Anthony Edwards is Elite

Anthony Edwards announced himself as one of the next big NBA superstars last night. He didn't really have to do too much more for me to notice, he is one of my favorite players, but boy oh boy did he let himself be known to the casual NBA fan after this first round series. Let’s discuss.

Edwards was the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. This was the COVID lockdown draft. He was the consensus number 1 guy, but there were questions. Georgia wasn't very good, he seemed to float in and out of games, his jumper wasn't great and his tenacity on defense was yet to be seen. And when he started playing, it was a lot of the same. But, Edwards has always had freakish athleticism. What attracted me to his game was his dunking ability. He reminded me of a guard version of Shawn Kemp. He dunked on people and he dunked hard on people. The dunk he had against the Raptors a few years back was one of the best in game dunks I'd ever seen. But the Timberwolves, while getting a little better, didn't really look like they would be much more than a first round out in the playoffs.

Then the T’Wolves traded for Rudy Gobert. The trade was maligned, and in year one it looked like the critics were right. The Timberwolves were not very good. They came off a season where they pushed the Grizzlies in round 1 to six games, and it was a hard fought series. The next season, the first with Gobert, they struggled to make the play in and were easily disposed of by the Nuggets in five games. But this season has felt different. And Edwards has looked different. You could see him starting to figure things out in that series against the Grizzlies two years ago. Last season he was the sole reason they got one game from the Nuggets. The athleticism and the ability was still there, but other things were clicking. I feel like this is the year where it has almost fully come together for him.

Minnesota finished as the 3 seed in the West, but they had a shot at number 1. They are a dominant defense, with Edwards fully buying in on that end this year. Edwards doesn't always go one on one anymore. He plays more within a flow of an offense built around his skill set. Karl Anthony-Towns, another number 1 overall pick, has started to relent and make note that it is Edwards' team. Gobert understands that he is there for defense. Mike Conley has taken Edwards under his wing and he looks like a proud basketball dad watching him grow into this supernova talent. Kyle Anderson seems to be really enjoying the ride. The Timberwolves have given Anthony Edwards the keys, and he is running with it all. And it is glorious to watch as a fan.

What Edwards did in this series, the way he dominated, it was one of the more impressive things I have seen on a basketball court. He went out there on a mission every year and he decided he wanted this series over in four games. The Suns were betting favorites in this series. The analytic nerds loved them. Kevin Durant wasn't ready to pass the torch. Rudy Gobert wouldn't be able to stay on the floor. Anthony Edwards was going to have to wait another year. People even mentioned that Devon Booker was possibly better. I'm sure Edwards heard all of that, and he decided his time was now. He was tired of waiting. He went out there on that floor and snatched it all away from the Suns, from KD, from Devin Booker, from Frank Vogel and from ESPN and their analytical staff. Edwards took over each and every game. He mentioned, before game 1, how KD was his favorite player and how cool it would be to beat him in this series. He did just that. Anthony Edwards was the best player on the floor by a wide, wide margin. In the first round sweep, Edwards had games of 33, 36 and 40 points. In game two, the one game he struggled in to score, he was lock down on defense. He also had 9 rebounds in three of the four games. He averaged 6 plus assists per game. He never took more than 24 shots to get all of his points. He played good defense in every game. He took over when he was asked to take over by his coaches and team. He did all the right stuff. And it was amazing for me to watch this kid ascend to these new heights.

I don't like to watch Luka Doncic because I find his game very boring and he whines all the time. Nikola Jokic is, for me, also very, very boring. Giannis cannot stay healthy lately and he is not much of a shooter. LeBron James is amazing, but he is very old now. Ja Morant was hurt most of last season, and he has the whole gun thing. So, for me, watching a player like Anthony Edwards make this leap, watching the same from Shai Gilgeous Alexander, it makes me hopeful for the future faces of the NBA. Not all of these up and comers are zeroes on defense or want to turn the game into a free throw shooting contest. Not every star has to gripe to the officials. Not every star has to be friends with the other stars. A player like Anthony Edwards gets me hyped because he is uber talented and he wants to rip your heart out on the court.

I hope this run continues and Timberwolves continue to develop Edwards into an even bigger star because I want to see him play more than any other player in the playoffs right now. While I'm still a Grizzlies fan, I think Anthony Edwards is my new current favorite NBA player. He is the most fun to watch. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Watches the 2024 NFL Draft

Round 1 of the NFL draft happened last night, and I have thoughts.

As you may remember, I did my preview on Wednesday with my five players I liked, five I was down on and two sleepers. Most of the ten players I mentioned on Wednesday were picked last night. The only ones who weren't were Cooper DeJean and my two Michigan "sleepers", Mike Sainristril and Junior Colson. So, of the twelve players I mentioned nine were picked in round 1. That is wild to me.

As for the draft, it was pretty wild, after the first five picks. We all knew that Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were going to go 1, 2 and 3. I also feel like these three ended up with the best team's to fit their style of play. I feel as if these three dudes are happy and will have varying levels of success, but I think all will be relatively successful. Then we had the best prospect, Marvin Harrison Jr going to the Cardinals. This is perfect all around. MHJ is the instant number 1 wideout, Kyler Murray has a reliable target and the Cardinals have a cornerstone to build around. Then, as Jim Harbaugh is want to do, he took a big offensive tackle to shore up the o line. Then it got a little odd. Malik Nabers was the second wideout off the board to the Giants. I thought it would be Rome Odunze, but I was wrong. Then the Titans reached hard for JC Latham. No disrespect, but there are better o lineman available today to draft than Latham. He should be a fine starter, but not a world beater.

Then the Falcons went nuts and took Michael Penix Jr at 8th overall. I didn't believe my son when he told me the Falcons took Penix Jr. I think he is a very good QB, and I like him and want him to succeed, but why would the Falcons take him, and take him that high? They signed Kirk Cousins this offseason. They have a bunch of young talent that they haven't figured out how to use yet. They need help everywhere on defense. They hired a defensive minded coach. And they took a project QB who is already 24. This was stunning to me. I don't get it at all. These things are why I could never be a GM in the pros. This is a true head scratcher. This is akin to the Bears traded up from 3 to 2 a few years back to draft Mitch Trubisky. I was floored by this pick.

To wash the bad Trubisky taste out of their mouths, the Bears jumped up and took Rome Odunze to pair with Williams and Keenan Allen. It scares me what the Bears did last night being a Packers fan. They got two excellent players in the first nine picks last night. They were the opposite of the Falcons. They made smart picks that help their team. Then RD's Vikings took Michigan's JJ McCarthy. I have said that I have doubts about McCarthy as a pro, but this was his ideal place to be picked. He won't be under the microscope, he has Justin Jefferson to throw the ball too, has a great o line in front of him and he is going into a situation extremely suitable for a rookie QB who may be starting by mid season. It was chalk with the next pick, the Jets taking Olu Fashanu, they need line help.

And then the Broncos reached almost as hard as the Falcons and took Bo Nix. I do not like this pick one bit. Sean Payton is old school, Bo Nix seems soft, he is older than Penix Jr and not nearly as good. I'd be upset if I were a Broncos fan this morning.

Bowers to the Raiders is nothing special to me. They already have a tight end, but Bowers is younger. Then the Saints addressed issues with the o line and took Tailese Fuaga. Then it was three straight defensive picks, Laiatu Lati to the Colts, which helps their pass rush. Then Byron Murphy to the Seahawks and their defensive minded new head coach Mike McDonald. And Dallas Turner to the Vikings. That pick is more impactful to me than JJ McCarthy. Dallas Turner should help make a very bad defense a bit better. The Bengals got one of my favorite players in Amarius Mims. I don't know how Bengals fans feel about this pick, but I love it for them. He will be an all pro in a few years. The Rams took Jared Verse to help and replace Aaron Donald's retirement. They need defense, they need d lineman and they took one of the better ones in the draft. The Steelers took o lineman Troy Fantanu, who will start day one and is a good blocker. Chop Robinson went to the Dolphins next, and hopefully he can make up for some of the guys who left in free agency. The Eagles got the best defensive back in the draft in Quinyon Mitchell. This was the latest example of the Eagles lucking into a star talent in the draft. Brian Thomas Jr is going to the Jags to add depth in the wideout room. Terrion Arnold fits in perfectly in Detroit. The Packers took a big o lineman in Jordan Morgan, which I am stoked about. The Bucs took Graham Barton next, and he will be one of the best centers in the NFL in two years. The Cardinals, after taking MHJ at 4, got edge rusher Darius Robinson from Missouri. This kid is talented and will rack up tackles on the d line. The Chiefs took a big chance, which I think will pay off, drafting Xavier Worthy in round 1. He is fast as lightning, will get a chance from day one, and will be learning from Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. This is a homerun pick. And the final four picks were relatively chalk. The Cowboys got o line depth with Tyler Guyton. The Ravens got more secondary help with Nate Wiggins. The 49ers took Ricky Pearsall, who I was very unaware of, at 31. And the first round ended with the Panther getting Bryce Young an outside threat in Xavier Legette. He is big and fast.

Wrapping this up, I thought, for a draft, that this was kind of wild. It started relatively normal, but then the Falcons decided they wanted to be the talk of the sporting news this morning. And it only got nuttier from there. I'll be watching to see where the rest of the Michigan guys I like go, and where some other players I've watched for four year end up playing. The draft is always an exciting time for fans, and this year has upped the ante. Hopefully we get some more crazy stuff happening. Time will tell. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty's 2024 NFL Draft Preview

The first round of the NFL draft starts tomorrow night. As I do every year, I will give you five prospects I like, five I'm not so high on and a few, let's say two, sleepers. I don't do mock drafts. I don't do draft day trades. I don't understand the whole salary cap stuff. I go off eye test. I watch a ton of college football, it is my favorite sport to watch. I know more about college football than any other sport I watch. So, while not a "expert", I think I know this stuff pretty well. Let's get to it.

