Ty Watches the "Eric Andre Show": Season 4 Episode 4

This past Friday there was a new "The Eric Andre Show", and I am here today to review the craziness for everyone. This was, in a long line, another great episode.

The opening was the usual. Andre attacked the stage with his usual vigor. This time, he did the usual stuff, like trashing his sign, tackling the drummer and destroying his desk. But, he added some new things, as he does with every opening. He did some gross autoerotic affixiation stuff while destroying the stage. He also did a spoof of the Hardees commercials, you know the ones I'm talking about with the models cleaning cars, then eating burgers, but this time it was Andre dressed in a bikini top and cut off jean shorts. It was wildly disgusting, but also hilarious. He kept pouring soapy water all over himself, so much to the point that he choked on a little bit of it. I found myself cracking up, especially when the creepy stage hand kept licking his lips.

Then, the show started. They put the new stage up, and Andre sat down. Burress was introduced, but instead of coming from the curtains, as he usually does, he rose from the ground, a la a vampire rising from the coffin. Then Andre started his monologue. This time around, he straight up attacked Burress. It was all in good fun, but Burress, with his usual deadpan delivery, kept giving it right back to Andre. Andre wouldn't let up, and this all turned into a bit about the Bible. Andre claimed it was the one thing that could save you, but in usual Andre bits, there was a pistol inside the Bible, and he faked shot himself.

Next, they started the interview process. I know all this sounds crazy, but this is very usual stuff in every episode of this show. The first guest was Tichina Arnold. Many of you know her as Martin Lawrence's girlfriend's friend from the show, "Martin", but she is still acting. Andre asked a lot of uncomfortable questions, and put Arnold in weird situations. At one point, Burress put on glasses and a goofy mouth piece, and proceeded to do his best Austin Powers impression. This was immediately dismissed, with Burress screaming, "why do you guys make me do this stupid shit!". I loved it, Arnold was horrified. Then, Andre proclaimed that they were cutting to darkness, and the whole stage went black. They kept going with the interview, but the audience could see nothing, except for flashes of light, and a guy dressed as a Yeti. The Yeti kept getting closer to Arnold, to her total oblivion, and when she finally turned, she let out one of the loudest screams I think I have ever heard. I was howling with laughter.

They then cut to a pre taped segment called "Officer Eric". This segment had Andre dressed as a parking meter officer. He would go up to random strangers, tell them that they were illegally parked, but instead of giving them a ticket, he would start to pee on their car. I don't think it was real pee, but it very well could have been after watching this show for three plus years now. He did this to many people, and they all got very angry, or just upset. One guy chased him down the street, and Andre ran away, peeing the whole time. Another guy just kept asking him, "why are doing this?", over and over again. They did this segment twice during the episode, and it was very funny each time.

They had their second guest on, Steve Schrippa, from "The Sopranos", and this interview was doomed from the beginning. Schrippa was not amused by any of Andre's or Burress' actions. Andre handed him some walnuts to crack with his bare hands, which he did. But, then Andre handed him some ice to crack barehanded. Schrippa was not amused. They pushed him on what he is doing now, claiming that he was an irrelevant actor. Schrippa was growing more angry and sweaty by the minute. He claimed that he had a new spaghetti sauce, and Andre said he wanted to do a commercial for it. Schrippa reluctantly agreed, and then Andre had a naked PA come on stage to do the commercial with a gun pointed at his face. The PA, pretending to be scared, proceeded with the pre written commercial, and at one point, he was told to "put your balls in the sauce". He did, and this set Schrippa off. He went off on Andre. Andre poked him a little more, and started to ask his groin questions. Schrippa started to physically attack him, ending with him pushing Andre off a chair.

This led to the last pre taped segment, where Andre was in the middle of a pole rigged system, that had four other dummies, dressed exactly like Andre. He roamed the streets asking random strangers if they could figure out which one was the real person. This led to Andre walking into a porn store, asking for the best material to pleasure himself to. The owner kept asking him to leave, and Andre pushed until they had to kick him out. At this point, Andre was pushed out of the store, but he got stuck in between two of his mannequins. I loved this segment.

They ended the show with musician Ariel Pink. But, they kept adding things to his song. They dumped mud on him. They brought out a fake boy band to dance with him. They did a bunch of stuff, including Burress wearing a blond wig and a weed covered onesie, made him sing, and they called him Ariel Black. This made Ariel Pink attempt to tackle Andre, but Andre dove out of the way.

Once again, it was a bizarrely hilarious episode. I loved it. I loved the new segments. It was great. The show is taking one week off, for the holiday, but it will be back next week, and so will I. "The Eric Andre" show has been so good this season so far. I can't wait for more episodes.

Ty

What is Derrick Rose Thinking?

Maybe another year at Memphis would help Rose's ability to face reality

So, since Derrick Rose has signed with the Knicks, he has made 2 of the dumbest, most asinine and just flat out ridiculous statements I've ever heard.

First, a few weeks back, he says that "people are calling us and the Warriors super teams". Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is utterly absurd. What exactly makes you and your people think that the Knicks are a "super team"? Is it because they signed you and Jo Noah this offseason? Is it because you have the rotting corpse of Carmelo Anthony? Is it because we may not know if Porzingis is really good, or a one year wonder? Is it because of the hiring of Jeff Hornacek? I mean, does any of that sound like a "super team" to anyone but Derrick Rose? The Knicks will be lucky to be a 6 or 7 seed in the east next year, and that's if everyone, Rose, Noah and Anthony, are healthy all year. That will not happen, I would be willing to put money on those guys missing, at least, 10-15 games next year, and I'm not a betting man. When I can think of three teams out of the east immediately off the top of my head, the Cavs, Raptors and Celtics, that I think will be so much better than the Knicks, I don't think that makes you a "super team". Also, I didn't even mention all the teams that are better than them in the west, with the exception of the Warriors. Also, Derrick Rose is no Steph Curry. Carmelo Anthony is no Klay Thompson. Jo Noah is no Draymond Green. And Porzingis can only hope he's 1/10 the player Kevin Durant is. I only saw one Knick, Anthony, on team USA. I saw 3 Warriors, on the 12 man roster. The Knicks are not a super team, sorry Derrick Rose.

Then, earlier this week, instead of just letting his "super team" comment fade, he doubled down and said that he thinks the Knicks can win "every game" this year. I get that these guys are competitors, and they all think they are the best, but come on, it's impossible to go undefeated in any sport, with college football being the exception. And that is still very hard. The best teams in NBA history, the Warriors of last year, the 96 Bulls and the mid 80's Celtics, lost some games. The Warriors lost 9, the Bulls 10 and the Celtics, 15. And those three teams are considered all time great teams. It's just impossible to even think that you can win every game in the NBA.

I don't know what has gotten into Derrick Rose this offseason. He is not the player he was 5 or 6 years ago. He's not the fearless rim attacker he once was. He has tried to become a jump shooter, but his shot is garbage. And he doesn't play defense. If I were a teammate of his, especially Carmelo Anthony, I'd be so pissed at these comments right now. It's so much undue pressure for a middling franchise. He is clearly losing his mind if he thinks that this Knicks team is going to be anything but average. They'll be lucky to win 41 games. They are no super team, and they will not go 82-0. Sorry to burst your bubble Derrick Rose, but those are facts. Good luck in a contract year, but I'd be shocked if you play more than 50 games, and I'd be even more shocked if you guys win more than 25 of those games.

The Knicks are irrelevant, and Derrick Rose seems to be the only person that doesn't realize this. If he keeps up with these ridiculous comments, it's going to be a long season for his teammates and for Knicks everywhere. Being a writer, I hope he keeps it up, it's great fodder, but as an NBA fan, he needs to shut his mouth with this nonsense. It's absurd.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks the Knicks may be more like the "super team" the NFL had in Philadelphia a few years ago. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Making Life a Commodity

Did the price on males 25-40 rise today?

Drug maker Mylan and its CEO Heather Bresch are the newest monsters that has channeled the public's rage. The makers, and distributors, of the life saving EpiPen have dramatically increased the price of the medicine from around $100 in 2008 to over $600 today. Since the price increase Mylan has seen its stock price triple and Bresch's compensation has gone from $2.5 million a year to nearly $19 million. The furor over the EpiPen price gouge has even united many in the Republican and Democratic parties in condemning Mylan. Much like the controversy related to the steep price increase in the drug Daraprim, the public rage being directed towards Mylan and Bresch is meant to shame and cause meaningful change. What Mylan and Bresch have done, like Turing Pharmaceuticals and former CEO Martin Shkreli, is increase profits for billionaires at the expense of the lives of poor people with life threatening conditions. In their world the ability to make money is more important than saving a dying child.

In an interview to do some damage control, CEO Bresch told CNBC that "No one's more frustrated than me." about the dramatic increase in the price of the life saving EpiPen. "I'm running a business" is the excuse that Bresch gives to answer why the price of the drug keeps going up. The tone deafness of Mylan and Bresch does nothing to quell the public's rage over the EpiPen price gouge. It should not. The lack of humanity from people like Shkreli and Bresch continues to highlight the gap between the very rich, and everyone else. People are rightfully getting angry.

The problem is that Heather Bresch is right, she is running a business. What Mylan has done by increasing the price of the EpiPen is not illegal, in fact it is encouraged in capitalism. Turing Pharmaceuticals did lower the price of Daraprim, but it still costs 2500% higher than it did before the hike. Mylan bought the rights to the EpiPen (the drug is generic, the delivery system is what has value) in 2007, and has been raising the price 10% or more every year. This is how the for profit drug companies make money. Mylan did no research and development in creating the EpiPen. They do not sell the device at a loss. The EpiPen is a strong, and endless, revenue stream for the billion dollar company. By raising the price of the drug, Bresch has done exactly what she was hired to do, make money for Mylan.

In the United States drug companies can charge whatever they want. One of the core tennets of capitalism is to charge what the market will accept. When you are the sole provider of a life saving medication, the cost of a person's life can be quite large. Other industrialized nations have governmental agencies that negotiate with drug manufacturers to make sure that the cost of life saving medicines are not out of reach to the average consumer. It is illegal in the United States for the government to negotiate with drug manufacturers. The drug companies charge whatever they want, for profit insurance companies pass those charges onto their customers, and the US government subsidizes both the drug makers and insurance providers. The only person losing money is the consumer because they need the drugs to stay alive. US capitalism has put a price on life. That price is whatever the drug companies want it to be.

This is evil. When Mylan bough the rights to the EpiPen, CEO Bresch did not want to save lives. The company bought the product because they could make an obscene amount of money. The company claims to be concerned with the well being of general public by offering coupons and other means to make the EpiPen more affordable, but Mylan still makes over $600 off of the drug. The consumer may not pay the full price, but insurance rate hikes and government subsidies will cover the full cost of the EpiPen. One does not need an MBA, there are a lot of questions about Heather Bresch's education, to understand how to use an immoral system to make money. Mylan saw profit, no matter the consequences. The consequences of price gouging the EpiPen can mean death for those not blessed enough like Heather Bresch and the board of directors at Mylan. 

Mylan is not the first company to buy a cheap life saving drug and use their monoply to make obscene amounts of money and endanger innocent people at the same time. Heather Bresch is not the first soulless CEO to claim to be the victim in a world of bad press. They are not the first, and they will not be the last. The millionaires who are the elected representatives of the United States citizens would rather protect corporate interests than be concerned about the health of their constituents. Being one of the only civilized nations without government oversight on drug prices, the ruling class in Washington DC thinks that american lives are a commodity. Drug companies like Mylan, Turing Pharmaceuticals, and many others keep cozy with Washington so the lives of Americans can be quantified. It is sick and it needs to stop.

The righteous anger over the radical increase in the price of the EpiPen should not go away. An economically challenged child born with a peanut allergy, through no fault of their own, should not have to die because Mylan and Heather Bresch wanted to add shareholder value. We need to be angry, we need to demand change. Bresch's frustration should not be because she is being bothered by bad press, her frustration should stem from the fact that her company is not finding life saving cures and giving them away for free. One's health, one's life, should never be part of the bottom line in any company's earnings report. Mylan and Heather Bresch deserve to be frustrated. 

