Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: 76ers, Rockets, Warriors

With the NBA season starting tonight, I have my final 3 teams for my countdown today. These are the best of the best in my opinion. These are the teams to beat. And I'm only going to do my three teams today. I will do a whole post season prediction and award winner predictions tomorrow. So today, we have our final 3. Lets get into it.

At number 3 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. I love this team. There was a point in time, on this very same website, when I chastised what this was doing. I hated what they put on the court. They were a tire fire. Now, all of that has changed. Brett Brown is a very good, very patient coach. Ben Simmons is a monster. That dude is a 6'10 point guard. I literally do not care that he can't shoot from the outside, everything else he does is wonderful. He is an elite passer. He is a great attacker of the rim. He is a solid defender. He is a terror for opposing players trying to guard him. Joel Embiid is a modern Hakeem. I know that is high praise, but dammit, he deserves it. He has some incredible low post moves. He can shoot fro the outside. He can pass so well out of the post. He plays great defense. He is an awesome rebounder. And he is just an overall fun guy. If he can stay healthy, much like he did last year, he and Simmons are going to be vaulted as the future faces of the league. Robert Covington is underrated and can shoot the rock. He also plays very solid D. He knows his role on this team, and he plays it perfectly. Dario Saric is much of the same. He is the perfect third or fourth option for this team. He is also a good rebounder and he, at least, tries on defense. TJ McConnell is a better, scratch that, a much, much better version of Matthew Dellavedova. He is a better shooter, a better playmaker and isn't annoying. I'm not giving up on Markelle Fultz yet. He sat most of last year, but doesn't every 76ers pick do that? Why was he so maligned for it? I saw the videos of his shot, and when he came back, he looked timid, but he is still only 20. He has looked better in preseason. He won't be asked to be the savior. I feel like he is going to be a solid player for this team. JJ Redick, while I think he is a wildly overrated defender, can still shoot the hell out of the ball. He is the floor spacer that Embiid and Simmons need. They also added Wilson Chandler, who is another instant offense off the bench for this team. Mike Muscala can shoot as well. Losing Zhaire Smith for the year will be a bummer, but they have another solid rookie to fall back on, Landry Shamet. The 76ers are back to being a top notch NBA franchise. I am fully buying in to this team being good to great again. I like watching this team, and I think they are going to be the best in the East.

At number 2 I have the Houston Rockets. I know, they lost some key guys. Losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah AMoute might sting, but, and correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't this team still have the reigning MVP James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela? Don't they also have PJ Tucker still? Didn't they finally shed the horrible Ryan Anderson? Isn't former 6th man of the year winner Eric Gordon still there? Don't they still have Nene? The Rockets are still stacked, and people are freaking out about them losing 2 guys. Harden is amazing. I do not like watching him play, he is a total ball stopper, he draws to many fouls and shoots too many free throws, and is horrendous on defense, but the dude can shoot and slash. He is one of the best at getting to the rim and is one of the best at shooting the three. Harden is amazing. Chris Paul is super dirty and old, but he is still producing and has more freedom to shoot. He does get hurt far to much, especially at crucial moments. But, Paul is still one of the better pure point guards playing. Clint Capela might be the best rim runner in the league. He did the right thing in re signing there, because he gets so many open looks at the rim. He is also a great defender and rebounder. PJ Tucker is one of the toughest guys in the league, and he can shoot the three. Nene is another one of the toughest guys in the league, and even though he isn't what he used to be, he will fight a dude if need be. These 2 add the toughness this team has always lacked. Eric Gordon is a great, great bench player. He is the perfect instant offense guy. He, much like Harden, isn't a good defender at all, but he can fill up the stat sheet. Gerald Green is a high flyer and shoots a lot of threes, which means he fits in perfect for this team. They got Brandon Knight and Marquiss Chriss in the Anderson trade. While I don't think either of those guys will contribute much of anything, the best thing they did was help the Rockets get off Ryan Anderson. And they added Carmelo Anthony. This is about 5 years too late, but if he plays like Olympic Carmelo, and I know I said this exact same thing last year, he will fit in just fine. The Rockets don't play much defense, and they won't win 60 plus games again, but they are still great. They score and score and score. The Rockets are still the second best team in the league.

And at number 1 I have, of course, the Golden State Warriors. I mean, who else would it be? When Boogie Cousins comes back, they will be starting 5 all stars. KD is the best all around player in the league. He can score from anywhere on the floor, he has become a much better rebounder and passer, and when he plays defense, he is ferocious. I'm not down with his passive aggressive, wannabe bad guy mentality, he's not a bad guy, but the dude can play. Steph is the best pure shooter I have ever watched. He can shoot fro anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE on the court. He is also a wizard with the ball. He isn't much of a defender, but he doesn't need to be. Klay Thompson is the second best pure shooter I have ever seen. He has the best shooting motion and he is such a threat to just go off at anytime. He has the ability to score 30 in a quarter. He has done it. Multiple times. He is also a lock down defender. He should always be on first team all defense. Draymond Green is the engine that runs this team. His headaches that he causes are totally worth it because the dude gives maximum effort. He is the best pound for pound defender in the NBA. He is also the only guy I have seen competently guard all 5 positions and do it well. He is also a decent offensive player. And when he gets back from injury, even if he is just 70 percent of who he was before, Boogie is an amazing modern center. He can shoot from three. He is a beast in the interior. He is nearly unstoppable down low. He is a great rebounder. And if he chooses to play defense, he is good. Also, I know there are worries about his presence in this locker room, but I don't buy it. This team is too well put together to let one guy screw it up. And I also love that people are saying the same nonsense that they don't have any depth. Well, they said that last year and they still won the title. They also still have Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. I know they are older and have played a ton of basketball, but they are both perfect for this team. These 2 know exactly when to turn it on and off, and they will be crucial come playoff time. Jordan Bell also played a ton of minutes last year and was a great rebounder, defender and scored when he needed to. He fits too good with this team. Kevon Looney got key playing time last year, and he is back. The Warriors are going to continue to dominate this league as long as they keep guys like Steph, who is under contract, Klay, who has said he wants to stay, KD, who always flirts with leaving, and then signs on again and Draymond, who should never leave this team because it is far too perfect for him. What this lacked was a true center, and they got Boogie on a one year deal. Until further notice, I will always put the Warriors at number 1, and I will continue to pick them to win the title. The Warriors are the Patriots of the NBA, except they don't lose titles, they dominate and win them all.

That does it for my countdown for the 2018-19 season. Come back tomorrow for my post season and awards predictions. And also, get pumped. The season starts tonight. NBA basketball is back.

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's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Raptors, Thunder, Celtics

Today we enter the top 5. It would not surprise me if any of the teams I have today finish as the runner up to the Warriors in either the West Finals, or the Finals. These teams have stars, they know how to win and they are ready to win. Lets go.

At number 6 I have the Toronto Raptors. They soared up the rankings when they acquired Kawhi Leonard. Now, the whole trade, the Raptors trading the much beloved DeMar DeRozan, has been met with plenty of scrutiny, as it should have been. But, when you have a chance to get a healthy Kawhi, and you play in the East, I really can't blame them. What they did to DeRozan was shady as hell, but Kawhi, when healthy, is a much better overall player. He is one of, if not the, best defenders in the NBA. He is one of the few that can "shut down" LeBron. He can pretty much shut down anyone. He has also really improved his offensive game as well. He can get to the rim, he can hit jumpers and he gets to the line. It may just be a one year rental, but a motivated and healthy Kawhi is a player every team should want. And while they traded away DeRozan, and Jakob Poeltl, they still have a very solid roster around them. Kyle Lowry, for all his playoff short comings, is an all star guard. He is a good scorer. He plays solid defense. He is a willing passer, and now that he will control the ball, I think he will have one of his better years. I hope that translate to playoff success for him. Serge Ibaka is not the player he once was, but he can shoot from the outside, thus stretching the defense. But, he doesn't protect the rim like he used to and isn't a very good rebounder. OG Anounoby is a budding star. The fact that the Spurs tried real hard to get him should speak volumes. He is due to break out. I really like Fred Van Vleet. He is a great second point guard, he knows what to do on the floor and he is a great leader. Danny Green came over in the trade as well, and while he is in his early 30's, he can still shoot, and he plays solid defense. They still have Jonas Valenciunas, and while he is a good banger in the post, he doesn't do much else for the team. He might be their best rebounder, but that is about it. I do really like Pascal Siakim. He is young, has bounce, can play D and will learn to score. He has a future. I'm not crazy about the Greg Monroe signing, he is a lot like Valenciunas, but he does give them a solid option at the 5 off the bench. Delon Wright is a big, good scoring 2 guard. Norman Powell can shoot. And CJ Miles is a good vet. This team got so much better when they acquired Kawhi. He may help them exercise their playoff demons. And if he stays, this team can be a threat for years to come in the East.

At number 5 I have the OKC Thunder. Getting rid of Carmelo was the best thing they could have done. They also finally got rid of Kyle Singler. Also, Nick Collison finally retired. This team is a classic example of getting better by players leaving. Addition by subtraction if you will. Oh, they also have Russell Westbrook. While he is wildly frustrating to watch, and I would not want to play with him, he is an amazing basketball player. He goes 100 percent every night. He gives his all. He plays hard and tough. He is a former MVP. Westbrook might be, next to Giannis, the most athletic player in the league. Paul George decided to stick around, and I think that was a good move on his part. He is much better as the second option, and he is a great defender. He can also shoot the three pretty well now. And with a year of playing with him, and 2 off seasons together, I think he and Westbrook will click now. Steven Adams has not lived up to my personal hype, where I thought he might become one of the best centers in the league, but the dude is still a beast. He is as good a rebounder as their is in the NBA. He plays solid post defense and can score in the post. Other than that though, he doesn't do much else, and he is constantly in foul trouble. I like the addition of Dennis Schroder, as long as he doesn't think he is the first, second or third option. He will be great for the second unit, if he buys in, and when he gets to play with Westbrook, George and Adams, that could be a dangerous lineup. Andre Roberson is still not fully recovered from his ACL injury, but he will be back in a few months. When he comes back, he and George may be the best back court defenders in the NBA. Roberson just cannot shoot. At all. I love that they got Nerlens Noel on a one year, prove it to the league deal. He will give his all every night, and with his ability in the pick and roll, he and Westbrook or Schroder could be lethal. He is also a nasty defender. Jerami Grant sticking around was a low key great move. He is a do it all guy off the bench, and the Thunder needed him to stay. Alex Abrines showed glimpses of his outside shit last year. He will definitely get more looks. Raymond Felton is back, and while I like chubby pro athletes, it will be hard for him to find minutes on this team. Patrick Patterson didn't really play up to the contract he got last year, but he was hurt for a lot of the season. If he is right, and ready to play, he could have a decent impact on this team. I like the Thunder. I love that George stayed. This team should be much better than they were last year.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 4, I have the Boston Celtics. This team is loaded. In fact, the reason that aren't in my top 3, they might be too loaded. They have very good players at all positions, but it may be hard for Brad Stevens to find minutes for everyone. Kyrie Irving is back from injury, and he should be the face of this team. He is a wizard with the ball he can score from anywhere and he has won a title. He is also on the last year of his contract, so I expect a big year out of him. But, the Celtics also have Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart, both of whom are point guards. Rozier is a fan favorite, and he is also in the final year of a contract. Will he see the minutes he needs to get paid next offseason? I don't think so, unless Irving gets hurt. Smart didn't get the big offer he was hoping this offseason, so he had to come back. Will this light a fire under him, or will he mope? Also, he is probably the third best point guard on this roster. He is the best defender, by a wide margin, but Rozier and Irving are much, much better on offense than he is. Gordon Hayward comes back. I am not a fan of his. I think he is wildly overrated. He is also a fan of the current "government", and a religious weirdo, so I am fully out on him. But, he is back. But, Jayson Tatum played fantastically in his absence, he is younger and he is not coming off a devastating injury. Who will Stevens go with in crunch time? Will he pick the kid he recruited in high school and coached at Butler, Hayward, or will he go with the younger and more crowd pleasing Tatum? That will be a tough call for him. Jaylen Brown is easily the most athletic guy on this team. He can also shoot the three. He also plays defense. The fact that people don't mention him that much when they talk about this team blows my mind. He has future all star written all over him. He is also, without a doubt, the best 3 they have on the roster. No one else is even close. Al Horford is probably the smartest player in the NBA. He may be boring, but he is exactly who the young players need. He makes the right decision every time. He knows exactly where to be and when. He is a great interior defender. He made Joel Embiid vanish in the playoff last year. Horford is great, but he is older. That is why I love that they took Robert Williams in the second round. He will greatly benefit from learning from Horford. I also love that Semi Ojeleye is learning from him too. Honestly, Ojeleye is a younger, and stronger, version of him. Marcus Morris is a great vet, but I kind of feel like he will get lost in the shuffle of the amount of talent on this team. Aron Baynes is strictly there for toughness and nothing else. And Daniel Thies is a pure scorer off the bench. The Celtics have loads and loads of talent. They are also a popular team to take over the East. I want to see how Stevens creates time for all these players. He proved me very wrong last year, and I expect him to now. But, you never know. It will be interesting.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the final three. The NBA season is almost here people. Time to get excited.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's NFL Quick Hits: Week 6

Some real quick NFL hits again before I get back to my NBA countdown.

