The SeedSing 2017 Major League Baseball Preview

Baseball season is once again upon us. No more football or college basketball to distract us. Hockey and the NBA are getting ready for their postseasons. Baseball's half year hold on us begins this week. We are talking baseball, competitive baseball. What will the season hold? Will the Chicago Cubs break their zero years curse and finally win it all again? Can the Indians get back to the Fall Classic and get that last damn out to end their own title misery? How will the 2017 Major League Baseball season play out? Here at SeedSing we have all the answers to your specific questions, and a few predictions. Get your bets ready.

Who is going to replace Boston as the AL East champs?

The Eastern division of the American League is going to feature the best races of the entire season. Most of the other divisions have a clear leader, not the AL East. Four of the five teams, if not all five, have the potential to end 2017 with 81 or more wins. It is going to be tough to come out on top in the AL East.

The Boston Red Sox, last year's division winners, added the best available veteran pitcher of the off season when they signed Chris Sale. Last year the Red Sox brought in David Price, the best available veteran pitcher of 2015. The Boston pitching staff will be one of the best in the MLB, and their lineup is still one of the deepest in all of baseball.

Unfortunately, superstar David Ortiz retired and will not be there to provide some dramatic 9th inning wins for the Red Sox this year. Ace pitcher Price is also battling injury, and has not been that great in the playoffs. The Red Sox will make the playoffs, they depth will carry them, but they will not be champions.

The AL East will return to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays will put up a fight, but the Yankees will turn them all away. The Bronx Bombers overachieved last year, and they will make the next step in 2017. Their starting pitching is not that good, but the bullpen and lineup are some of the best in the majors. The Yankees will fix the pitching and win the AL east with about 90 wins.

Will there be any other competitive divisions in baseball this year?

Only the NL West, and that is just a two team race.

The AL Central will easily be won by the Cleveland Indians again.

The AL West is going to be a runaway for the Houston Astros. They will get back to what them great in 2014, and no one will catch them. Not even the perennially overrated Seattle Mariners and the perennially overachieving Texas Rangers.

The NL East is going to be won by the Washington Nationals, with the New York Mets 20 games behind.

The NL Central will be dominated by the Chicago Cubs, more on them in a bit.

The NL West will have an interesting race between the San Francisco Giants and LA Dodgers. The Dodgers have all the money in the world, and still the best pitcher in baseball with Clayton Kershaw. The Giants have a battle tested veteran team, the best manager in baseball, and the second best pitcher in the game with Madison Bumgarner. The Giants will win a very close AL West division race.

With only one, or two, great division races this year, what is there to look forward to?

The wildcard races are going to be crazy, and one or more will need an extra game to determine the winners.

The NL is loaded with great teams. The Mets, Cardinals, Pirates, Marlins, Braves, and Diamondbacks all have a chance to win over 85 games and take one of the two wildcard spots. With the right trade, and a bit of luck, any of these squads could be a spoiler to the big dogs in the senior circuit.

The AL is not as competitive, but the teams in AL East along with the Royals (one year removed from winning the World Series), the Tigers, and the Rangers have chance to play October baseball. Once you get in the playoffs, who knows what will happen. The Wild Card races will make the regualr season worth watching all the way to the last game.

What teams have absolutely no hope in 2017?

The NL may have the best teams, but it also has the worst.

The Cincinnati Reds need to rebuild. Joey Votto is still great, and Billy Hamilton is fast, but the Reds have nothing else. Their best players not named Votto, who are not great to begin with, are injured. The Reds are going to provide easy wins for the NL Central, and the rest of their opponents, in 2017.

The San Diego Padres may be even worse than the Reds. There is not a Joey Votto to keep the Padres in the national conversation. San Diego doesn't even have interesting assets to trade. They, along with the Reds, will lose over 100 games. 

Speaking of bad teams, will Joey Votto and Mike Trout be able to escape their terrible situations?

No

The Angles will not be as bad as the Reds, but Mike Trout will be as stuck as Joey Votto will be. These players are incredible talents, and it would require something ridiculous for their respective teams to give these great players away. Plus, Joey Votto makes a whole lot of money. It seems like Votto, the Ted Williams of our generation, and Trout, the Mickey Mantle, will be stuck with sub .500 teams in 2017.

What will be the biggest surprises of 2017?

The Atlanta Braves will be a lot better than most people expect. The team ended 2016 with a bunch of momentum. The rebuilding effort seems to be ready for the next step. The Braves also added some veteran leadership by acquiring second baseman Brandon Phillips from the Reds. Do not be surprised if the Braves are in Wild Card contention in late September.

The Royals and the Pirates are going to be sneaky good in 2017. Both teams suffered through big injuries in 2016. With healthy squads, Kansas City and Pittsburgh will return to the playoffs.

The St. Louis Cardinals will win close to 100 games, but the Cubs will win over 110 games in 2017. The Cubs may even break the MLB record for wins. They are really good.

So, What will the 2017 MLB Playoffs look like?

After 162, or 163, games, the division winners and wild cards will look like this.

                  AL East -           New York Yankees      NL East -           Washington Nationals

                  AL Central -      Cleveland Indians        NL Central -      Chicago Cubs

                  AL West -          Houston Astros           NL West -          San Francisco Giants

                  AL Wild Cards - Kansas City Royals     NL Wild Cards - St. Louis Cardinals

                                              Boston Red Sox                                    Pittsburgh Pirates 

The ALCS will come down to a Cleveland Indians team looking for redemption, and a New York Yankee squad looking to return to dominance. Unfortunately for the Baby Bombers, Terry Francona and the Tribe are just way too loaded. Cleveland will win the ALCS in 5 games.

The NL playoffs will see an epic upset when the St. Louis Cardinals take down their hated rivals the Chicago Cubs in an incredible Divisional Playoff 5 game series. This will pit the Cards against the Washington Nationals, and resurgent NL MVP Bryce Harper, in the NLCS. In an anticlimactic battle, Dusty Baker's Nationals will win the NL Pennant in a four game sweep.

In a world where the Cubs win a championship, Clemson beats Alabama, the Cavaliers beat the Warriors, Mississippi State beats UConn, and the Atlanta Falcons give up a 25 point lead to the New England Patriots, Dusty Baker will win a few playoff series and get the Washington Nationals to the World Series. The fairy tale will end when Dusty's boys face the better manager in Terry Francona, and the better team in the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe will have their redemption and win the World Series in 5 games. Another curse broken.

Enjoy the 2017 Major League Baseball season.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He copied and pasted his playoff teams from last year and only changed two names. Is MLB becoming as predictable as the NBA?  Come tell us. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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If You Do Not Think Russell Westbrook is the MVP, You Have Lost Your Damn Mind

You say that Westbrook is not the MVP. What the hell is wrong with you?

The other night Russell Westbrook had just an incredible performance against the Magic. I know it was the Magic, but still, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and 57 points.

57 POINTS!

That's the most in a triple double ever, which Westbrook now has 38. Westbrook has been putting on a show all year long. I had very little faith that the Thunder would be any good going into this season. I figure they'd be a playoff team, but it would be fringe and they'd be an easy out.

Well, with Westbrook completely running the show, the Thunder have been very competitive. They have clinched a playoff spot, and they could climb as high as the 4 or 5 seed in the West. This is all due to Westbrook's play this season. The fact that he will, I'm calling it now, average a triple double is amazing. No one since Oscar Robertson has done this, and most thought it would never happen again. I remember people joking that he'd do it, but no one believed it. It is happening now. Throughout this whole season he has been a one man wrecking crew, physically winning and willing his team game after game.

With this being said, why is he not the favorite to win MVP? Not only do people with votes say he's not a shoo in, a lot don't have him in their top 3. That's insane. James Harden seems to be the favorite, and he's had an incredible year, but he has a much better supporting cast and coach. Harden has been great after a tough season last year, but I'd have him second behind Westbrook. LeBron James has gotten a lot of love, but the Cavs have been horrendous lately, and James sits out too many games to be eligible, in my opinion. Kawhi Leonard, my preseason pick, has had his moments, but he's not quite at that level yet. He's fantastic, but he's not an MVP right now.

It's basically those 4 guys, and how most sports writers have Harden ahead of Westbrook is just wrong. MVP stands for Most Valuable Player. Take Harden off the Rockets and they would be bad, but I'd still pencil them down for 30-35 wins. They'd be a lot like the Magic or the Heat. Take James off the Cavs, but keep Love there, they'd still be a playoff team in the East. Take Kawhi off the Spurs, I'm sure they'd still be awesome because they're the Spurs. But, take Westbrook off OKC, they're as bad as the Nets, 76ers and Lakers. No disrespect to guys like Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, but without Westbrook, this team would be lucky to win 15 games. That screams MVP to me. The fact that he averages 30 points while averaging a triple double is equally impressive. He is their one and only threat. And with teams game planning strictly for him, he is still putting up ridiculous numbers and his team is a playoff team.

Unfortunately for Westbrook, I don't think he'll win MVP. Voters seem to have already made up their minds on Harden because his team will have 4 or 5 more wins. That's a shame. Russell Westbrook is the MVP. He is far and away the most valuable guy to his team. This team lost KD and they are still a playoff team and a threat to win a series. That is all due to Westbrook. If I had a vote it would go to Westbrook and Westbrook alone. He has been nothing short of incredible and reliable and insanely durable this year.

Russell Westbrook is the MVP, whether the voters give it to him or not. He definitely deserves this award.

Ty

Ty Gets Ready to Watch the Final Four

The 2017 Final Four is set. We have UNC and Gonzaga, the 1 seeds, Oregon, the 3 seed that hasn't been this far since 1939, and the Cinderella 7 seed, South Carolina. I don't think a lot of people predicted this. In fact, on my Tournament Challenge app, a stat popped up that said only 657 out of 17 million plus entries correctly predicted the Final Four. That comes out to 0.003 percent of entrants that got it right. That is crazy.

With all this being said, I do like the matchups and the teams. But, before I jump into my predictions I want to touch on the last 4 days of the tournament. All the crazy things that led to these teams being the teams left standing.

The tournament picked back up last Thursday. As you all know by now, Oregon beat Michigan in a great game. Gonzaga and West Virginia played one of the sloppiest, foul ridden, terribly run offensive games that I have witnessed. There were 50 plus fouls called, a combined 61 free throws shot and missed after missed opportunity by both teams. In the end Gonzaga won late when WVU ran the worst 3 offensive plays to close out a game ever. Later that evening, KU demolished Purdue. Purdue kept it close for a half, then KU bulldozed them. Frank Mason, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson looked unbeatable. The last game of the evening was incredible, and in a pretty big upset, Xavier beat Arizona in the final minute. Arizona showed its youth and Sean Miller reared his ugly head, and Xavier just kept plugging away until it took the lead for good with 40 seconds left. Xavier played with so much more heart and they deserved that win.

The next night had some marquee matchups, and only one of the games really lived up to the hype. Earlier in the evening, South Carolina laid waste to Baylor. Baylor looked like Baylor and South Carolina took advantage. Is Scott Drew a good coach? Maybe, but this team always chokes in March. The UNC-Butler game had potential to be close, especially with how UNC played against Arkansas, but UNC came out scorching hot, and rode a great first half to an easy 12 point win. The game that was supposed to be the game of the night, UCLA-Kentucky, was good, but not great. Kentucky played incredible defense. De'Aaron Fox was ridiculously great. Malik Monk did his thing. I was shocked at how nonchalant, and seemingly uninterested both UCLA and Lonzo Ball looked in this game. TJ Leaf also played really bad. These are 2 projected first round picks, with Ball being considered number 1 or 2 overall. He showed little to no effort, and Fox absolutely crushed him all night long. To no one's surprise, Ball immediately declared for the draft, but man oh man did he look really terrible. And TJ Leaf, he was a complete no show. He couldn't keep up with Kentucky's big men and they destroyed him all night long. The game was good for awhile, but with about 11 minutes left in the second half, there was no doubt that Kentucky was moving on. The game of the night was Wisconsin-Florida. Florida seemed to have the game put away, but Wisconsin came up with big plays and an incredible shot at the end of the game to tie it up and push it to overtime. But, after making that shot, the Wisconsin kid showboated, and I said to my television, with no one else in the room, you will regret that. Well, with under 10 seconds left, one of Florida's guards went the length of the floor with his team down 2, and took almost the exact same shot as the Wisconsin kid, but this time, it was a game winner. The Florida kid hit all net. That game was truly great, especially the last 5 minutes of regulation and all of overtime.

Then we had 8. 

On Saturday we had KU-Oregon and Gonzaga-Xavier. Gonzaga-Xavier was a blowout from the tap. They crushed them the whole time. Gonzaga actually looked like the team that only got beat once all year. People may say that they got to play an 11 seed, but Xavier blew away FSU, a 3 seed, and beat Arizona, a 2 seed, and Gonzaga absolutely destroyed them. They won by 24 points, and it wasn't that close. I thought this would happen. What happened in the KU-Oregon game though, I did not expect. With the way KU hammered Purdue, and how Oregon had to come back against Michigan, I just naturally assumed that KU would continue their destruction. Well, Frank Mason did his thing, but no one else showed up for KU. Graham was an 0 fer from the filed. Josh Jackson was very mediocre. The Myhkulik kid was non existent. Bill Self was out coached. They just played terribly, and Oregon played great, especially their big men. They had one forward that had 11 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocks. That is a phenomenal stat line. He single handily shut down everyone but Frank Mason. Oregon looked very, very good in this game.

