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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, Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
So this week technically started last Wednesday with NXT's debut. The hour long show started off with a four woman battle royale, that was pretty good. They girls were impressive and entertaining, I'm not sure they were as polished as they should be for televised wrestling, but maybe that's the style or point of NXT. I'm not sure that following it up with a squash match was all that smart but they did. The Velveteen Dream is a great athlete and put on an impressive match but having interference in the match was very WWE and I think it works. Overall NXT was a good hour of wrestling.
Raw kicked off with The Fiend and Seth's rivalry which will always be interesting but they then followed it up with The Viking Raiders, who they have made boring and predictable. They did beat the stuffing out of the OC which was nice. Rusev's return has been great and Sasha is getting a great run for an allegedly unhappy superstar. Lacey Evans fighting Ember Moon is a great match these are two powerful and athletic wrestlers. Is anyone still excited to see R Truth and the 24/7 title? Well now it's Carmela's turn! King Corbin and his custom crown actually looks pretty cool, although he's still one of my least favorite in ring personas. Seeing Rey Mysterio in a title match isn't on anyone's wish list I feel like. Finishing with the Fiend like Raw began is a great opening.
Smackdown kicked off with Rowan cutting a mediocre promo and Daniel Bryant coming out and challenging him to a fight. I don't think there's a universe that exists where Bryant could beat Rowan and apparently neither did the WWE. Teaming Roman and Bryant together immediately makes Daniel Bryant a face again, which can't hurt now that he's lost the title. Chad Gable is pretty annoying on the mic, it really makes me wonder why he's getting this push, also are we STILL doing short jokes about Gable? Sasha and Bayley vs Charlotte and Carmela is a great match and it's good to see Carmela in action again. Becky interrupting the match was great to see but it only reminds me that she's been absent from the ring for a little bit, this is that burn out that happens when you get too popular. Mustafa Ali is running out of time in the spotlight I hope, these matches aren't exciting. During the New Day and the B-Team tag match, they mentioned that during the draft they may split the New Day and that would be a huge mistake. Kevin Owens is just awesome on the mic and a ladder match would be awesome but you just know Shane is going to have his guys show up and help him.
Feel free to check out my brand-new comic book Another Day at the Office email me for details 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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