Long Live NIL

The NCAA was finally dealt a blow when the NIL bill was passed. For those that do not know, the NIL means that college athletes can now profit off of their Name, Image and Likeness. This is a big, big deal. As soon as it was passed, at midnight on Thursday, players already started to sign deals with random social media companies.

When I was younger I was of the belief that a scholarship was enough for student athletes. I figured getting your college paid for was more than enough. Then I got older and a little bit smarter. I remember my first breakaway from thinking a scholarship was enough was seeing how Chris Webber, and the rest of the Fab Five, were not even able to eat at a McDonald's, but other people, myself included, were wearing jerseys and shirts with their name, face and number on it. That didn't seem right to me. I was 12 and 13 years old at the time. The older I got the more I said that these kids deserved more than just a scholarship. I go to college football and basketball games and see these kids' faces everywhere. They are on the program, adults are wearing their jerseys, their faces are plastered on t-shirts, there are posters of them everywhere you look. Their faces are everywhere and the only people profiting are the coaches and the university. The schools and the NCAA are clearly taking advantage of the term "student athlete". They have looked away and hid their face in the mud for so long that this seemed like it was going to happen eventually. I'm glad it is happening now.

Just look at recent players who have been stripped of awards and games won. Reggie Bush was on Twitter instantly when this passed, and he is right. Give that man his Heisman back. He did nothing wrong at all. Or what about the University of Ohio State tattoo thing. I despise that school and their football team, but that whole "scandal" was ridiculous. Let these kids get a goddamn tattoo in exchange for some game worn stuff. Who cares? Even outside the "scandalous" stuff, just think about the money some of these colleges have made off these kids. Players I do not like, like Johnny Manziel or Tim Tebow, how much money do you think Texas A&M and Florida made off of their image and likeness? Millions of dollars? Maybe billions? I think so. Michigan put Denard Robinson on EVERYTHING when he was their QB, and they were not very good, save for one season. But I saw so many people with t-shirts with his face or wearing his number 16 jersey. Michigan made a ton off of his likeness. Alabama has made a fortune off of Mark Ingram, Devonta Smith, Tua and so many other NFL players that played their college football there. Clemson probably made money hand over fist the last three years just off of Trevor Lawrence's face. Even a smaller school like UCF probably made millions when Mackenzie Milton was their QB and they were going undefeated. It's the same in college basketball. Just think of the money that Duke, UNC, Kentucky and Michigan State have made off of their one and done guys. Hell, look no further than the Duke-UNC game a few years back that featured Zion. People were not paying 10,000 dollars a ticket to see Duke, they were paying that to see Zion. Former president, and one of my favorite people ever, Barack Obama was at that game, and I assure you he wasn't there because of the rivalry. He was there to see Zion. Zion deserves every penny he may or may not have gotten during his six months at Duke. As do every other college athlete that was not seeing a dime but the school was making a fortune during their time on campus.

This NIL rule is a great, great thing for college sports and college athletes. These kids deserve more than just a scholarship. It is about time they are able to make money off their likeness. This has been a long time coming, but I am glad it is finally here. I haven't understood since I was 13 why these athletes couldn't even get a job but every other student could. Now they have an outlet to make money so they can live a comfortable life on campus. This is a big deal and a big win for student athletes everywhere. Congrats.

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 the College Football Problem

I've had a day, and a not so great night of sleep, to think about the Big 10 canceling fall sports this year. I know the Pac 12 did too, and that the three other power 5 conferences are trying to continue with a fall season, but this piece is about my disappointment, my understanding, my fears and my distaste for how the NCAA treats its student athletes in the Big 10. The other conferences, quite frankly, I could care less about.

Say that college football does play a season, or attempt one in the fall, I am sure there will be stops and starts and players getting sick, players opting out and coaches whining and complaining about the "sanctity of the game". People in the South will riot if they don't get one Alabama or Texas game, so I am sure that their AD's and president's are going to do whatever, including endangering children, to play some football. Anyway, like I said up top, I am disappointed. I am feeling things that I have never felt before. I feel heartbreak, and not like when you break up with someone.

College football, Michigan football, these have been two of the most constant things in my life. They have always been there. Every fall since my existence they have played. This year they won't. I feel like something was stolen from me, like a piece of me is simply gone, almost like a limb has just disappeared. That may sound dramatic, but that is how I feel. I look forward to fall. I like the weather, but more importantly, that is when Michigan takes the field and I have twelve to thirteen weeks of angst, exuberance, anger and joy all at once. When the Wolverines take the field, I hang on their every play, good and bad. I know it may sound sad, but it is true. Outside of family, Michigan football is the only thing that I have ever truly loved. Now it is gone.

There are a myriad of reasons for the loss of Michigan football. I mentioned all the maskless idiots, the people who think CoronaVirus is a "hoax", the MAGA dummies yesterday. After reading why this happened, I found out new things that are happening behind the scenes. One thing in particular that doctors are seeing in young athletes who have had Covid and supposedly recovered from it, they are having heart issues or complications. The doctors have seen this in at least five Big Ten athletes, and they say that others who have recovered are saying they are having heart issues as well. This is what made me stop and really think, is it worth it? Do these young kids really need to risk the rest of their lives to play ten football games so I can yell at them through my TV screen? I know they want to play, they say they want to play, they have been at school gearing up for this, they have spent their lives dedicated to this game, but why on Earth would you want to risk your long term health, especially when you don't see a dime for the work you put into this sport.

That is another big time issue I have with all of this. All of these people who say it is a "hoax", all of the Big 12, ACC and SEC fans calling out the Big 10 and Pac 12 today for canceling, do you really think the NCAA cares about these kids and their want to play? There is no way in hell that I will believe that for one second. The NCAA makes money hand over fist off these football players. The schools do too. So do the coaches. But the kids, what do they get? They get a free education you may come back at me with. Okay, so a free education is worth risking their lives to you armchair QB's? These kids going out and playing a sport where spit and sweat are going to be flying all over the place and they will be so much more susceptible to contracting this virus because of that, you are okay with that? The fact that they will bash into one another for three plus hours once a week is fine because you need your football? That is all BS. These "fans" that say these things are no better than the NCAA and Mark Emmert and the presidents of the schools that voted to cancel this fall season.

I firmly believe that the powers that be in the NCAA were afraid because college athletes were starting to use their voice, and the possibility of them unionizing was becoming more and more real by the hour. I fully believe that the Big 10 and Pac 12 commissioners were much more apt to cancel when they figured this out. They just used the CoronaVirus as the face. I am sure both things factored into the decision, but in the long run, and it saddens me to say, I think the NCAA is becoming fearful that players were going to start to get what they truly deserved. They were going to get more than an education, which they most certainly deserve. The NCAA saw this, and they knew they needed to act now. The fact that it was the Pac 12 and Big 10 that canceled first is no surprise. They have schools that actually care about academics, and don't hold football over everything else. The Pac 12 and Big 10 formed groups that were making demands that any regular working person gets. There are smart kids at these schools. Northwestern, Michigan, Purdue, Washington, Oregon, Stanford these schools are just as hard to get in as a regular student. Throw on the athlete part, and it is even tougher. The NCAA and Mark Emmert thought they could pull one over on these kids, these kids who give them free labor while making them millionaires. But these kids wouldn't stand for it. They made a list of demands, the NCAA and the two league commissioners saw this and they had to shut it down. The kids were becoming too powerful for them. That is so sad. It is sad because they chose their own power over safety. Again, they will use the pandemic as the face to shutting it down, but people in the know know that it was these kids finally having leverage that caused the cancellation.

The same kind of student athlete activism isn't going to happen in the South. The Alabama's of the world, the Texas', the Clemson's, they don't give a rats ass about these kids, they just want some football. And when these kids are no longer good to them, to hell with them, bring on the next guy they say. But what will these diehard fans do if one of these kids, one of the star kids gets Covid and has to miss the season? How will Clemson fans deal if Trevor Lawrence gets it because he is supposed to be a football robot? Or how about Sam Ehlinger at Texas? Or Najee Harris at Alabama? If one of these kids gets it, that team's season is all but over, if they actually do end up playing. How will fans of those teams feel then? Will it be next guy up, or will they actually realize that it is too dangerous to play a sport like football right now? I don't know, and that is the scariest thing of all of this to me.

I was so angry, I was depressed, I am still feeling feelings I have never had just like I said up top, but I do get why they are doing it. I get both the ethical and unethical parts of it. It's upsetting, but canceling, and I don't for one second think a spring season is viable in any context, is the necessary thing to do. Just look at how poorly the MLB has done, and that is a professional league with the best doctors and training staffs in the world. At the end of the day I am upset, but I will get over it. I am hopeful to see college football, the Michigan Wolverines that is, next fall.

While I don't think this is a death knell for the sport, I do think the players need to continue pushing and demanding more rights. If anything, they have the time and the backing of many, many people now. I also don't think the long term risks outweigh the short term happiness any lazy ass American sitting on their couch will get this fall. While I am sad, I will get over it and I am pretty sure I will see Michigan play football again in the Big House with 100,000 plus fans maybe as soon as next year. Right now though, I get why they had to cancel. They had no choice. I will be curious to see if other leagues do play, if they even get close to finishing and who opts out and who stays. Time will tell.

This is a wild time we are living in right now, and it seems to get worse and worse by the day. Football should be the least of our worries right now. 

Ty

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

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And Now We Have Lost the College Football Season

Today has not been a good day. Today has been a very sad day for me in fact. And while nothing is official, it seems like, at the very least, the Big Ten and Pac 12 are all but ready to cancel all of their fall sports, including football.

Now, I am not reporting this, I am not trying to be one of the first people to get this out on the internet, I am not trying to stoke any flames. But, if you have read anything this morning or afternoon, or read anything yesterday, big time important people from the power 5 conferences had an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss calling off the season. That type of thing doesn't happen, or if it does, it is not for good news. But, like I said, nothing is official yet, but it seems like it is inevitable. I have read two conflicting reports in the last thirty minutes where one person said the Big Ten voted and canceled the season, and twelve minutes later, I kid you not, another reporter came out and said that they spoke to a Big Ten spokesperson, and that person said that there have been no decisions made. Both of these reporters are reputable too. This isn't 247 or Rivals or anything like that. This was Dan Patrick and Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. These people are in the know. But either way, this is upsetting and troubling and makes me so mad at our country, and the lack of taking this virus serious. I am also hyper pissed off at the NCAA, which I will get to today.

This is upsetting because I love college football. I truly do. It is my favorite sport played in my favorite season. Look, I love basketball, I love watching my son play baseball, but college football is head and shoulders above all of that. It has been the mainstay for my life to this point. My earliest memories are watching Michigan with my dad. I named my puppy after Bo Schembechler. I have a Wolverines tattoo. One of my most prized possessions is a Charles Woodson signed football. And there is nothing I enjoy more than watching college football from dawn to dusk on a Saturday afternoon in the fall. The fact that it is going to be, most likely, canceled or postponed is a real bummer. I'd be lying if I didn't say I got choked up reading stories about the inevitable downfall this morning.

I'm mad at our country because a lot of people, far, far too many, have just blown off the CoronaVirus. I see people not wearing masks in public. I see people gathering in crowds well over the suggested size, and of course they aren't social distancing. I have seen far too many people flood restaurants the moment they reopened. I see way too many people throwing humongous parties. But what is most frightening is the people who think this is a hoax. How stupid and selfish and ignorant and arrogant do you have to be? What kind of an asshole are you that you think you are above this? Does the death count, which I believe is over 165,000 in the US, not strike fear in you? Do you still think that is a "hoax"? Does your "president" really make you think this is going away, or that it is under any kind of control? If so, I feel so very sorry for you, and I do not need you in my life. The simple fact that sports have been affected by this should be evidence enough that this is real. Sports didn't stop during the Spanish Flu, sports didn't stop during wars, sports didn't stop after 9/11. But sports have been shuttered and left to the unknown since CoronaVirus. The sheer fact that we have had stops and starts, shutdowns, brand new protocols, should be more than enough evidence that this is real, and this is scary. How are you morons going to feel come fall when The University of Ohio State or Michigan or Oregon or Texas or Alabama or Florida or California or UCLA isn't taking the field because of CoronaVirus. Will you then, finally take this seriously? Is canceling football finally going to be the thing that makes you stop and think and act correctly for the first time in your life? I hope so, but I doubt it. You will all say, we can watch it in the spring or we will wait until next season. What if things aren't better by then? We all thought this was going to go away, but it hasn't. It has only gotten worse. Who's to say where we will be in the fall, winter or next spring. But, if we keep living how we are living right now, it won't be better.

As for the NCAA, to wait until now to make these conferences make decisions, and for Mark Emmert to come out and say stuff, I say, sorry mom and dad, shut the fuck up. You have had four plus months. You had time to see how other sports have handled this. You've had time to put things in place to make a season possible. Hell, you have even had conferences shift to a conference only schedule, had them release it, get fans' hopes up, and now you are saying it needs to be shut down. What a crock the NCAA and Emmert are. They are thieves of joy and they are taking advantage of the student athletes. I'm so happy that guys like Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence are putting their voice out there and letting the NCAA know that they want to play, and that they think it is safer to play than to abandon these kids for an entire season and to send them home. Fields and Lawrence both said they think it is safer to stay and play. They have proper protocol going on. Lawrence went as far to say that he thinks it is safer than if he were sent home where he knows people aren't following the proper protocol. Fields echoed that. Hell, even Jim Harbaugh has come out with a statement in support of the players who want to play and feel safe to play. He even added some stats about how Michigan has managed to keep their positive cases so low, in fact zero positive cases as of their last testing date. But the NCAA won't even give these players, or Harbaugh the time of day I suppose. I'm sure they could also care less about the guys who are seniors and will never play football again, or the guys that had a shot at the NFL, but needed to come back to improve. I hope, at the very least, these players get to form a union and get paid for their likeness being used all the time.

