NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Spider-Man, Lootcrates, and new comics

Nerds Around Town: Spider-Man, Lootcrates, and new comics
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!

Half way through, how we looking world?

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

This week I found a very odd thing that I want to point everyone's attention towards, it's this Saturday's James Harden & Friend's Charity Concert w/ Secret Special Guests. It's at Revention Music Center and it's at 6 p.m. on Saturday and tickets are on sale. That's literally ALL of the info. I don't know yet who it benefits or who is performing, but I do love a good mystery. Check it out!

FALL OF THE LOOTCRATE

Many moons ago on my show Nerd Thug Radio, I told people that the rumors circulating were that Loot Crate was having trouble paying their bills. Which is always bad news but honestly not always the end. So after some time passed I honestly thought they had figured some stuff out because they still existed, until suddenly influencers weren't getting their free boxes and people were complaining about repeat items in their boxes from previous boxes. Suddenly boxes started slipping behind on their schedule also, later and later until, not at all. So now Lootcrate it slowly winding down, they've announced bankruptcy and are trying to take care of open orders and owed boxes but are also doing layoffs and winding down things. It's unclear if they'll be able to honor all the open orders still remaining but they sound like they're going to try. Quote of the whole story, a former employee was on reddit saying they knew it was bad when their boss was sending job postings to apply at while at work.

BIG FIRST STEP

Comixology announced they are debuting four original series in September. They had mentioned before they were going to shift from media distributor to content creator as well, awhile back and this appears to be the first big stab in that direction. Comixology has a strong indy scene and they have an open submission process they work through with anyone, allegedly. This is their first genuine attempt to launch what seems to be content they had a hand in also producing. One of the books is by friend of the show Vita Ayala. Her first comic book was a Nerd Thug Radio favorite and we spent some time talking to her at Comicpalooza two years ago and since that time she has exploded all over comic books! You need to make you check her out give her new book Quarter Killer a looksie on September 26th!

SONY'S TANGLED WEB

Disturbing news out of Hollywood, Sony and Disney are going to cancel their deal and Spider-man will no longer be a part of the MCU moving forward. This is an absolute moron of a move by Sony, who hasn't gotten Spider-Man right on their own either time they tried it. Tom Holland has one more solo Sony film on his contract and it's unclear what direction he'll take from there, but this is obviously a huge blow. The root of the conflict stems from Disney wanting some of that box office cheddar that Marvel left on the table the first go round. In the first deal, Disney got all the merchandising and Sony got 95% of the box office money with Disney getting 5% of the first weekend sales. In the new deal it seems like Disney was asking for 50% of the box office haul, Sony has a mixed bag with the Spider-Man rights as their other Spider projects have gone OK but Disney had much more success with Spidey than Sony ever did alone. This is a bad move on their part.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

Got new pages in for issue #2 of Another Day at the Office and I love them!! They're gorgeous!! So pumped guys, so pumped!

Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office 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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The top seeds have talent for days! Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images.

Looking for an inspiring underdog or a glass slipper lying around in San Antonio? This year's version of the Final Four is not for you.

Fittingly for an NCAA Tournament in which big schools from big conferences took record numbers of spots in the first week, then hogged them all for the Sweet 16, the last week will bring a collection of all four teams seeded No. 1 to the sport's biggest stage to play for the title.

When Florida meets Auburn in an all-Southeastern Conference clash and Duke faces Houston in a meeting between the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences, it will mark only the second time since seeding began in 1979 that all four No. 1s have made it to the final weekend.

The last time it happened, in 2008, one of the teams was Memphis, which hailed from Conference USA.

This time around, there are no mid-majors or small majors. Only the best teams from the best conferences — except the Big Ten, which will hasn't had a team win it all since 2000 — who also have the nation's best players.

Here's a look at the best player on each team (for Auburn, Duke and Florida, they are AP All-Americans ), along with another who might make an impact in San Antonio once the games start Saturday.

Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn

Broome hit his elbow hard in the second half of the Tigers' 70-64 win over Michigan State. He left the court, but then came back, saying team doctors told him there was nothing wrong. He averages 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds and had 20-10 games in both wins this week. Clearly, his health will be a storyline.

If NBA scouts only look at backup guard Pettiford's tournament, where he has averaged 17.2 points and sparked Auburn on a huge run in the Sweet 16 win against Michigan, they'd pick him in the first round. If they look at his overall body of work, they might say he still needs work. Either way, he could be a difference-maker over two games.

Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, Duke

There are times — see the 30-point, seven-rebound, six-assist skills clinic against BYU — when Flagg just looks like he's toying with everyone. There are other times — see Saturday's win over Alabama — when he looks human. Which is more than enough, considering all the talent surrounding him.

Maluach is 7-foot-2 and has a standing reach of 9-8. If any opponent overplays him, they can expect a lob for an alley-oop dunk. He shot 12 for 15 over Sweet 16 weekend, and pretty much all the shots were from 4 feet or closer.

Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, Florida

Clayton made the tying and go-ahead 3s in Florida's ferocious comeback against Texas Tech. He finished with 30 points and his coach, Todd Golden, said, “There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment.”

During one two-game stretch in February, Richard had two points in one contest and 21 the next. During another, he scored zero, then 30. Fill in the blanks here, but he could be a big factor for the Gators either way.

Joseph Tugler and L.J. Cryer, Houston

Fittingly for the team with the nation's best defense, a player who only averages 5.5 points could be the most valuable for the Cougars. Tugler is on everyone's all-defense list, and for Houston to have any chance at stopping Flagg, it'll have to figure out ways to use Tugler to do it.

Cryer is Houston's leading scorer at 15.2 points a game. If the Cougars end up as national champs, it will have to be because he played the two best games of his life.

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