Healthcare is in trouble, and allowing immoral people to continue to make millions on the broken system needs to stop. The EpiPen battle is just the first skirmish in a war to make American lives valuable again. Call your elected representative, write an impassioned plea on social media, yell through a megaphone, but do not let the furor over the EpiPen die. The drug companies, and their cronies in Washington DC, need to feel the wrath of America. You should be the only one who can put value on your life, not a grotesque company with an uncaring CEO. Life is not a commodity, because life is something more than a monetary value.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are drug companies the heroes that the business press makes them out to be? No they are not. Let RD know where he is misguided by writing for SeedSing. 

Give it Up Tim Tebow

Tebow is not getting to first base anytime soon

Why won't Tim Tebow just give up, and give in to the fact that he is destined to be a commentator on ESPN for the rest of his life? He is very good at doing that, or hosting shows that have to do with pumping people up. Basically, he is a good looking young man, that had his shot at the NFL, couldn't cut, but has found something that he really thrives at doing. He is really, really good on TV, much to my surprise.

With the news that he is going to be holding a workout for 20 MLB teams this week, he still hasn't given up on his pro sports dream. There are many, many problems with his new plan to become a pro baseball player. First off, as I have already stated, he is great on TV. He exudes charm and professionalism while doing television spots, or talking college football. I do not like Tim Tebow, the person, at all, but damn, he is good on TV. He should just stick with that. He is really good. Next, he hasn't played competitive baseball since he was in high school. Sure, he was a decent high school player, he hit over .400, and had some power, but, I played with kids at my high school, who had no shot at the pros, that were much, much better baseball players than Tim Tebow. High school baseball is not that tough. you have to be incredibly good, Bryce Harper good, in high school, to be considered a top prospect that can make the majors at a very young age.

This leads me to the next problem with Tebow and playing pro baseball, he is 29. I know that is young in regular life, but in pro sports, that is ancient. Sure, baseball players can play well into their late 30's and early 40's, but the guys that have careers that last that long, they have been playing professionally since they were in their early 20's. Late 20's, early 30's in baseball, that is getting near the twilight of your career. Take Albert Pujols for example. When he broke into the majors, he was considered an older rookie, at 21 years old. Sure, he proceeded to be dominant for the next ten years, but when he left the Cardinals for the Angels, at 31, his career has fallen on harder times. He is not the feared hitter he was when he was younger. He was only 2 years older than Tebow is right now before his career kind of started to break down. Pujols is an all time great, but he is 36, and many people consider him past his prime. Hell, they considered him past his prime when he was 32 or 33, only three years older than Tebow currently is. Why would a team want to take a chance on a guy that may only give them one, two years tops, of good baseball.

Another player to look at, one that may not be as famous, or as respected as Pujols, Ryan Howard. Here's another 36 year old player, that was great for one or two years, in his early 20's, that has fallen off the map. He doesn't have really what it takes to be as feared as he once was. He gave the Phillies three great years, but after getting hurt, and older, he is not the same. His best days were in his mid 20's. He was younger than Tebow when he was mashing the ball, but now, he just doesn't have it.

That is just 2 examples of players that were great when they were younger than Tebow currently is, that have fallen on rough times. You could even look at some other people that have tried the whole crossover from one pro sport to another. Michael Jordan comes to mind first. He is the greatest basketball player of all time, but he could not hack it in double A baseball. He barely hit over .200, and he went back to basketball ASAP. Russell Wilson, who was drafted out of high school to pro baseball, also couldn't hack it in double A, hitting in the low .220's. Deion Sanders was great at football, and he was decent at baseball, gaining the leadoff spot for a pretty good Braves team in the 90's, but he was not nearly as good at baseball as he was football. He was also much younger when he played both sports professionally. The most famous person, that was successful at playing two pro sports at a very high level, was Bo Jackson. Tim Tebow is not even close to being anywhere near Bo Jackson's athleticism, and he never will be.

Basically, this all seems to be a publicity stunt, or he just won't let this dream of being a pro athlete die. He had his chance at pro football, and he couldn't cut it. He couldn't make the reads, the throws or run an offense the way it needs to be run professionally. Sure, he may be better than some teams second and third string QB's currently, but no NFL team is going to give a 29 year old washed out, spread option QB, that can't throw, a contract. It's not happening. And with the MLB, I mean, who is going to sign a guy that is almost 30? You don't sign with a team and then immediately become a pro, unless you are Robin Yount or Ken Griffey Jr, both hall of famers. You have to go through the minors. You have to take your lumps, and if you are lucky, you get called up after two or three years of bouncing around on buses and staying in dingy motels. I don't think Tebow can handle, or even wants to handle, that lifestyle. He is used to the finer things in life now. He had his shot, and he had a very short career in the NFL, but he made it.

I know hundreds of thousands of people that would give an arm to have his NFL career. He needs to let the dream die. No GM in the MLB will sign him. He is too old and too much of a distraction. Major league baseball likes to draft young kids, usually 18, 19 or 20, and let them grow in their minor leagues system, and then bring them in the pros when they are 21 or 22. That's how it goes.

Sorry Tim Tebow, but your pro sports window has passed, and just let the dream die. Pro baseball is not happening for you.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once held an open workout for professional soccer. The problem was not Ty's age, it was the fact he did not like soccer and therefore was not good. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Listens to Frank Ocean's "Blonde"

It finally happened. After what seemed to be years, I think it was two or three total, Frank Ocean finally released his follow up to the wonderful "Channel Orange". I was scouring Twitter the other night, and I saw that some of the people I follow were posting pictures and talking about the new Frank Ocean record. I immediately went to iTunes, in hopes that it would be available for purchase, and not only listenable to through Apple Music, and much to my pleasure, it was right there, the first record in fact, available to buy and download immediately. I did just that, and listened to it the moment it finished downloading. What I heard for the next hour was exceptional. Frank Ocean is a very, very good musician and very much a perfectionist. The album is called "Blonde", and it is so, so good.

"Blonde" was well worth the wait. I was growing frustrated, hearing stories from many different outlets that his second album was going to come out any day. I started to dismiss pretty much everything I heard. I thought Frank Ocean might have been a one album guy. I figured he would go out on a very high note. But, he did not do that. He delivered an excellent record that, I feel, everyone who likes music needs to buy. It is so different and is perfectly Frank Ocean.

What I liked about "Channel Orange" was expanded on so much on "Blonde". Ocean is like a throw back R&B singer who mixes modern hip hop with his music. He does that so well on "Blonde". I have heard some people say that it sounds a bit "disorganized", or "unfinished", but I say to them, go listen to "Channel Orange", it is the same thing. Ocean does things like changing the beat mid song, or cutting a song without a real outro, or throwing in short little songs or segues that some people may not like, or dismiss as not real music. I couldn't disagree more. This is what modern music has become, and when you can make it very good and commercial, you must be doing something right.

The album starts off great, the middle is weird, but awesome, and the last three tracks are epic. I love the opener to the record, "Nikes". The song finds Ocean using a very high voice and singing some great lyrics. He also transitions into a bit of hip hop during the song with equal accomplishment. The chorus, and intro, are very singable. I adore this song. "Pink and White" is another great early track song. He gets very high, and the instrumentation is epic. There is loud squealing from both Ocean and his guitar at the end, and it is great. The interlude that comes next is a great message, possibly from Ocean's mother, that is poignant and important. He then goes into "Solo" which is a great song. It is about being alone and lonely and it is incredible. Later, near the middle of the record, we get a "Solo (reprise)" song, and it features Andre 3000. His verse is absolutely phenomenal. It is reminiscent of something off of "The Love Below". And only someone like Frank Ocean could call up Andre 3000 and get him to do a verse on his new record. They are both similar type of musicians, but 3000 has been more focused on acting lately. He proves on this track that he still has it. "White Ferrari" and "Siegfried" are great songs near the end of the record. "White Ferrari" is a perfect hip hop/R&B song. It sounds like if R Kelly was a legit artist. Ocean is so much better than R Kelly. "Siegfried" is a good song, with some very important lyrics. The song tells a story, and it is a very good and very important story. The closer to the whole record, "Futura Free", is my favorite song on the whole album. It is excellent. Ocean does a bit more rapping, which I really like, on this song. The beat is excellent, the groove is wonderful, Ocean is fantastic and it is a very good way to close out the album. The song is over 9 minutes long, but the last 3 minutes are people answering random questions. The 5 or 6 minutes of "Futura Free" that are an actual song is tremendous.

Look, I know we had to wait a very long time for this record. I know some people may be complaining about the "disorganization" of the record. I know some people may not get it. But, two or three years from now, everyone will look back at "Blonde" as being one of the best records of all of 2016. Compared to some of the crap that is on the radio, i.e., Meghan Trainor, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, I could go on and on and on, we should be thankful that a good, real musician is putting out very good, very real music. "Blonde" is excellent, and totally worth any music lovers time. Go buy it now.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He listens to all of his music on an old school 160 GB iPod. Hear him talk all about it on the X Millennial Man. Make sure you also follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: City Bar Edition

This past Sunday, "Bar Rescue" premiered another new episode. Now, this is the last new episode they will air until September 18th. They are taking what some would consider a mid season break. It's no big deal, but I will also take a break from writing about the show until they air the new episodes. I will still write on Tuesdays, but it will be something different until "Bar Rescue" comes back.

I will say, they went out with a bang at this midseason finale, if you will. The "Bar Rescue" people found themselves back in Vegas, Taffer's hometown, he seems to be "giving back to his community" a lot more, to a bar called City Bar. This bar had never really had any big money making moments since the owner bought the bar. He said during his interview before Taffer got there, that the only nights that they really had customers was when they had events planned. He said that if they didn't have an open mic, live concert or comedy event, they literally had no customers. The bar was a ghost town on the off nights. So, this owner decided that he would schedule something every night, and he let the bartenders and other employees plan some of the nights events. Now they had something going on every night, but they were still losing money, and there was a ton of in fighting.

When Taffer pulls up to the bar, he is by himself. He wanted to watch the interactions alone, so he could properly assess the situation. What he saw when he got there was a bar that had no customers. He also saw that the bartenders, two in particular, did not like each other. They were openly insulting each other verbally, in front of the two or three patrons at the bar. Taffer sent in his recon spies and they were less than impressed by what they saw and ordered and how the bartenders worked. The recon spies said that the bartenders looked like they had no idea. They couldn't make simple drinks like Bloody Mary's and Manhattan's. That seems to be a running theme this season, bars that can't make the simplest of drinks. The spies, and Taffer, then saw one of the bartenders smoking behind the bar. They also saw that same bartender sticking her fingers, ungloved, in some olives for drinks she was serving. It was all very, very disgusting.

It is at this point, Taffer calls the owner and tells him to come out to his car so he can watch the madness with him. The owner joins Taffer, and what he proceeds to see, especially one certain thing, makes him lose his mind. The owner saw the fighting, the drinking behind the bar, the arguing between employees, the smoking, everything, but that paled in comparison when he saw someone walk into the bar with what looked to be a wooden cross. He was baffled, as was Taffer. Taffer asked him what this could be, and he had no idea.

The people at Spike TV then cut to a patron of the bar saying that when the owner leaves on certain nights, they have a fetish and BDSM night. Some disgusting looking douchebag of a guy and one of his BDSM girls walk in the bar, with the cross, and explain what is about to happen. This sets the owner off. During this whole sequence, Spike kept cutting to videos of people doing these things. It was odd, but also a little funny. The owner bursts through the doors of his bar, screams at everyone, and takes the wooden cross and tosses it outside. This makes the douchebag guy and his BDSM girl very upset, and they leave the bar in a huff.

You'd think the yelling and screaming would've stopped after they left, but that was not the case. Taffer proceeds to lay into the owner. He keeps calling him a failure and telling him that it's his fault that he let the bar get this way. I couldn't agree more with Taffer. The owner of City Bar did not take this new laying down. He yelled back at Taffer. He called him names, including, "surfer boy". They are almost face to face, but after a commercial break, they both seemed to calm down, obviously.

