NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Andrew Luck, the Dallas Cowboys and MCU news
Aug 14, 2019, 6:33 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!
We're halfway through it, are you where you want to be this week?
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Last week while talking about the Gulf Coast Blood Center, the good people reached out to me and pointed me to another awesome thing they're doing so I thought I'd bring it to your attention now. The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is working with Team Liquid through the year and eligible people can win an Alienware Aurora Computer valued at $800. The campaign is called Heal For Real, and I like it. Get involved today.
PRETTY IMPRESSIVE
The MCU and Samuel L Jackson did something really impressive this year. Between Captain Marvel, Endgame and Spider Man: Far from Home, they passed $5 billion dollars in one year for one franchise. Spidey breaking a billion is even more important for the future of the MCU because Tom Holland's contract and the Spider-Man agreement were structured for three Marvel movies (Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame) and three Spidey movies, but the sixth Spidey movie only gets made if the Far From Home film broke a billion, which it now has. Technically Sony gets the Spidey money so Disney can't cheer too loudly however, Samuel L Jackson can crow as loudly as he'd like because he was in all three films, which is an even more impressive run. He was in three movies that totaled $5 billion dollars at the box office in one year. Now that's one bad man…
DALLAS WOES
The Dallas Cowboys are dangerously close to either being a pretty good team for a long time or starting over in two years. Amari Cooper, Dax Prescott and Zeke Elliot all have two seasons left before they are free agents or one of them is tag eligible. News broke yesterday that Dax was allegedly asking for $40 million a season, the spin was then spun that he's actually asking for between $33 and $35 million, which is still WAY too high for him. Allegedly, Jones has made offers to all three that makes them top 5 in pay at each of their positions, which is already too high for any of them. They all need each other to work and even then they aren't Conference Champion good with all three of them at this point, but maybe there's a chance if all three stay together. Zeke is in Mexico, Dax wants too much money, and Cooper to his credit has remained silent in all of this but Jones is hesitant to pay these guys the record-breaking money it sounds like they are all asking for. So where does Dallas go from here is they either lose all three or keep all three. It would be a mess if they re-sign Cooper but lose the other two.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF ANDREW LUCK
The Colts have just proven that you can take a great, once a decade type quarterback and in just six short seasons ruin him. They now have no clue what is going on with his body and he will probably be a week to week or month to month kind of guy every season until he just can't take it anymore. He either has an odd bone spur/growth in his lower leg near the ankle or a calf injury that is causing issues with his high ankle. They aren't sure. Considering he's already missed one whole season for a shoulder issue that essentially forced him to start over from scratch building up his arm strength and throwing again and he's now right in the middle of a five year, $140 million contract, The Colts can't get this wrong and need to take extra special care of the only good thing in their entire organization.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
The Youngblood drama just hasn't stopped. Terrific Productions, the company with control of the Youngblood property has been invading Twitter and just acting like a child with a remote control, just all over the place. He's publicly making offers and asking people to track down Alan Moore, retired comics legend, and that no demand is too crazy to entertain. He's tweeting big time writers at Marvel and DC and offering to help them develop at his new company and he's openly courting disaster by saying he believes he can get to a million copies in sales. This is starting well.
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.
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.
___________________________
*ChatGPT assisted.
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!