Buddy Ryan and Pat Summitt - Legends who Defined their Sport

RIP both Pat Summit and Buddy Ryan. Both were phenomenal coaches in their respective sports. Buddy Ryan was one of the fiercest, most competitive defensive coaches that the NFL has ever seen. He was the guy behind the vaunted 85 Bears defense. Ryan may have been the greatest defensive minded coach of all time. He would get into it on the sidelines as well. He would yell and scream and even get into fist fights if he believed he was right. Buddy Ryan was a legend.

Then there's Pat Summit. Talk about a winner who's life was cut way too short. Summit had almost 1100 wins as a head coach. That is jaw dropping. Tennessee women's basketball was dominant for the majority of Summit's career. She is the John Wooden of women's basketball. She had one of the greatest basketball minds to ever grace the Earth. She was fiery as well. She was also flat out great at her job. Summit is one of the greatest basketball coaches ever, men's or women's. Summit is a true legend.

RIP to these two great sports minds. You'll both be missed.

Ty

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

The Merits and Virtue of "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom"

MTV is the model of highlighting kids having kids

So, for all of my posts this week, I wanted to try something a bit different. My wife and I were talking the other day and she told me that I should argue a point that I don't necessarily agree with. All five posts this week will be topics given to me that I have expressed a dislike for to, either my wife or everyone who reads my blog, but I have to give the opposite view. I have to explain why these things are actually true, or that they at least have some good qualities. This is going to be a weird, but also very fun, and maybe even a bit difficult, but I'm up to the task.

Let's get started with the first topic. The topic sentence my wife gave me today was, "explain why shows like "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" are, in fact, not garbage reality TV, but that they have had a positive impact on society".

Here we go.

I first saw "16 and Pregnant" about 6 or 7 years ago. My wife has a very deep love for reality TV, and I enjoy spending time with her, so I watch a lot of the shows with her. "16 and Pregnant" immediately held my attention. It was fascinating to see these children pregnant. They were literally babies having babies. It was unreal to hear these 16 year olds complain about always being hungry, tired and "feeling fat". I would say to my TV, "that's what happens when you get pregnant. You should have waited like 90 percent of the country does".

As the episodes wore on, I found myself seeing some good coming from "16 and Pregnant". I was happy that MTV was letting these girls be as real as they wanted to be about their not so good situation. I have 2 kids, one is 4 and the other is almost 9 months, and it is very hard. But, I'm a 33 year old adult. I lived my childhood and had a pretty much carefree teenage experience. The same cannot be said about the girls on this show. They had to deal with people saying things behind their back, calling them names and making fun of them. High school is hard enough, most people are going through puberty and almost everything is awkward, but throw being pregnant on top of that, that had to be brutal. So, the fact that the people behind "16 and Pregnant" had the thinking to let this reality show be an actual reality show, I give them big, big kudos.

The producers show you all the hard parts. They show the stretch marks, the clothes not fitting, the snickers, the loss of friendships, the pain of going into labor and delivering a baby, and then, to top it all off, they showed how hard it is to have an infant. You have to feed, clothe and diaper that baby when that baby needs those things. You are not the most important person anymore, your child is, and "16 and Pregnant" did an excellent job of portraying this. They also showed how terrible teenage boys are at being fathers. These kids, for the most part, had no interest in being involved after their child was born. They all still wanted to go play basketball, ride their bikes or continue to party. Well, all that ends when you have a kid. Some of the couples, while the girlfriend was still pregnant, were going to get married. None of them did, or if they did, I'm sure they are now divorced. "16 and Pregnant" definitely showed how real it is to have a baby. It is tough. Tack on the fact that the kids are teenagers, "16 and Pregnant" did an excellent job of not glorifying having a baby. I will always give them kudos for this. They let the viewing audience know how insanely hard, unforgiving and flat outbrutal it is to raise infants when you are still a child yourself.

A few years after I saw my first episode of "16 and Pregnant", another show came on called "Teen Mom". This show followed the girls from the first season of "16 and Pregnant". They waited a few months, even some a year, after their kids were born to see where they were. This was also an interesting wrinkle inside the life of a teen parent. For the most part, the couples that were still couples in "16 and Pregnant" had broken up. They were all inevitably stuck in some kind of custody battle. This seemed odd and selfish to me. Now, the parent that was absent when the baby was an infant, wanted to be involved because the hard part was over. They didn't have to get up in the middle of the night for feedings or diaper changes, most of the babies were sleeping through the night. That is so selfish to all of the sudden want to be involved in a child's life when the tough part is over. You cannot pick and choose when you want to care for your kid. You made that kid, so you should have been there all along, not when it is convenient for you.

Once again, MTV and "Teen Mom" did a very good job of showing how tough it is to be a teen parent. They show the kids going to court, or meeting with child protective services, or getting divorced, all before they turned 21. This was fascinating to me because, when I was 21, I was still living at home with my folks and had a dead end job and was going to concerts every weekend. I didn't have a kid to care for. Had I seen "Teen Mom" back then, it would have made me even more secure in my life decisions.

"Teen Mom" did not sugar coat how hard all this stuff is to do. But, what "Teen Mom" did that "16 and Pregnant" couldn't do, they showed all the joy that comes from having kids. These teen parents got to see their child walk, talk and smile for the first time, and so did we as an audience. We got to see many triumphs from the parents. Things like potty training be successful, families reuniting, and so on and so forth.

Look, I'm not one to watch reality TV, it just isn't my thing. But, I will say that shows like "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom" are so much better and they actually show consequences to actions than any piece of garbage that the TLC Network puts on TV. "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" can also be given a huge thanks to the decreased number in teen pregnancy, so there is a real life correlation that these shows do work. If you are a teen, and you think you can be made famous by getting pregnant, I'd suggest watching "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom", because it is not the quick and easy way to make money. It will alter your entire life.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. After reading Ty's thoughts, it seems like he is not pretending to like the MTV teen mom genre. He will be here all week folks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Stop Waiting for Congress to Pass Gun Laws

The Congress could not regulate this over 200 years ago. Why trust them now?

This week the Democrats in the United States House of Representatives, led by Georgia Congressman and civil rights hero John Lewis, did something amazing. They took a seat for the American people. On Wednesday, June 22nd, Representative Lewis gave a fiery speech lamenting the inaction of Congress on doing anything to help curb the epidemic of gun violence in the United States. After his speech, Lewis was joined by other Democratic party members of the House and they all took a seat. The sat right down on the floor of the US House of Representatives. The Republicans, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, ended the session and cut off the live video feed provided by the cameras of the Cable-Satellite Public Access Network (C-SPAN). The Republican party wanted to block the images of the Democratic sit in from the American people. Unfortunate for Speaker Ryan, 21st century technology allowed the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution to live on. Many House members used Twitter's Periscope live video app and started to stream the images out to the internet. C-SPAN started to air these Periscope streams out through their airwaves. Many more Democrats, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and current Presidential candidate (as of this writing he has not conceded) Bernie Sanders, joined their colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives. The Democrats were finally fed up with Republican inaction on any meaningful firearm regulation, and all of America was able to see the spectacle going on in the nation's capital. Things were about to change in Washington DC.

Twenty five hours after Representative John Lewis's sit in started, it was over. The US House of Representatives adjourned for an extended break, and the American people were promised by the Democratic party that the fight for gun regulation would resume when everyone got back to Washington DC. Once again America had another gun massacre answered with anger, spectacle, and inaction. Our elected representatives, who make around $174,000 plus expenses paid by the taxpayers each year, left the nation's capitol to take another mandated break. Over the next two weeks there will be no chance of any reasonable firearms legislation. The current batch of firearm regulations will be forgotten. Inaction will once again rule the day.

The next time the nation will see something like the Great Sit-In of June 2016 will be after the next horrible firearm massacre. Unfortunately the next massacre is more likely to occur within the next few months. The bodies will be dead, and the nation will once again cry out for answers to an all too common occurrence. The Republicans, backed by their NRA handlers, will ask for a moment of silence and not want to "politicize" the issue. The Democrats will look at the recent shooting, and try to build conversation about what could have prevented that one singular incident. Once a week has passed, the NRA will have helped sell thousands of more firearms, the Democrats will have forgotten about any meaningful legislation, and the dead will be forgotten. We will be witness to the whole process again once the next firearm massacre occurs. 

Why do we look to Washington DC to solve our gun violence problem? As more people die needlessly, the inept process never changes. Twelve dead at Columbine High School, no action. Thirty two dead at Virginia Tech, no action. Nine dead in Charleston South Carolina, no action. Twelve killed at the Navy yard in Washington DC, no action. Thirteen dead at Ft. Hood, no action. Three dead at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, no action. Twelve dead in Aurora Colorado, no action. Nine dead at Umpqua Community College, no action. Fourteen dead in San Bernardino California, no action. Twenty-six dead, twenty of them children, at Sandy Hook Elementary, no action. Forty-nine people dead in Orlando, no action. (ed note: these are the shootings I remembered off the top of my head. There are many, many more Here is an excellent look at the recent history of US mass shootings from the LA Times.) The killings continue, and the government does nothing.

In the aftermath of the Orlando shooting we are experiencing one of the rare instances when the national government does try to pass meaningful gun regulations. The law being proposed is so flawed it would be better if it never passed. The Great Sit-In was centered on two laws the Democrats were championing. One was to make all gun sales subject to a background check. There is currently no requirement to perform a back ground check on a private gun sale. That  type of law has never passed in the history of the United States. The other law would ban the sale of guns to anyone on the United States government's no fly list. This bit of new gun regulations was first brought to the nation's attention by presumptive Republican Party Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. The NRA at first seemed to be behind the law. A bill was introduced in the US Senate, one written by Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine, that would ban people on the no fly list from purchasing firearms. The bill received 52 votes in the Senate, but since every controversial bill is threatened with a filibuster, the bill needed sixty to pass. The US House had yet to take up debate, or voted, on the no fly no buy bill. The Great Sit-In happened, and ended. Representative John Lewis has vowed that the House will take up the legislation when Congress gets back from their well deserved vacation.

The No Fly No Buy Bill has the best chance at being the first meaningfully firearm regulation to be enacted into law in over twenty years. Unfortunately it is a very bad law. Many Democrats just want a political victory, and they have rallied behind a bill that at best is ineffective and at worst is racist. The bill is one of the few laws in history to be opposed by both the NRA and the ACLU. The NRA just wants to sell guns, the ACLU is worried about people's actual freedom. The No Fly list is a secret list administered by unknown persons. The list became part of US policy after the attacks of September 11th, 2001. Many non-terrorists, like children, former Senator Ted Kennedy, and sit-in leader Representative John Lewis, have had their names appear on the federal no fly list. No reason is given if one's name appears on the list, and there are no standards in place to have your name removed. The government claims that over 98% of the names on the no fly list are not American citizens. If you are a non-citizen, you cannot buy a guy already. Legal visa holders with proof of state residence (i.e. students) can purchase a firearm, with a background check. The No Fly No Buy bill is not only potentially racial profiling, it is utterly useless. There is no possibility for preventing any future massacre with the No Fly No Buy law. It is political theater being used to try and convince the American people that Congress is compassionate. It is worse than doing nothing.

The United States government has proven absolutely incapable, and unwilling, of protecting the American people from firearm massacres. Decades of inaction has led to political stunts being carried out for the passage of ineffective and racist laws. We must accept that there will not be the passage of any meaningful gun laws by the US government. The faith of the American citizen needs to be put elsewhere. Congress is filled with failure, America should not continue to look towards failure. There needs to be a new way.

