THE NERD REPORT

Nerds around town: It's all about Comicpalooza this weekend

Nerds around town: It's all about Comicpalooza this weekend
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!

It's Friday and the weekend is upon us, storms be damned it's Comicpalooza time!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

Seriously, just buy a shirt and help people with cancer. That's what this boils down to, we all hate cancer, we all know it can be a massive burden on someone and it just becomes a sad story at some point, the longer the battle goes the harder it is to get your life right afterwards. Help people in the battle against cancer, buy a shirt and support Crits For Cancer. #NerdsUnite

COMICPALOOZA WEEK!

It's an easy one today. When you go to Comicpalooza, one of the things to get excited about and check out is all the people. So many people are going to be cosplaying and having a great time, Comicpalooza feels like a genuine celebration for many. They are all so nice and many will take pictures with you, the whole scene is a very exciting and fun thing to be around. Ranging from Harry Potter to Doctor Who and all the comic book movies and comic books characters themselves, this thing will be loaded with your favorite characters and people just out there trying to have a great time. So ask people nicely for pictures, have a great time and truly enjoy this weekend, I know I will.

WHILE YOU'RE OUT

So usually I tell you to go check out your local comic book store and then I highlight some new comic books right here. This weekend you need to come down to, you guessed it, Comicpalooza. You'll actually get to meet tons of comic book creators and fun people and get to find other fun reasons to buy comic books. Reasons like, I met this creator and they seem awesome, or I met this creator and we both agree the world needs more Batman in it. The reality of it is, these are people just like you and me and they are pouring their hearts and souls into being these talented creative people and when you meet a lot of these guys you'll see they're very cool, down to earth people and you'll love reading their work and supporting their dreams because they make good books.

NETFLIX MAKES A MOVE

As the streaming wars keep going, Netflix has fired the next shot by stepping up their relationship with Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse was the publisher for both Umbrella Academy and Polar which both did amazing at Netflix and also were both very well made, which I think is important to a show being successful. Dark Horse has been a player in comic books for a very, very long time and honestly they have a pretty massive and robust catalog of characters but if I had to guess what was next it would be the Black Hammer line of comics at Dark Horse. It's about 1960s superheroes and their legacies and then fast forward to modern times and what impact their heroics had in the world, sort of, it's a crazy read.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

Here lately it's rained on and off and on and off seemingly the last two months and I can't help but notice how poorly Houston now handles the massive amounts of water we're getting. My father's neighborhood flooded massively during Harvey, not because of the rain but because they did those controlled floods and dumped three feet of water into his neighborhood after a massive storm. The reality is these days with all the construction, there's less trees and grass to absorb the water and honestly we've poorly planned this city to the point that water has no where to go at times and we have only ourselves to blame. We need to be doing better about city infrastructure and how we build things before we become like New Orleans who had broken levees and awful infrastructure.

I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great weekend 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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Should Brice Matthews be untradable now? Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images.

The phrase most associated with the late former Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis was “Just win baby.” One has to think Al would strongly approve of the Houston Astros. Going to the fifth inning Sunday against the Mariners the Astros were facing a 3-0 deficit and staring at the prospect of being swept out of Seattle and having their American League West division lead slashed to just two games. Now after roaring from behind with 11 unanswered runs to take the series finale in the Emerald City, and then sweeping three games from the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the Astros stand six games up with 60 games to go. So, if the Astros play just .500 ball the rest of the way (which would have them finish with 90 victories), the Mariners have to play .600 ball to catch them. If somehow the Astros are to maintain their season long win pace to the finish line they’d close with 95 wins, and the race is already over unless someone thinks the M’s are poised to uncork a finishing kick of 41-19 or better. It’s quite a pleasing perch from which the Astros survey the standings. Coupled with the freefalling Detroit Tigers having dropped nine of their last ten games, the Astros amazingly start this homestand sporting the best record in the entire American League. On the homestand they follow four games against the team with the second-worst record in the American League (Athletics) with three versus the team with the second-worst record in the National League (Nationals). I know, I know. There is fear of the Astros playing down to the competition, but that is not the way to look at it. A bad Major League team can beat a good team in a series at any time. If it happens it happens, but it wouldn’t mean it happened only because the Astros didn’t take their opponent seriously. This isn’t the NBA.

Trade deadline looming

Of course, It hasn’t been all good news with Isaac Paredes badly injuring a hamstring Sunday. Paredes could be back in three weeks (doubtful), he could miss the rest of the season. GET WELL SOON JEREMY PENA! Lance McCullers’s latest Injured List stint could be considered addition by subtraction for the Astros’ starting rotation. Whether impacted by his blister issue, Lance was lousy in four of his last five starts. So, one week from the trade deadline, if general manager Dana Brown has the ammo to get one deal done, where does he make the upgrade? The left-handed hitter everyone knows the Astros can use regardless of Yordan Alvarez’s status is a natural priority. With the Astros’ weak farm system it would seem difficult for Brown to put forth the winning offer for the top bats that could be in play. That probably rings even truer now, since if he wasn’t already untouchable, Brice Matthews may have cemented untouchable status by darn near winning the first two games of the Diamondbacks series by himself. Matthews is going to struggle mightily to hit for a good average if he can’t make notable improvement in the contact department, but the power is obvious, as is the athleticism in the field. The 23-year-old Matthews and 22-year-old Cam Smith (though presently mired in a three for 36 slump) are the clear (and right now only) two young shining beacons for the lineup’s future.

You can't have enough pitching

While Brandon Walter has been a revelation, a starting pitcher would make sense unless the decision is to hope Spencer Arrighetti and/or Cristian Javier can contribute meaningfully upon return to the big leagues, likely sometime next month. Going after a reliever or two may make more sense in terms of availability and transaction cost. Overall the Astros’ bullpen has been excellent, but Bryan Abreu is the only trustworthy right-handed option for Joe Espada. Back to Walter. Barely two months ago no way Walter himself would have believed he’d be where he is now. Nine starts since being summoned basically out of desperation, Walter has a 3.35 earned run average, and a stunning 13 to one strikeout-to-walk ratio with his 52 strikeouts against a measly four walks allowed in 53 2/3 innings. Walter has pitched fabulously in seven of his nine starts. He only has two wins, but that’s because in five of the six Walter starts the Astros didn’t win the game they failed to score more than two runs. Walter turns 29 years old in September. His only prior big league experience was 23 innings in relief with a 6.26 ERA for the Red Sox two years ago. The Bosox released him last August, the Astros signed him basically as minor league depth. Look at him (and the Astros) now.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me 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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