This whole situation is crummy and it didn't have to be this way. Fall collegiate sports had more than enough time to figure out a safe way to do this and they blew it harder than the MLB is blowing it right now. It stinks that I and many other college football fans will not be able to watch our favorite teams and players. I know it is the safest thing to do, I really do, canceling or postponing the year, but the NCAA could have come up with something instead of just assuming CoronaVirus would go away, or be tamped down by now. It isn't, and that was fools thinking. Today is a sad sports day indeed. 

Ty

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

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Maskless Covidiots Will Cost Us Football This Fall

Late last week the Big Ten, ACC and Pac 12 all decided to ditch their non conference schedules and commit, or at least try to commit, to a conference only schedule for the upcoming 2020 season. The SEC hasn't done this yet, nor the Big 12, but it is just a matter of time I feel.

The SEC commissioner, the University of Ohio State's AD and Michigan's AD have all said they are "very concerned" about the upcoming season as well. Me, I have kind of given in to the fact that the season is going to be cancelled. I feel that it is inevitable. The Ivy League has already said they won't even look into fall sports until January 1st. The NJCAA, junior college for those of you that may not know, is most likely going to switch to a spring season. And while I find it commendable that the power five conferences want to play this fall, I just don't see it happening.

It took me a while to get to this point, but it just feels like it is leaning so much that way. We have done a horrible job as a country in containing this virus. We have proven how selfish, arrogant and self righteous we can be. We thought we were above this. Some thought it would go away in a few weeks, I know I did in early March. Some figured we would be good after shutting things down for three months. But all the progress we made in three months was shattered because people wanted to go out and party over Memorial Day weekend. There were no masks, no social distancing and nobody following what we were supposed to do, and pretty much all did, for three months. We threw all that out the window the moment things reopened. People started to flood restaurants, bars, beaches, clubs, any place that was open. We felt cooped up, not me personally, but others, and people just figured the pandemic was over. It wasn't and still isn't. Not even close. And I know I was right here last week saying that I hoped my kids would be in classrooms in the fall, but now that seems as likely to me as a college football season happening.

People refuse to follow the easiest of rules, wearing a cloth mask in public and social distancing, and we are now paying for it dearly. Numbers are approaching, if not passing in some states, where they were when this first started. I know much more testing is being done, but the numbers are terrifying. In Missouri alone we went from about 200 cases a day to nearly 500. That's wild. And it is because people couldn't contain themselves and just had to go out. And that is fine, if they were following proper protocols. They weren't, and now we will all suffer. Schools won't be normal at all in the fall. I have heard that here in Saint Louis it will be a hybrid thing, two days on, three online, or you can do all online, but that won't last long if people continue to live, and disregard the rules like they have since shelter at home was lifted. I wouldn't be surprised if by early September my kids are strictly online learning.

Which leads me to college football. If my kids can't go to a regular, smallish elementary school, how is big time college football going to be played? You can say, no fans. Okay, but what about the players? You can say, test them every other day. Sure, but what about immunocompromised people or the elderly? Shouldn't they have priority over college athletes? The NBA, MLB and NHL right now are getting tests done regularly, and they know within a day if they are positive or not. But my friends and family that have been tested, they have to wait upwards of a week before they know. How is that fair? And with football, these kids are constantly colliding with one another, spreading sweat, spit, all kinds of bodily fluids everywhere. It would be the easiest way to get it. And I have seen some people talk about making full shields for helmets, or having kids wear some kind of face covering, but they all balk at that idea. Why? I have seen players wear every type of extra padding and gadget on their body. Why would they be against the one thing that could actually give them a chance to play this fall? I'll never know.

I have also seen people say they can push to the spring, but that leaves me with two questions. What star college player, who isn't getting paid a dime, would play in the spring, a few months before the draft and risk getting injured?  Also, who knows what this pandemic will look like in the spring. It could be worse, the same or better, we have no idea. All I know, or at least feel right now is, this season is going to get cancelled, billions, with a B, will be lost and a good amount of seniors will never get to play their last season of football because we are a selfish country. Where cases are record highs right now, places like Alabama, Texas, California, South and North Carolina, Louisiana, Ohio, these states live for college football, but since they couldn't, or simply wouldn't follow rules, they are going to miss out on another year of college football. The OSU's, LSU's, Alabama, Texas, USC, they won't get watched because a good majority of people didn't take this pandemic seriously enough, and refuse to wear a mask, even though they think they have to go out now.

I'm so, so bummed about this because I love college football. I live for it. I love nothing more than wasting an entire Saturday afternoon in the fall watching college football, especially my Michigan Wolverines, who only have had four positive cases I might add. It's the best. But, at this point in time I have zero faith that any type of college football season is going to happen in 2020. I hope the parties and the beaches and the restaurants were worth it because we are going to have to start all over again, and that likely means online, at home school for those of us with young kids, and no fall sports. That is a real bummer. It makes me very upset. 

Ty

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

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College or the G League? More Players Should Follow Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd

I told you all I had some basketball stories this week, and I am coming at you with another one today.

Today is a one of, and I don't like to use important words like this for something that doesn't seem that important, triumph. It's a triumph for high school players. It's a triumph for the NBA and G League. It's a triumph to show how unimportant and ridiculous the NCAA truly is. It is a triumph to show how absurd to the "one and done" culture has become in men's college basketball. I am flat out impressed and hope that stuff like what happened the other day continues to happen. And for those that will call me out for being a hater, one of these kids was supposed to go to Michigan. These type decisions are what I have been advocating for, and I hope this will happen more and more until the NCAA decides that Pay for Play needs to be implemented sooner rather than later. Two days ago the number 3 college basketball recruit in the country, Jalen Green, decided he was bypassing his one season of college basketball to go play in the G League. He was given a 500,000 dollar contract and he is available to any team that wants to draft or sign him ASAP.

I cannot overstate how much I love this, and how great of an idea I think this is. Only a few hours after his choice, the Michigan decommit, Isaiah Todd decided to do the same. No money or contract numbers were announced, but we all know he will get paid to play, will play with pros, or guys that have the skill to be pros and he will be eligible to get drafted the very next season. Both guys will be eligible for next year's draft in fact. Again, I cannot emphasize enough how great of a move this is, and how much I respect these kids and the people around them to push them to make this choice.

Of course there are people out there bad mouthing this decision. They think it could be a death knell to smaller schools, and quite possibly, the NCAA as a whole. They think these kids will be exposed. They don't want them to get hurt playing against grown men who don't care what their mix tape looks like. They think a pro locker room could mess them up. To all of that nonsense, and whatever in the hell else other people are saying, who cares. If these kids are good enough, and pro teams want them, let them play with pro players. Let these teams sign them. Let them go overseas. It happens in hockey and baseball all the time. It happened in the NBA for a minute, before they implemented the dumb ass rule of one year removed from high school. As for the other complaints, small schools will still get other kids. Not every player is a 5 star player that has the talent to do what these kids are doing. And the NCAA will still be around and still be corrupt. I know that the NBA is trying to get rid of the "one and done" rule, and that is a good thing. Until then though, if pro teams want to sign these kids right out of high school, and they want to go, let them.

As I said, there are plenty of other players that will still use college as a stepping stone. The AFL, AAF and XFL were all going to kill NCAA football they said, and NCAA football is as popular as ever. Minor League baseball has never taken away from the great drama that surrounds the College World Series. And March Madness, man did I miss that this year, will still be compelling even without every single 5 star player playing for Duke or Kentucky. I also think this is a good test for these kids to get prepped for the NBA. They are going to be there the following season anyway, so why waste a year playing against inferior competition. The worst thing for Zion was his one year at Duke. AD won a title at Kentucky, but he really didn't have to play college ball. Joel Embiid's injury stuff started when he was at KU. I could go on and on and on. But, the major thing, we never bad mouth foreign prospects for playing professionally as young as 15. We heap praise on guys like Ricky Rubio and Luka Doncic, but bad mouth these kids when they want to try against higher level competition than division 1 college players. I don't get the hypocrisy. These kids are good enough to play in the G League, a bundle of teams want them, so let them go and play. If they get exposed, at least they get to make a little money before being out of the game. That doesn't happen in college, at least on the surface. This ties right into playing grown men trying to get a job by any means necessary. As a kid I was always told to play against people that were bigger and better than me. That it would make me a better player. And it did. So, I think it is an excellent idea for these kids to go play professionally wherever they are wanted. They won't waste a year, and they will learn, just a little bit, what it is like to be a real pro.

Speaking of the whole locker room stuff, that is a non starter for me. If you go and do your job, I don't see why anyone would really care, unless they have some deeper issues. You win, play hard and do what you're told, and stay out of the way to the best of your ability is to their advantage. I think all the hubbub is dumb, unnecessary and pointless. If a kid is good enough, a team wants him enough and they can make money, more power to that player. Go do what you need to do and get some money while you can.

My hat is off to Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd. I hope they succeed and I hope more players, players that are as good as they are, do the same.

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 Scheme"

A week or so back HBO had a sports documentary on called "The Scheme". I wanted to watch it, forgotten about it and then remembered that we have On Demand, and that HBO replays stuff all the time. I found it, recorded it and finished it yesterday, and I loved it. Let’s discuss

"The Scheme" follows the embarrassing FBI investigation into Christian Dawkins relationship with high school basketball stars and whether or not he gave coaches money as well as players. I fully believe, and this doc furthers that belief, that Dawkins did not deal with coaches. He was friendly with them, and he talked to assistants, but he did not do anything that most people do, or do not do, when they deal with major head coaches dealing with big time shoe deals. It started with Sonny Vaccaro, and it is still going real, real strong today. In fact, my team Michigan, lost out on two big time recruits last night and today, and after watching "The Scheme", I am curious as to why one kid decided to go play pro overseas, although that actually makes sense because the kid can get paid to play right now, and the other kid chose Arizona State, which I believe is an Adidas school, over Michigan, which is Jordan Brand. I wonder if any of that went into their decisions.

Anyway, I found "The Scheme" to be very well made, but extremely eye opening. I have been on both sides of paying college athletes. When I was younger, thought that a scholarship was more than enough. Then I grew up and realized that was asinine, and that some kids bring in millions to the schools they go to. If a coach can make money hand over fist, and they can pay their assistants a million plus a year, why can't the kids, who bring in the majority of the money, get anything? Why are they treated like indentured servants? Why can't they make choices to further themselves and their families? Why can't they get something more?

As for the show, "The Scheme" introduces us to Christian Dawkins, who's name I didn't know until two years ago, and he seems to have the same questions. He was a player that was okay, good enough to play varsity at a very good high school as a sophomore, but he didn't have the tools to go all the way. He decided then that he was going to be in the business of rated and ranking and getting high school kids into good college basketball programs. He started a blog at first that blew up. He then started to meet people. He got a shoe deal for an AAU team when he was 17 years old. He made moves because of his relationship with other high school players. He knew his crowd, he knew how to market them and he ran with it. He went so far as to join an agency as a "runner". They called him an "agent", but what he did was get high profile players for the agency he worked for to sign with them. He then would find the next kid. He got guys like Malachi Richardson and Elfird Payton, former high first round picks. He then made a mistake, what they called "Uber Gate", and spent way too much of those guys money, he says by mistake, on Uber rides. He was fired from the agency, and that was when he decided to start his own business. This was also when the FBI got involved. There was so much stuff that went into this investigation, this pointless investigation, that it needs to be made into a live action movie. The FBI had two agents pose as money people to try and get Dawkins to get coaches involved. They had another agent type guy, Marty Blazer, working for them as well. They had phones tapped. They had fraud. They used the FBI's money to try and further their case. They tried to film Dawkins doing illicit things with coaches. They tried it all really. And Dawkins is no saint, more on that in a minute. But, the FBI flubbed this thing big time. They kept trying and pushing for Dawkins to get big name coaches involved. Coaches like Sean Miller, Will Wade and Rick Pitino. They wanted to take them all down. But, Dawkins kept insisting that he doesn't deal with head coaches. He dealt with assistants, and more importantly, players. He would tell the FBI informant, or try to explain during phone calls, how absurd it would be to get head coaches involved. He kept telling him it was easier, and quieter to deal with players and assistants. The FBI paid no mind to that, and they tried to take Dawkins down a bit too early. They tried to catch him in the act in Vegas, and while they may have been able to bring up some charges, they didn't do the damage they hoped. I, like a lot of people, thought that this was going to be the death of some major schools, but it really wasn't. Sean Miller is still at Arizona. Kansas was the favorite to win the title. Will Wade still has a job. Creighton was a top 25 team this year. The only person who got hit by this, besides Dawkins, was Rick Pitino, and he is already back in the college game, after one year coaching overseas.

"The Scheme" only made me further despise the NCAA and all their cronies. The fact that they wasted tax payer's money and time is crazy. The fact that they acted all high and mighty, and basically did nothing to the people who should have gotten in trouble, Will Wade and Sean Miller mostly, is ridiculous. The fact that Dawkins had to spend tons of time in court, and a year and a day in jail, is utterly insane. Yes, what he did was immoral and wrong and is against NCAA rules, he did nothing that hundreds and hundreds of people before him have done. Every major school has a guy like Dawkins working for them. I'm 100 percent positive coaches like Coach K and John Calipari and Miller and Wade and Bill Self all have guys like Dawkins, or ties to Dawkins. That is the cost of winning and recruiting at the level they continue to recruit.