The state of Hawaii just recently became the first state to have gun owners registered in a federal database. The Aloha state is doing something to keep its 1.4 million residents a bit safer. The rest of the country does not have politicians with a will to protect their citizens like Hawaii does. What can be done by the American who is not represented by the thoughtful politicians of the Hawaiian Islands?

Only 1/3 of American households and 1/4 of individuals even own guns. Regardless of what the NRA, or the government says, gun ownership is not very popular in the United States. The number of smokers in the US is close to the number of gun owners. The large majority of non-smokers were able to make smoking an anomaly. The same can happen to gun ownership. Privately the nation sees owning a gun as an odd thing, publicly we can do the same. Having a firearm is not a normal thing, and gun owners should know that. If we want gun owners to responsible, the non-gun owners should demand it. There are plenty of non-smoking areas, there should be areas where we do not accept guns. Many public places have designated spots for the smokers to gather and poison each other. The same should happen for guns. Let all the gun owners gather in the spots designated for guns, and our society will know who these gun lovers are. Hunters are already well known as gun owners due to the season and attire required for their hobby. If one has a gun that is an antique, is unusable, and has no ammunition, they do not have to gather in the designated live gun zone. The professionals who require guns for their employment, i.e. police officers and military personal, they are already known by society as carrying a live firearm. A non-government registry of gun owners would quickly be created when everyone in their neighborhood knows whose house has all the guns. Knowing that one's guns are acknowledged by the public will make these gun owners a lot more responsible. It may even cause these gun owners to give up their mythical need to protect themselves with weapons designed for mass killing. The very small minority of gun owners would shrink to a much smaller, and manageable number. Owning firearms designed for killing a whole lot of people would not be an NRA marketing campaign, it would be a source of shame.

The Democrats who sat down this week deserve our admiration. They were trying to bring attention to the inaction that has plagued our nation for decades. Their intentions were good, their law is bad. The NRA has used the government to create a sense of gun ownership being vital and normal. It is not. Since the NRA has used money to buy most of Congress, the American people can not rely on the elected representatives to protect us. We must rely on ourselves. Stop waiting for Congress to act, they will not. Start creating a safer world in your neighborhood. Our actions will be stronger than the money, and ineptness, of Washington DC. We can stop gun violence today. Yes we can.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.He wants to hear the counter opinion on owning guns. Write for us.  

The Law does not Apply to Sweaty Alabama Football Players

Justice is not always blind. Sometimes it is bought.

A few weeks back I wrote about 2 Alabama football players, Cam Robinson and Hootie Jones, that were caught with marijuana and a stolen firearm. The question I posed was what would Nick Saban do about this because these two guys, especially Robinson, are integral parts to an Alabama team that will once again be a title favorite. Would Saban suspend them, I asked. Would Saban kick them off the team, I asked. Would the NCAA have to step in and do something about it, I asked. But, when I thought more about it, I figured he would kick Hootie Jones off the team because he is a spot starter and key back up, but I assumed Robinson would see nothing but a slap on the wrist because he is the left tackle. He is the blind side protector. He is the preseason all American. He will be a future first round draft choice.

Nick Saban didn't have to do anything, or maybe he was a critical person involved because the high ups involved dropped all charges against the two football players. Their reasoning was, and I quote, "who are we to take this sport away from these kids that have to play in the hot sun, while we sit in the air conditioning". What a bull shit response that was. First off, these kids are playing a game, you are supposed to sweat, and be in the heat. That doesn't excuse the fact that they had a stolen firearm. As I stated in my previous blog, I don't care one bit about the marijuana. Marijuana should be legal everywhere, RD has made that point already on the site. It is the firearm that truly terrifies me. They had a stolen firearm. I don't care how hot and sweaty they are playing football on a full scholarship, that should not excuse the fact that they stole a weapon. That is dangerous and the DA's response is utterly ridiculous.

Another thing, what the hell do they mean, "while we sit in the air conditioning". I was in the air conditioning at my house a few hours ago, but I was cleaning the house and now I'm sweaty, does that mean it would be okay if I went and stole a firearm? Well, probably not, because I don't live in Alabama and I don't play football for the university. The way adults treat college sports now, with way, way too much at stake, has become sickening. these football players, if they are good, can get away with almost anything. I'm sure the person who made this final decision is a big time Alabama fan, and they didn't want to see a chance at another title go to waste, but I'm just as sure that boosters and the devil himself, Nick Saban, were in these people's ears, trying to get the charges dropped. The boosters give big money and they do not want to see an inferior product go out on that field on Saturday's. Boosters are the scum of the earth and they need to be pushed to the side so they stop infecting these kids brains. They are good for nothing wannabe's that figure, if we give enough money, we feel as if we are part of the team. You are not part of the team, and you never will be. You are lower than dirt.

Then there's Nick Saban. He doesn't have to do any dirty work now. The DA took care of his hard work for him. What a punk and a chump. He can just tell the media that the people in charge handled it. Screw you Nick Saban. I 1000 percent am sure that you had something to do with this final decision you piece of garbage. Now ESPN can push this story to the side and continue to praise you and call you a shaper of young men. What a crock.

This is a big, big problem in college sports today. No one has the guts to do anything big to a big time talent. These kids think, and for the most part do, get away with whatever they want because they are good at a sport. That is wrong on so many levels. I guarantee that if these were just two random students, say one a business major and the other a communications major, they'd be kicked out of school without a second thought. The way these athletes get treated is disgusting and it cheapens my favorite sport, college football.

Get your shit together, adults that are so heavily involved in these kids lives. Giving them a free pass is only going to hurt them in the long run. Yes, you may have to suffer through a 6-6 or 7-5 season, but kids that do something wrong need to be punished, not given chance after chance after chance. It's not fair to the rest of the student body that doesn't play sports.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Hear him talk about his 160 gig iPod on tomorrows new X Millennial Man. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Bill Simmons is Back with "Any Given Wednesday"

There is some new TV in the air

Last night, Bill Simmons new show, "Any Given Wednesday" premiered on HBO. This show was a long time coming for me. I'm a very big Bill Simmons fan. I like his takes. He is one of the most knowledgeable NBA writers on the planet. He isn't afraid to attack morons like Roger Goodell. And he seems like a pretty genuine, cool person.

I watched the show this afternoon, and it was just fine. I don't know why I was expecting it to be like "Real Sports", which is a great show, but I thought it as going to be more like that. "Any Given Wednesday" is the opposite of a show like "Real Sports". "Any Given Wednesday" is sports and pop culture, mixed with elements of comedy. There is no panel on this show. Simmons has people come on and talk, but it is more interview and less talking head type stuff. What the show all boils down to is, it is a live taping of his podcast. The show is very free flowing. There is a looseness to the show that I found refreshing. Simmons looked totally calm and in his element. The show is a perfect way to get his view across.

Last night, he had Charles Barkley come on to talk about LeBron James. Simmons asked, after doing a great opening monologue about why he now thought James belonged in the conversation as the best NBA player ever, and Barkley shut that notion down immediately. Barkley is definitely stuck in his old view of the NBA, but that is one of the many things that makes Charles Barkley so great. I personally agree with Simmons. I think LeBron is a top 5 all time player, but I liked hearing Barkley say he had to win a couple of more championships before he would put him past Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. I also enjoyed Barkley letting Simmons, the studio audience and everyone watching know that his top five all time players will never change. He is set in his way. Barkley seemed just as comfortable as Simmons was, even when Simmons pushed him on stuff like Barkley holding Larry Bird's arms back so Dr. J could punch him in the face, or Barkley's many past gambling stories. After the Barkley interview, Simmons did a kind of funny spoof on the Under Armor and Steph Curry commercials. There was some decent humor in it, but it was just okay. The commercial Simmons and his writers created was a very funny closing bit to the joke.

Then, Simmons had another one on one interview with Ben Affleck. They talked about the Batman stuff and what drove Affleck to becoming a director, but when Simmons brought up the Patriots and Tom Brady and "deflategate", Affleck went off. This was at times funny and very revealing. Affleck is a true sports fan and a true Boston fan. This dude loves Tom Brady and thinks, like most of the sports watching public, that "deflategate" is so dumb and so unimportant. His speech was impassioned. I recommend people seeking it out on the internet to watch, it is bizarre and telling. I know that I was enthralled.

Once Affleck has done speaking the truth, Simmons did his first of what I'm sure will be a weekly segment, where he gave the "championship belt" to the best thing of the week. This week was the year 2016 and how it has become so unpredictable. He mentioned the Cavs winning the title, the fact that the Cubs have the best record in baseball and that he now has his own show on HBO, among other things. I very much enjoyed this part of the show. Like I said, it was basically a live taping of his podcast, and that is a good thing, in my opinion.

I will be curious to see how future episodes attack sports and pop culture news. I also hope, at some point, he goes off on ESPN. I know he did that recently in a magazine interview, but I want to see him do it live on his TV show, curse words and all, since it is on HBO. I also hope he brings on some of his recurring guests from his podcast for face to face interviews. I don't think it will happen, but I'd love to see Jalen Rose and Zach Lowe on his show, but they both work for ESPN. He can have his buddy Joe House on, or Chuck Klosterman or even more famous NBA players, like Charles Barkley. Anyway, it was a decent premiere of a show that I will watch every week because I am a Bill Simmons fan. Don't go into "Any Given Wednesday" expecting "Real Sports", it is a totally different show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He may not have the slurred passion of Ben Affleck, but Ty is also not a fan of "deflategate". Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Bulls are Already Winning the NBA Offseason

The Knicks seem to be in the gift giving mood

I was going to do a greatest American band thing today, but I just got word on my phone that the Knicks and Bulls have agreed to what sounds like a pretty big trade just 2 days before the draft. The Bulls are going to ship Derrick Rose to the Knicks for Jerian Grant and Robin Lopez. I know, this sounds like it is a blockbuster trade for the Knicks. I'm sure Knicks fans know have visions of possibly being in the top four of the eastern conference next year. I'm sure the same Knicks fans are going to claim they have their own "big three" now with Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. It's all peaches and cream right now, but I do not see it that way.

I have been negative about a lot of NBA stuff recently, but I'm going to be both, positive and negative today. Let's get the negativity out of the way first. This trade would have been huge had it happened 6 years ago. Derrick Rose was coming off an MVP season, the Bulls were the top team in the east and they looked like they would be there for a long, long time. But, it's 2016. Derrick Rose has suffered multiple injuries, including two torn ACL's and has proven he is not the explosive player that he once was. He cannot go to the basket with reckless abandon anymore. And to make matters worse, he is not a very good jump shooter and he was never a very good passer. To team him up with Carmelo Anthony is going to be terrible. Anthony does not want to pass the ball either. He is coming off a few injuries. He cares more about his brand than winning basketball games. When Anthony was thinking of signing with the Bulls a few years ago, I was not a fan of that because that would have teamed him up with Derick Rose. I just don't think those two can coexist on a basketball court. Both Rose and Anthony are also on the back half, maybe back 3/4ths of their careers. Neither is as good as they were 5 or 6 years ago. They are both well into their 30's and their best playing days are long gone. Neither of these guys are in the shape that LeBron James is in. Neither can shoot the ball like Chris Paul or Dirk Nowitzki. Neither play defense like Richard Jefferson just did in the finals. And neither are as good a facilitator with the ball as Tony Parker or Andre Iguodala are. They both don't have the energy to play 65 games, let alone 82, plus some playoff games, if they make the playoffs.