I'll start with the players I like. This QB class is absolutely loaded. This may be the best crop of QB prospects in the last 10 years. And while Caleb Williams is awesome, and I have my doubts about JJ McCarthy, my favorite QB in this draft, by a long shot, is Jayden Daniels. He is an excellent thrower. He is a wonderful scrambler. He reminds me so much of Randall Cunningham. He is skinny. He needs to bulk up. But, he had the best statistical season of a Heisman QB winner ever. Stats aren't my favorite thing, but I could see how great he can be when I watched LSU this past season. Daniels is the best QB prospect for me. Whatever team picks him is getting a damn good QB. On the defensive side of the ball, I like Dallas Turner from Alabama. I did not see much of him until the Rose Bowl, and he impressed me. He is big, 6'4. He is strong, 250 plus pounds. And he is fast and mean. He can hit. He flies around the field. He played very well against Michigan's o line, which was one of the best in the country. Turner is a day one starter and should be very productive in the NFL. The wideout class in this draft is almost as stacked as the QB class. Therefore, I have two receivers in my personal top five. First we have Marvin Harrison Jr. He is the best overall prospect in this draft. He is the most surefire player. He looks like he is going to have a very long, very impressive career. I don't care about him not working out or going to combine at all. What he did on the football field during games was all I needed to see. Second, we have Rome Odunze. He was the one player that really terrified me going into the college playoff championship against Michigan. He is sure handed, he is big, he is an excellent route runner and he is very fast. He is built like a ready made NFL number 1 receiver. I would jump for joy if Green Bay was somehow able to grab him. Odunze is awesome. My last player that I like, Amarius Mims. He only played nine games his whole college career. He is big, yet hyper athletic. He is raw, but when he figures it out, watch the hell out. He is going to maul players on defense. He is going to become one of the better run blockers in all of football. What he did in his short college career would be so enticing to me. He needs time, but in the end, it will be worth it.

Now to the players I'm not so high on. First off, Bo nix. He is too old. He is not a scrambler. He stayed in college far too long. He was a product of a system. I don't see it, and if he gets picked in round one, that would be a waste of a pick. Then we have Olu Fashanu on the o line. This kid is solid. He is big and can maul people from time to time. But when he had to face a real defense, Michigan for one, he got eaten up by Braiden McGregor and Josiah Stewart. He couldn't keep up with the speed. He got eaten up all afternoon in that game. Fashanu is going to be a long time starter, but being a top 10 pick seems like a reach. On defense I'm not so big on Byron Murphy from Texas. I think there are better options in round one for teams in need of d line depth and production. Murphy seems to be higher on mocks than a guy like Jer'Zhon Newton from Illinois. Newton is a better prospect. I think Chop Robinson is a better pass rusher. And Murphy is nowhere close to Laiatu Latu. Murphy is going to be overdrafted if he goes round 1. I don't like the way Brock Bowers came back after his injury. He was a no doubt first rounder pre injury, but afterward, he just doesn't look the same. He seems slower. His blocking didn't improve far too much. He sat out a bowl game that could have upped his draft stock. I don't like the way his season ended. He will be over drafted. Finally, I think Cooper DeJean is wildly overrated. DeJean got hurt, and hurt bad this past season. He is not the best punt returner. He is just an okay corner. He is small and slow. I'm not a fan at all, which means the Packers will probably take him, and it will drive me nuts. DeJean may be my personal most overrated player in the entire draft.

As for my sleepers, I'm going full on homer here and taking two Michigan guys. First, give me Mike Sainristil all day. He switched positions and became one of the best nickel corners in the country. He did what was best for the team and for himself. He is a great tackler. He can guard slot guys one on one. He is incredibly smart. He can read offenses. And then you have his background as a wideout, which makes him an interception machine. I would reach hardcore for him, possibly in round one. Finally, I have Junior Colson. He is one of the best linebackers to ever come out of Michigan. He was consistent. He was a tackling machine. He can cover backs out of the backfield. He played with broken hands and still put up numbers. He led the best defense in the country last year. Colson is going to be an under the radar guy his whole career, which will probably last well over a decade and most likely end up in the hall of fame. I adore Junior Colson.

That is it for my draft preview. Get ready to see a bunch of QB's and wideouts go tomorrow night. And then when round two starts, that will be where we see some true future stars getting drafted. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Going to a UFL Game Isn't That Bad

I try to take my son to a professional sporting event every year. We usually go to a NBA game, but time got the best of us this year and we couldn't make it. But, here in Saint Louis we have a UFL team, the Battlehawks. I went and now I want to talk about it.

I have never seen a live XFL, USFL or UFL game. I have watched them on tv, but it was never really the same as an NFL game. I love going to college football games the most, and I fully believe that my dad and I are going to take my son to his first Michigan game this upcoming season. But, until then we have to settle for UFL football. So, I decided we were going to go to a Battlehawks game a few weeks back, and the time had arrived. The timing worked out well and the prices were pretty great. I got us a couple of tickets in the corner, about 12 rows up.

First things first, these seats were great. We could see the whole field if we were standing. We could see the Battlehawks bench. I saw trainers coming in to stretch players out, and we could see the teams when they were close to scoring on our end. I really loved these seats. My son said pretty much the same thing the moment we walked into the stadium. We were both pretty impressed. All the pageantry and little games they played and scoreboard contests were your typical fair. They hid a football in three helmets and you had to guess which one it was in. The cheerleaders threw t-shirts into the crowd. They had dance contests. They were putting people on the scoreboard a bunch. It was run of the mill with that stuff. The food was gross and overpriced. Eat before you go to the Dome at America's Center here in the STL. The toasted raviolis were chewy and the hot dog, according to my son, was oddly dry. And lunch cost us, mind you this is two hotdogs, two orders of t ravs and two drinks, was 58 dollars. Nuts.

The product on the field wasn't great football. These are the minor leagues. These are dudes that had a chance and got cut or guys just trying to make it. It's not great. But, the Battlehawks are actually pretty damn good. They are a heavy passing offense. AJ McCarron threw the ball well over 40 times. But, they can run a little bit too. Their offense is pretty solid. The defense, with former Michigan corner Lavert Hill, is pretty solid too. They group tackle, they play okay enough defense in the secondary and the d line got pressure all afternoon. Even if the football isn't great, at least the Battlehawks are one of the better teams in the UFL.

The fans were not the best. I hate to say it, but the Battlehawks fans are annoying and loud. They complain about some of the players as if they can do their job better. People stand in front of you the whole time. I feel like a lot of people just get wasted during the game. And it is so loud that I could barely hear my son when he would talk to me. As for the Dome, it is still a pile of garbage. It is way too big, way too vast and not the cleanest place in the world. Getting in and out is tough and you have to walk a lot, which I don't mind, but I know other people do.

But, to see how much fun my son was having, to see him be able to meet up with a friend at a pro football game, to see him tell me about these guys, it all made it worth the time. He seemed to be having a wonderful afternoon. He got to dictate most of the day, which makes him ecstatic. He was so happy to be out there watching pro athletes do their thing. His joy made the day so much fun for me. And it was great to spend some one on one time with him.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat, as long as my son was going to be there as well. He made it so fun for me. And I know he had a great time too. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Thoughts on the Jontay Porter Saga

Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA yesterday. Let’s discuss.

This is a way bigger deal than most will make it out to be. Jontay Porter isn't a big name. He isn't an all star. He doesn't have big numbers. He was undrafted and played very sparingly. But what he did is the exact same thing that Pete Rose did to get booted from the MLB. He bet on tons of games with tons of parlays and gave insider info to other gamblers. In fact, what Porter did may be worse than what Pete Rose did when you break it down. He placed an 80,000 dollar bet that, if it had cashed, he could have won 1.1 million dollars. He placed 13 separate bets with an associates online betting account. He also placed a prop bet, I guess based on minutes played, for a game in which he only played a few minutes. He checked himself out because he said that he "wasn't feeling well". I mean, how dumb do you have to be?

Seriously, how did it get this bad for Porter? Why did he have to gamble on these games? What was there to gain for him, basically shaving points? I get that he was a two way player. I understand that he was probably making whatever the league minimum is for NBA players. I'm sure he was making as much as the last few players on the bench. But he was still getting paid pretty well for a bench guy in the NBA. The league minimum for an NBA player is 1.1 million dollars. So, by just being a deep bench player, after getting called up to the Raptors in a down year for them, he was still a millionaire. He was still making six figures. His family was making money hand over fist. His brother, Michael Porter Jr, makes a ton of money playing for the Nuggets. So, I have to believe this was not about the money. There is something else at stake here.

I, if I had to guess, would say that Porter liked the thrill, and by playing in some of these games that were being bet on, he could control the outcome. I have to think that by putting 80 grand on a prop bet, he was excited by the thrill of making close to his base salary on one single bet. I would guess that he is a gambling addict, and I wonder how deep this goes for him. He had no reason to do it. He has more than enough money. So, to continually bet over and over again, that is the sign of a true addict. He couldn't get enough of it. And when he could control some of the bets a little bit, he got greedy. He took it too far. He went way over the line. This could have been stopped. He could have told the people he was placing bets with that he was done. His brother could have tried to stop him. But, like a true addict, he just had to bet. I wonder if the 80 grand bet was him thinking, this is the last one and then I'm out. But, I have to venture to think that it wasn't the last one. Not by a long shot. And now Jontay Porter is paying the price for his addiction. He is no longer allowed in the league that he worked so hard to make it to. He can't even play in the G League. He is going to have to settle for a professional league overseas, if any team will even sign him.

