NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Ninja, DC Comics and pre-season Texans

Nerds Around Town: Ninja, DC Comics and pre-season Texans
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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Astros turn it on late in gutsy win over Tigers

Has Christian Walker finally turned the corner? Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros return to Daikin Park on Tuesday night looking to keep their momentum going as they host the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET, with Ryan Gusto (3-1, 2.78 ERA) on the mound for Houston against Detroit’s Reese Olson (3-1, 3.29 ERA).

Winners of seven of their last ten, the Astros (15-13) have found their rhythm after a rocky start to the season. Their recent surge has been fueled by dominant pitching — a 2.35 ERA over the last 10 games — and improved production at the plate, including a .264 team batting average over that span. Houston has also outscored opponents by 18 runs during that stretch and boasts a solid 10-6 record at home.

While the offense has yet to fully catch fire, signs of life are emerging. Jeremy Peña continues to be a steady presence with five doubles and three homers, while Christian Walker has driven in six runs over his last 10 games, including three long balls. The Astros’ bats will be tested against a Tigers staff that leads the American League with a 2.86 ERA.

Houston’s Tuesday starter, Ryan Gusto, has been sharp through his first five outings, posting a 1.10 WHIP and 23 strikeouts. He’ll look to keep Detroit’s bats quiet, especially red-hot Zach McKinstry, who’s hitting .406 over his last 10 games, and slugger Spencer Torkelson, who already has eight homers this season.

The Tigers (18-11) may sit atop their division, but they’ve struggled away from home, going just 5-8 on the road. The Astros will look to capitalize and even the season series in their second matchup with Detroit.

With the offense trending upward and the pitching staff in a groove, Houston has a prime opportunity to keep building momentum in front of the home crowd.

Here's a sneak peek at the Astros lineup. Altuve is once again batting second after asking manager Joe Espada to move him down in the batting order. Zach Dezenzo is playing right field with Cam Smith getting the night off. Jake Meyers is back in center field and Mauricio Dubon is starting at second base.

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot

A big test awaits

It appears the Astros may have tipped their hand regarding tomorrow's starting pitcher. Chandler Rome is reporting AJ Blubaugh is at Daikin Park today.

Following Tuesday night's game, Blubaugh has been officially announced as the starter.

Espada said Hayden Wesneski is not injured but needs more time to recover from his last start.

*ChatGPT assisted.

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