NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Celebrities, Titanic, and X Men movie news

May 30, 2019, 6:41 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!

Just like that Thursday has popped it's head up and we're all excited about it, it's almost the weekend.

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

Feeding America is a great cause and a great group to donate to. The reality is that even here in the greatest country on Earth lots of people go hungry every night, including children. Feeding America is trying to fix that for people, so help them literally feed America. Go online and donate today, it's a great cause. #NerdsUnite

NEW HOLLYWOOD

So this story crosses both esports and pop culture so I'll talk about it here and we'll see which way it goes. Celebrities are the new investing wave crashing into esports with names like Drake, Kevin Durant, and Michael Jordan joining different ownership groups in the past year or two. Mark Cuban invested in an esports betting and news site called Unikrn which is trying to be the place for all esports action. It's interesting to see this massive influx of cash, Michael Jordan bought into aXiomatic which is a group that owns Team Liquid who famously won $11 million dollars in the DOTA2 championship in 2017. If that number didn't make your eyes bulge for a second then you aren't thinking about it, a championship tournament for a video game with an $11 million prize. To me that brings back memories of a WSOP Main Event kind of thing, when the bubble was building and all kinds of people were getting very involved and ESPN was airing tournaments live, it isn't fair to call this the beginning, but this is a clear sign of the growth and health of an industry.

SAY WHAT?!

I learned something new the other day and I don't know if this is just me, so maybe you guys can tell me. There was a fire in the Titanic that was burning even before passengers boarded the ship headed for America. Apparently in those old ships they held 1.5 million tons of coal in their storage area for the boilers to burn so as to power the ship. Somehow there was a fire in that coal supply and even though there was supposed to be a massive team of firefighters apparently only eight stayed on board to fight the fire and the decision was made by ownership to set sail with the fire burning anyway, so over 2,000 people got onto a burning ship and set sail for America. That is insanity. This is the kind of careless and negligent decision making that forces people to make laws anyway. I had never heard this but apparently the investigators and historians are all in agreement that the ship was burning before it ever even left shore.

X MEN IS COMING

So the actors have all been making the media rounds in preparation for X Men Dark Phoenix coming out and something interesting recently made it's way out to the press. Part of the reason for reshoots is because the planned ending very closely paralleled another movie's ending that did wind up releasing already. There's a ton of super hero movies out in that window so it's hard to say who they accidentally copied but my bet is actually on Venom. It's an earth based tale of power overcoming morality and it has space ships in the beginning and end of the film. My pick is Venom, also it ends with Eddie Brock going into the water and in the comics the ocean is where Phoenix is found later by the Hellfire Club.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

So somehow it's summer suddenly. We went from easy to deal with temperatures and heck even cool temperatures within the last few weeks to suddenly now we're going to melt in our cars. It's crazy how fast that all happens, and now it'll be 100 degrees for the next 5 months, because hey, it's Texas. Great, just great.

I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Thursday 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 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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EVERY-THING SPORTS

If this thing goes sideways, here's what the Astros are facing

Life after Correa may not be the worst thing. Composite image by Jack Brame.

Carlos Correa is having a damn good year. The Astros shortstop is hitting .285 with 24 homers, 87 RBI, 72 walks, .862 OPS, a 7.2 WAR, and a .981 fielding percentage. In any other year, those would be numbers worthy of being in the mix for AL MVP (if it weren't for that dastardly Shohei Otani). Correa is also in a contract year. He and the Astros were far enough apart that the season started and he's held true to not wanting to negotiate midseason.

The offers of six years for $120 million and five years for $125 million were both rejected by he and his camp. They're seeking something much longer and for more money on the annual average. With the team unwilling to meet those demands, it seems as if the team and the player are headed for a split.

Lots of Astros fans are not happy with the prospect of Correa leaving via free agency. Some think the team isn't doing enough and should pony up to bring him back. Some feel Correa should take what they're offering because it's a fair deal that'll allow the team to sign other players. Then, there's that small band of us that are totally okay with him leaving.

One of the main reasons I'm okay with him leaving is the players the team still has under control that are potential replacements. Aledmys Diaz and Pedro Leon are the first two guys that come to mind. Diaz is a 31-year-old vet who's stepped up when he's called upon. He can slide over to third and allow Alex Bregman to play shortstop. Leon is the team's 23-year-old hot prospect who signed as an outfielder that the team has been trying to turn into a shortstop. If Correa were to leave, he could instantly plug the hole Carlos would leave behind. Either of those options lead to my next point of being okay with Correa leaving which is to...

...allocate that money elsewhere. Whether it's signing a replacement (at short or third), or boosting the pitching staff, I'll be fine as long as it's money well spent. Signing a shortstop or third baseman would determine where Bregman would be playing. If said player takes significantly less than Correa and fills 70-80% of his offensive shoes, it'll be worth it. Others will have to step it up. If they find a deal on a top of the rotation starting pitcher, that would be ideal as well. As I stated a couple of weeks ago, this team has employed a six-man rotation, but doesn't have a true ace. Spending anywhere from $20-30 million a year on a top-notch pitcher to add to the staff would bolster this staff in more ways than one. It'll finally give them the ace they lack, plus it'll bump all the young talent (still under team control) down a peg creating depth and perhaps even creating bullpen depth.

The only way any of this works is if Correa isn't back. Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander's money comes off the books also. Freeing up that much payroll and not re-appropriating those resources to ensure this team stays in contention would be a first degree felony in sports court. I don't think Jim Crane wants that for this team. I for sure don't think James Click wants that as his legacy. Let's sit back and watch how the organization maneuvers this offseason and pray they get it right.

Editor's note: If you want to read the other side of the argument, check out Ken Hoffman's piece from Tuesday.

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