Blake Bortles will be the death of the Jags, and he is making me look like an idiot. The Chiefs-Patriots game was awesome and I hope we see them meet again. The Vikings, at least on defense, seem to be figuring it out. The Falcons and Bucs are both pretty awful on defense, but their game was exciting. The Texans, against their coach's best wishes, keep finding ways to win games, albeit ugly. The Rams proved they can win outside in the cold. The Cardinals and Colts have some pieces, but they are very far away from being competitive. The Raiders should be dreading the deal they gave Jon Gruden. The Ravens dominated the hapless Titans. The Bears may be a mirage. The Dolphins have already exceeded their win total I though they'd have. The AFC is still confusing, and the NFC is owned by the Rams.

The Steelers and Bengals played an okay game, but I do not think either is a real threat. I will let the Head Editor address the Bengals.

HE: I have lived in Cincinnati for 12 years. My first few days saw the first playoff appearance by the Bengals in a really long time. It was against the Steelers. It was in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh is now, and has always been a dirty squad. Carson Palmer had his knee shredded by a dirty Steeler player, the Bengals lost, and I really did not care because I had no history with my new hometown team.

Twelve years later and the Bengals broke my heart yesterday. They are better than that crap Steelers team, and they lost, at home, once again. There is no hope in Cincinnati because our football team lost to Pittsburgh again, and every fan in this town knew it would happen.

No other games matter this year. Cincinnati will win 8-11 games and get bounced out of the playoffs.

Probably by the Steelers.

Again.

The Bengals kill hope.

Ty and RD

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Pacers, Trailblazers, Jazz

As move to day 8 of my countdown we are in the cream of the crop. It kind of started yesterday, with the Nuggets starting out the top 10. But from here on out, all these teams have a shot to play the Warriors in the Finals. And by all these teams, I mean the teams in the East. The West teams are still good, possibly great, but lets not get it twisted, the Warriors are still the leaders. Lets get to it.

At number 9 I have the Indiana Pacers. Some writers have asked if last year was an anomaly, or if this is the new norm. I feel like this is the new norm for the Pacers. They have a star. They have a top 20, maybe even top 10 guy, in Victor Oladipo. He can create his own shot. He has a solid jumper. He is one of the best defenders in the league. He really came into his own last year, and all I see is his growth from here on out. He is a really, really good basketball player. He has some weapons around him too. I still think Myles Turner is going to break out. He is a true modern big man. He can protect the rim, he can rebound, he is enormous, and his jump shot is starting to fall. If he stays healthy, I feel like, second only to Brandon Ingram, he will have the biggest breakthrough. Domantas Sabonis showed those flashes that made him a lottery pick 2 years ago. While he doesn't pass like his dad, he is still a solid passer. He can also shoot the three. And, according to offseason reports, he has really bulked up, in a good way. He looks like a real threat as the third option on a perennial playoff team. I love that they got Tyreke Evans. He finally seemed to figure it out last year, and he became an instant offense guy. That is exactly what the Pacers need. Oh, and he actually tried on defense last year and he was okay. Evans was a low key great signing. They have Thad Young, and he is a perfectly capable backup big. Bojan Bogdanovic is another outside shooting threat. Darren Collison is a true point guard, and he is in a great situation for him as a player. Corey Joseph is a good backup at point guard. He has also played in many an important game. Doug McDermott is there, but he has been very blah as a pro. He has stuck around, but he has a real Jimmer Fredette feel to me. I really like Aaron Holiday as the point guard of the future. He is quick, shifty and is pass first. I loved that pick. I think this current iteration of the Pacers is going to be a headache for the East, and they will build on their success from last year. The Pacers are back.

At number 8 I have the Portland Trailblazers. This is, most likely, the last go round with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. They are a lethal, lethal back court scoring duo. They can put up tons and tons of points. Lillard is a legit super star. McCollum is a legit Robin. But, as the playoffs showed us last year, they are horrific defenders. They got owned by Jrue Holiday in the first round. They really need to work on that. But, both guys are good enough to outscore opponents, even in the West, and I think they will hover right around 50 wins. The rest of the roster is solid enough to work around their 2 stars. Evan Turner has never been the player many projected when he left college, but he is okay. He has a bit of a too high opinion of himself, and if he passed a bit more, that would be great. Meyers Leonard keeps getting in better and better shape, but he is still soft and cannot really stay on the court. He also doesn't have much of a jumper. I really like Al Faroq Aminu. He is a do it all player and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. He is very important to this team. I'm still on the fence with Jusuf Nurkic. At times he looks great, then he looks slow and disinterested. They need him to fully engage. There was a time that he was considered more important than Nikola Jokic to the Nuggets. That guy needs to show up. Zach Collins looked like a possible bust early, but then he started to really play quality basketball. He is still super young, but he is talented, and I think he will only get better. They drafted Anfernee Simons, and while he is a project, I think a year or 2 playing behind and learning from Lillard will do him wonders. They signed both Seth Curry and Nik Stauskas for some outside shooting. Stauskas is a bust, I hate saying it because of Michigan, but he has not been a good pro. Curry is fine, but he is so often injured, you just cannot count on him. These signings were odd. And Mo Harkless is solid. The Trailblazers know what they have to do to win, and as long as Lillard and McCollum are cooking, which they are a lot, they will win 50 games as I said before.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 7, I have the Utah Jazz. I almost, almost put this team in my top 5. I love this team. I never thought that I would say that about the Jazz, but they are fun to watch. Donovan Mitchell is tremendous. He is already, very early in his career, a top 15 player, and he will soon be a top 10 guy. He is hyper athletic, can shoot, can create, plays defense and always wants to get better. He is an amazing basketball player. The Jazz got a gift when he fell to them at 13 in the draft last year. Rudy Gobert is the best defensive player in the NBA. He is nearly impossible to score on. He does pretty decent at switching. He is a tremendous rebounder. He is a great finisher. He can't shoot, but he doesn't have to. I hope he stays healthy all year. Ricky Rubio has finally found a great place to play. He isn't needed to score, he can spread the ball out and he can get under other point guard's skin. It is nice to see him having fun and playing free and loose. I didn't think Joe Ingles would be able to sustain his solid play, but he proved me very wrong. He is a great three point shooter and a very solid defender. Jae Crowder got away from Cleveland, and landing in Utah was exactly what he needed. Guys like Rubio can find him for the open three, Gobert opens the paint for him and Mitchell takes the defense's focus away from him. Thabo Sefolosha is there for his defense, and that is a good thing. Derrick Favors can still get buckets. Dante Exum, while never living up to the hype, is a serviceable back up point guard, if healthy. Alec Burks is a pure scorer. The only thing I dislike about this team is Grayson freaking Allen. That kid is a punk, and I am so mad that a team I enjoy watching drafted him. He won't play any meaning minutes, but that won't stop ESPN from talking about him. This is Donovan Mitchell's team, and that is so wonderful. The Jazz are a good and fun team to watch, and the West should be afraid of this team. They are coming and they are young and they are good.

That's it for today. Come back next week. That is the best of the best.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Bucks, Lakers, Nuggets

We are on day 7 of my NBA countdown. We will finally break into the top 10 today. The three teams today, if something horrible happens to the Warriors, could find themselves in the Finals. In fact, one of the teams today, the one from the East, has such a big super star, I wouldn't be shocked if they make the East Finals this year. Anyway, lets get to it.

At number 12 I have the team I mentioned before that I think can already make the East Finals, the Milwaukee Bucks. They are the East's version of the Pelicans, except they have a better coach now, Mike Budenholzer, and the supporting cast around their star is much, much better equipped to make a run, especially in the East. Lets start with their star. Giannis Antentekoumpo is a legit MVP candidate. He is an amazing player to watch. He is graceful yet powerful while on the floor. He doesn't have much of a jumper yet, but he is working on it, and when he gets that down, watch out. He is so long, athletic, can handle the ball and plays solid defense. He just needs that shot. Giannis is one of my favorite players to watch, and he is the future of this league. I think, this may be my hottest take throughout this whole countdown, he is the best player in the NBA. He is unguardable and is a very good to great defender. And, he has some pieces surrounding him. Khris Middleton is the classic three and D guy. He can light it up and frustrate people on defense. He just needs to stay healthy. I feel like Thon Maker will have a break out year this year. He has been waiting, and with him and Giannis in that front court, whoo boy, that will be intimidating. Malcom Brogdon is a rookie of the year winner, a solid scorer and a bull dog defender. He is a very good, very underrated NBA player. I love the addition of Brook Lopez. The fact that the Lakers let him go was a surprise to me, but the fit with the Bucks seems so natural. He will pair up nice with Maker and Giannis, and he can force bigger, plodding centers to leave the paint due to his outside shot. That will leave the lane wide open for Giannis. While I'm not crazy that they took Donte DiVencinzo in the teens, the kid has proven that he can play if his preseason is any indication of how he will adjust to the NBA. He is also an added shooter they so sorely need. Ersan Illiyasova was a solid signing. He can score and play defense. He's an underrated player. Eric Bledsoe is fully in now, and when you get a fully engaged Bledsoe, you are getting a solid NBA player. He is a great point guard to compliment Giannis. The bench is rounded out by guys like Tony Snell, who can shoot, Tyler Zeller, who is another big body and DJ Wilson, who can score from range, and is long and lanky. I like the Bucks. I like that they hired Budenholzer. And I love Giannis. The Bucks are going to be good, possibly great, this year. They will make noise in the playoffs.

At number 11 I have the LA Lakers. So, we all know the big news. They signed Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley and Javale McGee. Did I miss someone? These were the big singings, right? Wait, they also signed the best player in the NBA right now, LeBron James. He instantly makes them a playoff team, but I do not think, not this year, that they will be as high as some are projecting. LeBron is great, and he will get them in as a 5 or 6 seed, but no higher, not in the West. LeBron is amazing, and he will do things with this team that they haven't seen in years, but they are not winning their division, they are not going to the West Finals and they are not winning titles. People need to chill. And the guys I mentioned before LeBron, those signings are so bizarre to me. Rondo is a ball stopper, just like LeBron, and he cannot shoot. McGee played great for the Warriors, but now he will be counted on to be a mentor to the young guys on this team. That isn't his thing. Lance Stephenson and LeBron have a bad history, and he is much too over confident in his game. And Michael Beasley is Michael Beasley. He is fine, but not the player they thought when he was the number 2 overall pick. What I do like though is the youth. Lonzo Ball still has a broken jumper, but he still has great court vision. He will also benefit from playing with LeBron. He just needs his dad to shut the hell up. Kyle Kuzma will get more open looks than he could ever imagine with LeBron and Rondo finding him. But, Kuzma has no slashing game and isn't a very good defender. He also struggled at the end of last year. You can count me in as one of the people that think Brandon Ingram will make a huge leap, will benefit the most playing with LeBron, and now is his time to shine. He is the perfect Robin to LeBron's Batman. He is bigger, stronger and has worked on his game. He is an All Star in the making. Josh Hart is an all around solid player. Mo Wagner, once he gets healthy, could be the energy guy off the bench, and he can stretch a defense. But, he will get pounded into the ground by bigger guys on defense. Svi Myhkalik could be a steal. He can shoot and get to the rim, but he doesn't play a lot of defense either. And Kentavious Caldwell Pope is no more than a trade chip for this team. Luke Walton now has LeBron. He just has to properly coach him now. He also has to figure out how to deal with the weird roster construction. I do not think this team will look the same mid way through the season, but time will tell. I do think the Lakers are relevant again, and they will return to the playoffs, but people need to temper their expectations. They are not going very far, maybe not even past the first round this year.

