The 76ers are the Best at Being the Worst Basketball Franchise

Let me know when the 76ers are good and then I will fly away.

This week will be all basketball talk from me, specifically NBA talk. I love basketball and this is the time of year where things are beginning to happen, or at least, people are talking about things that may happen. This time of year is basically basketball fans favorite time of year. Coaching changes, players being moved either via free agency or trades, talk of players being traded and the ramp up to the finals, which start tonight.

What I want to focus my time on today is the talk of players being moved. More specifically, I want to address the talk that the 76ers, the moribound, useless, once proud, but are now a joke 76ers, have made it known publicly that they would be willing to part ways with either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor. I mean, WTF Philadelphia. How do they ever expect to put a team that is competitive out there if they continue to trade away all this young talent that they tanked so hard to get. A few years back they had the rookie of the year winner in Michael Carter-Williams. Sure, that rookie class wasn't that great and Carter-Williams did most of his damage on a terrible team and when he played against real defenders he got locked down, but he still did enough to win the rookie of the year. One year later, they traded him to the Bucks for some more draft picks.

This was all Sam Hinkie's doing. He told all the 76ers fans to "trust the process", he assured them that what he was doing was the right thing and they would soon be highly competitive again. With the pick he got from Milwaukee, he took Joel Embiid. Who can guess how many professional basketball games Embiid has played in his first two seasons? Anyone? He has played 0, and I'm including preseason and summer league games. He may even miss the beginning of this season and the front office has already stated that he will not play summer league as they are "taking every precaution imaginary". So, you trade away the reigning rookie of the year, in hopes of landing the next great big man, but you take a player that had known foot issues during his one season at Kansas, and he still hasn't played one single second in the NBA. What a joke. Also, the year before they drafted Embiid, they took Noel, who is now apparently on the trading block, and he tore his ACL during his one year at Kentucky. Two years in a row and the 76ers drafted injured players that had to sit out at least one full season before even stepping foot on a court. Yeesh, that is brutal.

Last year they took Okafor. Okafor "fell" to them at number 3. This pick perplexed me because they already had Noel and Embiid who play the same position and, I don't know if the front office watches modern basketball, but big men aren't the commodity they once were. But, I was willing to look past it because, you take the best available player, that's what teams do in the draft. And, to give Okafor a little credit, he played in about 60 games his rookie season and he was not terrible. Well, he was terrible defensively, but offensively, he was okay. He scored in double figures and was an average offensive rebounder and has some decent low post moves. But, he is also a 19 year old hot head that may not be ready for the responsibility of being a professional. Just look at the incidents he got involved in, at bars, during his rookie year. He may be a loose cannon. I guess not to worry 76ers fans because he may be gone as well.

This is what bugs me. Yes, I know that they won the draft lottery and that they plan to take either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram, but why are they making two of their young, half way decent players available for trades? Nerlens Noel has shown flashes of being an elite defender and, if he works on his low post game, he could be an all star. And yeah, Okafor plays no defense, but if he becomes, at the very least, a capable defender, he could also be an all star. He has the offense, he just needs to put it together on defense. Who knows with Embiid, but they seem to be putting all their eggs into his basket and they expect him to be immediately better than Noel or Okafor. I don't think that I would take that bet. I want to see Embiid play 30 or 40 games before I would even consider getting rid of any big men I have on my roster. Other people will tell me that Simmons and Okafor's game don't mesh or that Noel would clog the lane for a guy like Ingram. I say, who cares. At least Nerlens Noel has proven to be a decent enough defender and Okafor has shown that he can score double figures night after night.

The 76ers sound like they want to blow it up again, and that is not fair to the fans. They will not be able to attract any star players there because, whenever someone does something good on a basketball floor, the 76ers want to trade them for draft picks. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry aren't going to want to go play for this franchise. Why would they want to waste the prime of their careers playing for this terribly run team. I naturally assumed that when Sam Hinkie stepped down that the 76ers would start to resemble a real basketball franchise, but the new people in charge are just doing the exact same thing. They want the fans to, once again, "trust the process". That's bull shit. That's unfair. Does the GM and the other higher ups making decisions realize how brutal it must be to be a 76ers fan right now? This team is an absolute joke. They are barely better than some of the D League teams. Hell, they may not even win the D League if they were relegated to play there because they are such an embarrassment to the NBA.

Which brings me to my final point and why I think this nonsense of making Noel and Okafor available is so stupid. First off, they want to take another 19 year old to be the face of the franchise. Well, its been reported that Ben Simmons would much rather be a Laker, and me personally, I don't think this kid will live up to the hype. He is an over privileged, spoiled brat that has never been pushed or told no by any coach and he carries himself with an arrogance he hasn't even come close to earning. He already acts like a Laker. Then there's Brandon Ingram. I think he will be a good pro, he could be a poor mans Kevin Durant, but it is going to take a few seasons, maybe even 4 before he is an all star caliber player. He has to put on weight, put in tons of time in the gym and become a much better defender before he is any kind of threat to the real stars in the NBA. I think Ingram will be a much better pro than Simmons, but I also think it will take much longer before he gets to that elite level. Just look at Durant's first few years in the league. It wasn't until James Harden and Russell Westbrook were drafted that Durant elevated his game and became the dominant player he is today.

If I were running the 76ers, I would either trade the top pick, not Noel or Okafor, for some established, semi decent pros, or I would take Buddy Hield. Hield would fit kind of perfectly with guys like Noel, Okafor and Embiid. He could come in and score points right away and his defensive game is underrated. But, since the 76ers only value assets, they will trade one of both of the guys I mentioned, draft either Ingram or Simmons, and be terrible for the next decade or so. The 76ers are the worst run team in any professional sport that I have ever seen. They are an embarrassment to the NBA and their fans.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He desperately wants to focus on good basketball and not bad management. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Let Me Respectfully Explain Why Your Team Stinks: Ty has a Few Words for Reggie Jackson's Thunder Criticisms

The not basketball court where Jackson forms his opinions

To continue my trend this week of talking about the NBA, I need to give my take on Reggie Jackson calling out his former team on Twitter after the Thunder got beat in game 7.

Shut your god damn mouth Reggie Jackson. You are a very, very average NBA player at your very best. The Thunder dumped you because they had enough of your whiny, crybaby, ball hogging ways. The Thunder were fed up and they traded you for peanuts. That's how much they wanted to rid themselves of you. If they didn't have to pay the money, they probably would have cut you just to get you off the team. Yeah, you got a huge deal from the Pistons last offseason, but I think they may have a touch of buyers remorse right now. Two years ago, when you had your shot to lead the Thunder, both Durant and Westbrook were out with injuries, you "led" them to a 5-13 start. That is pathetic. You became such a ball hog and a prima donna and a wannabe all star your teammates were icing you out and wouldn't pass you the ball after rebounds. You are a point guard and Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins decided they would rather run the offense than you because they knew that you were going to come down, hold the ball for 20 seconds, and shoot some piss poor jumper or do some lame ass drive, trying to draw a foul and get nothing from it. After you were iced out and leading the Thunder to 8 games below .500, you started to complain that you weren't getting your fair shot to lead. Bull shit! You had every opportunity to show your worth and you blew it big time. You are a poor mans James Harden. You are not the scorer, nor will you ever be, that James Harden is, and your defense is just as bad.

I mentioned it before and I am going to say again, you were traded to the Pistons for next to nothing, and you have been average at best. Yeah, you got a big deal, but everyone is going to get huge deals in 2 years when the cap explodes. Your 20 million a year will look miniscule next to what real superstars will be making very soon. And, how well have the Pistons been since you went there? Your first season there, you were splitting minutes with Brandon Jennings until he tore his ACL. Then you were the starter on a very bad Pistons team. Even on a bad team, you weren't the main scoring threat. Guys like Tobias Harris, Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Andre Drummond are all much better options than you. The Pistons stunk your first season there, but this last season your team barely made the playoffs, and spoiler alert Reggie Jackson, it had little to nothing to do with your play. Yeah, you had moments, but so did guys like Darko Milic, Hedo Turkoglu, Kwame Brown, Korleone Young and many more players that are out of the league, or irrelevant. But, you continued to run your mouth as if you are the best player on your team. Even after trading Tobias Harris, you are still the third best option on a mediocre Pistons team. Durant and Westbrook, who are bona fide mega stars in the league, are one hundred percent correct when stating that Caldwell Pope and Drummond are much better options. First off, Drummond is the second best center in the league, behind only Boogie Cousins, and he is an all star and a nightmare on the low post, both offensively and defensively. Then, Caldwell Pope is such a better shooter than you, he is younger and a much better defender than you have been your whole career.

Also, how did the Pistons do in the playoffs this year? You have the nerve and gall to call out the Thunder after a game 7 loss to the greatest regular season team in the history of the NBA, and your team, the team you are the supposed "leader" of got their asses swept out of the first round by the Cavs, who are atrocious defensively. Two of the games weren't even close either. Game one, you and Drummond blew. Games 2 and 3, you guys had no chance. And then game 4. You guys had a chance, specifically, you, Reggie Jackson, had the chance to win the game and extend the series. But, you threw up some garbage three point double clutch nonsense, then complained to the refs when it air balled that your were fouled, you were not fouled, then didn't own up that you stunk that entire series.

Shut your stupid mouth Reggie Jackson. The Thunder have gotten so much better since they traded your punk ass away. No matter how many times you celebrate regular season wins against the Thunder, even though you did nothing note worthy in the game, the Thunder are so much better without you on the team. They don't have to worry about some backup point guard that thinks he is way better than he truly is. The Thunder one hundred percent made the correct decision to rid the team of your nonsense.

Another thing, don't act like you are some big time star now because you hang out with Paul George in the offseason. Paul George is just being nice to you to be nice. He looks at you like a charity case. You are a blip on his radar. You are not a star Reggie Jackson, no matter what you think, say and tweet. That is also such a punk move to call them out on Twitter. It is downright cowardly. You also must have been watching the game, opining that you were still on a team that plays late into May. Reggie Jackson, you are a bum and a child. This Twitter nonsense is prime evidence that you are childish. I am so happy, being a Thunder fan, that they got rid of your punk ass. That was a great day in Sonics/Thunder history, and when you are out of the league in 3 or 4 years and Durant and Westbrook are still playing deep into May and June, I hope you look back at this time and feel shame for how ridiculous this beef and how average of an NBA player you were. Screw you Reggie Jackson, you are lame.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not appreciate it when twitter is used for childish purposes. With that said, go follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty's Look at the 2016 NBA Finals

The two teams we all thought would be here.

As I did last year, and I will do every year, I'm going to preview and predict the NBA finals. But first,

GOOOOOOOOOOOOD DAMMMMMMMMMMMIT. 

OKC should be playing in these finals, they blew it big time. They had a 3-1 lead, and they should have won game 6, and they had an excellent shot last night, but they went ice cold from the field and they reverted back to blaming each other and playing hero ball. They stopped doing what had worked so well for them throughout the first two rounds and the first four games of the conference finals and blew a huge lead against the Warriors. The Thunder lost, and that is a fact.

Okay, I got that off my chest, now lets get to the preview and my prediction.

We have a rematch from last years finals, but these finals will look very different. Last year, the Cavs were without Kevin Love going into the finals, and they lost Kyrie Irving in game one. This time, the Cavs are at full strength and may make this series very competitive. The Warriors, they are at full strength, but they look tired and this historic season looks to be taking a toll. But, they came back from a huge deficit against OKC, and they look like they may have gotten their mojo back. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry are absolutely on fire right now. The Warriors also have a ton of momentum and home court advantage going into the finals. 

Lets look at the starting lineups first. The Warriors have Curry, Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green. The Cavs will put LeBron, Kyrie, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and JR Smith out there. LeBron is the best player in the world, but he is older and has played in 6 straight finals. That's a ton of minutes on his body, but he is the best player on the floor. When you look at the other four Warriors starters, when opposed to the other four Cavs starters, I think the Warriors are much better. Case and point, who is going to guard Klay Thompson? The Cavs may try LeBron for a minute or two, but he will not be able to keep up the hustle it will take on defense to stop Thompson because he will be running the offense. So, that leaves guys like Kyrie Irving and JR Smith. Kyrie Irving, while a wizard dribbling the ball and a great shooter, he is a garbage defender and Thompson will destroy him. JR Smith is a better defender, but he is a hot head and he will get angry and start making dumb fouls when Thompson makes a few jumpers on him. Advantage Warriors.

Then there is Steph. No one on the Cavs can guard Steph. That was proven during last years finals. Irving will, once again, get destroyed. JR Smith is too slow. LeBron won't be able to keep up with him. It's a no win situation for the Cavs. Once again, advantage Warriors.

As far as Harrison Barnes goes, I think the Cavs would be best fit putting JR Smith on him and keeping him there. They are pretty much equal, as far as ability on both ends of the floor, and I think that would be a good battle. I would actually give the advantage in this head to head to the Cavs. I think JR Smith has that irrational confidence and Barnes thinks way too much when he plays. Advantage Cavs in that matchup.

