THE NERD REPORT
Nerds around town: Sonic, poker raids, comicpalozza and more
May 2, 2019, 7:14 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 Thursday and we're almost through it, if you squint you can basically see the weekend and maybe going to see Avengers again!
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
The American Red Cross is a charity that comes to people when they are down and steps in to try and help out. They aren't perfect and there are tons of fair criticisms to be made about these guys, but imagine a world where they don't exist. It's not the world we're trying to make right? Let's help people out. #NerdsUnite
WHY IS IT EVEN BEING MADE?
Sonic the Hedgehog released a trailer and it was horrific. This trailer may be the worst thing I've seen in a little while and I'm honestly confused why is it even a movie? I know everyone thinks every property is a movie now and honestly I thought the Detective Pikachu movie sounded like a horrible idea but the trailer came out and it looked pretty good. Not good enough for me to go see it on my own, maybe if a lady wants to go I'll take a nice nerd lady out to see it, but on my own? Not likely, but it did look good at least. This one though? Sonic looks unwatchable, and here's the weirdest part about all of it, Sonic has been animated in cartoons, video games and other things, we know what Sonic is supposed to look like, they completely redesigned him for this movie. They didn't base it on the old ones, they didn't update or make it modern, they made a brand new looking Sonic. What the heck? Who asked for this? Where was the demand? This movie looks awful.
WTF?
So I guess we're going to continue the trend about talking about if something is legal or not. The police raided a poker room yesterday and took the position that poker rooms are against the law again. Last year people asked the state attorney general if he was going to go after poker rooms and he didn't, now they're getting raided and words like money laundering are getting thrown around. They are saying all kinds of things and obviously this is going to go to trial and get sorted out, in the comments to the news article I saw some people mad at the police chief. That doesn't even make sense, he didn't issue the warrants on this, this is clearly coming down from a state level. Also, in other news the Kraft tapes might be getting suppressed because people were having their privacy violated while they were committing prostitution. Is that relevant? I thought if you are in the process of committing a crime privacy isn't important. I mean it's a weird thing to think a sex crimes unit thought prostitution was going on, got a warrant for that, filmed it occurring and then the judge in a trial says "people were going there with an expectation of privacy" yeah, to commit crimes. That's an odd decision.
COMICPALOOZA
Next weekend is the biggest nerd weekend in all of Houston, Comicpalooza. This year Emilia Clarke is one of the guests and by Sunday night there will only be one episode left of Game of Thrones. I am one of the hosts of Comicpalooza currently booked to host a few panels and who knows what other troubles I'll get into while I'm there but man I am pumped. I love Comicpalooza it's always such a big weekend so many people out there in the world, going and getting their nerd on. It doesn't matter what your fandom is or who you follow or what you're nerdy about it's all there and it's all in good fun. There will be costumes and cosplayers and artists and celebrities all in one place all having a great time. If you've already bought your tickets, check out the website because they're about to start letting people pick up their tickets early. It is a great time to be a nerd.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So I have many pet peeves, many, many pet peeves. I think I might even be described as a grump. Perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves though is when people don't respond to text messages. Man, everyone has their phone on them these days, everyone checks their phone every ten minutes, so who are we kidding for the sake of my sanity, return my text messages! My little brother is the biggest culprit of it, he'll even talk to me about text messages he didn't return which makes it even worse in my book. That's like a double sin. Anyway, I'm just venting.
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 $.50 from every shirt is donated to a good cause or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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The phrase most associated with the late former Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis was “Just win baby.” One has to think Al would strongly approve of the Houston Astros. Going to the fifth inning Sunday against the Mariners the Astros were facing a 3-0 deficit and staring at the prospect of being swept out of Seattle and having their American League West division lead slashed to just two games. Now after roaring from behind with 11 unanswered runs to take the series finale in the Emerald City, and then sweeping three games from the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, the Astros stand six games up with 60 games to go. So, if the Astros play just .500 ball the rest of the way (which would have them finish with 90 victories), the Mariners have to play .600 ball to catch them. If somehow the Astros are to maintain their season long win pace to the finish line they’d close with 95 wins, and the race is already over unless someone thinks the M’s are poised to uncork a finishing kick of 41-19 or better. It’s quite a pleasing perch from which the Astros survey the standings. Coupled with the freefalling Detroit Tigers having dropped nine of their last ten games, the Astros amazingly start this homestand sporting the best record in the entire American League. On the homestand they follow four games against the team with the second-worst record in the American League (Athletics) with three versus the team with the second-worst record in the National League (Nationals). I know, I know. There is fear of the Astros playing down to the competition, but that is not the way to look at it. A bad Major League team can beat a good team in a series at any time. If it happens it happens, but it wouldn’t mean it happened only because the Astros didn’t take their opponent seriously. This isn’t the NBA.
Trade deadline looming
Of course, It hasn’t been all good news with Isaac Paredes badly injuring a hamstring Sunday. Paredes could be back in three weeks (doubtful), he could miss the rest of the season. GET WELL SOON JEREMY PENA! Lance McCullers’s latest Injured List stint could be considered addition by subtraction for the Astros’ starting rotation. Whether impacted by his blister issue, Lance was lousy in four of his last five starts. So, one week from the trade deadline, if general manager Dana Brown has the ammo to get one deal done, where does he make the upgrade? The left-handed hitter everyone knows the Astros can use regardless of Yordan Alvarez’s status is a natural priority. With the Astros’ weak farm system it would seem difficult for Brown to put forth the winning offer for the top bats that could be in play. That probably rings even truer now, since if he wasn’t already untouchable, Brice Matthews may have cemented untouchable status by darn near winning the first two games of the Diamondbacks series by himself. Matthews is going to struggle mightily to hit for a good average if he can’t make notable improvement in the contact department, but the power is obvious, as is the athleticism in the field. The 23-year-old Matthews and 22-year-old Cam Smith (though presently mired in a three for 36 slump) are the clear (and right now only) two young shining beacons for the lineup’s future.
You can't have enough pitching
While Brandon Walter has been a revelation, a starting pitcher would make sense unless the decision is to hope Spencer Arrighetti and/or Cristian Javier can contribute meaningfully upon return to the big leagues, likely sometime next month. Going after a reliever or two may make more sense in terms of availability and transaction cost. Overall the Astros’ bullpen has been excellent, but Bryan Abreu is the only trustworthy right-handed option for Joe Espada. Back to Walter. Barely two months ago no way Walter himself would have believed he’d be where he is now. Nine starts since being summoned basically out of desperation, Walter has a 3.35 earned run average, and a stunning 13 to one strikeout-to-walk ratio with his 52 strikeouts against a measly four walks allowed in 53 2/3 innings. Walter has pitched fabulously in seven of his nine starts. He only has two wins, but that’s because in five of the six Walter starts the Astros didn’t win the game they failed to score more than two runs. Walter turns 29 years old in September. His only prior big league experience was 23 innings in relief with a 6.26 ERA for the Red Sox two years ago. The Bosox released him last August, the Astros signed him basically as minor league depth. Look at him (and the Astros) now.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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