My final team for the day, breaking us into the top 10 at number 10, I have the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have a star and a soon to be star. Nikola Jokic is the star. The dude can rebound, score, play D and is the best passing big man in the game. He is a joy to watch. He plays like a, at their best, Spurs player. He has the vision of a point guard, but the size of a power forward. He is a fantasy basketball player's dream. He puts up stats. The budding star is Gary Harris. He is becoming an exceptional scorer, and he could always play D, now he is an upper echelon defensive player. Harris looked like a possible bust, but he has figured it out, and boy oh boy is he good. Jamal Murray is starting to figure it out too. This kid has a great stroke and can get to the basket. He has finally moved past his Kentucky days, and that is only made him a better basketball player. Apparently the Nuggets like him so much, he was considered untradeable this offseason. Paul Milsap is back, and he is healthy. Next to Jokic, he may be the second best passing big man. He can also score. He can also rebound. He can also play D. And, what separates him, he has been on multiple playoff teams. Milsap is so under appreciated, but I love his game. Michael Porter Jr fell to them in the draft. While I do not think that he is as good as he thinks he is, this slip in the draft should light a fire under him. He is still dealing with injury concerns, but if he stays healthy, he was projected to be a top 3 pick. He is talented. They signed Isaish Thomas to a one year minimum deal, and if anyone in the league has something to prove, it is him. He wants to be that go to guy. He wants to be the fourth quarter star. The Cavs and Lakers were bad situations. I feel like the Nuggets are much better suited for his game. Will Barton is a solid role player. Malik Beasley has a chance to become a break out bench scorer. And Trey Lyles, after the trade, started to come on real strong for them last season. The Nuggets just missed out on the playoffs last year. I do not think that will happen again. Guys like Jokic, Milsap, Harris and Murray are too talented to miss out on the playoffs again. The Nuggets are on the right track, and they are a fun team to watch.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Wizards, Spurs, Pelicans

As promised yesterday, from here on out, the rest of my teams are playoff teams. Some of today's teams are train wrecks, but they play in the East, so they have an easy route. Others on today's list have fallen due to injury or loss of star players. And the other, this may be their last shot to make an impression on their lone star player, and try to get him to stay. Time will tell. Anyway, lets get to it.

At number 15 I have my train wreck team, the Washington Wizards. First things first, I hope they change their name back to the Bullets. I know it has bad connotations, but the symbol was cool, and it isn't nearly as bad as some other team names in pro sports. As far as this roster, it is talented and it is wild. It may be one of the oddest group of players I have seen. These guys all seem to hate one another, but they don't have to hang out outside a basketball court, and if they buy in while on the floor, they can make it to the playoffs. I love John Wall. I know that his teammates may not like him, but I think he is great. He is fast and can get to the hoop. Yes, he has gained some weight this offseason, but I am one of the people who believes the stories about this being muscle, not fat. Star players always do something in the offseason to make them better, and Wall decided to put on muscle to play in the post. I fully buy that. Wall is good and will continue to be good. His teammates, as I said, may not like him, but they need him. Bradley Beal is one of the guys that doesn't seem to like him. But, Beal is an awesome young player that needs a guard like Wall to get him open shots. When Beal is on, boy is he good. He can score in bunches. He may not be a very good defender, but he is the type of player where I will take the scoring over the defense. He is such a pure shooter. From here on out, this roster gets wild. They traded for Austin Rivers. I am a big time hater of Austin Rivers. I do not think he is a good NBA player. But, he has had a mediocre career, which is better than I thought he would do. He does have one, maybe 2 nights a year, where he just explodes. But, he is super tough to play with, and a lot of people say he isn't fun to be in a locker room with. That spells doom for me. They also signed Dwight Howard. Why? I mean, his track record speaks for itself. He may play well with a guard like Wall, but he is already hurt. And, he is a locker room problem. Otto Porter Jr deserves better than this. I think he is one of the more underrated NBA players. The guy can score and play defense. He is good, but no one knows because of the toxic nature in DC. The same thing can be said for Kelly Oubre, but he isn't as good as Porter. He is the poor man's Porter. He also needs more playing time. The Wizards also fell for the Jeff Green experiment. This dude continues to stay in the league, and I don't know how. He is hyper athletic, but he is wildly inconsistent. Markieff Morris is there, but I'd rather have Marcus Morris of the twins. And then there is Ian Mahinmi. He might be the most overpaid player in the NBA. He makes Gorgui Dieng's contract look manageable. The Wizards have talent, but they are very toxic. They will make the playoffs, and maybe even win a round because Wall and Beal are so good, but this team is going to be drama filled all season long.

At number 14 I have the San Antonio Spurs. Now, it needs to be said, the Spurs were in my top 10 2 days ago. Then the Dejounte Murray injury happened. He was the new point guard to lead this team. He was ready. He waited his turn, and now he is out for the year. That is going to hurt them. What helps them, they have LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan and the best NBA coach ever, Greg Poppovich. He will get this team to 45-48 wins. He did it last year, and Kawhi was hurt, Ginobli was a million years old, as was Pau Gasol and Tony Parker. While the Murray injury is a blow, they have guys that can step in for one year. As I mentioned, Aldridge was so much better last year than his first with the team. He was an All Star. His jumper came back. He was rebounding at a solid clip. This is his team now, and I think that is good for him. They traded Kawhi Leonard, they had to, but they replaced him with DeRozan. DeRozan is nowhere near the defender that Kawhi is, but no one is the defender that Kawhi is. DeRozan can also get buckets. He will also be out there to prove people wrong that he isn't a star level player. I like that DeRozan. He now has a chip on his shoulder. Patty Mills will be the most likely replacement for Murray and while he isn't Murray, he has been in big games, played big minutes and is the perfect Spurs player. Lonnie Walker, who I love, is hurt right now,  but when he gets back, I think he will play real well. This was the perfect situation for him to be placed in, and as soon as he gets back from injury I want to see him play. Pau Gasol is still in the league, but I look at him like a lesser version of Dirk, without the shooting touch. They brought back Marco Bellinelli, and his best playing days where his first go around with the Spurs. He can still shoot too. Rudy Gay is still strong and can get to the rim and has bought into the Spurs system. They got Jakob Poeltl in the Kawhi trade, along with DeRozan, and I think he will be a fine back up center. I also like Derrick White's athleticism. This team will step back, they were bound to. They also lost Kawhi, Ginobli and Tony Parker. This was bound to happen. And losing Murray is a real bummer. But as long as Poppovich is coaching this team, I will continue to put them in the playoffs, even in the West.

My final team for the day, the team that needs to really show out to keep their star, I have the New Orleans Pelicans. This may, most likely be, Anthony Davis' last year with the Pelicans. I don't want it to be, but he has signed with LeBron's agency, he wants to play in a bigger market and he wants to be more recognized by the casual basketball fan. I hope he pulls a Russell Westbrook and sticks around, but I don't think he will. He is probably the best center in the league. He is the most athletic. He can score from anywhere. He is one of the best defenders in the league. Davis is an MVP level super star. He is all the Pelicans have. And that is not a knock to the roster, he is just so much better than everyone else on that team by a billion miles. That being said, I like Jrue Holiday. He absolutely owned both CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard in the playoffs last year. He shut them down. He can score if need be. He is a great distributor. Holiday is a real good point guard, as long as he is healthy. Nikola Mirotic was a surprise solid addition to this team last year. He was that outside threat they needed. Solomon Hill is a bull dog defender and rebounder. He is the Pelicans James Johnson. They made some signings this year that like too. Julius Randle at the price they got him for was great. He will also want to show out so he can get a bigger contract. I also think him getting out of LA will benefit him majorly. They took on Elfrid Payton, and I think him backing up Holiday, or playing point while Holiday is the 2 will cause some problems for opposing teams. Payton hasn't lived up to his draft position, but maybe playing with Holiday and Davis will help him out. They also took a chance on Jahlil Okafor. They got all these guys for cheap, and if one hits, it could possibly sway Davis. This is Okafor's last shot I feel, and he is already hurt, but when he comes back, he brings an element to the low post, on offense, that will greatly benefit Davis' ability to step out. E'Twaunn Moore is a solid 7th or 8th man. Chieck Diallo could possibly break out and be the instant energy guy they could so sorely use. The Pelicans have an okay roster that is bolted down by a mega star, Davis, and a smaller level star, Holiday. Everyone else is a role player. I think this will be Davis' last year there, again, I hope not, and I think they will try and go out with a bang. They will be a playoff team, and they will be a tough out.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams. We are nearing the top 10.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Clippers, Timberwolves, Heat

As we move into day 5 of my NBA countdown, we finally get our first playoff team, and it isn't even a West team. The West is going to be heavily featured from here on out, but my first playoff team is from the East.

Coming in at number 18 I have the Los Angeles Clippers. Congratulations on, definitely now, being back to being the second, or maybe even third team, that anyone even talks about in LA or California. The Clippers are a shell of what was once the incredibly overrated "Lob City". None of those guys remain. They are all on new teams. They also got rid of Austin Rivers, which I think was one of their better moves in a long, long time. But, what is left over, I am not sold on. I do really like Shai Gilgeous Alexander. That kid became the face of the Kentucky team by the middle of the season, and he ran with it all the way to being a lottery pick. He has also looked good in preseason, and crushed summer league. He should be the point guard on opening night. But, they will roll out Patrick Beverly instead. I know that Beverly is a great and annoying defender, can run a team and doesn't need to shoot all the time. But, he is coming off some big time injuries, doesn't need to shoot because he can't really shoot and is old in NBA terms. If the over under until Danilo Gallinari gets hurt is 20 games, I'd take the under. That dude always gets hurt. Tobias Harris is a fine player, and has shown flashes of being a capable third or fourth option on a playoff team, but the Clippers are hoping he is their "guy". They replaced Deandre Jordan with Marcin Gortat, but what can he really do anymore than set a screen. He may not have liked John Wall personally, but he is going to miss him dearly when he is out there with Beverly or Milos Teodosic. As with Teodosic, he is old and will get hurt very quick too. Boban Marjanovic is their other option at center, but he is more known for his size than his game. He is the modern Gheorge Muresean. Lou Williams can score in bunches, but it won't matter for this team because they will not be playing for anything important after All Star break. I bet he gets traded. They resigned Avery Bradley, and while he was once a very good three and D guy, I think that was a one season deal. He has never played that well, and he is now coming off multiple injuries. Montrez Harrell is another option at the 5, but he is too plodding to face up against the top centers in the league. They also signed Luc Mbah AMoute, but he will not do for them what he did in Houston last season. The Clippers are back to being also rans. Maybe they will be able to lure Kawhi or Jimmy Butler, but that will not happen until next offseason. For now, they are a 38-40 win team at best.

At number 17 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now, a lot of this depends on the whole Jimmy Butler thing. If he were to stay, as I think he should, they would be higher in my rankings. But, he has openly demanded a trade on way more than one occasion. That is why they are just outside of the playoffs for me. He will most likely get traded, I have heard that talks have been heating up, but if he doesn't, I still think, especially in the West, there are 8 better teams. And, who's to say that, if he stays, Butler would be fully engaged? He may tank just to get traded. As far as the rest of the roster, I love KAT. I think he is a great modern center. He can score from inside and out. He is a solid rebounder. He can score against the best of the best. But, he struggles defensively. Some of that is him, some of that is the coaching staff. He gets put in bad situations far too much due to their defensive scheme. Andrew Wiggins is one of the most bashed upon players in the league. I think he is okay, but others just seem to really dislike him. I think he is a very good slasher. I like his jump shot. I think he plays hard. But, just like KAT, he has not been able to play defense at any kind of level in the NBA. He is far too often on highlight reels for the wrong reason. I like both rookies they took, Keita Bates-Diop has looked great so far, and Josh Okogie is the point guard of the future. But, this staff will not play them enough. Thibs would rather play guys like Derrick Rose, he's washed, Luol Deng, I forgot he was in the league, Taj Gibson, who is okay, but real old and slow and Jeff Teague, who seems to hate playing in Minnesota and playing for Thibs. Thibs runs these guys into the ground for no reason. He is also taking on his former players about 5 years too late. Tyus Jones is okay, but he is much more suited for a back up role on a contender. And then there is the albatross that is the Gorgui Dieng contract. While this guy can play a little D and is an okay rebounder, he is making way too much money for a guy that cannot stay on the floor for more than 10 minutes a night. There is a reason they are trying to add him in the Butler trade talks. The Timberwolves are a mess right now. They finally broke their playoff drought last year, but now, they have so many problems, I just do not see them making a return, even if Butler sticks around for one more year.