In the front court we have Kevin Love guarding either Bogut or Green and then the Cavs will put Tristan Thompson on the other guy. This matchup one hundred percent favors the Warriors. If the Cavs want to put Thompson on Bogut, they will cancel each other out, but Bogut is a good rebounder, just as good as Thompson, and he is a better defender and a much better passer than Thompson. Then, there is the Kevin Love question. He is a great scorer and rebounder, but he is a terrible, god awful defender and he lets his mood affect his play. When he doesn't get touches or shots, he sulks. His defense, once again, is some of the worst in the league. Bogut would eat him alive in the low post and Draymond Green can take him outside, drive on him and he will get in his head. Kevin Love has become a liability and he will not be on this team next year. I'm about 99 percent sure of this. So, while Tristan Thompson may cancel out Bogut, Draymond Green can beat up Kevin Love and out rebound Thompson and Bogut would eat Love alive in the post and cancel out Thompson. Advantage, big time, Warriors.

That leaves us with LeBron. The Warriors starters will be hard pressed to stop him, but they have secret weapon on their bench, who I will get to in a minute. LeBron is a beast and he will get his on this Warriors starting bunch. Just look at last years finals. He is un guardable. Any team that has LeBron has the advantage of having the best player on the floor.

Now, the benches for each team. While it may look like the benches are compatible, they are not. The Warriors bench is so much better, younger, faster and play much better team defense and offense. The secret weapon to guard LeBron that I spoke of on the Warriors bench is Andre Igoudala. He won finals MVP last year for his defensive performance against LeBron. He can bang with him and force him to be a jump shooter, which is exactly what you should want LeBron to do. Igoudala may once again be the X factor in this series. Then the Warriors bring in guys like Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Festus Ezeli, Mareese Speights and Anderson Varejo. Each one of these guys brings exactly what they need to for the Warriors in their limited minutes. Livingston is a huge point guard and a decent scorer off the bench. Barbosa is instant offense and a lightning bolt. Ezeli and Speights provide great low post scoring and Ezeli is a pretty decent defender. And Varejo will want to show the team that gave up on him that he is still a good player. The Cavs bench has guys like Matthew Dellavedova, Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov. Mozgov is a non factor. He barely sees the floor anymore, so he doesn't matter. Dellavedova is one of the most overrated bench players in all of the NBA. He is dirty and a much, much worse version of Draymond Green. Dellavedova is garbage. Iman Shumpert is an excellent defender and a decent three point shooter, but he has been hurt all year and he has lost minutes to JR Smith. And that leaves us with Richard Jefferson. I think Richard Jefferson may be one million years old. He won't be able to keep up with anyone on the Warriors and he will be a non factor. The Warriors bench is lights years better. Advantage Warriors, by about a million percent.

That leaves us with coaches. Steve Kerr has been here as a player and a coach, winning multiple titles with the Bulls as a player and winning the title last year as the head coach of the Warriors. He has made this team a juggernaut. Tyron Lue is the "coach" of the Cavs, but I think we all truly know who pulls the strings and makes the decisions for the Cavs and his name is LeBron James. Lue is a figure head. Yeah, the Cavs went on a historic playoff run, but it was against the Pistons, Hawks and Raptors. That is, by no means, a murderers row. The Warriors weren't tested in the first two rounds of the west playoffs, beating the Rockets and Trailblazers, but they were tested by possibly the second best team in basketball in the conference finals, the Thunder. They have been pushed and rose to the occasion, like a champion, and a lot of that comes from the coach. Steve Kerr is a better coach than the two headed monster of Tyron Lue and LeBron James. It's a fact. Advantage Warriors.

I bet everyone assumes that I have the Warriors in a sweep after reading this, but that is not the case. I think this series will be much more competitive than last year. If the Cavs make shots like they have been, it may go seven. But, the Cavs haven't faced a defense this good, not even close, in the playoffs. The Cavs defense is also very mediocre and that will hurt them against the Warriors. The Warriors also have home court advantage and they are historically great. I think the Warriors will win, once again, in 6 games. The Cavs will get two because LeBron will win one on his own and they will out shoot the Warriors in one game, but what it all comes down to, the Warriors are a better team that plays much, much, much better defense. They will find a way to shut down everyone else not named LeBron and the Cavs cannot win that way. The Warriors will cap this 73 win season with another title. I think someone like Curry or Thompson will be named the MVP of the finals, but we could also see Igoudala win again if he locks down LeBron, or Draymond Green if he stops playing dirty and just dominates Kevin Love. The Warriors are a better team and they should win. They have momentum and they have home court.

(ed note:) Warriors in 4. No doubt

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His wish for next season is a soft spoken, business like, shooter for the OKC Thunder. They need it. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Let's Count the Reasons Kevin Durant Needs to Stay in Oklahoma City

Look upon my Abacus Mr Durant

With game 7 of the western conference finals coming tonight, I want to talk about some stories I've read the past couple of days that, if the Thunder lose, Kevin Durant is going to sign somewhere else this offseason.

First of all, why would he sign this offseason when the cap is going to be astronomically high in 2 years? He will get much, much more money in 2 years. He'd be making the best decision to just sign a one year deal and wait to see how much he will get in 2 years, because he is going to get a whole lot of money.

Two, why do all the modern superstars feel the need to team up as opposed to competing with each other. People will say this all started when LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up, but it really started when Shaq signed with the Lakers. He couldn't get over the hump in Orlando, so he figured he could team up with a young Kobe and have a coach like Phil Jackson and it worked. He won multiple titles while with the Lakers. He also won another title after teaming up with Wade in Miami.

So, Dwayne Wade and Shaq have both been parts of these "super teams". But, the whole idea of teaming up with other great players became popular when LeBron joined forces with Bosh and Wade. I absolutely hated this. LeBron, for as great as he is, knew he couldn't win with the role players he had his first go around with the Cavs, so he chickened out and helped form a super team. He made 4 finals and won 2 of them, but it was a total cop out. I grew up watching basketball in the late 80's and early to mid 90's, and it would have been sacrilege if guys like Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan teamed up. Or if Bird and Magic joined forces. Or if Dominique Wilkins and Isaiah Thomas decided to play together. Imagine the brutal trash talk that would have come from other players. The fact that these guys didn't join forces and were rivals made the NBA that much more competitive. Bird and Magic had some of the best battles on a court ever, dating back to college. Barkley, for as great as he was, could never beat Jordan, but he didn't take the cowards way out and join his team, he signed elsewhere and tried his best to beat him, to no avail. Dominique had the unfortunate luck of playing for Atlanta, but he made that team super competitive and he had many historic showdowns against Jordan, Bird and Isaiah Thomas.

These guys didn't chase titles, they wanted to earn them. Now, it's all about forming super teams, and it is watering down the game. Going into every season, there are only three or four teams that have a legitimate shot at winning a title. That was not the case in the 90's. A lot of teams had viable title aspirations. Hell, even my Seattle Super Sonics made it to finals led by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. Yeah, they lost to the Bulls, but Payton and Kemp didn't decide the next season to join Jordan and the Bulls, they wanted to beat him. A rivalry was born. But, that is not the case in today's NBA and Kevin Durant is the latest player that is considering forming a super team.

If the Thunder lose tonight, which I think they will, I've read that Durant will leave and sign with either the Wizards or the Lakers. It would be hilarious if he signs with the Lakers because they are a long way away from competing for anything at all. The Lakers also have no point guard and Durant is currently playing with one of the best point guards, Russell Westbrook, in the league. Then there is the Wizards. Yeah, they have John Wall, but Westbrook is much better than John Wall, and he would be playing for Scotty Brooks again. This too would be a dumb move. I've heard the Celtics, that's a pipe dream, the Warriors, no way they blow up this historically good team and the Spurs, they don't need Durant, as possible suitors as well. He won't join any of those teams.

The only one that seems likely is the Wizards. This is like LeBron with the whole homecoming thing, but Durant doesn't have the clout and the Wizards front office is too stingy to let him form a super team, a la LeBron getting Kevin Love and ridding the Cavs roster of anyone he didn't like. Durant just doesn't have that power. He will be forced to play alongside John Wall, who I like, but he also will be playing with Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris. I'd much rather play with Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams if I had the choice.

To the people saying that he doesn't like playing with Westbrook and that Westbrook is the reason they get beat, shut up with that nonsense. Russell Westbrook is incredibly frustrating to watch, but he has played incredible in these playoffs. Durant, not Westbrook, lost that game Saturday night. He shot them out of any chance to close that game out. So, for Durant to leave and blame it on the front office and Westbrook would be a cowards way out.

I love Durant, he is my favorite player in the NBA, but this whole nonsense of leaving the Thunder to form another super team is a joke and cowardly. Stay in OKC and help build something special. The Thunder have been excellent these playoffs, and if they stick together, they could be a dominate team for years to come. Just give it, at least, one more season in OKC with Westbrook, Ibaka, Adams and everyone else on that roster. Durant, you will not regret it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not take a vacation when a game 7 is on. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Kirk Reflects on the Present and Future of Meditation

Embrace Serenity

According to Wikipedia, Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or for the mind to simply acknowledge its content without becoming identified with that content, or as an end in itself.

Meditation is often associated with Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, or Hinduism. While it certainly has its roots in religion, what intrigued me was some studies done around different aspects of meditation. While there were some very flawed studies on meditation beginning in the 1950s, there is a growing subfield of neurological research that focuses on the processes and effects of meditation. Using fMRI and EEG to peer into the bodies and minds to see what happens while meditating and which changes occur to those who meditate regularly.

Meditation can refer to a variety of different practices, but most research that I see focuses on a type commonly known in Western society as mindfulness. Mindfulness is described in Bhante Henepola Gunaratana’s Mindfulness in Plain English as “a state of presence of mind which concerns a clear awareness of one's inner and outer experiences, including thoughts, sensations, emotions, actions or surroundings as they exist at any given moment”. Personally, until I started the practice myself, it was hard to wrap my head around exactly what mindfulness is. The closest I can come to describing my own experience is to say that it is being present in the experience of the moment and holding that presence without judgement of it.

Research has shown both physical and mental benefits to the practice of mindfulness. According to a study published in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, depression was significantly reduced in patients with three or more previous episodes after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).  Another intervention known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has shown promise in helping with physical conditions such as chronic pain. A study from the Journal of Behavioral Medicine shows that during a ten week program using MBSR statistically researchers noted statistically significant drops in present-moment pain, negative body image, inhibition of activity by pain, mood disturbance, anxiety and depression. As a result there was a decline in pain medication use and a rise in level of activity and feelings of self-esteem. Many of the participants of the study remained compliant with meditation as part of their daily lives in the 15-month followup.

Another area where mindfulness can be helpful is in focusing attention. One area shown to improve is sustained attention where those who meditate are better mentally prepared to complete a task. Selective attention is another area where meditators are better able to limit their attention to a specific sensory input. Lastly, executive control attention, the type of attention that we use to inhibit distraction, is improved through practicing meditation.

Many benefits are to be gained by using meditation, but there have been some adverse effects reported as well. In the case of some with certain psychiatric conditions, there have been reports of worsening symptoms. However, these cases have been very rare and more research needs to be done in those cases. It is also worth noting that meditation is not suggested to be used as a replacement for conventional intervention or an excuse to delay seeing a doctor, but there is little risk in giving it a try.

We cannot hope to improve our physical attributes without exercising the associated parts of our body. Similarly, we cannot hope to improve our mental attributes without exercising our mind through examination of our consciousness and learning to become in tune with how we experience awareness in the present moment.

As far as my personal experience with meditation is concerned, I have noticed changes in myself since I started regular meditation in January of this year. Less depressive thoughts, more patience, more empathy, less distraction, a stronger sense of interconnection, and decreased substance use are just some of the changes may have been influenced in part by my experiences in meditation. I have also made conscious efforts in these areas and self-educated through a lot of reading, but I certainly feel that these efforts have been aided by taking a daily time for myself in meditation. The key has been regularity.

If you think you could benefit from some of these effects, perhaps meditation is worth a try. There is little risk and if you find that after trying it for awhile that it is not for you, it is no harder to stop than regular physical exercise.

Have you tried or been interested in meditation? Let me know more about your own experiences in the comments.

Kirk Aug

Kirk is busy finding ideas, and technology, that will improve the world around us. Follow him on twitter @kirkaug.

DeAndre Jordan Does Not Belong on the NBA First Team

DeAndre Jordan should not even be warming the first team's bench

Yesterday the NBA released their all NBA teams. The teams were pretty much what we all expected. The first team had LeBron, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard and DeAndre Jordan. The second team had Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Damien Lillard, Boogie Cousins and Chris Paul. The third, and final team, had Klay Thompson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul George, Andre Drummond and Kyle Lowry.

They got it right for the most part.

As far as snubs go, maybe flip Durant and Westbrook, but I don't think it really matters, they are both great and they both deserve a spot. Anthony Davis was hurt, but when he was in there, he was great, and he lost 24 million dollars by not making the team. If Kyle Lowry made all NBA, I think DeMar DeRozan deserved equal consideration. Other than that, they got everything right except for one humongous, glaring, gaping hole on that first team.

