NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Andrew Luck, Disney and growing older
Aug 26, 2019, 6:42 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 and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
What's up Monday! Let's conquer this week.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
In honor of college kids going back to school, I want you to look on Facebook find one of your teacher friends and click on their Amazon wishlist. They're all doing it this year, they all should be doing it this year except that education is the most important thing in the world for children and we as a society should care more to educate them, poor or rich, white, black or brown. We should be teaching them how to think and ask questions and let them make this world a better place since obviously we don't know how.
FALL OF THE COLTS
What did Andrew Luck just do? Did he seriously just leave the Colts in a massive lurch? I'll be honest, I don't blame him at all. They have been risking his life and health every season he's been in the NFL, they haven't gotten better at blocking one bit, they haven't protected him at all. I totally understand his position, he's a very wealthy guy at this point and I promise he's looking around every off season after another surgery and another injury and another rough year, checking his bank account and trying to figure out why he's so miserable when he's "living the dream." The truth is, it isn't fun when you don't know if you can ever even throw again which he was wondering in 2017. It isn't fun when you've literally had injured internal organs like he did in 2016. There's no way this is the life he wanted to live when he was drafted number one overall. The Colts had a chance to build with him, they could have just cleared the deck after Peyton left and built a team around Andrew Luck and yet, here we are in 2019 and he's retiring to avoid another year of running for his life, literally wondering if he'll ever be pain free. He deserves a little happiness and a little peace of mind, good luck Luck.
I HAVE QUESTIONS
One thing that came out of the Luck retiring episode is the Vegas odds have all changed, but seriously, I have questions. The oddsmakers had the Titans at 7.7 wins this year and now after Luck leaving they have them at 8 wins this year… the Titans don't think Mariota is even going to finish the year. So they got another quarterback, Ryan Tannehill just in case and to quote Madden, "when you got two quarterbacks you really have none." How was this team supposed to win seven games? Or even eight? They are a good tough minded team but in this era of scoring points, they can't. So what are they going to do, punt their way to a win?
D23 NEWS
Tons of great Disney news came out this weekend, they announced several streaming shows such as Moon Knight, Ms Marvel and She Hulk. They showed a trailer for The Mandalorian which looked great and they made some Marvel movie news announcements particularly Black Panther 2. So there is a ton going on in the cool column, but there is one glaring giant mark in the negative column, Spider-Man. Rumors were swirling all weekend and it was very confusing is there a deal, is there no deal, are they working on a deal, are they not working on a deal? It all got very confusing. Disney came strong to the table, wanting to expand their control of the "Spider universe" and yet Sony stood strong, perhaps to the detriment of movie fans and specifically me.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
This coming weekend is basically my birthday, September 3rd. Thirty-five has been the weirdest year of my life. It's been both exciting and awful. I started a business with a buddy, we basically sprinted and failed but from that failure came the writing and while life isn't great yet success is slowly creeping in and I'm making good steps every day and every month. My Dad died November of last year unexpectedly, it was an odd holidays, and a weird and hard year, this will be first birthday without him and I'm not sure how to feel yet. I'm the oldest and I feel like I need to be there for everyone else and sometimes I just want someone else to just be there for me. It's an odd situation, but this year I am determined to make the changes to make this my year, I'm too damn good to be where I'm at. So look out world.
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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The Dodgers have spent a lot of money hoping to win their second straight World Series and bettors are putting their cash on Los Angeles.
BetMGM Sportsbook has taken 37.8% of its futures money on the Dodgers, which far exceeds its previous high of 21.7% of money that was placed on the 2022 New York Mets. It's also far ahead of this year's Mets, who at 9.4% are receiving the second-highest amount of the handle. The New York Yankees are third at 7.7%.
The Dodgers also lead in betting tickets at 17.5%, with the Mets next at 8.7% and the Philadelphia Phillies at 8.6%.
Opening day for most teams is Thursday.
“It's all Dodgers money,” BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said. “That's somewhat frequent when it comes to the favorites. Favorites are going to take most of the money, but this is a level we don't typically see. ... It's a little bit of a hole liability wise, which is a little out of the norm for a favorite."
That's because sportsbooks typically set a high enough price in anticipation for the rush of money, but not to this level. The Dodgers, who already are 2-0 after a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, are +240 at BetMGM.
The next closest are the Yankees and Atlanta Braves at +900 each.
DraftKings Sportsbook race and sports operations director Johnny Avello said the Dodgers are popular, but the futures money is fairly well spread out. LA is +290 at DraftKings and the Braves are next at +750 and the Yankees at +850.
“They've got a complete team,” Avello said of the Dodgers. “Will they win it all again? I don't know. Sometimes at the end of the year, things just need to go your way. I don't care how good you are.”
Meet the Mets
The Mets are challenging the Dodgers on spending, and the club made a splashy move by signing Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year contract.
Bettors are banking on that aggressiveness to help the Mets win their first World Series title since 1986.
The Mets are listed at +1200 at BetMGM and DraftKings.
“If the Mets start off good, they're going to continue to take money,” Avello said. “If they don't start off good and we raise their odds, they're going to continue to take money. They're going to be bet all year long.”
Hope for the A's?
The Athletics went 32-32 after the All-Star break and then broke their recent practice and invested money in major league payroll.
There are believers in the A's, who are about to play their first of at least three seasons at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California, before an anticipated move to Las Vegas,
The A's were bet up from a win total at BetMGM of 70 1/2 to 72 1/2, though the number settled back down to 71 1/2.
“We may end up going back there,” Egeland said of 72 1/2. “It seemed like as soon as we went up with the A's, there's some interest. Even in the division, we had some interest there on the A's, which is kind of surprising for the amount of money they spend. But I do think people like the young talent and pitchers like Mason Miller.”
Betting on Francona
Terry Francona was hired for another reclamation project, the Reds hoping he will find similar success in Cincinnati that he had with Boston and Cleveland.
“We are seeing some money on them to win it all,” Avello said. “You get a really good price. They’re projected to win around 78, 79 games or so. And this guy’s a winner. He finds ways to make teams that are average much better, so that’s why I think bettors are betting the Reds to win it all.”
The Reds, who have a core of young players led by Elly De La Cruz, are +8000 at BetMGM and +9000 at DraftKings.
Trout on comeback tour
Injuries have limited Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout, once the game's most complete player, to 82 or fewer games three of the past four seasons.
He is moving from center to right field with the idea that covering less ground in the outfield might help him stay healthy.
Trout is the +300 favorite at BetMGM to be selected AL Comeback Player of the Year.
“People are loving that one,” Egeland said. “It's not an award that usually gets a ton of handle, but when you have someone like Trout available, that's where most of the money is going to go.”