NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Gamer troubles, comic books and podcasting truths

May 24, 2019, 6:30 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!

We made it, it's the weekend, so get on out there and enjoy yourself!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

I don't know how many more ways I can say, eat crawfish, help people, it's a good deal. 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 at the door. This is the kind of thing I live for, doing a good deed and eating a bunch of food as you do it. #NerdsUnite

WHILE YOU'RE OUT

So usually here is where I tell you about some new books this month and remind you to go buy them and get into your local comic book store. We're going to mix it up a little bit this week though; first, of course go see your local comic book shop, I just opened my pull box with The Adventure Begins, but specifically we're just going to talk comics in general. This is a super interesting time for comic books, lots of really talented people working on some great projects, Hickman coming to the X Men, Bendis is at DC and doing big things. Marvel is in the middle of the War of the Realms and DC is telling a big Justice League story and honestly, all of this is crazy exciting. There is always talk that this is the "end" of comic books but honestly, I don't think it is, I think this is an amazing time to be a comic fan and in comic books in general. Find one you love and jump in, they're awesome.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH KING’S HAWAIIAN BREAD

I don't know if someone suddenly bought stock in King's Hawaiian bread or something but suddenly that stuff is everywhere. Sonic has a delicious chicken club with King's Hawaiian bread and Arby's has a sandwich I haven't tried yet also with King's Hawaiian. Seriously it's great bread, but all of a sudden it seems to be everywhere. Did they just make too much recently? Are restaurants just now figuring out how awesome it is? This is odd to me that everyone is slow to get on the King's Hawaiian train but I guess it's great because the bread is great. Seriously, I love some King's Hawaiian.

GAMER TROUBLES

As news broke that gamer "TFue" was suing his esports team Faze Clan initially public sentiment was against him and actually the owner of the team spoke out and stated that his contract was great and they had only collected $60K of his $300K in earnings. Then the contract leaked and suddenly the owner changed his position to nobody is disputing that his contract is bad, well actually he was disputing that only a few days ago. The contract essentially entitles the team to percentages of earnings they create for the player and that even the player creates for himself which is in violation of California law apparently. In Hollywood everyone tries to get points off of deals so they created an unlicensed agent law where if you aren't an agent you can't do that, well these teams would fall under these parameters which means this case got a whole lot more interesting all of a sudden.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

I've been having lots of conversations with people about the "golden era" we live in of free media. At Comicpalooza it was a topic of a lot of conversations because it's something we talk about a ton on Nerd Thug Radio and it's something I firmly believe, that over the next ten years the pay walls will all change and the free access to get into all of these industries will be gone and suddenly everyone - content creator and consumer alike - will be a customer of Amazon and iHeart and others. Well I think the sea change is coming sooner and faster than even I originally predicted, I see so much content being generated and so many more high profile people with high profile support coming down to these lower levels that honestly, I'm not sure where the breathing room is for the little guys. I told someone the other day that I honestly wouldn't even make a podcast if I was starting from scratch today. I don't know what I would do, but honestly, it wouldn't be a podcast probably.

I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Friday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Monday 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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THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR heads to Music City for the Ally 400

Keep an eye on Alex Bowman this weekend. Image via: Wiki Commons.

For the first time since July 1984, NASCAR returns to one of its most popular cities in Nashville, Tennessee for the inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Super Speedway. This track is a 1 1/3rd mile concrete oval that was dormant for nearly ten years and was only used as a testing facility. So it came as a bit of a surprise last season when it was announced that this track would be getting a date. For a lot of drivers, this will be a brand new racetrack, but we will see practice and qualifying, so that will be a huge help for the newcomers that haven't raced here before. Back when the Xfinity and Trucks ran here, this track featured a lot of first time winners. Back in 2008, future NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski shocked the world by jumping in Dale Jr's car and capturing his first win here. There will be a lot of veterans like Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick who have plenty of experience at this track, but it will be tough to compare. It should be fun with everyone coming into this race with minimal knowledge.

Last week, Kyle Larson continued his hot streak by winning the All-Star Race. Overall, while Larson and his Hendrick teammates probably enjoyed the race, the feedback from crews and fans was less than positive. As I was walking through the garage area and talking to a few crew members, a lot of them were very critical of the 450 horsepower motor and the tall spoiler to try and keep the cars bunched up. When I asked one of the crew-members what he thought about the package he told me, "Oh it's awful. The track is terrible, the package makes it impossible to pass and it's super hot out here." On green flag runs, it was the same as it ever was as the lead car would pretty much take off and the only time there was really any "pack racing" it came after there were restarts. The whole race was well-intentioned and the fans showed up as it was nearly a capacity crowd, but the whole thing just didn't make any sense. From the start time being in the nearly 100 degree heat to the wacky full-field invert at the end of each stage. Let's hope that next season's All-Star Race is a lot more concise.

In Silly Season news this week, Truck Series regulars GMS racing announced that they would be fielding a full-time cup series team. The team is currently owned by Allegiant Airlines CEO Maurice Gallagher and his son, Spencer, who used to drive for them in the Xfinity Series. This move seemed to come from out of nowhere as there was never any indication that this was a move they were exploring anytime soon after they turned down the opportunity to purchase Furniture Row Racing in 2019. This is certainly a great sight for the sport as there will be more new teams on the track and with their close relationship with Chevy, it wouldn't be a surprise if they step in and help this team become competitive. The favorite to drive their car has to be 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed. He has easily been their best driver in trucks, and it would make the most sense for him to get the promotion.

This week at Nashville, the driver that I have winning is Alex Bowman. Now while this is a brand new racetrack and he has a grand total of zero starts here, this track suits his driving style perfectly. With the inclusion of this track, there are now four tracks with a concrete surface. Nashville, Bristol, Dover and Martinsville. At the three of the tracks they have run at, he has shown a lot of speed, including a victory at Dover this season and a top ten finish at Bristol. This is also a track where crew-chief Greg Ives said Bowman has gravitated towards during testing. In an interview with Sirius XM Ives was quoted as saying "we used to have a lot of fun testing there," so this is clearly a track that they both enjoy going to. Another big factor going into Sunday will be just how fast these Hendrick Motorsports cars are, they have finished 1-2 over the last four points races. He has watched his teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have immense success, and now this week I think he is due for a third win of the season. Look for the bright purple #48 Chevy to go to victory lane this week at Nashville.

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