NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Disney+, DC news and Anne McCaffrey

Nerds Around Town: Disney+, DC news and Anne McCaffrey
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!

Today is Thursday and we're not done yet, this week isn't over there's still a chance to kick this week's butt.

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

If you don't like crawfish, all you can eat specials or charity then maybe this isn't for you, because it's an ALL YOU CAN EAT Crawfish boil, that's right! It's the Light of the Phoenix Charity All You Can Eat Crawfish Boil, and there's stuff for the kids to do too while you grub a dub dub. $25 buys your ticket now but $30 gets you in. This is the kind of thing I live for, doing a good deed and eating a bunch of food as you do it. #NerdsUnite

THE STREAMING WARS

Some news broke earlier this week, Netflix announced Spider Man: Into the Spider-verse is coming June 26, great movie, I'm pumped people need to be seeing this if they haven't and if they have they need to be seeing it again. It did win an Oscar. Also Disney fired some shots this week announcing that when Disney+ goes live their content will be off of Netflix, so the only place to get Disney stuff will be at Disney+. There were initially talks that this would be a gradual fade out and move over because of contracts and what not, but now that all the smoke has cleared options have been declined or in some cases exercised and now there is no "us" when it comes to Netflix and Disney. Disney+ will be the closely watched case study of, can these separate streaming services survive? Also the slow, eventual death of Hulu has been initiated as the last two major shareholders of Hulu (Comcast and Disney) have made an agreement that sometime in the next five years there will be a buyout order from Disney to either sell to a third party or sell to Disney, must be weird working there, am I right?

SPEAKING OF

DC Streaming actually was airing television commercials the past few weeks advertising tomorrow's season finale of Doom Patrol on the app. I like seeing them be aggressive on this and try and break into the psyche of streaming customers by airing television ads because honestly, that's who streams if that makes any sense. Also on the comics front, at the retailer summit a lot of people walked away from DC's events with positive feedback for once, they were actually happy with DC, which for those who don't know… hasn't been the case lately. Overall this is a good bit of positive momentum building up for DC so the real question is, what happens next?

I SAW SOME PEOPLE REQUEST MORE ANNE

I got excited, one of my favorite writers growing up was a lady named Anne McCaffrey and she wrote some really great stuff. Truly awesome world building, big universes, big stories and great powerful women in sci fi and fantasy which both genres sorely needed. The reality is none of her series has ever moved into production seriously as far as I have ever heard and that's disappointing to say the least, as she is truly one of the more prolific writers with several different book series under her belt before she passed. She did truly great work and honestly it's worth checking out and enjoying the books and just hoping one day someone builds up enough capital and creativity to give her works a try because if done right, they'd be amazing.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

So recently I've been working strictly as a freelance creative and honestly there are some positives and some negatives to the whole experience. The cool stuff is making my own schedule and being able to truly have the freedom to pursue creative ventures as they come up and be able to try and create some real momentum in the various things I like to pursue. The frustrating part is that as I step into this process money is tight, there's not a lot else to complain about but man it would be great if everything wasn't so hold your breath and hope for the best, so if you got a minute, do me a favor go to Side Hustle Ts and grab one of the shirts. I don't care which one, just get one and enjoy it, it would help me out tremendously and I do give some of the proceeds to charity.

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.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Astros addressed a lot of needs in this year's draft. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros entered the 2025 MLB Draft with limited capital but a clear objective: find talent that can help sustain their winning ways without needing a full organizational reboot. With just under $7.2 million in bonus pool money and two forfeited picks, lost when they signed slugger Christian Walker, the Astros needed to be smart, aggressive, and a little bold. They were all three.

 

A swing on star power

 

With the 21st overall pick, Houston selected Xavier Neyens, a powerful left-handed high school bat from Mt. Vernon, Washington. At 6-foot-4, Neyens is raw but loaded with tools, a slugger with plus power and the kind of bat speed that turns heads.

He’s the Astros’ first high school position player taken in the first round in a decade.

If Neyens develops as expected, he could be the next cornerstone in the post-Altuve/Bregman era. Via: MLB.com:

It’s possible we’ll look back at this first round and realize that the Astros got the best power hitter in the class. At times, Neyens has looked like an elite hitter who’d easily get to that pop, and at times the swing-and-miss tendencies concerned scouts, which is why he didn’t end up closer to the top of the first round. He was announced as a shortstop, but his size (6-foot-4) and his arm will profile best at third base.

Their next big swing came in the third round with Ethan Frey, an outfielder/DH from LSU who was one of the most imposing college hitters in the country.

He blasted 13 home runs in the SEC and helped lead the Tigers to a championship.

 

Filling the middle

 

In the fourth round, the Astros grabbed Nick Monistere, an infielder/outfielder out of Southern Miss who won Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.

 

He doesn’t jump off the page with tools, but he rakes, hitting .323 with 21 home runs this past season, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.

They followed that up with Nick Potter, a right-handed reliever from Wichita State. He projects as a fast-moving bullpen piece, already showing a mature approach and a “fastball that was regularly clocked in the upper-90s and touched 100 miles per hour.”

From there, Houston doubled down on pitching depth and versatility. They took Gabel Pentecost, a Division II flamethrower, Jase Mitchell, a high school catcher with upside, and a host of college arms, all in hopes of finding the next Spencer Arrighetti or Hunter Brown.

 

Strategy in motion

 

Missing multiple picks, Houston leaned into two things: ceiling and speed to the majors. Neyens brings the first, Frey and Monistere the second. And as they’ve shown in recent years, the Astros can develop arms with late-round pedigree into major league contributors.

The Astros didn’t walk away with flashy headlines, they weren’t drafting in the top 10. But they leave the 2025 draft with a clear direction: keep the farm alive with bats that can produce and arms that can fill in the gaps, especially with the club managing injuries and an aging core.

If Neyens becomes the slugger they hope, and if Frey or Monistere climbs fast, this draft could be another example of Houston turning limited resources into lasting impact.

You can see the full draft tracker here.


___________________________

*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!

https://houston.sportsmap.com/advertise

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome