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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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
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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