My final team for the day, my first playoff team, coming in at number 16 I have the Miami Heat. Again, Jimmy Butler has a lot to do with this team, but I am going to judge them on my countdown as if he is not on this team because he isn't at the moment. I like the roster here, but they just don't have the guys to be any higher than this on my list. They have players, but they are mid level at their positions. I like Goran Dragic. I think he is a solid point guard. He is just fine running this offense. But, he is probably around the 10th best point guard in the league. Dwayne Wade is on his retirement tour all year. He will get a ton of the attention, and it is well deserved, he is a sure fire first ballot hall of famer. But, he is not the guy he was the first time around in Miami. Hasan Whiteside should be a top 5 enter in the league, but the dude has some issues. First off, he cannot shoot free throws and his jumper in nonexistent. What he does great is rebound and defend. But, he is too prone to getting into scuffles on and off the court, and he just isn't totally reliable. I like Whiteside's game, I just wish he didn't let the little things bother him. Justise Winslow can defend and can get to the hoop. But, he gets hurt far too much, and his jump shot has not looked good since he was drafted. He also may be traded at some point. Josh Richardson is a fine outside shooter. He's not too flashy, but the dude can fill it up if he needs to. Dion Waiters is coming off an ACL injury, and at his age, that may be the end. He won't admit it, he probably still thinks he is the best 2 guard in the league, but he is not, and I like Dion Waiters. I'm sure the Heat are regretting giving Tyler Johnson the contract the gave him 2 years ago. While he is a fine player, they over paid for him, and he has just not lived up to the money. I really like the high flying Derrick Jones Jr. All he needs is some playing time, and I think the Heat will give it to him. Watch out for this kid. He has been biding his time, and I feel like he is going to explode soon. James Johnson is a bad dude. He is big and mean and tough and I adore watching him play. He isn't anywhere near the best at his position, but I bet every star that has to go up against him dreads it. I think, especially with the uncertainty that Whiteside brings, that Bam Adebayo can be their center of the future, if he doesn't get traded. He has good feet, a nice touch around the rim and can rebound and defend his spot. Outside of those guys the rest of the roster is pretty blah. But, what makes the Heat a playoff team to me is Erik Spoelstra. He has a group of guys that know what they can and can't do, and he squeezes the most out of them that he can get. Spoelstra may be the most underrated coach in the league right now. The Heat will make the playoffs because of guys like James Johnson, Bam, Goran Dragic and Derrick Jones Jr. But, they will mainly make it because of the coaching job that Erik Spolestra does every year.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three. It is all playoff teams from here on out.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Cavaliers, Mavericks, Grizzlies

Lets get back to the NBA.

At number 21 I have the Cleveland Cavaliers. Whenever you lose a player like LeBron James, you are going to take a tumble. With that being said, I don't think they will be as bad as some think, but I still think they will miss the playoffs. They decided to give Kevin Love the mega extension, and they are making him the face of the team now, but we have seen this movie before, and it is mediocre. The Timberwolves did the exact same thing, and they never made the playoffs. Kevin Love put up numbers, which I fully expect him to again, but he is not a guy to build a team around. George Hill is only getting older, and his shooting and point guard play in general, is getting worse. They drafted his replacement, Collin Sexton, and I hope he takes over very soon. Sexton was my favorite player in the draft last year, I pined for him to go first overall, and I think he will be a star. He has the potential to be this year's Donovan Mitchell. I love Collin Sexton. Tristan Thompson is a scum bag as a person and a mediocre, over paid big. He also said some dumb ass stuff at media day. JR Smith is still there, and still making odd headlines. He was talked about more for being shirtless and getting a tattoo on his calf than anything about his game. He may be done. Jordan Clarkson became a shell of himself when he was traded there. Kyle Korver is somehow still in the NBA. Larry Nance Jr is going to be wasted on this team, playing behind Love. They resigned Channing Frye for some unknown reason. Rodney Hood is in a make or break year, and I would bet dollars to donuts he gets hurt. And Cedi Osman will not get the playing time he needs and deserves. Like I said, we have seen the highest a Kevin Love led team can do, and that is win 41 games. The Cavs are going to take a big step back.

At number 20, I have the Dallas Mavericks. Now, I think the Mavs will be better, but the people picking them to fight for a playoff spot, in the West, need to chill out. Look, I love Luka Doncic as much as anyone. I think he will end up being one of the better players in the draft. I feel like he is the most NBA ready player. He has been playing pro ball overseas for a few years now. But, he is still a rookie, he is still 19 and he still needs to get in shape. Give him time. Dirk Nowitzki is on the team he can still score, but he is old, plays no defense, cannot jump and cannot really run. His roster spot is simply because he is a legend in Dallas. They finally got Deandre Jordan, but it is about 3 years too late. He is still a solid rim runner and defender, but he brings nothing else, at all, to the team. Dennis Smith Jr is a budding star. He and Doncic can become one of the best back courts in the NBA. He is hyper athletic. He can get to the rim with ease. He is a hard defender. His jumper will get better. I love Dennis Smith Jr. Harrison Barnes is who he is. He is a 13-15 point a night guy. He will play solid defense. He will do what is asked of him. But, he is not the star we all thought he could be. He is an okay NBA player, but not a star, not a franchise builder. JJ Barea is on the team, but I think that is simply because he and Dirk are buddies. They also drafted Jalen Brunson, but Doncic is a much better player at the same position. Wes Matthews still hasn't fully recovered from his ACL injury, and you can tell when you watch him play. He was so great, but in a flash, he lost that athletic ability that separated him while he was in Portland. Outside of those guys, it is a bunch of youngsters and old vets. Devin Harris is still on this team. They drafted Giannis' younger brother. And they have no one else of note. The Mavericks, with Doncic and Smith Jr, will be good soon, but they are not ready yet, especially in the West.

My final team for the day, at number 19, I have the Memphis Grizzlies. This is another team, just like the Mavs, that are getting possible playoff buzz in the West. That all depends on the health of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. I don't have any faith that both can stay healthy. They will try, but one or both, will eventually get hurt. Conley is a great point guard, but he is older, not as bouncy and coming off an injury. Gasol is a great modern big, but he to is older and coming off a bad injury. He also doesn't get along with some upper office people. I think Jaren Jackson will be great, and the city will love him. He plays hard, can play defense, can shoot and play in the low post. They need to build around this kid for sure. But, just like Doncic, he is only 19, it will take some time. Chandler Parsons will get hurt. I do not care that he looks healthy now, he will get hurt. I really like the pick of Jevon Carter. He is the heir apparent to Conley, but Carter, in NBA terms, is old. He is already 22. But, he is the perfect fit for the city They signed Kyle Anderson away from San Antonio, and while I don't think he will be as bad as others to leave the Spurs, but I don't think he will play as they are expecting. He will do fine, but he is not the instant offense guy they need. JaMychal Green is in a contract year, but he hasn't really translated his game to modern NBA. Dillon Brooks had a solid rookie year, but he was just solid. H doesn't do much wrong, but he also isn't spectacular. I like Ivan Raab on this team, but he won't get the playing time he needs. And they signed Garrett Temple, who couldn't get on the floor with the Kings last year. The Grizzlies, just like the Mavs, will be good soon, once they turn the team over to Carter and Jackson, but it will take some time. I like this team, but their stars, Conley and Gasol, are old, and they cannot stay healthy. I wouldn't be shocked if both are on different teams before this season ends.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 3 teams.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's NFL Quick Hits: Week 5

Before I get back to my NBA countdown, I have some very quick takes on week 5 of the NFL. The Rams are still the best team. The Chiefs may be just as good. The Packers are struggling. The Titans and Ravens may be frauds. The Bengals look legit, sorry RD. The Steelers looked for real. The Falcons are toast. The Patriots are back. The Bills are bad, but maybe not horrible. And the Browns have doubled Hue Jackson's win total as a head coach in 5 games. Things are still very murky, with the Rams and Chiefs the lone exceptions. Also, Jacksonville needs a new QB, and they need one now. One more thing, can the Cowboys finally fire Jason Garrett? He is a terrible head coach.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Knicks, Pistons, Hornets

On to day 3 of my NBA countdown. We are getting ever closer to teams that are better than the lottery, but not quite there yet. Some have star players, but they are often injured. Others have been in the playoffs recently, but they just don't have the goods anymore. Okay, lets get to it.

At number 24 I have the New York Knicks. Look, I am a big time fan of them letting Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek go, and I love that they hired a coach like David Fizdale. I was also super, super impressed with Kevin Knox in summer league. But, this team is still a ways away from being a playoff team. I have seen some writers pick them to go to the playoffs, but that talk  needs to ease off. The majority of their success all depends on the health of Kristaps Porzingis. And, while I love the way he plays basketball, he is the second best unicorn behind Giannis Antentokoumpo, he has not been able to stay healthy at all during his short career. If the Knicks want to be a playoff contender, they need Porzingis. Outside of him, I like some of the youth they have. Knox, as I already mentioned, really surprised me in summer league. Maybe he is more Devin Booker and less Nerlens Noel. Maybe not being coached by John Calipari will make him that much better. I really like Frank Nkilitina. He already defends at a high level, he is a pass first point guard, and he is very tall for his position. I think Mitchell Robinson can be one of the steals of the draft. I had him as a first round talent, but he fell to them in the second, and the Knicks need a big guy, and he played pretty well in the offseason. After that, it gets iffy. I am a Tim Hardaway Jr fan, mainly because he went to Michigan. But, he is nothing more than a shooter. That's where it begins and ends. Courtney Lee needs to be let free. He belongs on a contender, not as a third option. Trey Burke, another Michigan guy, has bounced from team to team, and finally played okay after a stint in the G League. But, was that a mirage, or a sign of things to come? I don't know. He has never really put it together for one full season. Ron Baker is somehow a player on this team. They signed Mario Hezonja, but who cares. He is who he is, which is a mediocre NBA player. And Enes Kanter and Noah Vonleh has little skills. Kanter can score, but he does nothing else. He is the big man's Ryan Anderson. And this has to be Vonleh's last shot. He has been a bust. I believe that Fizdale will turn this team around, but it won't happen right away. It is going to take some time, and some better players.

At number 23 I have the Detroit Pistons. I mean, how can a team with Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson not be in the playoffs? Especially in the East? Drummond is a very, very good big man, and he has improved his free throw shooting, but he isn't translating into the modern big I hoped he would. I like Drummond a lot, but the Pistons might need to move on. Blake Griffin is still one of the most overrated players in the NBA. I love that people still think he can be the best player on a contender. He is oft injured, cannot shoot an outside shot, no matter what Bill Simmons says, he's a mediocre rebounder and he doesn't have the athleticism that he once had. Griffin is done being a top 20 player. Reggie Jackson got what he wanted when the Pistons gave him a huge deal, but since then, he has been mediocre at best. He is a below average shooter, a ball stopper and not a very good defender. He is not elite. He is getting paid far too much. Stanley Johnson has one more chance to be the player the Pistons thought when they took him in the lottery. He is good at talking shit, but he hasn't been able to back it up. He should be figuring it out, but he hasn't yet. For some reason this team signed both ZaZa Pachulia and Jose Calderon. I just don't get that at all. Luke Kennard is the new Jimmer Fredette. Henry Ellenson is the new Chris Kaman, except he will never be an All Star. I guess he is more like late career Kaman. Ish Smith is their version of Jamal Crawford, except not as good. They signed Glenn Robinson III, but he is the classic example of a player that should have stayed in school one more year. This is a team of former stars, guys that should be stars nd cast offs. They will not sniff the playoffs. Griffin will get hurt, Drummond won't get the touched he needs, Jackson will think he is the number one option, and every other player is blah.