This is a bad look for Jontay Porter. He is done. His NBA days are officially over, and all for some stupid bets. There are many reasons not to gamble, and Porter may have found the main reason why not. His NBA career is over and he did it to himself. That is a bummer. 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Blake Griffin was a Good, Not Hall of Fame, NBA Player

Blake Griffin officially retired from the NBA after 14 years yesterday. Let’s discuss.

Blake Griffin was an exciting, emphatic dunker in his prime. He would do some of the most amazing dunks I had seen since Shawn Kemp. I do feel like some of them, the dunk contest where he "jumped" over a car, were a bit overrated. But, nonetheless, he was a very good in-game dunker. He put a bunch of people on posters. As his athleticism waned, he found, kind of, a jumper. He was never a true threat from the outside, but he could hit the free throw line jumper more times than not. He was an okay enough rebounder, did his part sometimes on defense and the dunking, that was pretty great. I fully believe that is what he will be remembered for most, the dunking. He was one of the best to dunk when he would really go for it. But, a question I saw on social media after his announcement really got me thinking.

After the retirement was released, a person asked if Blake Griffin was a hall of fame basketball player. My gut reaction was no. Outside the dunking, what did he really do to be a hall of famer? He never won a ring. He was a six time all star. He never made first team all NBA. He did make second team three times and third team twice. Other than that, his only other accolades are 2011 rookie of the year and 2011 slam dunk contest champ. No MVP award. No all defense. No conference finals appearances.In his 14 years he played in 68 playoff games. He shot less than 50 percent from the field. He was under 38 percent from 3. And for his playoff career, he was an 18 point per game player who also added 7.7 rebounds. For a 6'9 power forward, seven rebounds per game is not as much as I expected.

Again, Griffin, while a fine player, I do not look at these career numbers and think, hall of fame. His dunking was electric. The way the whole team stood up to the monstrous owner Donald Sterling, which I have to believe Griffin was one of the leaders to stand against that monster, was wonderful. Getting traded to Detroit, which was not on his radar after signing a max contract with the Clippers, and guiding that team to the playoffs kept him relevant. But then we have the Nets and Celtics to close out his career. I actually forgot he was on the Celtics until he announced his retirement. Griffin came into the league like a flash. He did some hyper athletic things. He made tons and tons of highlight reels. He made the Clippers fun and must watch tv. But he does not have the resume to be in the hall of fame. He doesn't have the numbers, the rings, the awards.

While fun to watch, Blake Griffin is not a hall of fame basketball player. Enjoy retirement. I'm sure Blake Griffin has a great comic and acting career ahead of him. He should strive for the hall of fame in those categories. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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R.I.P. Whitey Herzog

After I returned home from coffee and a run I read that Whitey Herzog had passed away. This one hits a little differently. Every time someone passes away, for the most part, it is a sad day. When it's family it hits hardest. When it is friends it hits almost as hard. When it is someone you are a fan of, or appreciate their work, it has a different feel, but it is still a little painful. That is how Herzog's death has hit me.

Whitey Herzog was the manager of the Cardinals when baseball was the most important thing in the world to me. I knew of the MLB, but it wasn't until the Cardinals teams coached by Herzog that I became a big fan. I have lived in Saint Louis my whole life. I have never lived in a different place. But, the Cardinals are the only Saint Louis based team that I have ever openly rooted for. I have to think that all started with Whitey Herzog. Herzog made the game of baseball fun for a kid to watch. His teams were fast. They stole a ton of bases. They hit line drives. They hit to get on base. They played great defense. They won a bunch of games.

I was introduced to players like Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, Keith Hernandez, Jose Oquendo and Joaquin Andujar. These were formidable players in my growth as a fan. Willie McGee is my all time favorite Cardinal and one of my all time favorite players. Jose Oquendo could play every position and was an absolute blast to watch. Vince Coleman was as fast as any player that I ever watched. Ozzie Smith was the greatest defensive shortstop of all time. And Joaquin Andujar had the coolest pitching motion when he was in the league. Herzog coached all of them, and coached them very well. He won a title. He took them to two more World Series appearances. He won his division six times and won three pennants. His number 24 is retired by the Cardinals. He won well over 1200 games as a manager, 700 of which came as the Cardinals head man. He was manager of the year in 1985. And he is in the Royals and Cardinals hall of fame.

Whitey Herzog is a beloved figure in baseball and a big time hero in Saint Louis. All of us Cardinals fans love him and miss him greatly. He is an MLB hall of famer. He created "Whiteyball", which was the best way to watch a game on tv. He concentrated on the important stuff. As said at the top, this team was fast. They stole as many bases as they could. They were almost always on the move. Their defense was the best that baseball may have ever seen in its heyday. They stopped everything all the time. There was nothing better to watch than Ozzie Smith vacuuming up everything at shortstop. Their pitching was key as well. They needed starters to go deep, and then the bullpen was lockdown. They instilled fear in their opponents without having to hit homers all the time. They were such a good all around team that played the game ahead of its time. I was enamored by their play.

Whitey Herzog is a legend. He achieved the highest of highs that a professional player and coach could dream of doing. He has the rings, the accolades and the love of people who played, watched and coached the game. Rest in Peace Whitey Herzog. You will be missed. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Predicts the 2024 NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are set. And I'm here to give my predictions. I love this time of the sports year. I love the NBA, and the playoffs are the best of the best. This is when it all gets good. I even enjoy the hell out of the play in. I cannot wait to start watching it tomorrow night. I'll start with the East and go from there. I'll pick the conference winners and some playoff award winners. Let's get to it.

The play in in the East features the Heat and 76ers in the 7-8 match up and Hawks and Bulls in the 9-10. This 9-10 game is rough stuff. These two teams are not great. I'm going to go with the Bulls to get out of the first part of the play in. The Hawks are not a good team. They have struggled all season long. The 7-8 game is going to be awesome. I love this match up. I'm going with the 76ers. Joel Embiid has been as good as ever since coming back and they are getting in a groove heading into the first round. As for the 8 seed, we have the Bulls and Heat. The Heat will win and win with ease. They get the 8 seed.

So, this gives us first round match ups of Celtics-Heat, Knicks-76ers, Bucks-Pacers and Cavs-Magic. I like all of these match ups to be honest with you. The Celtics will not be stoked to see the Heat in round one. They beat them last season, they are not afraid of them and Erik Spoelstra is a great playoff coach. The Celtics should, and will win. They are the better team and they have something to prove this season. But, it will be closer than they want the series to be. I'll go Celtics in six. The Knicks got the 2 seed, which is a big deal for them. Their reward, the 76ers. I like the Knicks and the NBA is way more fun when they are better. But they will not be able to stop Embiid. He has something to prove as well, and I see big things from him this postseason. Give me the 76ers in seven tough fought games. The Bucks have looked off all season. They just cannot seem to get right. They look odd on the floor, they get injured far too often and their defense is mediocre. But the Pacers have struggled to close the season out. They are nowhere near as good as they were a few months ago. I am having a hard time with this pick, but I'm going to go with the Bucks in seven, if Giannis is fully healthy for this series. Finally we have the Cavs and Magic. This is my favorite first round East series. I love everything about this. Both teams are young and fun and play some solid defense. I'm going with the Magic to win in seven games. Their defense is better, they are going to muddy the game up and their fans are going to be ravenous.

This gives me second round match ups of Celtics-Magic and Bucks-76ers. This is the best the NBA could hope for from the East. As awesome as it would be to see the Magic make it to the East Finals, it is not happening. While their defense is very, very good, elite even, the Celtics have so many weapons to counter the Magic defense. I actually think this series will be a little less tough than the first round. Give me the Celtics in five. I cannot wait to watch the 76ers-Bucks series if it comes to that. These are two teams going in two seperate directions, and the 76ers are going to run with it. Embiid is going to crush. Lillard will not be able to match Tyrese Maxey. Tobias Harris is going to score at will. Give me the 76ers in seven.

That give us the Celtics and 76ers in the East Finals. I will be rooting for, and I want the 76ers to win. I want Embiid to announce himself big time. But, the Celtics are simply a better team and they will prove it once again. The Celtics are the East champs and they will be in the Finals. They win that series in six games.

Now to the varsity, the Western conference.

The play in in the West features the Pelicans-Lakers in the 7-8 game and the Kings and Warriors in the 9-10. The Lakers will beat the Pelicans. They may need help from the refs, but they will find a way to get that 7 seed. The Kings are just too banged up to compete with the Warriors right now, so give me the Warriors in the 9-10 game. As for the Pelicans and Warriors to get the 8 seed, give me the Pelicans. The Warriors are old, they have been inconsistent and Zion Williamson is going to go the hell off against them. This may be a moment when we see the Warriors as we know them start to make a change.