So Saturday's games were both blowouts and gave us half of the Final Four. Sunday's games were much better. We started off with South Carolina-Florida. Florida looked like the better team in the first half, holding a 7 point lead, but South Carolina came out firing away and hitting shots in the second half. Sindarius Thornwell is a tremendous college basketball player. He is awesome and he kept this run going for South Carolina. They had a 4 point lead for pretty much the last 4 minutes, and they pulled away at the very end and won by 7 points. I'm still in shock that South Carolina, a team that has never been to the Final Four, is there. It's crazy. Congrats to them. To finish out the weekend, we had a great, great game between Kentucky and UNC. UNC looked like they had control in the first half, putting Kentucky's young stars in early foul trouble. But, Kentucky fought its way back, took a five point lead with about 3 and a half minutes left, but then UNC went on a 10-0 run to take a 5 point lead themselves. Then things that crazy. UNC pushed the lead to 7, but then Kentucky started to finally hit threes and with about 14 seconds left Malik Monk hit an incredible three to tie the game. The shot was awesome. But, instead of taking a timeout, UNC pushed the ball up the court and passed to this bench guy who hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left. Kentucky never got another shot off. This was a great way to end the weekend. This game was flat out awesome. It had everything you could want out of an NCAA tournament game.

Now we have the four. Next Saturday Gonzaga will face South Carolina and UNC will face Oregon. South Carolina is on a magical run, but Gonzaga finally looked like the team we have all been waiting to see. I think this game will be very competitive, but I see Gonzaga ending South Carolina's magical run. I remember about 10 or 11 years back when George Mason was an 11 seed and on a similar run all the way to the Final Four, and it all came crashing down in their matchup. That is what I see happening here. It will be highly contested, but I just think that Gonzaga is a better team, and they should win. Oregon-UNC will be a blowout. I know that a lot of people are saying that Oregon is the team that no one wants to play, but UNC is a much, much better team with much better depth and equal size and skill from their big men. I think UNC will demolish them. Great for Oregon that they beat KU, but UNC is, I just have a feeling, going to throttle them. They passed their toughest test and came out of the South region as the Final Four recipient. I just do not see how they don't hammer Oregon.

That will give us a Gonzaga-UNC title game, and I think UNC will make up for what happened last year and win the title. It may be taken away in a few years, what with all the allegations coming at UNC athletics, but I see them beating Gonzaga in a very good, not as good as last year, but still highly contested game. It will come down to the final couple of minutes, but I see UNC winning it in the end. I think Justin Jackson will win MOP because he is the guy that most people know of on UNC. He has also had a very solid tournament run.

This is how I saw the past weekend, and how I see the Final Four playing out. I'm excited for next Saturday. This has been an entertaining tournament thus far. Hopefully that continues this weekend.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Where is Ty's sense of loyalty? He picked Oregon at the beginning of the season. Why bail on the Ducks when they are closer than most people imagined. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Despite the Ending, Michigan Basketball Had an Incredible Run

It was a big thumbs up to the way the last month of the Wolverine's season

I know earlier this week I said that I do not like to do quick takes hours after a basketball game, but after watching Michigan get beat by Oregon, I'm changing my stance on that rule.

Earlier this year I wrote that I had given up on the Wolverines men's basketball team. At that point they were 14-9 and looked to be going down. From then on out, they finished the season 12-3. They beat some decent teams during that 15 game stretch. At times they looked bad, at times they looked really good. But, for the most part, they made me eat my words, and I loved it. There is nothing I love more than when my team proves me wrong and makes me look stupid because it means that they are winning, which is what the Wolverines basketball team did. Finishing up the regular season, they had that brutal loss to Northwestern on the final play, then crushed Nebraska in Lincoln during the final regular season game. The Big Ten tournament was next. I had little hope. I assumed, with the 8th seed in the conference overall, they'd squeak by Illinois, then get crushed by Purdue.

Well, before they even got to Washington D.C, they had a plane wreck. Luckily no one was hurt, the plane never took off due to mechanical issues, so thank goodness for that. But, the team had a meeting to decide if they even wanted to travel to D.C. for the tournament. One of the guys most vocal about not wanting to go was Derrick Walton Jr. I was right there with him. I didn't think they needed to risk the trip. I figured they were already firmly in the NCAA tournament, regardless of how they played in the Big Ten tournament. They finished the season at 20-11, 20 wins in a major conference is the magical number for me, and if they had to forfeit the first round, so what, they are 20-12, still in the NCAA tournament easily. But, the majority of the other players said they still wanted to go, so they went.

They arrived in D.C. for their first round game at 7 in the morning and tipped at 11am. They were so scattered they didn't even have their game jerseys. They had to play in practice jerseys. So know I was thinking, okay they made the trip, but I did not expect them to win. After all they went through, it was a reasonable thought.

Well, as we all know by now, not only did Michigan win their first game over Illinois, they won the next three over Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin, easily beating all of them with the lone exception of Purdue. I was stoked by this. This team I had given up on a few months back was playing inspired basketball on both ends of the floor and they were winning, which was most important. They looked so good in the Big Ten tournament, they upped their seed from a projected 9 or 10 to a 7. I thought they should have, and could have, gotten a 6 seed.

Going into the NCAA tournament I predicted on the podcast that Michigan would get bounced by Oklahoma State in the first round. Well, they proved me wrong once again, hitting 16 threes, 11 in the second half, and winning a great game 92-91, with Derrick Walton Jr, the guy who did not want to fly to D.C., leading the way. In fact, Walton Jr was playing possessed after they landed in D.C. He was awesome and he looked like the leader I expected to see all year.

In their second round game they were facing the second seeded Louisville Cardinals. Louisville is hyper athletic, a great rebounding and shot blocking team and has length everywhere on the floor. Well, Louisville shut down Michigan's outside game, but Moe Wagner and DJ Wilson were doing business on the interior. Walton Jr, and even Zak Irvin, were hitting big mid range shots and highly contested lay ups. Wagner was great against Louisville. He had 26 points, a good amount of rebounds and was making big shot after big shot and the right cuts to the rim at the perfect times. DJ Wilson was tough on the interior and hit 4 of the most clutch free throws I have seen. Michigan beat Louisville. The did it. They won back my confidence and I was rooting for them just as hard as I root for their football team. Those that know me well know how bold of a statement that is.

So, tonight, this will go up Friday, but I'm writing it a mere hour after watching the game, I figured the Wolverines were going to win. I thought they matched up great with Oregon especially with Boucher being out, and I just figured this ride was going to continue.

Well, they came out flat. They weren't hitting shots and their bigs looked a little timid. But, Oregon wasn't doing much better. Both teams came out flat. Michigan could not knock down a three. Oregon was getting to the rim, but they were either getting fouled or missing bunnies. It was sloppy. The second half wasn't much better, but it was more exciting. Every time Oregon would get a 5 or 6 point lead, Michigan would go on a 6-0 or 7-0 run to take the lead. This all happened late in the second half too. I really got my hopes up when Michigan took a three point lead with just over a minute left in the game. This is what they did in their first two tournament games, so I figured with the ride they were currently on, they would finish it off.

Oregon had other things in mind. They kept attacking the rim, and much to my surprise and chagrin, they started to grab offensive rebounds which is Michigan's Achilles heel. Oregon took a 1 point lead with 14 seconds left and Michigan got the ball and had a chance. The right guy took the shot, Walton Jr, but it was short, hit the front rim and the run was over. Michigan got beat.

Their run was over.

I was shocked. I just assumed they were going to win because that is what they did for 6 straight games. But, alas it was not meant to be I suppose.

With all this being said though, I want to thank this team for making me a believer again. I was frustrated when they were 14-9, but they figured it our and turned it around. I was never one of those that said maybe Beilien's time was done. He's done a wonderful job at Michigan. Good thing about this team though, they have a lot of talent retuning. I do not see anyone going pro early. So that means that Moe Wagner, DJ Wilson, Duncan Robinson and Muhammed Ali Abdur Rahkman will be back. They also have Xavier Simpson who got some decent minutes this year. Jon Teske is another big man, a 7 footer, they will use next year. They have a few decent incoming freshman that should be good. I have hope now. I will not miss Zak Irvin or Mark Donnal. Both guys regressed from where they were 2 or 3 years ago. Donnal got flat out beat out for the starting spot by Wagner before the season. And Zak Irvin, while he had his moments, he was horrific on defense and he got worse every year from his freshman season to now. Yes he could score, but for every 3 or reverse lay up he made, there was a missed defensive assignment, a poor block out that involved an offensive rebound, an air balled three, just too many bad moments compared to the good ones.

But I will greatly miss Derrick Walton Jr. Not just for the recent run, which I think will give his a legit shot to make an NBA team, but for four years he was Mr. Reliable. He was always in the right place at the right time making the proper choice. He was a great leader and the reason they turned it around this year. He didn't want to go out with a whimper, he wanted to go out with a bang, and boy he did just that. I wish nothing but the best for Derrick Walton Jr. He was a better point guard for Michigan than both Darius Miles and Trey Burke. Yeah, I said it. He was clutch and you could always count on him. If they needed a big shot, a defensive stop, a great pass to a cutter, a big time free throw, anything and everything that was asked of him, he did it.

So, yes Michigan got beat, but let us not forget that they weren't even considered a tournament team a month and a half ago. Then, the plane incident. Then the run in the Big Ten tournament. Then three great games in the NCAA tournament. This team turned me around. I know care a lot about Michigan basketball. That's not to say I didn't care as much before, but now they are the only team I will openly root for in men's college basketball. I've rooted for UNLV, Connecticut and Kansas on many different occasions, but those days are done. It is just like college football for me now. Michigan is the one and only team that I truly care about. Thank you 2016-17 Michigan men's basketball for making me a believer again.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was wondering why no one named Logan has recently played for the Wolverines. That would be awesome. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Sitting Stars is a Problem the NBA Needs to Fix Yesterday

No one wants to pay hundreds of dollors to see LeBron relax on a bench

This past Saturday night the Cavs played the Clippers in a prime time game, going head to head with the NCAA tournament. From a ratings stand point, this could have been a great heavy weight bout. But, for some unknown, and stupid reason, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all sat out, thus making this game pointless. Irving and Love were considered injury scratches and LeBron was just straight up rest.

Usually I do not like when teams do this, resting players in prime time games. First off, you guys play a game. I know it takes a toll on your body, and everyone deserves a day off, but you guys are professional athletes. You do not have the same job as everyone else. You guys are special. Look, I'm a big Spurs fan, and I adore Gregg Poppovich, but I always hate when he rests his best guys. It cheapens the game.

Also, when these guys announced they were resting, I thought, okay, they are on a road trip, and I'm sure these same guys will sit the next night. Well, their "road trip" consisted of playing the next night against the Lakers. They did not have a road trip. Both the Lakers and the Clippers play in the same building. So, the Cavs big three, and GM David Griifin, were perfectly fine with guys resting against a playoff team in a prime time game, but they were all good to go the very next night against the pitiful, clearly tanking Lakers.

This, I have a big, big problem with. Did LeBron and company not want the tough matchup, so they rested for the Clippers? Were they looking for an easy way out? Were they being lazy? Yes, yes and yes.

I love the fact that Karl Malone, pardon me, Hall of Famer Karl Malone came out and chastised these guys for doing this. He said basically the same thing that I have been saying. These guys play a game. I know I've said that I get tired playing one night a week, but I'm not a pro athlete. These guys train and shape their bodies for this. That is what Malone was saying.

Look, I really dislike the whole, "we were tougher back in our day", but it is clearly the truth. Back in the 70's, 80's and 90's, the NBA was a lot tougher. Guys played all the time. Super stars only sat if they were legitimately hurt, and it ate them up inside. I fell in love with the NBA watching, and rooting for and against guys like, Karl Malone, Shawn Kemp, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Gary Payton and so on and so forth. These guys never sat, unless they were for real injured, or they were on a "baseball sabbatical". I never remember turning on a regular season game between the Bulls and the Pistons in the early to mid nineties, and not seeing Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. They were always out there. The NBA was a better, and tougher product back then.

Then, in response to Malone I assume, LeBron James said one of the few selfish things he has ever said in his career. LeBron is one of the most selfless NBA players. He seems to always make the right decision, and that is one of the many reasons I love watching him play. That and the fact that he is incredibly talented. But, he was asked about sitting out, and he said something along the lines of, this is the new NBA, and the players and owners and fans have to deal with it.

Not cool. We the fans do not have to deal with it. It is incredibly selfish to the fan who puts a lot of money into the one ticket they get every year to see their favorite players play. I'm sure there were at least one hundred people sitting in the higher levels at that Cavs-Clippers game the other night, and they came strictly to see LeBron or Kyrie or Love. This was their one chance, and they figured with it being prime time that they would see these guys. But, according to James, they just have to deal with the fact that he wanted some rest, and Kyrie and Love were nursing "injuries". That is selfish and mean and ridiculous.

NBA tickets are a lot of money. I know, I have gone to 2 of them in Memphis the last 2 years, and the tickets were not cheap. Luckily for me, I got to see Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol in those games, but I could have just as easily been going to one of those games when those guys, or their GM's decided they needed "rest". I would have been livid if that happened. I live in Saint Louis, the closet city with an NBA team is Memphis, a 4 hour drive, so when I do go, my father and I want to see the best players on each team. If I had driven 4 hours to that Cavs-Clippers game the other night, I would have been incredibly upset and mad at the NBA and the Cavs. At least the Clippers played their big three, but the Cavs had no time for that, and that is wrong.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came out the other day and said that this is becoming a problem, but I feel like it is a too little, too late. This is an epidemic. Guys sitting out multiple games for "rest" is absurd. These guys have such a short career, so why not play as much as you can. They are also multi, multi millionaires, so skipping games is just flat out selfish. Don't blame the fans and your GM LeBron James. We all know that you are the guy who pulls the strings in Cleveland, an this was your decision. I also was very upset, as a rabid NBA fan, at his rude comments towards fans. I love watching you play, and I would love to see you play live. But, with this reaction, I don't think I could count on you if I chose to go to a Cavs game. Now I know for the future that I will not be attending Cavs games because there is no guarantee that you will play, and you are the only player on that team that I would want to see.

