NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Ninja, DC Comics and pre-season Texans
Aug 12, 2019, 6:48 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 and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Let's kick this week's ass!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Last week while talking about the Gulf Coast Blood Center, the good people reached out to me and pointed me to another awesome thing they're doing so I thought I'd bring it to your attention now. The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is working with Team Liquid through the year and eligible people can win an Alienware Aurora Computer valued at $800. The campaign is called Heal For Real, and I like it. Get involved today.
CONTENT WARS SPILL OVER
So I've often discussed streaming wars on Nerd Thug Radio and here in this column, but now we're seeing the next phase of all this, content wars. Ninja of Twitch streaming fame has jumped ship to a competitor, Mixer. Mixer, the Microsoft owned streaming option, probably paid a mountain of money to move Ninja over, it's been reported recently he was paid a million dollars cash to stream Apex Legends when it came out for the first month or so, so getting him to move streams would be a pricey prospect. Twitch has handled the defection rather poorly, instead of just showing old streams of Ninja's and simply stating that he's left the service as is their usual, they instead posted other streams they wanted to promote on his page, using his fame for their advantage. Not exactly classy.
DIGITAL WOES
DC Comics digital sales have been flat and aren't exactly good, according to Jim Lee. Their digital app does give away most of the DC Comics library as part of its package so I imagine that's taking a pretty good bite out of the sales. You can't sell something and offer it freely to the same consumer base and then expect sales to perform at all, it isn't practical. DC has to be aware of that, the real question is, how are the creators being compensated for the fact that their work is being given away instead of sold for royalty producing revenue? These are the real questions that I would be asking if I worked at DC Comics.
PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL
We just wrapped up week one of preseason football and there wasn't a lot of news making stuff except Antonio Brown is an even bigger crazy person than we thought and The Texans did not in fact improve their offensive line woes. There's an amazing gif going around from all the Houston Sportswriters where both the right tackle and the running back miss completely on two blocks letting two defenders run untouched on the Quarterback's blind side. It's an excellent sign for this season, truly.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
House of X and Powers of X is chugging along on schedule but there's already controversy. There's a HUGE moment in House of X #2 that I don't want to ruin or reveal here, I think it's worth reading, however it comes with controversy. The writer, Hickman, made a quote awhile back alluding to a book he had read that he was enjoying. The problem with this quote is that it parallels the idea in House of X #2 he wrote years later. The idea isn't exclusive to only these two places but it's similar enough in style and tone that it feels like a rip off or a homage and it got a lot of people intrigued including the writer of the inspiring work. My personal position is that there is a lot of borrowing and idea bleeding that happens in pop culture and creating, and when it happens that the idea becomes dangerously close I think honesty and apology is the right course of action.
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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The Texans make just their third ever visit to Lambeau Field Sunday. It’s a dandy matchup as the Texans try to run their record to 6-1 at the expense of the 4-2 Green Bay Packers. The Texans have one win and one loss in Wisconsin. In 2008 the gameday high temperature was 13 degrees. Kris Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to give the Texans a 24-21 win over a Packers team that struggled to a 6-10 record under first-year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Texans posted their second consecutive 8-8 finish that year. In 2016 the mercury reached a balmy high of 34 degrees as the Texans fell 21-13 at Lambeau. Inexplicably, Rodgers somehow managed to win the quarterback matchup with Brock Osweiler. The Texans and Packers each won their division that year. Both Texans’ trips to “America’s Dairyland” occurred in December. No risk of frozen tundra this time around. The forecast for Green Bay Sunday calls for a high of 75 degrees! That’s almost 20 degrees warmer than normal there for October 20.
It’s a dynamic QB matchup with C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love sharing the field. Love broke out in a huge way in 2023 after serving a two-year apprenticeship under Rodgers. After a stumbling 3-6 start to their season the Packers went 6-2 the rest of the way to snag a playoff spot. They obliterated the Cowboys in a Wild Card game in Arlington (before everyone obliterated the Cowboys in Arlington...) then led at the 49ers with under 90 seconds to go before San Francisco scored to win 24-21. The Packers made crystal clear their belief in Love by signing him to a four-year 220 million dollar contract extension in July. That’s 55 mil per season. Stroud becomes extension-eligible after next season. Anyone think he won’t be in position to command at least 65 mil per season?
Stroud sure looks to be the guy to finally give the Texans the long-term stability and excellence they have never had at the most important position in the sport. The Pack is all in on Love continuing its unreal long-term QB stability and excellence. Love took the reins after Rodgers helmed the offense for 15 seasons. Rodgers took the reins after Brett Favre’s 16-year tenure. So if Love makes it for nine years as the starter, that’s three primary QBs in 40 years. Absolutely amazing.
After missing two games because of a sprained knee ligament suffered in the final seconds of the Packers’ season opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil, Love has thrown 10 touchdown passes in three games. But he has only completed 59 percent of his passes, and has thrown at least one interception per game.
The Texans’ first trip to the NFC North this season went brutally badly, the 34-7 beatdown from Minnesota. The Vikings beat the Packers 31-29 in week four of the season. That was Love’s first game back, he threw four touchdown passes and three picks. One defensive weapon the Texans will have against the Pack they did not have against the Vikes is Denico Autry. The 34-year-old Autry returns from his six-game banned substance suspension. That happens as one of the fill-ins for him, Mario Edwards, starts his own four-game substance abuse suspension. That should be a net improvement for the Texans.
X-factors
The single biggest variable in swinging the outcome of football games is turnovers. So far this season the Packers have been a takeaway machine. Last season the Packers generated just 18 turnovers over their 17 regular season games, only six teams took the ball away less often. Through just six games this season the Packers already have 17 takeaways. No other NFL team has more than 13, the Texans have just seven. The Packers have produced exactly three turnovers in five of their six games, and got two in the other. Every defense preaches turnovers, so it’s not as if first-year Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has introduced radical concepts that are yielding magical results. But the results are what they are.
If the Texans take care of the ball, they have a terrific chance to win. Having Joe Mixon back aids the cause on two fronts. One, Mixon is obviously the Texans’ best running back. Two, Mixon last fumbled in 2021. The Texans probably best plan to score 25 or more points to win this one because the Packers figure to score a bit. In Love’s four starts the Pack has lit the scoreboard for 29, 29, 24, and 34 points. On the other hand, the Texans’ D has been pretty stout, allowing the third-fewest yards per game (Green Bay rates 18th). It’s a strength vs. strength battle. The Texans have allowed no opponent more than 313 yards in total offense. The Packers have amassed at least 378 yards in five of their six games, and managed 328 in their worst performance.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!