So that gives us match ups of Thunder-Pelicans, Nuggets-Lakers, Timberwolves-Suns and Mavericks-Clippers in round one. The Thunder are going to run over the Pelicans. They are deeper, younger, more fun and play with an intensity unmatched by other teams. SGA is going to flourish in this series. Give me the Thunder in five games. The Nuggets may very well sweep the Lakers again. Anthony Davis has been amazing this season and he has stayed healthy. He will be a problem for the Nuggets. So will LeBron James, who is as good as ever at 38 years old. But outside those two guys the Lakers are seriously lacking. The Nuggets are not, and they have been pretty damn good since the all star break. I may not like watching them play, I may find them dull and boring, but they are still a very, very good team. Give me Nuggets in five. I am stoked to watch the T'Wolves-Suns series. It is going to be rad. I cannot wait to watch Anthony Edwards in the playoffs as the focal point of a high seed. He is so good, so fun and an absolute joy to watch play. The T'Wolves also have the best defense in all of basketball. Gobert is stifling. Jaden Daniels is long and mean. Edwards steps up on that end. This team goes hard on defense. The Suns do not. But, they have an explosive offense when they are clicking. KD is one of the greatest to ever play. Devin Booker is a mid range killer and Bradley Beal, if healthy, adds three point shooting and solid passing skills. But, I just don't think their defense will be able to keep up with the T'Wolves. And AE is going to explode on the scene these playoffs. Give me the Timberwolves in six games. The 4-5 series is the third time the Mavs and Clippers have faced off. And I know that all the white dudes that work at, or for, ESPN want Luka Doncic to finally beat this team. They want their advanced stats king to prove how great he can be. Kyrie Irving has been everything the Mavs could have asked for when they traded for him. And the trades they made this season have paid off brilliantly. The Clippers have the names. Kawhi and PG13 are awesome. They come up big almost all of the time. Terrance Mann is a great bench scorer. Tyron Lue is an awesome coach. These two teams have the names and the city power behind them. They have the brewing rivalry. They have met in some epic match ups prior to this one. I want the Clippers to win. I adore Kawhi Leonard. But I think this is the Mavs time to finally get past them. I'll take the Mavs in seven.

So our West second round features the Thunder and Mavs and the T'Wolves and Nuggets. Two young teams on one side, two division opponents on the other side. I like it. I want the Thunder to win. I'd much rather watch them go to the West finals. I want to watch players like SGA, Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort play further in the playoffs. But, I don't think it will happen. Doncic is a good scorer and has the refs on his side. Kyrie Irving has played great in the biggest moments. Daniel Gafford has been on a tear. The Mavs are going to win in seven, make a return trip to the West finals and the media is going to be insufferable. The Nuggets will end up beating the T'Wolves, but it will not be pretty or fun for the Nuggets. Their size messes with the Nuggets. The griminess with which they play puts a wrench in what the Nuggets want to do. But, in the end, the Nuggets are better and have the pedigree. The T'Wolves are coming, just not this season.

Now we have my least favorite West finals match up. This is going to be heaven for the white nerds at ESPN. They'll get to talk all series about how great Doncic and Jokic are. They will constantly talk about advanced stats and how great the passing is in the series. I'm going to loathe every single second of this match up. The Nuggets will win in six and return to defend their championship.

That leaves us with the Nuggets and the Celtics in the Finals. This is the best match up the NBA could get. These are the two best teams in the NBA. They have been all season. I'm going to go with the Celtics to break through and win the title. In beating the Heat and the 76ers in the playoffs will give them the edge they need to win it all. It is the Celtics time and they will bring it home this season. They will win it all in seven games.

As for postseason awards, the only one that really matters is Finals MVP. I'll take Jayson Tatum. This is his time to shine and his time to prove his worth. He will do so and bring home the Larry O'Brien and the Finals MVP trophy. Real quick, I want to do my regular season awards. My MVP is SGA. He has been incredible all season and he has earned this award. Defensive player of the year is Victor Webanyama. This will be his first of many. Wemby will also win rookie of the year. Coach of the year for me is Mark Dagnault. To have the Thunder, this young, as the number 1 seed in the West is amazing. Finally, my sixth man of the year is Naz Reid, who filled in quite well while KAT was out.

That does it for my playoff and award predictions for the 2023-24 NBA season and postseason. It all starts tomorrow. I cannot wait. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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John Calipari's "Best" Coaching Days are Behind Him

In somewhat of a shocking move, John Calipari is leaving Kentucky to take the men's head coaching job at Arkansas. I thought this was a joke article when I first read it on Monday. I thought there was no way Calipari was going to leave Kentucky for a lesser college basketball job.

First off, that is no knock on Arkansas. Arkansas was a power in the early 90's. I can vividly remember Corliss Williamson and the 40 minutes of hell pressure that team played with. They were fun to watch. Nolan Richardson was a great coach. He ran a full on press defense and his teams ran up and down the floor. They were relentless. But that was over 20 years ago. Hell, it was damn near 30 years ago. Arkansas has had a few "deep" tourney runs since then, but nothing ever compared to the 40 minutes of hell team that was dominant.

On the other side, Kentucky has always been solid. There were a few down seasons, but those were outliers. Kentucky was a perennial top 25 team. They were usually a 4 seed or better in the tourney. They made runs deep into the tournament. They won a title with Anthony Davis. Calipari recruited his ass off while at Kentucky. He still may do the same at Arkansas, as far as his recruiting prowess, but wins and long tourney runs will be tough to come by. He will have to return to Kentucky to play them every year. Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida were all tourney teams. Hell, Tennessee was an elite eight team. Alabama was a final four team. The SEC is tough, and Arkansas is not immune to that toughness.

I have also always said that while he is an elite recruiter, maybe the best ever, Calipari is not a very good X's and O's coach. He seems to do less with more than most other coaches. Calipari is always bringing in 5 star players, but he has not been out of the first round in three of his last four tournament appearances as a head coach. Oakland torched him with threes this tourney, and he never made a proper adjustment. While at Memphis and UMASS he could never adapt to beating the best of the best. He had a title in the palm of his hands while at Memphis, but due to his lack of adjustments, Kansas was able to come back and win in overtime. Mario Chalmers was unstoppable due to Calipari deciding to never guard him. He coached Marcus Camby, quite possibly the best college center ever, while at UMASS, and they made the final four once. That appearance had nothing to do with Calipari's coaching. It was all due to Camby's brilliance in college. I think he is going to find it as hard as ever at Arkansas. He doesn't have the resources he had at Kentucky. He doesn't have the cool city he had at Memphis. He has way bigger expectations than what he had at UMASS.

This is all a very confusing, very tough move from Calipari. I look at this like Nick Saban walking away, but Saban retired. Calipari still wants to coach, just at a lower level. I almost think he is bored and wants a more difficult spot to recruit in. But, the SEC is going to recruit just as hard. The Big 10 is expanded, thus making recruiting harder. UCONN is the best of the best and he will have to compete for the best talent with them. The ACC still has Duke and UNC, which are still pretty damn good at recruiting and have younger coaches. This is a head scratching move. I really don't get it. He will bring a bunch of more viewers to Arkansas games, but I do not see him reliving the glory days of Nolan Richardson. In fact, I don't think he will even get close. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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It is UConn and then Everybody Else in College Basketball

The Connecticut men's basketball team won their second straight title last night. They did it with relative ease. It never seemed like it was in doubt for any amount of time during the game last night. I was rooting for Purdue for a few reasons. My sister in law is an alum and a big fan. I wanted the Big 10 to get the title in college football and men's basketball. That would have been pretty cool for the conference. I like Zach Edey. And boy did he deliver last night. But, in all honesty, even before turning on the game I figured UConn was going to win. After the game against Illinois it seemed inevitable.

UConn has been the best team in college basketball for the past two seasons. They have not only won the title, they have blown teams out in the past two titles. And SDSU and Purdue were no slouches. Hell, Purdue was a top five team all season long. But UConn was never worried. They were never in doubt about their ability. They played with a calmness and ease that I crave as a fan. I would love to see Michigan men's basketball play as well and have as much fun as UConn seems to be having on the court. They were the best team all season long, they were the overall number one team going into the tourney and I think their closest game was the championship, which they won by 15 points.

UConn is the current cream of the crop in men's college basketball and they may be there for sometime. But this blog is not about the title game last night and their recent tournament run. No, this blog is about the state of men's college basketball, and how UConn is clearly the greatest men's program of all time. You can throw teams at me like Florida and UCLA and Michigan State and Kansas. None of those teams have the success in men's college hoops that UConn has. None of them have the staying power that UConn has. None of them have the titles that UConn has. None of them have the dominance in both men's and women's basketball that UConn has. UConn is it. They are the GOATS of college basketball. They are what every team should strive to be. They have the best coaching, the best players, the best program. They are the best of the best. No college team is as consistent. No college team has this type of staying power. No college team has this many rings and titles. No college team is doing what UConn is, and that reigned true so much the past two seasons. They do it better than anyone else. And I have watched videos of their practices recently. What makes them so great, they do the fundamental stuff during practice. I saw them doing dribbling drills. They were wrapping the ball around their waists. They were doing the Mikan Drill. They were doing things that we teach our 6th grade teams to do, and it all paid off with another title. That is seven now. I mean, they are going to have to make a bigger trophy case for all those trophies the men's and women's teams keep on winning.

UConn is a staple, and I think they are now, finally, going to get the recognition they deserve. They are better than any other college at basketball. They are the team you want to be. They are the team that happily wears the target on their backs. They have it all, and the rest of us just want to be them. My hat is off to UConn. They have an amazing basketball program. There was never a doubt they were going to win it all this whole season, and they will most likely be the favorites going into next season. Congrats UConn, and I have to assume we will see you here again next season. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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The Texans Won the Stefon Diggs Lottery

Stefon Diggs was traded to the Texans this morning for draft compensation. Let’s discuss.

This is a pretty big deal. This says a whole lot to me about both teams. On one hand, this move shows that the Bills need to rid themselves of a good amount of money. It feels like they overspent the past couple years in pursuit of a championship. They got close, but never to the Super Bowl. They had their shots, but they couldn't get over the hump. They were either victims of their own issues or they ran into the Chiefs. The Chiefs seem to have their number. Now the Bills have no real threats on the outside. I know a couple other younger players had better than expected seasons last season. But, can they keep that up is the biggest question facing them. I also think that having Diggs on the opposite side helped those younger players get open a bit easier. This is not the first move the Bills have made this offseason. Diggs is gone. They let their two starting safeties go. They have cut some other guys. They need to save money. They are doing that, but these moves may end up costing them some wins. Josh Allen is still there, and that is good. James Cook is a good, young, solid running back. But it kind of stops there on offense. And the defense, while still fearsome, is only getting older. And they have to deal with the Dolphins becoming an explosive offense. The Bills have some players they need to go out and get to become a division winner again. They will have to rely on unknowns or rookies, and that can be a tough go from time to time.