Please put a stop to this nonsense Adam Silver because it is cheapening the game, and the NBA is as popular right now as it has ever been. Lets fix this before it gets worse.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once attended a St. Louis Swarm game, a pre d-league outfit, and was happy that the best players did not sit. He paid to see those never going to be superstars.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Duke Lost, And Other Thoughts from the First Weekend of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

I figured I'd wait until after the first 2 rounds of the men's NCAA tournament before I'd do an update. I know a lot of people did quick and sudden reactions to each game, but I like to let the first weekend, at least, marinate in my brain for a night's sleep. I will say, if anyone is out there looking for instant takes, go listen to the podcast "T'd Up" on the Ringer podcast network. I have been listening to it everyday, it is one of my new favorite podcasts, I'm a big Mark Titus and Tate Frazier fan, and their instant takes have been poignant and often hilarious. But, for me personally, I like to think about all 48 games over the past 4 days for one full day.

My instant take away, at least from the first round, it was pretty much what was expected to happen. Sure, there was a Middle Tennessee "upset" over Minnesota, I think the majority of the country saw that happening, including the prognosticating geniuses at the X Millennial Man Podcast, and yeah, Creighton got bested by Rhode Island, but see the Minnesota-MTSU outcome. Xavier was an 11, and they beat Maryland, who was a 6, but after watching that game, the seeding should have been switched. I believe that Xavier was favored in that game actually. Other than that, it was all chalk. You can call Wichita State over Dayton an upset, but I think we all knew that Wichita State was the better team.

With it being chalk for the most part, there were still a few good, close games. The game to open the tournament, Notre Dame-Princeton went right down to the wire, with ND squeaking by by 2 points. St. Mary's and VCU played a very competitive first round game, before St. Mary's iced it with free throws. Arkansas got away with a terrible intentional foul call that turned into a technical foul that all but put away Seton Hall. Vanderbilt had one player who did not know the situation, and unfortunately for him, he essentially gave Northwestern their first round win, and continued the run of insufferable Northwestern fans for a few more days. USC-SMU was a very, very good game, that USC came away with a close fought victory. The fact that Semi Oguleye didn't even touch the ball in the final 2 possessions for SMU was a critical error on their part.

The game of the first round for me, and a lot of others for that matter, was Michigan-Oklahoma State. If you like defense, this game wasn't for you. But, both teams kept going back and forth. Michigan would hit a three, then Oklahoma State would get 2 quick layups. I think in the end there were about 20 lead changes and 15 ties, before Michigan and DJ Wilson went up 4 with 3 seconds left in the game. Yeah, the Oklahoma State guard hit a three at the end, to make the final score 92-91, but it was already over no matter what. Maybe it is my personal bias, maybe not, but this was the game of the first round. Derrick Walton was great, but so was Oklahoma State's point guard. It was a great matchup.

Oh yeah, all number one seeds, even with Gonzaga and Villanova struggling in the first half of their opening games, ended up crushing their 16 seeded opponents. Still no 16 over 1's yet.

Then, we got to round 2. This was where the "madness" began. Again, ND faced off in the opening game of the day, this time against West Virginia, and WVU pressed the hell out of them and controlled, even more so, dominated the tempo of the game. This game was never really in question. WVU was the better team, and they proved it.

In the second game of the day on Saturday, we had our first big time upset. Yes, Wisconsin was criminally under seeded, but Villanova was the overall number one seed and the defending champs. On Saturday though, they just didn't have it. They shot poorly and Wisconsin kept making big shots. Even with Villanova up 6 late in the game, I assumed Wisconsin would win, and they did. That move Nigel Hayes made at the end to win the game was awesome.

As for the other Saturday games, Xavier blew the doors off FSU, as did Florida to Virginia. That Florida-Virginia game was disgusting if you are a Virginia fan. 38 points! In a tournament game! That is atrocious Virginia. Gonzaga, even though all the new Northwestern fans will claim the goal tending, and yes it was one hundred percent a goal tend, but I do not think that would have changed the outcome, lost it for them, proved they were the better team. Gonzaga controlled that game, even with the late Northwestern run. Butler also smoked MTSU, as expected.

Then Sunday happened. Again, Michigan opened the day with Louisville, and after the first half, I thought my team was done. But, they adjusted, fed the German kid Wagner, DJ Wilson made some big free throws, and even though he had a rough shooting game, Derrick Walton hit one clutch three and a very big contested lay up at the end. Michigan beat Louisville, busting a lot of people's brackets, mine included. I did not care. I did not think I could get much happier, but something I will hit on in a minute made me grin even more yesterday. I'll get to that in a few.

After the Michigan-Louisville game, I thought we already had our great game of the day, but Kentucky-Wichita State was highly competitive, with Kentucky prevailing. Unfortunately for me, the one thing I remember from that game will be Greg Marshall's drunken wife swearing at Kentucky fans. UNC survived a scare from Arkansas to pull away late for a win. Purdue and Matt Painter did everything they could to blow their game, but Caleb Swanigan would not let that happen, and they prevailed over Iowa State. KU, after a close first half, blew the doors off of Michigan State, ending all the talk of Tom Izzo being a genius in March. Baylor-USC was very close throughout, but Baylor was very un Baylor like, and they pulled out a close win late, hitting clutch free throws and clutch shots. Oregon had to come back from double digits in what I considered one of the better games of the day, and they pulled out a 3 point win over Rhode Island. That game was close and tightly contested for pretty much the full 40 minutes. UCLA easily beat down on Cincinnati, but I honestly did not watch one second of that game because of the doubled upon euphoria I was feeling from the early Michigan win, and South Carolina beating Duke.

I could not believe what I saw South Carolina do to Duke in that second half. I was in and out during the first half. I saw Duke had a 10 point lead at one point, so I kind of checked out, but when I went back a half an hour later, South Carolina was up by 10 all of the sudden. They did not stop. Whenever Duke made a shot, or shot one of their almost 40 free throws, South Carolina came right back and scored on them. They scored so many points in the second half. In fact, they scored 65 points in the half. Let me repeat that. 65 POINTS IN A HALF! AGAINST THE TEAM EVERYONE ASSUMED WAS THE NATIONAL TITLE FAVORITE! Maybe there is some justice in this unjust world we live in right now. I kid you not, this South Carolina win actually gives me a little sliver of hope for the future of this country. If a team filled with scumbags like Grayson Allen, and coached by the ultimate scum bag can get beat this early in the tournament, maybe our country will wake the hell up and see what a mess we are right now. But, I digress. Anytime Duke loses this early, even if it destroys my bracket and makes my picks on the podcast sound stupid, I feel like we, the United States, wins. This almost makes up for the Falcons blowing a 25 point lead. Almost.

Looking at the 16 teams we have left, 15 of them are from power 5 conferences, and the other is Gonzaga, who is a national power. The breakdown by conference goes as such; 3 Big 12 teams, 3 SEC teams, 3 Big Ten teams, 3 Pac 12 teams, 2 Big East teams, 1 West Coast Conference team and 1 ACC team. That's right, the almighty ACC, who many thought should have gotten 11 teams in the tournament, ended up with 9, only has one team left. The same conference that dumbass Seth Davis made a plea on national television for, and all but assured us that Duke would win it all, I say again, has one team left. That is the same amount as the WCC. Good for you ACC.

I have watched more college basketball the past four days than I have all year, and I have to say, for how much crap I give men's college basketball, I still think it is very watered down, it has been a lot of fun. I'm excited to see where we go from here, If I had to pick a new Final Four, since I had Duke on the podcast, right now I'd go with who ever wins the Florida-Wisconsin game in the East, I'm sticking with Gonzaga in the West, I want to pick Michigan so bad in the Midwest, but I am going to stick with KU, especially after how they demolished MSU, and I'm staying with UCLA in the South. I also still have Gonzaga and KU in the title game, and KU winning it all. I just hope the rest of the tournament is as fun as these first four days were.

And one more thing. Duke lost in the second round. I just had to repeat that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He coaches kids basketball and has had to have his wife removed from the game a few times. After a couple pours from the wine box, she can get salty with the opposing team. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Terrible Coach Tom Crean will Not be Missed

Crean's next coaching job is on the other side of this sign at IU.

We are in the midst of what we call "March Madness", but I will wait until Monday to do my update. I do have a recent college basketball story to write about today. I want to give my take on the firing of Tom Crean by Indiana University basketball.

The Tom Crean dismissal was a long time coming, in my personal opinion. He never really did anything that was super impressive in his 9 year tenure at Indiana. First off, he cashed in on the success that was his 2003 Marquette team, led by Dwayne Wade, that went all the way to the Final Four. Yes, he was a multiple 20 game winner while coach there, but it wasn't until Dwayne Wade took the country by storm and willed them to the Final Four. He stayed at Marquette for a few more years, but when the whole Kelvin Sampson violation era hit Indiana and he got fired, Crean jumped at the chance to become head man there. His first three years started off with a whimper. Indiana was very, very bad, as expected. His first season, due to violations, transfers and guys going pro, Crean had a depleted roster and his first team at IU finished with the worst record in their long, illustrious history, at 6-25. That is not a record I think one would want next to their name. His next 2 years weren't great, but the team "improved" each season, going 10-21, then 12-20.

Then, like some kind of god damn magician, Crean pulled in a great recruiting class. I'm pretty positive that some kind of violation story will come out soon about this class, but nothing yet. The prize recruit that season was an in state kid, Cody Zeller, and he some how got him to stay home and play for the Hoosiers.

By the way, Hoosiers is the worst sports nickname ever. No ifs ands or buts about it.

Back to what I was saying. With this new class and top recruit, Indiana vastly improved to the tune of 27-9. They beat the Anthony Davis led Kentucky team, number 2 ranked Ohio State and number 5 ranked Michigan State all in the same year. They looked poised to make a deep run in the tournament, but they got ousted, by a wide margin, by the same Kentucky team they beat earlier that year.

Despite their exit, Crean was showered with all kinds of Coach of the Year awards. And he accepted them all like the smug asshole that he is. I know he is related to the Harbaugh family by marriage, but I despise Tom Crean. He looks like a used car salesman and carries himself like the sleaziest one on the lot. He also looks like he is constantly on cocaine. He could have easily been in "American Psycho" as one of the friends that work on Wall Street. He is an extreme douchebag.

Anyway, after their run to the Sweet Sixteen, the very next season, IU looked to be even better. He again had a great recruiting class that he called, "The Movement". I'll say it again, what an asshole. The players in this class included Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls, sophomore Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo. This IU team was great. They spent the majority of the 2012-13 season in the top 5 in the country. They were the outright Big Ten regular season champs after they beat Michigan in Ann Arbor and Crean acted like the sorest winner I have ever seen. He was stomping his feet and yelling at John Beilein and the entire Michigan roster. He is a real piece of work.

That Indiana squad was also a number 1 seed in the tournament, but guess what? They lost in the Sweet Sixteen again, this time to Syracuse. He could not win big in the tournament. Say what you will about Tom Izzo, Thad Matta and John Beilein, but they have all been as many Final Fours, more so in Matta and Izzo's case, and all three of them reached at least one title game, with Izzo wining one. Crean was a mid level Big Ten head coach at best. To have the players he had for 2 years and to not push past the Sweet Sixteen is insane. That is mediocrity at its best.

After much attrition to pros and graduation, IU and Crean regressed back to being a mediocre team. The year after Oladipo went pro, IU went 17-15. The next year was better, but not much at 20-14. They were regulars in the NIT, but not in the big dance.

Despite all this and his resume overall, his IU team was supposed to be good this year. They were preseason number 3. They did beat Kansas and UNC, but they did not finish well. They started great, but due to injury and Crean's ineptness, IU went down the toilet. During January of this year, I watched my Wolverines, who were struggling mightily at the time, beat IU by 30 points. I was in shock at how bad IU looked. I mean I was thrilled that they crushed Crean and IU, but the Hoosiers looked terrible. I don't think that can all be put on OG Anouby's torn ACL. They have a roster full of highly rated recruits. they should have been able to, at least, stay competitive with the players they had. But, due mostly to Crean, they looked like they quit.

Indiana finished this season 18-16. They had those 2 big wins, but they lost 16 games. That is atrocious. They, of course, did not make the NCAA tournament but were selected for the NIT. Then, in some weird bizarre, only something Tom Crean would do, as the higher seed, they did not want to play their first NIT game in Assembly Hall because it would be degrading to Assembly Hall and IU basketball. Well, I do not think if they played on Mars it would have mattered. IU came out lifeless and got stomped by Georgia Tech. I say the real embarrassment and degradation of IU basketball is not the NIT, but Tom Crean.

Fittingly, IU fired Tom Crean yesterday right before the first NCAA tournament game tipped off. I cackled when I saw that. Crean deserved to be fired. I think it should have happened a couple years ago, but the higher ups at IU gave him one last chance and he screwed it way up.

Tom Crean is a mediocre coach at best. I'm sure he'll end up as a head coach somewhere in a year or two, but it will be D-2 or some low level D-1 school. He is not as great a recruiter as I think some say he is, and he is a terrible X's and O's guy. He's a sore winner and he cannot take his team to the promised land. Good riddance Tom Crean. I hope to never see you coaching basketball anytime soon.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Did Ty predict the Crean firing before it happened? Check out the new X Millennial Man Podcast, premiering tomorrow, to find out. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Lavar Ball, Terrible Sports Father, Needs to Shut the Hell Up

Please Lavar Bell, stop talking

I'm a basketball fan. You all know this by now. I'm also a coach/instructor as well. You all already know this too. So, what really gets me angry is a mom or dad who thinks that their child is so superior to someone else's child, and they are very vocal about it.

