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 guys, we're halfway through the week, we can do this! Let's show Wednesday who's boss.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week I didn't want to pick something, I wanted you guys to pick something. A neighbor in need, Puerto Rico, the Atlantis formerly called the Midwest, a family member or friend of the family. Someone you know maybe isn't saying much but seriously, they could use the help. Anyway, make sure you're doing your part and there aren't people in need standing right next to you everyday. I think a certain someone called it the Golden Rule.
1,2,3, Cancun
The NBA Playoffs are going on right now and honestly they have been amazing so far, not just the Houston Rockets looking great until this last game against Utah where they missed some 14 three pointers. That's a cause for concern because when the three's aren't falling they keep shooting them no matter what, and it's great for them to be confident but I just wish James Harden and Chris Paul would take back over after say miss number eight and do a few dribble penetration lay-ups or draw the fouls and get some free throws to let everyone calm down and stop forcing the three. Also Portland, man, just Portland. Dame Lillard just sunk Oklahoma City with the best 40ish foot three point shot anyone has ever seen and he did so with utmost confidence after dribbling the clock down to nothing and taking the shot that apparently he wanted from nearly half court. The other part of this whole equation is now Mr Triple Triple Double Russell Westbrook has proven yet again that Hero Ball doesn't work anymore in the NBA. Oklahoma City is a poorly built team centered around Westbrook and Paul George who gave himself the nickname of "Playoff P". Who by the way finally had a good game and it was in a loss, kind of proving the rule we don't get to pick our nicknames. People are growing tired of Westbrook's seemingly anger fueled style of play where if he isn't talking an obscene amount of trash and pushing around players of noticeably lesser status than him, he's just being an overall irritant to everyone doing their job.
Avengers Endgame
If you're not excited for this movie and if you're not curious how all of this ends, then you aren't even kind of the person I want to hang out with. Do the Avenegrs save the day? How does Tony Stark make it back? What role does the quantum realm play in all of this? Is Clint Barton the coolest guy in the MCU? These are all relevant questions that will finally be answered, and with these answers we can finally move on to the next set of Marvel movies. Before anyone rolls their eyes, don't tell me they aren't excited for whatever is coming next. Marvel has been the best at planning these things out and as DC's movie universe and don't forget Universal's failed monster universe with Tom Cruise's Mummy as the flagship can tell us, it ain't easy. Hats off to the kings of the movie universe and may they enjoy this victory lap.
Has anyone else noticed this?
The new trailer for Hobbs and Shaw is out and some how there's a Samoan Haka in the story? The fast and the furious franchise has grown into this incredible popcorn munching scenery destroying super movie every couple of years and it's honestly, impressive at this point. A movie franchise that starts off with Paul Walker going undercover to find out who is hijacking trucks in the underground race scene and befriending sort of bad guy Vin Diesel, turns into a massive ensemble cast by the fifth one and then Paul Walker actually dies and the movies continue and they film a whole movie with him in it after his death somehow. Now the franchise has grown so much the Rock is now a reoccurring character getting his own spin off with other reoccurring character Jason Statham. The franchise has also featured Charlize Theron and other major stars and seems to just keep going.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
The other day Donald Trump complained to twitter's CEO that he doesn't have enough followers, and it brought a lot of thoughts to mind but most noticeably it brought to mind that old people just don't understand technology. As the new apps and machines and types of entertainment creep up it becomes obvious again and again that technology will leave you behind in a heartbeat. Ninja the world famous streamer who has upwards of a million people watch him stream at any given time, was paid roughly a million dollars allegedly to stream Apex Legends for set amount of time after it released and for those of you who thought that last sentence was a foreign language, catch up. This is the future and in many ways it's the present, this guy has more effective influence than a Sprite commercial, and yet there's probably a large segment of the population who couldn't pick this dude out of a line up.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Wednesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Friday 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.
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Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. 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. Click here to catch!
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