My final team of the day, at number 22, I have the Charlotte Hornets. I so thought this team was going to be a perennial playoff team 2 years back. I was certain they would not only be a playoff team, but they would be a 4 or 5 seed regularly. But, that didn't happen, and I do not know if they are taking the right steps to get back to the playoffs. Kemba Walker is a star. He is one of my favorite players. He is a great scorer. He plays defense. He plays hard. He is a good dude. He deserves better than this. They signed Tony Parker as his back up, but why? He is washed, and I swore he was going to retire. It is so weird to see him in a uniform that doesn't have Spurs across the chest. Nic Batum is on the back end of his career. He is still a solid all around player, but he gets hurt a lot, and he seems like he cannot play more than 20-25 minutes a night anymore. They drafted Miles Bridges in the lottery, and while I think he is a fine player, he did not make that jump from his freshman to sophomore year in college, and that is worrisome to me. Malik Monk never really went off last year like he did at Kentucky, but he is too good a scorer for me to give up on yet. He should take a leap this year. If he doesn't, that could spell trouble for the Hornets. Michael Kidd Gilchrist is a very good defender, but he is way too injured and cannot shoot from the outside, He hasn't put it together. Jeremy Lamb is toast. He has a sweet stroke, but he cannot get open, cannot get to the basket and isn't very good on defense. Cody Zeller is somehow still in the league, and a starter. That is wild. Frank Kaminsky is very blah. Marvin Williams is still a good athlete, but that's about it. Dwayne Bacon can still be solid, if he goes hard every night. I'm not giving up on him yet. And they now have Bismack Biyombo. He cashed in on one really good playoff round a few years back, but he hasn't done much since. He can rebound with the best of them, but that is all he can do. The Hornets should be better, but they just aren't. Hopefully they find a way to get Walker back to the playoffs, or on a playoff team. That is what he deserves.

That's it for today. Come back next week for some teams that will fight, and be, in the playoffs.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Nets, Bulls, Suns

On to day 2 of my NBA countdown. We are still at the bottom of the barrel, but a few of these teams today I think could be kind of fun to watch. They will not win many games, but they will produce highlights, and I will enjoy watching one of these teams for sure. Lets get to it.

At number 27 I have the Brooklyn Nets. This team is still getting hammered by the trade they made with the Celtics years ago. They gave up so many high picks at the chance of getting a title with an old Paul Pierce, and an old and injured Kevin Garnett. They still haven't recovered from that horrific trade. They also gave Joe Johnson an absurd amount of money, and risked a ton of young talent when they signed Deron Williams to a huge deal. They have made bad mistakes, and they are really paying for it now. When I look at the current roster, and while there are some players I like, they are not a well constructed team, and they will not win many games. I love Caris Levert. He played at Michigan. I got to see his talent for 4 years. But, he is oft injured, just like he was in college, and he just cannot seem to stay on the court. Jarrett Allen is a good big man to build around, but I have heard and read things saying that basketball isn't the most important thing in his life. They signed Allen Crabbe, but his best days are behind him. There is a reason the Nets, and no one else offered him much. DeMarre Carroll had one great year in Atlanta, turned that into a big deal in Toronto, and then they offloaded him to the Nets, where he has majorly regressed. Spencer Dinwiddie is quietly a good player, and I hope he gets traded to a team that is in contention that needs a player like him. Kenneth Faried is there now, and while I used to bang the drum for him as a player, he has never really been more than a high motor guy. Rondae Hollis Jefferson is their best player, and if he and Levert and Dinwiddie could get some solid vets, maybe this team could push for a 7 or 8 seed in the East. Until then though, the Nets are bound to stay in this purgatory that they created. This team is still a long way away from being a playoff contender. Hell, they have a way to go to push for 35 wins.

At number 26 I have the Chicago Bulls. I will be the first to admit that I was completely wrong on Lauri Markanen. That kid played so much better in his rookie year than he did in his one season at Arizona. He stepped out and hit threes, went to the rim and played well in the post. But, he is still pretty awful on defense, and he needs to put on muscle. Kris Dunn played better with the change of scenery, but he was not a top point guard by any stretch. He was a guy I believed in coming into the league, but it just hasn't translated. Cristiano Felicio needs to get in shape and if he does, I think he could be okay. But, he is just soft right now. The decrepit remains of Omer Asik is there now. How is that dude still in the league? Justin Holiday is a solid shooter, and he plays hard, but he is just a mid to lower level guard in the NBA. They signed Jabari Parker, and while he can score, he plays no defense, doesn't rebound, isn't a very good passer and has 2 torn ACL's. Bobby Portis' game has not equaled success in the NBA. He is more known for beating the shit out of Nikola Mirotic than anything he has ever done on an NBA floor. Denzel Valentine is a bust. Cam Payne is a bust, who should be in the G League. And they gave Zach Lavine a near max contract. Why? What has he done to earn that? Isn't he pretty much the exact same player as Aaron Gordon? They are both hyper athletic dunkers, but that is it. He is also just one year removed from a torn ACL. The Bulls are not good, but with all the shade I just threw at them, I think, if they can stay moderately healthy, they might be fun to watch. Lavine is a highlight reel dunker, I love Wendell Carter, who they drafted in one of their smarter draft choices, Markanen is a solid modern big and Kris Dunn is a bull dog. I will watch them the rare occasion they are on TV. But, they will not win many games.

My final team of the day, coming in at number 25, is my new favorite team, the Phoenix Suns. This team will not win more than 25-30 games. They are too young, too inconsistent and not ready for primetime, especially in the West. But man oh man will they run up and down the floor, score a ton of points and are super, super athletic. I love Deandre Ayton. I am fully buying in on him. Once he gets an okay jumper, he will be a terror. He is already great in the post. He can rebound, he can protect the rim and he has great footwork for a big man. He looks like he is going to be real good real soon. Devin Booker, who I know is recovering from wrist surgery, is already an elite level scorer. The kid can shoot from anywhere. You don't score 70 points in one game if you aren't elite. He can handle the ball as well. He doesn't play great defense, but he more than makes up for that with his offensive ability. He is one of the best young scorers in the game. I love the signing of Trevor Ariza. They need that veteran that has been to the highest of heights in the NBA. He is also a knock down shooter, plays solid defense and will be a great mentor for the young guys on the team. I'm not crazy about the addition of Ryan Anderson, that guy can only shoot threes, other than that he is useless. Tyson Chandler, who is one of my all time favorite players, is still there, but he is more so in the Garnett role when he went back to Minnesota at the end of his career. He is there to help out the young guys, and if he retires at the end of the year, I wouldn't be shocked if he immediately becomes a bench coach for the Suns. I love in the Anderson trade they also acquired DeAnthony Melton. This team is lacking a true point guard, and even though he is a rookie, he was a first round talent that fell to the second round. He plays solid defense, and he should start on opening night for this team. Josh Jackson is now the hands down 4 on the team. The Suns got rid of both Alex Len and Marquiss Chriss, and I think this will only benefit Jackson's development. He can already play solid defense, is hyper athletic, but he cannot shoot. He needs to figure that out. And I really like TJ Warren. He plays hard every night, and the dude is good. I also think Dragan Bender can still be decent, but he has to prove it this year, or I'm out on him. I also like Darrell Arthur for toughness and rebounding. The Suns are building something special I think, it will just a few more years. They will not win much this year, but they may be the most fun team to watch, outside of Golden State. They have a ton of young, bouncy talent. They also have a super star in the making in Devin Booker. And if Ayton hits like I think he will, they will be a dynamic one two punch. The Suns aren't great now, but they are on their way.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next three teams.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Hawks, Kings, Magic

I was flipping through channels the other night and I came across a preseason NBA game. I watched for a bit, then I realized, holy cow, the NBA regular season is going to start soon. I was kind of shocked to be honest with you. I am fully in on football right now, the MLB playoffs are going on right now, and then pow, NBA season is getting ready to start, and college basketball practice has begun. So, as I have done since the invention of the website, I'm going to do my preseason NBA countdown. I'll go from worst to best, giving three teams a day. I'll do a short few sentences on why I have them ranked where I do, and if they have any shot at all at winning the title. After the countdown, I will do a postseason and awards predictions, and the following day, I will do my NCAA men's basketball preview. So buckle up, the next 12 days will be, with the occasional NFL quick hits or a movie or music review sprinkled in here and there, will be all basketball. Enough preamble, lets get to the rankings.

Coming in at number 30, dead last, I have the Atlanta Hawks. This team won 60 plus games a few seasons back. This team was a playoff team 2 years ago. Then, they traded Kyle Korver, Pau Milsap, Jeff Teague, pretty much everyone that was important to them. Then this offseason, they offloaded more talent. This team is in full on rebuild mode. They even, much to his delight I'm sure, let Mike Budenholzer go. When I look at their roster now, it has a bunch of retreads and rookies. What I do like about this team though, they have Taurean Prince, who is wildly underrated, and John Collins, who has the looks to be a very good modern big man. After that though, it gets rough. Vince Carter is there, and he is looking ever bit the 40 year old he is. Good on him though that he is still out there. Jeremy Lin is on this team now. I wanted Lin to be great after what he did as a Knick, but he cannot stay healthy and he is wildly inconsistent. Kent Bazemore is no more than a trade chip for a younger player or a pick. He will most certainly be a salary dump at some point. Alex Len was traded there, and he has been a total bust. Thomas Robinson, a former fourth overall pick in the draft, is back from the G League, and he will probably get big minutes on this team. Dewayne Dedmon left the Spurs for this team, and he has not been the same player. They drafted Kevin Huerter, who is a big time project, that will take a few years to develop, and Trae Young. They traded Luka Doncic for Young in fact. I think they will regret that. Young has a ton of pressure to score in bunches, and if summer league and the preseason are any indication, he is going to struggle. The Hawks are going to be real, real bad. I do not expect them to win 20 games. They will most certainly get a lottery pick next year. They have zero chance of making the playoffs, let alone the Finals.

At number 29, and this was a real tough choice to put them ahead of the Hawks, I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are the most moribund NBA franchise. This team is so, so , so bad. And they have been for a long time now. The days of Chris Webber and Vlade Divac and Jason Williams and Mike Bibby seem like forever ago. And when I look at their roster, I just do not see them being any better this year. They took Marvin Bagley number 2 overall this past draft, and he has bust written all over him. He is long and lanky and athletic, but he is way too skinny, doesn't like contact and his jumper is not a threat. All that can change, but he has not looked great in preseason and summer league. He should have dominated both, and he just hasn't. I hope he gets better, because he is so athletic, but I just don't see it, especially in the Kings culture. I love DeAron Fox. He is the only player on this team that I think is a real, legit future NBA star. He is fast, can score, can find the open man and play defense. He is too good a player to be on the Kings. He deserves so much better. I feel for him. Willy Cauley Stein has never developed into the rim runner and rim protector that some thought he could be coming out of Kentucky. His best highlight since he has been in the NBA is a missed dunk attempt. While it looked cool, that shouldn't be your career highlight. Imam Shumpert is there, but he was washed about 3 years ago. Harry Giles is still a work in progress, and who knows when, or if, he will get hurt again. He did show flashes in summer league. Ben McLemore is back, but I am done defending him as a player. He is not a very good NBA basketball player. Yogi Ferrell is here, but so what. Skal Labissiere is on the team, but that kid wasn't great in his one year at Kentucky, and that was just a sign of what was to come. I loved Buddy Hield in college, and I have stomped and yelled about how he was going to be great, but he hasn't been. He has gotten lost in the shuffle, and his scoring has not made it to the NBA level. Zach Randolph is the Vince Carter of the Kings. Frank Mason is a fine backup, but the Kings play him far too much. The rest of the roster is just blah. The Kings are a bad team with a bad culture. They have gotten used to losing, and that should not be the case. As I stated before, I fell for DeAron Fox. He should be the starting point guard on a team that has a winning record and in playoff contention. The rest of the Kings roster, I just don't care about enough.