On the other hand, the Texans are loading up for a nice little run. It feels like they were not content to only win one playoff game this past season. DeMeco Ryans has proven how excellent of a coach he is, and now he wants to win it all. He has control over the defense. That is his area of expertise, and the Texans defense looks to be pretty damn solid for years to come. Trading up to take Will Anderson Jr last season was a genius move and it more than paid off for Ryans, Anderson Jr and the Texans. They also signed Danielle Hunter this offseason to add to the pass rush. The linebackers are good and the secondary is very, very solid. Now, with the addition of Diggs, this offense is electric. CJ Stroud was the best rookie QB in a long, long time. He was ready, he delivered, he put up stats and he was never scared of the moment. He exceeded everyone's expectations. They went out and got Joe Mixon as their new running back. I know RD was bummed to see the Bengals let him go. That is now benefitting the Texans, helping them to wildly upgrade their backfield. Then we have the emergence of Tank Dell, until he got hurt, Nico Collins and now, Stefon Diggs. Dell is young and fast and should be fully healthy for the start of the next season. Collins blasted onto the scene this season. I knew he had it in him when he was at Michigan. Now everyone is seeing how awesome of a wideout he can be. He is big, fast and has great hands. Add Diggs to the receiver room, now they have a very productive veteran. Diggs has done some awesome things in the NFL and I think a change of teams will greatly benefit him. He was clearly upset at the situation in Buffalo. Now he gets to go play for a team led by a young coach, with a young QB and in a warm climate. This should all excite him and fans of the Texans.

This is a homerun move by Houston and they are going to be a very scary offense. This is a team on the rise. This was a good, easy decision by them. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Zach Lowe Needs to Watch More than Two NBA Players

I'm a fan of Zach Lowe. I think he is one of, if not the smartest writer of the NBA that is doing that job right now. He does his research, watches a ton of games and is knowledgeable on not just the game, but the players too. His podcast is the only primarily basketball podcast I listen to. I do listen to "The Flagrant Ones" as well, but they do way more jokes than "The Lowe Post" does. Zach Lowe's podcast is for basketball junkies, NBA junkies, such as myself.

I have found myself getting annoyed lately when I listen to him talk. He is still as informative and knowledgeable as ever, but he is constantly pumping up two players that I am not a fan of, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Now, before the internet weirdos come at me, I can acknowledge their ability, they are very good NBA offensive players and Jokic is a deserving champ and two time MVP. But, to hear Lowe talk about them lately, it is almost as if they never make mistakes and they are the only two NBA players worth mentioning and/or praising.

It has gotten so bad for me that I have found myself timing how long it takes before he mentions one or both players in any new episode. I watch some people on Instagram do the same thing, as a joke. But I want to see how long he can hold himself before he simply must bring them up. Even on episodes where he is not necessarily talking about the Mavericks or Nuggets, Lowe will find a way to shoehorn the two of them into a conversation. The longest it has taken before he has brought up one of the two guys in a recent episode was 23 minutes. This was an episode that was well over 90 minutes long. He only lasted less than a third of the run time before he had to let everyone listening know that he is a fan of these guys.

I get it. You like the way they play the game. You cannot find any criticism to give them. You want nothing but the best for them. You married a Croatian so you must feel some weird obligation to like European NBA players. These are your two favorite teams, and clearly your two favorite players. But, you are a journalist and analyst as well. That is supposed to be a non biased job. From what I was told at a young age when I was thinking journalism might be a good route for me, I wouldn’t have lasted too long because of my love for Michigan football. My folks let it be known that, if I were to pursue a career in journalism, that love could stay, but never be talked about openly amongst readers of whatever publication I may have ended up writing for, and that was a nonstarter for me. But the landscape has changed with major journalism it seems. You can be a fan and openly talk about that fandom. You can be a fanboy, a fanatic, a super fan and most people will just look the other way. Zach Lowe has taken this angle and run miles and miles and miles with it. I was listening to his most recent episode and David Thorpe brought up Shai Gilgeous Alexander as an MVP candidate, the top candidate in his eyes. This was after Lowe went on a rant about "Luka's last season push for MVP". Also, I despise that he calls this dude by his first name only. I can guarantee that Luka Doncic doesn't ever think twice about you Zach. So, after he went on his rant, Thorpe said why he thinks SGA is the frontrunner for MVP, Lowe's silence spoke volumes. Someone wasn't giving one of his guys the full on credit he thought he deserved. So instead of going into a nice debate, because Thorpe threw stats at Lowe, one of his favorite things to bring up when talking about Doncic or Jokic, he just sat there quietly with nothing to say. That stuck with me.

And lately, when speaking of Jokic, he will constantly say how he is the "greatest basketball player in the world" in one breath, then begrudge Giannis Antentekoumpo. I guess Zach Lowe may need to be reminded of some more stats. They both have two MVP's. They both have the same amount of titles, one. And Giannis is much, much, much better defender than Nikola could ever dream of being in his entire career. Oh, and the Greek Freak is a much more fun player to watch play the game for me. And why doesn't Lowe like the Harden/Doncic comparison I wonder. They are pretty much the same player. They are both volume shooters. They both get assists. They both stop the ball. They both need the ball to be effective. I don't get why he can't just accept the fact that they are basically the same player. Oh, and one more thing on Luka Doncic. Lowe is so quick to talk about Doncic's greatness in the playoffs. And again, he is a very, very good playoff basketball player. But at the same time he will go in hard on the two guys picked before him in the draft, Deandre Ayton and Trae Young. Make no mistake, Luka Doncic is a more skilled player than both of those guys, but he has gone just as far as Trae Young has in the playoffs. They have both been as far as the conference finals. As for Ayton, well, he has been to the NBA Finals, and played pretty well. So, I guess that means Ayton's playoff success is technically better, right? 

The way Lowe speaks of these two guys is almost erotic and kind of gross. He will never begrudge them, but he is quick to point out flaws of other superstars. He will give them all the glory for team success, but blame other players for holding teams back. He has become what I feared he might be, and that is a knock off Bill Simmons, who is one of the most loathsome journalists on the planet. I hope he fixes this fascination with these two guys, but it doesn't seem likely. I wonder how they would react if they knew about his love for them. I'd have to guess they don't know and most likely don't care. But I would be creeped the hell out if someone I had little to no interaction with talked about me the way Lowe talks about these two guys. It feels odd. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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DJ Burns is the Star of March Madness

The Final Four in the men's tournament is all set. Let’s discuss.

First off let's be honest, UConn looks damn near unbeatable. Illinois put a scare in them for a half, but then UConn decided to stop playing with their food and proceeded to put Illinois away with a 30-0 run. Illinois didn't score a point in 50 minutes of real time. Alabama and UNC played a pretty solid game, but it seemed like Bama was destined to make their first Final Four ever. They are playing with a little extra oomph. Purdue and Tennessee played a decent game. Dalton Knetch and Zach Edey put on a fun back and forth. It was all about those two and they made it a good game down to the wire. But, in all reality, the Duke-NC State game was my favorite game to watch all weekend, and that is all due to DJ Burns.

This kid is my new favorite college hooper. First off, when Duke gets beat a good amount of the rest of the rooting country wins. I loathe Duke. I always have. I know a bunch of other people feel the same way. My son is a Duke fan, so I felt bad for him. But the college basketball fan in me was absolutely thrilled to see them get beat by a team they should have had no problem with last night. A big thorn in their side was Burns. He was dominant last night. He had 29 points and looked great doing it. He was spinning and throwing in nice floating hook shots. He was backing down less thick defenders and scoring with ease. When Duke tried to go at him on offense, he stood his ground, didn't foul and got enough stops. Make no mistake, Burns is a solid basketball player. His footwork is impeccable. He has an incredibly soft touch around the rim. He knows what works best for him and his team and he showed that to the entire country last night.

What makes Burns my new favorite player, his size. He is thick. He is a big dude. He appears to like his sweets. And this is why I love watching this kid play. I too am a thick athlete. I played football, basketball and baseball growing up. And when I was on a basketball court, from 8th grade until a few years back, I was compared to guys like Charles Barkley and Robert Traylor. As I became a better passer I heard Boris Diaw's name in reference to mine more and more. I heard all the trash talk nicknames too. I was called jelly roll. I heard, and said people were correct in their thinking, about how many cinnamon rolls I could eat. People brought up food a lot to me because I was heavier. I'm sure DJ Burns has heard all of this, and so much more. And he has taken it in stride. He plays the game with passion and love. He is almost always smiling while he is on the floor. He is having a good time. I saw some Duke fans trash talking him during the game yesterday, and he responded by letting them know that their season was over. I love that. He didn't stoop to their level, he just let them know a fact. I love this about him. He doesn't have to degrade other people who may be degrading him for his weight. He loves himself, he is happy with the body he has and he has become a star now. But I think only part of it is due to his weight. He happens to be an incredibly skilled basketball player too. And he has shown that during NC State's improbable run to the Final Four. He has been the best player on the floor for them this whole time. And his demeanor and play have been a total blast to see. I have told my son to watch him too, because his footwork is better than most.

DJ Burns has taken hold of the moment and he is thriving. I want to see it continue all the way to a title. Purdue stands in the way, as does UConn and/or Alabama. But if anyone can do it during this specific tournament, DJ Burns is the best man for the job. I know who I am rooting for the rest of the way. Go Wolfpack and Go DJ Burns. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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The SeedSing 2024 MLB Preview

Major League Baseball fully kicked off their season this morning. I know the Padres and Dodgers played overseas last week, but that was like week 0 in college football. This, for all intents and purposes, is the true start of the new season. As I do every year, I will try my best to do a preview and some predictions. RD is the MLB expert on this site, he knows more than I do, but I still love the game of baseball, I just don't watch the MLB much at all anymore. I'll do a sentence, maybe two on each team and pick the division winner. Then I'll do the playoffs and give away some postseason awards. I'll start with the AL. Here goes nothing.