Then there is the whole Porzingis thing. Yes, I think he is an okay player that could be a nightmare to guard if he develops his game a bit more, but he is incredibly young and he will not see a whole lot of touches playing alongside Rose and Anthony. He will have to rely a whole lot more on his rebounding game to get his points. It's going to be a few years before he becomes the focal point that the die hard Knicks fans want him to be.

Plus there is the rest of the Knicks roster, this is my last negative today. The roster is a joke of an NBA roster, with the exceptions being Rose, Anthony and Porzingis. They just traded away a very good center in Robin Lopez. And while Grant looked lost and maybe played a bit too fast last season, he is a slasher and he can create shots for himself, he just needs a few years. The guys they have left on that team are people like Sasha Vuvajic, Langston Galloway, Derrick Williams and Aaron Affalo. Those names don't strike fear in any opponents, except maybe the 76ers. Their starting five will be Rose, Anthony, Porzingis, Affalo and Derrick Williams, if I had to make a guess. That is a starting five that may only play 50 to 60 games together, and they'd be lucky to win 30 to 35 of those games, add on a few more victories, and the Knicks will be lucky to be a .500 team. I do not like this trade for New York one bit.

But, I LOVE this trade for the Bulls. They finally have the Derrick Rose problem off their back. The team doesn't have to cater to his ego anymore. They don't have to rely on the "hometown hero" nonsense that they've been holding onto since they drafted him. They don't need to worry about him missing games, or not going full speed when he does play games. But, and most importantly, if they keep Jimmy Butler, which I fully expect them to do now, they can finally turn the team over to him. Butler is ready, and more than able, to lead the Bulls back to being a perennial playoff team. I'm a humongous Jimmy Butler fan. The dude has a very good offensive game. He can play both inside and outside and he is a creator. The dude is an all star. He is also a ferocious defender. He gets after it on defense. If I was Jimmy Butler, I'd be ecstatic right now. Then, bringing in Robin Lopez gives them the relief of letting Pau Gasol walk in free agency. Sure, Lopez isn't the offensive player that Gasol is, but he is younger and a much better defender than Gasol has ever been in the NBA. This also makes it easier for them to try and keep Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson around. Both are exceptional defenders and rebounders that play like Bulls play. This also gives guys like Bobby Portis, Nikola Mirotic and E'Twaun Moore more chances to play and improve. I think this deal for the Bulls is an absolute slam dunk. I think this makes them a much, much better team. The Bulls will be a real threat in the east next year. This was a great trade that they made.

If I'm a Knicks fan, I'm bummed. But, if I'm a Bulls fan, I'm thrilled. We will have to wait until next season to see if I'm right or wrong. But mainly, I'm so thrilled for Jimmy Butler right now. His stardom is going to explode next season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What did Ty think of the NBA Finals, come on in for a listen. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Shoe Wars are Over and Nike is the Winner

Do not forget the champion athletes that wear this brand

My topic today is a bit off the beaten path. I'm going to talk about the supposed "shoe war" going on between Under Armor and Nike. Under Armor seems to think that they have put a stranglehold on the top names in sports over other companies like Nike, Adidas and other companies that sell sporting apparel. Under Armor does have some big name clients, but my whole idea that I'm going to pose today is, much like how players wearing Under Armor, these guys are finishing second to the athletes wearing other companies products, mainly Nike.

First off, the three biggest names that Under Armor has on their payroll right now are Cam Newton, Steph Curry and Bryce Harper. These three guys are world class athletes. They are some of the, if not the, best players in their particular sport. Cam Newton has changed what the idea of a quarterback in the NFL can do athletically these days. Bryce Harper may be the most feared hitter since Barry Bonds. And Steph Curry, he has a title, he is the first unanimous MVP, he is the best shooter I have ever seen and he has transcending what people think about shooters in the NBA all time. I'm sure Under Armor has other decent athletes that wear their stuff, but these three are, by far, the most noticeable and most impressive. But, the recent problem with the guys that Under Armor pays millions upon millions of dollars, they are finishing second to players that wear either Nike or Adidas. Even in the college game, Nike is still winning.

Let's look at the pro guys first. Cam Newton was the first Under Armor guy that caught my eye. Like I said, he plays quarterback like no one else I have ever watched, and he has a ton of fun doing it. He is big, fast and has a rocket arm. He took a very under manned team all the way to the Super Bowl this past season. The Panthers were even favored and Cam Newton's fancy Under Armor cleats were all over my TV screen prior to the Super Bowl. Then, the game happened, and an Adidas man made Cam Newton's life brutal for 60 minutes. Von Miller, who is an Adidas client, pressured, hit and caused Cam Newton to rush throws and make mistakes all game. He was clearly the superior player. His cleats even looked like he was taking a shot at Cam Newton's very loud and brash type cleats. Von Miller was awesome and he made Adidas look cool for one night. That night just happened to be the Super Bowl. The Broncos, and their middle linebacker, with his Adidas cleats, completely shut down Cam Newton and his Under Armor shoes that night. That was a big blow to Under Armor.

Then, they recently signed Bryce Harper to a massive deal. He is getting tons of money from that company to shill their products. Well, Harper is a tremendous talent that has already won an MVP, but what exactly has his team, the Washington Nationals, accomplished of any significance on the baseball field. Yeah, they had a 90 plus win season a few years back, but the Cardinals beat them in the early round of the MLB playoffs. Last year, with all the expectations in the world, they fell flat on their face. And now, yeah they are in first place in their division, but I still don't trust them. I trust the Mets so much more than I do the Nationals. And, while Harper may be the best player currently in baseball, guys like Andrew McCutchen, Mike Trout and Harper's teammate, Max Scherzer, all wear Nike. Those guys are very, very good baseball players, and in McCutchen has had much more recent postseason success than Bryce Harper has had. Once again, Under Armor finishes second, or maybe even third, because some big time guys, guys like Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Cano, sport New Balance gear.

Then, there is Steph Curry. Curry is a once in a lifetime NBA player. He is the best shooter, maybe ever. He is a two time MVP. He has a title. Curry is awesome. I'm a very big Steph Curry fan. But, he got destroyed in the most recent playoffs by all Nike guys. In the western conference finals, two Nike guys, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, went at Curry with no regard. Westbrook wanted to destroy him every night, and he did in a couple of those games. Durant was never flustered or bummed when he had Curry on defense or when Curry had him on defense. Both Durant and Westbrook constantly attacked him. The Thunder were so very close to beating him too. Then, in the finals, two Nike guys completely out shadowed Curry and Under Armor. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving looked so, so much better in these finals than Curry did. They were better, stronger, faster and made more shots. Under Armor got completely demoralized by Nike in the finals. After watching game 7, young kids that are logo obsessed would much rather get the new LeBron's or Kyrie Irving's shoes. No one wants those new Steph Curry, white, old man shoes. Nike crushed Under Armor in the NBA all throughout the playoffs.

Even in college, Nike is king. The only halfway decent team that I know of that wears Under Armor is Auburn, and they haven't been good in about 5 seasons. The last two championship games have had 4 Nike schools. Two years ago, in the first college football playoff, both Ohio State and Oregon wear Nike. Nike's headquarters is in Oregon in fact. Last season, both Alabama and Clemson wear Nike. I'm sure someone out there will say that I forgot Notre Dame, they signed a big contract with Under Armor, but I didn't, they are exactly what I expect out of an Under Armor client. They are decent enough to lose big time games. Hell, even after a horrid 7 year Adidas experience, Michigan is back on the Nike team, and I'm thrilled about it. Even in college basketball, all the big time teams are Nike teams. Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Villanova, Georgetown, Michigan State, among many other "blue bloods", they are all Nike.

Nike is a far superior product. They made sleeker, cooler and just flat out better products than any other sporting apparel. Under Armor and Adidas may have some big time names, but Nike has winners. I'll take winners over names anytime. Long live Nike.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to write under a "Just Do It" banner with "I Believe I Can Fly" playing in the background. That is how dedicated he is. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Why we got the the Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA Finals so Very Wrong

The season ended not quite how we predicted

The NBA finals ended last night. There is no more real basketball to be played from now until late September. Both football and basketball are done, so this is the most dead period of sports that you can find right now. I'm counting down the days until college football starts. Baseball does not intrigue me, and everything else, Olympics included, bore me. With that being said, I will recount game 7 from the finals last night.

I, much like most writers, picked the Warriors to win. I picked them in 6 games. That, obviously did not happen. First things first, game 7 was phenomenal last night. For the most part, this series has been blow outs, and it has been not so great basketball. There were great individual performances, but the games, they were not that good. Game 7 changed that. I had no skin in the game last night, but my heart was beating fast and I watched every single second of that game with bated breath last night. It was a true back and forth. The Cavs would take a 5 or 6 point lead, then the Warriors would counter with a run and lead by 5 or 6 themselves. The game was decided by the stars as well. Sure, JR Smith made some big shots and Andre Iguodala did his thing on defense, but it was LeBron James and Kyrie Irving coming up big for Cleveland and it was Draymond Green, who was spectacular last night, and Curry and Thompson, although they both shot poorly. But, the stars made the difference. That's how I like my finals. Game 7 was everything I wanted this whole series to be, all the way down to Irving hitting that 3 with less than 1 minute left in the game.

Secondly, this series should have been over in 5 games. This is my "the NBA rigged this series" portion of my blog. Draymond Green did not deserved to be suspended for game 5. Yeah, he swiped at LeBron's man zone, and he did so much worse in the western finals against OKC, but it wasn't until LeBron bitched and moaned to the media and David Silver that they decided to suspend Green. I don't think it was the swipe, hell, I would have done something much worse than punch at a guy and call him names if he stepped over me on a basketball court, than it was the fact that the Cavs were down 3-1, the finals were getting record ratings, and LeBron used his stardom to get his way. David Silver, ESPN and ABC all wanted this series to go 7, if possible, and suspending Green did just that. The Warriors couldn't close it out in 5 because they couldn't stop James and Irving from getting in the paint and the Cavs pulled away. They then destroyed the Warriors in game 6, setting up last night's great game. Had Draymond not been suspended, the Warriors would have easily closed it out in game 5, but LeBron, the Cavs, and everyone in the media got their way and the series played on. Also, Steph Curry fouling out of game 6 was atrocious. In fact, the entire officiating crew in games 5, 6 and last night were as bad as the 2002 Lakers-Kings series. They were giving everything to Cleveland and nothing to Golden State. Curry hadn't fouled out of a game since college, but he somehow fouled out of a finals game. That is very, very fishy. The NBA has always had this shady cloud over it, but these last three games really made it almost too clear to me that the NBA may be as fixed as pro boxing and pro wrestling. It is becoming way too fascinated with the stars and they get so much better treatment from the refs than anyone else. It's disturbing.

Okay, got that off my chest.

Third, the Warriors did choke, but Cleveland also figured something out after Draymond got suspended. I won't say the Warriors lost the series, the Cavs definitely won. In game 5, they stayed big for most of the game, a la what the Thunder did. This rendered the Warriors rebounding useless. They had no one to block out Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson or even a guy like Richard Jefferson. The Cavs got so many second chance points and shots and that is how you beat the Warriors. They had no answer, especially after Andrew Bogut went down for the series. This was a smart move and it helped the Cavs win the title. Even last night, Love and Thompson seemed to grab every single rebound. They held the Warriors to one shot the majority of the night.  The Cavs also slowed the pace of the game to a snail. They held and held and held the ball in their half court set. They didn't seem to get into their set play until there were only 5 or 6 seconds left on the shot clock. This is another way to beat the fast paced Warriors. Make them play defense for all 24 seconds and it will slow their offense down because their players will get tired. Another smart move.