After this altercation, Taffer brings in a drink "expert", and he is stunned at how bad these bartenders are. They can't make any drinks, even the simple ones I mentioned earlier. He also is taken aback by how much fighting goes on between them. He has them work on making drinks, to get ready for the stress test, and they are a complete disaster. They are not ready for the stress test, but the owner says to bring it on, so Taffer sets it up. The stress test goes off the rails very quick. The bartenders can't keep up. The owner is yelling at people and running around like a crazy person. One of the bartenders starts to break down and cry, and another bartender "comforts" her by telling her to "prove to everyone that you aren't just an addict and a stripper. Prove that you can do this". I mean, how crazy is that?!

Once the owner realized that his bartenders may not be as decent as he thought, he finally relented and let Taffer and crew do their thing. They fixed up the bar, and got it up and going. When they get to the big reveal, we see that the owner has gotten a haircut and shaved his bushy beard down to a trim goatee. He stated earlier in the episode that he wasn't going to shave until his bar started doing better. Everyone was shocked at his new look, and then we got the big reveal. The crew turned around, and the bar's name was changed from City Bar to Bradley's. The owner's name was Brad, so I thought it was a good name change. They also fixed up the inside. They had new seats, stools, a bar top and POS(point of sale) systems. It was the typical Taffer and "Bar Rescue" stuff. The bar was packed for the re opening, and all the patrons loved it. They had a band, got rid of the other "special events" nights, and the employees seemed to be getting along. Taffer left with his head held high. At the end of the show, we got the 6 week update, and the owner said that they were busy pretty much every night, the staff was getting along and the sales were up. Again, typical "Bar Rescue" stuff.

The first half of this season of "Bar Rescue" has been wonderful, and I cannot wait for the next half to start in a few weeks. I'm so happy that "Bar Rescue" has returned to its greatness, and I'm very humbled and privileged that I have readers that look forward to my reviews. I'll be off the reviews for a few weeks, until the show comes back, so my Tuesdays will be different for awhile, but come back in mid to late September when "Bar Rescue" returns with new episodes. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love that I've been getting for this "Bar Rescue" updates.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor wants to buy him a drink for a good half season of "Bar Rescue" recaps, but Ty's does not drink. That means two drinks for the editor. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

The Press has Broken Our Presidential Elections

2016 Republican Presidential Primary Ballot

The United States Presidential Campaign is starting to ramp up. Republican Donald Trump is running his first ads of the election season, and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has been amassing a huge campaign money chest. We wanted to reprint this article that sums up how Americans got stuck with two unlikable candidates in the race for the Presidency. The piece was originally posted on September 18th, 2015.  

Well the idiots in the national media have gone and broken our presidential elections. Should we be surprised? They have had the duty to report on the news of presidential politics for over 200 years. They have rarely been competent, and lately they have become down right destructive. The national press just kept trying and trying to break our presidential elections, and 2016 looks to be the year that the morons will finally be successful.

Donald Trump will not be the next President of the United States. You would not know that by watching and listening to the half brained celebrity sycophants on the national news. Trump is hateful, opportunistic, and not very intelligent. He has locked into a loud base of the republican party who lives under the delusion of white male christian victim hood. The scholars on talk radio, and at Fox News, have been feeding the dangerous lie of white male christian victim hood for a very long time.

The people who subscribe to the idea of white male christian victim hood have usually been swept away from polite society. They are now taking hold because the never ending news cycles need a "balanced debate", but what these organizations really want is clicks and ratings. The news producers know that the idiots who subscribe to anti-science and racist ideas will watch, and read, the news that provides there own wrong confirmation bias. Since the media decided to act as an anti-intellectual institution, we now have to have discussions on women's health, global warming, and being human to the less fortunate. People, and our planet, are needlessly suffering because non-intelligent hatemongers are allowed equal footing on  the news.

The CNN epic Republican Debate was a showcase for the destruction the media is bringing onto society. Donald Trump irresponsibly linked autism to vaccinations. This line of thinking has caused a lot of damage, and real deaths. Nearly all thinking people hear about the vaccination / autism link and immediately tune the conversation out.  The moderators for CNN said nothing, because they know that the discussion of wrong science will bring the morons into CNN's viewership. The need to be on the absolute wrong side of the vaccination discussion has even captured supposed "smart" doctors like Rand Paul and Ben Carson. The media's never ending praise for Ben Carson's intellect looks incredible wrong now that the good doctor questioned the methodology, and effectiveness, of vaccines.

The anti-science of the Republican debate continued with failed CEO, and newest media obsession, Carly Fiorina outright lying about Planned Parenthood. In order to get in good with the people who can not think, Fiorina pandered by discussing a video that showed Planned Parenthood doing something incredibly unethical and illegal. This video does not exist. The moment she described never happened. CNN was once again silent. Allowing their newest superstar to lie, and hurt a lot of people with her lie, the media has decided that money is better than being responsible journalists.

The media's destructive wake does not end with the anti-intellectuals. CNN allowed a discussion to go on about how white Christians are more persecuted than an arrested Muslim teenager whose crime is being good at engineering. Leading this defense of poor white people is dog but not man lover Rick Santorum (sorry for cursing), inept Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and soulless Mike Huckabee. All three of these defenders of the white race were crawling over each other to embrace racial profiling and make sure religious hate is well defended. The constitution means nothing to these opportunists , but thankfully none of them have a shot at being President. We still have to hear their ignorance and divisive rhetoric because CNN cannot spell journalistic integrity.

I hope you are happy media. You wanted a great story, and you gave us the Trump Presidential Campaign. You wanted attention, and you have helped accelerate global climate change. You wanted wealth, and you have allowed us to not care for the neediest in our society. We gave you the privileged to report on our presidential politics, and you broke it into a million pieces because you have no idea how to care for the privilege.

Go to your room the media. Your mess needs to be cleaned up. We can do this with out you.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He encourages you to not watch any of the media (even PBS), they will only act out again if we give them attention. Let your ideas be heard, write for us.

Ty Watches the Eric Andre Show: Season 4 Episode 3

This past Friday there was another new episode of "The Eric Andre Show". This one started out as usual. Andre's name was announced, and then he proceeded to destroy the set. He jumped through the brown and orange rectangular sign behind the couch. He ran after the band again, but this time, he took the drummers kick drum and trashed that. Not to worry, he still tackled his drummer. The band, this time around, didn't seem to worry too much about the destruction. They actually played heavier music. The band this season also features all very old gentlemen, I don't know if I mentioned this yet. To go along with his usual destruction, he added some new, very gory stuff. It was your typical opening for the show, with new wrinkles, as usual.

Hannibal Burress was introduced as the co host and Andre proceeded with his monologue. This is new to this season. He did monologues very sporadically before this season, but every episode so far, he has done one. Each monologue shows Andre strife with anger. He clearly, at least his character clearly, doesn't want to do these. This time around, after a minute or two of gibberish, a cartoon snake with sunglasses and a guitar appeared. Andre loved it, Burress hated it. What made it funny, and made it work, the viewing audience could see the bar and tennis ball that they used for "CGI" during this segment. When the snake appeared, Andre cheered him on and asked him to play some tunes. The snake did, but it also hurled insults at Burress throughout. This made Burress angry. When the second guitar playing snake appeared, Burress knocked the tennis ball of the bar and threw the bar to the ground. They immediately cut to a taped segment after this.

The taped segment found a lady at an internet café, trying to login to one of the available computers. When she sat down, Andre, dressed as a robot, busted through the table, and harassed her. He accused her of looking at adult material, but then said he was a spokesperson for Braazars. The lady was terrified, but the joke landed.

Once the taped segment ended, they cut back to the studio and Howie Mandel was introduced as the first guest. He was immediately thrown off by the dirtiness of the chair that was provided for him. I know that they made it filthy on purpose because Mandel is a well known germaphobe. He refused to sit in the chair. Andre started the interview, but he just simply made fun of Mandel the whole time. He also asked him if he was a cousin of a famous violinist, I don't remember the name, Mandel said he was, and Andre asked him, "what's it like being related to a f*&%ing nerd!". The "studio audience" erupted with laughter, so did Burress and Andre, but Mandel was not amused. He walked off the stage, as most first guests of the show do.

Next up, they cut to another pre taped segment, where Andre played a character named Mike Penis. He had his hair in a weird style, kept yelling his name, saying he could get into any club and that he was named after his father. Well, he couldn't get into any club. He was consistently pushed away. He also angered many people by simply yelling his name. It was so bizarre, but I found myself cracking up the entire time.

The second interview was with "Basketball Wives" "star", Malaysia Pargo. She was immediately turned off by the fact that Andre was using a juicer in his desk that malfunctioned and shot celery juice all over her boots. She claimed they were very expensive, but he and Burress just laughed at her. Then, the chairs they were sitting on were attached to a mechanical device that lifted them in the air. Pargo was freaking out, but Andre kept asking questions. After they got back to ground level, the interview continued, but was interrupted when Burress' military "brother" showed up and yelled at Burress the whole time. He then turned his anger to Pargo. This confused and frightened her, and she left the stage.

Oh, I forgot to mention the other pre taped segment from earlier. When Mandel was still on, Kraft Punk came on stage. I have mentioned this character before. Once again, Burress and Andre harass him until he leaves the stage, but before he goes, he says he has a new segment. He calls it "Kraft Punk'd", and he goes out to outdoor pick up basketball games and steals the ball, dunks it in a bucket of cheese and finishes the "prank" off by making a basket with the cheese covered ball. The players look disgusted with him, but, once again, I was cracking up.

To end the show, they introduce DJ Flying Lotus. But, instead of playing music, they have him check his email. They act like it is very hip and fun, but Flying Lotus literally just checks his email. After a minute or so, Burress' "brother" shows up again, and berates Flying Lotus. It was all the bizarre wonderfulness that I have come to love about "The Eric Andre Show". come back next week for my review of this coming Friday's episode.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What else should Ty watch and write about. Tell us. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Let's make the Olympic Games Great Again

Every four years, this should be the most interesting field of play

SeedSing is proud to offer voices from all over the globe. Today we present a guest post from Olympic enthusiast and top notch idea man Jon C. Get your ideas heard by writing for SeedSing

I love the Olympics. I very clearly remember watching the primetime coverage with my parents when I was a young child. I remember Carl Lewis sprinting and jumping to 9 gold medals, Eddie the Eagle plunging down the 90-meter ski jump at 60 mph and sticking the landing, and Michael Johnson wearing his golden shoes to the 200 and 400 meter gold medals. Even today I watch about 16 hours of coverage each day during the Olympic fortnight.

As one of the biggest fans of the Olympics, I believe I’ve earned the right to speak out on my biggest criticism of the world’s greatest sporting event. The Olympics should only include sports where winning the gold medal is the pinnacle of the sport. Compare the Wikipedia pages of Andre Agassi and Michael Phelps. Agassi’s page prominently lists his Grand Slam record, then other tournaments, and the last entry is his gold medal win in singles. Michael Phelps’s page prominently displays his Olympic record before all the other championships. Did you know Roger Federer has an Olympic gold medal in doubles? No, you didn’t, because nobody cares. The Olympics is cheapened by the inclusion of sports where the Olympics just becomes an optional part of the summer circuit.  This is evident by the number of professional golfers that decided to skip the Olympics with the cop-out over concerns about the Zika virus.

The inclusion of a sport to the Olympics should be based on the following simple poll question to the competitors:  What international competition would you most prefer to win? Professional soccer players would prefer to win the World Cup, tennis players Wimbledon or the other majors, and for golfers the Masters or British Open, but far down on the list is the Olympics. I include the phrase “international competition” because the NBA Championships and the Stanley Cup present a gray area where athletes from around the world would pick a national championship as the preferred event. Hockey is an iconic Olympic event and must be included. International interest and participation in the NBA has made Olympic basketball a staple.

