NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Punk Rock, The Predator and the Jets
May 16, 2019, 7:22 am
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!
Here comes the weekend, so get ready! It's Thursday and here comes that all so beautiful Friday night.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
Sunday at noon, at Exit 73 there will be a benefit raising money to help Michael Almendarez and his family fight the costs of his cancer diagnosis. There will be a bounce house and kid friendly things as well as BBQ plates for sell with the benefits helping to offset some of the costs of his treatment. #NerdsUnite
HAVE YOU HEARD?
There's a band I discovered the other day called Skating Polly, I love them. It's well produced poppy but not pop punk. It isn't that California punk, it's almost more Seattle grunge punk of the mid 90s and it's so much fun to listen to. I recommend getting on your internets and checking out Skating Polly, it's a small, simple band with a woman lead singer but they really nail some songs you have to check out Camelot if nothing else.
THE PREDATOR
So I just watched The Predator that came out last year, I'd never seen it because honestly it didn't look all that good. Turns out, it wasn't. It wasn't bad and it does a good job of violence and plot twists, like it wasn't unbearably bad or terribly written it just wasn't very good. Olivia Munn is ok, and the unit of crazy soldiers was ok, and the government guys were ok, it just was a bunch of ok all shoved together in a movie. Also it has one of the worst end credit scenes in recent history where there's like an Iron Man super suit left off that they could have used to fight the big bad Predator previously. Also a couple of times, the smaller, less evil Predator who has already shown a high propensity for violence has his hands on people and chooses not to just rip them apart for various plot reasons. The whole experience was underwhelming.
WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE
One thing that's been happening a lot that I've really started to question is the decision makers in organizations. The Jets fired their General Manager like three weeks after the draft and after he spent $200 million on free agents, what? Dallas Keuchel is still a free agent, who were his advisors, the movie The Predator was not great, who approved it at what budget level? Sometimes I seriously wonder about the people doing the dollars and sense of things in the world, if they only spent about $45 million on Predator then great, if they spent $90m and another $30m to market it, now it's not looking great. HBO spent $70+ million dollars on a 6 episode season, who decided that? Why not an 8 or 9 episode season so some of the things people have been complaining about could be addressed and maybe you only show the dragon burning two or three city blocks instead of all of downtown King's Landing. There were places to pick better but hey what do I know, I'm not a decider.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
I don't get too political but I have a real question, how are these abortion laws supposed to be interpreted by independent voters? Even evangelical Pat Robertson said this law is too extreme. Also giving a longer sentence to people who get abortions than the people who committed the initial crimes against them in the first place of rape or incest truly shows the hierarchy of importance. The rapist gets a stiff 30 year penalty, the woman who is a victim of rape but doesn't want to keep a rapist's baby gets 99 years? That's an incredibly unjust and bizarre overture to the middle ground voters. What are you asking women to think of this? What are we telling mother's and daughters of Alabama? Don't be victims of crimes? Don't be fertile? These are truly odd times we live in.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Thursday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Friday 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 Houston Astros have looked like one of baseball’s most dangerous teams in recent weeks, riding a hot streak fueled by dominant starting pitching and a red-hot offense that’s erupted for double-digit runs in four of their last eight games. But behind the current success, there are fair questions about whether this pace is truly sustainable as the grind of the season continues.
Yes, the Astros are winning — and winning big — but context matters. Many of their recent victories have come against struggling clubs like the White Sox and Athletics. Even matchups against the Twins and Guardians, while respectable, don’t exactly represent championship-caliber tests. That soft stretch of the schedule has certainly helped Houston pad its win column, but it may not be the best predictor of long-term performance. Houston will be tested in the upcoming series against the Phillies and Cubs.
On the pitching side, the numbers have been impressive, but how repeatable is it? With Lance McCullers Jr. sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, the Astros are relying on a patchwork rotation that includes unproven arms like Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto, and Brandon Walter. While each has shown flashes, asking them to shoulder the load deep into the summer may be a tall order.
Offensively, Houston is firing on all cylinders. But scoring 10 or more runs every other game simply isn’t sustainable over a 162-game season. Regression is inevitable; the question is how the team responds when the bats cool down or the bullpen is asked to carry more weight.
Amid all this, rookie third baseman Cam Smith continues to shine. Just a few months into his major league career, Smith is producing at a level that suggests he’s not just a key piece of the future — he’s already one of the team’s most valuable players. His batting average sits just a point behind Jose Altuve’s, and his OPS is even higher. If the Astros were forced to choose two players to build around long-term, factoring in youth and contract status, the logical duo might be Smith and breakout pitcher Hunter Brown.
So what about the big picture? Is this team a true World Series contender?
Oddsmakers currently have Houston with the seventh-best odds to win it all, and only the Yankees and Tigers rank higher among American League teams. The core is still there, the experience is undeniable, and if the pitching continues to hold — especially with the anticipated return of Spencer Arrighetti and a healthy McCullers — the Astros have every reason to believe they’ll be in the mix deep into October.
But that’s a big “if.” The ceiling is still high, and with Cam Smith emerging as a star in real time, this team might just have another gear. Whether they can reach it when the competition stiffens, that remains to be seen.
There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! 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.
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