Look, I'm a dad and I want what is best for my kids and I think my kids are very athletic, but I'm not loud and brash about it. The same cannot be said for Lavar Ball though. Now, I'm not blaming the kids at all in my piece today. The three kids involved cannot be blamed for their father's words and actions. In fact, I think Lonzo Ball has proven that he is a fantastic basketball player. He has exploded for UCLA this year and has made them relevant again. He has awesome court vision, is a great set up shooter and loves the game. Lonzo Ball is awesome. But, for his father to come out and say that he is better, and will be better than Steph Curry, is ludicrous.

Steph Curry was great in college and is one of the three best players in the NBA. He is unequivocally the best shooter I have ever seen in my lifetime. He is a multiple MVP winner. He has an NBA title. I mean, Steph Curry is a once in a generation player. Now, that is not to say that Lonzo Ball cannot get to that level, I personally think he will be a very good pro, but I do not think he will even scratch the surface to being half as great as Steph Curry is. Curry is a Hall of Famer. I'll put that in writing right now. We do not yet know with Lonzo Ball.

Ball is a great college basketball player, but so was Adam Morrison, and that is who I think of when I watch Lonzo Ball now. Morrison was incredible in college. He was such a phenomenal scorer and producer for Gonzaga while he was there. He was the "guy". He was who the team looked to when they needed a big play. Then, after three flops in the tournament, Morrison was a top 3 pick. From there on out, he was a terrible pro. I mean, he was very, very bad. He never got up to speed in the NBA. He was always a step too slow. He lost his shot. Sure, he has a couple of titles, but it is because he was fortunate enough to be on the Lakers bench, as the 11th or 12th man, when they had Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and an engaged Andrew Bynum. I hope for Lonzo Ball's case he doesn't have the same fate. I hope he is a great pro and has a long and illustrious career. I genuinely enjoy watching him play basketball. I also really liked watching Adam Morrison when he was in college.

For Lavar Ball to say that his son is better than Steph puts so much undue pressure on his son, and it is incredibly unfair to him. I get that he is his kid and he pumps his child up, but in this day and age you have to watch what you say. This is just ridiculous. Like I said, I do not blame Lonzo Ball at all for this, this is all on his father for being a loud mouth, brash, arrogant and selfish stage dad. I thought he would have backed off after saying this nonsense, but he has only gotten worse from there.

Recently one of his sons, who is a sophomore, scored 90 plus points in a game. That's wonderful, but when they showed the highlights, the kid played no defense and just kept letting it fly. I have coached kids like this, that just want to shoot the ball and do nothing else, and for the most part, it is due to a parent yelling from the sidelines for their kid to do nothing but shoot. Basketball is more than just offense. Yes, you need to put the ball in the basket, but you also have to give effort on the other end. That is how guys like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Scottie Pippen, Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard have become great pros. They all worked extra hard on both ends. Putting up 30, 40, 50 and even 60 points sometimes doesn't matter if they gave minimal effort on defense, and their team loses. But, Lavar Ball made sure to let the world know that his 16 year old son scored 90 plus points in a game, and that he was the next big thing.

I have read and heard too many stories about kids that are going to be the next big thing that never pan out. I read the Lamelo Ball story, and I immediately thought of guys like Freddy Adu, Felipe Lopez and Darius Miles. They were going to be the next great stars. They were going to strike it rich and have long and fruitful careers. Well, Adu is playing soccer somewhere over seas I think, Felipe Lopez flamed out in college, and the last thing I heard about Darius Miles, he was detained at Lambert Airport in Saint Louis for possession of an illegal firearm. These stories are way more common than say a LeBron James or Bryce Harper story.

To make matters even worse, Lavar Ball recently said that he wants a one billion dollar shoe deal for all three of his sons. First off, he said billion, not million. Who does he think he is? This is asinine. No one has a one billion dollar shoe deal, except LeBron James, and that is a lifetime deal. Lavar Ball has one son that is a surefire NBA player, Lonzo, but what if Lamelo and LiAngelo don't make it? What if they can't cut it in college? Or, if they make it to the pros, what if they turn out to be like Austin Rivers, Jimmer Fredette or, the previously mentioned Adam Morrison. At least Rivers is still in the NBA, but no shoe company is clamoring for his endorsement. This is just flat out nuts to demand this type of money. I wouldn't go near this family with a ten foot pole if I were Nike, Under Armor, Adidas, Reebok or any other big time shoe company. These kids have no guarantee that they will be super stars. They are not LeBron or MJ or Barkley or anyone else that has/had a major shoe deal.

I must say this again, I wish nothing but the best for the kids. But, their father is out of line. What makes Lavar Ball the worst though was his most recent statement. He recently said that he would have "cooked" Michael Jordan in a game of one on one back in his day. This is the same Lavar Ball that played one year of division one basketball at Washington State and averaged 2 points a game. During that very same season, Jordan was averaging 30 plus points a game in the NBA for the Bulls. Ball said he would've "backed him down, called every foul and make Jordan shoot jumpers", and he would have beaten him. This is just flat out stupid. This would be like me saying that I could beat Lavar Ball in one on one in my heyday. I'm a pretty good rec league and pick up basketball player, but I did not play in college, barely played in high school and I am way out of shape. Lavar Ball would crush me in one on one. He was good enough to play college basketball. I was barely good enough to play high school basketball. So, for him to think he could, not just make it a game, but beat Michael Jordan one on one is just ridiculous. Not only would Jordan beat him, he would shut him out and clown him anyway that he pleased. He could toy with him, shoot jumpers if he wanted, then take him to the basket with ease. Jordan is so competitive too, that he wouldn't even make it fun for Lavar Ball. He would want to kill him, not just in the game, but emotionally as well. I love that Charles Barkley came out recently and challenged Lavar Ball to a game of one on one. This is the most egregious comment, of many, that Lavar Ball has made.

I'll say it one more time. I do not blame the kids for their father's words. He is a blowhard and a loud mouth. It would be best for him and his family to just be happy that his kids colleges are basically paid for, and that he may have one or more kids good enough to be in the NBA. But, I'm sure he will say something else very dumb during the tournament. He cannot seem to help himself.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks parents that yell at their children during sports events must be the best parents ever. Why else would they make themselves the center of attention at a child's event? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Preview

The courts are ready.

For my men's NCAA tournament preview this year, I'm going to do something a little different.

First off, there is no women's preview because UCONN should, and will, win it again. They are far and away the most dominant team to ever set foot on a basketball court. What they have done is nothing short of spectacular, and they should be the favorites every year no matter what the circumstance is. UCONN women's basketball is unmatched in their greatness.

For the men's tournament, last year I did a "Five Crazy Things That Will Happen". This year, I'll go region by region, pick who I think will meet up in each regional final, which team will represent said region in the Final Four, a surprise team from each region, then my Final Four, my title game matchup and my winner. I will also do Most Outstanding Player for the whole tournament. Here it goes.

Let's start with the East Region first. The overall number one seeded Villanova Wildcats are the team to beat in the East. They lost a few players from last year's title team, but they have Josh Hart back, some good younger players and Jay Wright is still their head coach. Unfortunately for Villanova, they are the one seed in the same region as the second seeded Duke Blue Devils. Duke looks excellent right now, the committee clearly wants them to win and they will get every and any call, as they always do. Wisconsin is the 8 seed in this region, and I wrote yesterday how terrible that is. The other decent seeded teams(3,4 and 5) in this region are very blah. Baylor is the 3 and they peaked too early. Florida is the 4 and while they could shock and have a deep run, I expect them to flounder, and the 5 seed is Virginia. Virginia is not a fun team, or really, a good team. The one team that I think could surprise someone in this region is SMU. They play slow basketball, but they get buckets when needed, and they have a few great players on their team. They play tough, hard nosed defense, and can win low scoring games, which they force teams to play. I inevitably see the East coming down to Duke and Villanova, and as much as I hate to pick them, Duke will be the East's representative in the Final Four. The lay out is way too beneficial and easy for them to almost walk to the Final Four.

Next we will look to the West. The West's number one seed is Gonzaga. I LOVE Gonzaga this year, but they always choke in the tournament. I hope they don't this year, but I never know with that team. Maybe Nigel Williams-Goss will propel this team to the Final Four. Arizona is the 2 and they have a chance to play in their home state if they make the Final Four. They have a very good team this year too. They also have Sean Miller as their coach. That could be their downfall. FSU is the 3, and while I like them, I feel about them like I feel about Baylor. They already balled out too soon. West Virginia is the 4 and Notre Dame is the 5. Both teams are fine, but they are susceptible to decent teams as well. Northwestern is making their first trip ever to the tournament in the West region. I see that lasting one, maybe 2 games for them. As far as my surprise team in this region, I like Xavier, finally not having expectations, to be a team that can make noise. They should easily beat Maryland in round one, I could see them easily beating the winner of FSU-Florida Gulf Coast, to make a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. In the long run, I see Gonzaga facing up against Arizona, and Gonzaga finally breaking through and making the Final Four out of the West. Don't let me down Gonzaga.

Moving over to the Midwest, Kansas is the one seed. Kansas is great. The have a great group of players, led by the presumptive player of the year in Frank Mason. But, it is still a Bill Self led Kansas team. They could just as easily go out in round 2 as they can of making it to the title game. Louisville is the 2, and while they have the goods, they looked bad at the end of the season. They blew some games late and had a very early exit from the ACC tournament. Who knows with them. Oregon is the 3, but one of their best players just tore his ACL, and Dillon Brooks cannot do it alone, try as he might. Purdue is the 4, but I have no faith in Purdue. I love their size and I think Caleb Swanigan is great, but they are so up and down, and I do not trust their outside shooting. Iowa State is the 5, and with Iowa State, I say so what. Probably the hottest team coming into the tournament, Michigan, got the 7 seed, but they have to face a very good Oklahoma State team. In fact, Oklahoma State is the one team from the Midwest that I think could make a run to the Sweet Sixteen, possibly further. They play great, extended defense and they have scorers all over the floor. I'm so pissed that Michigan has to play them in the first round. I could see Oklahoma State beating Michigan, Louisville, then either Creighton, Rhode Island or Oregon, whoever they may face in the Sweet Sixteen. That's where they'd run into a KU, who I think they will play in the Elite Eight, and KU will crush them. KU, even though they had an early exit from the Big 12 tournament and are still coached by Bill Self, will represent the Midwest in the Final Four. They remind me a lot of Villanova from last year, but with better freshman.

Finally we have the South. This is, far and away, the best and toughest region. The one is North Carolina. UNC is great. they have everything you want in a college basketball team. They can go inside and outside and they play respectable defense. Kentucky is the 2. Kentucky is LOADED with talent, albeit very young. But, John Calipari has won with young talent, and continues to win with young talent. UCLA is the 3. I mean Jesus Christ, this is a tough region. UCLA does not play a whole lot of defense, but they score a whole lot of points. They can put the ball in the basket very much. Lonzo Ball is so god damn good. I think Steve Alford has gotten a bit too much credit for this team's success, but UCLA is very good. Butler is a very underrated 4 seed. They play very sound and very strong basketball. They can beat anyone, anytime on any floor. Minnesota is too highly seeded, at 5, but they will be done after one game. Middle Tennessee will beat them. Cincinnati is the 6, and they could make a run. But, my surprise team is Wichita State. I wrote about them yesterday as well. They won 30 games this year, yet they are a 10 seed for some unknown, asinine reason. But, I could see them beating Dayton, who is also a very good team, then beating Kentucky to push to the Sweet Sixteen. In the long run, I see UNC and UCLA facing off to go to the Final Four, and UCLA to represent the hellish South region.

My Final Four is Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas and UCLA. In the Duke-Gonzaga matchup, I'm riding with Gonzaga. Part of it is my incredible hatred for Duke and the other part is that I think Gonzaga will finally break through. In the other matchup, KU-UCLA, I'm going to go with KU. I love this team, and I think Frank Mason wants to go out as a champion. That being said, I'm picking the Kansas Jayhawks to win the national title. I love the makeup of this team and Frank Mason is absolutely the best college basketball player in the country. He is on a mission. Now that I'm picking them I'm sure they will get bounced early, but I have faith in this KU team. As far as Most Outstanding Player, I have Frank Mason, of course. He is the best, and most important player on the best team. He will carry this team, a la Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, to a title. So, Rock Chalk Jayhawk to win it all this year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This year marks 20 straight years of Ty picking KU in the Final Four. KU has a history of dissapointing Ty. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The 2017 List of Idiotic Decisions from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee

The selection comittee is hard at work

The NCAA tournament field is set. Tomorrow I will do my full tournament preview and predictions, but today, I want to point out some teams that I think got screwed and who got a little too much credit from this dreadful selection committee. There were some big time missteps and incorrectly seeded teams for this upcoming tournament. There were also some egregious bubble teams that got left out, but not as much as usual. Let's get at it.

First and foremost, Wisconsin got royally screwed by the selection committee. This is coming from someone that is vehemently opposed to all things Wisconsin, except for the city of Madison. I loathe the Wisconsin Badgers sports programs. But, they got hosed. All season long they were the second best team in the Big Ten. Yes, the Big Ten stinks this year, but still, they had over 20 wins, and not too many, if any, bad losses. Sure, they had a rough go of it for a week near the end of the season, but an eight seed they are not. I would have been upset if they were a 7 like many predicted. Wisconsin has a good team. They should, at the very worst, be a 6 seed. To put them in the eight spot is ridiculous. They have a rough first round matchup with a decent Virginia Tech team. Then, if they beat them, they have to presumably face the overall number one seed in the tournament, Villanova. That is unfair to both teams. Both Villanova and Wisconsin had good enough seasons that they should have, on paper, an "easy" path to the Sweet Sixteen. To put Wisconsin on the 8 line is a total slap in the face of the Big Ten. Wisconsin, in my opinion, is just as good as Purdue, and Purdue got a 4 seed. That is too big a disparity between the number one and number 2 team in the Big Ten. Wisconsin got hosed more than any team in the tournament.