First we have the AL East. The teams here are historic. The Yankees revamped their lineup, signing Juan Soto this offseason. They will hit a ton of homers. The Red Sox seem to be in a minor rebuild. The Rays just keep finding new, young talent and putting together 90 to 95 wins. The Blue Jays have my favorite player, Vlad Guerrero Jr, and they should be above .500. Then we have the Orioles. They seem like the team to beat here. They hit as many homers as the Yankees, but they have the better pitching staff. The Orioles take the AL East.

The AL Central is opposite the East. The East could have every team above .500. The winner of the Central may be right at .500. The Royals and Tigers are too young to win anything of substance right now. The White Sox were middling last year, and Tim Anderson is gone. This division is between the Guardians and Twins. I really don't know where to go from here. The Guardians have a solid pitching staff, so do the Twins. I think I'm going to go with the Guardians because they have the better lineup. They will eek out more wins.

Finally we have the AL West. The reigning champs, the Rangers, are still here and still pretty darn good. Getting a healthy Adolis Garcia will only help. The Astros just keep on winning and winning when they need to. The Angels are out Shohei Ohtani, but they still have Mike Trout. Albeit, that will not matter in the end. And the Mariners may finally get over the hump. They are too talented not to. Oh, the Athletics are bad and moving to Vegas. They are irrelevant this season. I'm going to take the Astros here. They have the veteran leadership and they will be better than last season.

My six AL playoff teams are the Orioles, Guardians, Astros, the division winners, and the Blue Jays, Yankees and Rangers. I'll take Baltimore winning the AL in a pretty convincing fashion.

Now for the NL. I'll start with the East here. The Mets should be a much improved team. They are healthy, older and should be way, way better this season. The Phillies are still very good, with a solid staff and some mashers in their lineup. The Braves may be the best team in all of baseball. Their lineup is loaded, led by Acuna Jr and their pitching staff is the best in baseball. The Marlins are gritty and have some really solid hitters across their lineup. And then there's the Nationals. Save for the Athletics, they may be the worst team in the MLB. This division is tough because they have three very good teams at the top. But I'm going with the Braves. They are absolutely loaded.

Let's move to the Central now. This is the toughest division for me to project. The Cardinals got older, but oddly also better. They cannot be as bad as they were last season. The Cubs seem mediocre, but they got some solid pitchers in free agency and they can hit the ball. The Reds are young and fun and very capable of doing some good things. But RD seems to be very pessimistic about his hometown team. The Pirates are not great, but that doesn't mean they won't fight. And the Brewers are coming off a playoff appearance and a division win. This is wild for me, and I think only one team from this division gets in the playoffs, and that team will be the Brewers yet again. I'd love to pick the Cardinals or Reds, but one is too old and the other is too inexperienced. The Brewers will win almost by default.

Finally we have the NL West. The Diamondbacks are coming off an improbable playoff run all the way to the World Series, but that seemed very fluky. They'll be good, but not that good again this season. The Padres have a killer lineup and some solid pitching, but they cannot get out of their own way. They struggle when they should not. The Rockies are young and fun, but also not very good right now. The Giants are not great, but not too bad either. They are nondescript. And then we have the Dodgers. They are absolutely loaded every single place an MLB team could want to be loaded. They have homerun hitters, line drive hitters and ettra base hitters. They have a dominant pitching staff. They have some of the best position players in the game. Mookie Betts is only behind Vladdy as my favorite player. Even with Shohei Ohtani's off field stuff he has to deal with, he can still mash a baseball. The Dodgers will run away with this division.

That leaves me with the Braves, Brewers and Dodgers as my division winners and top three NL playoff teams. My three wildcards are the Phillies, Diamondbacks and, hell, I'll take the Giants. The NL comes down to the Braves and Dodgers, and I'll take the Braves. The Dodgers seem to blow it in the playoffs and the Braves have the best player in Acuna Jr. That leaves me with the Braves and Orioles in the World Series, and I'll take the Braves to win it all. Acuna Jr is going to be an MVP again, both regular season and playoffs. Spencer Strider is going to win the NL Cy Young. They probably have some stud rookie I don't know about. The Braves are loaded and ready to go. As far as AL MVP, give me Vlad Guerrero Jr. I think he is going to make an even bigger leap. As far as AL Cy Young, I'll go with Luis Castillo from the Mariners. Again, take this with a humongous grain of salt. I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants right now.

Baseball is here for 162 games now. We are officially in it. Go Cards. 

Ty

Another Perspective

This MLB season is going to be a struggle of a few giants against some talented, yet very flawed, teams. The Dodgers, Braves, and Astros are no brainers to make the playoffs. All three of those teams have All-Stars and future Hall of Famers up and down the line-up. Write it in ink, those three will win their divisions.

What about the next tier, talented but flawed? My hometown Cincinnati Reds lead this pack. Elly De La Cruz has the talent to be great, but that talent needs to produce over a full season. If that happens, the rest of the Reds will follow and Cincinnati will win the Central. My old hometown team the Cardinals are like Ty said, the opposite of the Reds. St. Louis is talented, but old. I also think if the Cardinals struggle early, they will fire their manager and write 2024 off. The Yankees, Padres, Blue Jays and Phillies all have world series potential but each team has leadership and durability questions.

Why have I not mentioned the Texas Rangers, the defending World Series champs, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the defending National League winners, or the hyped Baltimore Orioles? I am skeptical that each of these teams can replicate their magic from last year. I think they all three are talented, and they will all make the playoffs, I just do not believe in them as World Series contenders this year.

Here is who I think will make the playoffs

AL

Division Winners - Toronto Blue Jays (E) Minnesota Twins (C) Houston Astros (W)

Wild Cards - Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners

NL

Division Winners - Atlanta Braves (E) Cincinnati Reds (C) LA Dodgers (W)

Wild Cards - Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres

World Series

Blue Jays vs Braves

Champs

Atlanta Braves

That is correct, no Yankees or Cardinals in the playoffs. Both teams will fire their managers before the All Star Game. One last prediction, the Oakland Athletics will lose over 120 games.

Enjoy the season

RD

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

RD is the founder and Head Editor of SeedSing

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Ty Picks the Rest of March Madness

The men's basketball tournament is now down to the Sweet 16. Let’s discuss.

My brackets are toast. I had Kentucky in both brackets I filled out going to the Final Four. That was wrong. The Cinderellas I counted on got crushed in their round 1 games. I was all about New Mexico, Clemson made sure to crush that pick. I was rocking Drake, and Washington State took care of that pick. Vermont was another team I was really rooting for, but Duke beat them with ease. Samford was my other big upset pick, and due to some awful officiating, Kansas was able to win that game. The only upset I got right in round 1 was Yale over Auburn. It felt good to get that pick right.

If you go back and look at the teams that won, it has been fairly chalk. Outside Grand Canyon and James Madison, most of the higher seeds won. All the one seeds are in the Sweet Sixteen. So are all the twos for that matter. Oregon tried to be one of the few double digit seeds to make a push, but 3 seed Creighton made sure to pull out that win. And, when you break down the conferences representing the Sweet Sixteen, it is all major conference teams except for Gonzaga, a perennial power, and San Diego State, who was in the title game last season. We do also have Creighton, but they are a 3 seed. They are no Cinderella. NC State is a double digit seed still alive, but they play in the ACC. They are prepped for these big games. The same could be said for most of the teams left, they are bluebloods. We have UNC, UConn, Duke, Purdue, Arizona , Tennessee and Marquette. These are some of the top names in college basketball. The games, save for a few here and there, have been blowouts. UConn has run roughshod over their first two opponents. MSU gave UNC a scare, but UNC eventually pulled away. Texas gave Tennessee a run, but they had to make a pretty big comeback before eventually falling short. Duke has cruised. Houston struggled with TAMU, but they blew the doors off their round 1 opponent. Purdue has won both of their games by 20 plus points. The best game I saw in the first two rounds was the Florida-Colorado game. Defense was optional here, with a final of 102-100. But it was a blast to watch. The scoring was pretty amazing to see. But, not to be outdone, Purdue and Houston have each put up 100 points in a tournament game so far. So this has been a predictable tournament for the most part.

This leads me to my Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight picks for the upcoming games, which start Thursday night. I have to assume that all the one seeds will win. UConn should cruise. UNC may have to battle Alabama, but they are a better team. Houston has the toughest matchup, with Duke. And Purdue, if they continue at this pace, should crush Gonzaga. Outside those games, I'll take Illinois over Iowa State, Arizona over Clemson, but that will be a tough game, Marquette over NC State and Tennessee over Creighton.

So my Elite Eight consists of UConn facing Illinois, UNC playing Arizona, Houston taking on Marquette and Purdue going up against Tennessee. These should be some solid matchups. There is also 3/4 of my Final Four still playing this weekend. If you all are here for my picks, here goes. I'll take UConn over Illinois in a very, very close game. Then give me Arizona, the team I am riding with this tourney, over UNC. Then I'll go Marquette over Houston. And finally Purdue over Tennessee.

That means I have UConn, Arizona, Marquette and Purdue in the Final Four. That is two 1 seeds and two 2 seeds. Not very fun, but that seems likely. I'll go UConn taking on Purdue in the title game and UConn going back to back. UConn is locked and loaded and playing their best basketball at the right moment. Take all this with a grain of salt, but after the first two rounds, it seems like this tournament is going relatively chalk, and UConn is the best team left. I'm ready for more hoops. Thursday cannot come fast enough. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Thoughts on Michigan's New Basketball Coach

I'm back and I'll give my thoughts on the men's basketball tournament tomorrow. Today I want to talk about the new Michigan men's basketball head coach.