How on Earth does a player like DeAndre Jordan make first team all NBA? He shouldn't be on any of these all NBA teams. All he is good for is rebounding and dunking. His defense isn't anywhere near elite. His offense is a joke. His free throw shooting is even worse. His demeanor on the court is garbage. He carries himself so poorly. He isn't even the best player on his team. He isn't even the second best player on his team. When you look at the other first team players, those players were the best players on their team this year, and yes, Westbrook was better all year than Durant, that is a fact. DeAndre Jordan is way behind Chris Paul, and even though he is an abusive man child that whines and complains and blames everything on everyone else and never comes up big when the Clippers need him most, Blake Griffin is still better than DeAndre Jordan. Hell, guys like Paul Pierce, Jamal Crawford, and at times, even Jeff Green were more crucial to the Clippers than DeAndre Jordan.

DeAndre Jordan is a problem for this Clippers team. He cannot be counted on late in games because his low post game is non existent and his free throw shooting is the worst that I have ever seen. He is worse than Drummond. Hell, he is a worse free throw shooter than Rajon Rando, and Rajon Rando is a garbage free throw shooter. His defense is not nearly as threatening as it was a year or two ago. People attacked him way more this year and would score or draw fouls on him more often than him getting a block or altering the shot. And on offense, unless it is a lob from Chris Paul for an alley oop, he is completely useless. He is a poor screener. He rolls away from the rim way too often on pick and rolls. He cannot move in the low post. He can't shoot free throws, so he obviously is no threat to shoot jumpers. When he gets the ball in the high post, he is so quick to give it up for fear of getting fouled, or having the ball stolen from him. He is a problem on this Clippers team when they have to run half court offense.

With all those problems, the people that vote on all NBA put DeAndre Jordan on the first team. What a joke. Why was he even considered? Is it the LA thing? Since the Lakers are a dumpster fire, do the writers, most of whom live in LA, feel like they need to have someone, no matter how crappy they are, from an LA team be on the all NBA first team? That's not fair. With DeAndre Jordan being first team all NBA, I'm surprised these dip shit voters didn't put Kobe Bryant on any of the all NBA teams. Then, to vote DeAndre Jordan over guys like Boogie Cousins, LMA, Andre Drummond, what a crock and slap in their faces. LaMarcus Aldridge completely overhauled his game to fit in with the Spurs, and they were a great regular season team, due to him and Kawhi Leonard. LMA definitely deserved that spot more than Jordan. While Andre Drummond is an equally terrible free throw shooter, he is a much better rebounder, defender, low post threat and teammate than Jordan will ever be. I'd take Andre Drummond 10 times out of 10 before I'd take Jordan if I were starting a team and I had to pic between the two of them for my center spot. Then there's Boogie Cousins. While he may be uncoachable and a very tough player to play with, Cousins is the best center in the NBA. He has all the tools that the old time centers had and he can also run and shoot the way the newer bigs can. Boogie Cousins is a tremendous talent that deserves that first team spot so much more than DeAndre Jordan. Cousins is a better rebounder, defender, and is so far ahead of Jordan on offense, it is almost laughable that he didn't get the first team spot. If I were Boogie Cousins I'd take this very personal and go at DeAndre Jordan every shot I get for the rest of my NBA career. Then there are guys that didn't make any all NBA teams that I would take well before I take Jordan. I'd take Anthony Davis, Steven Adams, Serge Ibaka, Bismak Biyombo, Al Horford, Paul Millsap and many more centers and power forwards before I'd even consider DeAndre Jordan.

The love for Jordan needs to stop and stop now. He is a very marginal NBA center. If he did not have Chris Paul throwing him passes, he may be out of the league, that is how overrated I truly think DeAndre Jordan is. The voters got this one terribly wrong. I don't think anyone could pose an argument that would sway me on this. This is a joke and this proves how useless and pointless all these all NBA teams are. Who in the hell cares, all the fans know who are the best players in the league, and Deandre Jordan is not one of the top five. He isn't even one of the top 25 players in the league. What a crock is truly is that he made first team all NBA. He should be getting rewarded for his mediocre play all season. This was a huge mistake.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He looks forward to the day when NBA writers value the players skill more than their geographical location. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Doug Benson Breaks in a New Comedy Club with Some Classic Stand-Up

At least the mics worked well at the new venue

Last night I saw Doug Benson at the new Helium Comedy Club here in Saint Louis. Doug Benson was good, as he always is. He came on stage first, as he always does, and gave us a little taste of comedy before he did his full headlining set. If you have ever seen a live Doug Benson show, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a preview. Benson comes on stage and introduces the show. He usually checks his Twitter feed to see what people in the particular town are tweeting prior to the show. It's Benson's version of crowd work, and it always lands very well. He picked out a few people's tweets, some were there, others were not, and he reads them aloud and answers them with a joke. I really enjoy this part of his show. I like that a headliner like Doug Benson likes to give his crowd a little preamble before the main portion of his show.

Benson then introduced his opener, a very funny comedian from Ohio named Jeremy Essig. Essig did about 15 minutes of pretty decent standup. He joked about one ladies love for Busch beer. He made fun of his age and his hairline. He talked about how he pissed off famed game show host via Twitter, Chuck Woolery. He talked about being in between dreams while falling asleep with the television turned on. It was all pretty funny stuff. I enjoyed this opener.

Then Benson came back on stage to do his 45 minute set. It was very funny, as always. What I like about Doug Benson's stand up is the familiarity of the structure. Every time I have seen Doug Benson live, he usually has the same set up to his jokes, but the meat of the joke and the punchline always evolve. For example, each show I've been to, he always talks about his love for UFC and how he likes that one of the fighters calls himself the "Mexicutioner". He makes a comment how that sounds like a racial slur, but the fighter is actually of Mexican descent. Then, he goes into a new version from that set up. Last night it led into a whole bit about Donald Trump and how backwards and racist that asshole truly is. It was very funny. He also brought up his old movie, "Super High Me", and he had the original test that he took in that movie from 8 years ago. It was funny for how non topical that test has become. He does this at most shows, but his crowd work during this bit last night was incredibly funny. He also talked about his deep love for marijuana, but he always finds a way to make it relevant and funny. Doug Benson's stand up is tried and true. He is a professional that knows what he is doing on the stage.

He ended the show playing one of his games from his excellent podcast, "Doug Loves Movies". He brings up a special guest and last night he brought up Helium's headliner all weekend long, Bert Kreischer. Bert Kreischer is very funny to begin with, but when he is hanging with Doug Benson, he is even funnier and last night was no exception. Benson always rips on his lack of movie knowledge and he did it in spades last night. They played Last Man Stanton last night where the contestants have to name as many movies as possible from one actor, actress or director. The subject was Clint Eastwood last night and the game lasted longer than I thought it would, but that was good. The competitors were all very good, with Kreischer being the lone exception. This was just as funny as the rest of the set and it was an excellent ending to a very good show last night.

The only gripe I have, and it is very tiny, Helium is still very new. The staff seemed to have a hard time getting everyone seated at the start, delaying the show by 15 minutes and the waiters and waitresses were a bit too loud for my liking, but that is so small, I don't think it made too much of a dent. I still had a very good time. Helium is going to be the new spot for comedians here in Saint Louis because it is a genuine comedy club and I'm sure they will iron out any future problems with ease. Anyway, Doug Benson was hilarious as always and I'm glad I went to the show. I had a great time and I really enjoy seeing him do his stand up live. Doug Benson is a must see stand up for live comic fans.

ed note: The opening comedian spells his last name Essig, not Essec. Our fast fingers need to be accompanied by slower eyes. We apologize and have fixed the error.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He fulfilled his two drink minimum last night with a couple of no gin and all tonics. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

What the Death of Dave Mirra Tells us about all Sports

We should study CTE, not just lay blame

It was recently released that deceased BMX biker Dave Mirra had CTE at the time of his suicide. This is a tragic event that could have been stopped had Mirra gotten the correct medical attention. He clearly had a lot of demons in his closet and he had some brain trauma from all the trick bike riding he did in his life. This was an avoidable tragedy.

The reason for my blog today is how little coverage this story is getting on major sports networks. Once again, the Fox Sports and ESPN's of the world are criminally under reporting this story, and I think it has to do with Mirra's chosen profession. Had he been a football player, this story would be reported on ad nauseam. I know that this is a touchy subject, but dammit, all the pro and non pro athletes that suffer from CTE deserve as much coverage as all football players get when they die and their brains are studied and it's found that they have CTE.

ESPN and Fox Sports have not stopped talking about Junior Seau's untimely suicide, and they strictly blame it all on football. Well, Seau chose to play football. He was very good at football and he turned it into a hall of fame career, but when he took his own life, the people that are trying to rid the world of football strictly blamed it all on the hits he took on the field. Yes, that is the main cause of the brain trauma, but there has to be some other things, non football related things, that went into his suicide. I don't think he woke up with a football headache one day and decided it was time to punch out, I'm pretty positive there were some other things going on.

The people that want football outlawed are on a mission to make this game seem so violent that it causes people to take their own lives. They want everyone else to think that the only reason former football players do the weird and violent things they do is because of all the hits they took and nothing else. I understand that football is a violent game, it's meant to be, but the people that play know what they are getting themselves into. You go into football knowing the possible repercussions. I knew when I played that I could get concussions or broken limbs or tear muscles, it was a part of the game.

I also played baseball and basketball, and let me tell you, I could have gotten just as badly injured playing those other two sports. I was a pitcher in baseball, and any time I stepped on a mound, I could have been hit in the head with a 100 mile per hour line drive. I've seen in real time, and on TV, pitchers get hit in the face and it is not pretty. There is so much blood and blurred vision and, sometimes, even loss of consciousness. Basketball, while I think it is the most athletic of any sport I have ever played, there are many times I have banged my head on the hardwood floor, or was smacked across the face and head by an opposing player, or I was hit in the face with a basketball coming at me at a decent speed, all those things and more. I knew those risks and I still chose to play. But, no one ever bad mouthed me for playing baseball or basketball the way they did when I played football. Baseball and basketball where never considered as dangerous as football was. The people that didn't like me playing football said that I would get injured and I would suffer headaches the rest of my life and I would be sore and my knees and legs would hurt forever, but, I have more soreness from basketball in my knees and legs than I do from football. Baseball was more terrifying to me because of the constant threat of a smoked liner back to my face than someone blind side blocking me in a football game.

Football was, and is, dangerous, but it is no more dangerous than baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or now even, BMX. Hockey and soccer are just as violent as football. The players helmets in hockey are so much smaller and have such little padding, I bet way more hockey players than football players suffer from CTE, but it never gets covered like football. I instruct young kids in soccer, and I have seen so many of them take a soccer ball to the face, and I think, at least they aren't pros, because that would have been a concussion, but no one bad mouths soccer. Soccer is the most played sport among kids in the US, and I bet a ton of retired soccer players suffer from CTE from taking too many soccer balls to the face or from doing headers, but it never gets reported. Even cheerleading is so much more risky than football. At any moment, while doing a human pyramid, or a drop from a twist or flip, you can be dropped directly on your head. I can almost guarantee that current and former cheerleaders greatly suffer from CTE.

To bring it all back to my original point, we now see that BMX can have just as dangerous results as football. No one would have ever thought that Dave Mirra would have CTE. Hell, I barely knew anything about Mirra until I heard that he had taken his own life. It is a tragedy and my heart goes out to his friends and family, but why won't ESPN talk about him and what happened more? He was a legend in his particular sport, and the only thing ESPN has done is put on their crawl that he committed suicide and that he had CTE. They have done little to nothing as far as an anchor talking about Mirra and the demons he had, and his CTE. BMX has always looked dangerous to me. Those bike riders do some of the most daring and reckless stunts that I have ever seen. I get nervous going down a big hill on my bike, so to see these pro BMXers do things like flips and twists and jumps off humongous ramps, it was equal parts exciting and terrifying to me. I always thought that it was dangerous, but it was also pretty cool. Then, as I got older, I noticed that the helmets and the padding these riders wore weren't that protective. BMXers looked like they cared a bit more about cool looking pads that actual protective pads. Whenever they took a fall, I was very worried that the riders wouldn't get up. When they did get up, they looked woosy and wobbly. They clearly had a concussion, but they kept going back out there. I know a lot of people bad mouth the NFL's concussion protocol, but if these BMXers could go out and do a stunt an hour after a brutal fall, what was their concussion protocol like?

I would hope that channels like Fox Sports and ESPN would give this more coverage and explain the dangers involved in BMX riding after what may be their biggest star ever takes their own life, but they instead want to focus on what Johnny Manziel is doing or how the Yankees are playing or who is LeBron blaming now. It's sickening that they have barely covered the Dave Mirra tragedy at all. They have all but pushed it to the side and that is sad. If the Fox Sports and the ESPN's of the world are going to continue to tell us how dangerous football is, they need to tell us how dangerous every other sport is. There is danger everywhere you go when you choose to play sports, it's not just in football. The big wigs at the big channels need to inform the general public of this. It is their job and they are doing shitty work. They may want to end football, but former pro athletes, in every pro sport, most likely has some form of CTE, and until they get the same coverage, the war against football will wage on. That is a sad state of affairs. It's tragic that Dave Mirra took his life, but it's disrespectful and tasteless the way that the major sports channels and media outlets are barely talking about it. It's truly a shame.