The Olympics are for athletes that dedicate themselves to sports that are interesting to watch once every four years. I get really excited about watching bobsled, rowing, and weightlifting, but that enthusiasm can’t be maintained year after year. That’s what is so great about the Olympics; it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. After watching 2 days of bobsled, the amount of time it takes for me to be excited to watch it again is about four years. The Olympics are also for quirky sports like handball, which I can only imagine was invented by a bored Danish gym teacher that had a couple lacrosse goals, a volleyball and came up with a game where no one except the goalie can be inside the basketball three point line. But the games are fun and close-scoring, and it doesn’t take long before you start yelling at your TV, “Feed the pivot, feed the pivot!”

The Olympic games don’t need superstars like Rory McIlroy or Serena Williams to make it relevant, the Olympics makes its own superstars like Usain Bolt. Serena gets to shine four times a year. Over the next two weeks lets focus on the athletes that only get to shine once every four years.

Jon C

About the Author:

Jon C. used to be cool and drive a V8 Audi. Now he drives a mini-van and is not cool.

"Doughboys" Deserve all the Medals for their Great Podcast

All Tacos are golden

For the past three weeks the excellent podcast "Doughboys" has been holding their own "Olympic" games. They have called it the Doughlympic Susser Games. Much like their Tournament of Chompions, which they did during March Madness, the hosts, Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, have proclaimed it a disaster. But, I have found myself really enjoying these games almost as much as the Tournament of Chompions. The Tournament of Chompions was more structured, but the Doughlympic Susser Games episodes of the podcast have been very listenable and very funny. Wiger and Mitchell continue to dump on themselves, but they have created a podcast that is very funny, and they have a lot of fans that look forward to each episode.

During the Doughlympics, they have placed contests between pizza chains, taco chains and they ended with coffee chains. Sure, they could have done it a bit differently, like placed Italian food versus Mexican food, but they chose to pit three of the same food stuffs against each other. At first I didn't think it was a good idea, but after a listen, it made total sense. For example, in the taco episode, they put the chains, Taco Bell, Del Taco and Chipotle up against each other. And, instead of just rating tacos, they had competitions for different types of food at the chains. They did hard and soft shell tacos. They also did burritos. They also compared nachos. As I said, it made sense. They gave themselves a short time limit to talk about each food, and when they were done, each restaurant got gold, silver or bronze. Then, Wiger would pick a song that "represented" that chain as their anthem, and he'd play a snippet from it. This was the theme throughout the past three weeks of the games. They did it with pizza chains and they ended the games this week with coffee chains. I thought it was a great idea to not just pick one food item to give medals to. That would have made the episodes way too short.

That is one of the best things about "Doughboys". I love the length of the episodes. I enjoy Mitchell and Wiger's back and forth. I love that their guests are, not only friends of theirs, but also fans of the podcast. They seem genuinely happy to be on the show. I have not thought, for one second, that the Doughlympic Susser Games was a waste of time. The only waste may have been Evan Susser himself, but that is his "role" on the podcast. He shoehorned his way in, but I find him funny on each episode. I even listened to the after show, "After Dough", and found it interesting.

The best thing about these particular episodes, they still kept the basis of their regular podcast. They still had a guest. They still did drops. Wiger still roasted Mitchell. They still read emails. They still did one of their many funny ending segments, i.e., "Snack or Wack". I found these games fun, but more importantly, funny.

I hope Mike Mitchell was just upset when he said they were going to end the podcast at the new year. He relented a bit on the most recent episode, saying that it might not end that soon, so there's still hope. I hope Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell realize that they have fans that really enjoy this podcast. The fans, myself included, even like the episodes that the hosts may not care for. I can't recommend "Doughboys" enough. It's funny and a whole lot of fun to listen to, and yes, that includes the Doughlympic Susser Games. Keep up the great work guys.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor is still upset that Ty dismissed the Quesalupa. That thing was awesome. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Cloves and Fedoras: Go See the Incredible Movie "Hunt for the Wilderpeople"

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

Over the past weekend, I got the chance to see "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". I had been looking forward to seeing it since I saw the trailer and heard that it was directed by Taika Waititi. Waititi hit a home run with "What We Do in the Shadows", so I assumed his follow up would be just as good. I really enjoy Waititi, and he makes funny, but also kind of moving movies.

Well, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" was not only as good as "What We Do in the Shadows", but, just as a movie in general, it was better. Sure, "What We Do in the Shadows" had more laughs, but that movie was made as a straight forward comedy. It did it's job. "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" definitely had it's funny moments, but there was more heart and more sweetness to this movie.

The movie is, if you want the bare bones, about a young, troubled kid that gets taken in by a lady and her husband. The couple can't have kids of their own, so they figure this is the next best way. The lady, Bella(Rima Te Wiata), or Aunt Bella to the young boy, was a very happy go lucky lady. She was always smiling and seemed to enjoy every moment of life. She always had a story to tell or a compliment to give. The husband, Hec(Sam Neill), or Uncle Hec, was more of a low key, keep to himself type of person. He much preferred hunting and hiking, usually, by himself.

Then, there was the boy, Ricky Baker(Julian Dennison). He was a ruffian. He had been in and out of juvenile hall. He didn't know his dad and his mom gave him up when he was a baby. He liked to cause trouble, and wherever he was, trouble usually found him. The Child Protective Service people found a home for him, and it was Bella's and Hec's. The lady that was in charge of CPS, Paula(Rachel House), was no nonsense and didn't take any of Ricky's crap. When they drop Ricky off at the house, he is hesitant to stay. He doesn't like being in the wild, Bella and Hec live in the New Zealand bush. He has no cell service and TV is not really an option. Ricky tries to run away the first night, but being the portly young fellow that he is, he doesn't get more than a hundred feet away before Bella finds him the next morning.

Bella and Ricky strike up a friendship after a few days. Bella is very nice to him, and she wants him to have the childhood he never really got. She shows him how to do things around the farm that need to be done. They pluck fur off animals. They shoot rifles. She even takes him hunting, and when Bella guts a pig, Ricky is freaked out, but he also kind of grows to respect Bella even more after seeing this.

Unfortunately, Bella unexpectedly passes away. We see Hec crying over her dead body, and Ricky walks up to this travesty. The funeral scene follows, and in classic Waititi style, something that can be so somber and down is made very humorous. Waititi plays the pastor laying Bella to rest, and he is one great comedic line after another during this scene. I'm not lying when I say that this funeral scene is one of the funniest funeral scenes I've ever seen in a movie. It's truly remarkable. Afterwards, Hec tells Ricky that he never really wanted him, so CPS was coming back to get him in a few days.

Ricky decides that he doesn't want to go back to that life, so this time he opts to run away for real. He even burns down a barn to try and get CPS off his trail. He again doesn't make it too far until Hec, finds him. After they get back together, a great story of a budding friendship and the love for family ensues. Everything that happens from this point on in the movie is great. There's humor, there's love for family, there are touching moments, there are not so happy moments. It really is just perfect. Even the chase between Ricky, Hec and CPS is fantastic.

This is a very, very good movie, that not enough people are going to see. The story, the directing and the acting are tremendous. Sam Neill is wonderfully quiet and subdued in the movie. He plays the role of wannabe loner and hiker very well. Rima Te Wiata, aka Bella, is very good in her limited role. She is so funny and springy and happy. She was great. Rachel House, as the CPS badass Paula, is great too. She constantly states, "no child left behind" over and over again, and it is equally as funny every time. But, the real star of the movie is Julian Dennison as Ricky. He is so good. He plays the rough and tumble kid with a heart of gold to perfection. He delivers some of the best lines of the whole movie. His timing and reactions are so on point. He is a revelation. If you go to see the movie for one reason, make it for Dennison's performance, it's that good.

I can't say enough good things about "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". It is definitely one of 2016's best movies, and I think it deserves, at the very least, some mention during Oscar season. I don't want to give away the whole plot because I think everyone should go and watch this movie. It is a great role for Sam Neill, and showcases some New Zealand actors and actresses a lot of us don't know, The movie also provides excellent side performances from the likes of Waititi and Rhy Darby. The film shows that Waititi is a very adept filmmaker, who is on the rise, but most importantly, it introduces the whole world to the talent of Julian Dennison. Go see "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". It is a wonderfully great movie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. You can hear all about Ty's current thoughts on the 2016 Olympic Games and Rio by listening to the latest X Millennial Man Podcast. Download it for free. You need to also follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Greatest Television Ever: Seinfeld's "The Contest"

I was channel surfing yesterday after my kids were done resting, and I came across a 2 hour block of the show "Seinfeld". I'm a huge fan of the show. It is one of, if not the, greatest live action sitcoms of all time. Everything about the show is perfect. The writing, the directing, the acting, the jokes, the stories, everything is great. I happened upon the last episode of the 2 hour block, but boy was it a great, all time classic episode. The one I got to watch was "The Contest".

For fans, you all know what this episode is about. But, for the people that don't know, this episode is basically about the 4 main characters, Elaine, George, Kramer and Jerry, challenging each other to see how long they can go without, how do I put this lightly, giving themselves pleasure. This may be the greatest episode of "Seinfeld" that has ever been on TV. In fact, this may be one of the greatest 22 minute blocks of TV ever created. That includes all genres on all networks of all time. Everything about this episode is peak comedy and peak "Seinfeld".

The episode starts like almost every other episode. Kramer, Elaine and Jerry are hanging out at Monk's, having a conversation that is essentially about nothing. They are chit chatting, and then George walks in with a very disgusted face. They all ask what is wrong, and he goes into a story about his mom walking in on him, again how do I put this lightly, I'll just say pleasuring himself for the rest of the blog. He says that he was there to drop some stuff off, no one was home, and a "Glamour" magazine was on the table. George says he started to leaf through the magazine, and "one thing led to another", and his mom walked in on him doing that. She immediately crumpled to the ground screaming, "George! What are you doing!". George then says that his mom threw out his back, and when she went down, he said he had to decide between helping her, or zipping up. He chose to zip up, claiming, "I couldn't go over there the way I was". Everyone laughs at him, and George proclaims that he is never going to pleasure himself again, ever. They all laugh at him, and he claims that he could last longer than any of them. They all decide then and there to have a "contest" to see who can last the longest. Even Elaine wants in, but they try to explain how ladies can last longer. Jerry says that she needs to give them odds. Elaine balks at this, explaining that women have the same needs. She even says that she has to shave her legs, when shaving is brought up, and this makes Kramer exclaim, "not everyday". Hilarious line. The guys eventually cave, but Elaine has to give 50 extra dollars. Now, the contest begins.

The next scene has everyone hanging out at Jerry's house and Kramer bursts through the door. He has spotted a completely nude lady walking around her apartment across the street. Jerry, George and Kramer rush to the window to check it out. Elaine walks in, and is cocky that this will be a cake walk for her. Then, Kramer leaves without saying anything to anyone. Then, about a minute later, Kramer walks in, slams money on Jerry's kitchen counter and says, "I'm out". So, now there were three.

Later in the episode, Elaine is at her aerobics class, and she comes to find out that JFK Jr is in her class. She is smitten and taken aback by this news. She gets a spot right behind him in class and is in love. We later cut to the four main characters trying to sleep. George, Elaine and Jerry cannot sleep, but Kramer, he is sleeping like a baby. We go back to Monk's and Elaine is telling the guys about JFK Jr being in her class. Earlier in the scene, George and Jerry have claimed to be "masters of their domain", and they ask Elaine if she still is, and she says, "I'm Queen of the castle".

The episode cuts back to Jerry's apartment, and Jerry is on the phone with his mother and Kramer is watching the lady across the street. Jerry is watching cartoons, and after he gets off the phone with his mom, he is singing children's songs to keep his mind off the lady across the street. This tactic doesn't work because Kramer is singing the tune, but it is about the lady across the street having no clothes on. Elaine goes to her aerobics class the next day, all done up. Her hair is nice, she has makeup on, the whole nine basically. She comes to find out that JFK Jr won't be there, he was in an earlier class, but the lady behind the counter let her know that she made an impression on him. Then, it's another scene of the four of them sleeping. George and Jerry are still restless, but Kramer, and now Elaine are sleeping like babies. Elaine walks in Jerry's apartment the next day, and, after a great scene involving George and Jerry fighting with each other over little things out of pure frustration, she puts her money down on the counter and says, "I'm out". Shock and awe from George and Jerry's faces. They thought she would coast, but she explains that the JFK Jr news got to her. Now, there were 2.