Michigan relieved Juwan Howard almost two weeks back, I think they should have given him one more season, and they hired Dusty May over the weekend. I guess they waited to see how Florida Atlantic, his previous team, performed in the first round of the tourney, and then they were going to get him. FAU got beat in a solid round one game, and May was suddenly very available. He was so available, that earlier on Saturday I read that he was finalizing a deal to become Louisville's next men's basketball head coach. I moved on to other names I liked for the job and sat and waited. But Saturday night something must have changed because it was reported that May had turned down the Louisville job and was going to take the Michigan job. I didn't believe it because of the Louisville stuff, but it was confirmed by multiple sources and sites and the university made it official on all of their social media. It was official. May took the job and signed the contract.

I didn't really know what to think. I still don't really know what to think. I was rooting for Shaka Smart to get the job, but who knows if he was even open to moving jobs and Marquette is still in the tournament. He still has some coaching to do. Brian Dutcher was my second choice, but his team is still playing and who knows if he wanted to return to Ann Arbor. May probably was next on my list, but that was strictly due to what I was reading online about him. I still don't know too much about him. What I do know, FAU has been to the tournament two years in a row, where before they had only been three total times in the history of being a division 1 basketball team. They were also in the Final Four last season. I know that was last year , but still, a mid major in the Final Four is pretty impressive. He also won a ton of games and developed players within the program. That is one thing I think will have to change after taking the Michigan job. The transfer portal in big business now in all of college sports. I love the idea of recruiting and developing, which he has proven he can do with way less resources. But college sports is the wild west right now, and you can get tons of hired guns through the portal. I hope he brings some kids from FAU to Michigan to help with the transition in season one under May. He has proven he can recruit. He takes two and three star guys and gives them a tried and true system and they deliver for him. He wins enough games to get to the tournament. He wins in the conference tournaments. The Big 10 is different and tough and a bloodbath, but May has proven he can hang with the bluebloods in men's college basketball.

May is also young, and I'm stoked on that. College sports is changing and you are seeing a ton of younger dudes take over big time programs. Michigan went young with Sherrone Moore to lead the football team. Alabama went young after Nick Saban retired. Duke went young after Coach K. Dan Hurley may seem old, but he is not as old as he looks. Just look at a bunch of current coaches, they are skewing much, much younger.

I have also read some things about his possible staff, and it looks young too, or if they are older dudes, they are Michigan dudes. Apparently John Beilein was instrumental in getting May to take this job, and now he is being mentioned as someone who will work closely with the basketball team, whatever that may mean.

All in all, if you read what the pundits say, this seems like a good hire. May is on the come up and he kind of had his pick of where he wanted to coach next. He has been highly successful at his previous stop and seems prepared to take this next step. It will take time. This program is a total mess and they only have four current players on scholarship. I will be watching what he does in the offseason and I hope he makes his moves sooner rather than later. I am excited, but it could just be the fact that I'm excited about something new with my favorite men's college basketball team. I'll give May two years, but results need to start coming in year 3. That is my mood going forward with this hiring. Go Blue. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Predicts March Madness 2024

Selection Sunday has come and gone for the 2024 men's NCAA basketball tournament and I'm here to give you my predictions. I say every year that I am less and less versed in men's college basketball, and that is even more true this season with Michigan men's team being abysmal. I did not watch a bunch of men's college basketball this year, I have been back on my NBA kick. So, take all of this with a grain of salt. I'll give my region winners, which will give me my Final Four teams and I will pick a title game matchup and winner. I'll also go out on a limb and pick the Most Outstanding Player at the end of this blog. I may not watch a ton of men's college basketball anymore, but I still know some stuff. Let's get to it.

I'll start with the East Region. UConn is the number 1 overall seed in the tournament. They are the defending national champs. They got most of those players back this year and have been a top 5 team all season long. They look like the best bet to win it all. But Iowa State and Illinois are threats. SDSU was in the title game against them last season. Northwestern and Florida Atlantic, also a Final Four team last season, are both tough. This region is not a cakewalk by any means. This is going to be a tough one. As far as my upset in this region, I think Yale will beat Auburn in the round of 64, and they could give SDSU a tough game in the round of 32. But, I'm going to stick with UConn to take this region. I really want to pick either Illinois or Iowa State, but UConn is loaded and looks more than ready to defend their title.

Let's head West now. UNC is the number 1 here. UNC is a good team. They have been solid all year long. But, they look like the weakest number 1 seed in my opinion. They don't really jump off the screen as much as the other number 1 seeds. I could see the winner of Michigan State-Mississippi State giving them a tough round of 32 matchup. I really like Arizona here. They are locked and loaded. Getting Caleb Love as a transfer was tremendous for both the team and Love. They play good defense and can light up the scoreboard. Baylor is solid. Alabama and Saint Mary's look decent. And Dayton has an NBA prospect on their roster with Dayron Holmes. This isn't the gauntlet that the East looks to be. But, this region should give us some good games in the first couple rounds. My upset pick here is Mississippi State knocking off UNC in the round of 32. As far as my winner, it is Arizona. They look very good right now.

Heading to the South Region we have Houston as the number 1 seed here. I think Houston is a very good team. They play the best defense in men's college basketball. They have depth and veteran leadership. Kelvin Sampson is a top tier coach. But, they always seem to find a way to choke when they have expectations. I picked them to win it all last year and they stumbled before the Final Four. They still look like the team to beat in this region though. They will have to get through a very good Marquette team. They are as scrappy as it gets. They can match Houston's intensity on the defensive side. Kentucky is getting better every game seemingly and they want to make a long tourney run. Duke is Duke. I loathe that team, but they will find a way to get the refs to help for one win. And Wisconsin will bore teams to sleep, and then attack and win games. My upset here is the winner of Boise State-Colorado in the First Four will easily handle Florida in the round of 64. The winner of that game will beat Florida in a wire to wire victory. As for the overall winner of this region, I'm going with Kentucky. I want to see Houston win. I like how they play team defense and pass the ball so well on offense. But I don't trust them anymore. Kentucky is the winner of the South Region.

Finally we have the Midwest Region. Purdue is the one seed here. They need a big tourney run to get the taste of last year's 16 over 1 blown game. Zach Edey is about as dominant as they get at the center position. They have shooters all over the floor. And they can play defense when they are locked in. I don't trust Matt Painter though. He has had better teams that have not done what they should in the tourney, so who knows what team will show up in this tournament. Tennessee is about as dangerous as they get at the 2. They can really do it all on both ends. They also have some lights out shooters filling that roster. Crieghton is legit and ready to take a big step towards a possible long tourney run. Kansas has been inconsistent this season, but they are still Kansas. And Gonzaga does not have high hopes coming into this tournament. Maybe being a 5 will benefit them this time around. As for my upset pick, I'm going with Samford over KU in the round of 64. KU has not been so great this season, and with their top two scorers coming off injury, I don't trust that team. As for my winner of the Midwest Region, I'm going with Tennessee. They look like the best 2 seed and the best team in this region by a pretty good margin.

So that leaves me with a Final Four of UConn, Arizona, Kentucky and Tennessee. That is a very blue blood Final Four. As for my title game matchup, give me Arizona facing Tennessee and Arizona winning it all. I also have Caleb Love as the MOP. Arizona is ready to win it all after a long time of not being the champs. They have the roster, the momentum and the coaching to take it home this season.

There you have it, my 2024 NCAA Men's tournament preview and predictions. The games cannot come soon enough. This is when I'll watch more college basketball this season than at any other time. The tournament is a thing of beauty. I can't wait. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Kirk Cousins, the Grifting Quarterback

I simply cannot figure out why teams continue to give Kirk Cousins ungodly amounts of guaranteed money on his contracts. I am going to say upfront today, I am being a hater because Cousins is a football player whom I despise. I have not liked him since he was a college football player. I don't like how religious he is and that he is always spouting his religious rhetoric.  I don't like his anti-vaccine rants. And I hate the way he has culturally appropriated grills and chains. It is disgusting, not funny and looks very bad. So yes, I am a true hater of him. I had to let it be known. But, what is very irksome is all the guaranteed money this mid level NFL starting QB has accumulated over his career.

With this recent contract that the Falcons gave him, 180 million over four years with 100 million guaranteed, he will have made over 400 million just from the contracts he has signed that his agent has procured for him. That is a fleecing of epic proportions. I cannot fathom why he keeps getting these insane contracts. No one else gets this type of money. Players that are far better at football than him don't see 1/3 of what the Vikings and Falcons have shelled out for this glorified game manager. The only reasonable conclusion I can come up with is that he and his agent have some Earth shattering dirt on these teams. I feel like they know something that, if it were to get out, lots of people would get canceled and be in big, big trouble. That is the only thing that makes a lick of sense to me.

What is even more worrying is, he keeps getting these deals but never produces anything of use in the NFL. The most yards he's thrown for in one season is 4,547. That is fine, but not 100 million dollars guaranteed fine. The most TD's he's had in one season, 35. That would rank him near the middle most seasons for starting QB's. His best record as a starter, 13-4 with the Vikings. Seems okay, but when you look at his overall record as a starter, he is 78-70. That is middling at best. His playoff record, what should be of utmost importance when paying someone gobs and gobs of money in the NFL, 1-4. That is horrendous. There are so many QB's that are younger and have as many or more playoff wins than him. Jordan Love has one win already. Baker Mayfield has more playoff wins. Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, obviously Patrick Mahomes all have more playoff wins than Cousins. Jared Goff has been to a Super Bowl and two NFC title games. Joe Flacco has a Super Bowl. Ryan Tannehill has more playoff wins than Cousins. Guys like CJ Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Daniel Jones and even Mitch Trubisky have as many playoff wins as good old Kirk Cousins. These are just modern players too. There are so many other former players I could list that have won much more than Kirk Cousins when it counted most, but they have never seemed to get the contracts he has gotten over time. That is criminal.