I really enjoyed this doc, I highly recommend sports fans watch it and I one hundred percent believe that Dawkins is not the bad guy, and he didn't do anything that a bunch of other people are doing or did. Dawkins said it best when they neared the end when he was asked what he has to say to the NCAA, and he said, "F&*k the NCAA". I couldn't have said it better myself. 

Ty

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

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Tales of the NCAA Being Stupid: Chase Young and James Wiseman Edition

In their never ending circle of stupidity, the NCAA doubled down with 2 of the most baffling suspensions I have ever witnessed in my history of watching college sports this past week.

First off, you all know how I feel about the University of Ohio State. I think it says a lot the way I type it, I loathe that team, I think they cheat and Urban Meyer is a supreme asshole. But, to suspend Chase Young, for what now looks like 2 of the most meaningless games on their schedule, is absolutely ridiculous. I get that players cannot accept money from boosters, and that, somewhere deep, deep in the rule book what he did was "wrong", still, this was so stupid. Yes, he took money from a "booster", but it was to fly his family, and his girlfriend, out to the bowl game last season. And Chase Young paid the loan back. I swear the only reason he got the suspension was because the "booster" has ties to the NFL. Or his family does, or something like that.

Herein lies one of my biggest problems with the NCAA and their never ending rule book. Chase Young is not allowed to get a job while he is enrolled in school. One, he doesn't have time, but college athletes cannot get work outside of the program. It is one of the billion dumb rules passed down by the NCAA to further police these kids. I had a friend who I have mentioned before that played division 1-AA football, and even he couldn't work a summer job that wasn't connected with the school. Chase Young is a star player. He is one of the favorites to win the Heisman. He is the best player on the number one ranked team in the country. He will, almost certainly, be a top 3 pick in the upcoming draft, and the NCAA decided now, near the end of the regular season, they were going to suspend him? Look, I do not like standing up for a player from that school, but this is so bogus. I mean, by all accounts, he goes to class, he has had zero off field issues and he paid back the loan. Why the suspension? The NCAA is as crooked, if not more so, than FIFA. And this suspension is just another unwanted feather in their, and Mark Emmert's dumbass hat. Again, the games he will, and already has, missed are glorified scrimmages. But still, this all but takes him out of the Heisman race, and makes the NCAA look really, really bad.

Then, to almost try and outdo themselves, the NCAA decided, one game into the men's college basketball season, that they were going to suspend the number one recruit, and most likely number one pick in the upcoming NBA draft, James Wiseman out of Memphis for the rest of the season because he accepted a "gift" from a booster. This booster, his head coach Penny Hardaway. Never, ever in my life have I heard, or been told, or read that a head coach can also be considered a "booster". This is asinine. I mean, Penny Hardaway did nothing wrong at all. He did exactly as Coach K or John Calipari would do. But, because he is young and new, the NCAA decided they were going to target him. I guarantee that if Wiseman went to Kentucky or Duke, this wouldn't even be a story. But, because Wiseman chose Memphis, and Penny Hardaway, the NCAA decided they needed to suspend him.

Even further, I don't know what the suspension is for. All I have read so far is that he is "ineligible". Is it grades? Is it impermissible benefits? Did the coaching staff at Memphis give him money? The NCAA has answered none of this, and just deemed him "ineligible". But, not to be taken prisoner by the corrupt NCAA, James Wiseman and Penny Hardaway are fighting the suspension, and until he is for real punished, he is allowed to play. The very same day he was deemed "ineligible", he went out and played and had a monster game. Look, Wiseman is going to be in the NBA regardless next year, but this one year at Memphis can mean the difference in draft position, and that could mean millions upon millions of dollars. But does the NCAA care about that? Of course not. They want things done their way, no matter how stupid and pointless their crazy rules may be.

Like I said before, if he were at any other school, one of the blue blood schools, this wouldn't even be an issue. But since Penny Hardaway is able to go into any recruit's home in the country, and is infinitely cooler than say Coach K or John Calipari or Roy Williams or Tom Izzo, the NCAA gets their feathers all ruffled. I told my dad, that if my son grows up to be a college level basketball player, and I had to pick a team or a coach I would want him to play for, Michigan and Juwan Howard were one, but Penny Hardaway and Memphis were a very close second. I grew up watching those guys play in college and the NBA. I didn't sit down and watch Coach K coach Duke, or John Calipari cheat at UMASS and now Kentucky. I loathe Tom Izzo. I think Roy Williams is okay, but he is old school. I would want my kid to play for a young, hip and fun coach. Not some crusty old man.

These 2 suspensions are so blatantly stupid and pointless from the NCAA and Mark Emmert. Every time they do anything that is slightly good, like agreeing to eventually pay athletes for their likeness, they go and do something like this that reminds me how disgusting and corrupt they are. This is so stupid and I like that these kids are fighting back. They aren't just accepting it because the NCAA says so. Good for these kids, and good for Penny Hardaway for attacking the system.

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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A New Perspective on Pay to Play

While I thought that I had said pretty much everything I wanted to on the "Pay to Play" law yesterday,

I didn't.

I was talking to my dad today about the new possibility of this becoming a law, and we got on the topic of being a parent of an athlete that a school may have profited, or will profit, off of. Now, my dad, all of us are grown. If we had a shot, we didn't make it, or we didn't try. I do have one brother that played college football, but I honestly do not remember if anyone had his jersey, or wore stuff with his likeness on it. So we then shifted the conversation to his grand-kids, and my kids. He asked me how I would feel if my son or daughter was a good enough athlete that they were being heavily recruited to play college sports, and "Pay to Play" became a real thing, what would I do, as their parent. Would I try to steer them to a certain school, or would I let them do what they please.

Now, I would love to say that I would let them do whatever they want to do. I do that now. I let them make choices, although they are small. I let them pick clothes, how they want to do their hair, what they want for dessert, just small things here and there. But, if "Pay to Play" becomes a real thing, god I hope it does, I would be lying to myself if I said I wouldn't try and steer them towards the schools that have "Pay to Play". I am a Michigan fan through and through. They are my ride or die squad. As you all know, they are the only sports team that I truly love. But, "Pay to Play" is not a thing in Michigan yet. My dad told me to envision my kids being college athletes now, and singularly focus on the states that have passed "Pay to Play". That made me think extra hard. Still, I would let them know all the advantages of playing in a state that has "Pay to Play", as opposed to states that don't allow it. I would let them know that the schools in California and New York would give them a much deserved piece of the profit that they are making off selling my kids jersey, or items that may have their likeness on it. I would also let them know that states that do not yet have the law, those schools would take all the money and give it to coaches and assistant coaches and AD's and the NCAA. I would let them know that they would be taken advantage of if they chose to go to a school in a state where "Pay to Play" was not an option. That they wouldn't see a dime of stuff that has anything pertaining to them on it. I would let them know what an injustice that is, and try and steer them towards a school that would help them out with more than just a scholarship. I would want them to be comfortable in college, and not have to worry about going out to get a meal because it may or may not be an NCAA violation. I also just think it is right for them to see a little something if they are making millions of dollars for a college that they are going to. It just seems right. Sure, it would be tough for them to be so far away from my wife and I, but still, they would deserve to be compensated. They would deserve to be comfortable. They shouldn't feel like lesser than a university, especially if they are making money for the school. That is my perspective as a parent in a world with the "Pay to Play" act possibly becoming a real thing.

Look, the NCAA is as corrupt as FIFA, and for them to act like victims in this new world is appalling. I hope "Pay to Play" becomes a world wide thing so I wouldn't have to steer my kids to a place where they would be taken care of. But if it doesn't, and just stays on the West and East Coast, then I would try and get them to look so much closer at those schools than schools close to home, or schools I am a fan of. That is the honest truth.

Ty

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

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Every State Needs to Pass Pay to Play Laws

I am very happy right now that the "Pay to Play" bill is getting closer and closer to becoming the law. It is about damn time that these kids get to benefit off their likeness and jersey sales in college sports. I wrote, maybe a week or so ago, how I have totally flipped to the side that these kids deserve some kind of compensation, outside of a scholarship. The money that the schools, and coaches make off the superstar players on their teams is insane, and the fact that the player sees no kind of return, well it is asinine.

My wife and I talked about this very subject the other night, and she actually disagreed with me, saying that a scholarship was enough for the star players because soon they would be making a fortune. I countered with the fact that some of the highest paid employees in certain states are coaches, usually of the football teams. She did not know that. I know that Jim Harbaugh is the highest paid employee in Michigan. The same can be said for Nick Saban and Alabama. I wouldn't even be shocked if guys like Jeremy Pruitt and Willie Taggart are the highest paid employees in Tennessee and Florida, and they are coaches of struggling football teams.

All of this is to say, if the coaches, their staffs and the university, and the NCAA, can profit millions upon millions upon millions of dollars, why can't the kids bringing in the profits see a dime? That is why I am all for the "Pay to Play" act. This makes me so happy. I love that California has already passed it. I think Florida has as well. I know places like Ohio and New York are in the process of getting this passed as well. And it is about damn time.

I am going to go back to some of the players I mentioned from my first article. And while my wife isn't wrong, Chris Webber and Zion Williamson are set for life now, the fact that they got nothing in college, and the school and coaches got millions, is sickening. I want to go back to the UNC-Duke game from last year, the one Obama was in attendance for. The tickets were upwards of 10,000 dollars, everywhere you looked , people had Duke jerseys with the number 1 on the back, Williamson's number and there were so many branded shirts in the crowd for both schools. But, the 10 players on the floor, most notably Zion, got none of the money. People, random students, were wearing his jersey, and he didn't see a dollar. Same thing goes for Webber at Michigan. He would go into the bookstore at school, see his number 4 jersey for sale for upwards of 60 bucks, and he could barely afford a meal at McDonald's. That is criminal. And, it isn't like these kids can get a job in the offseason. Their sport is essentially their job in college. One, I think it is against the rules for an athlete to have a job, and second, they have no time. I had a friend that played division 1-AA football, and he never had an offseason. During football season, he was up at 5 for a morning practice, then off to class all day, then back in the afternoon for a practice, then film study, then study hall, then lights out. This was all year long in fact. Even when football was over, he still had weight training, study hall, film sessions and anything else that the football team needed him to do. He didn't have time for a job. And this was 1-AA football. So, just imagine what the top flight, top prospects have to go through in D-1. It has to be insane. I'm sure a guy like Jerry Jeudy from Alabama, a top flight receiving prospect, and one of the top prospects in the nation, has zero time to focus on anything other than football. Yet, he has been at Alabama for three years, people wear his jersey in the stands and he sees nothing from it. He has to deal with a curmudgeon of a head coach, who is making money hand over fist. He has a university that is throwing him out there to promote Alabama football, from which they make tons of money. And he just has to sit back and accept that he has to wait until the NFL draft before he can make any money. That is so wrong. And Jeudy is just one of the many prospects, across all major sports at big time schools, that is being unfairly kept away from profiting off their name and image.

Point is, I'm fully on board with guys like Draymond Green and Richard Sherman. I hope this destroys the corrupt and immoral NCAA, and I love college sports. But, it is high time that these kids, who are being put on national TV, having their jerseys being sold, having to talk to media members and being portrayed as bastions to their university get some compensation. Tim Tebow is an idiot and the people who think a scholarship is enough are wrong. Too many student athletes have been taken advantage of for far too long, and it seems like their time may finally be coming. I know if either one of my kids ends up playing a sport in college, and they are good enough that people buy anything with their likeness, name or face on it, I would want them to see a share of that money.

Lets hope the "Pay to Play" act is the wave of the future needed in college sports. I fully support this law.

Ty

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

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Tim Tebow is Still a Jackass

For a long time I was one of the people who thought a college scholarship was more than enough for student athletes. I figured, they get their school paid for, and they are campus legends, at least some of them.

That was when I was a stupid teenager, and didn’t understand, or turned a blind eye to, how universities treat these kids. The athletes, especially the top tier ones, are abundant money makers to the school they go to. I was devastated when Michigan and the Fab Five were sanctioned and had to give up all those wins and Final Four berths. But, with adult eyes, and hearing the Fab Five guys talk about their struggle, I don’t blame them. Michigan, my favorite college for those of you that may have forgotten, sold Chris Webber’s jersey and made millions off him and the rest of those kids. That’s wrong on so many levels. Hell, look at that Duke-UNC basketball game in Durham last year. Former president Barack Obama, god I miss him so much, was front row, tickets were going for upwards of 10,000 dollars it was reported. And while Duke, and Coach K, profited off that, the guy everyone was there to watch, Zion Williamson, got none of it. I’m sure he was taken care of, like Webber, but nothing near what that one game netted both those colleges.

This goes on everywhere. All universities, with big time athletics, takes advantage of the athletes while the coaches and schools rake in millions upon millions of dollars. So when this recent bill in California, to let players profit from their name and image, was brought up, and then passed, I was stoked. I thought, finally these kids will get what they deserve. Yes, a scholarship is nice, but as I said, the athletes make so much more than a scholarship provides.

But, for some unknown reason, I found myself watching “First Take” on ESPN this morning, and I watched Tim Tebow give some dumbass speech about how bad it is to pay student athletes. He went into some diatribe about playing for the “name on the front of the jersey”, and now, “it’s all about me, me, me”.

