NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: X-Men, Vince Carter and King's Hawaiian Rolls
Aug 6, 2019, 6:41 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!
Let's crush this week, it's Tuesday are you ready to succeed?
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
How do you feel about saving lives and free ice cream? That sounds like an awesome combo right? Like who is turning that down? Head out to a Regional Gulf Coast Blood Center and make a blood donation if you're eligible. Help some people out, this weekend is a staunch reminder that there can never be enough good deeds and good will out in the universe because you never know when your mark is finally made on this world and you're out of time.
HAVE YOU TRIED IT?!
Arby's just announced they're putting King's Hawaiian rolls on their sliders. First of all this is some of the best news I've ever heard. I don't know if you know this but I have a hard obsession with King's Hawaiian bread, I will be forever a fan of it. There is no limit to the stuff I will do to get King's Hawaiian to be the bread of all my favorite fast food sandwiches. Also Arby's awhile back got rid of their Ham and Cheddar sandwiches so now the only form you can get the Ham and Cheddar combo is in a slider, so now that slider is even better in the Sandwich hierarchy. Someone check this stuff out!!
MARVEL COMICS COMMERCIALS
Marvel has heavily positioned themselves behind House of X and Powers of X, the new event from Jonathan Hickman, the architect of Secret War which was the ultimate story in the Doom vs Reed Richards rivalry. They are so bought in on this major event that for the first time in recent memory they are airing a television commercial in select markets. That's a big deal, they are moving all in on this relaunch of what was at one time the biggest and most important comic book in the Marvel Empire, The X Men. It was at one time selling over a million copies an issue, but now that's no longer the case as top selling comic books sell around 85,000 to 110,000 on a great month. Let's see what Hickman can do about that.
ONE MORE RUN
Vince Carter has announced he is coming back with the Atlanta Hawks for one more year. The one-time high-flying rookie of the year is scheduled to play in a record setting 22nd season. This feat will surpass Dirk, Garnett, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish and place him alone in the record books and will also make him the only player to play an NBA game in four separate decades if he makes a single appearance in the later part of the season in 2020. Vince has truly laid a groundwork for all true ballers to follow, the rare star who always knew when to defer and when to take the reins, his transformation from NBA Icon to mentor has been awesome to see and he's been a great calming asset on many young rosters over the last three seasons. Best of luck for one more run for the great Vince Carter, who played an astounding 76 games last year.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
Times like these are when social media is at its worst. One thing for people to have opinions, that's fine. It's a whole other thing for people to just post weirdly false facts, I saw one that in the last two years there's only been four mass shootings? Are we that dumb? Have we truly moved into an era where facts don't mean anything at all? There were two this weekend, so are we saying these two and then two others since January 1st 2017? Does anyone think that's accurate? I'll stop you now, it's not. It's not even a little bit accurate, it's vastly inaccurate, now yes mass shootings can be defined a number of different ways and with a bunch of different settings but almost no way you define it, has there only been four. We need to do a better job of just looking something up before we get into the business of being this dumb.
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.
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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