NERDS AROUND TOWN
Nerds Around Town: House of X, Post Malone and more
Sep 10, 2019, 5:01 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!
It's Tuesday, are you going to own this week or is it going to own you.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
The Bahamas are in trouble and need help our help. Donate to the Red Cross please, there are 100s of thousands of people in need.
HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X
In House of X #4 that came out last Wednesday, nearly every important X-Men just got killed. For those who aren't following the book, the basics are this. Moira Mactaggert, long time X-Men ally is revealed to be a mutant who has the power of reliving the same life line over and over. She has dedicated her life to solving the problem of humans and mutants living together in harmony and over and over and over again she fails, dies and restarts her life. She is now on what appears to be her tenth life and now knows she can't allow the creation of Nimrod, so she sends the X-Men on a suicide mission to destroy the machine and the scientists who are building it. So Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Archangel, Nightcrawler, Husk, Monet and Mystique go on this likely suicide mission. One by one they fall as they complete their individual missions and eventually it's down to just Cyclops and Jean Grey after Wolverine goes out like the bad ass he is, in open space hacking away at the last obstacle to their mission, burning alive due to exposure to the sun and open space. Then both Cyclops and Jean are killed. This series, and its counter part Powers of X, has been insane and I have no idea what will happen next.
POST MALONE
Just dropped a new album last week and so far it's honestly amazing. He is one of the lone bright spots to come out of this new era of rap where everything is mumbled and they're not lyrically creative and the beats are very melodic and musical. There is an element of that which is clearly appealing but overall it's too far moved from old rap which I loved. Enter Post Malone, no he isn't old rap, but he's music. He's talented and he can play great music and he makes wildly successful and entertaining music. If you are looking for something different and great, this is the guy to check out.
FINAL SPACE
The second season of Final Space is rapidly coming to an end on Adult Swim and if you are looking for a fun animated show, it's Final Space. The show has an amazing start, Olan Rogers pitched it and won a small contest where he won a small cash prize, he then used that to make an 8 minute pilot, he posted it on youtube and within days Conan O Brian's production company had reached out to him about making the show and they picked up the first season. It's hilarious and touching, it's big and has action and great moments it's well written and funny and sentimental. It's worth checking out.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So The Saints came through on a last minute field goal. It sucks but I'm not that mad, Kenny Stills proved his worth, Watson was awesome and the defense looked ok. This was a tough loss but a road loss, and honestly even good teams lose on the road. I'm not that upset about this week and I like most of what I saw.
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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Rockets stumble as Grizzlies snatch victory in controversial finish
Jan 31, 2025, 12:11 pm
Thursday night's one point loss at Memphis aside, what a run the Houston Rockets have been enjoying. Within a two week stretch the Rockets beat the last two NBA Champions (winning on the road in Denver and Boston), and twice beat the Cleveland Cavaliers who have the best record in the league this season and against all other teams are 39-7. Yes, the Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic in their loss to the Rockets but don’t nitpick. Entering February with a 32-15 record exceeds even optimistic preseason hopes. The preseason betting line for the Rockets' season win total was 43, give or take a game. They are on pace to win 55.
In the 2022-23 season the Rockets completed a three-year run as an on-court laughingstock with a 22-60 record. That tied for the second worst record in the NBA, following seasons of 20-62 and 17-55 which each were the worst record in the league. It was an embarrassing stretch for a proud franchise. The Rockets had just three losing seasons total in the 36 seasons prior to their recent three years in the toilet. Following the ‘22-’23 slog, the Rockets’ cross their fingers really hard hope was to win the draft lottery where the unquestioned grand prize was Victor Wembanyama. Alas, the Rockets drew only the fourth pick on lottery night. “Wemby” hasn’t disappointed the San Antonio Spurs at all, and in this his second season he stands a strong chance of winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award.Prevailing sentiment had point guard “Scoot” Henderson as the second-best prospect in the ‘23 draft. The Charlotte Hornets took forward Brandon Miller at number two because they already had LaMelo Ball at point guard. The Portland Trail Blazers then took Henderson at three. Would the Rockets have taken him at number two or three? We don’t know with certainty. Other than for laughs they have no reason to admit they'd have selected "Scoot," any more than Nick Caserio would have to admit the Texans’ would have drafted Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud if they had picked first not second in the 2023 NFL draft. What we do know is the Rockets picked Amen Thompson fourth. Amen to that.
Thompson individually best mirrors the Rockets’ rapid rise from mediocre last season (41-41) to legitimate contender. Thompson was the fourth pick in his draft class, after the Rockets took Jabari Smith third the year before, with Jalen Green the second overall pick the year before that. It was Smith’s broken hand in early January that spurred head coach Ime Udoka to insert Thompson into the starting lineup. I’m guessing neither Thompson nor Smith know the story of Wally Pipp (or perhaps Lou Gehrig either), but how can Udoka put Smith back in the starting lineup? The race is on for which in hindsight will be general manager Rafael Stone’s greater move, taking Thompson at four or swinging the post-draft trade that netted 2021 number 16 selection Alperen Sengun. Sengun Thursday night was named an All-Star game reserve for the first time. One can envision Thompson joining Sengun on an All-Star squad as soon as next season. Credit to Jalen Green for some improvement this season, but the idea that he has made a huge leap and should have made the All-Star game is silly. Green has stretches where hot shooting combines with his explosiveness to make him look like a star, but that is not his body of work. Green’s shooting percentages remain below average from the floor overall and from behind the three-point line.
The Rockets are second in the Western Conference while getting essentially nothing from the third pick in last June’s draft, guard Reed Sheppard. He’s just 20 years old and there is no reason for a pure shooter to lose that skill before he can legally buy a beer, so bust talk is way premature. But Sheppard looked like a poor man’s Bryce Drew (that’s not a compliment) in his early season opportunities, overmatched physically with the game way too fast for him.
When you draft in the top four for four consecutive years, you’re supposed to assemble some stout talent. In consecutive drafts the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder picked Kevin Durant (at number two), Russell Westbrook (at number four), and James Harden (at number three). Success is no given however even with a raft of high lottery picks. The Minnesota Timberwolves in successive drafts selected third, fifth and sixth the same year, fourth, and second. Their “haul” was O.J. Mayo, Ricky Rubio/Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson, and Derrick Williams. Yikes.
The current iteration of the Thunder is obviously the best team in the Western Conference, but until OKC breaks through and wins a conference title, it’s not unreasonable to think OKC can be had in a best-of-seven. That the Rockets make the list of teams who wouldn’t require a miracle to topple the Thunder is a phenomenal development.
Still counting down to the start of spring training, but we have taken no offseason from discussing the Astros. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for a New Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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