Which brings me to my fourth point. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, for the most part, did not show up in these finals. They both shot terribly from three. They were missing wide open three point shots that they had made all season long. It wasn't like the Cavs were playing lock down defense. Quite the opposite was happening. They would get held up on screens and leave shooter wide open, the Warriors just were not making their shots. Curry also got exposed as a very mediocre defender in the finals. He couldn't stay with Irving, he was too small and lean for LeBron, too short to guard JR Smith and when he had someone else, like Iman Shumpert, that guy screened and forced Curry to guard and he did not come through. And what on Earth happened to Harrison Barnes? He was so, so bad in the finals. He missed every shot he took it seemed. The Cavs would leave him wide open for corner threes, the easiest three and a shot he made all season, and he would brick it pretty much every time. This was supposed to be his coming out party. He was supposed to get a max contract from someone after the finals. He was going to be the man for another team next season if he left the Warriors. Now, I wouldn't even consider giving him anything close to a max contract. Not only was his offense atrocious, but he was man handled by pretty much everyone he guarded during the finals. Barnes had the worst possible finals that a free agent could have. He was worse in this series than Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert were, and they were both terrible. 

Then we have Kyrie Irving. Wow, was he great. He scored at will. He shot a very high percentage. No one on Golden State could stop him. He was just as important to this title win as LeBron was. Yeah, LeBron had a triple double last night, but without Irving in the third quarter and that three he hit in the fourth, no way does Cleveland win the title. Kyrie Irving was absolutely spectacular and he is rising very fast up the best players in the league chart right now. What an incredible performance he had.

Finally, LeBron. I have dogged him the whole season and during the playoffs. I still think he is a prima donna, a whiner and I'm fed up with his constant complaining to officials, but he did what he promised he would do for Cleveland. He delivered a title. He was great in games 5 and 6. He had a triple double last night. He was not good on defense, Draymond put up 30 plus on him last night, but he ran this team and they won because of his effort. This is, by far, the most impressive thing he has done in his very impressive career.

Congrats Cleveland. You guys won the title and proved a whole lot of people wrong in doing so. I'm very curious to see how this team looks next year, but for now, enjoy your victory, you guys earned it....with a little help from David Silver and the refs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He says if Cleveland can get a title this year, then why not the Cubs? Get all of your winners by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Happy Father's Day

This Sunday marks Father's Day. A lot of people tend to blow off this holiday. It's kind of pushed to the side. Sure, kids and moms and wives make a tiny deal out of it, but it's not nearly as important as Mother's Day, Veterans Day, or any other "day". Well, I have a great father, and I feel like I'm a great father as well. In fact, the Kirkwood Webster Times in Saint Louis wrote up a great piece about our local stay at home dad group. I highly recommend everyone go check it out. But, I'm not here to pat myself on the back, or stroke my own ego, no way. I actually want to talk about my idol, and best friend, my dad. My dad is the absolute best dad in the world. Sorry to everyone else's father, but my dad is better than yours. He is the man that I still strive to be. He has worked his tail off for the last 40 plus years to provide for his family. He worked two, sometimes even three jobs when I was a child so my brothers and I didn't have to go to daycare. This is not to say that daycare isn't fine, hell, it's some families only option, but my father worked so hard so my mom could stay home and take care of us until we were old enough. But not only is my dad a model employee and hard worker, he taught and coached every sport my brothers and I played. He'd work what seemed to be 80 hours a week, but he always used his weekends to play and coach baseball, basketball and football, amongst many other sports with all four of us. He coached me and my older brother all the way through little league. He coached me and my brother closest in age with me in basketball all the way to high school. He'd take all four of us outside and throw a football around, throw a baseball and shoot baskets. Even the head editor and owner of this site, who's more into watching than playing sports, he was a cross country runner in college and I remember my father taking us up to watch his races. He also gave you your taste in movies RD, but I know you know that. As I've gotten older, I've grown to appreciate my father so much more. He gives all four of his kids equal time and wants to talk to us about our passions and hobbies. He can talk music with Ross, politics with RD, music and art with Seth and all things Michigan Wolverines with me. I love you dad and I just wanted to take my time today to let you know that. You've done all the things I've mentioned above, but you've also done much, much more. You have shaped all four of us into the men we are today. You and mom made us the good people that we've become as adults. You are the absolute best person in the entire world. Thanks dad and have a great Father's Day. Love you.

Ty

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

A Bunch of the Wrong Kids will be Picked at the Top of the NBA Draft

We do not think the future of the NBA is the kind of bad kid sneaking smokes.

With the NBA draft one week from today, I have a few thoughts I'd like to float about this draft.

First off, publications like Deadspin, ESPN and Fox Sports need to stop giving Ben Simmons a free pass on everything. Simmons came out the other day and said that he did not want to work out for the 76ers. I'm sorry, but when did every single draft eligible player become so entitled that they get to choose which team they want to lay for? You should be extremely excited that you are about to be paid millions of dollars to play a game. Sure, the 76ers are really, really, really bad, but so are the Lakers, Nets, Timberwolves and Suns. Why do these guys want to be playing for some other moribound franchise. Sure, The Lakers are in LA, but the Lakers are just as bad as the 76ers, and they have a much worse team chemistry. The Nets are in Brooklyn, but they are horrific, and unless they trade some of their ancient "assets", they don't have a pick in the next couple of drafts. the Timberwolves are kind of looking like they may turn it around, but Thibodeau wants to trade that pick to bring in a veteran leader, maybe Jimmy Butler. The Suns have no one else besides Devin Booker, so why do these young guys want to play in the desert? It's extremely hot in Phoenix, all the time. So, especially Deadspin, whose owners filed for bankruptcy protection, need to stop giving this kid a pass and saying it is his right. Sure, he can say who he wants to play for, but if he gets picked by the 76ers, that's his team. I despise guys like John Elway and Eli Manning because they did this exact same thing. They bitched and moaned and griped until they got their way, like spoiled, rotten, bratty little children. It's so childish. If I was the GM or owner of the 76ers, I'd pick Simmons out of spite.

Next, why are Simmons, Brandon Ingram and Jamal Murray the only "top" prospects. the three of them are all 19 or 20 year old that didn't get past the round of 16 in the tournament. Jamal Murray's team, Kentucky, was bounced in the round of 32. Brandon Ingram and Duke lost to Oregon in the round of 16. And Ben Simmons, they didn't even play in the NIT, so none of that sounds desirable to me. Of these three players, I think Ingram has the most upside, but he is a ways away from being a big time NBA player. I don't care how many jump shots, with no defense being played, that they make in individual workouts, for the guys that workout. I don't care about their vertical or their cone drill speed, all this combine stuff is as useless as the NFL combine results. What I care about is the in game stuff. I watch a tone of NBA and college basketball, so I have seen these three guys play. Murray was lost among the loaded Kentucky team. When you have 5,6 or even 7 players that can be picked, it is hard to stand out, unless you are an Anthony Davis or Karl Anthony-Towns. Brandon Ingram was good to great at times for Duke, but he is rail thin and he tends to settle for way more jumpers than he should be taking. He also takes possessions off sometimes on defense, and I don't like that. Ingram can, and probably will, get bigger, but he has to fully engage before I deem him a star.

Then there is Simmons. While he looks like an NBA player, he is big, can handle the ball and has great court vision, he also did not lead LSU to any tournament and as the season wore on, he looked tired and not as aggressive as he was at the start of the season. Everyone told me that I had to watch this kid play, so I started with his game against Oklahoma, and I came away very unimpressed. A lot of that is coaching, but if Simmons is the superstar that people are making him out to be, he should have willed that LSU team to, at the very least, 20 wins and an NCAA tournament bid. Simmons doesn't look like he will live up to the hype, at least in my opinion.

Finally, why aren't more people talking about Buddy Hield and Denzel Valentine as top 3 to 5 picks. Both guys had illustrious college careers. Both guys are gunners from the three, which is where the NBA is trending. Both guys play formidable defense, Valentine more so than Hield, but when they engage, they are close to lock down. Both have led their respective teams to a final four bid. Both scored 20 plus points per game. Both ran their teams offense at the most crucial times during their college careers. But the main thing, both are 22 years old. They have matured over 4 years of college. They may not be as good, who am I kidding, there is no way they'll be as good, but Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing and Magic Johnson all spent four years in college. Did that hinder their careers? Did they miss out on their prime of basketball by staying in school for four years? No and no. They all had great, hall of fame careers. This new era of the NBA drafting 18, 19 and 20 year old kids is watering down the NBA. The only one and done player from last years draft worth his salt in the NBA is Karl Anthony-Towns. Ever other freshman drafted last year, who knows.

If I had a team with a lottery pick, I'd definitely take Hield, but I'd also consider Valentine before I consider Simmons, Murray or Ingram. I prefer seasoned basketball players that are mature to teenagers that may or may not be ready for a big boy job. Basketball is a year round job and these young kids, who have never been pushed, are going to have a tough time adjusting. Take Hield or Valentine, not the freshman, your team will be better off in the long run.

Also, the draft is a waste of time and nobody should watch it, it's boring and ridiculous.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is available to be the gm for any NBA team, he knows most of the league could use a new GM. Reach Ty by following him on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest American Band Debate: Iggy and the Stooges

For the greatest American band debate today, I'm going to nominate the one, and only, punk rock group that I have legitimately liked. The problem with punk rock music, at least in America, it becomes too watered down and begins to sound emo when a decent punk group gets some fame. There are too many to list, but I bet the readers know exactly what I'm talking about. In all fairness, the best punk groups come from the UK. There is no denying this, it is a statement of fact. But, Iggy and the Stooges made American punk music cool for their run as a band.

Iggy and the Stooges were the only punk group I heard and was immediately in to. I know some people will try to tell me that the Ramones were punk, they were not, they were rock and pop. The Stooges were punk. Even when they first formed and did some psychedelic stuff, it still sounded punk rockish, at least to me. And, it was mainly because of their phenomenal front man, Iggy Pop. I knew that I was going to be into Iggy and the Stooges before I listened to them, because they are from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Not only were they from the greatest state in the US, but they were from the greatest college town of all time. I was destined to like them.

I do have to say, the way I first heard of the Stooges was from a Black Keys EP where they covered their song, "No Fun". I loved the Black Keys version, so, combined with the fact that they were from Ann Arbor and my all time favorite band was covering their songs, I had to check them out. They did not disappoint. Their self titled debut record, while not commercially successful, is a very, very good album. they have some of the psychedelic stuff going on, but it is mostly straight up punk guitar and bass riffs, fast paced drums and Iggy Pop performing these songs with his signature gruff style. I think the record is very good. They may have come off as weird when they released it in the early 70's, but it still holds up today. I'd much rather listen to this album than anything the Ramones have ever released.