First of all, he should have profited off all the jersey sales of his Florida jersey, but that’s neither here nor there. This whole speech was the epitome of white privilege and “back in my day” mentality. I’ve made no bones about how I feel about Tebow. I don’t like him, I didn’t think he’d last in the NFL, and even though he made it much further that I thought, I figured the baseball thing was a way to keep his name in the news. But for him to give this speech on national TV, and chastise kids for wanting to profit from their name and image, was just asinine. Like I said, this was white privilege at its best. Tebow didn’t need money or anything when he was in college. I’m sure he came from money, and money has never been a problem for him. He’s seems like a silver spoon kid. Well Mr Tebow, 99 percent of the population isn’t as lucky as you are. Jalen Rose could’ve used some money in college. He had a very rough upbringing. Same for guys like Randy Moss and Jason Williams, the White Chocolate one, not the murderer. I’m sure there’s a good amount of Alabama players that just look at their time in college as an unnecessary stop until they get to the NFL. Why can’t they try and make money when, by NFL rules, they have to go to college? Former Michigan running back Karan Higdon had a daughter while in college. I know how expensive kids are, and I bet if he were able to profit off his jersey sales he would’ve jumped at that chance. I’ve heard countless stories about kids going to college as a way out of their rough neighborhood or upbringing. Why can’t they get some extra money when a school sells a jersey with their number on it?

I found Tim Tebow’s speech vulgar, disgusting and short sided. He’s never had to do anything real or tough. He’s never had a hard day in his life. So why does he think he gets to be the voice on an issue like this, I will never understand. He would’ve been better off working on his hitting than going on a TV show today to trash student athletes trying to profit from schools, and coaches, taking advantage of them.

Tim Tebow disgusts me, and if I hear him speak one more time on this issue, it will be one time too many. Tebow is a poser, I’m sure he voted for the current government and he is the epitome of white privilege. He just needs to go away, and never speak on this issue ever again. What a jackass.

Ty

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

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This Tate Martell Miami Situation is a Fiasco

I know that I spent last week talking football, but the story that came out from the University of Miami yesterday is too good not to acknowledge.

For those in the know, Tate Martell left the University of Ohio State after Justin Fields transferred there and decided to go to Miami. He assumed he would start, Miami had recruited him, and he didn't think he would get a chance to play if he stayed in the shit hole that is Columbus. I, like a lot of people, assumed he would start too. He was talking all this shit, went on Twitter to talk about how good he is, and how he should play, fought with the NCAA to get immediate eligibility, even though he transferred simply for playing time, somehow won the appeal and was granted immediate eligibility and started practicing with the team right away.

Yesterday new coach Manny Diaz announced that a freshman who enrolled early was going to be his starting QB. This brought back so many of the stupid things this Martell kid had said on many social media platforms. There was even a text exchange between him and a friend where he was bashing other recruits who have gone on to, at the very least, play some QB in college football. I mean this is a clear case of a kid that cannot back up all the talk. This reminds me so very much of the Tate Forcier era at Michigan, but Forcier at least got to play in some real games. All Martell did last year was play in mop up duty, and with the departure of Dwayne Haskins, I'm sure he figured he was next in line. Then the Justin Fields transfer, who also got immediate eligibility, happened. Then he left and now he is not starting. In fact, it was reported that after the true freshman was named starting QB at Miami, Martell didn't even show up for practice. Again, I go back to Tate Forcier after Denard Robinson was named the starter for Michigan. Robinson came in, ran the offense to perfection, and at the time, was clearly the top QB for the Wolverines. So Forcier transferred, expected playing time at a big school, didn't get it, and now, I couldn't tell you where he is. I do know where Denard Robinson is though, because he stuck it out until it was his turn. That is the problem I have with Martell, That, and the non stop talking and gassing himself up via Twitter. He flat out got beat. Diaz has had these kids in camp for a bit now, and it was clear to him that the freshman was better than Martell. And for him to reportedly skip practice the very next day, that is some sour grapes. I mean, in all likely hood he was going to be the backup, and the cliché thing is, "the backup QB is one snap away from being the starter". Also, what if this other kid struggles a bit? Then I'm sure Diaz wouldn't hesitate to put Martell in. But nope, it seems as if he is going to try and leave another big time program, and catch on somewhere else, because he doesn't feel like he should earn his spot, he thinks it should be handed to him. Sure, he was probably great in high school, but he has done zero in college football, and now he is getting beat by a true freshman.

I don't know what will happen to Martell from here, but if he does decide to transfer again, this would be his third time, if I were a coach of a major program, I would steer clear of him. It is clear to me that he doesn't want competition, that he doesn't think he needs to practice, that he thinks he is the best no matter who else is already established, or what big time recruits have been brought in. The funny thing to me, that I saw all over sports websites yesterday, was people saying he was going to end up on season 5 of "Last Chance U". That would be hilarious. This kid has proven that he isn't ready, not yet at least, for big time college football. All he has shown is that he can run his mouth, and then get beat out by other QB's on the roster.

This is one of the reasons why I have a problem with the NCAA, and their transfer portal. Anytime it gets tough for one of these 4 or 5 star kids in high school, they leave. They don't even wait to see what will happen, or if they will get a chance. They just up and leave, and end up playing at a small school, and the NFL forgets about them. It is kind of ridiculous how much this goes on. I have no problem with a kid leaving if the coaching situation changes, or if they get hurt and have been told they won't get to play much when they get back. But, to transfer because someone is better than you, that is laughable to me.

Well, we will have to wait and see what will happen next in this crazy story. But, I feel like he is going to be Miami's version of Tate Forcier. Hell, maybe we will see him on "Last Chance U" next year. Time will tell.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty is not ready for a repeat of the Tate Forcier era. No Michigan fan should have to relive those 7 win seasons.

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Ty's 2018-2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Season Preview

Today I have my massive NCAA men's basketball preview. I like to do this in one big chunk because I love college sports so much, and once I get going, I just cannot stop.

Now, a few things before I get into it. One, this whole FBI investigation can really throw a wrench in many of my predictions. Personally I do not think much will come of it. I have heard people call it the worst thing to happen to college basketball, and that it could be the death of the sport, but I don't buy it. Some teams might get some kind of sanctions, but I don't think it will crush college basketball. Also, I am once again not very well versed in the new players. I typically only watch Big Ten basketball, which some think is the worst form of college basketball, and with all the "one and done" guys, a thing I despise, it is hard to remember who is who anymore in college basketball. For example, I had no idea who Trae Young was when I did my preview last year. Then he blew up. So, I actually bought a college basketball magazine this year to do some research. It wasn't as helpful as I hoped, but I do know more now.

Two more things before I get into it. First, I know that I do not do a women's preview, and I always pick UCONN, and they haven't won it in 2 years, and they aren't the preseason number one team this year, but guess what? I'm picking them again. UCONN women's basketball is the Warriors or Patriots. They are the best. Second, and finally, I will do my men's NCAA basketball preview just like I do my college football preview. I will go through the power conferences, pick a winner, name a few "sleeper" and "surprise" teams. I will then pick my Final Four, my national player of the year, my title game and my winner. Again, this is all subject to change, and I will revisit all this at, or around the midway point of the season.

Okay, lets do it.

I'll start with the AAC, and yes, this is a "major" conference for college basketball. This is the conference that has Cincinnati, UCONN and Memphis. After that, not much else. Memphis has a ton of hype because they hired their prodigal son, Penny Hardaway as their new head coach. He is also getting big time recruits to come play there. Memphis may be better than anyone expects due to Hardaway's recruiting ability and staff. I don't know how good of a coach he can be, but if he gets top recruits, it won't matter. Cincinnati is always a solid regular season team, then they blow it in the tourney. They lost some key guys, but that doesn't matter. Mick Cronin is still the coach, they still have experience, and they will continue to be a tournament team. And then there is UCONN. They are in a regression right now. They, unfairly in my opinion, fired Kevin Ollie and hired Dan Hurley. This team will need time before we remember them as a perennial tournament team. Wichita State is also here, but they lost so much talent. They aren't going to be the darlings they used to be for awhile. Houston is a tournament level team, even if they lost their best player. I feel like this is a 2-3 team bid for the tourney. Cincinnati will get in and I feel like Houston is a near lock. After that, I would not be shocked if Memphis makes it. They have some real good incoming talent. In the end, Cincinnati will win the conference and probably lose on the first or second day of the tourney.

Next, lets move to one of the best conferences in college basketball, the ACC. This conference is loaded from 1-11, and there are 15 teams in the ACC. Duke is Duke. I loathe this team, and I do not get why Coach K gets a pass, but John Calipari doesn't, but he keeps pulling in top freshman. He has a class this year that is reminiscent of Michigan's Fab Five. He pulled in 4 of the top 20 recruits. He got RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones and Zion Williamson, the big get. This team is loaded with super talented 18-19 year olds. They don't play a whole lot of defense, and Reddish, Barrett and Williamson all play the same position. But, today's basketball is becoming more and more position less. I could coach this team to a sweet sixteen bid. UNC is back, has some returning key guys and has some incoming super talented freshman. Luke Maye gets picked on a lot because he doesn't look like a basketball player, but the dude can play. He is a very good shooter. Seventh Woods is finally going to get his shot to start. Cameron Johnson opted to come back. And then they got 2 great freshman, Nassir Little and Cony White. Roy Williams has the exact type team he likes, some vets with some young stars, and UNC will be a threat. Clemson is a solid bet to get in the tournament. They have a lot of experience. FSU lost some key guys, but they are now a team that is always a threat to get in the tourney, and maybe even win a game or two. Miami is good, but they lost Lonnie Walker after only one year. They have a good coach, they just need a little more talent. Louisville is one of the teams that will get hit by sanctions, but until then, they have some good players, and they got Chris Mack to leave Xavier and come coach this team. He is a great coach. NC State is a 20 win team and a tourney team. Notre Dame will be back in after a year away. Syracuse is still a team that confounds opponents with their zone, and that alone will lead to a tourney bid. Virginia Tech is a very good, top 15 level team. They will make noise. And even though they were the first 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed, Virginia will be back, and they still play that suffocating defense, and they have some shooters. They also lucked out when De'Andre Hunter chose to return to school. In the end though, I feel like UNC and Duke have the best talent. I want to pick UNC because they have veteran leadership, but Duke is so loaded, I just feel like they are going to win the ACC going away. Don't be surprised if this conference gets double digit teams in the tourney too.

I guess the Big East is still a power conference, but it doesn't really feel like it. In reality, this conference is all about Villanova. Sure, Xavier is good and Butler is a tourney team, but after that, the rest of the conference is kind of meh. Xavier lost Chris Mack and some talent, but they got some quality transfers and they play tough basketball. Butler is on the rise, but they just are not at the top of this conference yet. Villanova is the team to beat, as they should be. Sure, they lost a ton of guys from last year's title team, but who cares. They still have Jay Wright, they still have guys that played crucial minutes for them, and they are one of the best teams in the country. They will win the Big East with ease. Real quick before I move on, it is a shame that Syracuse is not in this league, and that teams like St. John's, Georgetown and Providence are non factors. It is a real bummer. This is a three team league.

Next we have the Big 12. The Big 12, for what seems like the one millionth straight year, will be Kansas' league. I know they are one of the teams that could get hit hard by the FBI, but until then, they will dominate this league. They have one of the best big men in Udoka Azubuike, 2 brothers transferring in from Memphis and three McDonald's All Americans on this roster. They are stacked and they will dominate. Kansas State shockingly made the Elite Eight last year, and they return pretty much everyone from last year. They will be good again. WVU plays that suffocating press, Bob Huggins is a good coach, and they will win 25 games easily. TCU is on the rise due to Jamie Dixon. They also have a roster of talented players. TTU surprised a lot of people last year, and even with Zhaire Smith opting for the draft, they should be a tournament team once again. Texas lost Mo Bamba, but not much else. They should be back in the tournament again. The Big 12 has a lot of talent, but it doesn't really matter. Kansas, until further notice, will continue to win this league, get a high seed and, most likely, blow a game they shouldn't in the tournament.

Lets move to the Pac 12. Remember how they didn't win a single tournament game last year? I sure do, because I picked Arizona to win it all. This conference will be okay, and hopefully they will be much better in this year's tourney, but who knows. Oregon is going to be good again. They got one hell of a recruiting class coming in, and that should be more than enough for this team to get in the dance. Arizona lost a TON of guys, including number one overall pick Deandre Ayton, but they reloaded, and they should be a tournament team. UCLA got rid of the Ball kid, and Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes return. The only thing holding them back is how bad of a coach Steve Alford is. USC should be much improved. Same for Washington. And Utah got into the NIT, and if that momentum carries over, they should be in the big dance this year. ASU AND Cal had their chance, but that seems over now. I'm going to go with Oregon because of their incoming class, and they have the best coach of the top three teams in the conference. But, this conference will get 3, maybe even 4 teams in. Hopefully they do much better.