RIP Dave Mirra.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest American Band Debate: Nirvana

For the greatest American band today, I'm going to go back to the grunge era. Grunge was pretty pivotal in my life. I was a pre teen and teenager right when the music style became huge. Grunge was a newer style of music that I had never heard before and I was into it. I liked the drums, guitars and the gruff singing that came along with it and it got no better than Nirvana.

Nirvana may be the greatest grunge band of all time. They are definitely the most influential, and I don't think that is arguable at all. Nirvana exploded on the scene with their mega hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". This was like no other song that I had ever listened to before. The guitar would start out kind of slower and quiet, then it would build and get much more rough, in a good way, and Kurt Cobain would squeal the chorus. That chorus, while it may be impossible to know exactly what Cobain was singing, is the most memorable chorus from the 90's, in my opinion. The video was pretty groundbreaking as well. The band playing in a school gym with some cheerleaders and kids dancing to this very gloomy song about the plight of teenagers. The video was sad, but it was made to be sad. The teenagers were brain dead, that is what the song is essentially about.

After seeing the video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit", I needed to hear more music from this band. I was very intrigued by their sound. They only released three albums of original music, but I only ever bought two of them. "Bleach" was put out a few years before "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit it big, but I never really listened to that record. But "Nevermind", that was where it was at. That record is wonderful. It is the best grunge album, hands down. It takes every good thing about grunge music and makes it truly great. There is obviously "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the record, but there is some other big time hits on that record. Songs like "Come As You Are", "Lithium", "On a Plain", "Drain You" and "Polly". Let us not forget their 20 minute epic, it's actually 13 minutes, then 10 minutes of silence, to close out the album, "Something in the Way". That song is their best Velvet Underground impression, and it sounds like something that could have easily been on "White Light, White Heat". But, those other songs I mentioned, they are grunge classics. They use distortion and loud drums and exceptional bass playing and Cobain's perfectly written lyrics are phenomenal. The songs on this record are, by far, the best music of the entire grunge era. Nirvana came at the exact right time and they capitalized on their gift for writing and playing grunge music.

Once Nirvana had the enormous success that was "Nevermind", they released "In Utero" two years later, and that album is also very fantastic. There are some mega hits on that record as well. "In Utero" has songs like "Heart Shaped Box", "Dumb", "Pennyroyal Tea" and "All Apologies". I mean, come on, those are some massive hits just two short years apart. No matter if you like or dislike Kurt Cobain, you have to admit, he was one of the greatest songwriters of all time. He had a knack for writing some touching, yet very sad and very gloomy music, and in the early 90's, that's what the people wanted to hear. Most people were sick of bubble gum pop and how boring and generic rock and roll had become, but then here came this band singing and playing sad, touching and poignant music, and the majority of the country was enthralled. The video for "Heart Shaped Box" was almost as weird and scary as Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", but both of those songs were great. I prefer "Heart Shaped Box", but that's just me. "Pennyroyal Tea" is a beautifully written and played song. It is one of my all time favorite Nirvana songs. "All Apologies" may be the saddest song to ever make the top ten of the Billboard charts. That song is heart wrenching, but damn if that chorus is not catchy as hell.

With "Nevermind" and "In Utero", it seemed like Nirvana was going to be making great music for many years to come. But, Kurt Cobain took his own life, if that is what you choose to believe, because he couldn't handle the fame. I'm going to go on a bit of a rant here, but I don't think, for one single second, that he killed himself. At the time of his death, Cobain was married to another musician, Courtney Love, and I firmly believe that she was incredibly jealous of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain's fame, and I will go to my grave believing that she had something to do with the death of Cobain. I am not the only one who believes this. She couldn't handle the fact that her significant other was so much more successful and, quite frankly, better at making music than her.  Cobain's death gave her immediate fame and people came to her defense and started talking about how good her band, Hole, was. Courtney Love became the poster child for someone that lost someone they loved way too soon and she started to get more acting jobs and Hole was a band that everyone wanted to play at their venue or their festival. Many people think Courtney Love did something, I don't know if she actually killed him, but I have my thoughts. You will never shake my belief of this.

After Cobain's untimely death, the remaining members of Nirvana, who are the exceptional Krist Novaselic and the still working Dave Grohl, released a couple of albums posthumously. A lot of them are straight up greatest hits records, but they released their "MTV's Unplugged" record almost right after his death, and that record is incredible. The band was stripped down and they did mostly covers and it is one of the best records of all time. It is, by far, the best of the entire "Unplugged" series. Kurt Cobain, who was usually stand offish and quiet and could even be mean during one on one interviews, seemed to be happy and was cracking jokes and playing and singing some great, great songs. Cobain seemed at peace doing this unplugged sets. That record is exceptional and everyone should go out, buy it and listen to it right now. You will be amazed at how great of a band Nirvana truly was.

I don't know any other word to describe him, but Cobain was a musical genius. He had a knack for written lyrics and composing music. He was the lynchpin to Nirvana being as famous as they were. The other members of the band were very talented as well. Krist Novaselic was and is a great bass player. He can play almost any style of music and play it well. He is one of the better bass players of all time. He is still making music to this day as well. Then there is Dave Grohl. Everyone that has heard any music knows something about Dave Grohl. He is the front man for Foo Fighters. He has produced many metal bands, especially RD's favorite, Probot. He has a great HBO series that is all about the roots and start of music. He has done tons of things with Tenacious D. Basically, Dave Grohl is one of rock and roll's hardest working men. And he is pretty darn good at making and playing music.

Look, we couldn't do this debate without adding Nirvana. I feel like, as the millennial of the website, it would be best that I write about them because they were so influential in my formative years. I love Nirvana and they are definitely one of America's greatest bands of all time. I do not think anyone will disagree with me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He may buy into some conspiracy theories surrounding Nirvana, but he does not buy that Kurt Cobain faked his own death and is really Rivers Cuomo. That is just silly. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty got His Very Own BB-8 and You Should Too

The Droid you are looking for

I very recently just saw all 7 Star Wars movies. I like 4 of the 7, I hated the prequels with a fiery passion, but I'm not going to write more about the movies today. I'm actually going to write about a toy from "The Force Awakens" that I am now obsessed with.

My son just recently got a BB-8 toy that may be the coolest toy that I have ever seen or played with. This thing is absolutely awesome. It has different levels of usage that make this toy even better. You can put it in test mode and it does everything that it did in the box at the store, basically, a mini preview of all of its functions. But, there are two other settings. When you put the BB-8 toy on setting 1, it moves based on sounds. So, if you clap, laugh, yell, talk, cough, basically any noise, BB-8 moves. BB-8 will roll to wherever it hears the sound. BB-8 moves to me when I cough. The first time it happened, it scared the hell out of me. I didn't know what I did, but I know I had done something. My son came out of his room clapping and BB-8 followed him wherever he went, if he was clapping. This too scared my son. When my wife got home from work and was laughing at something, and wouldn't you know it, that little robot moved to my wife. She was the only one not scared, she laughed very hard at it. Then, my dog was barking at some kids or cars driving outside our house and BB-8 made a beeline for him. This terrified my dog. He is still terrified of it whenever it moves. This is quite funny to all of us. Now, mind you, this is all on setting 1 only. This is so cool. This new BB-8 toy is sensitive to noise to a fault, but when it works and moves, it is so awesome to see and marvel at. I love it.

Later I was introduced to setting 2. I did not know that this setting existed until my wife showed it to me. This is the best part of this toy. Setting 2 allows you to operate BB-8 with your voice. This is groundbreaking. This is incredible. The whole point is to talk to BB-8, much like Poe Dameron, Finn and Rey do in the movie. BB-8 reacts so much better to your voice than to the sounds like clapping and the such. You put on setting 2, and BB-8 just sits and waits for you, with the blue light blinking. So, I was sitting there and my wife told me to try it out. I looked at BB-8 and I said, out loud, "Come here BB-8", and wouldn't you know it, BB-8 came right to my feet. Then, my son said the same thing I did and BB-8 rolled on over to him. My wife said it, and here comes BB-8, ready to help out anyway it can. I was enthralled by this. I started trying out different sayings, stuff like, "What's up BB-8", or "How's it hanging BB-8", or even, in my angriest voice, "get over here BB-8", and BB-8 rolls over, ready for it's next instruction. This was so damn cool to me.

Toys have become so much better and so much cooler and way more innovative since I was a kid, and I think it's great. I would have never thought that a toy could be activated by a sound or my voice, but I have to say, I think it's fantastic. This toy is so great to have fun with your family, friends and to harass your house pets. The best part about this toy is how much I can mess with my dog with it. Charlie hates this thing, but it is so much fun to see him try and paw at BB-8, or when he gets really angry, watch him lose his mind and bark his face off at this toy until he gets tired. That alone was worth getting this toy, just so I can mess with my dog. I highly recommend buying this toy. Star Wars fans will love this toy, but I think people that like new age toys will really have a good time with BB-8. This toy is great and I cannot say enough good things about. This toy only makes me like "The Force Awakens" that much more and I loved that movie. Go buy this BB-8 toy now and your life will instantly get one thousand times better. I promise you this.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This is the second best toy he has ever seen, falling behind his beloved Funzo. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Thunder are Winning by Taking Draymond Green Out of the Series

Basketball shoes were designed for running, not kicking

I am sure many of you NBA fans all think Draymond Green should be suspended for kicking Steven Adams in the crotch during game three of the Western Conference Finals last night. I agree that Green should miss at least one game, he totally did it on purpose, just look at the follow through after the foul was called, but I'm not going to write about why I think he should be suspended, I'm going to write about how, for the very first time in his young career, Draymond Green is being over matched and having a difficult time guarding multiple positions, which he has done so well since the Warriors emerged as the best team in the NBA.

Guarding multiple positions was Draymond Green's thing. He could go out and guard the point and 2 guards, then use his muscle to guard bigger opponents. He made Mozgov obsolete in the Finals last year. Green has shut down guys like Anthony Davis, Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love and many other big men. He has also had some success against smaller guys like Kawhi Leonard, Damien Lillard and Jimmy Butler. Basically, when he was asked to guard someone, he found some way to stop them, no matter if they were bigger and stronger or shorter and faster.

Part of what made him successful at doing this was his mouth. Teams need players like that if they are going to contend. Everyone has that one player that is a great trash talker. Sometimes its' the best player on the team, like the Bulls dynasty. No one was a better trash talker than Michael Jordan. Sometimes it's the second best player on the team, like the 90's Sonics and Gary Payton. He was a world class trash talker. There's also guys like Kevin Garnett, Wilt Chamberlin, Bill Russell, the list could go on and on. That was one thing that Draymond Green has that has set him apart, but there is something about this Thunder team, and mainly Steven Adams, that Draymond Green cannot figure out, and he is letting his frustration boil over, and it is making him play way below his skill level.

Now, I, like almost everyone else, enjoy this Warriors team, with Green being the lone exception. I think he is in the perfect situation for his skill set. Had he left this team last year in free agency, he'd be a marginal all star, at the very best. But, I'm a Thunder fan through and through. That is my team. I have mentioned multiple times that I was a Sonics fan as a kid and I followed the team when they moved to Oklahoma City. So, the fact that one of their players, who is not an offensive threat by any stretch of the imagination, is getting in Draymond Green's head, that makes me very happy. Steven Adams has lodged a permanent spot in Green's brain, and no matter how many times he tries to say it doesn't bug him, just watch the way Green carries himself on the court when Adams is out there, it's affecting him. Draymond Green has been more whiny and way less effective on defense every time that Adams steps onto the court. This all started in game one when Green was ice cold from the field and OKC switched every pick and roll. They basically let Green stay wide open if he was more than 10 feet from the hoop, and that clearly bothered Green. He was a non factor in game one, but the moment he hit one three on Adams in game two, he was yelling and screaming in Adams face. He had given some cheap shots in the first two games of the series as well.

Green, in my opinion, thinks he has to have the biggest bark because it will scare these bigger, slower, non offensive threat guys into turnovers. Well, the opposite has happened with Adams. Steven Adams has looked incredible in this series so far. He isn't scoring at some high clip, but he is rebounding, playing tremendous defense and he is in Draymond Green's head. Steven Adams is doing to Green what Green has done to other guys that are much better than Steven Adams. Last night was the big indicator that Green is playing mad, and that makes him play poorly. When Green went up for that shot, he was clearly fouled, but I think he figured he could get a cheap shot in, a la Kobe Bryant flaling his legs on every jumper he ever took. When Green followed through and kicked Adams squarely in the balls, I was at first doubled over in pain myself because that looked like it hurt like hell, but being an OKC fan, I was happy because I knew that Green would be off his game the rest of the night. To kick someone in the balls, that is defenseless, that is about as low class as you can get in the NBA, And his nonsense about not doing it on purpose that he has been spewing today, stop it with that. We all saw it and no one follows through unless they are intending to hurt someone. I'd have so much more respect for him if he just admitted he did it on purpose, but we know that won't happen.