George is growing more frustrated by the day. He goes to visit his mom, and we see that the hospital bed next to hers has a young patient and nurse that is giving her a sponge bath. This is driving George nuts. He makes extra visits to his mom just to see this. He looks to be caving. But, Jerry is equally frustrated. He is dating a virgin, and he cannot get past kissing her. She wants to take it slow. He, being the "good" guy that he is, agrees, but it is driving him crazy as well. Both George and Jerry are pent up and frustrated. The ending of the episode is classic. We already know that Elaine and Kramer are out. But, when we get our final sleeping scene, both George and Jerry are resting comfortably as well. They have clearly caved, but we don't know who won the contest. We do find out in the series finale, but the fact that they ended this episode on a cliff hanger, and don't divulge who won until very later on in the series, makes this ending that much better.

I'm so glad that I came across this episode of "Seinfeld" yesterday. It's a classic, and it still holds up very well. "Seinfeld" is great, and "The Contest" may be their finest half hour. Go back and check out this episode, it is so, so great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has been master of his domain for over 20 years, so he says. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

John McLaughlin was Always Right

I did not always agree with John McLaughlin, but I always knew that he was right.

Today we lost a legend. John McLaughlin was the host and moderator of the "McLaughlin Group" that would air on PBS every week. I never knew the day it would premier, I used to watch it on Tuesday nights, but it never mattered. The McLaughlin group was the only political gab fest worth watching. Eleanor Clift, Bob Novak (also RIP), Pat Buchanan, Mort Zuckerman, Clarence Page, and John McLaughin, these are the people who enhanced my political education through the 1980's, 1990's, and the early 21st century. I studied politics in college, and "The McLaughlin Group" was must watch tv. I worked in politics after college, "The McLaughlin Group" was required weekly viewing.  My wife is very politically aware, and she makes "The McLaughlin Group" appointment television. As our country was becoming more and more partisan, "The McLaughlin Group" was the intellectual oasis in the sea of political ignorance. John McLaughlin was the center of this great and influential political education.

John McLaughlin's politics were not my own, but I knew he was looking for the right answers. Eleanor Clift and Pat Buchanan would argue about something, and John McLaughlin would put them both in their place. His politics may have been conservative, but is ideals were American. John McLaughlin wanted to know what would be the best solution for everyone. During the George W Bush administration, "The McLaughlin Group" was the first place I saw discussion about the wrongness of the Iraq war. During the debate for the Affordable Care Act, "The McLaughlin Group" was the first place to question the actual problems with the law (the fact that the law is a transfer of tax dollars to private insurance corporations). Before Fox News, or MSNBC, or "The Daily Show", John McLaughlin and his panel were exposing the problems with the Washington D.C. machine. John McLaughlin invented the idea of being disappointing with the federal government.

The modern incarnation of political television debate started with "The McLaughlin Group". Bill Maher would have no blueprint for "Politically Incorrect" or "Real Time with Bill Maher" without John McLaughlin. Fox News idiotic panels are nothing more than the conservative side of John McLaughlin's PBS show. Pointing out the folly of Washington DC did not start with John Stewart or Stephen Colbert, it started with "The McLaughlin Group". His influence was so great, that one of the most famous Saturday Night Live Sketches lampooned his new take on tv political commentary. John McLaughlin may be gone, but his legacy is bigger than any of us really know.

I watched the last weeks episode of "The McLaughlin Group" because I heard that John was absent. My heart sank when I heard he passed away. I did not share John McLaughlin's politics, but I shared his excitement for the American experience. The world of political dialogue is better for John's involvement, we need to honor that. RIP great moderator.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Be the next great political voice by writing for SeedSing.  

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: The Wheel House Edition

The most recent episode of "Bar Rescue" was great, as they have all been this season. The latest adventure found John Taffer and his crew in a small town in California. I don't remember the name, but they said it was about 90 minutes outside of LA. I figured this would be some big time, hot shot place, but this city was almost at the poverty line. They said the median household income was 27,000 dollars a year. That's only $5,000 above being considered in poverty. So, this bar needed to have a niche. Their niche was, the bar was attached to a roller rink. Apparently, the guy who now owned the bar was an employee who climbed the ladder all the way up to upper management at the roller rink. They had an empty space next door, so he turned it into a bar. He didn't give it a name, but the roller rink was called The Wheel House, so he used it for both the rink and the bar.

At first, the owner of The Wheel House said that they were raking in the dough. They had so many customers, it was hard to maneuver for the bartenders. There was also a lineage of workers that went to the rink as kids, got to know the owner, he does a ton of community service, in fact, he's like a local legend, that were now bartenders. It was a "family" owned and run business. But, as of recently, the bar had fallen on hard times. The roller rink was also not immune to the downturn in business, it was also struggling financially.

The roller rink I get, those things are outdated, but why was the bar failing you ask? Well, the owner was very low key and he let his employees get away with pretty much everything. They took money from the tip jar, they drank behind the bar, they basically refused to make food when ordered. Did I mention that the kitchen was over 100 feet away from the bar? Well, it is. The bartenders also argued with and cursed out customers. It was rough and the owner did nothing about this.

When Taffer and crew arrived, they noticed the dysfunction immediately. They saw all the things I just mentioned. They had a spy go in the bar and had him ask why this bar was failing. They all said that the staff was mean and the owner was nice, but needed to be tougher. When Taffer and crew went in the bar, they immediately called out one bartender for complaining about making food. They told the owner all the nasty things she said about him, and they forced him to fire her, one of my favorite things on the show. He did it, and got little backlash. In fact, the remaining employees seemed to take him more seriously afterwards. They did the stress test, the bartenders didn't do great, they didn't know how to pour proper drinks, but they at least tried. The kitchen staff was also good, but there was no system. We had come to find out that the owner was holding everyone back. He agreed to this as well, and he let Taffer and crew do everything necessary to get his money and his bar back in order. They kept mentioning, and saying the word, community a lot during this episode too. This owner was big time in the community, so Taffer and Spike TV ran with the word and they must have said it 10,000 times. After Taffer did his upgrades, he gave the bar a name, calling it Derby's Bar and Grill, a decent effort, and had the roller rink closed to all adults. The bar was for adults, the rink for kids. Great choice by Taffer.

After the rescue, the bar sales went way up, about 60%, and the food sales were even higher, coming in at 75%. This was all due to adding new, and useful systems. Taffer did it again. He turned a failing bar into a moderately successful one. Another strong episode this season from "Bar Rescue". Come back next week for my newest review.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor of SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He visited a roller rink one time, he was there when it was bulldozed to make room for a Starbucks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.
 

Ty Watches the Eric Andre Show: Season 4 Episode 2

This past Friday there was another new episode of the "Eric Andre Show", and I'm here today to review it. This episode started like the older episodes normally do. This time around, Andre, after his name was announced, proceeded to destroy his stage. He ran on camera, screaming. It was just like every other season. Andre ran on his desk and crushed it. He ran through the signs on set and destroyed those too. He did one of my old favorites, and tackled the drummer to his band, while the rest of the band continued playing with terrified looks on their faces. There was a guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln that proceeded to kick the crap out of Eric Andre. It was all familiar, and great.

After the destruction, Hannibal Burress was introduced and Andre went into his monologue. This time, Andre was just yelling random stuff at the screen while Burress sat back and harassed him the whole time. It was very funny.

They then introduced their first guest, Stacey Dash. Dash was in Clueless 20 years ago and today she is another hate merchant on Fox News. She is a horrible, horrible person. She has stupid and incoherent views on politics, and just life in general. Andre knows this, and he pushed her with questions. He asked her about abortion and showed her doctored pictures of President Obama. Andre was pushing her buttons, and it was all uncomfortable and hilarious. Then, the camera panned down and we saw three very big mice walking on the floor. One of the mice walked across Dash's foot and she freaked out. I was laughing very hard at this. She was so scared, she leapt on Burress' back. She then walked off stage, terrified.

Once Dash and her horribleness left, Andre cut to some more of his pre filmed segments that he does on every episode. One had him selling bites of Chinese food on a New York subway. This was awkward and weird and funny, as usual. Another segment was Andre doing his, "Eric Andre on the Street" interviews. He would try to interview people, but most of them physically pushed him away. This made the segment turn into something new called, "FU TV". During this, Andre went off and yelled at his camera men and kept telling them to stop filming him. He showered them with curse words and made them run very far with him, but he was doing all of this in front of people, to see how they'd react. They all acted as you would expect, with shock and awe. Andre brought a classic back for the third segment, the Brotendo guy. This is a douchey character that Andre plays, that talks to random strangers about very random and very weird things. He also wears a very bright green shirt, with the nipples cut out, and tells crazy stories to people on the street. He acts like he knows these people, but they have no clue, making this that much more funny. This is one of my favorite side characters that he plays on the show.

They then went to their second guest, Jack MacBrayer. He is friends with Andre, but even he seemed to be very confused by everything that was going on. He was hesitant to answer questions. He looked uncomfortable. He kept asking Andre if he was okay. Then, at one point, a stage hand brought out some gray colored food and Andre offered it as a snack. MacBrayer declined, but Andre indulged himself. They had a conversation about how it's not good to just eat food put in front of you, but to end it off, a guy painted completely white busted out of Andre's desk. This made MacBrayer jump out of his seat. The guy said some gibberish and took off. MacBrayer was utterly confused. He was about to leave the stage when another stage hand came on to check his microphone, but it was just another person sent to make MacBrayer squirm. The guy kept touching him, instead of checking his mic. MacBrayer had enough, and he walked off the stage. At this point, we see Stacey Dash again, this time pulling back a curtain and saying that she found some more mice.

To end the show, Andre had some of his rapper buddies play a game called "Rapper Ninja Warrior". He had three or four guys come out on stage, blindfolded, and made them freestyle to a beat he created while dodging soiled underwear, an inflatable ball, a guy dressed as an American Gladiator, and finally, an inflatable pool with real snakes in it. To top all this off, Andre also had an electrical shock stick, which he used on every rapper. This was, like everything else on the show, was weird, but funny. One of the rappers totally wiped out in the snake pit. Another rapper ran off the balance beam, this resulting in a shock from Andre. Another guy got knocked off by the gladiator. Just typical "Eric Andre Show" stuff.

This was another great way to spend 11 minutes. I love this show, and I will be back next Monday with the review of the newest episode coming this Friday.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Is there a show out there that Ty should watch and review? Tell us all about it. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

NBC Hates the Olympics and they Hate You

We gave up on the audience years ago

The Olympics still hold some magic. Here at SeedSing we have talked about the games on our X Millennial Man Podcast. Guest contributor Jon C wrote a piece talking about his excitement about certain sporting events every four years. The Olympics should be must watch television in the United States. Being an American, we can see our athletes compete in nearly every event, and many times will medal in these events. Shooting, cycling, fencing, rowing are all sports not usually associated with American dominance, yet all of them have seen Team USA get a medal. The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro seems to be an event of peace, understanding, and sports. It seems to be a really cool thing.

I have to say that the Rio Olympics seem like a cool thing because the only way someone living in the United States can watch the games is through the channels of the National Broadcasting Company. Since the Athens games in 2004, NBC has been using a number of their cable outlets ,and the internet, to produce nearly twenty four hours of coverage during the Olympic games. All those channels and full days coverage. There should be no need for only tape delayed events. The 2000 Sydney games were almost entirely tape delayed, but the coverage was only on NBC's main station and not on any cable outlets. With major time delays in Athens, and again Beijing in 2008, NBC has presented a tape delayed package of the marquee events, in spite of having more channels and internet streaming. Sports like gymnastics, track and field, and swimming were shown to the American audience exclusively in prime time. This practice continued with the 2012 London games due to the five hour or more time difference between Britain and the United States. The last time someone in the United States was able to watch the games big events live were during the 1996 Athens games that took place in the United States.