The final aspect that worries me about this deal for the Falcons, Cousins is coming off a major injury at the age of 35. That is a death knell for most athletes. And Cousins isn't the most athletic guy out there. He never has been. So, giving him all this money, when he has a well known history of clamming up when it matters the most, when he is at or near the end of his career, coming off a massive injury, it seems foolish and negligible. I know the Falcons have higher expectations, but tying those expectations to a 35 year old injured QB with a bad history in major moments seems foolish.

I don't think it will work out for the Falcons. RD is a Vikings fan and I hear a bunch about how it didn't work out for them and how happy he is that Cousins is now gone. I feel like Falcons fans are going to have that same energy this time next year. We will see. But this deal, with this amount of guaranteed money for a middling, back end of his career guy would be very off putting to me if I were a Falcons fan. I guess I'm glad I'm not. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches NFL Free Agency

NFL free agency opened yesterday morning and it has been wild. I do like to see some movement, and there has been plenty of it thus far. The fireworks usually happen on the first couple days, but it looks like they got a bunch of it done on day one. That makes it less stressful for the leftover free agents to pick their next destination, or to stay where they are now. I'm going to focus mainly on the running back position, but there has been big movement at other positions as well.

The Falcons gave Kirk Cousins 100 million guaranteed, and that blew me away. That dude has now fleeced every team he has played for to this point. Brian Burns was traded to the Giants and they now have a scary, on paper, d line. Michael Pittman Jr chose to stay in Indy and I think that is good for him and Anthony Richardson. And o lineman are finding new places to play left and right. Some QB's are going to have new protectors, most of which are solid players. The running back position has had the most movement by far. I expected that.

Running back is not the hot position it used to be. I feel like teams draft running backs, use them hardcore for three to four years and let them walk. That has shown its face big time during the first two days of free agency. Tony Pollard, who was a fantasy darling just two seasons ago, was shown the door by the Cowboys as soon as they could cut him. It didn't take long for him to find a new place, Tennessee. I think this benefits both parties because neither have any expectations. Pollard will get to play in obscurity as the number one back for the Titans, who are expected to be a bottom feeder. This move reminds me of Markelle Fultz going from Philly to Orlando. Antonio Gibson, who was the second back in Washington, has moved on to the Patriots. This is another rebuilding team that will give Gibson the first team reps until they decide to move on to a rookie. Devin Singletary is now with the Giants, replacing Saquon Barkley. This is a massive downgrade for the Giants. They may have a solid defense, but their offense looks to be woeful going into next season. Speaking of Saquon Barkley, he is joining the Eagles, and I love this move for him and the Eagles. The Eagles get a top tier back to go with a top five QB in the league and two of the better wideouts. This is going to make their offense even more lethal. Barkley is going to be great carrying the ball and getting receptions out of the backfield. The Eagles are clearly frustrated with how last season ended, so they are going to be making moves. Speaking of the Eagles, D'Andre Swift is now with the Bears. This is a good move for both, if the Bears keep Justin Fields. Swift probably knew that the Eagles were going to swing big, so he decided to sign with a team that has playoff aspirations and needed a good running back. Swift is coming off a career year and looks to be a nice addition for an up and coming Bears offense. Austin Ekeler is gone from the Chargers, heading to Washington. Ekeler is good, he can both run and catch, but he is on the back end of his career and a move seemed inevitable. I feel like Washington has been a place where players go to finish out the end of their careers unceremoniously. That is the vibe I get from Ekeler. Gus Edwards is heading to the Chargers to be the Ekeler replacement. This seems like a good fit for Jim Harbaugh. He likes to have two backs, one of which is a bruiser, and Edwards is just that. And the two biggest moves in my opinion are Derrick Henry to the Ravens and Josh Jacobs to the Packers. Derrick Henry to the Ravens is akin to Barkley to the Eagles. He is going to an already established team that needed a true three down running back. Derrick Henry has been the best back in the league for a few years now. He may be on the backend of his career, but he still has a bit left in the tank and he is going to love running behind the Ravens o line. This is a homerun signing. Then we have Josh Jacobs to my favorite team, the Packers. I love this move so, so much. As much as I adored Aaron Jones, and shouts out to the Vikings for snagging him almost immediately, he was often injured and couldn't be counted on for a full season anymore. And AJ Dillon has never been the back I hoped he would become. Jacobs is young. He is fast. He can break tackles. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He is hungry to prove people wrong. And he is out of a situation where he was unhappy. I think he is going to thrive in Green Bay. He is the undoubted feature back. They have already given him a good payday. He is going to take a bunch of pressure off Jordan Love. He is going to help sustain drives. I'm thrilled with this signing. While it is not on the level of the Reggie White signing, this one makes me almost as happy. The Packers are taking a shot and I'm here for it. I cannot wait to watch him in the Packers uniform next season. This is a big, big deal to me as a fan.

Free agency has been pretty fun to this part. I'm sure it is going to get super quiet from here on out,but you cannot say that it was boring during the first day. Lots of movement and lots of money being shelled out makes for a fun and interesting offseason. Now I'm ready to watch these dudes on their new teams. I'm excited for a new NFL season for the first time in a long time. Let's get to it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Let's Talk About Classless Duke Players and Their Fans

A week or so back there was major outrage coming from all kinds of sports media due to the court storming after Wake Forest beat Duke. Everyone was up in arms. Kyle Filipowski had to be helped off the court. His coach had some diatribe about the horrors of court storming. The talking heads, mostly on ESPN, were making this out to be the worst thing since the Michigan sign stealing ordeal. Other coaches were coming out in droves saying how awful court storming is, and that the rules needed to be changed. This was everywhere for over a week.

Leading up to Duke's next game, against lowly Louisville, Duke came out and said they weren't sure Filipowski was going to be able to play. First it was his knee. Then it was a high ankle sprain. Then a regular ankle sprain. Then he was "sore". A surprise to no one, of course he played in that game and Duke won. All was forgotten. No one was bringing up the whole court storming thing anymore. It came and went like a breeze. It was in the past.

Duke had their big rivalry game over the weekend with UNC. ESPN was heavily covering the game. There were videos of Duke players singing with the crowd. The "Cameron Crazies" were everywhere. This time it seemed like Duke was going to win because they had the momentum. UNC won last time, but Duke had overcome this "horrific" court storming and had righted the ship. And the game was in Cameron Indoor. This was going to be what separated them from the rest of the ACC. They were truly going to put the court storming incident behind them.

UNC had other plans.

They went to Duke and beat them for a second time this season. The game was pretty solid too, but UNC kind of had control for most of the game. They are a better team. They were the better team that day and they have been the better team all season. They came out and won and UNC grabbed hold of the ACC.

Unfortunately this game was not without its drama. Kyle Filiposki tripped a UNC player. There was a fast break opportunity, and as UNC was running up the floor, Filipowski stuck his leg out and tripped the player. He was doing his best Grayson Allen impression. He was being the typical white Duke asshole basketball player. He wasn't getting his way, his team was getting beat and he wasn't playing well. That meant he had to take his frustration out on his opponent. Clearly it was not his fault, it was this UNC player who was beating his team, so he was going to trip with the intent to stop a fast break, and maybe injure this player. But, if you were to watch highlights of the game on ESPN, they barely touched on this. ESPN cannot go after their white savior college player. Why would they denigrate this kid, even if he tripped an opposing player? It was a disgusting sight to see. They covered the court storming like it was front page news. It was a crime against humanity. But when he trips a kid they pass it off as no big deal and they want it wiped from their screens as soon as possible. That makes me incredibly angry. And other sports websites were not too high on covering the trip. The other sites seem to blow it off nearly as much as ESPN. We should not forget about this just because of the court storming. They were equally as egregious. I don't care about either to be honest, but when major publications, tv shows and websites are just blowing the trip off, that is wrong. It should get the same coverage. Not to be outdone, the Duke fans decided to throw drinks at the UNC basketball team as they celebrated their win. And for the people telling the UNC players to "win with class", shut the hell up. That was a rivalry game. UNC beat Duke twice. They have played better basketball. And they have every right to celebrate a win over a hated rival. I guarantee that if Duke won and celebrated in UNC's face, it would be a non story. The major websites would be saying that is how rivalries are supposed to be. But for the fans, the famed and disgusting "Cameron Crazies", to throw drinks at people, that is about as classless as it gets. That is foul. That is childish. That is white privilege at its worst. It is the whiniest way to handle a game that doesn't go your way. And these kids, these frat boys and girls can just run away from any punishment and go to mommy and daddy to help them out.

This makes me very upset when people act like this. I hate when Michigan gets all high and mighty, but I have never seen a fan at a live game throw a drink at anyone. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, I just haven't seen it. I have seen video of Duke fans throwing drinks at UNC. I watched Filipowski trip the UNC player. This is all readily available for anyone that wants to see it on the internet.

I have never liked Duke, and this past rivalry game makes me despise them even more. They are not above punishment. They can't just get away with stuff because ESPN likes them. They are not the blueblood they used to be and other fans are starting to notice. Duke is a classless team with a classless coach. They can get any recruit they want, but if this is how they act and their coach continues to act, I will forever root against them. My hatred for Duke only grew over this weekend. Their actions and reactions are childish, from top to bottom. Grow the hell up and stop blaming everyone else. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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