A couple of years later, they released their second record, "Fun House". After the release of "Fun House", that was when the Stooges got the critical acclaim. It was a straight forward punk record with classic song after classic song. During the tour after the release of "Fun House" was also when the band got into heroin and their live shows became a thing of legend. Heroin is so nasty, I assume, and it seems like every band from the 70's tried it at one time or another, but it wasn't the drugs that made them great. The live shows was were it was at, and yes, I'm sure heroin had something to do with what made these shows so epic. They used to tour with another great American band, that will surely get their due on the site soon, MC5, and the shows are still talked about today. This was when Iggy Pop would do crazy stuff like cut himself with broken glass, rub food stuffs and other things all over his shirtless body, the band was always playing incredible stuff and, during these live shows, that was when Iggy Pop supposedly created stage diving. I don't know if it is true or not, but the fact that a lot of people credit him with creating this, I mean, how cool is that. Stage diving has become commonplace now, but imagine being there when it first happened. You have to have a crowd that is really into your music, so much so that they are willing to hold you up when you dive into a sea of fans. I love that Iggy Pop is the supposed creator, because who else could it really be. Iggy Pop is so believable as the man that invented stage diving.

After many epic live shows and many problems with hard drugs, the band all got sober and released their third, and final record as the traditional Stooges, "Rough Power". They recorded this album with David Bowie, who had become good friends with Pop, as the producer. The album is hit or miss, with most of the criticism being thrown Bowie's way for over producing, but it is still an okay record. You can definitely hear Bowie's fingerprints all over this record.

The band broke up for the final time after "Rough Power". Pop has gone on to do wonderful things as a solo artist. He has worked with many great musicians and producers, guys like Brian Burton and Josh Homme, and has had a lot of success. Pop is the undeniable star of this great group, but I cannot end this blog without mentioning how great the Asheton Brothers, Ron and Scott were. They were both just as important to the Stooges sound and uprising as one of the greatest punk rock groups ever. They have since passed, as has everyone else that was first involved with the Stooges, but Iggy Pop is still plugging along.

I also cannot end until I name some of the great bands that the Stooges influenced. I already mentioned the Black Keys, but other bands like Sonic Youth, Rage Against the Machine, REM, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the late great Kurt Cobain have all said that the Stooges were big influences, and they have all covered them, one way or another. The Stooges were finally, after 7 tries, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. It was a longtime coming.

Look, I will be forever grateful to the Stooges for showing me that punk rock can be good. It doesn't have to be simplistic and the singer doesn't have to scream into a mic or be emo. You can be yourself and make great music, which the Stooges did. They are more than worthy to be called 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. Who do you think the Greatest American Band is? Come tell us all about it. Also, follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Cloves and Fedoras: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the Movie of the Summer

Over this past weekend I finally got to see my most anticipated movie of the summer, "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping", and boy, did it ever deliver.

"Popstar" might be one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen. I'm a humongous fan of everything the Lonely Island does. The Lonely Island is Akiva Schafer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg. They started doing the short videos on "SNL" a long time ago, and those were always fun and very funny. They have released four albums as a "rap" group, and while it is meant to be comedic, some of their songs are really good, chart topping good. Then, awhile back they created one of my all time favorite movies, "Hot Rod". "Hot Rod" was so bizarre and not like any comedy I had ever seen. The jokes were written and delivered weird, but in a very funny way. I absolutely adore that movie. It has gone down as one of my personal top ten movies of all time.

While doing all these things, the Lonely Island worked with a "minimal" sum of money, compared to what some other comedic teams were working with. Well, with "Popstar", they had a pretty big industry backing and many famous people came on as producers. Basically, they got the money to make a very big, very funny movie and they 100 percent did that with "Popstar". The movie focuses on Andy Samberg's character Connor 4Real. He, Jorma and Akiva were once in a band called the Styleboyz, but they broke up and Conner(Andy Samberg) blew up as a solo artist. He kept Owen(Jorma Taccone), as his DJ, but Lawrence(Akiva Schafer), looked at Conner as a sell out and left the music business to become a farmer in Colorado. I don't want to spoil anything because people need to see this movie, but that is the basics of the story.

"Popstar" is about so much more than a singer becoming famous and trying to live up to expectations. If I had to pick one central theme to the movie, I'd say it is about excess and how watered down the pop music industry has become in the 21st century. For example, Conner has 32 people on his payroll. These 32 people have jobs like someone to hit Conner in the balls when he forgets where he came from, or a perspective model, to make Conner look taller at photo shoots. It sounds insane and hilarious, of which it is both, but it is also a little too real. I would bet a lot of money that some famous pop stars today have similar type people on their personal payroll. Conner also has a house that would be too big if 50 people lived in it. Once again, we all see what kind of homes these singers today own. They are gaudy, huge and no one should ever want, or need a house that big. Conner also surrounds himself with only yes men and women. No matter how dumb, hurtful or ridiculous his ideas become, all his people tell him what a great idea it is, even if that means they eat pancakes that have dog shit in them. We all know that people like the Beibs, or Taylor Swift have a whole crew of people surrounding them that only say good things about them.

Once we leave the excess, "Popstar" moves into the decline that all these pop singers will eventually face. Conner's second solo album is an absolute flop, and it is because of Conner, and he does not know how to deal with the bad reviews and his fans turning on him. He will do almost anything to get back in his fans good graces. He wants to release his music in kitchen appliances so the whole world can hear his new record. Doesn't that sound eerily similar to U2 giving away their record for free on iTunes? I didn't want that album, but it showed up on my music the day it was released. I couldn't delete it fast enough. Same thing happens to Conner. People opening their refrigerators, ovens and microwaves were inundated with his music and they proceeded to break their home appliances. Conner can't sell out any of his shows, so he brings on the hot new rap artist, Hunter the Hungry, played so great by Chris Redd, but when he starts to get more shine than Conner, Conner becomes annoyed, jealous and upset. He can't handle not being the center of attention.

There are so many other ways this movie shows the excess and the almost obsessive need to be loved in so many great ways. Jorma is great as the DJ that is just along for the ride, but growing tired of not being involved. Akiva Schafer is phenomenal as the guy that leaves the music business, but just wants credit where credit is due. Tim Meadows is tremendous as Conner's manager and former member of Tony! Tone! Toni! Tony?. Imogen Poots is so perfect as Ashley Wednesday, Conner's star chaser girlfriend that leaves him the moment he isn't as famous as he once was. Sarah Silverman is very funny and very good as Conner's head of PR. There are so many other great performances in "Popstar". But, Samberg shines in this role. He is so good at playing this type of character and I want to see so much more stuff like this from the Lonely Island.

The fact that this movie isn't doing so well at the box office is an absolute shame. People nowadays would rather watch some mind numbing Michael Bay crappy action movie. That stinks. That isn't new or hip or even good. It's all rehashed garbage that didn't work in the 80's and 90's. It's a real bummer that more people would rather watch trash than a smart, well written, well acted and well directed comedy like "Popstar". This movie was incredible and greatly exceeded even my very high expectations. I cannot wait to see it again, buy it when it comes out on Blu-Ray and watch it over and over and over again. "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" is a triumph.

GO SUPPORT THIS MOVIE!

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is serious people, go see this movie. Right now. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The NBA is Wrong with the Draymond Green Suspension

It is nice that LeBron has the NBA boardroom helping out this finals

So, I saw "Popstar" yesterday, but my review will have to wait until tomorrow because of the idiotic suspension that was handed to Draymond Green for tonight's game 5.

Yes, I think Green has proven during these playoffs that he is a very dirty player who flails at every opportunity, but why suspend him now when they did not suspend him for multiple kicks to the crotch in the western conference finals? What he did against OKC was so much worse and heinous than what he did in game four the other night. He consistently flailed his legs and arms during the series with the Thunder because they were frustrating him with their length and their quickness. He didn't have an answer, so he did every dirty thing he could think of. He repeatedly kicked Steven Adams in the groin region throughout the series. He blatantly tripped Enes Kanter during game 6. He was consistently throwing elbows and low blows in the post to whatever big man he was guarding. But, the NBA didn't think that any of that was suspendable.

Yet, during game 4 of the finals, Green came and set a perfectly legal screen on LeBron James. James took offense to this and shoved him to the ground. I must add, the Cavs were beginning to blow game 4 at this point. After physically throwing Green to the ground, James decided it was okay to step over Green, rubbing his man region all in Green's face. They then proceeded to go after a rebound, and while Green, after they both trash talked each other for a second, looked like he was legitimately boxing LeBron out, LeBron decided it was time to throw Green to the ground again and yell at him. He then started to get in Green's face, and like all NBA fights involving superstars, LeBron stayed about 10 feet away and had his teammates "hold him back". First off, LeBron isn't going to fight anyone. He is too big a star, and the NBA and his fans would not react well to that. I ask, what was Draymond Green supposed to do? If anyone thinks that it was okay for LeBron James to do what he did, you are wrong. Draymond Green had every right to swing at James. That was a total punk move from someone that was being a sore loser.

For the NBA to take LeBron James' side, once again, I mean come on, that is downright shady. The NBA badly wants this series to last as long as possible. So what do they do? They suspend one of the most important players to the Warriors. Never mind the fact that the Cavs have been whining this whole series about the refs, they have been not getting called for fouls just as much, if not more than the Warriors. The Cavs are the quintessential prima donna team, led by the biggest prima donna of them all, LeBron James. He bitches and moans to the media that "it is rough, constantly getting fouled, with no call every time I drive to the basket". I say, grow up. You are the biggest and best player on the floor, and it is the finals, refs have always let the players play a lot rougher in the finals.

Just because your name is LeBron James doesn't mean you should get special treatment. Did Jordan get calls when the Pistons were shoving him left and right in the 80's and 90s? No. Did Jordan complain? Not that I know of. He would just go out the next game and put up 40 or 50 points and will his team to win. Did Shaq get any calls during his prime? Absolutely not. The officials said it was impossible to officiate Shaq because everything was a foul. Did Shaq complain? Nope. He would still score 30 or 40 points, go to the free throw line 20 times and the Lakers and Heat won titles with him.

So, I ask again, why did the NBA decide to give James this preferential treatment? They are making the Warriors play without their best, and most versatile defender in a possible close out game tonight. If the Cavs do not win this game and LeBron blames it on someone other than himself, I will lose whatever respect I have left for him. The NBA has handed him this game on a platter. I know it's in Oakland, and it is very tough for a visiting team to win there, but don't underestimate how much the Warriors will miss Draymond Green tonight. He is not only their key guy in defense, but he runs a ton of the offense. He may not score in bunches, but he is the conduit for a lot of the things they do on the offensive end. This is sickening that the NBA has done something like this in the finals. I want to watch the best players play the best players. I know that the Warriors have good to great guys off the bench, but I don't want to see Shaun Livingston, Festus Ezeli or Mo Speights playing big minutes in a possible close out game. I want to see Draymond Green. I don't know who said this, but I totally agree, that if the series were tied 2-2, there is no way Green gets suspended for tonight's game. But, since the Warriors are up 3-1, the NBA front office chose to suspend a crucial guy to try and push this finals as long as they can.

This is a joke and, as I said above, if the Cavs do not win tonight, I don't know what else the NBA can do to give LeBron another advantage. First off, he doesn't need an advantage, or at least he shouldn't, if he wants to be one of the greatest of all time. Secondly, it is a shame that David Silver and the NBA are so blatantly pulling for the Cavs and LeBron. This stinks and it just made game 5 a little less desirable to watch. And I'm a huge NBA fan.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to see the best players, not the best whiners, dictate the NBA Finals. Ty is not a whiner, see for yourself by following him on twitter @tykulik.

Kevin Love has Already Suffered the Biggest Loss of the NBA Finals

It is time for Kevin Love to pick up his ball and find a new home.

The other night, when the Cavs crushed the Warriors by 30, that was the worst possible outcome that Kevin Love could have ever imagined.