After the incident last night, Draymond Green, and the Warriors for that matter, were toast. at that point, it was a 10 point game, but the Thunder never looked back after that. And to prove the fact that Adams and the incident are still affecting Green, look at his performance the rest of game three. Every time he rolled on the Warriors deadly pick and roll play, he either blew a layup, was blocked or was complaining to officials that he was fouled. There was one instance where he rolled, got the ball and Durant, who is not known for his defensive presence, jumped straight up in the air and nearly pinned the ball on the backboard. Then, to make matters worse for Green, with his team down by what seemed a million before halftime, he had one of the worst shooting fouls I have ever witnessed in a basketball game. Russell Westbrook threw up a three quarters court shot with less than 2 seconds left and Green barreled into him like it was game seven of the finals and they needed the ball back. Westbrook stepped to the line and buried all three free throws to put OKC up by 25 at halftime. In the second half Dion Waiters blew right by his defender, met Green at the hoop and dunked on his head. Dion Waiters posterized Draymond Green. That is a sentence I never thought I would write. Dion Waiters is a very average NBA player, and to dunk on someone that people consider to be one of the best defenders in the game right now, that is downright embarrassing.

I feel like it's a combination of a lot of things, but I think it mainly boils down to one simple fact, Draymond Green may not be this elite defender and one of the best players in the NBA. I know a lot of NBA writers, very respectable ones at that, think he is an MVP candidate, but he has looked very mediocre against a bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic team. He cannot bang with OKC's big men and he cannot guard their quicker players, they are too fast for him, even Dion Waiters. The Warriors need his best to beat OKC, and I think they still win this series, but if Green continues to play like he has, it will be very tough sledding for the real players that matter on the Warriors. And no, that list doesn't necessarily include Draymond Green. Not with the way he has played so far. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He knows bush league basketball because he has played in the rough and tumble world of rec league basketball for over a decade. Ty is on twitter, go follow him @tykulik.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Empire of Dirt

Time for some rehab on DNC HQ

Current Democratic National Committee chairwomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz is not a very popular person these days. Vermont Senator, and current candidate for President of the United States, Bernie Sanders has endorsed the challenger in the Florida Congresswoman's Democratic primary. Most of the reports surrounding her tenure as the DNC chairwoman have not been flattering. The Democratic party has lost an extraordinary amount of down ticket races since the chairwoman took over the DNC. Many of the millennial voters who identify as Democrats view her unfavorably. Even Bill Moyers, a highly respected member of the Democratic Party intelligentsia, has repeatedly called on the chairwoman to resign. With so much discord, and an awful electoral track record, what kind of influence can Debbie Wasserman Shultz have in the 2016 election?

To the dismay of many democrats, Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz is one of the most powerful people in the current election cycle. Her influence has already helped steer the party in helping to make Hillary Clinton the party's Presidential nominee. During the early days of the 2016 primary season, Wasserman Schultz worked to get the number of Democratic Presidential Candidate debates very limited. Many political insiders felt that the debates hurt Clinton in the 2008 primaries. By reducing the number of debates, many felt that the DNC was trying to save Secretary Clinton from making any mistakes that could alienate Democratic Party voters. In one of the first DNC sponsored debates, Clinton did slip up by blindly defending Wall Street when the she was questioned about her ties to big money. This early slip up has stayed with Clinton the entire primary season. Any more debates would lead to more slip ups. 

Once the DNC and Chair Wasserman Schultz were called out on their obvious tactics to help Secretary Clinton, more debates were added. These new debates were scheduled at times not known for being friendly to television audiences. The Chairwoman was called out again for being biased towards the Clinton campaign, and once again the DNC was losing support of many Democratic voters.

Chair Wasserman Schultz influence is strongest through the use of party money and the superdelegates. The Democratic Party has used superdelegates, party insiders who get a vote at the convention to elect a Presidential candidate, since 1980. In 2008 Senator Clinton was trying to use superdelegates as a tool to give her campaign a narrow victory in the primary. At the same time Senator Obama was collecting more state primary wins and talking about the will of the people. Once Senator Obama had a majority of voters, the superdelegates were obliged to switch their support. Wasserman Schultz was a co chair to the 2008 Clinton campaign, and in 2016 the use of superdelegates is once again a key Clinton strategy. Senator Sanders won over 60% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, yet all six of the state's superdelegates have pledged their support for Clinton. Why would these Democratic party insiders go against a large majority of their own voters?

Money is almost always the answer to why someone would do something against their own people. Under Chair Wasserman Schultz, the DNC has been virtual bankrupt. The chairwoman seems more interested in raising money for her own campaign, which she always wins with relative ease, than she does with raising money for the national party.  The only thing seemingly keeping the DNC financially afloat is the influx of money coming from the Clinton campaign's victory fund. The use of a victory fund means a candidate can pool large amounts of money from a single donor. No more separate checks for the primary, party, and general election. The victory fund allows these high dollar donors to write one big check. Secretary Clinton created a victory fund in conjunction with the DNC. The money raised is then distributed by the DNC to state party leaders. The large majority of these state leaders have pledged their support to the Clinton campaign. The New Hampshire Democratic party received $124,000 from the Clinton / DNC victory fund. Senator Sanders, like President Obama in 2008, does not a victory fund in conjunction with the DNC.

The undemocratic methods being employed by Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz is not the only reason many in the Democratic party want her to resign. The horrible record of getting democrats elected around the country has been a mighty thorn in the chairwoman's side. Since 2011, Democrats have lost an incredible amount of ground in municipal, state, and congressional races. The Ohio Problem has become a national problem under the leadership of Debbie Wasserman Schultz. What used to be seen as unelectable candidates, such as Matt Bevin in Kentucky, have been winning races because the incompetence at the DNC. The Democratic party is not embracing a new and young generation of leaders. The current practices of the DNC are turning off the next generation of voters. The Democratic Party is facing an extinction event thanks to Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz.

Under the leadership of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic Party has a name, and no real substance. The Democratic Party is an empire of dirt. It is time to rebuild with new, younger, and inspired leadership. This new leadership needs to embrace a whole country approach to the Democratic Party. The President can not make any real change without a Congress of like minded people. The Supreme Court will not be full unless the majority is run by grown ups who understand how the process works. The States will only thrive when their citizens are put ahead of out of state rich donors. Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz has watched the party decay. It is time for her to go so new leaders can build a better, more inclusive, future.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are you running for office? Let SeedSing tell your story.

Last Generation Gamer: NBA Jam

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

Today I'm going to talk about what I consider to be the greatest sports video game of all time. Now, first off, I do not play a whole lot of video games. When it comes to non sports games, I played stuff like Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Brothers and fighting games(i.e., Streetfighter, Tyson's Punchout and Tekken).But, I used to play mainly sports games when I played video games. Tecmo Bowl was the very first football video game I played and fell in love with. Then, Madden came out and that was the greatest thing ever. I'm not a hockey or soccer fan, but I played a ton of Blades of Steel and Fifa on any system I could. I'm not a golfer, but I love me some Wii golf. I played a lot of baseball games on various systems. I loved all the EA baseball games that were released for the Xbox and PlayStation. I was a huge fan of early baseball games like RBI Baseball and the Ken Griffey Jr baseball game for the Nintendo.

Then, I found basketball video games and college football. First of all, this was the hardest part when I was debating the best sports game of all time in my head the other day. I loved, and was pretty damn good at, NCAA Football for the PlayStation and the Xbox. That was my jam. I figured that game out pretty early on and I was dominant. Just ask our editor RD about my acumen at NCAA Football (Ed note: Ty has a cheat code). He has thrown more than one controller at me during games. NCAA Football was the best, until they discontinued the making of the game. That broke my heart. I've heard rumors that they may bring it back, and I hope they do, but I deeply miss that game. That was the one game I would buy on the day it came out. NCAA Football was so much more important to me than games like Halo or World of Warcraft, or whatever other shooter or strategy games that came out that my friends played.

NCAA Football was great, but not the best. I have, for the most part  liked every basketball video game I have played. I love basketball, so it's a natural fit for me. I played a ton of Bird vs. Magic whenever I could get on the Nintendo at home. I adored the game Double Dribble. As I got older I got really into the Streetball series of games they made. RD and I had crazy, epic battles, that where even, at those Streetball games. Those games were a ton of fun. I play, very occasionally, maybe once or twice a year, the NBA2K games. Those are fun, but they are a bit harder than some of the other games I mentioned. But, the game that I keep going back to and continue to play, wherever I can find it, be it my Xbox or my iPhone, is NBA Jam.

NBA Jam is the greatest sports video game that has ever existed. NBA Jam was a genius moment by the creators of that game. I love that it is a 2 on 2 battle with the best players on each team, except for the Bulls. Michael Jordan wouldn't appear on the game because he had his own game, but that is negligent, because NBA Jam still ruled. I remember when it first came out, I was always, and only, the Supersonics. I found out that I could play a video game with my favorite team, with my two favorite players, and I was immediately hooked. The fact that I could be Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp was heaven to me. I would run up and down the court with Payton, freeing space for Kemp, throw Kemp an alley oop, and he would do the most fantastical slam dunk that I could ever dream up. Kemp would grab the ball, put it between his legs, go around his back, put it through his legs and jam it home. And I would do that 50 times a game.

I was pretty damn good with Kemp, Payton and the Sonics, especially when Kemp would catch fire. Everyone that has played the game knows what catching fire means. You make three shots in a row, without the other team making a basket, you are on fire. Being on fire meant that you could make a jumper from almost anywhere on the floor, or if you chose to dunk, you could do things like multiple flips and jump so much higher than anyone trying to defend you. When I would catch fire, I jacked up so many threes from near half court, and they were all cash. When I chose to dunk, it was the best. Catching fire on NBA Jam is the best power up or boost that any video game has ever created.

I played NBA Jam a lot in the 90's on Super Nintendo. When I wasn't the Sonics, I would pick other teams with one small, fast guard and one big leaper that was just as good at blocking shots as they were at dunking. The Magic were great for this with Penny Hardaway and Shaq. You could run with the Knicks with Ewing and John Starks. The Houston Rockets, with Kenny Smith and Hakeem Olajuwon was nearly unstoppable. The 90's era NBA was great for NBA Jam. The teams worked perfectly.

When I went to high school and college, I lost touch with the game. The NBA went through a lull in the early 2000's, and the game wouldn't have been as fun. This also coincided with the 3 or 4 years I stopped watching the NBA because it just wasn't that good. But, as recent as 5 or 6 years ago, I rediscovered NBA Jam while searching for old school games on my iPhone, and I instantly fell back in love. I was also getting heavily back into the NBA at this time as well, so it was kismet. I downloaded the game and I've been playing it ever since. It's really cool with the updated teams and rosters. Now, the best teams are the Warriors, Thunder, Cavs, the Heat and the Spurs. You can run with Curry and Thompson, shoot the lights out from three, especially when you catch fire. The Cavs have LeBron, and he is the greatest player on Earth. Put him with Kyrie Irving and you get that great dual threat of an awesome dunker and blocker with the quick footed, decent enough shooting guard. The Heat have Dwayne Wade and Bosh, pre injury. That gives you two very good shooters, one great defender and Wade gets to the basket with ease on the game. The Spurs have any number of players you could imagine. You can run with Duncan and Parker or LMA and Kawhi or Ginobli and Duncan, basically, the Spurs are really great in the newer NBA Jam. My team is the Thunder. As I said above, I was a Sonics fan, so when they moved to OKC, I followed them. Now, I can play NBA Jam and run with Durant and Westbrook. Durant has a great jump, good for blocking shots and dunking. He can also shoot from outside. Kevin Durant may be the best all around player not named LeBron on the game. Then, you get the fastest player in the NBA, Russell Westbrook, who is also a very good defender in the game. I love running with the Thunder and I have won many virtual titles with them.

What it all comes down to, NBA Jam was the perfect creation for all NBA fans out there. The game isn't that hard to figure out and you don't have to worry about a 5 man team. You get to choose just your two favorite players from your team. It's a perfect sports world. The graphics and the gameplay, as far as sports games goes, is second to none. NBA Jam is at the top of the mountain as far as sports video games, or for that matter, just video games goes. NBA Jam is the best and I'm so glad that they keep making it and keep updating it. I love this game and I will always love this game. Thank you for all the fun you have provided me NBA Jam.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When he could not be the Sonics, Ty would settle for playing as Bill Clinton. Make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Hiring Jeff Hornacek is Phil Jackson's Latest Bad Decision

Another roll of the dice from Phil Jackson

The New York Knicks have reportedly hired Jeff Hornacek as their next head coach. This is an uninspiring hire, in my opinion. What has Hornacek done to deserve this job? Yes, he took a Phoenix Suns team two years ago that was going to tank and had them on the verge of nearly making the playoffs, but look at what happened after they traded away Goran Dragic and Marcus Morris and injuries beset that team. Look at how poorly prepared and how poorly they played this season. They went all in on trying to sign LaMarcus Aldridge, missed out on that, then still tried to cobble together a team that would fight for a 7 or 8 seed in the West. They went out and signed Tyson Chandler to help lure LMA to Phoenix, but that didn't work and they were left with only Chandler. I love Tyson Chandler. He is one of my all time favorite players. I love the tenacity with which he rebounds, plays defense and throws the ball down, but he is old, especially in basketball terms, and his prime is way past him. His prime past his last year in Dallas. I firmly believe that Chandler has a real shot at the hall of fame, but his playing days are all but over, and that pains me. So, to have Chandler as your back up plan to missing out on LMA, that's not great. This isn't to say that signing Chandler was all Hornacek's idea, the front office deserves equal, if not more, blame, but Hornacek still liked the signing enough to agree to it.

