NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Archer's back, FXX's future, and delicious bread.
Jun 4, 2019, 6:34 am
NERDS AROUND TOWN
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!
It's Tuesday, it's a great week and there's no reason not to knock everything out of the park this week.
Zoey's Angels is an amazing organization with a heartbreaking story and this Sunday they are hosting their 8th annual Family Fun Walk. An organization that centers around helping families deal with the horrific ordeal of having a baby stay in the hospital for a long battle after it's born and then pass. The family then has to deal with burying a little family member and also a ton of medical bills and Zoey's Angels helps with both. Obviously for many people this is an incredibly personal story and issue and is something that is absolutely devastating for families to go through and deal with, and to have an organization there to help support people is incredibly important. This is that opportunity to help this group raise funds to help families deal with this all year long. #NerdsUnite
The new season of Archer debuted last weekend and it is freaking great! There is absolutely no way to complain about this show, they keep reinventing it and the cast every season these last few years and I think that's done a lot to keep it fresh. There's no getting around the reality that 10 seasons is a lot of anything and like most shows the old way of doing things can get stale so they've avoided that by changing stuff up as much as possible these last few seasons and I love it. This season it's become a science fiction show and the cast is in space and struggling to make it in a great big galaxy while also dealing with all the inappropriate relationships and issues this cast has always had. Overall it's a hilarious journey through some great adventures, check it out.
This overall brings me to what's next for FXX and FX in general after the Fox/Disney deal. So FXX and FX are more centered towards adults and adult programming and while overall it's easy to believe that Disney would greatly enjoy the prospect of having these added channels in their portfolio, it isn't clear if they have the stomach for it. Lewis CK famously chose FX over HBO for his comedy show a few years back because they gave him the exact deal he wanted, and Baskets with Zach Galifianakis is from a similar arrangement and while Baskets has worked out great the Lewis CK deal obviously became an issue down the road where while on hiatus he admitted sexual misconduct allegations against him were untrue and the network ended their relationship. While "family" television isn't exactly full of saints, at least their program content isn't in constant need of defense from various people and parties. Adult comedy takes risks and goes out on limbs to make comments about our society, and how long Disney is willing to let that limb linger is the interesting long term question for both FX and FXX.
The sweet love affair with the bread that can't be put down continues, they wrote me back guys, they wrote me back. Stay tuned.
Jared Kushner just did the season premiere of Axiom on HBO, it's a big picture journalism show where they try and really find the important parts of stories that people aren't talking about including things like global threats and the friction we have globally with China. They aren't a "gotcha" media by any means, but they aren't going to do a fluff piece on anyone they are going to push back on things that are issues. They spent a lot of time on Palestine and they spent a lot of time on the inappropriate relationship between "friends" and money and honestly Kushner doesn't change any minds in the interview but it all could have gone a lot worse. The one thing I do have an issue with though is his response on the Russia meeting in Trump tower was "I get 250 emails a day" but important people get a lot of emails, and it's their job to handle the information coming in and making decisions, also it said "Russia" in the subject line, so that should have gotten some focus from someone running a campaign. I just really didn't like that answer at all.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Tuesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Wednesday 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 some proceeds help fight cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
The Astros and the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. Fun! And important. Both teams have been in results ruts for a while. The Astros have gone 9-16 over their last 25 games while the Yankees’ funk is longer extending, producing a 19-29 mess over their last 48 games. Despite the Seattle Mariners closing in, the Astros still lead the American League West. The Yankees’ hopes of again winning the AL East are fading toward the point of no return. They have tumbled six and a half games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and also lag three games behind the rampaging Boston Red Sox. Hence, the Yankees are under clearly more pressure than are the Astros this weekend. The pitching matchups in the first two games strongly favor the Astros. Friday night it’s Hunter Brown opposite rookie Cam Schlittler who makes his fifth big league appearance. Saturday afternoon it’s Framber Valdez versus Luis Gil, who was the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, but missed the first four months of this season with a lat injury. Gil made his 2025 debut Sunday, and was terrible. The Astros’ quality rotation depth beyond Brown and Valdez is non-existent at this point. Their Sunday starter will be a lesser starter than the Yankees’ Max Fried. Of course, in one game you never know.
The Astros have thoroughly owned the Yankees in their most meaningful meetings over the last decade. In 2015 the ousted the Yankees in a one-game Wild Card matchup. Then came the real soul-crushers with the Astros vanquishing the Yanks in the 2017, 2019, and 2022 American League Championship Series, with it getting easier for the Astros as time went on. The 2017 series went the maximum seven games, 2019 took six, 2022 was a four-game Astros’ sweep. The regular season has been a different matter. The Yankees have beaten the Astros in 11 of 14 games over the last two years. Last season the Yankees walloped the Astros six wins to one. They only play six times this regular season: the three in New York this weekend then three at Daikin Park in early September.
Here comes the Judge
While the Astros (and their fans) endure a seemingly never-ending wait for Yordan Alvarez’s return to the lineup, the Yankees have Aaron Judge back after a 10-day stint on the injured list. Judge carries the burden of soft career postseason stats (though he has 16 home runs in just 58 postseason games and his career playoffs OPS is just 21 points lower than Alex Bregman’s), but this is a legendary player. Judge’s career OPS stands at a whopping 1.024. That number will drop during the decline years remaining in his career, but here’s the list of all time Major Leaguers higher than 1.024: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds, and Jimmie Foxx. Those are arguably the four greatest offensive players in MLB history, plus Foxx who probably rates in the top 20. If he holds up the rest of the season, Judge is a cinch for his third AL Most Valuable Player Award in four years.
Turn back the clock
Should they choose to check it out, the Astros can watch the Yankees’ Old-Timers' Game Saturday. Though most of the greatest of Yankee legends have died, there will still be a fabulous cast of alumni who soak up cheers during introductions, with many of them then taking part in a two or three inning game. The Yankees are by far the most storied franchise in MLB. The Astros have plenty of history and beloved players over multiple generations to copy the concept, and have their own Old-Timers' Day at Daikin Park. Would it not be a blast to see Roger Clemens pitch to Craig Biggio? Roy Oswalt to Lance Berkman? As I said during our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast this week, I wouldn’t bet against 78 (as of Friday)-year-old Jose Cruz squaring up a ball for a line drive. Make Astros’ Old Timers’ Day happen in 2026 Jim Crane!
Angry birds
The best team in the American League is Toronto, best for now anyway. The Blue Jays have been the best over the last two months-plus. The Jays woke up May 29 at 27-28. Since then they are 41-20. Over that time frame the Astros have the third-best record in the AL behind the Jays and Red Sox. A notable part of Toronto’s success the past month is Joey Loperfido. He didn’t make the Jays’ big league squad coming out of spring training, and wasn’t called up until July 6. Over 72 at bats since getting back to “The Show” Loperfido is batting .389 with a .978 OPS. Reminder that Loperfido hit .372 over his first 43 at bats with the Astros. Full credit to Joey for a magnificent month. Still, there is no reason for the Astros to be wracked with regret for having included Loperfido in last season’s trade for Yusei Kikuchi.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me 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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