The second most screwed over team is Wichita State. WSU is 30-4 and they got a 10 seed. The committee claims it is due to competition, but a 10 seed, come on, that is stupid. When will the NCAA and the committee realize that WSU has a great basketball program. They are ridiculously good every year. Sure, the level of competition in their conference isn't great, but neither is Kentucky's competition in the SEC. I think WSU is going to have a deepish run in the tournament this year, but a 10 seed for a team that won 30 games is outrageous. They also have to face a very good Dayton team in round one. That is simply unfair. WSU deserves the respect from the committee that they give any major conference team. WSU is the new Gonzaga.

Going back to the Big Ten, my team, Michigan, I think should have gotten a 6 seed. They had a magical run in the Big Ten tournament. First off, I wrote this team off months ago, and they have made me look stupid. Secondly, they almost did not even make it to D.C. for the Big Ten tournament. Everyone knows the story by now. Apparently they had a team meeting and decided to fly out the next day after the crash, and they went on to win the whole Big Ten tournament. I assumed, after everything they'd been through, they would probably lose to Illinois. Instead, they smashed them by 20 points. Michigan beat Illinois so bad in fact, they fired their head coach. Then they had to face Purdue, who worried me. Michigan had a rough start, got down 9, but kept plugging along, got some stops, pushed it to overtime and eventually won. Then they barnstormed Minnesota in the first half, let them tie it up in the second half, but instead of folding, Derrick Walton Jr became possessed and lead that team to victory. Then in the final yesterday, they pretty much controlled the tempo throughout and ended up winning by 15. So, I was excited to see where the committee would put them. They gave them a 7 seed and a first round matchup with a very good, very underrated Oklahoma State team. To put it in perspective, the committee looked at Michigan, who went 24-11, won the Big Ten tournament and may be one of the hottest teams in the country right now, and only seeded them one better than Michigan State. MSU lost 14 games this year and they have beaten no one outside of the Big Ten that is any good. Yes MSU has history, but they do not belong in the tournament this year. But, the committee pretty much thinks that MSU and Michigan are relatively equal. That is insane. Michigan's first game is going to be very tough, then if they get passed Oklahoma State, they will probably have to play Louisville. That is crazy.

And quick note on MSU, they don't belong in the tournament and neither does Syracuse, no matter what Jay Bilas or Joe Lunardi say. Yes, Syracuse beat three really good teams in UNC, Virginia and Duke, but Indiana beat UNC and Kansas, and I don't hear the same stories coming in defense of Indiana as I do Syracuse. Syracuse is a mediocre team and they do not belong in the field, just like MSU shouldn't be in, and Indiana rightfully did not get selected for the tournament.

As far as some snubs, Illinois State got screwed. They are 27-6, but since they did not win their conference tournament, the committee left them out in favor of teams like MSU, Vanderbilt and Seton Hall. I do not care what conference you play in, if you win 25 plus games, you should be a solid lock to make the tournament. Illinois State is better than MSU and Vanderbilt by ten thousand miles this year. Looks like the committee still has a bias against mid major teams.

I also think California should be in the tournament. They had an up and down year, but they won 21 games, won 10 games in the Pac 12 and played tough all year. Again, they are more deserving than some other teams that got in based on history or conference.

I do think the committee got the 4 number 1 seeds correct, but to have Gonzaga as the fourth number one seed is dumb. They should have been the second number one seed, behind only Villanova. I trust Gonzaga way more than I trust UNC or KU. Gonzaga lost one game all year. Both UNC and KU lost at least 5 games and were bounced very early from their conference tournaments. Gonzaga is the second best team in the country.

I also do not think Duke deserved a one seed, much to Seth Davis' chagrin. He is the biggest Duke backer, but they are fine as a 2 seed. I'm sure they prefer it that way. They have a very easy path to the Final Four, and that is where I think the committee did everything they could to make Coach K happy. Their toughest potential matchup would be in the Elite Eight against Villanova. They will skate in their first game, easily beat the winner of Marquette-South Carolina and then crush whomever they face in the Sweet Sixteen, be it, most likely, Baylor or SMU. This is just the committee rewarding Duke without giving them a 1 seed.

I'm sure there are other teams I left out, but these are the teams I feel got unfairly treated, or too fair treatment, from the selection committee. The committee was a mess this year and it showed during the selection show yesterday. Come back tomorrow for my full tournament preview. I just had to get this off my chest today.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He left off the University Missouri being robbed of any seed in the tournament. They won 8 games this year, what else do the Tigers have to do? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Brock Osweiler is the First Loser of NFL Free Agency

Osweiler, after the year he is having.

The NFL's free agency frenzy started yesterday, and there have already been a lot of moves, more than usual I think.

Some of these moves I have really liked for the player and the team. I love Desean Jackson to Tampa. This seems like a match made in NFL heaven. Jackson will line up opposite Mike Evans and, as much as I dislike him as a person, Jameis Winston looks to be pretty good and now has 2 great receivers with 2 differing styles that will give defensive coordinators nightmares. Brandon Marshall to the Giants on a short, financially smart deal is great as well. He gives the Giants another much needed weapon at receiver, and much like Tampa, the Giants now have 2 great options outside that will give opposing secondary's headaches. It also makes their offense much less predictable. Jacksonville has done a ton to upgrade their defense. Their offense is still horrific and will hold them back, but they have the players to have a legit top ten defense.

There are also some moves that I don't like. Brian Hoyer and Pierre Garcon to the 49ers makes no sense to me, other than the fact that the San Francisco front office has money burning a hole in their pocket. These 2 guys don't move the needle at all for the 49ers. Brian Hoyer is not a good professional QB and Garcon, who I like, is a second receiver at best. They gave him number one receiver money. The contract that Carolina gave Ryan Kalil is insane. He is an okay offensive lineman, but to give him 25 million guaranteed is outrageous. Sure, he gets to play with his brother, but still, that is way too much guaranteed money for a middle of the pack lineman. Alshon Jeffrey only getting a one year deal is bizarre to me. He could have gotten a longer deal somewhere else, but I guess he wanted to play in Philadelphia, and they only wanted to sign him for one season. The fact that Mike Glennon is making more money than Aaron Rodgers now is an absolute joke. Glennon is not a starting caliber QB. He is a second stringer at best. There's a reason the Buccaneers drafted Winston number one a few years ago. It is hilarious to me that the Bears think Glennon is worth that much money, and this will surely blow up in their face just like the Cutler deal and anyone else this team thinks they can play at QB.

But there is one deal that has me absolutely flabbergasted. I was literally shocked when the news popped up on my phone yesterday that the Texans had traded Brock Osweiler and their 2018 second round pick to the Browns for a  fourth round pick in this year's draft. This is the same Brock Osweiler that the Texans gave a 4 year, 72 million dollar contract one year ago to the day. Yes, Osweiler was atrocious this past season. Yes, he was a flash in the pan, a la Matt Flynn in Green Bay, that cashed in on a few good games, or in Flynn's case, one good game. Yes, when you can't get the ball to one of the best receivers in the game. DeAndre Hopkins, the problem lies with the QB, not the receiver. But, Osweiler's fall in just one year is unprecedented to me.

Osweiler was on top of the world at this point a year ago. He was the prize QB on the market. The Texans thought they finally found their franchise guy at the QB position. Then the season happened and Osweiler wildly underperformed. He was flat out bad. He may have been the worst starting QB in the league last year. There were times that I would have rather had Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles or Trevor Siemian as my QB over Osweiler. He was so terrible. He even got replaced during the regular season by Tom Savage. Yeesh. After that benching, instead of working harder, he only got worse. He continued to doubt himself. When he was pushed back into action due to an injury to Savage, he played scared. He just didn't have the killer instinct. Sure, he won a playoff game, but it was against the Raiders who's QB broke his leg in week 16 and it wasn't due to Osweiler's play, it was the Texans defense. Hell, swap the QB's from that game, and I still think the Texans would have won with Connor Cook, and Connor Cook is dreadful.

With all that being said, this trade still shocked me. The Browns had to give up NOTHING for Osweiler, and by all accounts, Brock Osweiler will not be on the Browns for the 2017 season. They will either cut him or trade him. The Browns are in full on tank mode. The Texans clearly wanted to rid themselves of Osweiler, and they will probably end up with Tony Romo, but geeze oh man did they give up on Osweiler fast, and I don't blame them.

Brock Osweiler was so bad, I actually feel like both teams won this trade. The Texans got rid of his contract to make room for Romo or Savage, and they got a draft pick. The Browns got Osweiler, as trade bait, and a second round pick themselves. The Browns will pass off his contract to some team like the Jets or Jags that will be looking for a "quick fix" at QB, but Osweiler will just set them back further.

I wanted to compare this trade to the Pelicans trade for Boogie, but no one got fleeced here, except for Brock Osweiler. He fell so hard so fast. He is now considered a mediocre QB. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole if I was a team in need of even a second string QB. He has to be a shell of himself from Denver. And, it's not like he set the world on fire in Denver. His play seemed better than it actually was because, A) he beat the Patriots during one regular season game and, B), his play was overshadowed by a historically great defense.

I'm sure some more crazy stuff will happen during the NFL's free agency, but nothing will compare to this bizarre trade that went down between the Texans and Browns yesterday. This was absolutely ridiculous.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has yet to put this trade through on Madden, he doesn't want to waste his time with video game Osweiler any more than the real world one.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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MVP or Not, Kawhi Leonard is the Best Player to Watch in the NBA

I have a new favorite NBA player.

During my childhood I was an enormous Shawn Kemp and Seattle Super Sonics fan. After he had his falling out with the Sonics and moved on to Cleveland, and later, Portland, I kind of fell off the NBA. I didn't watch it nearly as much. In high school, I got into players like Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson and Paul Pierce.

But, none of those guys held a card to Kevin Garnett. He was my new guy. I loved his tenacity and the pride and joy with which he played the game of basketball. I was crushed when he retired before this season. For the longest time, the longest since Kemp in fact, Garnett was my guy. But, after he left Boston for Brooklyn, I kind of stopped paying attention to him. T

his was when I went to Kevin Durant. I was an OKC fan and I liked what I saw from Durant as a rookie all the way to carrying that team to the Finals. I loved his game and his style. He was a better Dirk, in my opinion. Everyone knows how I feel about Durant now. He left OKC high and dry, has done nothing but complain and make childish comments about Westbrook and OKC, and now he is hurt, making him a non factor in the end of this season.

Today I realized that one guy I have watched with alarming consistency, even when he was in college, is Kawhi Leonard. I LOVE Kawhi Leonard as a basketball player. He is the definition of a guy that lets his game do the talking. He is probably the most quiet dude in the entire league. He is a bona fide star, but no one talks about him because he barely speaks. And, when he does speak, he uses very few words, but they are important and meaningful.

Kawhi Leonard has achieved a lot in his short career thus far as well. First off, he was the best guy on a really good San Diego State team. He carried that team to a deep tournament run, but no one ever talked about him as a game changer in the NBA. He was a good defender in college, but he was an underrated scorer. He didn't have the jump shot yet, but he could get to the rim. Due to his "lack" of an offensive game, he slipped in the draft, but that was a blessing in disguise because he ended up in San Antonio with Gregg Poppovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.

Leonard got to learn from some of the best veterans on the most consistent team in my lifetime. The Spurs ALWAYS win 50 games. It's like death and taxes. I have come to expect it from them. As for the Spurs, I don't like or dislike them. I have watched them a ton because they were my dad's favorite team when he still watched the NBA, but I respect the hell out of them. What they have done in this day and age of NBA basketball is incredible. I was a Sonics fan, turned into an OKC fan, and now, as you all know, I have hitched my wagon to the Timberwolves, even though they have wildly underachieved this year.

Anyway, back to Kawhi.

I remember really enjoying watching him play three years ago when they smoked the Heat on their way to the title. In fact, I really liked watching him the year before when the Spurs blew the title. He was a ferocious defender. He seemed to be everywhere on the court. He was, and still is, the only guy that strikes fear in LeBron James when he sees him on the court. LeBron overpowers everyone else in the NBA, but not Kawhi. Kawhi is strong, not LeBron strong, but still strong and he doesn't back down. When he is out on the court, even though he is quiet, he knows he is the best defender, and that no one will take advantage of him. He is the one and only guy that can guard LeBron one on one in the NBA. That is why he won the Finals MVP three years ago. Sure, he was putting up points, but the fact that he made LeBron a non factor was the sole reason he won that Finals MVP, just like Andre Iguodala 2 years ago.

After that Finals, with it looking like Duncan may play only one or two more years, the Spurs, even after signing LaMarcus Aldridge, gave the keys to the team over to Kawhi. He is the guy now. In his first season as the guy, he greatly improved his offensive numbers while still being the shut down defender that he is known for. He vastly improved his jump shot. You cannot play off him now. He will crush you from the outside if you leave him alone. Then, if you try to play him close, he will scorch you on his way to the basket for an easy 2. He is the guy that the opposing team game plans around when they play the Spurs. I think this is perfect for Aldridge as well. Aldridge is a much better second option, and Kawhi has taken on that first option easily and with authority. Yes, the spurs got run off the floor by OKC last year, but it was not because of Kawhi Leonard. He came to play. He was the guy that stopped Durant, but that left Westbrook to go off. And when he would switch to Westbrook, Durant would go off. He, unfortunately for the Spurs, cannot guard everyone.