This all but proved, at least to me, this Cavs team is so much more better off without Love. He is a total liability on defense, and he cannot stay on the court with LeBron because they both essentially play the same position. LeBron was way off the mark when he came back to Cleveland 2 years ago and made the front office trade away Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love. Think of how much more dynamic this team would be if they had Andrew Wiggins instead of Kevin Love right now. They would have one of the more athletic starting 5's in the NBA. Wiggins is already a so much better defender than Love is, and his offensive game has improved his first 2 years in the league. The Cavs don't know how to use Kevin Love as well. He is a 6'10 power forward, who only a couple of years ago, had one of the better low post games and was a top notch rebounder. His defense was still pretty terrible, but he wasn't playing deep into May and June, so no one noticed. We all just saw wonderful numbers and assumed he would fit in perfectly with James and Kyrie Irving.

Well, both coaches that he has had in Cleveland have turned him into a "floor spacer". He just sits outside the arc and waits for LeBron to dictate where the ball will go. And that is fine, because LeBron is the best player in the NBA. The offense should run through him. But, it is a waste to just have Love sit outside, shoot barely 40 percent from 3 and play little to no defense. They should try some stuff in the low post, but they barely do because LeBron and Irving need that lane open to drive to the basket. That is their strength.

Then, the 30 point win happened after Love went down with a concussion in game 2 and did not pass concussion protocol, so Richard Jefferson got the start. The same Richard Jefferson that has been in the NBA for what seems to be about a million years. I remember Richard Jefferson being a veteran in the NBA when I was in college, over a decade ago. Then, when Tyron Lue was asked why he picked Jefferson to start over guys like Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov and Channing Frye, he said it was due to defensive quickness. Shots fired directly at Kevin Love with that comment. The same can be said for Shumpert. Lue is straight up calling these dudes out in social and main media. Who does he think he is, Doc Rivers? Phil Jackson? Basically, he thinks he can talk as if he is a hall of fame caliber coach. Sorry Tyron Lue, you haven't proven a god damn thing yet. And Richard Jefferson is supposed to be your energy guy to spark the defense? Jesus Christ, that should be terrifying to every Cavs fan in the entire world.

Does anyone really think that he can keep it up against this incredible young and talented Warriors team? Yeah, it worked for one game, but the Warriors did not show up ready to play that night. And Kyrie Irving could not miss in the first half. A lot of things went Cleveland's way on Wednesday night. They shot more free throws, they made more difficult shots, their stars, LeBron more so in the second half, played wonderful and the Warriors got absolutely destroyed on the glass. Cleveland played a perfect game. And they did it with Kevin Love on the bench.

I don't know if he has passed concussion protocol yet, but he practiced the past couple days and every reporter says he looks good. I will be very curious, if he passes concussion tests, if and how the Cavs use him. What if they start him and the Cavs look bad again, will it be straight to the bench? Or, what if they start Jefferson, with plans to bring Love off the bench, but the Cavs excel again with Love not on the court? Or what if they start Jefferson and the Warriors run him off the court, and they bring Love out and he gets run off the court? I just don't know what is going to happen. I cannot put my finger on it, and it is kind of frustrating.

I do know that, regardless of the outcome, Kevin Love is more than likely done in Cleveland after the finals. He is clearly a bad fit on this team and the players, and probably the coach, don't like him. I don't know who will trade for him, but someone like Boston, who is starved for a past all star, may try all they can to get him. But, he is all but done in Cleveland. I bet that every time Cleveland scored on Wednesday night and got a defensive stop, Kevin Love cringed. He knows his time in Cleveland is limited.

With all this being said, and with the blowout, and no matter what they do with Kevin Love, the Warriors still hold a 2 games to 1 lead, and they are younger, faster, more explosive and more athletic. Oh, and Klay Thompson and Steph Curry haven't even played all that well yet. I still see the Warriors winning, and I still see it happening in 6 games. But, Cleveland is a much, much better team when Kevin Love is not on the court. We have visible evidence of this now.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Do you think Kevin Love is overrated,  just wait to see what other pop culture and sports figures Ty will tell you are overrated. Hear it all on tomorrow's X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty has twitter and you should follow him @tykulik.

Leon Bridges Exceeds Expectations with a Flawless Live Show

It was a good night for the mic

It's always wonderful when you have a build up to something that you have been looking forward to for 5 or 6 months, and it totally delivers what you want and expect. That happened last night when I went to see Leon Bridges play at the Pageant in Saint Louis last night. This show was absolutely incredible. It is probably the best concert that I have been to in quite some time.

There was an opener last night, and I will dedicate a few words to him. His name was Solo Woods, and he played guitar and sang and he had a percussion player alongside him. Woods was okay. He has a very good voice, he is energetic on stage and he is a pretty decent guitar player. His originals, while good, all kind of blended into one song, but that was fine. His best songs were his two covers. He covered Bob Marley's "Burnin and Lootin", but turned it into a hybrid reggae/R&B song, and it was good. It is hard to cover someone that is so famous and world renowned, but Woods did Bob Marley justice. He also covered Outkast, but more so, Andre Benjamin's, "Pretty Pink", and that was a perfect song for his voice and his musical styling. Woods was good, I was never bored during his 40 minute set.

The main event started about 20 minutes after Woods finished. Leon Bridges is a wunderkind. He is about to become a humongous star. He commanded the stage last night for his 80 minute set. The band came out first last night and they played some great instrumental, funky, old school R&B music and, about a minute later, Bridges came dancing on stage and the sold out crowd erupted. We were all waiting and waiting, and then when he showed up, we were all so, so thrilled. While the band was still playing, Bridges started the opening bars to the great "Smooth Sailin". He absolutely crushed the song, and I knew that we, the crowd, were in for an absolutely astonishing show. Bridges eschewed the guitar, with the exception of one song, last night so he could focus on vocals. It was a weird, but ultimately, a very good decision. He has such a great voice, he should just showcase that. After that excellent opening, Bridges proceeded to play pretty much every song on his tremendous debut album, "Coming Home". He played "Coming Home", "Better Man", "Flowers", "Twistin and Groovin", and pretty much everything else on the record. He sounded so great live performing these songs. He had an exuberance that permeated the entire crowd last night while performing. It is almost impossible to not nod your head, move your feet and just all out dance to his songs. He plays and sings old school R&B, and he does it so damn well.

I was talking to my father after the show last night, and I told him the best comparison I can make is, he reminds me of the videos and clips that I have seen involving Rufus Thomas from the 60's and 70's, during Stax Records heyday. Bridges has a much better voice, but he has that same enthusiasm that Thomas brought to all his shows. I love that a young, new performer is bringing this excellent music from the 60's and 70's to the masses.

Even when Bridges slowed things down and played his slower stuff, he still brought an energy and a happiness while performing. His live version of "Shine", "Roll Away" and "Daisy Mae" were absolutely incredible. His voice is so smooth and his voice excels when doing the slowed down R&B songs. I learned that he wrote "Daisy Mae" based on a suggestion from his friend to write a song about his dog, named Daisy Mae. Well, Bridges ran with it, but changed it from a dog to a pretty lady, and it is a very, very good song. I also learned that his song "Lisa Sawyer" is about his mother. That song is beautiful and a great tribute to his love for his mother. I also learned that "Twistin and Groovin" is about when his grandparents met. It gives that song so much more meaning.

We, the crowd were also very lucky to hear 2 new songs last night. Bridges said that we were the first audience to hear these tunes, and they were both great. One was a more upbeat, classic Stax style song, and the other was a great, slower, but ramps up, mix of R&B and soul song, which was tremendous. I cannot wait to see what he does with these 2 new songs, because if the rest of his next record is half as good as these 2 songs, it will be great.

Bridges closed out his set with my favorite song of his, "The River". It was just him, his guitar and his back up singer. "The River" is a gloriously beautiful song, and to hear it live, it was moving. I was shocked at how much the song moved me last night. I haven't felt anything like that at a live show in a very long time. He came back and played 2 encore songs, one a cover of an old classic with local musician, Pokey Lafarge. It was great to see these 2 young guys that adore and play old music together on stage. They did a great job. I'd love to hear the 2 of them work together in the future. He closed the night with "Mississippi Kisses", and he got the crowd involved in a call and response type dialogue. I usually don't go for crowd interaction, but it was near impossible to not join in. It was awesome and a perfect ending to a perfect night.

Thank you Leon Bridges for performing such an excellent, wonderful and moving show last night. I cannot wait to see you again, and I cannot wait to hear what you have for us in the future. It was awesome.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Will you be playing a show in the St. Louis area? Hit up Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest American Band Debate: Pearl Jam

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

Today I will be getting back to the greatest American band debate and I will be getting back to the grunge era. I know that our head editor RD will disagree with this choice, but I am, and always will be a very big fan of Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam made grunge music accessible to everyone. They weren't as influential, or as good for that matter, as either Nirvana or Soundgarden, but I find myself listening to Pearl Jam more than I listen to most music from the 90's. They made grunge music top 100 type music. Usually I don;t care for top 100 music, but I always get happy when a good band, a band like Pearl Jam, makes music that everyone deems top 100. That means that everyone can hear them, not just their fans.

I was not a fan, I had never heard of Pearl Jam, until I heard and saw the video for the song "Jeremy". This song is brutally tragic and so is the video. It is about a bullied kid coming into his school and massacring everyone and everything. This song came out before all the tragedies that happened in the 2000's, and even the stuff that goes on now. Pearl Jam was ahead of the times, by a wide margin, with the song "Jeremy". What stuck out most for me from the song was how catchy it was. It is a very sad, very gut wrenching song, but as I sit here typing this, the chorus is rattling through my brain. It made every top list the year it came out. The video was played everywhere. It had the desired effect. The song made people think about this tragic event, and people started to do things to try and curb bullying in schools. It is a very important song and everyone should listen to it at least once in their life. "Jeremy" opened the Pearl Jam door for me.

After hearing "Jeremy", I went out and bought the album "10", which featured "Jeremy". It also had mega hits like "Even Flow", "Alive", "Porch" and "Garden". These songs are quintessential grunge songs, especially "Alive" and "Even Flow". Those songs are timeless and it gave the world Eddie Vedder's incredibly unique singing voice. I love that, still today, I can put the "10" on in my car and be shocked back to when I was a 10 year old in the early 90's, rocking out to this incredible album.

With the success of "10" Pearl Jam put out "Vs", another classic. "Vs" has choice hits on it like, "Daughter", "Animal" and "Dissident". Again, Pearl Jam was writing thoughtful rock music that appealed to the masses. I don;t think there is a sadder, more poignant song than "Daughter". Go listen to it right now and try not to be moved by how sad those lyrics are.

Having only released two albums Pearl Jam was proving to be some of the best song writers on the planet. They had more hits than pretty much any grunge band and the songs that were hits had meaning behind them. They weren't pointless pop songs, they were rock songs with a message. Two years after "Vs.", they released "Vitalogy". Now, full disclosure, this was the last Pearl Jam record I bought. It is not as good as "10" or "Vs", but there is till some very good songs on the record. I personally really enjoy songs like "Not For You" and "Immortality". They show a more grown up version of Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam. It is still grunge music with a message, but the band is a bit tighter and they sound like they fully formed on "Vitalogy", especially on "Not For You" and "Immortality". But, "Vitalogy" as a whole isn't that great. It's good, but not as good as their earlier stuff. I admit, it has to be hard to try and follow up two great records, but Pearl Jam tried their hardest and it almost worked. They continue to release albums, but they just don't match the greatness that was "10" and "Vs".

