NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Sandman, Young Justice and Spider Man
Jul 1, 2019, 6:30 am
NERDS AROUND TOWN
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!
Hey Nerds!
Monday is back! Let's make this week our bitch guys! It's a short week so this should be really easy!
This week is the Fourth of July, get pumped and be excited for people and for this great nation and help people in need. While you're grilling and relaxing and having a great day, remember there are tons of people who don't have it as good as we do and it's not looking great for them. Reach out to them and help them out. #NerdsUnite
Today is comic book heavy, tomorrow to the DC App Young Justice: The Outsiders returns. This has been one of the most consistent and entertaining superhero cartoons in recent memory. This show has been an awesome portrayal of some solid superhero combat and great characters and some awesome long form storytelling. The series has also been telling one long form story over these three seasons eventually building into this story about a war with Apokolips and superhuman trafficking. The introduction of the Outsider characters and the story of an undercover super hero team is awesome to watch and I wish more cartoons took this long form storytelling method and took the idea of superheroes as serious as Young Justice has.
It's debuting here in the states tomorrow after debuting overseas this weekend. Kevin Feige the godfather of all things Marvel Films is saying that this is the proper end to the Marvel Infinity Stones saga or Phases 1 through 3. This film tells the tale of a mourning Peter Parker dealing with a world without Tony Stark and feeling the pressure to become the next Iron Man. From the previews it looks like Happy Hogan is heavily involved in this story as is Nick Fury, in a post snap world. This movie tells the story of what that world looks like now that there are people who were gone from the world for five years come back to a world that's moved on without them, including Spider Man. The Mysterio villain is a great movie character to use as he is the master of Illusions, so there's no telling where this could go. The idea of a multiverse is interesting but let's see if they stay on that path after the reveal of it in the previews, but I think potentially it's a trick.
Netflix made an interesting decision and announced they have picked up the rights to Vertigo's Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, this is an incredible tale featuring the story of Morpheus the sandman, who sees the dreams of humans. The series was in the late 80s, early 90s crazy period of DC Comics where they were experimenting with Vertigo Comics and trying to find a way to bring great comic books back to the industry which was suffering from a lack of creativity at the time. Gaiman is one of the most creative and daring writers in comic books and fiction in general, so he sat to work creating one of the most amazing and entertaining series in the Vertigo line. It's translated into more than likely one of the most expensive shows potentially in the history of Netflix. It's been positioned as a movie before and in 1996 it would have been a $100 million cerebral fantasy series, now it'll probably be a $150 million fantasy series instead of a movie. The evolution has been long and winding but now the show is at the place that might be perfect for it after HBO/Time Warner/ATT passed on it due to possible show budgets. This is an interesting development in the streaming wars, as a possible sign that these two could work together against Disney, but that seems unlikely for any real length of time.
It's going to be all over TV today, but obviously NBA free agency is going on these next few days and I love it. This is one of those awesome wild times in sports where a bunch of people get a bunch of money from a bunch of teams and there are always several surprises in the mix. In the always disappointing department it's already come out that The Knicks didn't offer Kevin Durant a max contract so he decided to not even meet with them. What are they smoking? The Nets have formed a Big Two and a Half with Kevin Durant actually signing there, Kyrie Irving signing there, Deandre Jordan joining LeVert their surprise stud of the roster. The Bucks gave Kris Middleton a very large contract to keep him in Milwaukee and help the Greek Freak get back to the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami was able to get a trade for Jimmy Butler much to the chagrin of Houston (seriously, ugh!), and now all of a sudden Kwahi might go to the Lakers ruining The Clippers and Toronto's offseasons. Stay tuned and remembered, all the contracts are guaranteed.
Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House 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.
The Houston Astros open a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. Houston, sitting atop the AL West with a 77-66 record, looks to bolster its postseason positioning, while Oakland (62-82) aims to play spoiler as the season winds down.
Pitching Probables
The Astros will send Spencer Arrighetti (7-12, 4.82 ERA) to the mound. Arrighetti has shown flashes of brilliance this season with 151 strikeouts but has struggled with consistency, sporting a 1.43 WHIP. He’ll face Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.41 ERA) for the Athletics, who has been a reliable arm in the Oakland rotation, posting a 1.09 WHIP and 63 strikeouts.
Astros overview
Houston, with a solid 41-30 home record, will rely on their bats and deep lineup to back Arrighetti. Yordan Alvarez continues to power the offense, tallying 31 doubles and 32 home runs on the season. Mauricio Dubon has also been hot, hitting .464 over his last 10 games. The Astros boast the eighth-best on-base percentage in the majors (.321), which will be key against Oakland’s pitching.
Athletics overview
Oakland has struggled on the road this year, going 26-43 away from the Coliseum. Brent Rooker, the A’s top power hitter with 35 home runs, will need to stay hot to give his team a chance. Shea Langeliers has also been productive lately, with three home runs in his last 10 games. The A’s have allowed 58 losses in games where they've given up a home run, a troubling stat heading into a series against Houston’s potent lineup.
Recent form
The Astros are 6-4 over their last 10 games with a 3.31 team ERA, outscoring their opponents by 10 runs. Oakland has gone 4-6 in their last 10, allowing a 4.73 ERA while being outscored by 17 runs during that stretch. Houston leads the season series 7-3, and they'll look to continue their dominance over their division rival as they aim for a strong postseason push.
Betting line
Houston is favored at -187 with the over/under set at 8 1/2 runs, reflecting expectations of a potentially high-scoring game.