THE NERD REPORT
Nerds around town: Comicpalooza, streaming wars, esports and more
May 6, 2019, 10:17 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!
Awww yeah, it's Monday!!! Get pumped and get excited for the beginning of the week, this is the most important part of the week because a great Monday means your whole week is great.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This is a new one it dots all my "I"s and crosses all my "t"s, it's called "Crits for Cancer." Crits as in critical rolls, as in Dungeons and Dragons. These guys find people in need who are suffering from cancer and they go out of their way to try and help to raise money for the kids through the thing that everyone loves, Dungeons and Dragons! You have to check these guys out, it's for a great cause and you're going to feel really good about yourself and really nerdy, it's a win-win. #NerdsUnite
COMICPALOOZA WEEK!
Well it's here, it's Comicpalooza week. This is like my Superbowl if it was a week long and even more awesome. Today I'm going to focus on the guests that are coming, Emilia Clarke, Nathalie Emmanuel, Grant Gustin, Wilmer Valderrama and so many more. I'm excited because the Mother of Dragons is a big freakin' deal. That's a big relevant celebrity here for the event. Also the main cast of The Tick are here as well, and I have a little inside information on this just to explain to people how big of a deal this whole thing is. Very early this year, with my day job at Nerd Thug Radio, we talked to some people potentially about booking a very large show in a certain convention center not in Houston. So I reached out to the booking agents to some of these people and I came upon the idea of having the cast of The Tick come in for the event, that would be a great get I felt like. I was told by their booking agent that while the other actors live in the states and would be reasonable to get, Peter Serafinowicz lives in England and wouldn't come over to the states to do a smaller event like the one I was planning. So Comicpalooza is big enough to be on his booking agent's radar as a big enough show to justify the cost of bringing in The Tick himself. Which is pretty sweet.
THE LATEST IN THE STREAMING WARS
The latest news out of the streaming wars is interesting. It looks like Disney+ is planning to go ahead and order a second season of The Mandalorian and bring back series creator, showrunner and executive producer Jon Favreau. It must be testing well or the dailies must be looking great because no one has even seen an actual trailer for the show let alone do we know that it will be available day one with the network, so it's a lot of confidence to put into a show with a large production costs, but perhaps this is on purpose, to help save some of the costs, although at least initially it seems unlikely that costs will be a large factor of concern for Disney+. The first goal is get subscribers, then start analyzing budgets after you've built up a base and know what your service can afford. That is essentially how Netflix operated the past few years and it has helped its growth tremendously. The other bit of streaming news is that Netflix just dropped the highest grossing movie this year in China, "The Wandering Earth" without any prep work or even putting it on upcoming lists. I suspect this is to test the viability of these projects which are essentially new content here in the states without marketing support. In other words, Netflix is curious how much press it needs to generate for these projects, to see if it's worth the money, the less they have to advertise, the happier they'll be.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT CONTINUES
The Houston Outlaws have lost again. This is a franchise that is struggling to find it's footing for the last three stages of the first season and now through two stages of Season two. The team isn't working well together, the coaching staff seems to fail in its scouting and preparation for its opponents and there doesn't seem to be enthusiasm from the players as they are sitting there playing the games. Ultimately this seems to all come from one root issue, The Houston Outlaws are currently up for sale already. I'm not sure how this happened, who wasn't financially prepared for year two in a start up league, but none the less, here we are. The culture seems to be happily settled in mediocrity, actually technically worse than mediocrity because with twenty teams they are near the bottom of the league. The hope is that new ownership will invest in the team, get the coaches we need, make some strong team chemistry decisions and we'll go from there. That would be a great restart to a franchise that started so well but has so quickly fallen to the bottom of the league.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Once again, officiating is in the headlines again. With the winner of the Kentucky Derby being the horse who finished second due to an officiating decision that disqualified the horse that crossed the line first and crossed with a good lead mind you. Also the two minute report came out for the Rocket's game three win over the Warriors and it pointed out two Houston fouls this time. The reason it's silly is because the story can't seem to shift back to the basketball of the series because the referees keep making it about them. I think the poor officiating is become a real problem and I'm also very concerned about this Rockets team winning if they are going to keep having stretches where they go ice cold from the three point line.
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 $.50 from every shirt is donated to a good cause 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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Dec 13, 2024, 8:31 pm
Miami (6-7) at Houston (8-5)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM Odds: Texans by 3.
Against the spread: Dolphins 5-8; Texans 5-6-2.
Series record: Texans lead 8-3.