It has been twenty years since someone living in the most powerful nation in the world could watch their Women's Gymnastics team perform live. In 1996 the ability to stream video over the internet was not readily available, twenty years on and it is easy to see live video from one's phone. NBC has gone to great lengths to make sure an American spectator can only see the Olympics when NBC thinks you should see the Olympics. Thanks to the global community of social media, any result in Rio is reported live. US Gymnast Simone Biles dominant gold medal win in the all around was broadcast to most of the globe immediately. The American audience had to wait eight hours until they could see the history making performance. When the results were posted to twitter, anyone in the USA who wanted to watch the performance was greeted with a message that the video was blocked in their region. NBC has usurped the government of the United States and is having video blocked from the citizens of the most powerful nation on earth. That is not good.

What is particularly galling about the 2016 Olympic tape delay is that host city Rio de Janeiro is only one hour ahead of the US eastern time zone. During the 1996 Atlanta games, people in Chicago were one hour behind the games, and NBC still showed the events live. The practice of tape delaying the games has been around since the games have been televised. In the 1980 Lake Placid New York Winter Olympics, the famous Miracle on Ice game was played in the afternoon, but ABC did not show the game until prime time. The difference between 1980 and 2016 is the ease of seeing things live in today's world. NBC does recognize the will of the people by allowing one to watch many events live via the NBC Olympics website. You will use your probably capped bandwidth and be at the mercy of your internet connection. Also being that NBC is owned by cable giant Comcast, the only way to access this live stream is to be a cable subscriber. Sorry cord cutters, only tape delays for you.

Putting aside the access of watching the games, NBC's coverage of the Rio Olympics has been insulting and generally terrible. Starting with the Opening Ceremonies, NBC once again let out of touch Matt Lauer and Meridith Vieria, and new comer Hoda Kotb, emcee the events for American audiences. Never mind that Lauer and Vieria were widely panned by media critics for their insulting, mildly racist, and dumb commentary during the 2008 and 2012 opening ceremonies. The 2016 edition was even worse. The veiled racism was present when Vieria referred to the Portuguese conquest of Brazil as immigration, Lauer referring as the Cayman Islands as a good place to holiday, or Kotb's groan inducing joke about the country of Djibouti. The trio more than lived up to the idea of the ugly American by constantly referencing Team USA. The opening ceremonies are supposed to be about the world coming together for two weeks of peace and sports competition. NBC and their commentators were presenting one hour tape delayed footage of Americans in Ralph Lauren between their eight hundred commercial breaks.

The awfulness of Lauer, Vieria, and Kotb extended to the people employed by NBC to provide commentary during the actual events. Early in the games, NBC swimming analyst Dan Hicks loudly proclaimed the husband, and coach, of dominant Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu was the "man responsible" for the swimmers world record victory. Social media rightfully shamed Hicks. Longtime Gymanastics announcer Al Trautwig felt like it was important to point out that the adoptive parents of multiple gold medalist Simone Biles are not her real parents. The coverage of out gay and lesbian athletes has been insulting in that NBC refuses to talk about it. British swimming medalist Tom Daley is engaged to Oscar winning writer Dustin Lance Black, yet no camera close ups and human interest stories from NBC. Brazilian Beach Volleyball player Larissa Franca embraced her wife after a win, and NBC commentator Chris Marlowe felt like he should point out that Franca was hugging her husband. It is 2016, and this is what NBC sports employees are saying.

NBC and their Olympic team does not care if the audience is being insulted. The opening ceremony coverage has been widely criticized, yet no response from NBC. Vieria and Lauer were already insulting to the world two times before, why would Comcast care if they are idiots a third time. Hick's "man responsible" remarks were defended until a day later, then NBC issued a weak apology. Since those remarks, every race Hosszu has competed in, her husband has been prominent in NBC's coverage. The only time we saw Michael Phelps "man responsible" coach was on the final night of swimming. Trautwig decided to dig in and defend his comments about Biles parents, until he was finally forced to apologize because of the large backlash. People have rightfully pointed out the poor coverage, and NBC has stood by their terrible announcers. Comcast has been on the side of their ignorant coverage more than they have been on the side of the audience. 

NBC does not care about the audience, in fact they are openly hostile to the American viewer. Their marketing team has already blamed women for the networks terrible coverage. NBC thinks people want a packaged story, and not the tales being told through the competition. In 2012, the network was so invested in American gymnast Jordyn Wieber that when she did not win the individual all around gold, the network still focused on her. The actual gold medal winner was fellow American Gabby Douglas, the first African-American woman to ever win the all around gymnastics gold. NBC was set on making Wieber focal point, and win or lose she was still the main attraction. The endless commercials prove that the the non people corporations mean so much more than the eyeballs of actual human-American.

The spirit of the Olympics itself is another part of the games being ruined by NBC. One of the best parts of the opening ceremonies is the march of nations. For almost two hours, half of which was commercials, Lauer, Vieria, and Kotb spent most of their focus only on Team USA. The parade of nations is a great time to learn about the culture and history of unknown parts of the world. NBC thinks this is a non marketable distraction. There is a team made up of refugees. NBC has devoted less than five minutes of coverage to this incredible team. One of their athletes, Yusra Mardini, helped push a boat filled with refugees across the Aegean Sea, that is an inspiring story. A North Korean and South Korean gymnast posed for a selfie together, no NBC coverage. Comedy site Cracked spent more time than Comcast on these brave young women. The spirit of the Olympics is strong, in spite of NBC's best efforts.

The Olympic games have many, many problems. With the corruption of the bidding process, the bankrupting of nations, the constant cheating, the games always have a dark cloud hanging over the events. The little hope and excitement that still exists in the games is being put to the side in order for NBC to please corporate sponsor, and the network's out of touch media personalities. Unfortunately, Comcast has the rights to the summer and winter games until 2032. The only way to escape the idiocy of NBC's coverage, and truly feel the spirit of the games is to watch the Olympics in another country. Who is up for a road trip to Canada in 2018 to watch the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in their pure, and not, stupid glory? I will hold a seat at the bar.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is going to need some money for his 2018 trip to Canada. Help him out by supporting SeedSing.

Ty's 2016 College Preview and Predicitions

For my final preseason football preview, I'm going to talk about my favorite sport, college football. I love college football. There is nothing better than waking up on Saturday's in the fall and wasting an entire day watching college football. It is my drug of choice. For my preview I will talk about the 5 major conferences, the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC, the Big 12 and the Pac 12. I will also throw a few independents in there, and I may talk about a few other teams that might strike my fancy. Enough chit chat, let's get to it.

I will start with the SEC, because it is my least favorite conference of all. They get so much deserved, but also undeserved love from all major media outlets. Yeah, I realize the SEC is good because I have eyes of my own and I can see, I don't need Paul Finebaum's punk ass telling me how great it is every god damn week. That guy is a total waste of time. Anyway, it will be much of the same with the SEC this year. It's Alabama, most people's preseason number one pick and defending champs, then everyone else. I know Alabama has lost a lot of players, but Alabama doesn't rebuild, they reload. They will find a serviceable running back, just like they did when Mark Ingram, TJ Yeldon and now Derrick Henry left. They will also find a QB. I'm sure they have a couple of blue chips sitting on the bench, waiting their turn. They will also find some new wideouts. They have all this stuff, and then some, just waiting for their turn. And as far as their o line, they are the best in college football. The coaches, and officers of the law for that matter, don't care if the best lineman in college football steals guns, he won't miss one single second because all the charges were dropped. The rest of the o line is huge and dominant. Their defense is always good. Yeah, Kirby Smart left for Georgia, but that won't matter, they will field 11 blue chip recruits that will play just as good as their predecessors. Alabama is loaded from top to bottom.

A few teams that may challenge are LSU, Georgia, Tennessee and Auburn. I don't buy the hype on Tennessee. They were supposed to be great last year, and I believe they finished with 7 or 8 wins. Butch Jones is also a piece of human garbage. Georgia is good, but they have a lot of holes to fill, and they don't have the roster that Alabama has. I also feel like they let Mark Richt go too soon. I don't think Kirby Smart will consistently lead that team to double digit wins every year. Auburn is fine, but Gus Malzahn is not a top of the line head coach. He has had a ton of problems finding a good QB since Cam Newton left, and he doesn't take enough time working with the defense. Auburn lets much lesser opponents stay in games way too long. LSU has a great running back in Leonard Fournette, and they have a very good defense, but the college game may have passed Les Miles a few years ago, and who will play QB, and who will that QB throw to? This team may be a one trick pony, but that pony is incredible.

I know I didn't mention Florida or Ole Miss. Florida played way out of their heads last year, and they will regress, especially on offense. Ole Miss may have to forfeit a bunch of games for cheating, and they lost almost everyone of importance from that team the last two years. They are on the decline as well. Once again, it is Alabama as your SEC champs. They have the best roster, and their players can get away with anything, as long as they are good.

Next, I will go to the ACC. The ACC has only 2 really good teams, and then a few okay teams, but the bottom half is garbage. The two good teams are Clemson and Florida State. Clemson was in the title game last year, and they had a chance to win it. Deshaun Watson is back, and that team is loaded with players at the skill positions. They will be a very lethal offense. Which is good for their defense, because the defense is very middle of the road. Clemson could, and may well, go undefeated this year, and they could do it while averaging 45 to 50 points a game, but also giving up 25-30. Florida State is due to bounce back from a "down" year, where they only won 10 games. They have a great running back, very good wideouts and they will pick a good QB. They also have a stout defense, even though they lost Jalen Ramsey to the pros. Florida State is incredibly good on both sides of the ball, and they are so balanced, it's hard to pick a good defense to go with when playing them. FSU will be very good this year.

The teams that are lurking, but not there yet, are Miami and Virginia Tech. Frank Beamer left VT after a very stellar career, so it will take time to build that team back up, but they play tough no matter what. Miami hired Mark Richt, which is huge, and I think within a year or two, he will have them highly competitive again. These things just take time and he needs to recruit his type of guys, but he is an excellent coach, and he is back at his alma mater. The days of Duke and Georgia Tech and teams like them being hyper competitive are long gone. The ACC is a two team race, and I like Clemson.

The Pac 12 may be taking the biggest nose dive as a whole conference. This conference was once feared and adored, but they look to have fallen on hard times. Sure, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Stanford and Washington are good, but when was the last time they were great? Oregon was not the same team last year. They played little to no defense, and they never really found a rhythm on offense. The super up tempo play just didn't have its desired effect last year. They will be decent, but they are going the route of transfer QB again, and even though I think Brady Hoke has a good defensive mind, he is not the answer they need to shore up that unit. UCLA has a great QB, but other than that, there is not a ton of weapons. Josh Rosen is also a sophomore, so he is either going to be better, or he will have that slump. He started off last year on fire, but as UCLA played better teams, people figured him and their offense out, and they weren't putting up huge numbers anymore. Their defense is very ho hum. Every year I hear that this is the year USC turns it all around, but they still haven't been that dominant team that they were in the early 21st century. The QB's aren't as good, neither are the backs. They have had some good receivers, but otherwise on offense, they are very average. The defense is fine, but they spend a ton of time on the field, and that is no good for any defense. Washington is another team that people say is "just a year away", but I've been hearing that since Steve Sarkisian was the coach. How many more 7 win seasons will it take before people realize that that is all Washington is, an average college football team.

The cream of the Pac 12 crop is Stanford. They have probably the second best back in all of football in Christian McCaffery, but that is where the threat begins and ends. They need a new QB, some new receivers and some one else to spell McCaffery out of the backfield. They are a lot like LSU, except their coach is better, but their defense isn't as good. Stanford should easily win the Pac 12 this year, regardless of who they put in at QB and receiver.

The Big 12 is another conference that used to be really competitive, but if Oklahoma doesn't cruise, it will de a disappointment. Yeah, TCU is decent and they have a decent transfer QB in Kenny Hill, but they lost Josh Docston and Trevoyne Boykin to the pros. They will have a good defense, but it is not as good as it once was. Who in the hell knows with Oklahoma State. Last year they were supposed to regress, but they played pretty well. I assume they are supposed to be decent this year, but that means they will probably take a step back. West Virginia is not the threat they once were. KU is a laughing stock. Kansas State needs to rebuild. Texas still doesn't have the players they need to compete. And Baylor, with all the problems they have going on right now, they may get the death penalty from the NCAA. Oklahoma has the best players and the best team, by a wide margin, in the Big 12. They will win it with ease.

