NERDS AROUND TOWN
The nerd report: Comics, sports betting, Nerd radio and more
Apr 26, 2019, 5:56 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, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Hey Nerds!
Hey guys it's been another great week, and now we've made it to one of the biggest nerd weekends in recent memory. This Sunday the battle between the living and the dead happens on HBO, Avengers Endgame debuts this weekend, Houston Outlaws actually play in Texas this weekend in Dallas on Saturday and the NFL Draft is this whole weekend. Pick your poison.
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
This weekend have a good weekend, volunteer a little time this weekend helping out the elderly or hanging out with some sick kids or helping an animal shelter. I don't know, just find a way to actually add something back to this great thing we call life. Next week I'll make it easy for all of us again and point people in the direction of a cause. Also, I started using a new hashtag to try and rally people to causes, #NerdsUnite.
WHILE YOU'RE OUT
Check out your local comic shop, there's all sorts of cool stuff to get into and check out. Avengers #18 is part of Marvel's line wide War of the Realms, and is a cool reintroduction of The Squadron Supreme. They are essentially a team of Justice League knock offs for the Marvel Universe, each publisher has their own version, but here as of late they've tried to expand and include The Squadron Supreme in the Marvel universe and this is just the latest attempt. Punk Mambo #1 is a new series from Valiant and it looks really cool, it's a punk rock female version of Constantine kind of, is the vibe it gives off. The Valiant universe has been making a comeback as of late and this is just the latest step, check it out. Wonder Woman #69 continues Wonder Woman's promise to help Aphrodite find her son, the writer on this is one of my favorites and if you aren't reading Wonder Woman, why not?
THIS IS LEGAL RIGHT?
While I was watching the draft, a buddy of mine mentioned that the Raiders are moving to Vegas, and that got me thinking the NHL is already in Vegas and the NBA has an official sponsorship with a casino. The NFL has a business relationship with either Draftkings or one of those fantasy football gambling apps, so literally is this allowed now? Betting on sports is a billion dollar industry and the best sportsbooks make crazy money from this thing. Somehow we went from Pete Rose being banned from baseball to now you can actually bet anytime you want even during the games. This is starting to get a little surreal to me. Some states have totally allowed sports betting and some states are still making it illegal, it all comes back to me like, if all of this is going on, when are we getting a casino?
WHO ME?
This weekend I actually will be pretty busy, Nerd Thug Radio is booked to be out at Sportify. So for sure I'll be out there Saturday, Saturday is also the last part of the draft and there's an Outlaw's match so I mean, I'm going to find some things to get up to all day no matter what. Based on how it goes we'll either hang out Sunday as well or we won't. If we don't we'll find something fun to get into Sunday and maybe hangout at The Adventure Begins out in Conroe, we keep saying we're going to get out there more and we just haven't had time. Maybe this is the weekend.
NOT THAT YOU ASKED
So I LOVE the draft. I just do, it's fantastic to see how organizations show their thinking by the moves they make. You can kind of see if they're "desperate" or "happy" right now with their roster if they trade up or trade back, New England somehow trades back every year it seems and still takes great guys and obviously builds a top level roster so it was a little odd to actually see them make a pick but it might have been because Atlanta traded into the Rams spot right in front of them so they had trouble finding someone looking for their spot. I don't understand The Cardinals move yet of drafting Kyler Murray but I'm trying to wait and see what they do with the quarterback they already have. We will see, but this is why I love the draft.
I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Friday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Monday and we'll be bringing more good times your way. Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where $.50 from every shirt is donated to a good cause or listen to Nerd Thug Radio or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
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As of 9:42 Central Daylight Saving Time Friday night, the Astros (and all other baseball players) are officially the Boys of Summer, officially so far as the season is concerned anyway. When the summer solstice arrived last year the Astros were nine games off the lead in the American League West. So in addressing the rhetorical axiom “what a difference a year makes,” the difference in the Astros’ case is a whopping 14 games as they start the weekend atop their division by five games. At this point in the season last year the Astros’ record in one-run games was a brutal 5-14. In 2025 they are 13-7 in games decided by the narrowest of margins.
That the Astros are just 4-5 in road games against the two worst teams in the American League is no big deal, other than that every game counts in the standings. Still, just as was losing two out of three at the pathetic White Sox earlier this season, it is no doubt disappointing to the Astros to have only gotten a split of their four-game set with the Athletics. The A’s had gone 9-28 in their last 37 games before the Astros arrived in West Sacramento. The former-Oaklanders took the first game and the finale, as the Astros’ offense played bi-polar ball over the four nights. Two stat-padding explosion games that totaled 24 runs and 35 hits were bookended by a puny one-run output Monday and Thursday’s 5-4 10-inning loss. Baseball happens. Nevertheless, as the Astros open their weekend set versus the Angels, they have gone 17-7 over their last 24 games to forge their five-game division lead.
The New York Yankees’ offense has been by a healthy margin the best attack in the American League so far this season. The reigning AL champions snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday. The Yankees mustered a total of six runs over those six losses, including being shutout in three consecutive games. The baseball season is the defining “it’s a marathon not a sprint” sport. With 162 games on the schedule, combined with the fact that the gap in winning percentage between the best teams and the worst teams is smaller than in any other sport, making much about a series, or week or two of games is misguided, apart from all the results mattering.
The future is now
Without context, statistics can tell very misleading stories. Cam Smith is having a fine rookie season and has the looks of a guy who can blossom into a bonafide star and be an Astro mainstay into the 2030s. But it’s silliness that has anyone talking about the big month of June he’s having. Superficially, sure, going into Thursday’s game Smith’s stat line for the month read a .321 batting average and .874 OPS. Alas, that was mostly about Smith’s two monster games in the consecutive routs of the Athletics. Over those two games Cam went seven for nine with two home runs and two doubles. Over the other 14 games he’s played this month Smith is batting .213 with an OPS below .540.
Cam Smith is a long-term contender for best acquisition of Dana Brown’s tenure as General Manager. If his career was a single game Smith is still in the first inning, but if his career was a stock it’s a buy and hold. If the Astros were for some reason forced to part with all but two players in the organization, I think the two they would hold on to are Smith and Hunter Brown. Jeremy Pena would be another strong candidate, but he turns 28 in September and is two seasons from free agency (unless the rules change in the next collective bargaining agreement). Smith is 22 and under Astros’ control for another five seasons, he’s not even presently eligible for salary arbitration until the 2028 season. Brown turns 27 in August and is currently ineligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.
Angels in the outfield
Hunter Brown pitches opposite Yusei Kikuchi Friday night. Kikuchi was Dana Brown’s big in-season move last season, and Kikuchi was excellent with the Astros which set up to get the three-year 63 million dollar deal he landed with the Halos. After a slow start to his season Kikuchi has been outstanding the past month and a half, with a 2.28 earned run average over his last nine starts. Brown’s 1.88 season ERA is second-best in the big leagues among pitchers with the innings pitched to qualify in the category. Only Pirates’ stud Paul Skenes has a better mark, barely so at 1.85.
Kikuchi was a stellar rental who helped the Astros stretch their consecutive postseasons streak to eight. There was an absurd amount of vitriol over what Dana Brown gave up for him. Joey Loperfido is 26 years old and having a middling season at AAA. Will Wagner is 26 years old and back in the minors after batting .186 with the Blue Jays. Jake Bloss is the one guy who maaaaaybe some day the Astros wish they still had. Bloss is out into 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
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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