Pearl Jam became much more active politically and socially throughout their careers. They had the huge lawsuit with Ticketmaster. They believed, and I agree, that Ticketmaster is a bunch of thieves. They charge you the face value for the ticket, but then they surcharge the hell out of you. Pearl Jam thought this was wrong, so they took them to court and let the world know that Ticketmaster was taking advantage of them. I will be forever grateful to Pearl Jam for doing this. I used to buy all my stuff through Ticketmaster, but after reading and hearing about this lawsuit, I jumped ship as soon as possible. Now, I will only go through bands, comedians or venues webpages to buy tickets because I know that Ticketmaster can't do a damn thing to me. They cannot add charge after charge on my bill and all my money goes to the artist and the venue. Sure, the artist doesn't get all of it, but at least Ticketmaster isn't gouging me and the artist can control the price of everything. That is all due, for the most part, to Pearl
Jam. They have always been the champion the of the little man. The people that aren't the 1 percent. Pearl Jam wants to help out anyway they can. I don't see a lot of artist do that, but Pearl Jam does it, and then some.

Then there is Eddie Vedder. Me personally, I adore Eddie Vedder. I thought he was the perfect front man for Pearl Jam, and he has proven to be an excellent solo artist. He is extremely multi talented and will continue to have a very long career in music. When I saw him at the Fox in Saint Louis about 5 years ago, not only was it one of the best concerts that I have ever been to, but he crushed the show. It was during his ukulele phase, and the show was incredible. Vedder is, by far, the biggest "rock star" that I have ever seen live, and he totally delivered. The show lasted for almost 3 hours and I could have easily watched another 3 hours and I would have been enamored. Eddie Vedder is what every "rock star" should strive to be. He stands for all the right things, he fights for the little guy and he does his best to help everyone, be it through his music or otherwise. I adore Eddie Vedder.

I also adore Pearl Jam and they 100 percent belong in the greatest American band debate. Tell me why I'm wrong RD. I await your ruling.

ed response: In the podcast, I did not say Pearl Jam is bad, I said they were overrated. They made one good song, and have been playing variations of that same song for decades. Mic drop.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Who is the Greatest American Band, Ty has many nominees you should take a look at. Get to know the next Greatest American Band by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Hilarious Sadness that is Guy Fieri

Disclaimer- I do not own the rights to any of the clips shown or the music. This is for entertainment purposes only. I know that this is a NIN cover. But in an interview with Trent Reznor he said it was now Johnny Cash's after he heard the cover.

Yesterday I was goofing around on the internet and I stumbled upon something great. I was looking at Facebook, or maybe it was Twitter, and I happened upon the AV Club's fan page. I check the AV club stuff out a lot. I enjoy some of their reviews on movies, music and other things, and I always enjoy reading their top 10, 20 or 30 lists because they drive me both, very angry and agreeable. Sometimes they are right on the mark, other times, they are way off. The AV Club is also very predictable. It's easy to know what they will like and dislike when it comes to TV, movies, music, basically any pop culture stuff. But, this video I stumbled upon last night is one of the greatest "WTF" things I have ever seen on the internet.

First things first, I do not enjoy Guy Fieri. The guy is a hack. He is a joke. He has no idea what he is doing and he looks like a goblin. He is a wannabe rock star that tries to make eating at diners and cooking mediocre food look cool. Spoiler alert Guy Fieri, you are not, nor have you ever been, cool. You look and act utterly ridiculous. You are the Sammy Hagar of food, and that is not a compliment.

On the other hand, I do enjoy Johnny Cash. I love pretty much everything he has done. When he first put out music, it was at the height of good country music. He was the best, in my opinion, amongst his peers that included guys like Hank Williams and Kris Kristofferson. In the middle of his career, when he was infatuated with pills and jail, he made some of his best music. His album, "Live at Folsom Prison" is, not only one of my personal favorite live albums, it is also one of the best live albums of all time. It is a peak performer doing his best music for a bunch of inmates, and they all loved it. Even later in his life, when he teamed up with Rick Rubin, that was, in my opinion, his best music. He did mainly covers, but the covers and the originals were top notch. Rick Rubin put his stamp on it, but those records really shined when Cash would sing. His voice, while old and getting more gruff, sounded delightful. It was heartbreaking, but in all the right ways.

This all leads me back to what I was talking about in the beginning of this post. Some genius cut together a video of Guy Fieri eating food, on one of his many TV shows, and instead of having Fieri talk or putting in his garbage music on his shows, they put Johnny Cash's version of the song "Hurt" as the main music accompanying the 3 minute video. Go watch it right now, it will change your life. The video is one of the funniest, gut wrenching, tastefully done comedic things I have witnessed. The video opens on Fieri talking about some kind of food that he is about to devour, because that is the only proper word for describing how Guy Fieri eats, and then the music comes in and Cash recites the opening lyric, "I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel". Oh. My. God. What a perfect lyric to describe Guy Fieri's life choices. Not only does he hurt himself with the food he eats, but his everyday life is one bad choice after another, and I think he does it to see if he can still feel things like embarrassment, pain and guilt. This was the exact opening I was hoping for when I clicked on the link and it only got so much better from there. Cash continues to sing the song and we continue to see Fieri eating one monstrosity after the other. Then, when we get to the chorus, it is a thing of beauty, at least comedy wise, not so much to look at. When the chorus starts, Fieri is just jamming this food into his stupid face, and all the while, we hear Cash singing things, "What have I become, my only friend", "everything goes away in the end", "but you could have it all", "I will make you hurt". Those lyrics couldn't be anymore perfect for what we are seeing as the viewing audience. Even at the end, when the chorus gets louder and more poignant, it is like a mash up of all of the things that most people find incredibly disgusting about Guy Fieri.

This video is everything that it should be. It is funny, poignant, timely and will go down as a classic "viral video". As I said before, I don't know who made it, but I know that they had a stroke of genius when they decided to do this. This is one of the greatest things that is on the internet. This gives me faith in the good parts of the internet. Yeah, it is mocking someone, but this particular someone deserves to be mocked for his countless moments of acting, and being, a jackass. I watched the video three times yesterday, showed it to my wife who watched it once, and I have watched it two more times today. This is wonderful and I urge everyone to seek it out. You won't be disappointed.

ed note: The creator of the video is Mayor Wertz, you can subscribe to his YouTube channel here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host for the X Millennial Man Podcast. He loves his food, he just does not love it with flame shirts and bleached hair. Make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest of All Time

 kakisky via morguefile.com

Over this past weekend, we lost another legend. This time, this was a larger than life legend. I have written too much about death since this website started a little over a year ago, but this person deserves the spot light for all the important things he did in his 74 years. Yes, Daryl Dawkins, Moses Malone and Phife were all very important to me, and many others, but they are not nearly as important, influential and world renowned as the great Muhammad Ali.

I'm not going to sit here and mark off all the important fights he won, we all know about that. Hell, even people that don't really watch or know too terribly much about boxing know that Ali was a great champion. His fights were epic, and that is one of the reasons he is a hero of mine, but he was so much more than just his boxing career. Ali was a trailblazer. He was the antithesis of a yes man. He was the worlds best showman. He was the first person I ever heard of when people talked about athletes making their name their brand. He was a fighter, and that means so much more than just a boxer. He was groundbreaking. He was everything that everyone should strive to be. Sure, he ruffled some feathers, but not everyone will be universally liked, but damned if he wasn't universally respected.

Ali stood for so much more than just boxing. He changed religions right after he had just burst onto the scene as a prize fighter. Back then, that was a no no. People did not like change in the 60's, especially coming from a brash, African American boxer. But, Ali owned it and then some. He didn't care what anyone thought of him. He was who he was, and that's all that mattered. He was boisterous back in the 60's. No one had seen anyone that acted like that back then. Some athletes may have had bravado, but they kept it to themselves. Not Ali, he let it fly openly and often. If he were to come around today, he would be a "viral sensation", but he didn't need any stupid gimmicks like that. He was great no matter what. Also, to convert to Islam, that took balls. But, he didn't just do it to do it, he committed 100 percent. He preached and believed everything he read and said. I LOVE that about Ali. People now only look at Islam as a bad thing, but Islam is all about love and respect, not hate. That is what guys like Ali preached.

Now, back to his boisterous behavior. He didn't care the situation or the circumstance, he was going to say what was on his mind. No matter who took offense to it, Ali didn't care. Again, I LOVE that about him. He would talk a huge game, but he always backed it up. He also never backed away or down from the comments or speeches he made. He fully, 100 percent believed everything he said, and he was right about 99 percent of the time. There was no one better at spreading the word of Islam, prepping for a big fight, trash talking before a big fight or giving a very un-politically correct response whenever he would be questioned on political topics. Ali was a genius. Ali was well read and well spoken. Ali knew what he was going to say before he said it. He didn't speak out of turn or say ignorant things, everything was done with a purpose. That is what made him so great.

When Muhammad Ali's career ended, he didn't fade into oblivion, or make grills or tried to fight well after his prime, he became a spokesman for many, many things. He was the one that people came to to preach the word of Islam when the attacks of September 11th happened. He gave a heartfelt and moving speech on what Islam really means on ESPN at the height of his Parkinson's. He was violently shaking and could barely open his eyes, but the words he spoke were moving and poignant. Go back and watch that interview and I guarantee that you will respect him even more than you did before. He also lit the torch at the Olympics, also while his Parkinson's was very bad. He took that torch, ran the best that he could, and lit it to signify the start of the games. It was incredibly moving. I still get chills thinking about it today. That was such a huge moment in sports history that kind of gets overlooked now. Ali is the biggest and best athlete of all time, but no one talks about this huge moment at the Olympics. Well, it needs to be brought up more.

Life after boxing also included many run ins with many other famous athletes and people of note and they all came away saying pretty much the same thing. When they met Ali, they knew they were in the room with greatness. People like Kareem Abdul Jabaar, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Prince, any of the Presidents, kings and queens from all countries, they all knew that they were sitting and talking with the greatest. They were all star struck. Ali was never star struck because he was the biggest star of them all. He was a pioneer. He brought boxing, Islam, selling your brand, being proud of who you are and where you came from to the masses. Without Ali, we may have not gotten these type of things, or even worse, it would have been some asshole that we attribute this all too. We are very lucky that we all got to witness his greatness.

I never got to see an Ali fight in real time, but I got to see him be a political hero and just an overall hero. I will greatly miss you Muhammed Ali. You are the best athlete that has ever graced the Earth. You are the best show man as well. And you were a great person. I hope that wherever you are right now, you are floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. RIP Champ.

Ty

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

2016 and the End of the 1968 Political Revolution

I am the one who makes American Great

The Presidential primary election is usually a boring, anticlimactic, process the country goes through ever four years. There are a few legends of divided presidential nominating contests. In 1800 Thomas Jefferson handily beat incumbent John Adams in the election for President, yet due to some quirks in the process of electing the executive, the victorious Jefferson had to fight it out in the US House of Representatives with his own running mate, former Senator Aaron Burr. The electoral stalemate was broken only when Jefferson's rival, former US Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, threw his support behind the Democratic-Republican candidate from Virginia. Jefferson went on to become President, and Burr killed Hamilton in a duel a few years later. The second Republican Party convention of 1860 famously saw relative unknown former Illinois Representative Abraham Lincoln go from a third place finish on the first ballot, to winning the nomination on the third. The 1948 Democratic Party convention ended in a split within the the party when the pro-segregationists left to form the Dixiecrats. Other infamous political icons like South Carolina's John Calhoun, Nebraska's William Jennings Bryan, and New York's Horatio Seymour have at times made their party's nomination contests somewhat of a circus.

