THE NERD REPORT
Nerds Around Town: SNL, craft beer and Lil Pump
May 14, 2019, 5:42 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, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
It's once again the most important day of the week, it is Monday! So let's set this week up for success and make sure that we crush this week!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
It's a frustrating thing to think about, but we live in a great and powerful nation of intelligent and wonderful people and yet, when we get sick, as a nation we all just shrug and think, welp, I'm screwed. We can do better and I wish we would but since we haven't here is where we are. My friend is sick and Exit 73 is holding a benefit to help him raise money this Sunday at noon. There's a BBQ plate you can buy and an auction with proceeds going to help him in his fight against cancer. Exit 73, this Sunday at noon. #NerdsUnite
COMEDY SHOW
This weekend, one of my favorite and in my opinion one of the most massively underrated comedians is coming into town, Kevin Nealon. He's a former anchor on the weekend update desk from SNL and obviously was in tons of great sketches and he's always just been a great comedy guy. He's got fantastic timing and he used to do this bit where he would insert subliminal messages in his conversation, it was a hilarious SNL sketch. Anyway this Friday and Saturday at the Houston Improv, if you're out and about, I say check him out.
DUELING BANDS
So on Friday both Dave Matthews band and the rapper Lil Pump are performing. Dave Matthews has won Grammys and has had a 20+ year career, Lil Pump has made music for a couple of years. Tickets to see Dave Matthews at The Woodlands Pavilion are $45 and tickets to see Lil Pump at Revention Music Center are $45. Wait what? The same price? What the heck is going on? Who is paying Dave Matthews money to see Lil Pump? And who told Lil Pump he's worth that much money? Are all concerts just $45 and there's no way around it? What is going on here? I'm not a fan of either honestly but if you told me these two shows cost the same amount of money I would laugh at you for an hour. Is there no pricing structure in live music? That's weird.
A GOOD FESTIVAL
Saturday there's a Music to my Beers fest. It's a craft beer and music festival. This sounds amazing. Featuring the craft breweries from the south side of Houston and music from Beat Root Revival and other bands I honestly haven't heard of, it does still sound pretty cool. It's at the Pearland Town Center and it's always nice to say Pearland without having to say something is burning. I think there should be more stories like this one, anyway, live music and craft beer. Sound good?
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So this will be an unpopular opinion, I know that, but right now I'm a little disappointed in all the politics involved in both the Police Dept and the Fire Dept of Houston. The Fire Dept has been in a pretty tough dispute with the city about pay, and my opinion is simply this, voting for a raise isn't the right way to do that. Negotiating and city planning are the methods for increasing the pay of the city, also it's irresponsible to put unfunded initiatives on ballots anyway but that's a separate issue. Making the city honor the raises without firing and demoting people wasn't a reasonable thought and forcing the mayor to give fire fighters a raise by vote wasn't the right move; did they think strong arming someone would make things easier? If you forced your boss to do something at work, what do you think would be the consequences of that? Also the family and friends of the two victims from that no knock raid that went bad hired an independent forensic team and apparently the crime scene was very poorly examined making the Department look even more like they were covering stuff up, also it's annoying when the Union Rep for the Houston Police Dept gets on TV and says crazy things, is that really the image the police want to project? This brash, rude man? Anyway, I'd like to see these issues be handled better by everyone but they probably won't be; when will they charge that lead cop in the raid with two counts of murder and some attempted murder of several officers for faking the info for the warrant? They would do that to anyone else, I feel like. I just want to see some equality in how these things get handled.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Tuesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Wednesday 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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