Next we have the SEC. From 1-9, the SEC is good. After that, not so much. Kentucky is the cream of the crop. They had an "off" year for them last year. But, Coach Cal has one of his better classes coming in, and even though he is a poor X's and O's guy, he can recruit, and his talent will win out. Tennessee won the conference last year, and they have most of their team coming back. They are now a legit threat. Ben Howland has a solid squad, and a great back court in Mississippi State is back. Auburn is good, even if I think Bruce Pearl is one of the most overrated, and biggest cheaters, in all of coaching. LSU has a stunningly good class, and if they find a way to coalesce, they will be good. Florida has gotten to a point where I'm surprised when they don't win 20 plus games. Vanderbilt has that weird court which gives them a great home court advantage, and they have a pair of incoming freshman that appear to be real good. Missouri got one of the Porter brothers to stay, the better one in my opinion, Jontay, and they should make a return to the tourney. I actually think that, with Michael Porter Jr off to the NBA, they will play a lot freer on the court, which will lead to good things for them as a team. And Texas A&M has their 2 top scorers back, and if they hit shots like last year, they could easily make the tournament. What it all boils down to is Kentucky. Coach Cal is pumped about this team, and that is usually a good sign for them. Tennessee, Mississippi State, Auburn and LSU will be tough, but Kentucky is a cut above them all. Kentucky will return to being the SEC champs.

I'm going to end the power conference talk with my conference, the Big Ten. I adore the Big Ten because, as you all know very well by now, I love the University of Michigan. The title game was a let down last year, but the run to it was sure fun. But, they lose a lot of key guys from that team. Mo Wagner left early for the draft and Duncan Robinson, and my favorite player, Muhammed Ali Abdur Rahkman, both graduated. But, they do return a good chunk of talent, and John Beilen might have his best class coming in since he got Mitch McGary, Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Trey Burke. They also return Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson. They also get Jon Teske back, who was good in back up duty to Wagner. Jordan Poole can still shoot, and Isiah Livers comes back after being a starter his entire freshman year, where he was one of their better defenders. Two of the freshman coming in should see time right away as well. I'm curious to see how Beilen does with this squad, and early games against Villanova and UNC should be good early season indicators. But, I like this team. The only problem, Michigan State is going to be very good again. Sure, Miles Bridges is off to the pros, but much like Missouri's case with Porter Jr, I think MSU will benefit without him. They also have a very good class coming in, and they have vets. Tom Izzo should have been fired, and the program should be shut down after all the offseason stuff, but that didn't happen, and this basketball team should be one of Izzo's better ones in the past couple of years. Purdue is also very good, and while they lost their best big man, who is a disgusting human being, they get Carsen Edwards back. He is Big Ten Player of the Year level good. He is an exceptional scorer and plays hard defense. Matt Painter has also proven to be a good regular season coach. Indiana got the top point guard in the country to commit, and he alone will vault this team back to the tourney. This is Archie Miller's biggest coup since he started coaching. Nebraska has a load of talent coming back. That might be weird to say, but they will be good this year. I feel like an NCAA tourney bid is a foregone conclusion. The University of Ohio State lost their 2 best players, but they are a tough team and will play hard. Wisconsin should be much improved from last year, especially with Ethan Happ back. Maryland landed 3 top 100 recruits, and in this era of college basketball, that should be more than enough to get in the tourney. And Minnesota, while returning a good chunk of players from a team that started out red hot, then cooled way off, are very inconsistent. They should still be a tournament team. This conference will come down to MSU, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan. Also, Nebraska might have a say in the end. But, even though they should not even be able to field a team, I'm picking MSU to win the Big Ten.

As far as teams outside major conferences, SLU is due to return to being the top team in the A-10, Gonzaga might have one of the best teams in the country, and will definitely own their conference, Nevada is better than Gonzaga, and are coming into the year a top 5 team, I'm curious to see if Loyola-Chicago, who returns everyone from a Final Four team, can repeat their success and I'm going to keep my eye out for Harvard and San Diego State.

As far as my Final Four, and it needs to be stated that I'm going off my assumption that no real teams will get hurt by the FBI thing, I'll go with Kentucky, Kansas, Nevada and UNC. The title game will matchup UNC and Kansas, and I am going to go with UNC. They have better depth, more experience and better freshman, in my opinion. My player of the year will be, lets see, I'm sure it will be a freshman, I'll go with Zion Williamson. Everyone loves him, he is all over social media and he plays for Duke.

Okay, there you have my massive 2018-19 NCAA men's basketball preview. The season starts soon. Time to get excited.

One more thing, 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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Urban Meyer Got Away With It, Again

Where Meyer's coaching career belongs. Along with OSU football and the NCAA.

I know that I promised to do my NFL postseason pick, award winners and Super Bowl champs today, but after what happened with Urban Meyer and the University of Ohio State last night, that needs to be addressed.

First off, I am disgusted and disturbed by how corrupt and meaningless the entire NCAA is. They are a futile corporation that only cares about money and their "brand". If this incident happened at any other school, save for Alabama, the NCAA would have stepped in and made sure that the coaches, the AD and the president of the school were all fired. If this was at Michigan or Clemson or Tennessee or TCU or Oregon or, insert any big name university here, they would have done everything in their "power" to make sure something happened. It is truly disgusting that because this is the University of Ohio State, and because the name Urban Meyer is attached, the NCAA let them do the investigation. I read a tweet last night, I wish I remembered who it was, and they said, "shocking that an investigation into Ohio State, done by Ohio State concluded with a minimal suspension to Ohio State". This was a perfect response.

I think most of us knew, at least those of us that watch college football on the regular, knew that Urban Meyer was going to get off scott free. Now I know, he has a three game suspension but come the hell on, that is a slap on the wrist. He misses games against Oregon State, Rutgers and TCU. TCU is the only team that has even a minimal shot of knocking them off. This is just as bad when a player beats up his significant other, and they get a 3 game suspension in the NFL. Also, Meyer still gets to coach practice after week one. He will only be unavailable to be on the sideline for 3 games. He will be able to coach and talk to all players after the first week.

That is appalling.

It is clear that people in Columbus and in the NCAA only care about one thing, and that is their football program being a success. They don't care about safety of women. They don't care if a former coach was knowingly abusing his ex wife and taking lewd photos at the White House. They don't care that their current coach is trying to find a way to permanently erase text messages that could lead to a whole other story. They don't care that not one single person at the University of Ohio State has simply said "sorry" to Courtney Smith. They don't care that Meyer has tried to turn himself into the victim. They just care that the good ole Buckeyes keep winning them some football games.

That is disgusting.

Urban Meyer's press conference last night was an embarrassment. As I said, he painted himself as the victim. He said he followed his head and not his heart, and that is pure bull shit. When asked about Courtney Smith, he said, "we wished it hadn't come to this". When pressed about how he would go on, he acted arrogant and like he did nothing wrong. It is pretty clear that he is a scumbag. He was a scumbag at Florida, where his buddy Zach Smith worked with him, and he also constantly sided with a murderer, and he is still a scumbag today.

And no, this is not my Wolverines bias coming into play. I would be equally disgusted if this happened to Michigan and Jim Harbaugh. I would have a shit ton of clothes and shoes and shorts to get rid of, and I would also have to get a tattoo removed. I would be embarrassed and grossed out if it happened to my team. But, dumbass Buckeye fans are probably feeling like real winners today, just like their sleazy, scumbag liar of a head coach.

This is disgusting and disturbing.

This is clear evidence that Urban Meyer and his whole football program are above the law in Columbus and the NCAA. That is scary. It was also frightening to read the story about what Buckeye fans have been sending to the guy who broke this story first. If you want to be scared and feel even worse for humanity, go read some of the things that were sent Brett McMurphy's way after he broke the story. It is terrifying. There is also a terrifying trend happening in the conference I watch the most this offseason. We obviously have the coach of the University of Ohio State football team lying to everyone and everybody about his knowledge of abuse by a former coach. We have the horrifying story that came out of Michigan State and their gymnastic program, which bled into their football and basketball program. And we have the Maryland story about DJ Durkin. This is very upsetting and makes me scared for what these coaches will do just to make some money.

We live in dark, dark times and sports used to be my outlet. Now, I cannot even enjoy that on a very basic level. What happened yesterday is awful and loathsome. I cannot believe that Meyer and Gene Smith are still employed. I'm shocked at how little they seem to care about what happened to Courtney Smith. And I'm disgusted at the fact that they got away with everything, as I predicted when this story first broke. I'm so disappointed in every party involved. This is a horrible look, and it will only get worse.

This is bad.

Ty

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

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The NCAA Made a New Rule for College Football, and It is Awesome

College football just made a very big, yet very little talked about, rule change this past week. The council decided that a player does not have to burn a year of eligibility if they play in at least 4 games in a season. This is a very big deal, and it is a very good thing. For once, the NCAA is doing something right. This is a great rule for everyone involved. Now, if a player gets hurt, or has to sit for other reasons, but they have already played in 4 games, the school, and the player, does not have to burn a redshirt on them.

Awesome.

This would have been great last year for my team, Michigan. Tarik Black got hurt in the third game of the year, and at the time, he was leading the team in receiving. He was the only real threat, although Donovan Peoples Jones emerged later in the year, that the offense had, outside of the run game. But, he broke his foot, needed surgery, and he had to redshirt the season and sit out. He still has his 4 years of eligibility left, but with this new rule, Michigan wouldn't have had to use a redshirt on him. They could have used it on someone else, possibly an offensive or defensive lineman, that really needed it. Black was already contributing and putting up numbers, the redshirt felt wasted. Now, colleges don't have to worry about that.

I'm sure there are other freshman or sophomores who went through the same thing as Black last year, and I'm sure their fans are just as happy about this rule change as I am. This is a game changer. These players, these emerging freshman and such, don't have to fear injury taking a year away from them. This is also great for established starters who might be pushed from incoming highly regarded recruits to not play through minor injuries that could turn into a major injuries. The juniors or seniors who have been starting since they set foot on campus won't feel pressured now to play through a sprain, or tweak, or a concussion for fear of losing their spot. Colleges and players can now be more careful how they tend to injuries. We all know that these kids play through some horrible stuff, and this new rule will, hopefully, rectify this. I know this won't fully stop kids playing through bad injuries, but now there is an incentive to maybe sit a game or two to get yourself back to full health before going back out on the field. 

Like I said at the top, this is, finally, the NCAA seeming to care about these kids. The NCAA, even though it is an evil and corrupt corporation, has at least on the surface, taken a step in the right direction to make it seem like they care about these kids. That is more than I can say for the NFL right now. The NFL would rather hide concussions and throw their "star" players back on the field ASAP. Look at what happened to Russell Wilson last year. He got exploded on a play, was clearly concussed, went to that little blue tent for about 30 seconds, and he was cleared to return to the field. That was insane. There is also the guy that started ahead of Deshaun Watson for some unknown reason, I can't remember his name, but he was hit so hard in a game that his hands were shaking, and he missed one series. That was so dangerous. And the NFL could care less. Now, in the NCAA, they will handle these injuries will more caution than their professional counterparts.

I'm so glad that they are going to, again, at least on the surface, try to make these players think twice about rushing back onto the field. And when you look at it, these are kids that we are talking about. Sure, they are super star athletes, and they are the stars of their schools, but they are kids. And, a lot of them are not going to play professional football. That is reality. So, for the majority of these kids, the ones that will not be pros at football, they can preserve themselves. They can have a life outside of football when their college careers are over due to this new rule. They can be more cautious. They can take better care of their bodies and their minds.

I LOVE this new rule. I think it is going to be great, and it furthers proves my extreme love for college football. College football proves time and time again that they are much further ahead of the curve than the NFL. Now, they just have to pay these players, and it will become that much better.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is currently sit out his 12th year of college football due to injury/age. How many redshirts does a man need?

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The Latest College Basketball Scandal is Completely Worthless

I have been trying my best to not write about the whole FBI investigation into NCAA basketball, but I have heard so many different theories, I just have to put mine out there.

For those of you that may or may not know, the FBI launched a big time investigation into college basketball players getting "impermissible benefits". This basically means that players were given money to go and play for certain colleges. Some big time programs are involved with this whole thing too. I'm talking the Duke's, UNC's, Michigan State's, Kansas' and Kentucky's of the college basketball world. There are many more schools involved, but when blue bloods like that are being named, it becomes a big deal. The money that is being tossed around ranges anywhere from 40 dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a mess.

Now, for the entirety of my young adult life, my early to mid 20's, I thought that a full scholarship was more than enough for these kids. I figured, if med students have to pay for school, but athletes don't, what more do they need? But, the older I get, the less I think that is true. Lets get something straight right off the bat, yes these kids are getting full rides to play basketball at these schools, and when you break it down, 4 year tuition to these schools can be as much as 70 to 80,000 dollars a year. But, look at all the money the schools make off the athletes. It is millions, if not billions, of dollars. The schools sell these kids jerseys in their stores for upwards of 75 dollars a pop, and these kids see none of that money. That is bull shit. Imagine that happening in the pros. Imagine LeBron or Steph or KD not seeing a dime from the sale of their jerseys. It would be ludicrous. Why is there is a double standard when it comes to these scholar athletes? They should see some kind of money off the schools using their likeness, shouldn't they? And for people like I used to be, the whole tuition is more than enough people, get the hell out of here. That isn't even close to being enough money for what the schools are pulling in.

What I went back to after this story broke was Michigan and the Fab Five stuff. Yes, they got hammered for paying those guys, mainly Chris Webber, and at the time I was mad. But, looking back on it, I had a number 4 Michigan jersey. I wore black socks. I wore Nikes. I wore Michigan shorts. And my parents got all the stuff from the University. All that money they spent to put me into all the things Webber and the rest of the Fab Five wore had to cost them more than 100 bucks. That was going on all over the country. And to crush a program for years because a kid who was making the school more money than they could print for taking 250,000 dollars, that's insane to me. That is a drop in the bucket compared to what Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King brought into that school, and still do. I still see people wearing their throwback jerseys at games. The same can be said for the football program at Michigan. This is my school, so that is why I'm using them as an example. I still see those dumbass "throwback" jerseys with Denard Robinson's number 16 on the front and back when I go to games. Do you think Denard saw a dime from those jersey sales? Hell no. But, the University of Michigan easily made six figures off of those dumbass jerseys.