Last meeting: Dolphins beat Texans 30-15, on Nov. 27, 2022, in Miami.
Last week: Dolphins beat Jets 32-26 in OT; Texans were off, beat Jaguars 23-20 on Dec. 1.
Dolphins offense: overall (19), rush (24), pass (14), scoring (23).
Dolphins defense: overall (9), rush (7), pass (11), scoring (T14).
Texans offense: overall (18), rush (16), pass (17), scoring (11).
Texans defense: overall (5), rush (10), pass (7), scoring (T12).
Turnover differential: Dolphins minus-2; Texans plus-10.
Dolphins player to watch
QB Tua Tagovailoa, who has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at throwing with anticipation and accuracy since he returned from a concussion in Week 8. Tagovailoa leads the NFL with a 73.8% completion rate and threw for 300 yards for the third straight game last week vs. the Jets. Tagovailoa is the first player in NFL history to have at least 40 pass attempts, multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions in three consecutive games within a single season.
Texans player to watch
QB C.J. Stroud has thrown for at least 225 yards in each of his six home games this season and is 11-4 in 15 starts in Houston, including the playoffs. He has thrown for 3,117 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.
Key matchup
Houston RB Joe Mixon vs. Miami’s run defense. Mixon ran for 101 yards in Houston’s previous game for his seventh 100-yard game this season. He ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game. This week he’ll face a run defense that ranks seventh in the NFL by holding teams to 105.6 yards a game.
Key injuries
Miami LT Terron Armstead is dealing with a knee injury that limited him to just five snaps last week. He did not practice Wednesday… LBs Bradley Chubb (knee) and Cameron Goode (knee) could make their season debut, depending on how this week of practice goes, coach Mike McDaniel said. … WRs Tyreek Hill (wrist) and Jaylen Waddle (hamstring), RB Raheem Mostert (hip), and LB Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) were among those limited in practice Wednesday. … Houston S Jalen Pitre is expected to miss a second straight game with a shoulder injury. … DE Denico Autry was limited in practice Wednesday because of a knee injury.
Series notes
Houston won the first seven meetings in this series. … Miami didn’t get its first win against the Texans until a 44-26 victory in 2015. … The Dolphins have won the past two meetings. … These teams first met in the season opener in 2003 when Houston got a 21-20 win on a late field goal.
Stats and stuff
Three of Miami’s final four games of the season are on the road. … K Jason Sanders needs 13 points Sunday to reach 800. He also needs one field goal to reach 177, which would give him the second-most field goals made in franchise history. … TE Jonnu Smith needs 100 yards receiving to reach 792 and set a franchise record for most yards receiving by a tight end in a single season. Smith had three catches for 44 yards, including the game-winning TD vs. the Jets last week after having no receptions during regulation. … Tagovailoa needs a completion rate of 70% or better on Sunday to reach eight consecutive games completing at least 70% of his passes. That would tie him with Joe Montana (1989) and Drew Brees (2017-18) for the longest streak in NFL history. … The Dolphins gave up a season-high 402 yards to the Jets last week. Aaron Rodgers burned Miami’s pass defense for 319 yards, and Miami’s secondary allowed a combined 223 yards by Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams. … Houston can clinch the AFC South title for the second straight year with a win and a loss by Indianapolis Sunday. … The Texans rank second in the NFL with 84 tackles for loss. … Their 42 sacks also rank second. … WR Nico Collins had eight receptions for 119 yards for his fourth 100-yard game this season in Houston’s previous game. He has had at least 75 yards receiving and a TD reception in each of his four home games this season. … TE Dalton Schultz had five receptions for 61 yards and a score in Week 13. He has had at least five catches in two of his past three games. … LB Azeez Al-Shaai will serve the first game of a three-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of QB Trevor Lawrence Sunday. … DE Danielle Hunter is one of two players in the NFL this season with at least 15 tackles for loss (15) and 10 sacks (10 1/2). It’s his sixth career season with at least 10 sacks. He has eight tackles for loss and five sacks combined in his past three games. … DE Will Anderson has had a sack in his past two home games. … LB Henry To’oTo’o has had at least five tackles in four straight games. … CB Derek Stingley had his third interception of the season in his previous game. … CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high eight tackles, including a tackle for loss in Week 13. … S Jimmie Ward has had an interception in his past two home games. He also had an interception in his previous game against Miami in 2022 while with San Francisco.
Fantasy tip
Collins has 456 yards receiving and four touchdown receptions in four home games this season.