This year Kawhi Leonard has taken his game to a whole new stratosphere, without changing who he is as a person. He is a legitimate MVP candidate. He won't win it, Westbrook and Harden are putting up ridiculous numbers, and that is what seems to win the MVP, but man oh man is Kawhi a force in the league. Look at what he did the other night to the presumptive MVP favorite, Harden. First off, the Spurs came back from down 16 against the Rockets, much of that due to Leonard scoring at will. Then, the final 30 seconds of that game was just incredible, awe inspiring basketball from Leonard. To hit that three, with his team down 2, going to his left and shooting it over a 7 footer was exceptional enough. Then, the chase down block was the best chase down block since LeBron in game 7 of the Finals last year. He rendered Harden's layup useless. He sent it back like Harden stole something from him. You'd expect Leonard to be jawing and talking trash after doing this, but he did not change the expression on his face at all. He did all this with that steely demeanor that has made me an enormous fan of his.

Leonard threw himself into the MVP conversation with that performance. He may have taken Harden's spot for me, if I had a vote. Right now, my top four would be Westbrook, Leonard, James and Harden. It has to mean something when the best guy on the most consistent team continues to get better every year and is now the focal point of said team.

Kawhi Leonard is so good at basketball. He just needs to be recognized by the casual fan, not the rabid NBA fan. He is firmly my favorite player to watch and root for in the NBA now. He is so good and so understated and lets his game due the talking. He never complains to officials, yell at officials, mock other players or coaches. He just goes out and does his job. Kawhi Leonard is awesome.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. In his preseason basketball writing, Ty had a familiar name penciled in for MVP.  Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Adding Bogut and Williams Does not make Cleveland any Better

With the NBA trade deadline coming and going with a whimper, we always have players being traded then being bought out or waived by their newly acquired team. This happens every year right after, or during, the trade deadline. This year was no exception.

Many players, surprising players, were waived or just out right let go. Brandon Jennings, not Derrick Rose who deserved to waived much more, was let go by the Knicks. He quickly found a new spot in Washington, which I think is a perfect fit for him as a backup to John Wall. After the Rockets traded away a late pick and cash considerations to the Lakers for Marcus Huertas, he was immediately waived, and has yet to be picked up to the best of my knowledge. The whole Jose Calderon story is widely known NBA news for rabid NBA fans such as myself. He was waived by the Lakers, the Warriors went to sign him, did actually sign him, but when Matt Barnes was waived by the Kings, the Warriors opted for Barnes and, only 2 hours after signing him, the Warriors waived Calderon. To the Warriors credit, they did pay him 415,000 dollars and gave him the jerseys they had made for him, but they wanted Matt Barnes more. Barnes is now playing extended minutes for the Warriors due to KD's injury, and I'm sure Calderon will get picked up by some team any day now.

The 2 biggest names to be either let go outright or waived after being traded were Deron Williams, who was released by Dallas, and Andrew Bogut, who was traded to the 76ers and then immediately released. These 2 guys have had pretty steady NBA careers. Bogut is a NBA champion. At one time in the league there were conversations claiming that Deron Williams may be the best point guard in the NBA when he played for the Utah Jazz. But, that was many moons ago, and Bogut was not really a key to the Warriors title run 2 seasons ago. David Lee played more minutes in that particular finals than Bogut did. Also, Andrew Bogut has had a very hard time staying healthy for the past 5 or 6 years in the league. When he is healthy he is a great rim protector and bully. He blocks shots, grabs rebounds and gets in the head of the opposing team's center. But, he has been injured way more than he has been healthy. He got hurt in game 2 of the finals last season and was never seen again. When he was traded to Dallas at the beginning of this season he barely played. I know for a fact that he started the season on the injured list. He just cannot seem to stay off the injury report.

Deron Williams, like I said earlier, was great at one point in his career. He was an exceptional, true point guard. He looked to be the newer version of John Stockton for the Jazz. He ran that offense like a well oiled machine, and it did not hurt that he could knock down the open jumper. When he was eligible for free agency, he was looked at as a prize for whichever team signed him. In 2010, the Brooklyn, then New Jersey, Nets signed him to a max deal, and he was going to be the guy to bring a title back to the state of New York. Well, things did not work out that way. Williams seemed to become a shell of his former self. His game deteriorated each year he was a Net. His game got so bad it was painful to watch at times. It wasn't funny painful either, it was sad. He just seemed to get worse at basketball somehow when he should have been in his prime. The Nets ownership tried to help him out by bringing in guys like Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, jeopardizing their future, but none of it worked. I don't think the Nets ever made it out of the first round of the playoffs with Deron Williams as the point guard. He was released by the Nets after the 2015 season, and I think many people, myself included thought he might hang it up, but the Mavericks signed him. He had some flashes of his former self, but it was kind of like watching an aging baseball player that used to hit .335 regularly, and was now struggling to hit .250, but would go 3 for 3 every tenth game or so. He looked washed up.

This weekend, both of these guys, Williams has already made his debut, will be part of the Cavs quest to repeat, and a lot of basketball people seem to think this will put the Cavs on top as the prohibitive favorites. Me, not so much. I do not see this tilting the pendulum very much, if at all. I know KD is out, but he will be back for the playoffs. I know Kyle Lowry is out for a month, but he will back when it matters. Boston has no major players out with injury. Same with San Antonio. OKC has Russell Westbrook and only got better at the deadline. The Hawks are at full strength. I just do not see the additions of Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut making much of a difference.

First off, Bogut needs to stay healthy, and that will not happen. But how does he really fit in with this team? When Kevin Love comes back, they will have Love, Tristan Thompson and Andrew Bogut. That front line does not scare me one bit if I'm a playoff team. Bogut cannot move like he used to, and he is always hurt. Love will be coming off knee surgery, and he is already a liability on defense as it is. Tristan Thompson is a good defender and rebounding, but his offensive game is mediocre at best. I wouldn't worry too much if I were the Wizards or Raptors if they have to face the Cavs in round 2 or the Eastern Finals. I'd much rather have guys like Markeiff Morris and Marcin Gortat or Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valenciunas to go up against that Cavs front court. The only team in the East that would have trouble with the Cavs front court would be Boston. They have no rebounding or inside threat at all.

Then with Deron Williams, his addition literally does nothing for me. I don't see how he makes any kind of difference whatsoever for the Cavs. I heard someone say he is like a better version of Matthew Dellavedova. I don't know if that is supposed to be a compliment or a symbol of how far Deron Williams has fallen as an NBA player. And, Dellavedova barely saw the floor in the Finals last year because he was too slow to guard any of the Warriors guards. Guess what? Deron Williams is older and slower than Matthew Dellavedova. People have also said he will make the open shot when LeBron or Kyrie drive and dish. First off, don't they already have Kyle Korver and JR Smith for that? Second, when will Kyrie pass anyone the ball, and when LeBron goes into playoff mode, only he and Kyrie will see the ball.

The signing of Williams is very, very unimportant, in my opinion. In fact, the addition of these 2 guys literally does nothing to change my mind. When KD comes back, and he will come back, I still have the Warriors breezing to a NBA title. They have too much fire power, and Andrew Bogut nor Deron Williams cannot do anything to stop that. I don't get the praise that is being heaped on the Cavs front office for these signings. Prove me wrong Cleveland, but the Warriors are still my absolute favorite to win the title. Especially when KD gets back.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Now that you read his thoughts on the NBA, hear him talk all about it the newest mini episode of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The NBA Trade Deadline Changed Nothing

The trade clock struck midnight on almost every NBA team

The NBA trade deadline came and went with a whimper yesterday. There were bigger trades a week ago, Serge Ibaka, and the biggest one happened an hour after the All Star game on Sunday night, Boogie Cousins, but yesterday there was a ton of build up, but nothing really happened.

As far as winners and losers go, I do not do that type of thing because there is not enough time in the season to declare if a team "won" or "lost" a trade. Sure, the Pelicans may have "won" the trade, they completely robbed the Kings, but what is their prize? A possible first round sweep at the hands of the Warriors if they are lucky enough to grab the 8 seed from the Nuggets, Trailblazers, Timberwolves or Mavericks. Yeah, the Celtics may have "lost" because they did nothing, but they are currently the second best team in the East, so no big deal.

Look, I thought that maybe Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony would get moved, but it did not happen. So what. Sure, it would have been exciting if at least one of those guys moved, but like most trade deadlines, nothing big happened. It really looked like George or Butler were going to be a Celtic in the waning moments of the deadline, but as is their new norm, the Celtics would not give up any high picks and did nothing. Danny Ainge always claims to have some big deal in place for a super star, but he is becoming the boy who cried wolf. I just do not believe any reports I read about the Celtics getting a big named player anymore. Someone always floats a story that the Celtics are finally going to make the move, but when the time comes, nothing ever happens. I'm sick of the stories and I'm sick of Danny Ainge always claiming that he is going to make a move.

What better time than now for the Celtics? Imagine if they got Paul George or Jimmy Butler. That immediately makes them a legitimate title threat. Pairing up either of those guys with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford gives them a legit team. Both George and Butler are top 10 defenders, and they can score. This would have made it so much easier to hide Thomas on defense in the playoffs. If they were to face Toronto in a series, stick Marcus Smart on Kyle Lowry and Butler or George on DeMar DeRozan. Then, Thomas can guard some random guy like Corey Joseph. This would have made the Celtics lethal. I know they would have had to give up the coveted Nets picks they own and some young, possible stars like Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley or Jae Crowder, but the chance to get one of these guys that are already proven, you cannot pass that up.

Sorry, that is my long winded way of saying that the Celtics missed a golden opportunity.

But, as I said, I do not pick "winners" and "losers" from the trade deadline. I like to point out which teams possibly helped themselves and who hurt themselves. We all already know that the Kings are a garbage franchise run by people who have no clue what they are doing, but they looked so god damn stupid after this deadline. They're toast. Sure, they won last night, but just wait, they will be going on something like a 10 or 12 game losing streak real soon.

I was also confused by what the 76ers and Bulls did. The 76ers have this glut of big men, but the only one they traded was Nerlens Noel. I thought for sure that Jahlil Okafor was done in Philadelphia, but he is still a 76er as we speak. The return they got for Noel was nothing too. They got Andrew Bogut, who they will buy out and release, and Justin Anderson, who may be a fine role player some day, but who knows. The Mavericks got a great defensive and rebounding big. I like this move for Dallas and hate it for the 76ers. The 76ers also traded Ersan Ilaysova for Tiago Splitter and some picks to the Hawks. Again, they traded for a big man that they're going to buy out and some second round picks. Makes no sense to me.

The Bulls, who should have moved Butler, instead sent Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Thunder for Cam Payne and some dude named Joffrey. What the hell is this trade? Taj Gibson is one of the most beloved veterans in the league, and Doug McDermott isn't great, but he will hit open threes. The Bulls got a second year point guard that never plays and a dude that was the 10th or 11th guy off the bench for the Thunder. It seems like something is missing here. This trade really helps bring some more toughness and shooting to OKC. It brings nothing but questions for Chicago. Much like the 76ers stuff, this feels like it was part 1 of a 3 or 4 part deal that didn't pan out.

The Rockets made some good moves I thought, at least for the regular season. They went out and got Lou Williams for Corey Brewer and a late first rounder, and trimmed some more cap space to possibly sign a guy like Andrew Bogut by trading Tyler Ennis to the Lakers for Marcus Huertas, who they will immediately waive. Williams gives the yet another shooter. Now, at most times on the floor, the Rockets will have James Harden, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams shooting the ball. They could go for 130 a game and I would not be surprised. The only problem, none of these guys play defense, and in the playoffs, that could spell doom. Still though, good moves for the regular season.

Besides the trades I mentioned, nothing else that big happened. Some irrelevant guys got traded for other irrelevant guys. Carmelo Anthony is still a Knick, Paul George is still a Pacer and Jimmy Butler is still a Bull. The Boogie deal was the biggest deal no matter what else happened, but I expected more from this particular deadline after Boogie got traded. I thought, especially in the East that some big time, All NBA caliber players would get moved. As I stated, Boston should have made some moves, but they are the boy who cried wolf franchise to me now. I like what Toronto did with the Ibaka trade, and don't sleep on their move to land PJ Tucker, that should look good in the long run, especially the playoffs. But, the Wizards only added one bench guy, the Hawks only added Ilaysova and every other playoff team pretty much stayed pat. I still think the Cavs are a lock to represent the East in the finals, but Toronto, not Boston anymore, looks like their biggest threat.

As for the West, no matter what the Rockets or Thunder did, doesn't matter, the Warriors are winning. Even if the Clippers added Carmelo, they cannot beat the Warriors, they proved that last night, blowing a 12 point half time lead. The Spurs never make moves because they don't have to, so them doing nothing was not surprising. The Pelicans made THE move, but, as I said, if they make the playoffs, their "reward" is a thrashing at the hands of the Warriors.

We had another trade deadline that was very ho hum, but I expected more. I expected better. Oh well, I guess we will have to wait until summer to see if some of these big names finally get moved.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty thinks the only hope for the Celtics now is if some crazy fans go out and try to kidnap LeBron James. It worked out so well in "Celtic Pride". Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Was the 2017 NBA All Star Weekend Worth a Watch?

Next year the game should be played on the blacktop of any local school

Last weekend was NBA All Star weekend. This is a three day period that I very much look forward to. I love all the extra stuff that the NBA does leading up to the All Star game on Sunday night. I watch it all. I watch the skills competition, the celebrity game, the three point contest, the rising stars game and the dunk contest. I usually find it all very, very enjoyable. In fact, I wrote last year around this time that I thought that the dunk contest was back after the show that Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon put on, even though some think that Gordon got robbed, I personally do not. For the most part, last year's skills competition, three point contest, dunk contest, I found it all very exciting. I was very hopeful that this year would be the same.

