NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Westbrook, Area 51 and ghosts

Nerds Around Town: Westbrook, Area 51 and ghosts
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!

Friday is here! Lets kick its ass!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

The Stixx and Stonez Sundresses and Summershirts party is this Saturday bring socks and toiletries for donation and be prepared to have an awesome time.

WHITE PEOPLE CRAZY

If you have ever heard the term "White People Crazy" and wasn't sure what it meant, let me help you out. A couple bought the house from The Conjuring on purpose and plan on having ghost tours and investigators come through there after they do some remodeling (something that ghosts notoriously love). That's "White People Crazy," if you believe in ghosts and the supernatural then the last thing you should want to do is invite the kind of crazy danger that might be associated with owning the house from The Conjuring. The family who used to live there who the story was based on, still maintain today that some absolutely awful stuff happened and The Warrens basically made their "bones" on that case and went on to become The Ghostbusters of the real world.

IS THIS CRAZY

Russell Westbrook! The Houston Rockets obviously made a crazy trade and swapped Westbrook for Chris Paul after giving Paul a massive contract last off season. The big thing about the Paul deal was that basically it meant we had maybe one or two more years of this high-level basketball before Paul would likely start breaking down and being unable to play at the high level his massive salary warranted. Westbrook is four years younger and therefore we hopefully have side stepped that problem. The other potential issue is that Russ is not a great shooter, that's ok, we don't want him to shoot, I'm assuming the biggest reason we got him is that in both playoff runs there were games where we would go several agonizing possessions missing 3's and suddenly fall behind. Well I'm guessing that's where Russ comes in, a dribble penetrator who plays a different ISO game than Harden does, and some critics have been saying well you clog the paint against Russ and it limits his effectiveness, well the Rockets are still going to have several shooters on the floor so they can't clog the paint too hard. I think this is an attempt to make sure this year there's no 0-27 run of shots.

THAT'S NOT MINE

A cargo ship allegedly owned by JP Morgan Chase was just seized in the port of Philadelphia with 20 tons of cocaine. I just want to point out first of all that JP Morgan owns a fund the ship is part of that they don't actually have control of the ship but still, how many people are in jail for being the driver of a car or the owner of a place where bad things happened even if they weren't in control. I don't think there's going to be any real consequences to them, I don't even think they'll pay a fine but cases like this will be what I think about when I read stories of people who maintain their innocence and say the drugs or a gun belonged to a passenger of their vehicle. It's good to be filthy rich. By the way the street value of that bust was $1.3 billion.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

Also no one is going to storm Area 51, seriously. It's a really bad idea to even type that you're going to do that. Someone online started a petition that everyone should storm Area 51 and most of them will get in and find out the truth. That's an awful idea, the military won't want to shoot up a bunch of its own citizens but it will gladly arrest and redirect your crazy asses. Please don't be this person, seriously.

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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The Chiefs host the Texans this Saturday. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Texans were trailing 6-0 and facing third-and-16 from their 17 late in the first half of their wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers when quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled the snap.

The play looked to be heading for disaster. But instead, Stroud grabbed the ball and evaded the rush to find Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain.

The Texans went on to score a touchdown on that drive as the first of 23 straight points as they rallied for a 32-12 win.

They’ve advanced to the divisional round for a second straight season where they’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.

Coach DeMeco Ryans called Stroud salvaging that play the play of the game and raved about his second-year quarterback.

“That’s what it looks like when your best players step up and make the plays,” Ryans said. “That’s what playoff football is about. That’s what being a big-time player in the league is about.”

Even after he made the play, Stroud was unhappy because he fumbled the snap. But he felt much better when he looked to his sideline after the throw.

“And everybody was turned up, and that turned me up, because I was still kind of mad at myself,” he said. “Those are the type of plays that change momentum, and a team can rally around plays like that.”

Stroud threw for 282 yards with a touchdown pass to Nico Collins and an interception. He joined Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy as quarterbacks to win playoff starts in each of their first two seasons.

Stroud also ran for 42 yards, highlighted by a career-long 27-yard run to help set up a field goal that put the Texans up 10-6 at halftime.

Stroud, who is not known for his scrambling ability joked about his “slow speed.”

He said the long run energized him.

“I felt my joy coming back after I got up, and it’s just one the best feelings in the world,” he said. “After you make a play, you’re just turned up and your teammates are turned up with you. That’s one of the best feelings in the world. I think that gave our team juice. I think me using my legs is definitely going to be helpful this postseason.”

Ryans was thrilled to see Stroud doing whatever he had to do to lift his team to the victory.

“That’s what you call (putting) the team on your back,” he said.

What’s working

The Texans intercepted Justin Herbert a career-high four times after he had thrown just three interceptions all season. All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley had two picks and Eric Murray returned one 38 yards for a touchdown. Rookie Kamari Lassiter had the other interception to join J.J. Watt as the only rookies in franchise history to have an interception in a playoff game.

Houston’s four interceptions are a franchise record for a playoff game and Murray’s interception return for a score was the fourth in the postseason in team history.

What needs help

For the Texans to have a chance against the Chiefs, they’ll have to take better care of the ball after committing three turnovers Saturday.

John Metchie fumbled after a catch on Houston’s first offensive play. Stroud threw an interception in the second quarter and Joe Mixon lost a fumble early in the third quarter.

Stock up

CB D’Angelo Ross was a special teams star Saturday. He blocked a punt in the first quarter before returning a blocked extra point for two points in the fourth.

The blocked punt was the first in a playoff game since the 2021 season and the PAT return was the first in NFL playoff history.

Stock down

LG Tytus Howard gave up a sack and had two penalties Saturday.

Injuries

The Texans didn’t have any injuries in Saturday’s game.

Key number

168 — Houston’s 168 yards rushing Saturday were the second most in a playoff game in franchise history behind the 188 the team gained in its first-ever postseason game in 2012. Mixon led the way with 106 yards for his eighth 100-yard game this season.

Up next

The Texans play in the divisional round for the sixth time in franchise history where a win will earn them their first trip to the AFC championship game.

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