My final team for today, at number 28, I have the Orlando Magic. This team reminds me a lot of the Kings, in the same sense that they are forever rebuilding. They haven't been relevant since Dwight Howard was their center. They seem to pop up from time to time as a supposed "sleeper" team, and then they shit the bed. The Magic are not good. They just gave Aaron Gordon an inordinate amount of money, and while I love his freakishly athletic dunking, that is all he does. He isn't a great shooter, rebounder or defender. Yet the Magic seem to think he is the guy to build around. That doesn't make much sense to me. Nikola Vucevic is clearly a good stats bad team guy. Evan Fournier is known much more for his hair than his game. He is the French version of Jeremy Lin. Johnathan Issac didn't look great last year, but early reports about him from this season say he has bulked up and his game has improved. We just haven't seen it yet because he didn't play in summer league and I have not seen him in any preseason action. DJ Augustin is somehow still in the league, and he is on the Magic. So what. Johnathom Simmons is exactly like Dewayne Dedmon. He left the Spurs and he is not as productive on a different team. They signed Timofey Mozgov. Why? Why is he still in the league? Terrance Ross is hyper athletic, and can dunk the shit out of the ball, but they already have Aaton Gordon to do that. And they drafted Mo Bamba. I love Bamba, but he is going to take some time to develop. This team needs a ton of help. I do think Bamba can be their center of the future, but they will have to be patient. Gordon is a fine power forward, but he isn't an All Star caliber player. They don't have a real point guard. They don't have a real 2 guard. They don't have a real small forward. I mean, who on this team can guard LeBron or KD or Steph or Klay or Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons or Jeol Embiid or James Harden or Kawhi Leonard or, even a player like DeAron Fox. The Magic need a lot more help. Until then, they will be stuck in 20 win land and picking in the lottery again. That has now been the case for about a decade now.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next three teams.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2018 MLB Playoff Preview

The MLB playoffs start tonight, and while I have admitted many, many times that I do not know much about the MLB, I'm going to go ahead and give my post season predictions. I will first start with the AL because I have a little more certainty about this side.

The A's and the Yankees face off in the Wild Card game. As much as I want to pick the A's, and as shocked as I am that they made it in the playoffs, I cannot pick against the Yankees. They have a great, home run hitting lineup, and they can get a pitcher to win one game if needed. The A's are a nice story, but their season ends in one game. I don't want it to, but the Yankees will win.

This will make the matchups Boston-New York and Cleveland-Houston. Boston has the best record in baseball by a wide margin. They have a great lineup and a great pitching staff. I know people are up in arms abut Chris Sale lately, and David Price hasn't been good in the post season, but they are a better team than the Yankees. These might be the 2 teams I despise most in baseball, but Boston is too good to screw this up. The games might be all very high scoring, but Boston will outscore the Yankees to death. Boston wins in 4. Cleveland faces the defending world champs, and a team that won 100 plus games this year. I still think the Astros are the overall best team in baseball, they have a tremendous lineup and a great, great pitching staff. But, and I don't know why I do this to myself, but I am going to go with Cleveland. It's going to be a 5 games series. The games will be close. The drama, for those that watch, will be intense. This could quite possibly be the best first round matchup. But, for as good as the Astros pitching staff is I think the Indians match it. And, the Indians can play small ball with the Astros. This is like 2 old NL teams facing each other. As I said though, in the end, I think the Indians will win in a tight, hard fought 5 games.

So, the ALCS will pit Boston against Cleveland. Terry Francona versus the team that let him go. And, just as he proved 2 years ago, I feel like he will outcoach, and his team will outplay, the team with the best record in baseball. Maybe this is my was of picking the A's, without picking them. I feel like Boston should win, and win handily, but there is just something about Francona going up against his old team. And in the playoffs, better pitching beats better hitting, and the Indians have a way better pitching staff. So, the Indians will be the ALCS champ and represent the AL in the World Series.

The NL is not so easy to pick. There are new, young teams and I cannot really get a hold of who will win. But, I'm going to try to pick anyway. In the Wild Card game, which is tonight actually, we have the Cubs and the Rockies. I look at this game the same as the AL Wild Card game. I want to pick the Rockies, but the Cubs are just a better, more seasoned playoff team. They have a better lineup, a better pitching staff, and I feel like, in a one game series, the team with better talent will win out. The Cubs are also getting healthy at the right time. While I will be rooting for the Rockies, the Cubs will win. That will set up the Cubs and Brewers and the Braves and Dodgers. The Cubs and Brewers are no strangers to each other. They are in the same division, they played an extra regular season game to get a division winner and the Brewers beat them. The Brewers are also peaking at the exact right time. But, as I said, the Cubs are getting back to full health, and they are the team that has been here before. It should go 5 games, and I want to pick the Brewers because that is the team of my father's youth, but I do not see the Brewers being able to pull it off. They remind me a lot of the Mariners team that won 114 games and got beat in the first round almost 20 years ago. Again, I will be rooting for the Brewers, but I have the Cubs winning in 5 games. The Braves and Dodgers is a whole different story. The Dodgers are the Yankees of the NL. They have all the glitz and glamour. They are the Hollywood team. They have the stars. They have the names. The Braves, well they remind me of the NL's version of the Indians, except younger. They are way ahead of schedule. They should still be rebuilding, but here they are. And you know what, with the way the Dodgers squeaked in, I'm going to go with the Braves. Something crazy always happens in the MLB playoffs, and I'm going to make that crazy thing be the Braves winning the first round match up against the Dodgers. And not only do I have them winning, I have them sweeping the Dodgers.

So, that gives us Chicago-Atlanta in the NLCS. And you know what, I'm going to continue to ride with the Braves. Maybe they will be the team I root for since the Cardinals are out. No one expected them to be here, they have no big names, no one like me can name one player on their team, but I think they will find a way to win. This series will go 7 games, but I feel like people will start to get behind the Braves, root for them, and they will be the NL representative in the World Series.

In the World Series is where it will all come crashing down for the Braves. I know, I always seem to pick the Indians, and I am going to pick them again. They are going to win it one of these years, and if my predictions are right, I feel like they will sweep the Braves. The Indians are the superior team in every phase. They will crush the Braves. Terry Francona will exercise the loss 2 years ago, and win another Series as manager. This will be the year. The Indians will finally prove me right. Now, people who watch baseball, enjoy the playoffs, hopefully they are fun.

Ty

Editor’s picks

The American League Playoffs.

The wild card game will produce a true wild card when the “how in the hell did they do this” Oakland A’s shock the world and beat the Yankees. Everyone on ESPN will demand a more than one game playoff because their favorite team is out.

The A’s will not win again because the Boston Red Sox will sweep Oakland. The dream season will be over.

The Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians divisional series will be awesome. It will go five games. In the end the Astros will emerge because they are like the Indians, but just a little bit better. Oh, they are also the defending champs.

The Red Sox spotty pitching will hurt them against the Astros. The ALCS will look a lot like last years World Series where the flashy star studded Dodgers could not beat the consistent Astros. The same thing that happened to the Dodgers will happen to the Red Sox. The Astros win the American League Pennant in seven games.

The National League Playoffs.

Ty is right, any of these teams could win the pennant. With that being said the Rockies will make the ESPN people upset when they beat the Cubs. Because the Yankees and Cubs will get knocked out early, MLB will look at making the wild card round a best of three.

The Rockies against the Milwaukee Brewers will be a close series. The Brew Crew will pull it out in four or five really close games.

The LA Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves is a changing of the guard type series. The Dodgers are experienced and near the end of their championship window. They were one game away from a title last year, and most of that team is returning to the playoffs. The Braves are young, talented, and inexperienced in October baseball. The Dodgers will emerge victorious, but the Braves will get that much needed playoff experience and this team will be a force for years to come.

The Brewers and Dodgers are two teams that look almost exactly alike. The Brewers have Christian Yelich, and that will be the difference. After six games, the Milwaukee Brewers will go to the World Series.

The World Series

The Brewers are the newcomers with a lot of balance and a superstar on the roster, the Astros have balance, a few superstars, and a World Series title. With that being said, the Brewers remind me of the Kansas City Royal teams from a few years back that went to back to back series and winning one. That is why I am picking the Milwaukee Brewers to win the 2018 World Series in seven games over the Houston Astros.

Enjoy the playoffs.

RD

Ty's NFL Quick Hits: Week 4

Week 4 is done after tonight's Broncos-Chiefs games, and I'm back with some quick takes. FYI, I'm going to save the Vikings-Rams for last.

First, lets get to my team, the Packers. Yes, they won. Yes, they shut out the team they played. Yes, they won by 3 scores. So, why am I not pleased? Well, the offense looked like it was slogging through mud. Rodgers looks more hurt than he is letting on. They still don't really have much of a run game. And yeah, the defense shut out a team, but it was the Bills. Josh Allen played like I expect his career to turn out, and the Bills have nothing else to save them. The Packers won, but they have a lot of searching to do to be the team I thought they could be coming into this year.

Sticking with the NFC North, holy cow did the Bears look good. Mitch Trubisky played his best game, probably since high school yesterday. He was on fire. Tarik Cohen was finally properly used. The receivers made catches. And that defense is wonderful. That was the given for them, especially after they traded for Mack. If the offense plays like this the rest of the year, they will be a real Super Bowl threat. But, I tend to look at Trubisky's game as an aberration, not a sign of things to come. The Bears are good, but they aren't as good as that. And the Buccaneers, how does it feel to get slammed back to Earth? "Fitzmagic" is done, their defense is horrid, they have no run game and their head coach said he should be fired after the game. The Bucs, especially since they are going back to Winston, are going to be as bad as I thought at the beginning of the year.

The Lions, well, last week was definitely a mirage. They couldn't stop the Cowboys, who looked awful in the first 3 weeks. The Lions made them look like they did 2 years ago, Stafford returned to his poor play, they couldn't run again and the receivers are just not great. The Lions stink. So do the Cowboys, but they stunk a little less than the Lions yesterday.

Some other notable games, the Falcons cannot stop anyone. They have a great offense, I mean, they scored 36 points yesterday, but they gave up 37 to Andy Dalton and the Bengals. The Bengals aren't bad offensively, but they aren't as good as they showed yesterday. It hurt the Falcons to lose 3 key guys to injury, and that will doom them the rest of the year. Also, good for Dalton to finally get the ball to AJ Green. And, Tyler Eifert's injury was horrific. That may hurt them. But, if they continue to get the ball to Green, and let Gio Bernard play running back, they could win their division.

Speaking of their division, the Steelers stink right now. I know that the Ravens have a very good to great defense, but with the weapons they have, and only score 14, come on. They still have plenty of time to turn it around, but their QB stinks, Antonio Brown isn't getting the looks he deserves and they sorely miss Bell. The Ravens are way better than I thought they'd be too. Joe Flacco looks revived. They are getting Lamar Jackson snaps. Alex Collins is doing what he needs to do. The receivers are solid. And I already mentioned the defense.

The Saints stumbled into 33 points and a win in New York yesterday because the Giants are horrendous. The Saints did everything they could to blow that game, but the Giants never took advantage. It finally got to the point where Kamara just decided to take over, and that is exactly what he did. That dude is awesome. I hope, with Mark Ingram coming back next week, they don't diminish his role. He is the key to what they do. The Giants are bad. I actually feel bad for Saquon Barkley. He didn't asked to be drafted by a team that thought they could make the playoffs this year with Eli Manning. Odell Beckham got paid, but he is not getting the looks he needs. The O line is horrendous and their defense is old and slow. They are a bad team.

The team I thought was worse than them, the Browns, I need to eat a little crow on so far. First off, they got screwed out of a win. There was no fumble. That was a first down. That was complete nonsense. The Browns, while I still don't think they are a .500 team have a good defense, a decent run game, and Baker Mayfield, after a game and a half, looks much better than I figured he could be. Maybe they are building something. The Raiders need to thank the refs for that win. Jon Gruden should personally send each one a thank you note. That being said, the Raiders are bad. I do not care that they won, they are a bad team with a poor coaching staff. And they have to deal with Gruden for awhile. Hope you are happy Raider fans.

The Jets are also not very good. I know they faced my Super Bowl champs, the Jags yesterday, and they got their faces stomped in. Blake Bortles, who barely cracked 100 yards passing last week, went for nearly 400 and 3 TD's. Oof. Leonard Fournette got hurt, but Yeldon seems like a suitable person to fill in for him. And that Jags defense just dominated Sam Darnold, every writer's week one darling. That kid looked frightened.