So when I'm looking at the schools being mentioned, and the players being named and what they supposedly took, or their parents took, it drives me nuts that they are being investigated by the FBI. The FBI has much bigger fish to fry, (clears throat), the current "government". But, they are choosing to go after college kids. I mean, Michigan State should be getting investigated by the FBI, but not for giving Miles Bridges 40 bucks. They have the entire athletic department involved in a massive sexual assault scandal, but Miles Bridges is being raked over the coals for taking 40 dollars? What a crock. And the other blue bloods involved, why is it so surprising that they are giving elite prospects money to come to their schools now? Of course Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, and so on and so forth are giving young kids and their family something to come play ball there. Don't try and tell me, and I loathe Duke, that they weren't giving guys like Christian Laettner money, just like I'm sure they gave Jahlil Okafor, Justice Winslow and now Marvin Bagley and the other star freshman they have and had money and other stuff. Same with KU. I'm not shocked that Josh Jackson's mom took 2 grand from them. I'm sure Danny Manning got some money from KU. I'm sure Mario Chalmers got stuff he couldn't afford from KU. I'm pretty sure Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins got stuff too. Who cares? Roy Williams and UNC have been doing this for years, so no, it doesn't surprise me that they were named. And I say again, who cares? John Calipari is one of college basketball biggest cheaters of all time. So, for Kentucky to named, of course they were named. They are giving these kids money to come there. And again, who cares? Even with the supposed phone tapped conversation of Arizona head coach Sean Miller saying that he wanted to give DeAndre Ayton 100,000 dollars to come there doesn't surprise me. And I think, if Ayton took the money, he did the right thing. Arizona is cashing in on him being there right now. I told my father after this story came out that if my son or daughter goes to school on an athletic scholarship, becomes a star and the school makes millions off using their likeness, I would fully support them taking money from agents if they were given the opportunity. Let these kids get theirs. I cannot say it enough. The schools are making tons and tons and tons of money off these athletes, so why not let these kids get something more than a full scholarship.

This has been going on forever, and if you think this is a new thing, you are wrong. Now, the FBI is involved. That is the only difference, and that is absurd. The FBI needs to deal with bigger problems, not cheating in college athletics. And for those of you that think this story will crush college basketball, you are wrong too. None of the blue bloods are going to face any real punishment, save for Michigan State, which should get hit for the horrific sexual assault stuff. Duke, UNC, Kentucky and Arizona will be just fine. Hell, some of the players named have already been cleared to play. This whole "breaking scandal" is stupid and pointless. This is being blown way too far out of proportion and in a month or two, we will have all forgotten about it. That is how I feel about this whole "scandal".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty one time took 10 bucks from a representative at Whatsamatter U. 

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All the Monsters at Michigan State Need to Go

We have a suggestion of where these monsters should go

A lot of stuff happened late last week and this past weekend in the sports world that I didn't have time to write about last week. This week that all changes. I will be touching on a number of sports related subjects like, the NBA All Star draft, Boogie Cousin's injury, college basketball at the midway point and the dumbass return of the XFL. But, today I have to start with the sports story that was everywhere and was rather damning. Of course I am talking about the Larry Nassar case, and what came out about the Michigan State football and basketball programs in the "Outside the Lines" story.

First off, Larry Nassar is a horrific human being and he deserves all the horrible things that will happen to him in prison. He is a despicable and disgusting human being and what he did is terrifying and awful. I thought it was perfect when the judge told him that she was "signing his death sentence", and then proceeded to drop the pen as if it were a microphone. That was amazing. Also, Aly Raisman is a hero. I try not to use the word hero when talking sports, but what she did in coming forward and being the face of bringing this monster to justice, that makes her a hero. She is so awesome and she is going to do great, great things with the rest of her life. She is someone that I want both my son and daughter to look up to. I want them to know that they can speak up when they feel they are being treated wrong or bad in anyway, just like Raisman did. She is a wonderful person and I wish her nothing but the best.

While doing this Nassar case, and then "OTL" getting involved, more very bad stuff came to light about MSU sports programs and the people involved. First of all, after Nassar was sentenced, the president of the university "retired". I more think she got fired, but they said "retired". Then, only mere days later, the Athletic Director resigned. I was a little stunned by this. I figured something was going to happen with the AD, possibly a suspension or payment being docked, but he resigned. This was a brutal blow to begin with. When an AD resigns it is usually a sign of bad things to come. It usually means that they were involved with some kind of wrong doing. Then, a few hours, I say again, hours, not days or months, hours, a report came out that the AD resigned due to undisclosed and not followed up on sexual assault cases brought to him from the basketball and football programs. Apparently he was having multiple documents redacted to protect players that were essential to the program's success.

Spartans basketball has always been a top 20 team. Ever since Magic was there, and especially when Tom Izzo came aboard. They have been, not only a premiere Big Ten program, but a national program. Under Izzo they have been to 7 Final Fours, and they won the title in 2000. They currently sit at, I believe, number 6 in the country right now. They are one of the many favorites for the title this year. Then the "OTL" report came out. During one of their runs in the early 2000's a female student accused two of their key players, Adrien Payne and Keith Appling, of rape. She went into detail during the "OTL" airing, and it sounded horrifying. And when she went to report them, she was told, in not so many words, that she was going up against a giant, and she would not win. You may ask, what was the punishment for these players? Nothing. They missed 0 games and Payne is currently in the G League. Appling is in jail for a different charge, gun charge I believe, but he denied the report vehemently from his cell. When the female student that accused them was asked how they were disciplined, she said she heard that the program, Izzo included, handled it within. That means these guys probably had to do some running, and maybe got yelled at for a bit. A third player, that we know of, who was a captain on the team in the early 2000's, and then became a coaches assistant after his playing days were over, was accused of gang rape twice. When he was accused, and the police were working the case, was he suspended or fired? Nope. He was allowed to stay on the staff, with no limitations. Again, he has denied all the allegations, but it is beginning to pile up.

When it gets to be 6, 7 and 8 women accusing people of the same thing, that is a pattern. That usually means that what they are being accused of is true. It becomes systemic when more and more women feel like they need to come forward. and everyone who hid this, and didn't make the people accused of these horrific crimes suffer any consequences, that is a problem, and that includes the once Teflon Tom Izzo. He is complicit. He has allowed this to happen under his watch. He did nothing to the accused players because they were too important to his team and to him winning and to him being talked about as one of the great college coaches of all time.

When all this stuff came out and he gave his first press conference, I was disgusted. He tried to seem confused and troubled by the allegations, but he came off as sleazy and almost cocky. He would preface every question about the allegations by saying, "I will not talk about that any further", followed by, "I'm going to get my team ready", then finally, "we will help the survivors". So, he covered his own ass, then talked about his team, then brought up the students that were accusing his former players of rape. My wife watched some of his press conference with me, and all she could say was, "what a creep" over and over again. He said he has no intention of "retiring", but time will tell. We have to wait and see what the Michigan Police Department comes up with, now that they are involved.

"OTL" also brought up the football program during their story. Since their coach, Mark Dantonio, took over in 2007, 16 of his players have been accused of either rape, assault or sexual assault, all against female students. 16 players. In 11 seasons. That is alarming and appalling. Hell, not even Miami in its heyday of the early 90's had 16 players accused of what the MSU football players have been accused of. It was also reported that Dantonio knew of these allegations, and either swept it under the rug, or handled it internally, much like Izzo. He did kick a few players off the team 2 years ago, while MSU was 3-9, but none of those guys were important to the team. MSU football has gotten much, much better since he took over, but to what limits does he value winning over the safety of other students? MSU basketball, according to "OTL", had at least 3 players named. MSU football, 16. That is a big, big time problem. Of course in his press conference after the "OTL:' report, Dantonio called it all "completely false". Again, if it is 1 person, maybe. But 16 that we know of, the accusations are all true. 16 people would not make up a story about being raped or sexually assaulted. That would never, ever happen. Dantonio, much like Izzo, came off as sleazy and cocky and said he would refuse to "retire". Just like with Izzo, he may not have a choice after the MPD does their investigation.

To make matters even worse, Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, knew about all of this stuff as early as 2010 and chose to help the cover up. That is horrendous. He should have already been fired. He is a horrible person and if the NCAA had any kind of backbone, they would have released him of his duties already. This whole story is a very disturbing trend happening in college athletics now. Coaches at major universities, that achieve some form of success, are now going to great lengths to cover up sexual assault allegations to keep important players on the field or court. The fact that this MSU story has led all the way to the president of the NCAA being involved in the cover up is alarming. The NCAA is already corrupt, but now, it is criminal. This is very, very bad.

The only way the NCAA can save face, and right now that may be impossible, is to hammer down MSU, especially their basketball program. They had a chance with the whole Penn State thing a few years back, and what they did to them was akin to a slap on the wrist. They need to come down hard on MSU athletics. I mean, Michigan basketball was crushed for paying players during the Fab Five era, and they have just recently become relevant again. USC was hammered because they gave Reggie Bush's mom a car and a house. SMU football got the death penalty for paying players and they still haven't recovered. The NCAA needs to come down very, very hard on MSU. Izzo has got to go. Same with Dantonio. This is a very disturbing problem, and the men at the top of their 2 best sports programs are involved with all the torrid details.

Don't take this as a lifelong Wolverine fan bashing MSU. That is not the case at all. What has been alleged to have happened at MSU is horrible and tragic and sad and scary. Do the right thing NCAA and fire Mark Emmert, then hammer down MSU athletics. Players and coaches that sexually abuse and assault and cover up the problem do not deserve to be at the university. This is a problem.

Ty

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

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The SeedSing 2017 Wild Guesses about Men's College Basketball

Due to my NCAA football mid season redo, and the horror that was the Arby's "venison" sandwich, I forgot to do my men's NCAA basketball preview. I usually like to finish off my NBA countdown and predictions with a quick look at the upcoming NCAA men's basketball season. Other things got in the way, but I am here today to, as I have done the last 2 years a wild shot in the dark at who will be the best in men's college basketball.

Two things real quick before I get into it though. First, UCONN women's team will rebound from that shocking defeat to Mississippi State in last year's final four, and destroy everyone on their way back to being the preeminent women's NCAA basketball program. Second, I still very much dislike the "one and done" culture that has taken over men's college basketball. I have to take wild shots because I do not know the majority of the players that are on the big time teams. Every year, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, they all have 4 or 5 new guys that I have never heard of, I do not watch high school sports because I am an adult, yet they are all at the top of the rankings. There is also this FBI investigation that is currently going on has put an even bigger wrench in my knowledge of men's college basketball. Had this not been let out to the public, Louisville would be one of the teams I expect to make a deep tournament run. Now, they are going to be trash and not do anything of note this year. Arizona is involved in this case. I'm sure Kansas and any other Adidas school may have to come forth and admit some kind of wrong doing. Also, UNC got very, very, very lucky that they did not get in any trouble for academic fraud. I still do not buy the fact that the investigation found no real wrong doings, but for now, they are out of trouble. Had they gotten in trouble, it would have made my preseason preview that much more difficult. Okay, all the house cleaning is out of the way, lets get to my 2017-18 men's college basketball preseason preview.

I'm not going to go conference by conference, instead I'm going to use the preseason USA Today Top 25 and talk about the teams on their list, and some possible surprises. I will also, as I always do, talk the most about the Big Ten. At the end I will have my final four team, my title game matchup and my national title winner. I will also take a guess at Player of the Year.

At number one, USA Today has Duke. Surprise surprise. I guess they got the number one overall high school player to commit there, and that pushed them to number one overall. I do not know who else they have, with one exception, Grayson Allen. Screw Grayson Allen and any fan of his. The kid is not that good at basketball, and he is a dirty jerk of a player. I'm sure Duke will be very good, they always are, but I will continue to root actively against them.

The rest of the top 10 has Michigan State, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Villanova, Florida, Wichita State, UNC and West Virginia. I'll give one or 2 quick observations on each team. Michigan State had a "down" year for them last year going 20-15, but Miles Bridges, one player I do know, is back, and this team looks to be loaded again. Tom Izzo has a very good team this year. Kansas has a slew of great freshman coming in, but they also have a few upperclassmen that will be their most important players, and they will most likely blow a tournament game like they do every year. Kentucky is reloaded with 5 or 6 new freshman that will run this team and they will continue to be a top seed and may make a final four push this year. Arizona has some returning key players and some great incoming freshman. The problem, they are coached by Sean Miller. He will inevitably screw this team up in important games. I know next to nothing about Villanova, with the exception that they won the title 2 years ago. I believe all those guys are gone, but maybe they have some good to great players that have been waiting their turn and they will shine. Florida had a great tourney run last year, won some good games and they return a good amount of those kids. The Gators could be a "threat" to Kentucky in the SEC. Wichita State always has upperclassmen, and they play great team basketball. Their coach is a total dickhead, but he knows how to coach college basketball. UNC is the defending champs, but they lost a good amount of key players, but I am sure they have someone ready to take their spots. They also skated away from further NCAA sanctions, so I am sure they will continue to reload every year. Finishing up the top 10 we have West Virginia. West Virginia plays tremendous defense. They frustrate you with their press and they have some upperclassmen that are crucial. Unfortunately, Bobby Huggins is a known choker, and I do not see that changing this year.