Then, the front office broke up the Morris twins. It's been widely talked about that they play best when they are on the same team, but the NBA is a business and trades happen. The fact that it's a business still didn't deter Markieff Morris from acting childish. He was a headache the moment they traded his brother. He said that he would never play in a Suns uniform again before last season started. Then, the season came and he wasn't getting paid, so he stepped back on the court, but he was a malcontent, hell bent on getting traded. He got his wish, but that made the Suns even worse. The head coach of an NBA team is supposed to be able to deal with stuff like this and get the best out of his players. Hornacek did the opposite. He looked defeated the moment Markeiff came back and constantly let his coach have it during timeouts on national TV. There are so many moments from last season where you can see Markieff Morris either yelling, or just plain not listening when Hornacek is talking. He lost control of one of his better players.

Things got even worse in Phoenix when all the injuries happened. Brandon Knight missed more than half the season. Eric Bledsoe was in and out of the lineup. Tyson Chandler was non existent by the middle of the season. This team was a shell of it self before the all star break. They were starting guys like Jon Luer by the middle of the year. Once again, this falls on the front office and the coach. Injuries happen and teams learn to deal and adapt. Last season the Thunder only had Kevin Durant for 22 games, but they still won 45 games. The Cavs lost both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving during the playoffs and they still made the finals. Steph Curry has only played in half the Warriors playoff games, but they are in the conference finals. I know, these are elite teams, but even some lower level teams, the Chicago Bulls for one, have dealt with tons of injuries and they are still somewhat competitive. This did not happen with the Suns. They went into full on tank mode. Hornacek also didn't really help develop his younger big men. Alex Len was a lottery pick three years ago, but he still looks uncomfortable and slow in the NBA. And now, Len is all they have in the low post. The only player on the Suns last year that looked half way decent was 19 year old rookie Devin Booker. Booker is a lights out shooter and looks like he could be a 20 point per game scorer for the length of his career. But, he didn't really start showing true signs of lighting it up until they had let Hornacek go. Booker is also still very green on defense. He has a long way to go before he is a good two way player.

Why did the Knicks, and mainly Phil Jackson, decide that Hornacek was the right guy for their open head coaching job? What has he proved? Did they see something that I didn't see? Are they looking past everything I just mentioned above? Or, has Phil Jackson just totally checked out?

I think Phil Jackson has checked out. I think he figured that Horancek was a "big enough" name to calm his fan base down, but true Knicks fans should not be happy with this hire. Hornacek runs a fast paced, guard heavy offense. Where does that leave guys like Robin Lopez, Derrick Williams and their rookie sensation, Kristaps Porzingis? Porzingis may be the only one who will make the transition, but it will be tough. Then, the guards he is relying upon to run this offense are guys like Sasha Vuvajic, Langston Galloway and Carmelo Anthony. Vuvajic does not belong in the league. He is old, slow and cannot shoot or play defense. Langston Galloway peaked two seasons ago as a rookie on one of the worst Knicks teams ever.

That leaves us with Carmelo Anthony. While he may be one of the better scorers of all time, he has zero interest in playing defense or passing the ball. He is more concerned with his brand as well. And, he is old and way, way, way past his prime. The Knicks would be better off trading him, but that leaves the Knicks roster as bare as the Suns and Hornacek has already proven he can't do much with a mediocre roster. Carmelo is also a very strong personality and we all saw how Hornacek clashes with strong personalities.

What this all boils down to is the fact that Phil Jackson has done much more bad than good since taking that job with the Knicks. He gave Anthony the huge contract. He hired Derek Fisher and then fired him one and a half seasons later. He bad mouthed the selection of Porzingis. He clearly would much rather be in LA, but he chooses to mope and complain in New York and no one will call him on his BS. Well, I'm calling him out. Phil Jackson, you have made one terrible choice after another. Your work in New York is uninspired and crummy and you just gave the head coaching keys to another incapable former player. I do not like this hiring one bit, but Phil Jackson is to blame way more than Jeff Hornacek will be after the Knicks, once again, finish well below .500, out of playoffs and Carmelo Anthony shoots well below 40 percent from the field. Phil Jackson is keeping this once proud franchise, the one he played for, in the gutter of the NBA. The Knicks are a joke and a whipping boy and it is because of the poor decisions that Phil Jackson continues to make. It is sad.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. After the disasters of Isiah Thomas and now Phil Jackson, Ty is wondering when the gypsy curse will be lifted off of the New York Knicks front office. Ty is on twitter and you should follow him @tykulik.

The Greatest American Band Debate: Widespread Panic

SeedSing is filled with music lovers. We can not agree on who is the best band from the States. The Greatest American Band Debate will be a regular feature where we discuss and compare bands who started in the good old USA. If you have any suggestions of bands we should debate Contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

For the greatest American band debate today, I'm going to dip my toes into the jam band scene. Full disclosure, I went through about a decade long jam music obsession, but that time has passed me by now. I can sit through a 2 hour show, at most, now. I do not have the patience I once held for jam music. Also, the band I will be talking about today has put out a lot of very good records, but their studio music is not why I am nominating them, it is for their live performances. They have been on the road for nearly 30 years now and have built a rabid fan base that will follow them from city to city to see them play live. They are in this discussion for the live shows, the touring and the massive fan base they have created, not for studio work. The band I'm going to nominate today is Widespread Panic.

The band Widespread Panic was discussed on the podcast before when I interviewed another brother of mine, Seth, and we talked about his idea of the greatest American bands. Seth is one of the rabid fans that I just spoke of earlier. I was a very big fan for a long time too. Widespread Panic made their name through word of mouth and talk at live shows. They didn't get played on the radio unless it was in their hometown of Athens, Georgia. They weren't widely known to the pop or even rock music listening circles. They didn't have their music videos played on MTV or MTV 2 or even VH1. Widespread was, at least when I heard of them, a band that friends who had seen them play live told you that you had to listen to. I was exposed to them by Seth and my other brother Ross while going through my jam band phase. I had listened to bands like String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, Leftover Salmon and Keller Williams, just to name a few, but none held a candle to when I first heard Widespread Panic. My oldest brother played a live CD of theirs and I was absolutely blown away. They did things that other jam bands didn't do. They played old blues songs. They played old rock songs. They played old funk and R&B songs. Their originals were also fantastic and had their particular sound.

What separated Widespread Panic from other jam bands was the structure behind their epic jams. The jams didn't just go aimlessly in any direction, there was always a flow. They seemed to have their jams almost timed out, they worked that well. Fans knew when it was going to be a certain member of the band's turn to rock out. We knew when the drums would take over for 8 minutes. We anticipated the wonderfully fantastic guitar solos that JB and Mikey would perform. We knew that there was going to be a moment when Schools, the bass player, was going to shine. It all had a specific structure. That's what drew me to this band in the first place. Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident never seemed to have this structure. They played like a poor man's Grateful Dead, and you all know how I feel about Grateful Dead. Their jams were misplaced and misconstrued and unstructured. It was like all the worst things about experimental jazz. But, Widespread Panic did not do that. They always made sure the jam portion flowed within the song and they were always very easily able to return to the bare bones of whatever song they would be performing. This was a very big deal to me back then.

Widespread's live shows were also a thing of beauty. This was the closest I have ever been to that "community" feel that longtime concert goers speak of. Everyone had their place at these shows and everyone was welcome. I'm a jock and a non drinker or smoker of anything, be it tobacco or drugs, but I was never looked at as a square or a narc, I was accepted by these people. They knew that I was there to enjoy the music and they loved that. Sure, I'd venture a guess to say that about 90 to 95 percent of the crowd was stoned, but there was that 5 percent that was just like me, but we were all welcomed with open arms because the music and the show brought us together. Widespread even had tents at their live shows where all the sober people could hang out. I made a lot of concert friends at those shows in those tents. But, we didn't just stay in our tents, we mingled with everyone because everyone was accepted. That is one of the greatest aspects of a live Widespread show, the togetherness of it all. Then, the band would be on stage just absolutely killing it. They would play so many songs and the show would last for 3 to 3 and a half, and sometimes even 4 hours. They were the first band I ever saw live that did an intermission. Usually, after the first drum jam, they'd break for about 45 minutes, this would be 90 minutes into the show, then they'd come back out and play another 90 minutes or 2 hours. It was long, but it was epic and for jam fans, it was the best.

I've seen Widespread Panic at festivals and at outdoor venues like the crummy Riverport here in Saint Louis and the crowd would be very hyped. But, nothing compared to the few times I saw them at the Fox, my favorite concert venue in Saint Louis. The Fox is an old, very nice, very well established venue with a ton of history and beautiful art work everywhere you look. Most of the shows I've seen at the Fox are sit down, respectable shows, but something about Widespread just makes the fans want to get up and move. The Fox was as raucous as I have ever seen it, and it was great. Nobody was sitting in their seats, we were all dancing. I'm pretty quiet and calm at shows, generally I just want to watch the musicians perform, but even I was moving my feet and arms and every other body part because I was into the music. Those shows at the Fox were some of the best that I have ever seen.

Widespread is also the band I have seen the most live. I have seen them 10 times. It was during my jam phase, but I still remember how great and inviting and cool and awesome those shows were. I wouldn't go see them again, but I'm glad I got to see them and I wouldn't change a thing from the past. I have great memories from those shows. I got to go see them in Red Rocks when my brother Seth still lived in Colorado. That place is Mecca for concert goers. Every person that loves live music needs to see a show there, it will change your life. They played everything at those shows too. Their originals are always great, but the covers, those were dynamite. They did some of the best Talking Heads, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield and, my favorite, Robert Johnson covers I have ever heard. They put their unique spin while sticking as close to the source material as possible. The covers were my favorite part of those live shows.

While that jam phase has passed, I still have great memories and I still think Widespread Panic is one of the greatest American bands of all time. As I said before, they have studio albums, but to get the real experience, you have to see them live. Seth told me recently that they aren't going to tour for awhile, but they have said that before and they come back and they sound better than ever. If you like jam music, you have to see Widespread Panic. But, if you are just a casual fan of music, I'd still recommend checking them out because they are truly one of America's greatest bands.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once attended a jam concert and 30 minutes in realized that he had stumbled upon an Insane Clown Posse show. Ty has never been to a jam concert since. There is this thing called twitter, and Ty is on it. Go follow him @tykulik.

Will No Nonsense Nick Saban Take the Cowards Way Out?

Make a choice coach.

Late last night, or depending on how you look at it, early this morning, two Alabama football players were arrested on drug and weapons charges. This isn't the first or the last time this has and will happen at Alabama, but one of the players figures to be a key cog on this years team. In fact, he is a projected starter, preseason All American and will be a first round pick in next years draft. That players name is Cam Robinson and he is a starting offensive lineman on the team, left tackle if I remember correctly. The other player, Hootie Jones, is a back up safety that was expected to compete for a starting job this fall. Jones would, or will, be in the rotation come this fall, but his name doesn't resonate unless you are an Alabama fan or a crazy college football fan, such as myself. Cam Robinson is the big name that is involved in this whole story.

So, first things first, the drug charges. It was weed, and it is a throw away. We as a country just need to decriminalize weed ASAP. It is not a gateway drug. It doesn't cause many ill effects. It just makes you hungry. Now, I'm not a smoker myself, but I know people that enjoy weed and they are very great, very nice, very fun people to be around. They show no signs of being deviants or criminals. They just like to get stoned. The weed charge is dumb and I could care less that these two 20 year olds were getting high.

The weapons, that's another story. I'm very anti gun. I think guns are incredibly dangerous when in the wrong hands. Guns are made to kill or seriously injure people. They are not toys. They are real things that cause real problems. This is where I start to get angry and curious as to what the mighty Nick Saban is going to do. The Jones kid, I wouldn't be surprised if he is kicked off the team, winds up at some junior college and in two years is making his way into the league. Saban will say goodbye to him, but he will catch on elsewhere and, if he is smart and lucky, he will turn his life around and stop playing with guns. Jones will be an afterthought.