The Titans beat the Eagles, in overtime, which kind of surprised me. They actually looked like a competent football team. They looked like they were running a semblance of an NFL offense. Their defense is solid too. The Eagles look off right now. But, I do not read much into that right now because they are still getting Wentz fully acclimated again. While they should be better than 2-2 right now, I think they will be fine come week 6 or 7.

Deshaun Watson and the Texans finally woke up. Sure, they almost blew it, but Watson looked like the QB of the future that I think he can be. He was running and throwing the best I have seen since last season. He is good. Deandre Hopkins is great. Andrew Luck looked great yesterday too, but it wasn't enough, and that will be the case for the Colts all year. Both teams are not very good right now, but they played an entertaining game yesterday.

The Seahawks eeked out a win over the winless Cardinals. Josh Rosen finally got the start, and while he didn't look great, he is a much, much better option than Bradford going forward. David Johnson also looked solid. The Seahawks won, but it was ugly. Russell Wilson has no O line, and he is not a guy to build a tea around. Their running back was why they won. Also, props to Earl Thomas for giving them the finger after hurting his leg. That dude has given that team his all, and they refused to pay him. Now, he is going to leave ASAP in free agency, but he has to come back from a bad injury. Stuff like that injury makes me hate the NFL. Screw the Seahawks for what they did to Thomas.

The Chargers barely beat the CJ Beathard led 49ers. I feel like this game should stop anymore talk of the Chargers being a "sleeper" or a "threat". They stink. So do the 49ers. I didn't think they were that good with Garropolo, but they looked ten times worse yesterday, and they still almost won.

Finally, the Vikings and Rams. The Rams are for real elite. They are the best team in the NFL. They cannot be stopped Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Cooper Kuup, Brandin Cooks, they have weapons everywhere on offense. Then on defense, they were without Aqib Talib, and Marcus Peters was hurt, but they still did enough to win. That D line is ferocious. They can eat. The linebackers are solid. Sure., Kirk Cousins threw for a lot of yards, but I never thought that the Vikings had a shot to win that game. The Vikings have not looked good the past 2 weeks. They need to figure it out on defense, which was supposed to be their strength. They also need to use Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray more. I know they gave Cousins all that money, and Thielen and Diggs are great wide outs, but they need a run game too. They have some searching to do.

I have said it the past 2 weeks, and I will say it again, the Rams are, head and shoulders above the rest of the NFL. Even with the Patriots destroying the Dolphins, I still think, at a neutral site, the Rams would destroy any team from the AFC. They are legit.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He forget to mention that this week in football also brought him his first loss in fantasy football. Who did he lose to? Even with the end of Fitzmagic, the Head Editor won because his favorite team had a terrible week on defense. Damn, and thank, you Vikings.

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Tales from the Training of a First Half Marathon

I’m in the midst of training for a half marathon. It’s tough. Again, like when I wrote about the triathlon I did, I’m not bragging. I’m writing today to talk about my training experience, and what I like and dislike.

What I’m not so crazy about, the amount of training that goes into this half marathon. I’m doing some kind of physical activity 5 days a week. I’m a bigger dude, so it can take its toll sometimes. I find it hilarious when I see a training day scheduled that says “Easy 4 Miles”. There’s no such thing. A distance longer than 3 miles, for me, is hard. But, I do it still, because that’s what the training calls for.

Which leads me to what I do enjoy/like about this. I’m happy that I’m out getting so much exercise. I haven’t felt this in shape since I was in high school. I went hiking the other day, and with some of the hills we encountered, there’s no way I would have been able to get through it if I wasn’t in training. I like that I have an end goal. When I’m working towards something, it’s nice to have a strict regimen. It keeps me focused, and crossing out that day’s workout is a real treat. I’ve also found myself pushing harder. Some workouts, prior to this, I’d kind of half ass my way through. I’d go for a swim, and instead of doing what I should have done, I’d go until my workout app in my watch dinged. Or, if I had to run 4,5 or 6 miles, I’d do about a half to 2/3 worth of running, then walk the rest of the way. With this half marathon, I’m hyper focused on doing exactly what the training says. Doing that has also made the “Easy 4 Miles”, not easy, but doable, even if I’m drained from the day. I’m traveling this weekend, and because I want to stay up on the training, I pushed everything up a day. It was tough, but finishing my distance run yesterday was one of my proudest athletic achievements. I worked out for 7 straight days, and I wasn’t completely wrecked. I’ve never done that before.

What I’ve found that I like most, running long distances, I’m talking about my 9 and 10 mile runs, I’ve gotten to a place where, when I hit the halfway mark, it’s not a chore, it’s something I know I can finish now. I almost hit a meditative state that is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I get lost in the music or podcast I’m listening to, and I just run.

One more good thing, this has really helped with my weight loss. I put a few pounds back on, some muscle, some fat, with the triathlon training. With the half marathon training, I’m starting to look like I did a few years back when I lost 100 pounds. It’s great.

Half marathons aren’t for everyone, hell, I’m still shocked that I’m doing one. But, if you put in the time, follow a strict plan and go for it, the benefits way outweigh the problems/risks. I have about 3 weeks until my race, and instead of being scared or pessimistic, I’m hopeful, proud and looking forward to it.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He can brag all he wants about doing his triathlon. The only triathlon the head editor has worked towards is driving to the grocery store, walking in the grocery store, and then putting the groceries away at home. It is a tough three events, but someone has to do it.

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Jimmy Butler Does Not Fit with the Miami Heat

Last week Jimmy Butler said he wants to be traded. I wrote a piece basically saying I wanted him to stick it out one more season in Minnesota. That seems like a real no go. He’s already talked to Tom Thibodeau twice, and he still wants out. He has given a list of teams he’s willing to go to. He has already said he will sit out training camp if he isn’t dealt. I’m pretty sure he’s not at any of the media stuff going on right now. Even the Timberwolves GM has said they are taking calls, and he is very available. I’m still perplexed why, maybe it’s because he’s an old school player playing with young kids that don’t take it as seriously as he does, but his new preferred team really makes no sense to me.

As I said last week, Butler named 3 teams he would go to. Those teams, the Knicks, Nets and Clippers. I wrote why I think the Timberwolves are a better fit than all 3. But, the other day, Butler and his agent, David Falk, have now said his preferred team, the team he really, really wants to play for now, the Miami Heat.

Hear me out as to why I think this is an odd fit for Butler.

The Heat are already a playoff team. They play in the East, they have a solid core and I like their current core. To get Butler, they are going to have to break that all up. I know a third team has to get involved, and the Kings seem like the popular choice right now. Why I don’t like this, the Heat will have to give up key players to an already playoff ready roster. Adding Butler will instantly push the Heat into the top 4 in the East. But, with what they’ll have to unload, they would be far behind the Celtics, 76ers and Raptors for sure. Each of those teams have much better units than a Miami Heat roster with Jimmy Butler.

Now, let’s get to what the Heat will have to give up. From what I’ve heard, Justice Winslow is the coveted young guy, Goran Dragic is the vet and then some random salary dump player. I don’t like this for the Heat at all. I know Winslow’s shooting hasn’t really translated to the pros, but he can defend, and he’s still super young. He also closed out the year much better than I expected. He looks like he may be a late bloomer. Dragic finally looks like he is on the right team for his skill set. He’s a great penetrating and kick point guard. The Heat don’t have great shooters around him, but they do have guys that can score. Dragic is also real good finishing around the rim. As far as the salary dump players from the Heat, I feel like it would be either Hassan Whiteside or Tyler Johnson. Both guys haven’t lived up to the hype after their one good season, but both are integral to the Heat’s success last year. So they’d have to lose 2-3 key players to get Butler.

Now, I do think Butler is one of the 20 best current NBA players, but he’s not worth that much. Butler would replace Winslow’s defense, Butler is one of the best defenders in the NBA, but he’s much older, and we know what type of player he is. Butler will not replace Dragic due to position. Butler is not a point guard. He’s a 2 or a 3. The Heat would need a real point guard. Then, if they lose Whiteside, who I know was unplayable in the playoffs last year, they have only Bam Adebayo, who has potential, but isn’t the defender Whiteside is. Losing Tyler Johnson wouldn’t be so bad at least. Jimmy Butler is a much, much, much better player, and they pretty much play the same position.

But say this happens. Say the Heat give up Winslow, Dragic and Whiteside to get Butler. When looking at the rest of the Heat roster, it doesn’t seem more hardcore than the Timberwolves. Look, I love Dion Waiters. I still draft him in fantasy leagues. But, I would much rather play with Andrew Wiggins. Dwayne Wade is a champ and Hall of Famer, but this is his last year, and what does he give you that a guy like Jeff Teague or Wiggins or Tyus Jones can’t? And, all those guys are way younger than Wade. And while I love Adebayo’s old school game, and his potential, KAT has proven that he’s one of the best young players in the league. When he figures it out on defense, he’s going to be a top 5 player.

So I say a week later, I don’t like this fit for Butler. I really want him to stick it out, for just one more season, in Minnesota. That team was real, real good before Butler got hurt. I think they could do it again if he were to stay. He will likely be dealt, but I just don’t see any other fit that is better than what is currently happening with the Timberwolves. I just want him to stay.

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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Nutella Filled M&M's? Yes Please.

Just like I wrote about yesterday, some days we get something that is so great, I just have to write about it. Today, my piece is food based.

I was scrolling around on Facebook and Twitter last night, and I saw something that made me very happy. Lately, when scrolling through social media, it is all bad, but this news last night was tremendous, and it actually made me smile. The M&M's company announced that they are about to release a new flavor of M&M's, hazelnut spread.

This is amazing.

These new M&M's might be the best M&M's, or maybe, just maybe, even the best candy that has ever been made. I have made it abundantly clear that I am a Snickers guy. I feel like Snickers is the best bite of candy that has ever been made. It has the perfect amount of salt and sweet. The people that have created Snickers have perfected the model. Snickers is the Diet Coke of the food world. But, these new M&M's have the possibility of maybe, just maybe, passing Snickers.

I love Nutella spread. It has passed peanut butter, jelly, basically any other spread that you can put on any food that offers a spread. I love how creamy and sweet Nutella is. I prefer a Nutella and jelly sandwich to a PB and J. I love putting Nutella on graham crackers. It makes everything it touches instantly better.

This isn't the first time M&M's have tried something different. In fact, candy companies do it all the time now. I am one of the people out there that like white chocolate. I like milk chocolate and dark chocolate better, but white chocolate is fine. But, when it comes to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, or Kit Kat's, give me their milk or dark chocolate variety. When it comes to Reese's, give me their holiday shapes in fact. Those are way better than traditional Reese's. The peanut butter to chocolate ratio on those is stupendous. Skittles, which I used to love, have tried this too. They made tropical flavors and sour flavors, and none of those were as good as Skittles. Starburst has done the same thing. Traditional Starburst are the best, and while I like when they do the all pink packs, or their tropical flavor okay, traditional Starburst reign supreme. And even M&M's have done this. In fact, I feel like they are the pioneers of this. Peanut M&M's are some of the best candies I have had. Peanut M&M's are second only to Snickers when it comes to that perfect balance of salt and sweet. Peanut M&M's are always a road trip favorite of mine. I also enjoy original M&M's. It is the classic candy. I'm a big time fan of almonds, so I do enjoy their almond filled M&M's. Peanut butter M&M's are my wife's favorite candy of all time. I enjoy them quite a bit as well. I like the coffee M&M's. My son and daughter love love love the caramel filled M&M's. Basically, whenever M&M's does a new flavor, it seems to hit.

This hazelnut spread M&M's may change the whole candy game. These things, I just do not see how it will not be a massive success. Just imagine the first time you try these how excellent these will taste. Taking that M&M chocolate and pairing it with Nutella, it is going to be a perfect marriage. I am going to absolutely devour these things when they are released. I haven't been this excited for a new candy since the peanut butter Snickers, which is wonderful by the way. I'm so stoked. I will most likely buy a new pack the day they come out, then I imagine I will most likely buy about 3 or 4 more after that.

This is awesome, and I cannot wait to try them. Thank you for this much needed great news M&M's. I appreciate it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He spends part of his day smashing interesting food items into his M&Ms. His greatest creation has been Snickers stuffed with almond M&Ms. Will this Nutella fusion be even greater? Time will tell.