Not one of these historical episodes compares to what happened to the Democratic Party in 1968. Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson choose to not seek the party's nomination due to increasing public dissent over his administrations role in escalating the war in Vietnam. Senators Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota and Robert Kennedy of New York were challenging for the nomination by running on an anti-war platform. With President Johnson out, the establishment of the Democratic party was rallying behind Vice President Hubert Humphrey. In the lead up to the convention in Chicago, the nation was in the grip of never ending tragedy and violence. On April 4th, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee. June 5th, shortly after claiming victory in the Democratic Party's California primary, Robert Kennedy was assassinated by a lone gunman. Many cities across the United States were experiencing riots due to the discord in the country. The baby boomers were beginning to reach voting age, and many of them were tired of seeing their family and friends coming back from Vietnam injured, mentally damaged, or dead. They wanted their concerns to be heard, and the politicians was ignoring their voices. The Democratic Party Convention in Chicago was marred by constant protests and violence in the streets. Things were made even worse when the party nominated the pro-Johnson Humphrey over the anti-war McCarthy. The nomination of Hubert Humphrey was seen as a manipulation by party leaders because the sitting Vice President had not even competed in a number of state primaries, and the anti-war McCarthy, with the primary votes won by the recently deceased Kennedy, had garnered over three quarters of support from actual Democrats. Party insiders had gone directly against the will of the people, and nominee Hubert Humphrey was destroyed in the general election by Republican Richard Nixon. 

Is 2016 shaping up to be another 1968? The two parties are getting ready to nominate candidates who have extremely high disapproval numbers. The primary process itself has been marred by political insiders trying to subvert the will of the voters. The parties are ignoring the millennial voters and their concern about economic security and opportunity. There has been more talk about convention rules and superdelegates than there has been about the will of the voters. Violence has been erupting at events associated with Presidential candidates. The anger and fear of the younger generation of voters is being ignored by the establishment candidates. The summer of 2016 is starting to look like that of 1968. What has happened to bring us back to this point almost 50 years later?

The road to the nomination for New York businessman Donald Trump mirrors the 1968 Democratic Party nomination. In 2016, like in 1968, the party was divided along many different ideologies. The insane number of Republicans who competed in the early primaries caused a fracture in the central GOP philosophy. Voters were split and would gravitate towards candidates based a few issues. No consensus candidate could be rallied behind. Trump emerged as an alternative to the establishment Republican ideals by speaking directly to the fears and anger of the Republican voters. Unlike in 1968 when the Democratic establishment was able to force their preferred candidate to the nomination, the republican voters of 2016 were able to elect their man. The incompetence of the Republican National Committee, and the cheerleading from the press, led directly to the embarrassment that is Donald Trump's candidacy. The dangerous and un-American  rhetoric from the New York businessman is leading us into a summer of discord. The Republican Convention in Cleveland is getting ready for 1968 Chicago levels of disruption.

The eventual nomination of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the Democratic party has more in common with the ascension of Richard Nixon to the GOP nomination in 1968. Nixon easily won the nomination in 1968 because he was the party's most reliable national figure. The former Vice President had been around Washington D.C. for decades. He was a well known commodity for a party that did not have a strong bench of nationally renowned figures. Nixon was mildly challenged by an upstart in California Governor Ronald Reagan, but no one in the Republican establishment were taking any of Reagan'a new conservative ideas seriously. The former Vice President also devised the "southern strategy" during the primary season to make sure that core republican voters were solidly in the Nixon camp. Richard Nixon was not a popular choice, but he was the best the party could do. Plus, with  the problems in the Democratic Party, Nixon could be presented as the sensible choice for President. 

Secretary Clinton has been presented as the "next person up" since she announced her candidacy is 2015. The Democratic Party insiders have done their best to smack down the different ideas of the Bernie Sanders campaign. The primary plan for Clinton has been a bizarro southern strategy where the former Secretary of State has secured the support of minorities who tend to be traditional Democratic voters. Her campaign uses these tactics to drown out and ignore the disaffected millennials. Clinton may not have secured the nomination with the same ease that Nixon did, but her inevitability followed the same path.  The Democratic party have already adopted the GOP 1968 talking points by insinuating that Hillary Clinton is the sensible choice for President in 2016. Core voters, establishment support, and being the most acceptable person available, that is how Hillary Clinton won the primary.

As the Primary season ends, and the party conventions just around the corner, the United States is living in a new era of public frustration. The Republican Party is being fueled by anger and violence, while the Democratic party is catering to the establishment while it ignores its younger voters. The nomination process of 1968 fatally injured the Democratic Party, and cut a small wound in the GOP. Both parties were forever changed by what happened. Forty-eight years later, 2016 has seen the Republican Party fall to pieces with the Democrats starting to accelerate their demise. Donald Trump will hurt the entire Republican Party in 2016, like Humphrey did to the Democrats in 1968. Hillary Clinton will easily win the Presidency in 2016, following the same path the fates set for Richard Nixon. Many voters on both sides of the political spectrum will feel left out. The discord and anger in the country will get worse. The election of 1968 started a political revolution that lasted for almost 50 years. How long will the revolution of 2016 last?

ed note: The original article misspelled Senator Eugene McCarthy's name. We have corrected the mistake.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to know how in the world Hillary Clinton will not win the 2016 election. Come on and tell us.

The Pathetic State of LeBron James Fanboyism at ESPN

Being in the bag for LeBron must be cutting oxygen off to the ESPN anchor's brains

To wrap up my week of NBA talk, I am going to criticize two of ESPN's lead anchors that are completely in the bag for the Cavs, and more specifically, LeBron James.

The first anchor is the loud mouthed piece of garbage known as Stephen A Smith. You'll remember him as the same guy that said that Kevin Durant made an enemy for life when Durant questioned a report that Smith put out about his impending free agency. Durant said that himself and his people didn't, or do they ever, talk to Smith. He called him out on his false report and said he was a liar. Well, instead of owning up to his mistake that he was caught red handed doing, he decided to go into attack mode, making that dumbass "you don't want to get on my bad side" comment. That shit was laughable, and I'm sure Durant and his people had a hearty laugh over his all around nonsense.

Before last night's game one, Smith was on some show saying that LeBron is the most disrespected and one of the most underrated NBA players of all time, and that if Kobe Bryant was the leader of this Cavs team, they'd be favored. All of that is utterly ridiculous. Everything that comes out of Stephen A Smith's mouth is garbage. He is not good at his job and he isn't that smart either. First of all, no one that knows even a little bit about basketball has ever disrespected LeBron James. Sure, some people may not care for him, but we all know that he is one of the 5 best players to ever play in the NBA. He is a legend and an all time great. Second, LeBron is not underrated at all. In fact, he may be the most perfectly rated player to ever step foot on an NBA court. He had high expectations when he entered the league as an 18 year old, and he won rookie of the year. Then, the Cavs got better every year he was there, even making the finals once. Then, he bolted for Miami, won 2 titles and went to the finals four straight years. He did as expected there. He comes back home, takes the Cavs to the finals last year, and they are back this year. LeBron has exceeded expectations everywhere he has been. He is not, not even a little bit, underrated. He may be under appreciated, but he is not underrated.

And the whole Kobe Bryant thing. If this Cavs team had Kobe in his prime, they wouldn't even be able to have this argument because they would be a mid to lower level playoff team. People think Kyrie Irving can be a ball hog, but imagine if he played with Kobe. Kevin Love would barely ever see the ball. Tristan Thompson wouldn't even touch the ball unless it was an offensive rebound. And, they would be even worse on defense than they are now, and they are terrible on defense now. If this Cavs team had Kobe and not LeBron, they'd be lucky to be a 43 or 44 win team. They would be a lot like the Rockets are now.

There, I just disproved all of Stephen A Smith's nonsense in about 500 or 600 words, yet he is a millionaire and he still hasn't lost his job at ESPN. Stephen A Smith is a moron and a jerk and he needs to get his smug face off my TV. I'm sick of hearing his stupid voice. My TV cannot handle it when he starts to yell talk, which is whenever he is on TV.

The next target of my ire is Brian Windhorst. This guy is an absolute joke. Yeah, he is from Cleveland and he has been following LeBron's career since LeBron was in 8th grade, but he is one of the worst journalists I have ever read or seen on TV in my life. He is so in the bag for the Cavs and LeBron, it's almost sad. As I just said, he's been following LeBron since he was a 13 year old, but Windhorst was in college when he started following him. Think about how creepy that is for a second. Windhorst was in his late teens or early 20's and he was following this child around the AAU circuit. First off, he looks like a creep, so if I was a parent of a kid on that team, I would have reported him to the authorities immediately. Second, what kind of college student decides that they are going to follow the career of a child? Yeah, LeBron turned out to be an all time great, but what if he didn't? What if he was just average, or a complete bust? Brian Windhorst wouldn't have a job if that happened. He would be looked at as another vulture that tried to capitalize on a young kids talent. He is so much worse, in my opinion, than any AAU coach or a guy like Sonny Vaccaro. At least those people pushed LeBron to greatness and gave him things, all Windhorst did was show up to his games and write some bull shit columns about a young phenom. And now, he has followed him to the pros, all the while, writing shitty article after shitty article. He even moved to Miami when LeBron went to play there and moved back to Cleveland when LeBron went back. This guy is like the worst possible friend that the group cannot get rid of. He is always there, whether you want him to be there or not.

When Windhorst would go on TV to talk about the Cavs, or the Heat when LeBron was there, he would always put the blame on someone else. It was never LeBron James' fault, it was always his supporting cast or coach. When LeBron did win titles, it was because of his greatness. Never mind the fact that Ray Allen made one of the most improbable shots of all time, or that Dwayne Wade found the fountain of youth during their second title run, or the fact that Chris Bosh completely overhauled his game to fit in with LeBron, none of that mattered to Windhorst because he is so far in the bag for LeBron James that it disgusting.

In the ongoing Windhorst shit show, he goes on TV yesterday to talk about how LeBron will never admit to being an underdog because he "has the heart of a champion" and he "will never admit that anyone is better than he is". Yeah, we all agree that he is the best basketball player in the world. Why do guys like Windhorst and Stephen A Smith need to keep bringing up something that we already know? The fact is that LeBron is the underdog in this finals series, no matter how much that may hurt Windhorst to say. The Cavs are playing a 73 win team. No other NBA team has ever won 73 games in a single season. LeBron James is the underdog, deal with it. But Windhorst is just another douchebag that is still on ESPN's payroll and he is one of their lead NBA guys. What a shame. He is a moron with blinders for anything negative that people may say about his beloved LeBron James.

Brian Windhorst, much like Stephen A Smith, is a blow hard and a piece of human garbage. But, this seems to be the down direction that ESPN is heading with their anchors. They want fan boys that are only loyal to their teams. That's not what a journalist should be. They should be non biased, so other people can take them seriously. Well, I don't take anyone seriously that works for that garbage company in Bristol. The sad fact is that Stephen A Smith and Brian Windhorst are the biggest dummies in an office filled with dummies. Pathetic.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is going to continue his quest of pointing out overrated pop culture when the X Millennial Man talks about musicians that are not as good as people think. The newest episode will premier tomorrow, wherever your fine podcasts are sold. Also, make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.