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.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! 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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*ChatGPT assisted.
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