NERDS AROUND TOWN

Houston Cougars, fried chicken and Whataburger clothing

Cory De La Guardia
Apr 1, 2019, 6:03 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!

All right guys it's Monday! This is the day where we get it organized and beat the week, so let's get on it!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

Now I'm a positive person, but one thing I definitely don't advocate is running. It's neither fun or entertaining and even worse than that is how exhausting and intense running can be, so it's a rather odd occasion to cheer this week for exactly that… running. The 2019 Brunch Run presented by Green Mountain Energy benefitting The Memorial Park Conservancy is this Saturday, April 6th at 8 a.m. and proceeds go towards the parks conservatorship in order to help keep the park looking nice and lovely. Memorial Park is one of those places people enjoy and make use of all year long so it's only fair we get out there and do some sweating for it's benefit, or so I'm told.

BIG NEWS IN THE STREAMING WAR

So anyone who listens to my show knows I've said several times that we are living in the dawn of a "streaming war." All of the various shows and streaming services are pulling the average consumer in multiple directions, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, WWE network, the DC streaming service and HBO GO are among the top used services with several anime based ones also being quite popular. So with that being said, "cord cutters" who are trying to save hundreds of dollars a year wind up seeing their savings cut in half because of the various services competing for your dollars. This all just got a little less complicated though as rumors are emerging that YouTube is getting out of the original content game. No longer producing shows of this nature after having produced about 20 original content shows and none of them really landing with audiences with the exception of Cobra Kai, even the newest show Weird City was a star studded comedy based series and it failed to resonate. With one less competitor the sword sings both ways, it's good because it helps clarify the market somewhat but you never want one company to feel too strong, although someone like Netflix can't help but feel like they're in the driver's seat of this whole streaming war.

HOW TEXAS ARE YOU?

So this weekend I discovered something amazing, like actually, god's honest awesome. Whataburger has a shop on it's website and they sell clothes. That's right, they sell clothes. So it's started with a post of Whataburger shoes and they were as orange glorious as you can imagine, they are everything I want in a pair of shoes. I dare not covet often, but darn if I don't covet these shoes. Anyway, moving on. Whoever is designing their shirts is nailing it, they are single handedly crushing the fast food casual wear life. They have a French fry beach towel, heck yes. They have a bigfoot standing on a Whataburger swatting planes, this place is everything you want from a shirt shop. If you don't think it's cool, it's because you're not really a Texan. There I said it. If you hate this shop, then you hate Texas.

THE FINAL SEASON

The eighth and final season of HBO mega hit Game of Thrones is much like winter, coming. Not this Sunday but next Sunday, all the answers start coming together and we eventually find out who will wind up sitting on the Iron Throne. In anticipation of the coming season the producers of GoT had hidden several Iron Throne replicas around the world including one in New York City. That's a pretty cool promo, it's causing a few viral photos and lots of fun searching. If you don't remember what happened in the run up and don't want to spend the next ten days catching up, just watch this rap, it's really good.

AFTER THE RUN

So you'll be downtown, and will have run a 5K which by my math means you've burned enough calories to partake in one of the most delicious sounding events I've found yet, the 2nd Annual Southern Fried Chicken Fest of Houston. There will be chefs and food trucks pushing one of God's greatest creations, many variations of fried chicken. Admission isn't free, so bring your wallets but let's be honest you were going to bring your wallets no matter what because how else were you going to buy all that fried chicken? You can indulge yourself to some awesome fried chicken while listening to live music, there's a wing eating contest and cooking seminars so get on down to Peggy Park and check out the Southern Fried Chicken Fest.

EVEN THOUGH NOBODY ASKED ME

Shout out to the Houston Cougars for getting to the Sweet 16 and then losing to Kentucky, this has been an awesome season and it came at a rather important time for the direction of the program. Over the past few years U of H has experienced a growth in the national spotlight with the great success of its football program and then getting massive donations from powerful alumni like Tilman Fertitta which then leads to the other programs growing. This season was an important one because the fate of Kelvin Sampson seemed to be in the balance of the outcome and also its refreshing to see high quality athletes start to come to U of H, because it means the profile of the University as a whole is rising nationally. This off season will be telling for the overall direction of the program.