The question is what will Saban do with his preseason All American, his QB's blindside blocker, his captain of his enormous offensive line, his next future first round pick? Will he suspend him? Will he make him miss games and practices? Will he cut this kid loose? This is the same head coach that came out and blasted the NCAA for allowing Jim Harbaugh to run satellite camps, stating it was bad for the kids. Will he do what is right for this kid and teach him a lesson, or will he give Robinson a slap on the wrist and only make him miss a few summer practices? If history has taught us anything, I can almost guarantee that Saban lets Robinson slide. Sure, he will make a big deal about giving him a "suspension", something like missing some summer workout sessions, but I would be willing to bet a lot of money that Robinson will be on the starting offensive line when Alabama kicks it's season off in early September. Saban will say he has learned his lesson and that he is a changed kid, But let's be serious, if Robinson were a back up, like Hootie Jones, he'd be kicked off the team. But, since Robinson has all the preseason accolades and acclaim, Saban will, once again, contradict himself and let this kid play. Robinson will not miss a single second of game action.

These kids, and I will assume Robinson was the ringleader, were found with unlicensed weapons in the car. That is a felony. They also had all the weed, but that is a ridiculous charge and hopefully the police let that slide and only focus on the guns. So, why do two twenty year olds need unlicensed firearms? That's one of two main questions, the other being, what will Saban do, but I'm pretty sure I've already answered that and I will answer it some more in my conclusion. I just don't get why these young kids think it's necessary or cool to have guns. There is nothing cool about that at all. Also, they are division one football players, I'm sure they could win any fight physically if need be. They are big dudes that no one would mess with anyway. Some will say, what if someone else pulls a gun on them, and that is a valid point, but that doesn't happen nearly as much as some stupid accident involving guns. I choose to believe that these kids had guns for recreation purposes and not for safety. That's when guns become scary and when something unfortunate happens. These children, and yes they are children, do not need guns ever. They weren't hunting or going to a shooting range or on a skeet shooting team, they had unlicensed guns. They were clearly trying to be cool. They were being idiots. They were acting like spoiled rotten college kids that think they are above the law. They were being stupid.

Now, it's up to Nick Saban. The mighty Nick Saban. The same guy that channels like ESPN and Fox Sports lavish praise on for his take no crap attitude. The guy that challenged Jim Harbaugh(and lost I might add, the ban on satellite camps was lifted). The guy that wins titles. The guy that never cheats, ha ha ha, that sentence was almost impossible to finish writing. What will he do? As I said above, I think the back up safety, Hootie Jones, he will be gone. Jones will be the casualty from this story so ESPN can talk about what a great leader Saban is, you know, typical ESPN bullshit reporting. But, Cam Robinson will see little to no discipline. He is a big time player and Saban is too afraid to really stick it to important players on his team. He has a fear of his fan base turning on him, so he will do nothing to truly discipline Robinson.

Therein lies the main problem. College sports are a business and becoming a joke, if you are a pro level prospect. The kids that are going to go to the next level can get away with almost anything. If you are a good athlete, you are above the law, at least according to coaches like Nick Saban. This is a travesty. This Robinson kid, and Jones for that matter, should face felony charges, but they won't because they are good football players. Something very similar to this happened to former Missouri QB, Matty Mauk. He was caught on camera snorting cocaine, and it was only until he was deemed not as good a player anymore that he was cut. But, don't cry for him because he will be back on a football field next season at Eastern Kentucky because they still believe in him. No wonder athletes have god complexes with the way they are treated. Matty Mauk should be in jail and Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones should be going to court for a felony weapons charge, but since they are good at football, they get fourth, fifth and sixth chances. That stinks. It's funny how this stuff all seems to happen in the SEC. I guess football players are truly above the law in that sham of a conference. Shame on Alabama, Nick Saban, Cam Robinson, Hootie Jones, ESPN, Fox Sports and college football retroactively for the way they will sweep this very big charge under the rug and not talk or report on it. Everyone involved is guilty, but I put the most guilt on Nick Saban.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He longs for the day when we hold the adult coaches more responsible than the children that play for them. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

"Captain America: Civil War" is Another Home Run from Marvel

It may all look alike, but some film is better than others.

I was finally able to see "Captain America: Civil War" this past weekend. Now, before I get into my review, I just wanted everyone to know that it is going to be filled with spoilers. So, if you haven't seen the movie yet, and you plan on seeing it, DO NOT READ PAST THIS SENTENCE, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Let's get to it.

I loved this movie. Once again, Marvel absolutely hit it out of the park. They are in a wonderful, amazing, creative movie making groove right now. They do action, drama, comedy and anything else you expect to see in a superhero movie absolutely perfectly. "Captain America: Civil War" starts out with a flashback to 1991, with Winter Soldier executing an assassin he was assigned to. He does his job and he leaves no physical evidence, or so he thinks. We then flash to present day and Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Falcon and Captain America in another country, trying to stop a crime from happening. They are doing their job very well, as they always do, but when the fight nears the end, Captain America is fighting Crossbones, they hit a big hiccup. Crossbones is willing to blow himself up because it will also kill Captain America. Right before the bomb goes off, Scarlet Witch uses her powers to put Crossbones in a bubble so the bomb only affects him. Her plan works until she starts to float Crossbones in the air. While mid air, Scarlet Witch throws Crossbones into a hospital, and the whole wing of the hospital blows up.

Many people are now upset with the Avengers. People on the news are bringing up all the destruction that happens when they come in to save the day. I have to say, it's a justifiable complaint. Sure, they defeated Loki in "The Avengers", but they also destroyed New York City, killing thousands of innocent people in the process. Yeah, they stopped Ultron in the next movie, but they also destroyed an entire town in Russia. Basically, they do as much damage compared to the good they do. The US government wants the Avengers to register. They are, technically, weapons, so the government wants to make sure that they are only used for good and in a controlled environment. Iron Man, Vision and Black Widow are immediately on board. Captain America, Scarlet Witch and Falcon are hesitant.

During their discussion, Captain receives a message that his former girlfriend, Agent Carter has passed. He rushes away to the funeral in London, with Falcon by his side. Black Widow goes to an African country to sign the bill and give her rights to the government, but while there, the building where they are holding the event gets blown up by what everyone assumes is the Winter Soldier. They have pictures of him and his face is plastered all over the papers. Also, he wouldn't remember if he did it or not because his mind is controlled by Hydra. He's an easy target. Captain doesn't think he did it because he has always believed that the Winter Soldier is not his old friend, Bucky Barnes. Bucky is a good guy, so he thinks that he can make the Winter Soldier realize that he is his old friend. This is where my distaste for Captain America reappeared. He is so blinded by his friendship, he doesn't care who he takes down or hurts, as long as he can convince Bucky that they are old friends. Captain America is a selfish asshole.

In the aftermath of the bombing, Iron Man is on a crusade to get all the Avengers to sign because it is the right thing to do. I totally agree with Iron Man. But, Captain, once again blinded by his friendship, refuses to sign and decides he is going to go against his government, if you'll remember, the government created him, and go off the reservation to find out who really bombed the embassy.

This is where we meet Helmut Zemo. He is a bad dude. He is a manipulator. He can pull strings. And he is obsessed with finding out why the Winter Soldier does what he does. He also wants to destroy the Avengers. Zemo is a very, very bad guy. Captain believes that Zemo is the one behind the bombing and he starts to assemble a team to stop him.

Iron Man also starts to assemble a team to stop Captain from making a careless and stupid mistake. Captain gets Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Ant Man to fight on his side. Iron Man gets War Machine, Black Widow, the awesome and super cool Black Panther, there will be more on him in a minute, and Spiderman. Black Panther shows up earlier in a chase scene between him, Captain and the Winter Soldier. Black Panther's dad was killed in the bombing and he is out for vengeance, mainly after Winter Soldier. Black Panther is kick ass. Iron Man also goes to Queens to recruit a very young Peter Parker and their back and forth is great. Almost like a father son relationship.

When the two sides meet at an airport hangar to fight, it was breathtaking. To see that many superheroes, in one spot, using their specific powers against each other, it is so awesome. The fights are so even and so incredibly shot. When Ant Man turns into Giant Man, I lost my shit. It was so cool. Eventually, they all realize that they are too even, so Captain and Winter Soldier retreat to a plane to go after Zemo. They look to be stopped when Black Widow appears and Black Panther is attacking from the back, but black Widow stuns Black Panther enough to let Captain fly away. Black Widow and Captain will always be friends, no matter what. Once Captain and Winter Soldier get away, Iron Man and War Machine go after them. Iron Man notices Falcon is about to attack them and he calls on Vision to get rid of him. Vision shoots a ray at Falcon, but he side steps in and it hits War Machine, making him tumble to the ground. He is hit and paralyzed. Iron Man is crushed and pissed.

When the big battle is over everyone that was on Captain's side, except for Captain and Winter Soldier, are put in jail. Ant Man is used to it, so it doesn't bother him. Hawkeye is pissed at Iron Man because he just retired, but Captain needed him, so he came to help out and ended up in jail. Iron Man lets him know that he made the choice to side with Captain and he knew the consequences. I agree with Iron Man. Falcon is really pissed at Iron Man, but he also tells him everything he knows about Zemo and where Captain is headed. Iron Man takes this new found knowledge and looks into Zemo. He realizes that Captain is right and goes to Siberia to help Captain and Winter Soldier. It seems like everything is back to normal. Iron Man shows up and says that Falcon told him everything and that he wants to help. The three of them enter a building filled with other "Winter Soldiers". Black Panther is also seen lurking quietly in the shadows. It appears that Zemo is looking to build a super army of Winter Soldiers, and when they finally find him, he has shot and killed all the soldiers and is hiding behind thick glass. Zemo explains that he does not wish to hurt the Avengers himself, he wants them to hurt each other. Here he reveals a video from 1991. It's the video of the Winter Soldier executing his hit. We come to realize that he was told to kill Iron Man's parents and he did it with no regard or change of expression on his face. Winter Soldier is a stone cold killer. We also come to realize that Captain knew this all along and did not tell Iron Man. Captain, once again is being a selfish asshole. He chose to keep this horrible secret from Iron Man because he knew that Iron Man would be, rightfully so, pissed and want to get revenge.

This is the start of one of the best fight scenes, possibly the best, in any superhero movie ever. Iron Man, Winter Soldier and Captain trading blows is absolutely wonderful and must see. It is a tremendous piece of film making. Iron Man eventually is able to rip Winter Soldier's metal arm off, but Captain is able to lodge his shield into Iron Man's chest piece that helps him live. Iron Man stops fighting and Captain takes winter Soldier away to help fix his arm. Meanwhile, Black Panther finds Zemo and we get to hear why Zemo is doing what he's done the whole movie. Zemo lost his entire family when the Avengers defeated Ultron. it happened in his hometown and he lost everything. Throughout the movie he is listening to a phone message because it is the last thing he has from family. It's his last memory. After explaining all this to Black Panther, he tries to shoot himself, but Black Panther stops him and says that the world is not done punishing him. Near the end we see Zemo is in a very high security prison, but has a smile on his face, he clearly has something planned. Iron Man is helping War Machine walk again with prosthetic legs he created for him. Vision is hanging out at the Avenger complex with his sweater vest combo on. and the people on Captain's side are still locked up. Captain sends some bullshit letter to Iron Man "explaining" why he did what he did and we see Falcon smiling while the letter is being read because Captain has shown up at the prison to get his friends out. End credits.

As I said, I loved, loved, loved this movie. I thoroughly hate Captain America now. He is a selfish prick that only cares about his one friend, who is a brutal murderer. He is way too single minded and he is nuisance. I fully side with Iron Man, He did what was best and right for the people he cared most about. He didn't just single out one person, he wants everyone to be safe. "Captain America: Civil War" is a tremendous movie that everyone should go see. It is a masterpiece.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was trying to get in and see Batman v Superman, but since it was sold out he settled for Captain America: Civil War. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Donald Trump and the End of a Center Right Nation

Our political compass has no direction

No matter how many times the political experts predicted the end of Donald Trump (see the many, many times I have said so) , the New York businessman is going to be the Republican nominee for President in the 2016 national election. This means we will have six more months of Donald Trump and his great ideas to make America great again. Six more months of the national press treating these ideas as credible ones. Six more months of the liberal pundits on HBO and Comedy Central being apoplectic about Trump's ideas.  We have six more months of Donald Trump's Republican Party. A party that can in no way claim to be conservative or center right. The days of a center right nation are gone.

Shortly after the election of Barack Obama as President in 2008, the professional media class started to use the term "center right". Center right meant that Americans did not fully subscribe to the ideals of the far right or far left, but sat somewhere in the middle. Americans sat in the middle, but were leaning more to conservative ideas. The media class thought that Americans were moving away from supporting social safety programs, moving towards national defense, and wanted to slow down on changing excepted social norms. The term center right was used to make it look like the country still believed in the brand of conservatism that President Reagan and Bush II practiced. Barack Obama may have been elected President, by a very large margin, but the country was not willing to embrace the Democratic party's plans to implement health care reform and to scale down on military intervention around the world. 

