney will always have Avengers, so it'll be interesting to see what comes next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
SPEAKING OF AVENGERS
Game of Thrones debuted last night and don't worry there will be no spoilers here, but for people who have watched from the beginning, how exciting is it now that all the heroes of this story are in one place now? They're all together and they're all preparing to fight against the army of the dead. It's a fascinating story and I'm very intrigued by the finale of this show but honestly if they end this show with some weak, punk ending I'm going to be very unhappy. And if they end this show like the Sopranos with questions unanswered, I'm going to be even more angry. The bar is high but so far they're well over it.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Monday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Tuesday 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.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! 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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