The rest of the poll has, from 11-25, USC, Miami, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Louisville, Xavier, UCLA, Gonzaga, Northwestern, Purdue, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Baylor and Alabama. Okay, first off, why is USC so high? Is it because to the coach from that Florida school that had one decent tournament run? Also, they will be getting in major trouble from this FBI investigation. Miami is always competent and always competitive. I get this ranking. Cincinnati has a good coach and they play good, sound defense. They should be in the top 10 in my opinion. Notre Dame has a decent basketball program, but this feels like a year they may be down. They lost some good players last season. Minnesota was a revelation last year. Will they continue to be good, or will they look like the team that Middle Tennessee beat in the first round of the tournament? Time will tell. Why is Louisville ranked? Pitino is gone, Donovan Mitchell is gone, and anyone that wants to be scouted and play deep into March will probably transfer. This team is a mess. Xavier is another team that always plays tough and deserves to be in the top 25. They will be good. UCLA lost pretty much everyone of note from last year, and I think Steve Alford is incredibly overrated as a coach. Gonzaga was in the title game last year, and I know they lost 3 guys that were crucial to their success, but this seems to low for them. They are a legit contender now, and to have them in the low teens is a slap in the face. Please stop with all the Northwestern basketball love. I swear if they become a "Darling" like their football team, I'm going to lose my god damn mind. They played great last year, won a tournament game in their first ever tournament appearance, but that is as good as it will get for them. Northwestern is okay, but not preseason ranked good. Purdue feels like they should be higher than this. They should be ahead of Northwestern and UCLA at least. I know they lost Caleb Swanigan, but this team has been pretty decent under Matt Painter, and I think they will be good again this year. I don't know anything about Saint Mary's except that they play in the same conference as  Gonzaga. I'm sure they are good, but I'm also sure Gonzaga will own them. I had to double check when I saw Seton Hall in the preseason rankings. They haven't had expectations since I was a kid. I know they have some good big guy, but lets see how they do now that people expect them to win. Screw Baylor sports. I hope they lose every game just like their football team. And Alabama? Really? I did not know they had a team that was preseason ranking worthy. Maybe they got some good recruit or something, I don't know.

A few teams I was surprised to not see ranked are Missouri, Wisconsin, Butler, Virginia and Texas A&M. Missouri has a new coach, a monster recruiting class and could be very good. I know they have been bad for a few years, but a change at the top and the kids they have coming in, it wouldn't shock me to see them win 20 plus games this year. Wisconsin is always good. I know that Bronson Koenig and Nigel Hayes are gone, but, as much as I may dislike this team, do not ever count out the Badgers. Butler isn't the same as they were with Brad Stevens, but they are still a quality team that won a tournament game last year if I'm not mistaken. Virginia has been very solid and a lock top 25 team the past few years. I guess they lost some guys and they bowed out of the tournament quick last year. And Texas A&M, while not great, has a few good guys on that team, and they are big. Also, where the hell is South Carolina? Didn't they make the final four last year? Who cares that Sindarius Thornwell is gone. Kentucky loses guys every year, and every year they are a preseason top 10 team. Maybe South Carolina deserves that attention. I know DJ Wilson went pro and Mark Donnal left, and Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr graduated, but I think Michigan will still be scrappy this year. They got Mo Wagner back. Muhammed Ali Abdur Rahkman is going to be running the show. Duncan Robinson can shoot threes. The grad transfer from Ohio is supposed to be good and Charles Matthews, the transfer from Kentucky, has supposedly been the best player in practice. It may take some time, but I'm done counting out a John Beilein coached team. Also, where is Oregon? Are Dillon Brooks and Jordan Bell that big of departures that this team can't regroup and put up a fight in the Pac 12? What about Maryland? They have a good team. Why is everyone so up on the ACC and SEC, but down on the Big Ten? Some of these unranked teams could surprise people this year. If I had to pick one, and you're welcome RD and Ross, I think Missouri has a shot to be really, really good this year.

As far as my final four in the preseason, lets go with, Duke, Kentucky, Wichita State and Michigan State. They all seem to be pretty good. As far as the title game, lets say Duke and Michigan State. And for the champs, I have the Big Ten ending their very long drought, with Michigan State winning it all. They also have my preseason player of the year, Miles Bridges. A bunch of people knocked him for coming back, but I think it will do him a world of good, and he will be a much better basketball player for it.

That's it for my 2017-18 men's college basketball preseason preview. Again, most of this is wild guesses, but I am excited to watch how the season unfolds.

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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2017 Midseason College Football Redo

After recovering from the horror that was Arby's "venison" sandwich reveal, I am ready to do my mid season NCAA football checkup. I'll do it just like I did my preseason preview, complete with updated conference winners, my 4 playoff teams and my new Heisman winner. I'll also pick my national title game and winner. Here we go.

I'll start with the ACC. FSU took an enormous blow in week one. First off, they faced Alabama. That was a mistake. Alabama crushed them. Second, they lost their starting QB, and my preseason Heisman winner, Deondre Francois in that game. Their season was doomed from the start. Not only did I predict them to win the ACC, I predicted them to win the title. They are 2-3 today. They are not winning the title. Clemson seemed like the next logical choice, after crushing three seemingly quality opponents already this season, but they just got upended by Syracuse. They can still go to the playoff, they only dropped 5 spots in the AP poll, but a loss to Syracuse is pretty brutal. Also, their offense is not that great. They have a great, great defense, but their offense could be their downfall. I was definitely off on both NC State and Miami. Miami is good. They have a great offense, even after losing their starting running back. They put up tons of yards and points. They also have a quality defense. They look good. NC State has blown me away. They are a very good football team. I thought, especially after going down week one to South Carolina, they would be a 7 or 8 win team, but they have done nothing but win since that first game. They have a good offense and a good defense. They won't be in the playoff, but they are still very good and will play in a very good bowl game. Outside of these teams, the ACC is very meh. Virginia Tech is ranked, but I have not watched one second of them this year. I know they have a pretty good freshman QB, and I'm sure they have a good defense, but they are no real national threat. Louisville has fallen and may not get up. They have no defense whatsoever. They are horrendous on that side of the ball. Lamar Jackson has been pretty good this year, but he cannot win games alone anymore, and Louisville's opponents have figured that out. Boston College, Pitt, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia all have 4 or 5 wins, but they are of no consequence. And UNC is horrendous. The ACC is not nearly as good as last year. I still think Clemson will find a way to win the conference, their defense is that good, but I wouldn't be shocked if Miami takes the crown from them.

The SEC is better than I anticipated, but I still think it is the most overrated conference in college football. ESPN is so up the SEC's butt, it is distracting. Watching teams from the conference reveals nothing more to me than how much more dominate Alabama is than every other team in the SEC. Alabama is clearly the best team in the SEC, and the country. They are so, so good. LSU stumbled out of the gate, but they seemed to have righted the ship a touch. They beat Florida in Gainesville and just knocked off Auburn at home. But, a team with Ed Orgeron as head coach and Danny Etling at QB is not a title contending team. They will finish with 8 or 9 wins, but that is it. Also, where in the world has Derius Guice been all year? He has not put up the numbers I expected. Auburn is fine, but they have no passing game at all. That came back to bite them last week, and when they play quality opponents, the lack of a passing game with kill them. Georgia has looked very, very good. The only caution I have with them, the best team they have beaten all year is Notre Dame. Notre Dame is much better this year than last year, but that is the "best" team Georgia has faced, and they barely beat them. They have been crushing shitty opponents, but their schedule is about to get much tougher. Florida is tough to watch. They look so unprepared for every game. Texas A&M has kind of recovered after blowing the opening game against UCLA, but I do not see them finishing any better than 8-4. I do like their new QB though. Kentucky and Mississippi State are okay, but when they play real teams, they get beat. Vanderbilt looked like they may be good, then Alabama came in town and ruined their season. They have not been the same since that game. Ole Miss stinks. Missouri is horrid. Arkansas is trash. South Carolina is average. And then there is Tennessee. Man do the Volunteers, and more importantly, Butch Jones, stink. This team has never lived up to the hype, and the fact that Jones is still there is laughable. After Alabama crushes them this weekend, I'd be shocked if he is not fired. Alabama is going to coast to the SEC crown again. They are the Golden State Warriors of college football.

The Pac 12's best chance at getting a playoff team ended after last weekend. Washington and Washington State were both top 10 going into last week and they both proceeded to get beaten by mediocre conference opponents. Washington State got hammered by Cal. Cal had come into the game on a 3 game skid and proceeded to crush Washington State by 34 points. It was brutal. Washington could only muster one touchdown, late in the fourth quarter, against one of the worst defenses in all of college football, Arizona State. Washington lost any reputation they may have built up with that egg of a game. I guess USC is still alive for a playoff spot, but they have not lived up to the hype that some were giving them this preseason. They struggled with Western Michigan. They needed overtime to beat Texas. They lost to Washington State. And last week, they were down 14 at halftime to Utah, and they needed a stop on a 2 point conversion for the win. Their game in South Bend this weekend will tell me all I need to know about them. Stanford, my preseason Pac 12 champs, have already lost 2 games. They do not have a shot at the playoff anymore, but they seem to have righted the ship, returning to the top 25 2 weeks ago, and Bryce Love is an amazing running back. People need to seek this kid out. He averages over 10 yards a rush. That is amazing. Outside these 4 teams, every other Pac 12 team is very average. Oregon is great at running the ball, but they lost their starting QB and their defense is atrocious. Arizona puts up points, but they give up almost as many points. Arizona State is really bad on defense. Cal seems to think they are a run and shoot offense, except their QB is very mediocre. They too have a bad defense. Oregon State's coach quit halfway through the season. UCLA has Josh Rosen and nothing else. Utah is okay, but 9 wins seems preordained. Colorado has been very shaky. The Pac 12 is going to miss out on the playoff this year. They just don't have the teams to push for a spot, unless USC finishes the rest of the season undefeated. To the shock of some, I'm sticking with Stanford. I know USC has beaten them once, but I think Stanford redeems themselves in the Pac 12 title game.

The Big 12 may get left out of the playoff too. Their best shot now seems to be TCU. I do not trust TCU. They have won a ton of close games this year, but those wins came against Arkansas and West Virginia. West Virginia isn't terrible, but Arkansas is. I also do not trust Kenny Hill. He throws way too many picks. I also do not think their defense is as good as it has played so far. They are destined to blow a game pretty soon. Oklahoma seemed like a lock, then the Iowa State game happened. After beating the University of Ohio State I thought they'd roll through the rest of the season and be an easy playoff pick. Well, Iowa State beat them in Norman. Then they struggled mightily with Texas. Their defense is filled with holes. They may get tripped up again before the Big 12 title game. Oklahoma State had a golden opportunity this season, but they blew it early on when they lost to TCU. Oklahoma State is still technically alive, but they need to win every game from here on out, and they need to win convincingly. I do not think they have the defense to do that. Texas is not that good. Tom Hermann has not worked his magic in year one. Their offense is very blah and their defense, while better, is still pretty rough. West Virginia has an okay offense, but I just do not buy them as more than a 7 or 8 win team. Iowa State has that one signature win over Oklahoma, but they are not very good either. I believe where we sit today they are 4-3. Texas Tech is the same Texas Tech every year. They got fat on cupcake non conference opponents, got into the top 25, then gave up a million yards and blew a lead against West Virginia last week. Kansas State is very clearly in a transition year. And KU and Baylor may as well fold up shop for the rest of this season. I do love that Baylor is as bad as they are. They deserve to be winless. The Big 12 will come down to TCU and Oklahoma, and I will go ahead and go with Oklahoma since I do not trust TCU one bit.

The Big 10 is murky. This is my conference. This is the conference I pay the most attention to, and, as angry as this makes me, it will come down to the University of Ohio State and Penn State. I do need to say, the fact that Penn State is still allowed to play football, and looked at as a redemption story by networks like ESPN, is appalling. What they covered up for a couple decades under Joe Paterno is absolutely horrifying and disgusting and they should have gotten the death penalty. That being said, they have played much better this year than I thought they would. They have well exceeded my expectations. They have a great offense and a very good defense. The university of Ohio State, after taking that early loss to Oklahoma, has been quietly playing very good football since then. They have been obliterating opponents. I still do not think JT Barrett is a quality QB, but they have 2 great running backs and their defense is legit. My team, the Michigan Wolverines, have been very frustrating to watch all year. They might be the shakiest 5-1 team in the country right now. Their defense is very, very good. It's the fastest Michigan defense I have ever seen in fact. But, their offense is an absolute train wreck. They don't block well. The running backs, with Karan Higdon being the lone exception, have been wildly disappointing. The receivers are dropping passes left and right. And their QB play has been downright awful. John O'Korn has looked terrible and it's not like Wilton Speight was lighting the world on fire when he was out there. This team has a real problem on their hands with how bad this offense is. I expected them to be a double digit win team, but after seeing them in person last week, and looking at their remaining schedule, they look more like a 7 or 8 win team. Their defense is legit, but they spend too much time on the field, and their offense is just atrocious. Michigan State has been surprisingly competent this year. They have a good defense. Their offense leaves a lot to be desired too, but their defense is legit. Their downfall, they play in too many close games. That will come back to bite them soon. Wisconsin is undefeated and doing exactly what you'd expect them to do. They play stout defense, run all over teams and win by double digits almost all the time. Their QB isn't great, but name one Wisconsin QB that was great in college. Purdue has surprised me this year. They aren't great, but they aren't the laughingstock they have been for close to a decade now. They are a solid 7 win team this year. Iowa is very blah, but blah is good for them. They will most assuredly go 7-5, be in tight games all year and even win one or two that they shouldn't. Indiana is better, but they aren't as explosive as they used to be on offense. They have a better defense, but they still have gaping holes, especially on their D line. Minnesota is average. It may take PJ Fleck a year or 2, but right now, they are just average. They have a good defense, but not a very good offense. Northwestern, a ton of people's preseason Big 10 dark horse, has been very inconsistent. One week they look good, the next they look bad. 6-6 or 7-5 is clearly their destination. Maryland, after opening the year with a win at Texas, has lost 2 QB's and they are still pretty bad on defense. They started out 2-0, but have since gone 1-3. DJ Durkin has made them a bit better, but losing 2 QB's has been brutal to this team. Nebraska is bad. They got owned by the University of Ohio State last week. Oregon scored 35 on them in a half. And earlier this year, Northern Illinois got 2 pick sixes and beat them in Lincoln. Maybe Mike Riley isn't the right fit there. And Illinois and Rutgers are dreadful. Rutgers has gotten "better", meaning they finally beat a division one team for the first time in 2 calendar years. That team you ask? The Fighting Illini of Illinois. Illinois has fallen on very hard times. I liked the hiring of Lovie Smith, but he looks like he hates coaching college football, and Illinois is just flat out bad. The Big Ten is all about 2 teams, maybe three with Wisconsin being the clear favorite in the West Division. But, in reality, it is all about Penn State and the University of Ohio State. I'll go with the University of Ohio State. While I hate them, they have been lights out since the Oklahoma game.