Unfortunately, All Star weekend was a pretty big let down this year. It was quite dull in fact. The rising stars game was fun, I do have to say. It was cool to see the World rising stars play the US rising stars. I like that format since the NBA is a global phenomenon. Jamal Murray looked every bit as good as people said he was leading up to the draft and Johnathan Simmons is an inspiration to guys that may not think they have a shot at the NBA, but if they put in the work, they can make it. Other than those 2, Nikola Jokic and Karl Anthony Towns were the only other standouts.

The celebrity game prior to that was a complete dud. Winn Butler from Arcade Fire takes it way, way too seriously. Master P was an absolute nightmare. Go watch the "highlights". The famous NBA impersonator, his name escapes me now, is a really good player, but he was trying way too hard to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame. The only true highlight, and what saved the game, was the 7 year old child with a rare disease coming on the court, showing some sick dribbling skills and draining his only shot attempt. That kid and that moment was great. He should have been the MVP of the game, not only for the shot, but for the whole weekend. This kid was so funny and so much fun to watch allAll Star weekend long.

Then, we went to Saturday night. I recorded all of the competition stuff because I did not want to watch commercials so I could fully enjoy each event. They started off with the skills competition, and unfortunately, that was the "best" part of the night. I like the new setup of "Bigs" versus "Littles". It's pretty cool to see these big guys, each 6'9 or taller, going up against guards who are wonderful at the skills they put in the event. I was certain that Isaiah Thomas was going to win. He did great in the first two rounds, breezing by the completion, but when he went up against Gordon Hayward, he could not knock down the three and Hayward made one on his fourth try. Kristaps Porzingis, as far as "Bigs" went, looked pretty impressive. He was dribbling by the cones easily, putting the pass through the net with no problem, making the layup and dribbling down court for the pull up three. He breezed by all the "Bigs", and faced Hayward for the title. Again, Porzingis eased his way to victory, draining a pull up three with ease. It was an okay start to the night.

But, it got worse from there.

The three point contest was next, and I was hoping for Klay Thompson to do something like he did last season, but he did not even make it out of the opening round. In fact, most of the shooters looked a bit off all night. Shots were either short or very long. On some racks guys would find a rhythm but on the next rack, they'd brick 4 of the 5 shots. Wes Matthews and CJ McCollum did not do well. As I said, Klay was bounced before the second round. The only 2 who did any good were Kyrie Irving and Eric Gordon, and that is who made it to the finals. They had a decent final, it went to a 60 second overtime, and Gordon came out on top. But, I think it was partly due to the fact that Irving got tired and knew he needed to save himself for the All Star game on Sunday night. There were no amazing numbers put up by any contestant and the final, even with an overtime, was pretty bland.

The dunk contest was next, and this was a flaming bag of garbage. First off, no Zach Lavine. He said he wasn't going to do it before he got injured, but man did the dunk contest need him. At least we had Aaron Gordon, and his first attempt, with the drone, could have been amazing. But, Gordon looked like he was tired, and he just did not have it in him to do anything coming close to what he did last year. It took him four attempts on the first try with the drone before he finally put one dunk through the hoop. By then though, he already looked defeated. Glenn Robinson III had a pretty good first round dunk, dunking over 2 people backwards, but they gave him a perfect 50. No way was that dunk a 50. DeAndre Jordan should not have been in this contest. Seven footers never really do anything great in dunk contests. They are so big and do not have to have the amazing vertical that shorter guys have to do these amazing dunks. Jordan dunked over a DJ booth, but it was not that interesting, or that hard for a pro, for that matter. He was scored accordingly. Then there was the unknown Derrick Jones Jr. All week leading up to this contest people talked about what a leaper he is, and how he was going to replace Lavine no problem. Well, his leaping ability is nothing to shake your head at. In fact, I was very impressed at how high he can jump. But, the problem, he kept missing dunks. It took him 4 attempts to put one through in the first round. This contest hearkened back to the days of Nate Robinson, who I believe one time attempted like 25 dunks before putting one in, and that is not a good thing. By the time a dunker is on his third or fourth try, as a viewer, I check out. It is not impressive to me anymore. Derrick Jones Jr eventually put down a sweet windmill off a pass off the side of the backboard that he also put between his legs, but other than that, the contest was a total waste. Glenn Robinson III won, but it was basically by default due to all the misses Derrick Jones Jr had in the final round. This dunk contest stunk. It was real bad. I knew last year's would be hard to follow up, but this was a nightmare. It was boring and pointless.

Finally, we had the All Star game on Sunday night. The game went exactly as I expected. The dunks were so much better in the game than they were in the dunk contest. Giannis Antentekoumpo threw down thunderous dunk after thunderous dunk. Anthony Davis was hammering home alley oops. LeBron was putting on a show. Steph Curry got in a few dunks. John Wall was going hard with his left hand. Any dunk in the game was better than any dunk in the dunk contest. But, a lot of dunks were missed too. That was kind of a bummer.

No defense was played, but I definitely thought that was going to happen. People that are complaining about the lack of defense are the same people that would complain if these guys went out and tried as if the All Star game is not a glorified exhibition. They are the same people that praise guys like Pete Rose when he runs over a catcher in the MLB All Star game. They are all old, curmudgeon sports writers that claim the game is not competitive and needs to be changed. It does not. The people tuning in want to see a million points. I was hopeful that at least one of the teams would eclipse 200 points. I do not expect the players to go 100 percent on defense and I expect the players to let these guys get off crazy dunks and shoot open shots. I say again, it is an exhibition game. I do not want players to hurt themselves trying too hard in the All Star game. I was completely fine with all the points and broken records and lack of defense. None of that stuff bothered me. I think it is great that Anthony Davis shattered Wilt Chamberlin's scoring total in the All Star game. I loved seeing him go for 52, in his home arena. I loved his array of dunks. I do not care that he took 39 shots. The people complaining about that need to let it go. It was known that everyone on the West was going to defer to Davis. I also loved seeing Russell Westbrook go for 40 plus, KD getting a triple double, LeBron putting on a dunk show, everything Giannis did. I thought it was a very entertaining All Star game, and the second best thing from the weekend, behind only the 7 year old kid.

2017 in New Orleans was a very inconsistent All Star weekend. There were 2 good things, the game itself and the kid, but everything else I thought was pretty rough. I wonder if this will lead to some changes. I guess we will have to wait until next year to find out. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will maybe give the NFL Pro Bowl another shot if a team can score over 200 points. Just don't get in Kirk Cousins way. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Biggest Trade in the NBA Just Happened Because the Sacramento Kings are a Joke

It is tiring trying to figure out the King's plan

I have many ideas for pieces this week, but something real big happened in the NBA last night. That means my NBA All Star weekend wrap up will have to wait, and my reviews of the season premiere of "Bar Rescue" and "John Wick: Chapter 2" will have to wait a few days.

As I'm sure most, if not all, NBA fans know that Boogie Cousins got traded to the Pelicans last night for next to nothing. I know that I said the biggest name was already dealt, with Serge Ibaka heading to Toronto, but this trade is, by far, the biggest trade that will happen no matter what else, if anything, happens before Thursday's deadline. Even if someone like Jimmy Butler, Paul Milsap, Blake Griffin or Gordon Hayward gets dealt, doesn't matter. Boogie is the biggest name. I did not think that Boogie would get traded this year. I figured, there is only about 25 games left in the regular season, and the Kings are somehow still in the playoff race, so I just assumed that they'd ride it out through the rest of this year.

I guess I was wrong.

The timing of the deal is incredibly weird as well. I mean, this happened literally about an hour after the All Star game ended. The All Star game was in New Orleans, so Boogie technically does not have to leave, but still, very weird timing. I did think that something was a bit off because Boogie barely played, but I assumed that he had a minor injury and that he was just resting. But, after watching the All Star game, then looking at Twitter and Bleacher Report and other sports websites, all of the sudden, I see this breaking trade. I did not believe it at first. I thought it would fall through and neither team would be able to come up with an equal deal. I mean, what do the Pelicans have that the Kings covet? Nothing besides Anthony Davis, but he is pretty much untouchable. But, much to mine and everyone else's surprise, the deal went through, and the Kings got absolutely fleeced.

More on that in a minute, I want to talk about the pairing of Boogie and Davis. On paper, this looks great. This is one of the best front court's in the history of the NBA. Two young stars, in their prime, averaging a double double each and playing exceptional on both ends of the floor. It should be an absolute slam dunk. But, the pessimist in me does not think that they will be able to coexist, and they are fighting to get the 8th spot in the West, which means they will face the Warriors in the first round, and probably get swept. If that happens, I do not see anyway that the Pelicans will be able to resign Boogie this offseason. He will want to move to a team in title contention. Davis is a great, great, great player, but he is who New Orleans needs to build around. He and Boogie essentially play the same position and the Pelicans have already tried something akin to this when they signed Omer Asik. Now, Asik is not 1/1,000th the player that Boogie is, but it is the same idea. Two big guys, one scorer and one all around guy, but it just did not work out. There was not enough space in the post. Davis can float out to the perimeter, but I think he is a much better slasher and rebounder going to the basket. Unfortunately for him, Boogie is a low post player, an absolute excellent one, and he will be clogging up that lane. So, while it looks great on paper, and I really want it to work out, I just do not think it will work. There is not enough time for them to get any continuity and they will be an easy out for a higher seeded West team, that is, if they make the playoffs. Looks great on paper, I just don't see it working on the court.

Now, the Kings. My oh my did they get absolutely robbed. This deal makes the Kings front office, and mainly Vlade Divac, look so under qualified to run a NBA team. Boogie is easily a top 10, top 5 in my personal opinion, NBA player. He is a throwback center, but he has expanded his game and he plays more defense now, and can sometimes hit a mid range jumper. The trade rumors have always been around. He is a headache, a coach killer, a ball stopper, a malcontent, everything nasty that can be said about a player has been said abut him, but it always ended with the caveat that he is an elite player. So, if you are going to trade him, you need an elite level trade package, no matter what baggage Boogie may bring with him. When the rumors started a few years back, it was always Boogie for another star, or a plethora of very high, unprotected picks. It was always looked at as a blockbuster. It needed to be big time.

What did the Kings get in return you ask? They got 2 picks, a 2017 first and second rounder, probably in the high teens in the first round and mid forties in the second round, and Buddy Hield and Tyreke Evans. The picks are fine, but not Boogie Cousins fine. As I said, if you are going to trade Boogie for picks, you need unprotected lottery picks, not some mid first rounder and mid second rounder. That is insane and stupid. Then, you get an unproven rookie, Buddy Hield. I really like Buddy Hield, and I think he can be a very good pro, but he is a rookie that has struggled so far. His shot is not falling and his defense is not up to task yet. Now, he is going to one of the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA. That will only hurt his game. He will not figure it out for awhile, if ever, playing for the Kings. They have not had a prospect grow into a decent NBA player, Boogie being the lone exception, in over a decade. Look at the list. Guys like Jimmer Fredette, Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, Ray McCallum Jr, Thomas Robinson, Orlando Johnson and Tyler Honeycutt. By my count, only one of those guys is still on the team, McLemore, only 2 are still in the NBA, Stauskas and Robinson, and who knows about the rest. Apparently Jimmer scored 73 points in a game in China, but he was recently cut from a D League team, so I take very little stock in his high point totals. Basically, with rookies, the Kings don't have a good track record. I feel bad for Buddy Hield.

They also got Tyreke Evans, in a return to his first team, but he is wildly inconsistent and has never really put it together in the NBA. He has moments, but more so than not, he has been a very mediocre NBA player. His addition to the trade adds nothing at all. It was basically a throw on at the last moment in some kind of saving face, but it still makes this trade look really bad.

Funny side note. People have even tried to make this trade on the video game "NBA 2K17", and the game says that the trade is too unfair for the Kings. So, that means artificial intelligence is smarter than the Kings front office.

This is an absolute disaster for the Kings. This puts their franchise even further away from rebuilding. They are going to be very, very bad for what seems to be another decade now. If they couldn't win and make the playoffs with Boogie, how on Earth are they going to win with a bunch of castoffs that haven't proven themselves in the NBA in their short careers? I mean, a starting five of Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Buddy Hield, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein is worse than anything the 76ers or the Lakers or even the Nets will put out on a NBA floor. This trade is real bad and real shocking. I hope, but don't think, it will work out for the Pelicans, and I know that this trade just set the Kings back for at least another decade.

The Kings got fleeced and they don't seem to care, or even realize it. At least Boogie got out of there and he may end up loving New Orleans and playing with Davis. But if he doesn't, he is a free agent and will have his pick of teams to sign with this summer. The biggest winner, by a country mile in this very bad trade, is Boogie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is putting his name into the conversation to be the GM of the Kings. How could he do any worse. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Carmelo Anthony is not an All Star

Carmelo is not even a paper star

With Kevin Love going down with what looks to be a regular season ending surgery, the East All Stars needed to find someone else to take his place. They had any number of players to pick from. I was hoping they would not take another guard because this All Star game is filled with great guards, and much to my pleasure, they did not. But, there choice to replace Kevin Love has me really scratching my head.

How on Earth is Carmelo Anthony worthy of an All Star spot? I just do not get it. If the All Star game were just about putting "super stars" in it, then if Carmelo is an All Star, so is Dwayne Wade, LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Embiid, Dwight Howard, Tristan Thompson, Blake Griffin and Nikola Jokic. All these players are well known names to your average NBA fan, and a few are way more deserving that Carmelo, I'll touch on that in a bit, but if most of them were mentioned, people would laugh at you. But, for some inexplicably reason, Carmelo will be making his 8th straight All Star team despite the fact that he plays no defense, he shoots the ball way too much, he is not the best player on his team anymore and that team is an absolute dumpster fire.

