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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Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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