THE NERD REPORT
Nerds Around Town: Cancer sucks, mountain bikes and...cricket?
May 13, 2019, 6:22 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!
It's once again the most important day of the week, it is Monday! So let's set this week up for success and make sure that we crush this week!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This week, we're going to scale it back a little bit and get personal again. One of my buddies, a guy I've had many crazy drinking adventures with is having a benefit thrown for him to help him pay for dealing with cancer. Exit 73 will be hosting a BBQ benefit event this Sunday May 19th, starting at noon. There will be live music, you'll be able to buy plates of food and there will be an auction, all of this being done to benefit Michael Almendarez and help him deal with his battle with cancer. Guy is married with three daughters, it's a real issue to be sick these days and it's just unfortunate. #NerdsUnite
COMICPALOOZA WAS THIS WEEKEND!
Oh man, it was an absolutely amazing weekend. I hosted three panels with my Nerd Thug Radio team, we had an absolute blast. I interviewed Kim Phan, Director of Global eSports for Blizzard, because ESPN was there hosting the first ever College eSports Championships which I will write more in depth about elsewhere. Emilia Clarke was awesome, she stayed late everyday so everyone could get their pictures in and talk to her and have the rewarding fun fan moment that people hope to experience when they pay for those extra things. Overall it was an amazing experience and even though I work these events I also am still a massive nerd and enjoy the hell out of these things and have my fun fanboy moments. I hope I don't live long enough for this to ever get boring.
TWO WHEELS NOT TWO FEET!
While I was walking what had to have been literally 40 plus miles over this three day weekend, the event is all three floors from end to end of the convention center, I started thinking how awesome it would be to bike around on the convention floor. By day two this joking became an intense desire to not be walking what seemed to be a million steps and I googled best mountain bikes under $500, not realizing how many variations and kinds of bikes exists these days. I didn't realize there was more than like one or two bike styles. When did this happen? When was the revolution on bike variations and what was I doing instead that week? Anyway, see if you can name more than three types of mountain bikes, seriously, try it.
SIGH, I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M EVEN TYPING THIS...
Listeners of Nerd Thug Radio have probably heard my co-host Joey Savage mention once or twice that due to him watching a Netflix documentary one night when he couldn't sleep, he is now a cricket fan. He's been yelling out nonsense like "sixer!" sporadically over the last eight weeks and I have no clue what's going on honestly. His team of choice is the Mumbai Indians and apparently they were in the Indian Premier League finals, which was probably important to all of sports betting India but not so much to me, they did win by 1 though, so that's cool. Sometimes I think it wouldn't surprise me to find out he was so low for a gambling fix that he wasn't searching India horse racing sites for a fix like an addict. Honestly he yells "sixer!" at the weirdest times…
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Ok last time I'm going to mention this honestly, tomorrow we move on to new business but even the massive, awful rains couldn't keep people away from Comicpalooza. Overall I'm super proud of our city, Houston represented itself well, the floor had a great positive vibe, the stars were friendly, the events were great there was a ton of stuff to do. For those who don't know the city of Houston has been involved in the convention for the past few years and took it over completely last year and honestly they didn't do the best job running it. They more than made up for it this year, they did a good job with the kinds of guests they brought and the kind of vendors they brought it in. It can be a really tricky thing when a convention doesn't go right, I've worked events where things have been an issue, ask me in person, I have some stories, but thankfully this one went great.
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 Tuesday 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 or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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Early breakdown of how Astros stack up against potential playoff opponents
Sep 17, 2024, 5:03 pm
Though they have plenty of work to do, the Houston Texans are feeling good about their 2-0 start after dropping their first two games last season.
The Texans scored just three points after halftime Sunday night, but a smothering defensive performance allowed them to hold on for a 19-13 win over the Bears. The victory has them in early control in the AFC South after the Colts, Titans and Jaguars have all opened the season 0-2.
It’s the first time since 2016 that Houston has won its first two games.
“I definitely know that Texans football was not what we put on the field (Sunday), at least in the second half,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “We’ll definitely be better, for sure."
Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans punted on five of their seven possessions in the second half and fumbled on another drive. Their only points after halftime came on a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
“Second half we were just flat,” Stroud said. “Just needed a big play or just needed (to) stack plays really. We just couldn’t find our rhythm.”
One thing that slowed the Texans on Sunday was their inability to run the ball effectively. Houston managed just 75 yards rushing against the Bears after leading the NFL with 213 yards in Week 1.
“They had a lot of penetration,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We weren’t able to have the lanes that we had the previous weeks. Something we have to clean up on the offensive side and make sure we just continue to get a head on the hat no matter what they show us.”
The running game was slowed because of an ankle injury to Joe Mixon, who had 159 yards rushing in the opener. He was injured early in the third quarter and returned near the end of the period, but had just two carries for 5 yards the rest of the game as he dealt with the injury. He finished with nine carries for 25 yards.
Ryans said that Mixon got “rolled up” and that it’s too early to know if he’ll play next week.
What’s working
The Texans were relentless in their pressure on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Sunday night. Houston pressured Williams, the top overall pick in the draft, on 36 of his 37 pass attempts, according to NextGenStats.
Defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 17 pressures and the Texans piled up seven sacks, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Houston had six different players with a sack Sunday night and the team’s nine sacks through two games ranks second in the NFL behind Minnesota’s 11 entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans must get their running game back on track next week, which will be a tough task if Mixon can’t play. They could be without their top two running backs Sunday with Dameon Pierce dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the game against Chicago.
Stock up
K Ka′imi Fairbairn has been great this season, with Ryans crediting him for Sunday night’s win. He was 4-for-4 against the Bears, making kicks of 59, 56, 53 and 47 yards. He also made three field goals of 50-plus yards in Week 1 to become the first kicker in NFL history to make five or more field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
His 59-yard field goal on Sunday night was the second-longest in franchise history behind a 61-yard kick he made in 2021.
“He’s been consistent,” Ryans said. “He’s on it. He’s the reason why we’re standing here. We talk a lot about offense and defense (but) the kicking game is the reason why we won this game.”
Stock down
RB Cam Akers. Pushed into action because of injuries, Akers fumbled on the Chicago 4 with about 6½ minutes left Sunday. The Bears recovered the ball and it led to a field goal that got them within a score with less than three minutes left.
Injuries
Mixon and Pierce are the main injuries the team is dealing with this week.
Key number
252 — Entering Monday, wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 yards receiving, which is the second most in franchise history in the first two games of a season. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards receiving last season, had 135 yards receiving and a touchdown Sunday night for the seventh 100-yard game of his career.
Next steps
Stroud and Houston’s offense will look to clean up their play and move the ball more effectively when they face an early test in a visit to the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 2-0, on Sunday.