NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: Scandals in politics and college sports, plus pot pies
Jun 26, 2019, 5:54 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!
Wednesday, by now your week is starting to take shape and you can visualize all of your successes, right?
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This Sunday at 10am, The Texas Brotherhood is asking you to come out and help them raise money for First Responders who have made the ultimate sacrifice and in doing so they promise "a little bike ridin', makin'music, makin' friends, cookin', rafflin', drankin' and eatin'" So that sounds like a fun thing to do. #NerdsUnite
An Amazing News Story
A Congressman representing California in The House of Representatives, Duncan Hunter is at the center of the messiest campaign finance fraud case in recent history. First him and his wife were accused of misusing campaign funds for personal, non-campaign uses like flying a pet bunny around (not an exaggeration) and to essentially finance their lives. News then broke that the wife turned state's evidence against Duncan Hunter and then he made the ultimate classy move of pointing out that she was the Campaign Manager so if something inappropriate did in fact happen (hard turn from "we're innocent") it would have been from her. Now it's come out he used campaign funds to carry on five separate affairs including buying ten beers at a concert, so now his wife is cooperating against him, his bunny takes flights cross country and he's vaped in committee meetings before. Can't wait for the next big twist in this crazy case.
MORE COLLEGE SPORTS CORRUPTION
So on Nerd Thug Sports, I regularly discuss how completely corrupt college sports has become. The people who say college sports is "pure competition" are completely delusional. There's nothing pure about a 7-6 Birmingham Dragons playing in the Mountain Dew Papa Johns Hawaii Bowl under a coach who gets paid $6 million dollars while the athletes are playing under year to year one sided agreements for scholarships and if you think there is then your definition of pure is kinda obscure. But don't worry, Oklahoma State is out to prove that there's nothing pure about college sports by hiring the big brother of the number 2 prospect in the country to be an assistant coach. This continues a trend that colleges recently have embraced where even peripherally appropriate hirings are OK including the father of Michael Porter Jr being hired by two separate colleges where eventually each of his kids played. There is no way these colleges can promise the funds being paid to the relative won't go to the player, and obviously there is no way the school cares. This is a blatant bribe to a family and would only be appropriate if the student agreed to not take a scholarship and not play sports for the school. Hiring a brother to a position he's never had before at the collegiate level is a fairly obvious move, isn't it?
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS?
KFC recently rolled out their very own 2 for $6 menu in an effort to position themselves against Burger King's 2 for $6? I'm not sure where they came from on this angle, but the other day I decided to go take advantage of it and compare the two. Now the Burger King 2 for $6 is one of my favorite deals in fast food because honestly I don't eat healthy so I try to just eat once a day, it's the deal I make with myself to limit my fat unhealthy caloric intake to human levels. Anyway the whopper is one of the bigger burgers in the market and the grilled chicken sandwich is delicious so it's a great deal to me, now on to KFC. The pot pie and the chicken strip sandwich are the ones I went with, the pot pie was awesome and the sandwich is a good value, overall it isn't as good as the Burger King 2 for $6 but man, that Pot Pie is awesome and I had forgotten that little fact. I'm getting hungry thinking about it right now.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So I'm a freelance writer, it's something that I think has come up here once or twice *AHEM I'M FOR HIRE AHEM* and so there are other things I do to try and keep putting cash in the bag, you know? One of them is selling shirts at Side Hustle T's an etsy store I set up. Etsy about a month ago sent me a message stating that in all of their research they've found "free shipping" to be an incentive customers really enjoy so they recommend I do it. Here's the thing, shipping costs differ around the country so I charge a flat fee and just roll with it, well Etsy saw that and recommended I raise my prices by that flat fee. How is that good for my customers? Free shipping means not paying for shipping, so if I raise my prices to cover shipping how is it free? It's just a hidden cost at that point, nothing free about it. My first question is, is this legal? Don't stores get busted for offering sales prices after they raise prices? Anyway, I raised my prices $3.50 and now there's free shipping, considering I was charging $5 for shipping, I feel like this is more fair than what Etsy was saying to do.
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.
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As we're waiting for the top dominoes like Juan Soto to fall in free agency, the market is in a bit of a holding pattern. But we are seeing reports about some possible landing spots for players like Alex Bregman and Yusei Kikuchi.
With Kikuchi specifically, his agent Scott Boras is letting it be known that the market for him is very strong. Not only did he pitch at an All-Star level once joining the Astros, but he also brings something else to the table that many other free agents don't.
Because Kikuchi was traded at the deadline, he wasn't eligible to receive a qualifying offer. Which means any team that signs him won't have to give up any draft capital, thereby increasing his value on the market.
We noted an article by Eric Cole on Climbing Tal's Hill that made some interesting points on this situation. In a way, the Astros “unlocked” Kikuchi, helping him reach his full potential, and now he may sign with one of Houston's top competitors.
According to the article, the Rangers, Orioles, Red Sox, Twins, and Tigers have reportedly shown interest in signing him.
Plus, the 'Stros had to pay a steep price for him, trading away three prospects from an already depleted farm system. And with the benefit of hindsight, Kikuchi didn't even pitch in the postseason and the Astros were swept in the Wild Card round.
To be fair, one could argue the club may not have made the postseason without him. But at the end of the day, the organization is down three prospects and didn't win a single playoff game.
The trade market
Chandler Rome of The Athletic recently reported that the Astros have discussed the possibility (in-house) of trading Ryan Pressly, who is due $14 million this season. The team could certainly use the salary relief, but moving him could be tricky, as Pressly has a full no-trade clause.
If a team is willing to pay the majority of his contract, Houston shouldn't expect much in return when it comes to prospects. However, if the Astros are willing to eat a good portion of his salary, that could change.
But the problem is, moving Pressly is mostly about shedding money from the payroll. So it doesn't make a lot of sense to trade him without any significant salary relief.
To be clear, it's not as if the team wants to kick Pressly to the curb, but they could use that $14 million to add to the Bregman fund, or upgrade another spot on the roster.
Updates on Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia
GM Dana Brown shared some thoughts on the outlook for both pitchers last week. Garcia is expected to be ready to pitch this spring after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
With McCullers, it's more of a wait and see. Lance is playing catch, and Brown said his return this spring is still a possibility. But at this point, the fact that his recovery is taking so long isn't a good sign. And it seems like every time he ramps up, another setback occurs.
Where does Roki Sasaki land?
Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki is generating a lot of interest on the market. But according to reports, it doesn't sound like the Astros are in the mix as possible suitors.
It won't be from lack of trying, we're sure they've made the necessary phone calls. But it does make us wonder, do free agents still see Houston as a destination where they can compete for championships each and every year? And let's be real, moving on from Bregman won't help with that perception.
You know the deal! Be sure to watch the video above as the crew from Stone Cold 'Stros (Brandon Strange, Charlie Pallilo, and Josh Jordan) break it all down! Also, we recorded a video about the Astros' offense earlier this week. Click here if you missed it!
For Astros’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo on our Stone Cold 'Stros podcasts!Episodes drop on Mondays and bonus episodes are released on Wednesdays when the news cycle dictates.