Finally, as far as major conferences go, I have my favorite, the Big 10. The Big 10 has turned a corner over the past couple of seasons. They aren't as big joke anymore. They field good, high scoring and well defending teams. The Big 10 is good again.

The Big 10 is not all great, they do have teams that are not good and some that sit in the middle. Teams like Maryland, a long way away from competing, Illinois, hired Lovie Smith, but still a VERY long way away from competing, Purdue, who just isn't good and Minnesota, they play tough but blow games, are not great. The middling teams are getting better. As much as I may dislike Northwestern, they are always a tough game for anyone they play. Those kids are smart and they play smart football, for the most part. Indiana, who doesn't play a lick of defense, has a great offense that is capable of putting up 50 points on any given night. Nebraska always fields a very tough team. I know they had a losing record last year, but they got beat in some gut wrenching ways, and they crushed UCLA in their bowl game. Penn State always has a good run game and a decent defense, but their coach is holding them back. And Wisconsin will have a great running game, but not much else. That will still be good enough for 8 wins though.

The upper level of the Big 10 is scary good. Iowa is a very solid football team that plays very well technique football. They do not make mistakes. They are well coached and run their offense and defense as it should be run. Last year was an anomaly, I think they only lost 1 game, but they will still be very good. Michigan State lost a lot of important players from their team, but they are a tough team no matter what. They are also very, very dirty. They will have some rebuilding to do, but East Lansing is a tough place to play, and they will win some games that they shouldn't. Ohio State lost a lot to the draft as well, but JT Barrett is back, and so is Urban Meyer. This team is like Alabama. They don't rebuild, they reload. I'm sure they have some players that have been waiting to bust out, and now is their time. I HATE this team, but you have to give respect where it is due.

Then, there is my Michigan Wolverines. They surprised everyone last year, me included, by winning 10 games, but now, there's expectations. This team returns 14 starters from last year. They have an incredible defense, led by their defensive line. Jabrill Peppers is one of the best playmakers in the game. They have great receivers and tight ends and running backs on offense. But, they need to pick a QB, and the o line still needs some work. They also have to travel to Iowa, Columbus and East Lansing this season. Those will be tough road games. Michigan is better, but I think they are 1 year away from being a playoff threat.

As far as who I think wins the Big 10, I am going to have to pick the much hated Buckeyes once again. JT Barrett is really good, and Michigan is a year away and Iowa played out of their minds last year, and MSU lost too much to the pros.

I can't do a college football preview without mentioning Notre Dame. People seem to think they will be great, but I just think they will be good. They have to settle on a QB, and they lost a lot of skill players to the pros. Their defense is very far from elite too. I could see them winning 9, maybe even 10 games, but they are no threat to make the playoff.

Outside of the major conferences and the big names, the one team to watch out for this year is Houston. They were awesome last year, they beat FSU in a New Year's 6 bowl game, and they have almost everyone back from that team. Houston has a very good football team once again. They are making Rodney Peete proud.

I guess what it all comes down to is, who do I think will be in the playoff and who will face off for the title. Well, I think the 4 playoff teams will be Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Stanford. Alabama will find its way, they always do. Clemson will outscore everyone by 100 points to return. Oklahoma will cruise through the very weak Big 12, and I think an early season victory over Houston will help, and Stanford is going to be so much better than any team in the Pac 12, and I think they can go undefeated this year. My ranking of the teams, from 4 to 1 would be, Stanford, Alabama, Oklahoma and Clemson. So that means Clemson and Stanford would play each other, with Oklahoma and Alabama squaring off in the other matchup. I like Clemson and Oklahoma in those games. And, I'm going to go ahead and pick Clemson to win the 2017 National Title. They had their chance last year, but much like the Panthers in the NFL, I think they got better and will make up for what they missed out on last year.

As far as the Heisman goes, I think names will pop up all year. Guys like McCaffery, Fournette, Baker Mayfield, JT Barrett, Greg Ward, they will all get talked about, but I think Deshaun Watson will win it. He finished third last year, but I think he takes it home this season, both the Heisman and the title.

That does it for all of my football previews. I will check in at midseason on both, but for now, that is how I see things shaping up. Now please, bring on some real football games.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What happens when Ty and RD stop being polite, and talk about reality television. Listen to the new X Millennial Man Podcast where reality television is given its time to shine. Download for free tomorrow. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

The SeedSing 2016 NFL Predictions and Picks

Time to hand out a few game balls

To round out my NFL preview, today I will pick each division winner and who I think will be the two wild cards from each conference. I will also pick the Super Bowl teams and winner. As well as team picks, I will also pick the offensive and defensive players of the year, the offensive and defensive rookies of the year, the coach of the year and the overall MVP. This blog is going to be short and to the point. One sentence as to why I pick each team is all I'm giving myself. If you want to know other reasons I like these teams, you can read my 8 part preview that I finished yesterday.

Let's start with the AFC. The AFC East will be tricky because of Brady's suspension, but I still think the Patriots will win. Brady will come back on fire, and he will, on his own, will this team to the division title. The rest of the teams are either not ready, or not good enough to dethrone the juggernaut that is the Patriots. The AFC West will, most likely, be the toughest division in all of football, with three of the four teams finishing over .500, but I think the Broncos will win it. Their defense is just too good, and they won't give up a lot of points. If the offense averages 20, that would be absolutely huge for them. But, watch out for the Chiefs and the Raiders, they are both coming to dethrone the Broncos. The AFC North will also be a three team race, maybe 2, the Ravens aren't that good, but the Bengals and Steelers will fight it out all season. I see the Steelers winning because they have one of the best offenses in all of football, and their defense is pretty decent. The AFC South is still a joke, but it is getting better. Tennessee still stinks, but the Jaguars are putting together a competitive team. This all comes down to health and performance, and I think the Colts will rebound and win the division, but the Texans will be tough. As far as the wild cards go, I'm going to have to go with the Bengals and the Raiders. The Raiders are going to be good, and the Bengals have become mainstays, even if they cant get out of the first round.

For the NFC, let's start with the lowly NFC East. As I stated many times in my preview, a team with a losing record, like the Cowboys or Giants, could win this division, but I think Washington has the best players and the talent to easily repeat. They will get bounced after one round, but they will make a second straight playoff appearance. The NFC West is a two team race, between the Cardinals and the Seahawks, but the Cardinals are a much, much better team than the Seahawks. If the Cardinals don't win this division with ease, it should be deemed a disappointment. They have the best offense, and their defense is right there with Seattle. Arizona should cruise. With the NFC North, again, we have a two team race between the Packers and the Vikings. I just don't see, especially if they are at full health, how the Packers do not win this division. They have one of the best QB's in all of football, and they have a pretty good defense. Green Bay should win by 2 games. The NFC South is all about the Panthers. They are my best team in the NFL this year, and a lot of other writers agree with me. The Panthers could win their first 10 games and sew up the division with 6 weeks left. They are the cream of the crop. As far as the wild cards from the NFC, I have Minnesota and Seattle, but this may be a last shot for both teams.

I like the Patriots and the Broncos to meet again in the AFC Championship, this time the Patriots will come out on top. And for the NFC Championship, I like the Cardinals and the Panthers, another rematch, with Carolina winning.

That means Super Bowl 51 will be Carolina-New England. As much as I want to pick the Patriots, just so they can shove it in Goodell's stupid smug, arrogant face, I think the Panthers are too good, and they will learn from last season's disappointing loss in the Super Bowl. Carolina is my pick to win Super Bowl 51.

As far as awards go, I like Cam Newton as both, the offensive player of the year and MVP. His time is now, and he will not back down. He has gotten better every year, and I don't see any regression from him. He is awesome. As far as defensive player of the year, I like Luke Kuechly. He is the star defender of one of the better defenses in the NFL. That makes a clean sweep by Panthers in awards and titles. The offensive rookie of the year will probably be some 6th or 7th round pick that a lot of people are overlooking, or if they had the nerve to give it to a lineman, I'd pick Laremy Tunsil, but I think someone like Derrick Henry, who was a second round pick, and will get every opportunity to play for Tennessee or, more likely, Corey Coleman at Cleveland or Laquon Treadwell in Minnesota. Let's go with Treadwell since Minnesota is so much better than Cleveland. For defensive rookie of the year, it will be tough because there are a lot of good, young defenders, but I think I will go with Jalen Ramsey. He may get beat deep sometimes, but he will be a good corner from day one in the NFL. My coach of the year has got to be Jack Del Rio. I love what he has turned the Raiders into, and he will deservedly win this award this year if the Raiders live up to the hype I have put on them.

So that does it for my 2016 NFL preview. Let me know why I'm right or wrong, and football will be here before we know it, thank goodness. Come back tomorrow when I finish off my football previews with my college football preview.

Ty

Editor's Thoughts - I have no major differences with Ty on the playoff teams. I think Kansas City could be better than the Raiders and I do not believe in Seattle. It pains me to say that Tampa Bay could sneak into the playoff picture. Also, the Cincinnati should be called Harambes will win the AFC North. The Cincinnati squad will (FINALLY) win not one, but two playoff games to face Arizona in the Super Bowl. The Queen city will be overjoyed.

The Cardinals will destroy the Bengals by 30-40 points.

RD

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. RD Kulik is the Head Editor and frequent contributor to the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik and make RD happy by supporting SeedSing with straight cash.

Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: Perfectly Cooked Porterhouse Edition

Now, for the final four. I legitimately believe, nor would I be surprised, if any one of these teams won the Super Bowl. Hell, two of the final four may end up playing each other. These teams are the best of the best. They have the best players, the best offenses, the best defenses, they have it all. These the elite.

At number 4, I have the defending Super Bowl champs, the Denver Broncos. The Broncos defense is so incredibly good, but since I've started with offense the whole preview, I'm not going to change now. Sure, Peyton Manning retired, and sure, he is a first ballot hall of famer, but he was the not the reason the Broncos won the Super Bowl. He played very, very poorly last year. They won in spite of him. Now that he is gone, they do have a question at QB. They traded for Mark Sanchez, why would anyone do that, and they have Trevor Simien on the roster, but he wasn't even good enough to be the primary QB at Northwestern, but they did draft a QB, Paxton Lynch. I wasn't high on any of the QB's in this draft, but Lynch is one of the taller ones, he has an okay arm, and he can run. But, the Broncos don't need an all world QB, they just need a game manager. I'm sure Sanchez will start the season as QB 1, but I bet by week 4 or 5, Lynch will be in there. The Broncos running game was supposed to be good last year, but it was non existent. CJ Anderson and Ronnie Tillman were supposed to be a great 1-2 punch, but neither of them did much of anything. They were mediocre last year, but I expect some kind of bounce back. The Broncos do have great receivers. Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas are both great, even though Thomas drops a lot of balls, but they don't have a good QB throwing to them. They will get open, but will the QB, whoever it is, get the ball to them. The o line is just fine at pass blocking, but their run blocking needs to get better. Now, where the Broncos shine is defense. They are one of the best defenses in the history of football. They absolutely stifled the Patriots and Panthers on their way to the title last year. Von Miller is probably the best linebacker in football. He is a great pass rusher, run stopper and can cover. He is the total package. They lost Danny Treveathan, but that won't hurt them that much. When Aqib Talib isn't getting into mysterious bar fights, he is a great shut down corner. He plays dirty, but he has found a way to get away with it. Bradley Roby is a ball hawk. If he has a chance at a pick or a fumble recovery, he will get there. He is always in the right place at the right time. DeMarcus Ware is a beast off the edge. He is unblockable, and the best thing for him was getting out of Dallas and going to Denver. And TJ Ward and Chris Harris are exceptional defensive backs. The Broncos defense is loaded, and they will once again carry the to a division title and a deep playoff run. I think they finish 12-4.

