NERDS AROUND TOWN

The Nerd Report: Endgame spoilers suck, NBA playoffs and more

The Nerd Report: Endgame spoilers suck, NBA playoffs and more
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!

Waking up to Wednesday guys! Let's get excited, we're half way through the week and I hope you're on pace to absolutely crush this week.

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

This week we're going to focus on helping some people right in the circle of nerds, at the Spring Charity Drag Show. It's a themed drag show within Houston's nerd community and will feature pop culture, gaming and nerd icons as well as prominent drag queens in the "Gaymer" community. The proceeds go towards this group which all year long put on events for their community and give those people a place to go and be accepted.

PLAYOFFS?!, PLAYOFFS?!

Man do I love the NBA playoffs, they are the most exciting playoffs to me. I know some people may complain that a lot of years chalk carries through for the most part, which is fairly accurate but their journey to the finals every year is what is most impressive. This year we're basically two games in, with the Rockets playing their second game today, and already The Clippers had an amazing Game 2 come from behind victory over the defending champion Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs blew a 19 point lead as well. The Celtics, who all season long have been question marks look great and The Raptors looked like, well the playoff Raptors who are traditionally awful; think if every year your best friend always gave you the worst gift for Christmas, that's the playoff Raptors. Tonight the Rockets look to go up two games over the Utah Jazz, who have forever been the bane of playoff Rockets but I'm confident this year will be different.

AVENGERS ENDGAME FRUSTRATIONS

So apparently on the internet people have begun leaking Avengers Endgame information and that is my biggest pet peeve. Spoilers have become one of the worst things in the world. Who are these people who want to spoil the ending to what is essentially a ten year long story? Are these the same people who searched for hidden gifts during the Christmas season? I mean what is wrong with just waiting and being pleasantly surprised, just waiting the nine more days to find out what lies ahead? This is such a sad development for fans everywhere and now it's got me dodging all things Avengers related with a seriousness that I didn't think would be necessary.

MORE BAD NEWS

So speaking of disappointing news out of entertainment land, production seems to have stopped on Y: The Last Man's FX television adaptation. Based on an amazing comic book by Brian K Vaughn and Pia Guerra, Y: The Last Man was the story of a world where a mysterious plague has killed every man on the planet except one Yorrick Brown, literally the last man on Earth. It's an amazing comic book and if you can find it anywhere go out and buy it, it's a completed story from start to finish and it's in graphic novel format so it's one of the easier comic books to follow but it's a beautiful story with great moments and wonderful characters and I hope this mess gets cleared up. There was apparently a pilot made last year, FX liked it and approved it for a first season and just this week with production only a month in, the show runners disagreed with FX on what they were making, what kind of show it was and what it was about, so the showrunners quit. FX says they want to continue making the show but with new showrunners, so we'll see, but my fingers are truly crossed for this one because I loved Y: The Last Man.

THE INTERNET KEEPS BEING AMAZING AND AWFUL

In a bid to be both the worst and most amazing thing ever made the internet always just cuts both ways I feel like every time you see something great that could only happen with the internet, you then see some horrible story and you're like well, of course. It's like for every time there's a great go-fund me for some kid with cancer who then gets to announce he's cancer free and a millionaire then there's a story where a guy broadcasts on facebook live him beating up puppies or something, it seems like it never fails. So this week the same news story has the pleasure of being both, already in 2019 more stores have closed than in all of 2018 because of the internet. The downside is pretty obvious I feel like, it's one of those things where the internet kills jobs and big companies gobble other big companies but the positives are there too. For those not seeing it, it's simple, we're reaching points in the lifecycle of the internet where the idea of a Payless shoe store no longer makes sense, or a dollar store no longer make sense and that's a great thing as far as technology and innovation are concerned because now we can take these areas of the market to new unexplored corners, think about it, we've only been doing "shoe stores" one way for like 60 years and now we have an opportunity to completely redesign the thing from the ground up.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

The DC Streaming service which I have been rather vocally critical of in its early stages is beginning to shift into a more logical place. In just the past few weeks they've made several changes and announcements that bring the service more inline with the value they were purporting to have this whole time. They have said that by the end of this month, the entire catalog of DC comics will be available to read on the streaming service and they finally have gotten onto one of the gaming platforms, they now have an app on Xbox One. One of the biggest and fairest complaints during this whole process was there wasn't a convenient way to watch the service except on phones and tablets and computers but not on, you know, your TV. They had a Roku channel but everyone has one of those and no one knows how Roku works it seems like, so we're back to square one, but in the same time Disney announced the details of their service this month, DC finally got on one of the three major gaming systems.

I'm going to jump out and wish you guys a great Wednesday and remind everyone to be kind to each other and try a little harder to have a great day! I'm coming back Friday 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 every shirt is now under $20 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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Can top prospect Brice Matthews give Houston a boost? Composite Getty Image.

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!

 

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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