The fact that the Knicks have an All Star is asinine. And, if the Knicks are going to have an All Star, I'd first look at Courtney Lee, who has been surprisingly consistent this year, then Kristaps Porzingis before I even mentioned Carmelo's name.

But, the NBA wants those ratings, so they figured, lets put in an aging guy, that's way past his prime, because that will give us ratings. Newsflash NBA, you guys are as popular as you've been since the Michael Jordan era. More and more people are watching the NBA now. League Pass has been an enormous boost in your popularity. The glut of good young players seems to be endless. The Warriors are must watch sports television. Russell Westbrook and James Harden have been electrifying this season. LeBron James is quietly having one of his better seasons. The Spurs are playing great. This has been a great year for the NBA,

Putting Carmelo on the All Star team definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know that the game is a pointless exhibition, but the NBA has, by far, the best All Star game. Major League Baseball's All Star game is a baseball game, so it's boring. I do not watch hockey, so I cannot comment on their All Star game. And the Pro Bowl, the Pro Bowl is by far the dumbest and most pointless of all the All Star games. But, the NBA All Star game is filled with scoring, tremendous dunks, guys going crazy scoring buckets, tons of transition and alley oops, it is just a fun game. Last year's All Star game almost had a combined 400 points, which I loved. But, for some unknown reason, after the Love injury, the powers that be decided that Carmelo Anthony was the best possible replacement in the Eastern Conference.

When I saw that Love was going to be out, I started to rack my brain thinking about who would replace him, and when I saw Carmelo's name on some lists, I literally laughed it off. I thought it was a joke. I figured that someone like Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis or Joel Embiid would be picked as the replacement. Joel Embiid was definitely the sentimental choice. He has been great when he has played this year. He looks like the real deal. I wrote awhile back that he is the one and only reason to watch the 76ers. But, he has missed a ton of games recently, and he is injured. That was his death blow to making the All Star team. He has also pulled out of all the rookie and skills stuff as well, so there's that as well. Porzingis, unfortunately for him, plays on a terrible, terrible Knicks team, and he has actually taken a step back from last year. Some of this is his fault, some is the organizations fault. He doesn't attack the glass like he did last year and he has been settling for way too many jumpers. But, he also has to play with ball stoppers all over the floor. Derrick Rose still thinks he is an All Star, he is not, and he will not even look in Porzingis direction. Carmelo, to his credit, will try and get him the ball, unless it is a crucial possession. Then, he thinks he has to do it himself, which has stunted Porzingis' growth. With all that being said, Porzingis was rightfully left off the All Star team.

The guy I think should have gotten the spot was Bradley Beal. He has been playing very good basketball this year. It seems that he and John Wall squashed whatever beef they had, and they have looked great during their recent run of wins. Beal has been healthy and has been stuffing the stat sheet. He is scoring in bunches and has looked like the players the Wizards hoped he would be when they drafted him in the lottery to pair up with John Wall. Bradley Beal is the biggest snub in this entire All Star game, in my opinion.

There are many others who should have been considered ahead of Carmelo. Some may say, what about Chris Paul? He is hurt, so it would have only been a lets put him on the team, but find a quick replacement type deal. Other may mention Andrew Wiggins, too young and hasn't fully figured it out yet, or Karl Anthony Towns, he hasn't regressed as much as Porzingis, but his numbers aren't All Star worthy yet. People might say, what about Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum? Both guys have been fine, but All Stars, no way.

I legitimately believe that Bradley Beal is the biggest snub, and the NBA could have fixed that with the Kevin Love injury. But, they decided it would be better to put a "legend" in the game. I think Carmelo Anthony is incredibly overrated. He is an elite scorer, but other than that, what has he really done? He has never been to the Finals, he has never won the MVP, he has proven he cannot be the best player on a title contender and he constantly gripes and complains that he doesn't get what he wants. He has had a very average NBA career, if you take away his offense. He is a very, very poor man's Clyde Drexler. Drexler was great, but no one ever brings him up when people talk about the greatest NBA players, and I feel like that will be Carmelo's destiny. When I tell my son about watching the NBA when he is my age, I will talk about guys like LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, all of these guys and many, many more before I even get around to Carmelo. Is he an all time great? No way. Is he an All Star this year? Absolutely not. The NBA got this very, very wrong.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He booked his ticket last year to attend the All Star Game in Charlotte. He just heard it had to be moved to New Orleans. No w why would the league do that? Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Biggest Trade Has Already Happened in the NBA

The NBA trade deadline is approaching fast, but I think the biggest name to be traded has already happened.

There is always rumors and speculation surrounding big name players that will be the move, but I do not think that any of the big names being thrown out this year are going anywhere. I've heard Paul Milsap, Jimmy Butler, Dwayne Wade, Blake Griffin and, of course, Carmelo Anthony and Boogie Cousins possibly changing uniforms. Well, Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks head coach and director of player personnel, said he isn't going anywhere. The price that the Bulls will be asking for Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade will be much to high, especially for Wade, who is clearly on his last legs. Blake Griffin is not going anywhere until he is a free agent because the Clippers ownership is insane and they seem to think they can win a title with guys that have never gotten out of the second round of the playoffs. Boogie is not leaving unless a team offers the Kings an offer to great to pass up. It would have to be some big name guys and some very high draft picks. The teams that have the ability to offer those things won't. And the Knicks, try as they might, will not be able to unload Carmelo. They want to trade him so bad, but he has a no trade clause, so he can veto almost any deal he doesn't like, and teams that may want him won't give up what the Knicks are asking for in a trade. The Knicks want a good young player and draft picks, and Carmelo Anthony doesn't command that steep a price anymore. He is old, in NBA terms, doesn't pass the ball, doesn't play defense and can mess up team chemistry. Sorry Knicks fans, you guys are stuck with Anthony.

The big trade that already happened? Serge Ibaka to the Raptors. I think that the Serge Ibaka trade to the Raptors is the only "big name" deal that will be made. The Magic are clearly going nowhere and they knew that Ibaka would not resign with them this offseason, he will be a free agent at the end of the year.

With all that being said, and the fact that the Magic needed to move a player like Ibaka to make more minutes for Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezjona, they totally got fleeced by the Raptors. The Raptors won this trade by a mile. All they had to give up was Terrence Ross, who is a decent young player that could flourish now that he will be a main option, and a very low first round pick. I think they could have gotten more from a team like the Raptors, who want to win now, but it seems like they settled for the first deal that Toronto offered. Like I said, Ross is a fine player, but maybe the Magic should have, at the very least, mentioned names like Jonas Valenciunas, Corey Joseph or Demarre Carroll. This may have killed the deal, but I still think they should have at least asked.

On the other hand, the Raptors got one hell of a player to team up with guys like Valenciunas, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Demarre Carroll, as well as Patrick Patterson. The Raptors, at least on paper with this trade, look to be real contenders in the East. I know that they are in fifth place right now, but I think this trade could easily move them up a few spots, giving them a decided edge in the playoffs. The Cavs were just dealt an enormous blow with the news of Kevin Love's injury, the Celtics are playing great, but this move should put them on notice, the Wizards are currently playing out of their minds, but Scott Brooks will find some way to screw it up, and Atlanta will not keep up this pace for the whole season. I definitely see Toronto passing the Wizards and the Hawks, pushing them up to third. Then, what if Boston takes over the one seed from Cleveland due to the Love injury, and the Cavs decide that they don't really care about seeding in the playoffs? That could put Toronto as high as number 2, which I think is a real possibility now. It all doesn't matter, the Cavs will still represent the East in the finals, but Toronto is at least trying to make it interesting.

I love the fact that the Raptors went out and got Ibaka. He is in the perfect spot again, much like when he played with Durant and Westbrook in OKC. He will be able to fit in perfectly playing the four, next to Valenciunas. Valenciunas likes to play in the post and rebound, so that leaves Ibaka the ability to spread the floor and block shots as a help defender, which is what he does best. He has also become a decent jump shooter and three point shooter. This will help DeRozan and Lowry. They will be able to drive and kick and have the confidence that one of their big men will be able to knock down open threes and mid range jumpers. Valenciunas is not consistent enough to do this, but Ibaka is. And, as I have already stated, he is going to help them out tremendously on the defensive end of the floor. Ibaka and Valenciunas as rim protectors will put fear in opponents trying to attack the rim. Valenciunas is not great on the defensive end, but he is serviceable, and with the help coming from Ibaka, he may begin to look like a much better defender. Ibaka's presence will also help the back court. DeRozan and Lowry aren't the greatest defenders, but now with Ibaka back there they can take more chances on steals and play closer man to man defense on their opponents. DeMarre Carroll is already a very good defender, so he won't need the help, but he will get it from Ibaka anyway.

This deal has made the Raptors a much, much better team, and has further made the Magic's rebuilding stage that much longer. The Raptors definitely won this trade, and I think it is the only trade that will make any difference in the regular season. Ibaka fits in wonderfully, and he needed this trade and the Magic let him go for hardly anything. This will be the only big time deal that happens in the NBA this year, mark my words.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is ticked off that his NBA2K games never let him get away with what the Raptors got away with in this trade. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Oklahoma City was not Kind to Kevin Durant.

Many of the OKC fans were not in the mood

Saturday night was KD's first game back in OKC since he signed with the Warriors. I was as excited as anyone to see this game. I wanted to see the response and to see how he and Russell Westbrook played as opponents in OKC for the first time. The first 2 games in Oakland were blow outs, but I thought that maybe OKC would have a bigger home court advantage.

Well, that was not the case. The Warriors, after the first quarter, proceeded to dominate this game, as they should. The Warriors are the best team in the West, and all of the NBA for that matter. OKC, they are the 7th best team in the West, and probably the 10th or 11th best team in the NBA. The game went as it should have.

But, that does not mean that there wasn't any drama. The first quarter was close, and any time KD touched the ball the crowd booed him relentlessly. They also booed him pretty loud during team introductions. There was a smattering of cheers for him, but for the most part, it was all KD hate. The crowd even wore t shirts that read "KOWARD". Pretty ruthless. KD came out tight as well. He made his first shot, but missed his next 5 before putting in a mid range jumper. Westbrook did not fare much better. He looked to pass way too often and settled for jumpers. He also let Curry shoot without much pressure in the quarter.

The game was tight for the quarter until the backups came in for both teams. This was where the Warriors showed how much better they are than any team in the NBA. The Warriors bench proceeded to score at will, building a lead up to 11. Then, the starters came back in and the Warriors did not let up. They built leads of 20, then 22, all the way up to 26. Then, in a short burst, the Thunder cut the lead to 18 and this is where the fireworks started.

Westbrook, in what many fans were waiting for, started to jaw at KD, saying, "I'm coming". I loved this. He finally let his anger out and it was glorious. His team was getting killed, but he wanted KD to know that he did not need him and that he would not stop coming at him no matter the score or situation of the game. KD did a little bit of talking back, but it was in the vain of someone who hides behind their friends and tells them to "hold me back". It was weak. It proved to me that KD is not an alpha when it comes to basketball. He is a much better fit as a second or third option, which is fine, but he is no top dog. Westbrook, on the other hand, he is the alpha. He runs that team. That could have been the problem the 8 years they played together, but Westbrook is the type of player that wants to be "the guy", KD, not so much.

That is fine, but the way KD has handled himself since signing with the Warriors has been what has turned me off of him, as a person. He has constantly complained about how the outside fan views him, he continues to make snide and snark comments that are definitely about Westbrook, but he never admits to it, he talks about "playing basketball the right way" with the Warriors. Basically it has been childish remark after childish remark from a millionaire.

Then, after the game, his mother complained about the fans booing him. During the telecast, the announcers kept saying that he doesn't deserve this type of treatment and that one day the OKC fans will love him again, KD himself said how nervous he was about getting booed and that it had affected his mood prior to the game. To all this I say, boo hoo. You are a pro athlete. People are going to boo you, especially the way you left that team. They are also going to boo you because of who you signed with. KD joined a team that has won a title already, and were on the cusp of winning another one. He joined the Goliath. Hardly anyone cheers for Goliath. For him to act how he acted, I was very disappointed.

In addition to the whole Westbrook thing, but KD also went head to head with Andre Roberson after a hard foul. You are going to go after Roberson, really? That is a punk move. He would never do that to Westbrook because he is afraid of Russell Westbrook. Then, to have his teammates constantly hold him back, that is one of my biggest pet peeve's when it comes to super star athletes. I do not care if he does not want to fight, but don't act like you are some hard core dude when we all know that you are not.

To his mother, who I think is a great, great lady, she had to know that the boos were coming. It was going to happen. She must have sensed that the OKC crowd had turned on him because of how he left. I get that she is a mother and wants to protect her son, but this is what happens in pro sports. Fans are irrational assholes. I should know because I am one. I love that she wants to protect her son, but there is no way she did not know this was coming.

The game played out just like it should have, with the Warriors winning comfortably, but I left more unimpressed with KD's attitude than I did before the game. He is a hell of a player, I cannot deny that, but he has become a holier than thou cry baby since joining the Warriors. This game only made my dislike for the Warriors that much stronger, and I found myself once again rooting for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook is an awesome player who needs some help on that team, but KD is now just another guy on a team loaded with talent. Westbrook proved to me, even in a lopsided loss, that he is one of the best alpha's in the NBA and KD proved to me, in a win, that he is just happy being the third or fourth option. That is what I took away from this mid season NBA game on Saturday night.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is wondering why KD doesn't just stick to his first love, fishing. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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