NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Sandman, Young Justice and Spider Man
Jul 1, 2019, 6:30 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!
Hey Nerds!
Monday is back! Let's make this week our bitch guys! It's a short week so this should be really easy!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
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
YOUNG JUSTICE RETURNS
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.
SPIDER MAN! SPIDER MAN!
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.
SAY WHAT?
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.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
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.
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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