At number 3, I have the New England Patriots. I know that Tom Brady is suspended for 4 games, but they won when he got hurt and Matt Cassell was the QB. Jimmy Garrappolo is better than Matt Cassel. He will keep them afloat until Brady gets back, and when he does get back, Brady will be on a mission. Goodell poked the bear, and the rest of the NFL is going to suffer for it. The Patriots don't have much of a running game, which is their Achilles heel. Dion Lewis and Legarrette Blount are fine, but they are not even middle of the field in the NFL. But, the Patriots have receivers all over the field, and they have the best weapon in all of the NFL in Gronk. Yeah, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan are fine. But, Gronk is the man. He catches everything, he is unguardable, he is the best red zone threat in all of the football and he is the biggest and fastest player to ever play his position. They also got Martellus Bennett to pair with him as well. That will be deadly. The Patriots o line needs work, but the speed that Brady gets the ball out of his hand, that neutralizes any deficiencies I think they have. The Patriots defense is serviceable. The can get stops when they need to and they can get pressure. I know Rob Ninkovich just got hurt, but he will be back by October. They did sign Chris Long this offseason. That was a huge, yet very quiet singing. Chris Long is awesome. They still have Malcolm Butler, and he is a very good corner. Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower are still roaming the linebacker duties, and they are both good. The Patriots, as they have been the entire 21st century are good. They may not miss Brady all that much for the first four games, and when he comes back, look out, he will be on a mission to destroy. I say they split the first four games, then win 11 of the next 12 and finish at 13-3.

At number 2, I have the Arizona Cardinals. This is the Cardinals last chance with this team to make a deep run, but they have the talent to do just that on both sides of the ball. Carson Palmer is a very good regular season QB. He puts up big numbers and plays very well, during the regular season. He is a perennial pro bowler and even pops up in the MVP conversation from time to time. But, in the post season, he is a different QB. He looks flustered and makes way too many mistakes. they got whipped in the NFC Championship, and I believe he had 6 turnovers in that game himself. Maybe this is the year he rights the ship. David Johnson proved to be a very good running back last year. He is like a bowling ball. He runs low to the ground, carries tacklers and gains the tough yards. They also have a resurgent Chris Johnson. He looked like his old self at times last year, and that should scare their opponents. The run game in Arizona is solid. Then, they have one of the greatest receivers of all time in Larry Fitzgerald. This guy has done everything and then some for this team. He is the consummate teammate and pro. There is not one bad thing I will say about Larry Fitzgerald, he is great. And if Michael Floyd can stay healthy, they have a great 1-2 punch with him and Fitzgerald. Floyd can stretch the defense with his speed and Fitzgerald does the dirty work. The Cardinals o line is very good. They do an excellent job of pass protecting and they open some huge holes for the run game. Arizona's defense is also very good. They have a great d line, led by Calais Campbell. They can stop the run and sack the QB. They have decent linebackers that are much better run stoppers than cover guys. But they have two of the best secondary players in football in Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Peterson. I personally think Peterson is the best corner in the game. He always guards the other teams best receiver and he usually shuts them down. He is also an excellent return man. Mathieu is a ball hawk and an extremely hard hitter. He loves to tattoo guys, and he will get some pick sixes and fumble returns for TD's. Being a defender, he has a nose for the end zone. I'm a big Tyrann Mathieu fan. Arizona is the cream of the crop in their division, and I say they win it going away with a 13-3 record.

Now for number one. I have the Carolina Panthers as the best team in football this year. They were the best team last year, and they only got better this offseason. They have one of the best QB's and athletes in the NFL in Cam Newton. Newton is huge, he is fast, he is accurate, he has a rocket arm and he makes the right decision always. Cam Newton is rapidly becoming one of the best QB's in the game. He has no flaws, except for his ego, but that is not a big deal. Then, they have good running backs in Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert. they are both similar in the fact that they are bigger running backs and that they crush would be tacklers. They are great compliments to Newton. Then, the way they got better this offseason, Kelvin Benjamin returns from injury. He is so big and so fast and has excellent hands. He gives Newton the threat he needs on the outside. But, let us not forget Ted Ginn Jr and Devin Funchess and Cory Brown. All these guys stepped up last year in Benjamin's absence, and they all played pretty well. Then, they have Greg Olsen at tight end. He is so good, so durable and so reliable. The dude just puts up numbers and I think he is Cam Newton's favorite target. He gets a lot of red zone attention. The Panthers o line is the best in the NFL. They protect Newton, they open holes, they do everything and they do it all exceptional. This team is lethal on offense. Then on defense, they have some damn good players. Luke Kuechly is one of the best linebackers in the game. He is a sack and tackling machine and he is a very good cover guy. They also have Thomas Davis out there at linebacker, and he is right there with Kuechly is talent. The d line is great. Kawann Short, Kony Ealy and Star Lotulelei wreak havoc in the backfield. The secondary did lose Josh Norman, but they have guys that can do the job. The ageless wonder Cortland Finnegan is back there. And Leonard Johnson and Tre Boston are good secondary players. They are not Josh Norman, but I don't think the Panthers will be too hurt without him. The Panthers are exceptional and they should have won the Super Bowl last year, they just got outplayed. This team may flirt with perfection again, but I say they finish 14-2 and they will have a fairly easy road back to the Super Bowl.

That is my countdown of all 32 NFL teams. Come back tomorrow when I will pick my Super Bowl winner and award winners. And come back Friday for my college football preview.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He remembers the days of ESPN arguing for Blaine Gabbert over Cam Newton as Carolina's number one pick. Those guys at ESPN sure are smart. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: Sleeping in on a Sunday Morning Edition

Then there were 8.

I'm down to the last 2 days of my countdown of the NFL. These are the good teams. They are not the best of the best, but a couple of things break their way, they could find themselves in the Super Bowl. These teams are nearly complete, and they are legit contenders. On with the countdown.

At number 8, I have the Minnesota Vikings. This team took a real big step forward last year. The offense is led by a child abuser, and all out human monster, Adrian Peterson. I know he is a very good running back, but that does not change the fact that he purposefully beat up his 4 year old and showed no remorse for it. Yes, he is good, but every time he gets hit on the field, I hope he gets injured. People who beat up children deserve the worst. At QB, I really want to like Teddy Bridgewater, and maybe this is the year he finally puts it all together. He checks down way too much, but they did draft Laquon Treadwell, who I think can be a good NFL player and he also has Kyle Rudolph at tight end. He is a machine at catching the ball. I also like Stefon Diggs, and he has a full year under his belt. Cordarelle Patterson hasn't put it together yet, and this year may be his last chance, but he can still be good. The Vikings o line is pretty decent as well. Where I think this team is underrated is their defense. They're very formidable. The defensive line is decent, anchored on each end by Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen. The linebackers are very good, led by Chad Greenway and Anthony Barr. The secondary has very good players, namely Harrison Smith and Andrew Sandejo. They may not be the brightest names, but they are all very good players on a very good defense. Mike Zimmer has also proven to be a capable head coach. This Vikings team is getting better, and they will challenge Green Bay again. I say they finish the season 11-5.

At number 7, I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, first off, I cannot stand this team. They are whiny babies, they complain about everything that doesn't go their way, they are basically the LA Clippers of the NFL. But, they are good. Their QB, another piece of human garbage, is Ben Roethlisberger. When he isn't out allegedly sexually assaulting young females, he is a good to great QB. He is such a terrible person, but he is durable, plays injured and makes throws, so he gets a pass from idiots like Roger Goodell and ESPN. The running game will miss LeVeon Bell after he skipped another drug test and got suspended for four games, but a guy like D'Angelo Williams or Fitz Toussaint will pick up the slack. I know Toussaint fumbled away the playoff game last year, but he is a good enough back that he will get over it, and probably put up decent numbers until Bell gets back. Williams, while older, still runs hard and gains yards. They still have old reliable, Heath Miller at tight end, so that position is still very good. At receiver, they have the wonderful and prolific Antonio Brown. I don't care what kind of stupid hair cut he has when he makes as many catches as he does, racks up as many yards as he does and scores as many TD's as he does. Antonio Brown is awesome. And he is not the only threat. They also have Markus Wheaton, who is very good. The Steelers offense could be lethal. They also have a pretty good defense as well. Guys like James Harrison, Ryan Shazier, Alvin Dupree, William Gay, Jarvis Jones and Shamarko Thomas are all very good at their jobs. They can pressure and cover. This team, as much as it pains me to say it, could very easily make their way, and possibly win, the Super Bowl this season. But, they do have questions. Can Roethlisberger stay healthy and out of trouble? Same for Bell? will Antonio Brown be tired from carrying this team last year? And when will Mike Tomlin make another bone headed decision, because we know it's coming. I think the Steelers will be good, if everything breaks their way. I have them at 12-4.

At number 6, I have the hometown team of our head editor, the Cincinnati Bengals (ed note: Go Bengals). First off, I hope they change their name to the Harambe's, because that would be absolutely incredible. Anyway, they still have Andy Dalton at QB. This guy has to be so frustrating to watch if you are a Bengals fan. He will look great one play, then do something that only Tony Romo does on the next play. He chucks way too may passes in the air as well. He is a complete wild card. But, he does have receivers that are willing and able to try and track down those errant throws. AJ Green is a highlight reel on almost every play. His catches are almost as spectacular as Odell Beckham's. Green is one of the upper echelon receivers in the NFL. Tyler Eiffert is about as reliable as they come. The Bengals need a first down, they go to him. They need 5 yards, they go to him. they need a jump ball in the endzone, it's Eiffert or Green. They also have Brandon LaFell, who I don't think is that bad. The Bengals running game is top notch. They have two awesome backs in Giovanni Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Hill is explosive and Bernard is the bruiser, They both could start on almost any team in the NFL, but they choose to split time, and they are an exceptional duo. The Bengals defense has kind of turned into the old version of the Raiders. They are good, but they are dirty. Look no further than their playoff game last year. Yeah. Vontaez Burfict and Adam Jones are very good, but they are selfish and get way, way too many personal foul penalties. Dre Kirkpatrick is a good corner, but he plays opposite Jones, so that is a no win situation for him. Carlos Dunlap is a good linebacker, but all anyone talks about is Burfict and the penalties. Same for Ray Meauluaga. Very good, but gets overlooked. Carlos Dunlap is a good defensive end too. This Bengals team is good, but can they get out of their own way. I think this may be the last real chance that they have, and they should, at the very least, make it to the second round of the playoffs. I say the Bengals finish 11-5.

At number 5, I have my team, the Green Bay Packers. This team got absolutely ravaged with injuries last year and still almost made the NFC championship game. Aaron Rodgers is solidly in the top 3 of the best QB's playing right now. He has a great arm, runs when needed, throws into minuscule windows and puts up huge numbers. He is the engine that runs this offense. Eddie Lacy, if he loses weight and doesn't get hurt, makes the Packers run game a threat. When he is in there, and running hard, he is tough to take down, and he puts up numbers. I am an Eddie Lacy fan, but he has to show me a good, full season. I do like James Starks as his backup though. He is tall, finds holes and gashes teams for big, big runs. At receiver, this is where is gets dicey. If Jordy Nelson comes back fully recovered, than at least the Packers have one elite wideout. Nelson is very good and they missed him a whole lot more than I though they would last year. Randall Cobb is also very good, but he gets hurt way too much on returns, and he takes a beating going over the middle. He is small, but he plays big. After those guys, it's thin. I do like Richard Rodgers at tight end, but the fact that they are trying out Kellen Winslow Jr tells me they don't have a lot of faith in him. The Packers o line is the weak point of the offense. /they don't protect that well, and they open up very few lanes. They need work. The defense is good, but I feel like it can be better. When you have guys like Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews, Jake Ryan, Mike Daniels, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix and Sam Shields, you should be better than middle of the pack. They give up big plays way too often. I also want Peppers and Matthews to talk to the guys that accused them of PED's, so they can clear their names. The bottom line, as long as Aaron Rodgers is the QB, this team will be competitive. I see a better year from Lacy and having Nelson back will really help out. I also think the defense will, and should, play a lot better. I think the Packers reclaim their stop at the top of the division and they win 12 games doing that.

Come back tomorrow for the last four teams of my countdown.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is building an eternal flame in his backyard to remember the greatest ever, Harambe. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.