The media was invested in the idea of the United States being a center right nation because of the disaster that was the George W. Bush presidency. By the end of 2008 the US was mired in an endless war with no real purpose, an economy that had crippled the middle class, and public confidence that was at an all time low. The media of the early 2000's was built to cater to Bush and the conservatism of John Boehner, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell. The tea party had not been given a national platform in 2008. Fox News gained strength in the first part of the 21st century because they embraced the notion of being the "news channel" for the right. The other media outlets quickly raced away from journalism and into republican propaganda to try and catch ratings on the coat tails of Fox News. NBC, CBS, and ABC used their nightly newscast to gin up support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Journalism was replaced by ratings friendly war mongering. The same "fair and balanced" media were also defending the destructive economic ideas of the republican party. Story after story of a booming housing market were being fed to the Americans, while no one was talking about the obvious coming collapse. Vice President Dick Cheney made secret deals with the energy industry, there were no investigative stories until after 2008. The media was an accomplice to the bad policies of the Bush administration, and they wanted to cover their own rear ends. Saying America is a center right nation took the blame off of the media, and put the blame on the voters.

The idea of America being a center right nation was wrong in 2008, and it is wrong today. The Republican party may hold the US House of Representatives and the Senate, but that has more to do with shady manipulation of the electoral process and general incompetence of the Democratic Party. In 2008 and 2012, President Barack Obama easily beat his republican challengers. Neither of those races was even close. Obama still won with the media allowing the right wing to paint the President as a foreign born communist who hates America. Rights for the LGBTQ community have grown at a fast, and much needed, rate. The press keeps giving the bigoted side a voice, but the large majority of Americans are on the correct side of history. Hillary Clinton is having trouble sealing the deal on the 2012 Democratic Presidential nomination because most Americans are not supportive of protecting the wealthiest of our citizens at the expense of everyone else. The media has tried to marginalize Senator Bernie Sanders, yet here in the middle of May and Clinton is still not the nominee. America was not center right in 2008, and we have been moving further and further left since then.

Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee, the center right lie can finally be buried on the ash heap of history. The story surrounding Trump's ascension has centered around how much everyone got the New York businessman's rise so wrong. Even liberal darlings like Nate Silver and the people at fivethirtyeight.com have egg on their face. The real story should not be how wrong everyone was, but how in the world did the Republican party nominate someone who has held mostly Democratic Party ideas his entire life. Trump has a history of being pro-choice, pro raising taxes on the wealthy, and pro healthcare reform. The Paul Ryan's and Mitch McConnell's of the Republican party have used their entire careers railing against these ideals. Ohio Governor John Kasich could only win one state, and rarely broke 10% of the vote in any other state. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the poster boy of Republican obstructionism, only gained traction in the primaries once he was deemed the true Republican alternative to Donald Trump. No one in the classically defined Republican establishment could take Trump down. One could say that Trump's win in the 2016 Republican primary means that the GOP is becoming a center left party.

The rise of Trump is unfortunately not the rise of a center left Republican party. In hindsight it is very easy to see how Donald Trump was able to beat the rest of the Republican field. The blind hatred of the GOP towards Obama and the Democratic Party has created a lot of tiny fractures in the national Republican party. The tea party was built on blind racism. Radio and television personalities like Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity demanded purity in the philosophies of elected republican officials. The right wing worship of the founding fathers (most of them were slave holders) and the original Constitution (where African-Americans were counted as 3/5ths of a person) started to show the party as being unreasonable and not have the ability to properly govern in the 21st century. The national identity of the Republican Party was split into many pieces. The fiscal conservatives never found their candidate, and that hurt voting. Kasich, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush could never gain any unified support. The religious conservatives had incompetent buffoons as their choices. Former Governors Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and former Senator Rick Santorum were so idiotic even the media could not shield them. Ted Cruz was hated by most of his party, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson were so bad that they helped bring the GOP brand further into the dirt. The only unique option int he filed was Donald Trump. His persona appealed to the angry white man. His ideas fueled the racist, misogynists, and bigots, in the Republican party. Donald Trump was the only Republican in the field that had a voting block to himself. This voting block turned out in high numbers, and Trump was able to survive the cage match that was the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary. His victory is actually quite easy to understand, now.

A minority of the Republican Party was able to nominate a life long Democrat to be their 2016 Presidential candidate. White male christian persecution complex has replaced conservative social and economic philosophy in the GOP. Donald Trump may be a Republican now, but many of his ideas lean to the left. The professional media created Donald Trump, and helped destroy their own narrative of a center right nation. For better or worse, America is stuck with Donald Trump and his new Republican Party. For at least six more months.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Hear RD and Ty talk about Trump and the 2016 Presidential election on the latest episode of the X Millennial Man. 

Old NBA Players Need to Let the Warriors Play on the Lawn

Get rid of those peaches and Curry could still hit over 50% of his shots

Tracy McGrady, former NBA allstar, said on a recent episode of ESPN's "The Jump" that, Steph Curry being the first unanimous MVP just shows you how "watered down" the league has become. I've got a lot of problems with that statement.

First off, I love McGrady, the basketball player. He was explosive, athletic, a good jump shooter and one of the few prep to pros that had a very good, perhaps hall of fame career. But, why did he feel the need or urge to say this? Why condemn the greatest shooter of all time? Why do all the retired pros seem to hate this specific Warriors team? It doesn't begin and end with McGrady's criticism, many other hall of famers and legends have been very dismissive of this Warriors team and of Steph Curry. Oscar Robertson, possibly the greatest point guard of all time and the only player to ever average a triple double over a full season, doesn't think that they are as good as we all think they are. He seems to think, that had this team played during his era, they would have been average at best. I love you Oscar Robertson, but come on. This Warriors team is historically great. Scottie Pippen is another hall of famer that has brushed this team to the side, saying, that the 1995-96 Bulls would have swept them out of the playoffs. At least he put them in the playoffs, but a sweep, get out of here. The Warriors would win at least one game because Curry would put in 40 and Thompson would put in another 30 and Draymond is a more athletic version of Dennis Rodman, and he can score. No way a sweep happens. Sure, put Jordan on Curry, he'd have a tough time, but he would still make some shots. And yes, you could put Pippen on Thompson, but he would still find a way to get to the rim and that would open up driving lanes. But, who is going to guard Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, I mean, this Warriors team is loaded with depth, something the 95-96 Bulls didn't really have . So no, no way would it be a sweep. And Bill Wennington chiming in, echoing what Pippen said, shut your god damn mouth Bill Wennington. You were lucky to even be a part of such a great team. The Bulls could have, and did, see Luc Longley, win with basically anyone playing center. Hell, I could have played center on that Bulls team and they would have still been great. Bill Wennington is a blow hard. Screw him. He isn't 1/10 the player Bogut is, so he can shut the hell up.

Then there is my all time favorite basketball player. A man I adore and have tried to model my rec league game after. A player I have looked up to since I was in the 5th grade, Charles Barkley. He has not had one single nice thing to say about this Warriors team or Steph Curry. He has been anti Warriors since they ran through the playoffs and won a title last season. He said they didn't really earn the title because they didn't have to face anyone that was great or at full strength. I disagree strongly with that. He said that a jump shooting team could never have long term success in the NBA. The numbers clearly prove him wrong. He said that Curry was too little and too oft injured and would have never made it in his day. Well, Curry is lighting the league up now, and when he comes back from injuries, he looks even stronger and better, which I thought was impossible. The only reason he wouldn't have made it in the NBA in the 90's was because of how dirty and aggressive it was. I look back at 90's basketball, which I loved, my Sonics were legit, but it was brutal. There isn't a whole lot of highlights, unless you single out Jordan, unless it is a hard foul or some kind of brawl. The most "important" moments that are shown on highlight reels from the 90's is stuff like the big fight the Knicks and Heat had, when Jeff Van Gundy grabbed hold of Alonzo Mourning's leg. Or when Barkley got into it with any number of big time players. Or when John Stockton would set a screen and knee someone in the crotch. The list could go on and on and on with all the dirty stuff that went down in the NBA in the 90's, so yeah, maybe Barkley is right on Curry getting roughed up during his era. He was also on "PTI" recently and he said the only way that he would put this years Warriors team, the team that won 73 regular season games, in the annals of historically great teams, is if they win the title. That's fair, but he said they would only be the fourth best team of all time. He had the 96 Bulls, the 86 Celtics and some other team I can't remember ahead of this Warriors team. That's insane! They are historically the greatest regular season team of all time, statically too! They won 73 games! That will never happen again! I love you Charles Barkley, but you are wrong on this one.

The Warriors are a really, really great team. Hell, even LeBron James is trying to poke holes in this team because they are the talk of the league and not him. He said Curry deserved the MVP, but then posed the idea that the MVP isn't based on stats, but one players ability to make a team overachieve, as if to say, he obviously thinks he should be the MVP. Get the hell out of here with that nonsense. The older LeBron gets, the more crazy and more entitled and more prima donna he gets. LeBron is one of the greatest players of all time, but he is a spoiled rotten little brat. The attention isn't on him for once, so instead of using that as motivation, he complains to the media about what a real MVP means. What a punk. He is clearly an only child and he has clearly never been pushed aside like this on a basketball court. Get used to it LeBron, the Warriors are younger and better than you and the Cavs and it's going to be this way for a long time.

All this brings me back to McGrady's watered down quote. The league is not watered down. The NBA is as good as it has ever been right now. The games are exciting. The players are exciting. The players are relatable. The NBA is experiencing a huge boom right now and I think the retired players are a bit jealous. LeBron is jealous too. They all want to chime in with their two cents, but the fact remains, we will never know who would win or who could have also been unanimous MVP choices because all these players bitching and moaning are done playing or selfish assholes. The facts are there. The Warriors have the greatest regular season record of all time, no matter what Oscar Robertson, Tracy McGrady, Bill Wennington, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley or LeBron James says or thinks. Curry is, and will always be known as, the first ever unanimous MVP. No comments or jealously can take that away from him. The retired players need to let it go and get over it. I'm sick and tired of the whole, "back in my day" crap. Things evolve and change, it's a way of life. You can take it as it is, or you can complain. I choose to admire the Warriors and Steph Curry, it's way more fun.

One last thing, a lot of the retirees complaining about the Warriors and Steph Curry are all time greats, but I haven't heard the GOAT, Michael Jordan,say one bad thing or suggest that his teams would have beaten up this Warriors team. That's the true sign of a champion, he doesn't need to say things, he just does them. I wish these guys would take another lesson from Jordan and keep their mouths shut. One can dream.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When he and the head editor play basketball, the game is quite dirty. They are both big, hairy, and sweat a lot. That is the recipe for smelly dirt. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Comedian Kyle Kinane Tried Out Some New Live Material and it Was Great

The Second most important tool for good stand up comedy.

Last night I saw comedian Kyle Kinane at the Ready Room in Saint Louis and he was great. I've been a fan of his for awhile now and last night was the first time I've seen him live. I've watched his specials, I enjoy his bit role on the highly underrated and very funny television show, "Those Who Can't" and I like his many podcast appearances, so I was predestined to like his stand up.

Kinane controlled the stage for his almost 90 minute set. Headliners usually do about 45 minutes to an hour, for fear of getting stale, but Kinane's 90 minute set never once felt boring or slow. Kinane was working on new material, he has another special coming up, and I love hearing all new material. He says that he didn't want to repeat anything from his last live show in Saint Louis, and talking to some people who saw him last time, it was all, for the most part, new. That's great. His material is always a bit blue, but he wasn't as blue as I was expecting last night. He did make a joke about a guy wearing a shirt with a very dirty saying on it, but that was about as dirty as he got. Kinane looks so comfortable on stage, even though he made many references to how uncomfortable and how weird his job is. He is a comic and he makes money doing that. It's weird, but when you are as good as Kinane, you deserve to make a living doing that. He bounced around a lot during his set, but there was always a through line or segue that made everything make sense. His bit about getting gout and then getting a physical was dynamite. It was thoughtful, reflective and hilarious. When he talks about the doctor being so smooth when doing the physical, I was in tears laughing. His freaky Friday bit was great as well. He imagined what it would be like to switch places with a semi truck driver during rush hour and a Benihana chef. Both were great. I could picture someone freaking out in both scenarios and he brought that to life excellently, especially the Benihana chef. When he talked about flipping the shrimp in his hat, once again, tears from laughing.

His very new material was equally as good, even when he didn't think so. At one point he said a joke, it didn't land great, he acknowledged that and completely saved it with a great tag. When he said he had some weird jokes, I found them more funny than weird. He covered a lot of different topics throughout the night. I mentioned the freaky Friday and the doctor, but he also talked history, self diagnosing, touring the Midwest during tornado season, living in LA, still wearing skater shoes, even though they have orthopedic inserts, among many other things.

Kinane was on stage for an hour and a half, but it never felt long or boring. It was straight up funny. Kyle Kinane is a very good stand up that puts on a very good live show. He's funny, engaging, a good writer and appeals to young and old alike. I went with my father and he laughed as much as I did. This was a very good show. I'm glad I bought the tickets and I now get to check another comedian off my bucket list. Go see Kyle Kinane if he comes to your town. I guarantee you will enjoy yourself and have a very good laugh.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are you a band that does comedy or a comedian that does music, or the other way around, contact us and Ty will check out your show. Ty has his very own twitter, go follow him @tykulik.