As far as teams outside "power 5" conferences, USF and UCF have been great. They are both undefeated and blowing away their opponents. I figured USF would do this, but props to UCF. Two years ago they didn't win a game, now they are a top 25 team, undefeated and crushing everyone they play. Neither will go to the playoff, but they both might go undefeated. Memphis and Navy have been pretty good too. But, they both already have one loss, so a New Years Day bowl is their best bet. No one else outside the "power 5" has really impressed me except these 4 schools.

As far as the playoff goes, I have, in order of 1-4, Alabama, Penn State, Clemson and the University of Ohio State. That's right, I have 2 Big Ten teams. Sorry Wisconsin, but which ever team comes out of the Big Ten East is going to crush you in the Big Ten title game. As far as the title game matchup, I have Alabama facing the University of Ohio State, and I have Alabama absolutely demolishing them. The score will be something like 35-10 or 27-0. Alabama is just too good. And my Heisman winner, I'm going Bryce Love from Stanford. He is doing what Lamar Jackson did last year and putting up ridiculous video game type numbers, and I do not see him slowing down the rest of the year. I could see him rushing for 2,000 plus yards this year.

Okay, there you have my midseason NCAA football check up. I'm excited to see how the rest of the year plays out, and I wish Michigan wasn't so frustrating to watch. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He did go to beautiful Bloomington Indiana last week to watch his beloved Wolverines pull out an overtime win over the Hoosiers. It was maddening. 

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The 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Sucked for so Many Reasons

Only six short months until we can see the superstar refs again.

Last night was one of the worst NCAA championship games that I have ever witnessed. Last year's game was going to be impossible to match, or even top, but last night was an absolute disaster. I figured that we had the 2 best teams playing each other in UNC and Gonzaga. They both were one seeds, they both spent the whole season in the top ten of every poll, they both have first team All Americans, I mean, both teams had it all. They even have guys that will most definitely play at the next level. But what was put on that court last night was hot stinky garbage.

Now, I am nowhere near the players that all these kids are, but boy oh boy did they play dreadful for as good as they should have been. UNC could not make an open three to save their lives. When all was said and done, I think they went something like 5 of 26 from three. Gonzaga, on the other hand, could not make an inside shot with the exception of Nigel Williams-Goss. Their big guy from Poland missed one lay up and close range hook shot after another. Near the end of the game he looked scared and completely out of the flow of the game. There were maybe one or two good plays, but for the most part, this was probably the sloppiest title game I've seen, and I'm including when UConn beat Kentucky in 2011. That game was bad, but last night was much, much worse.

To compound how horrific this game was, the refs must have had a meeting before hand and said that they were the stars of the night and the crowd was there to see them because they called one of the worst games in the history of college basketball. During the second half, neither team could get into any flow, if they were ever able to, because the refs seemingly called a foul on every play. During the broadcast I heard Grant Hill say, with about 10 minutes left in the second half, that the refs had called 21 fouls in the half alone. 21 fouls in 10 minutes of basketball is an absolute joke. Refs are starting to get way too big headed, thinking that they are just as big of stars as the kids playing. No one, I repeat, no one likes refs and we do not want to see you guys control the flow of the game. The way they called the game last night was fishy and terrible. These are supposed to be the best of the best in the men's college game. These refs get vetted all season long and at the end of the year the NCAA picks who they deem the 3 best refs for the Final Four and the title game. Well, this must be the worst class of refs they have ever had because if these were the best, we are in trouble. Refs should never ever be what people are talking about most after a title game.

The refs were not one sided bad either. Both teams have legitimate complaints about bad calls, non calls and way too many video reviews. I am not a fan of either team, but for all the Gonzaga people out there focusing on when Kennedy Meeks had his left hand on the ball and his right hand out of bounds, he was 100 percent out of bounds and Gonzaga should have gotten the ball, UNC got just as screwed in an earlier possession. One of Gonzaga's guards threw up an air balled three that went directly out of bounds and the refs said it was blocked by the UNC defender. Well, when CBS ran the replay, the UNC kid was nowhere near the ball. The refs didn't even review this even though they reviewed almost every other play last night. Gonzaga got the ball back and hit a three to take the lead on the very next possession. It was equally crummy on both sides. The refs were absolutely atrocious last night. I'm talking Tim Donaghy, Kings-Lakers early 2000's bad last night.

In what seemed like the cherry on the terrible sundae last night was Joel Berry being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. I know he hit one big three late in the title game, but he missed so many more easy shots ever since UNC's game against Arkansas in the second round. I know he got hurt, but he was still out there playing and playing very poorly. On a very odd flagrant one call against Gonzaga last night, Berry went to the line for 2 free throws with no one around him and he bricked both of them. He did not play well. I do not care that he scored in double figures in the last three games, he had to take copious amounts of bad shots to get to his 16, 17 and 18 points, and he was dreadful all over the floor. I'm still a bit shocked that he won MOP. I would have given it to Kennedy Meeks for his Final Four game. Berry winning MOP was almost fitting for how bad this game was.

Finally, I do not think this banner will be hanging in Chapel Hill that long anyway. They have 20 plus years of academic fraud, or as Jim Nantz would say, "swirling innuendo", that they are going to get sanctioned to high hell for soon. RD beat me to the tweet last night, but I will say it again for him today, congrats on your soon to be vacated title UNC.

This was an epically bad title game and it should have been so much better. Where last year's game had me excited for college basketball, this year's game just made me realize why men's college basketball is going further and further in the toilet. What a sorry excuse of a title game. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He had to write about the title game because the head editor was so disgusted with the crappy basketball that he switched over and watched Deadpool for the tenth time.

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The Men's Final Four was Sloppy, the Women's Final Four was Historic

The men's NCAA title game is tonight. The 2 Final Four games had the outcomes that I thought, but they did not play out like I thought.

South Carolina made their game very interesting in the last 8 minutes when they went on a 16-0 run to take a lead. But, Gonzaga prevailed and they got away with a 4 point win to advance to tonight's title game. Great run by South Carolina, but the better team won, and won rightfully so. There were no questionable calls on either team and the right team won.

UNC won, but I thought they were going to blow out Oregon. That was not the case, but this was not as good a game as some may have said or written about since Saturday. This was a sloppy game by both teams, with the lone exception being Kennedy Meeks. Meeks was incredible in this game, even with the 2 late missed free throws. But, UNC tried everything to blow this game, Oregon just never really took advantage of their many chances. I thought these were the 2 better teams, but South Carolina-Gonzaga was a much better played game.

Also, Jim Nantz and the CBS crew continues to make one dumb comment after another. By now you all know what I'm talking about. Nantz said during the telecast that he was pleased at how UNC was playing despite all the "swirling innuendo about academic fraud" that is going on right now. For the record, this is not "swirling innuendo". There is a full blown investigation going on by the NCAA right now, and if I had to guess, they will get this title taken away if they win. They have committed some kind of serious academic fraud, I believe their football program is involved as well, and I wouldn't be shocked if in a year or two the NCAA puts the hammer down on UNC.

All this being said, this was the title game I predicted in last Monday's blog, and I'm not changing my mind now. I still think UNC will win a close game. They got beat in brutal fashion last year, and I see them redeeming themselves this year. Justin Jackson or Kennedy Meeks will win Most Outstanding Player as well.

But, I want to get to what I really want to talk about today. I was channel surfing Friday night. I watched the majority of the OKC-San Antonio game and was waiting for the Golden State-Houston game. During these 2 games the women's Final Four was going on. South Carolina pretty easily advanced against Stanford, and ESPN2 had the perfect time slot for UCONN-Mississippi State game, right around a 7:30pm tip time. I did not watch any of the first half, but my phone buzzed when the game went into halftime and UCONN was down 8. My interest was piqued, but I figured the Huskies would come out in the second half and dominate. It is UCONN women's basketball and they are the greatest college sports program ever.

I had kind of spaced about the game while watching OKC blow a 20 point lead, but with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, I saw that UCONN had tied it up at 40. I thought they'd go on their run from there and blow this team away that they beat by 60 points in last year's tournament. So I put my focus back on OKC-San Antonio. 

About 10 minutes later my phone buzzed again and said that UCONN was trailing by 3 with about 4 minutes left in the game. At this point I gave up on OKC-San Antonio, the Spurs were putting the finishing touches on their comeback, and I flipped over for the last 4 minutes of UCONN-MSU. This was the first women's game I have watched in over 2 years. I was in shock at how well MSU was playing this seemingly indestructible UCONN team. MSU's point guard was running their offense to perfection. They kept letting the shot clock get down to 5 seconds before even attempting a shot. They also have a center on their team that is 6'7. UCONN's biggest player is only 5'11. I do not care how tenacious or tough a defender you are, an 8 inch height difference is nearly impossible to overcome. To make matters worse for UCONN, all their forwards and centers were in foul trouble from trying to stop the 6'7 girl (her name is Teaira McCowan), so they had to resort to going for steals on entry passes. It worked a few times, but more times than naught, they missed and McCowan had an easy layup.

During the final four minutes it was all back and forth. UCONN at one point went up 3 with about 2 minutes left, and for the third time I assumed they'd pull away and win. Well, MSU responded with their own 4-0 run to retake the lead. During the last few seconds of the fourth quarter MSU had a lead but there was an odd flagrant one called on MSU that let UCONN tie the game. MSU had the ball with a chance to win, but the pass in the post was stolen and the game went into overtime.

For the fourth, and final time, I assumed UCONN would pull away on overtime. Well, MSU had other plans. They kept playing slow, stilted offense and it completely threw UCONN off their game. With about 18 seconds left UCONN had the ball with the game tied at 64. I assumed, as did the 3 announcers, that they would hold the ball for the final shot. Well, one of their new star players decided to drive and was out of control trying to draw a foul and lost the ball out of bounds. No foul was called because there was none and MSU got the ball back with 12 seconds left. As the point guard for MSU dribbled down the floor, she was the smallest player on the court by far, I sat and waited to see what she would do. With less than 2 seconds on the clock she pulled up from the elbow and hit all net as the buzzer sounded. Her name is Morgan William. 

With that UCONN's 111 game win streak was over. They hadn't been beaten in 865 days. They had won four straight national titles. This was their 10th straight Final Four. It all ended on a beautiful mid range jumper from the smallest, yet most determined player on the floor. I was in shock. I sat there in awe with my mouth wide open. I know all streaks must end, but this was a team that hadn't lost a game in almost 3 years. It was an incredible run, and if they had to lose a game, this was probably the only way it was going to happen. MSU played brilliantly, UCONN did not play well, and it still took an overtime buzzer beater for UCONN to get taken down.

Unfortunately for MSU they got beat in the women's title game last night by South Carolina, but they did something historic just 2 days before that. I wish they won the national title to make it fully complete. But, they will always go down as the team that beat the greatest college sports program ever.

What UCONN women's basketball has done, and did, is unequaled in any other college sport, be it men's or women's. Their streak was more impressive than UCLA's 88 game win streak, Oklahoma football's 48 game win streak, anything Kentucky or UNC has done in college basketball, anything Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami, Florida, all the big time college football programs have ever done.

This is also the greatest upset of all time. I said in our men's tournament preview that if UCONN got beat by anyone in the women's tournament I'd be shocked, and I am still a little shook by what happened Friday night. MSU beating UCONN was bigger than Appalachian State beating Michigan in football or Clemson beating Alabama in football this year or when Villanova beat the Pat Ewing led Georgetown Hoyas or when NC State beat Houston. Name any upset and this one is bigger than all of them by a wide, wide margin. 

So even though they did not win the national title, I still want to congratulate MSU on their historic win last Friday night. I will never ever forget the buzzer beater that I witnessed in real time. It was incredible.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If the Men's college game continues to suck, he is switching over to Women's basketball. Miss St center Teaira McCowan is only a sophomore. No one and done in Women's basketball, so we get to see her tall magnificence for a few more years.

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