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Tommy Wiseau is the Joker We Need

A slightly less scary clown than Tommy Wiseau

Every once and awhile, the internet graces us with something memorable and beautiful. Things I think of when talking about this are, "Chocolate Rain", the monkey cleaning the cat video, Will Hung from "American Idol", "Pants on the Ground" guy from "American Idol". You know, things that are funny, not mean and everybody knows about. Yesterday I think I found another video that falls into this category.

I am a big time fan of the cult classic "The Room". I fully believe it is the worst best movie ever made. I also feel like Tommy Wiseau, with a little push from his buddy Greg Sestero, has bought into the lure of this movie. It is a midnight staple. People, myself included, have seen the movie multiple times, by our own free will. I can pretty much recite the entire movie. I have been to a midnight showing. "The Room" spawned the excellent book, "The Disaster Artist", which was then turned into a critically acclaimed, excellent feature length movie. "The Room", Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero have seemed to figure out how to strike while the iron is hot. Wiseau has done this with his internet show, acting in film students movies, taking horrible small roles in bad movies and showing up to midnight screenings of his movie. Sestero wrote a book, also shows up to midnight screenings, became a stage actor and had bit parts here and there on TV, all due to "The Room". But yesterday, the day before the release of their newest movie, "Best F(R)iends", which I really want to see now, they both released a video that was one of the best things I have seen on the internet in quite some time.

I know that most of you, if you are familiar with Wiseau, know that he released his "audition tape" to play the Joker in the new movie that is coming out. We all knew he wasn't going to get the part, but that didn't stop him. That video is one of the weirdest, and funniest things o have seen. But what I saw yesterday totally took over. Sestero and Wiseau recreated the famous interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker from "The Dark Knight". That scene, between Bale and Ledger, is one of the best scenes in movie history. It is wrought and frightening and exposing and just perfect in every possible way. That is a scene I always go back to when I want to see great acting. Well, Sestero and Wiseau did it, and it is insane. Wiseau plays the Joker, obviously, and Sestero, he's Batman.

First lets talk quickly about Sestero. He is an okay actor. He can deliver lines and it seems fine. But, he has a very monotone way about performing, and that comes across big time in this 5 minute video. He delivers some of the lines perfect, but others, it seems forced. I feel like he did this for promotion, and because he cannot say no to Wiseau. He did fine with his impression.

Wiseau on the other hand, he went for it. He was all over the place. He was flubbing lines left and right, but he didn't care, he was having fun. I was both terrified and cracking up during his time on screen. The people that made the video added subtitles for him, and thankfully they did because it was sorely needed. But, again, he went for it. Wiseau seems to be at a point where he gets that he is not a good actor, but he doesn't care. If someone gives him direction, and if it takes 100 takes, he will deliver something memorable, be it good or bad. This video, I found it to be one of the good ones. As I said, he had fun, he went for it and I watched the video three times in a row, simply for his "performance". I loved it, and I am so glad it is in my life. I showed it to my wife, and she thought it was hilarious.

This video is a must watch for all "The Room" and Tommy Wiseau fans out there. It is truly one of a kind, and it should go down as one of the better viral videos ever. It is amazing. Go watch it now if you can.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He and the head editor are working on recreating that famous Judge Reinhold scene from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. Not THAT scene, the one where he gets fired from his fast food job.

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Ty's NFL Quick Hits: Week 3

Week 3 will be in the books after tonight, and I'm back for some takes. Lets go.

First off, I do not know what roughing is anymore. I mean, Clay Matthews sacked Alex Smith, it was like any sack that has ever sacked before in the NFL, and he somehow, some way got called for roughing. Now, that was not the reason the Packers got beat, there are plenty others. But, that penalty was atrocious. I do not know what else Matthews could have done these past 2 weeks to make a cleaner tackle. The way he hit both Smith and Cousins is the way I was taught while playing youth through high school football. They were picture perfect tackles. The same thing happened in the Cowboys-Seahawks game. Hell, a Dolphin defender tore his ACL trying to adhere to the new tackling rules. The NFL has another big time problem on their hands, and it is this new roughing call. The game will be flag football before we know it.

Getting back to the Packers-Washington game, what a dud by my team. Rodgers looks much more hurt than he is letting on. The defense can't stop the run or the pass. And Washington jumped all over it. That game was a 2 TD lead before I could blink. The Packers need to figure some stuff out. Good for Washington taking advantage and getting the win.

The Titans-Jags game was an aberration to my eye balls. The final was 9-6. Marcus Mariota had to replace Blaine Gabbart. Blake Bortles looked like Blake Bortles. He is the only player on that team that has me worried about my Super Bowl pick. That was worse than a Thursday night game.

The Chiefs sure look great though. They are the opposite of the Jags. They can score and score and score. Patrick Mahomes just keeps doing great things. He added another 3 TD passes. Kareem Hunt ran in 2. This team can play offense. Their defense leaves something to be desired. They let the 49ers hang around until Jimmy Garropolo tore his knee apart. He is done for the year, and a team that some were high on, not me, are now officially toast with Jimmy G out. They aren't going to win many game with CJ Beathard at QB.

The Saints and Falcons game was exciting as hell. There was no defense played, but that is what I have come to expect when these 2 matchup. Drew Brees is still amazing. Alvin Kamara is phenomenal. Thomas is one hell of a receiver. On the other side, Matt Ryan balled the hell out. He looked like himself from 2 years ago. He was spreading the ball out and got everyone involved. They ran the ball well too. The only reason I think the Saints won was because they had the ball last.

Carolina looked pretty dominant over the suspect 2-0 Bengals. The Panthers ran wherever they wanted, and when Cam had to throw, he nailed his receivers. I feel like the Bengals we saw yesterday is closer to who they really are as a team. They looked rough, and Dalton seems to have already lost his "magic" from the first 2 games.

Another suspect 2-0 team was brought back down to Earth yesterday, the Broncos. The Ravens absolutely dominated that game. Joe Flacco looked solid, their run game was great and the defense was smothering. Case Keenum doesn't look like he will be bringing any of that magic from last season to Denver.

Speaking of Keenum's old team, what the hell was that showing from the Vikings? They gave up 27, 17 in the first quarter, to the Bills, at home. The Vikings defense, claimed by me, is the best in the league, and they made Josh Allen look like a top 10 QB. I was shocked most by the outcome of that game. Also, the 84 million dollar man, Kirk Cousins, didn't look great. This was a game that would scare me if I were a Vikings fan. They looked real bad. Some good needs to be said about Buffalo too. I mean, they looked to be the worst team after 2 weeks, but they went into Minnesota and won every single facet of that game. The sun shines on even bad teams sometimes, and the Bills had that luxury yesterday. That may be 1 of 2 or 3 wins they get this year.

The Bears won again, but it wasn't pretty. The Bears are starting to remind me a ton of the Jags. They have this great defense, led by Khalil Mack. That dude is amazing. I love watching him play. I don't like the Bears, but Mack is must watch TV. On offense, they have a great run game, but QB is the problem. Mitch Trubisky looks real bad. He looks nervous. When he has to go off script, he just seems uncomfortable. That is where the Jags comparison comes into play. Is Trubsiky the new Bortles? It looks that way right now. And man oh man are the Cardinals bad. They finally, mercifully, turned to Josh Rosen, but he had no shot yesterday. That team is in a bad way, and it looks like it will take awhile to get back to relevance.

Another team that might have to start panicking is the Texans. They have looked abysmal the first 3 weeks. They let the Giants control the game. The Giants were able to kind of do what they wanted. Barkley had his best game as a pro. Eli Manning looked fine. Their O line blocked enough. The Texans offense is in trouble, and I do not blame Watson. Sure, he made some poor throws yesterday, but he has no run game and his O line might be the worst in the league. The Texans need to do something quick to fix this team, or they might have a real long, long season.

Same goes for the Raiders. I'd be so disgusted with Jon Gruden after three games, and they signed him to a 10 year deal! I know it is only 3 games, but it looks like the game has clearly passed him by. Everyone can see it, except for him. The Raiders have so much talent, on paper, but they are a poorly coached football team, and they traded away Mack for peanuts. Their opponent, the Dolphins, are the surprise of the early season. They are 3-0, winning games with their defense, run game and letting Ryan Tannehill be a game manager. They are playing sound and smart football. I just wish they didn't lose their D lineman because of that stupid new "roughing" rule.

The Rams clearly proved they are the only team in LA anyone should care about. The Chargers have not looked good in the first 3 weeks, so I hope the talk of this team being a threat stops now. As far as the Rams, I mean, they haven't even been challenged yet. They look like they are barely breaking a sweat. Goff and Gurley are killing it. Their defense is playing great, considering all the new guys they signed this offseason. They are, far and away, the best team in the NFL right now.

I do not care at all about the Seahawks-Cowboys game. I despise both those teams.

To end the night, we had Detroit-New England. What is going on with the Patriots? I know it is never smart to count them out and they most likely will figure it out, and probably win their division still, but they looked horrid last night. Tom Brady might want to stop pointing fingers at others, and focus on his very poor play these first three weeks. He has looked bad, but he is blaming everyone else. That is a bad look. Detroit totally dominated them last night. Matt Stafford looked solid. He hit open receivers for the first time this year. But what helped him most, the Lions finally had a rusher go for over 100 yards in, I believe, 5 seasons. They may have finally found a solid running back. And their defense shut down the Patriots last night. Matt Patricia is a total scumbag, but I bet he was thrilled to beat 2 equal scumbags, Bill Belichek and Josh McDaniels. The Patriots look real bad right now though. Also, I will tell Lions fans to temper their excitement. This was one game, albeit against a good team, but this is what they do. They show flashes, and then crash back down to Earth.

The main thing I learned from week 3 overall, and it is the same as last week, the Rams are the class of the NFL. Until they get challenged, that will not change. That does it for week 3.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is trying to teach his son to tackle, but tackle with your words and not your body. Maybe that is the key for NFL defenses.

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Ty Watches "American Vandal" Season 2

Last night I finished season 2 of "American Vandal". It totally blew me away. I was late to season one of the show. A friend of mine suggested it, told me what it was like and about, and I decided to watch it. I raved about the first season. It was one of the most inventive, and funniest things, I have ever seen on TV. I was so invested in that first season, I had to know, "who drew the dicks". I was just as invested, if not more so, in finding out, "who is the turd burglar".

That was the whole premise of season 2. For those of you that may not know, and I am going to do this review 100 percent spoiler free, the first season of the show was shot like a true crime show. Think, "Making a Murderer", also from Netflix. But, the whole thing in the first season was, someone spray painted penises on teachers cars at a high school in California on an off day. The 2 kids that decided to do this documentary, treated the spray painted penises as a real crime. Peter(Tyler Alvarez) and Sam(Griffin Gluck) are students at the school, and they just want to know, "who drew the dicks". The first season was so great, and felt so real, that it was nominated for a ton of awards. And, it won a Peabody. That is a real, big time award, and show about penises spray painted on a car, won it. If that isn't enough for you to watch, I don't know what else will convince you. The show became such a big hit, Netflix decided to do a second season. I didn't know how they could follow up something so well done as the first season, but Tony Yacenda and Sam Perrault did it. They achieved something great. They struck lightening in a bottle twice.

The premise for season 2 is similar to the first. There is a series of pranks at a different high school, this time in Washington state. The crimes are committed by someone that goes by the handle of "turd burglar". And yet again I was fully invested on finding out who the turd burglar was, and why they did what they did. The second season is definitely grosser, due to the crime, but that doesn't take away from how well the show is acted and written and directed. It is just as intense and involved and funny and ridiculous, in all the right ways. And the way they went about showing how modern technology can be bad, it was as well put across as any episode of "Black Mirror" that I have watched, and I adore that show too. Social media can be evil, and to portray that with high school kids, and the cyber bullying and getting likes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, season 2 of "American Vandal" handled it absolutely perfectly.

I cannot recommend this show enough. It is one of the best things on TV right now. You can also fly through the 2 seasons. Each has 8 episodes, and none of them exceed 45 minutes. I love this show, and I hope they continue to make more. Yacenda, Perrault and Funny or Die have something special going with "American Vandal", and I do not want it to end any time soon. What an exceptional TV show.

Seriously, go watch all of it right now, you will not be disappointed, and you will get invested heavily.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is known around the SeedSing virtual cubicle farm as the “Hot Blogger”. Want to know more? Go watch '“American Vandal”.

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