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 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. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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BUYER'S REMORSE?

How the media in New York could make Rockets fans feel better

The media has mixed feelings about the James Harden trade. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

James Harden was 100-percent exactly right earlier this week when he said the Houston Rockets were "just not good enough."

How could they be? Not when their moody superstar scorer, who makes about half a million dollars per game, shows up chubby, looking like a kielbasa about to explode in the microwave. Hey, some people eat when they're unhappy, it's a defense mechanism. In Harden's case, the only defense he's exhibited this season. At least he had a good excuse for missing pre-season training camp and alienating his teammates - he was busy partying with Cinnamon and Cherish in Atlanta and Vegas without a mask. Worst of all, he went into the tank his last four games in a Rockets uniform, standing around, arms folded, scoring fewer than 20 points each time, all Rockets losses. Fans in the front row were asking him to move, he was blocking their view of players who cared about winning. James Harden sabotaged his own team, a team that offered him $50 million a year to stay. Something that crazy could only happen in professional sports these days.

There's a saying that drives the American labor movement: "a fair day's wage for a fair day's work." It's the motto of the American Federation of Labor. The National Basketball Players Association is not a member. Harden's sulking on the court, cheating the Rockets and their fans, was unforgivable.

Harden, sitting out games while somehow being on the court, forced the Rockets to trade him - and quick - to Brooklyn. The trade, when you ignore the fine print and unindicted co-conspirators Cleveland and Indiana, sent Harden to Brooklyn in exchange for Caris LeVert (immediately flipped for Victor Oladipo), Jarrett Allen, three first-round draft picks and four swapped first-rounders. It's true, when you trade a superstar, you never get back equal value. The other team wins.

If it makes Rockets fans feel any better, the media in New York already has problems with their new problem child. I should say newest problem child. Kyrie Irving plays for the Nets.

"They (the Nets) gave up everybody! There's nothing left now. I just want to cry, It's awful," weeped WFAN Radio talk host Evan Roberts. For those who don't subscribe to weekly Arbitron ratings reports, WFAN is the most powerful, top-rated sports talk station in the Apple.

"You're leading down the road of doom. Harden and Durant could be gone in a year and a half. I'm not convinced this gives them a better chance to win a title. I'm living a nightmare again. They better freaking win."

Circle March 3 on your Rockets schedule. That's when the Brooklyn Nets, with their Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden and possibly Kyrie Irving visit Toyota Center. I hear talk radio salivating over the record jeers that will cascade over Harden's name, although I'm not buying it. Fans don't think like the media does. I'm thinking that Rockets fans will welcome Harden back - one night only - with cheers.

Toyota Center public address announcer Matt Thomas: "Usually when former Rockets come to town for the first time since leaving, I give them a positive introduction. It's up to the fans how to react."

James Harden spent eight seasons with the Rockets. He is a spectacular player who watched other NBA players engineer trades so they could compete for a title. Harden didn't think the Rockets were good enough, and he's right. So he wanted out. We've all been there, a job we didn't like for a company we didn't like, for a boss we didn't respect. Harden wanting to be traded is understandable. How he went about it was deplorable. He hurt his co-workers.

Houston will make Harden pay for his disrespectful departure. He has an upscale restaurant set to open here. The name of the steakhouse will be "13." Harden's business partners may want to change that number ... before the restaurant's telephone number is disconnected. There are plenty of other restaurants in Houston. Rich people who can afford steakhouse prices hold grudges.

Rockets fans searching for a silver lining say, "We got two decent players and a whole bunch of precious first-round picks" for a malcontent who would rather be anywhere (except maybe Sacramento) than Houston." Yes, a bunch of first-round picks does bode well for the future. Anywhere, except maybe Houston.

Houston's draft war room isn't the most successful operation in the NBA. Over the past decade prior to 2000, under the direction of general manager Daryl Morey, the Rockets made 16 draft picks. Not one of them is still in a Rockets uniform, many of them have sought employment outside of America, some outside of basketball. Among their first-round whiffs: Nikola Mirotic, Terrence Jones, Sam Dekker - all out of the league. Best of all, Royce White, who played three whole games in his NBA career and finished with a scoring average of 0.00 points per game.

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