Better Late than Never on the Fantastic Film "Everybody Wants Some!!"

Any film with this backdrop will automatically get a pass.

About a week ago I finally got around to seeing "Everybody Wants Some!!". This was the most recent Richard Linklater movie. I think it came out earlier this year. I really, really enjoyed this movie. I am still thinking about a week later, so it obviously was well made.

The movie is basically a sequel of sorts to the much acclaimed cult classic, "Dazed And Confused". I heard some people, Linklater himself, saying it was a sequel of sorts to "Boyhood", but I don't buy that for a second. This movie was much more in tune with "Dazed And Confused" than "Boyhood". "Everybody Wants Some!!" takes place on the weekend before college starts at a school in Texas. The main character, Jake(Blake Jenner), is a freshman baseball player and he is moving into one of the two baseball houses the school has for the team.

From the start, we see the dynamics of new and old students in college. Jake, after driving around town and seeing lots and lots of things he likes, arrives to the house and is immediately met by two older teammates, Roper(Ryan Guzman) an McReynolds(Tyler Hoechlin). They are making a make shift water bed using the house's water hoses, and the two older teammates immediately start giving Jake a hard time. They make fun of him being a freshman and a pitcher. They claim they both dislike pitchers, as does every other position player. This is their way of "hazing" him, if you will. As Jake makes his way to his room, he meets some of his other teammates. When he makes his way to the water bed room, he runs into Finnegan(Glen Powell), Willoughby(Wyatt Russell) and Dale(J. Quinton Johnson). These guys are nicer, but kind of push Jake to the side and explain the benefits to anyone listening about a waterbed. When Jake finally makes his way to his room, we meet his roommate, an introverted loner that only wants to talk to his hometown girlfriend, Beuter(Will Brittain). He's your typical southern boy, always with a dip in his mouth and very standoffish. We also get to meet another freshman at the house, Plummer(Temple Baker), and he is so pumped to be in college, meeting college girls, getting wasted and playing baseball. He is your typical "jock" of the group.

Now that we have established the main characters, the movie is basically a mirror image for most college students of what it is like that first weekend before classes start. There is the "hazing" that I mentioned above, but it is never malicious. The players are all pretty good guys that just want these kids to have fun. There is a great early scene when 5 of the guys are driving around campus, rapping along with "Rapper's Delight", but putting their own spin on it, and telling all the ladies on campus about their party later that night.

On the first night, we get a baseball team party. It is loud, fun, hook ups happen, it is your typical college party movie scene. After the party, the next day they have their team meeting, and we meet some more players, most notably Jay(Juston Street), who has a supposed 95 mile per hour fastball, and this is where you get the whole team feeling from a sports/comedy/coming of age movie. I loved this scene. Sure, these are college students that want to party and have fun, but they are also athletes and this is an important meeting.

The next day at the house, while hanging out, you also get a sense of team with the guys challenging each other at pointless contests. There's some random little games going on, but the main thing that happens, one of the players bets McReynolds that he can't split a baseball in half with an axe. McReynolds is the star player of the team, and a sure fire first round draft pick. It was really cool to see him swing that axe and cut not one, but 2 baseballs in half. Everyone was in awe.

Later on, there are more parties. They go to a punk rock party with punk kids. They go to discos. They go to soul dance clubs. They go to a theater kids party. It was, as I said, a great representation of how, even when you are a 22 year old senior in college, that you don't really know your place in this world yet. Sure, McReynolds knew he was going pro, and Dale was probably going to be a pro as well, but other guys, guys like Finnegan, Roper, Jake, Plummer and Beuter had no idea where they would be in 1, 2 or 3 years, and isn't that what college is all about, finding yourself.

There is a great side story involving the character Willoughby, but I don't want to spoil it because it is awesome. His story is one of many reasons you should watch this movie.

"Everybody Wants Some!!" is a really, really enjoyably good movie. I had tons of fun watching it, and I think I will most likely purchase it. This movie captured college almost as perfectly as "Dazed And Confused" captured high school. That is one thing that Linklater, as a director, does really well. He knows how to tell a very good story involving growing up and coming of age. This movie was fantastic. Everybody should really check it out. You don't have to be a Linklater fan to enjoy it either, it is a really solid movie. Go watch "Everybody Wants Some". I think you'll really like it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor of SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. He wants to know what piece of pop culture did you discover a bit late. Tell us all about it. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

An Open Letter from Ty

Before I get into my blog today, I want my readers and readers of the site to know that I am done with politics. What happened last night is an absolute travesty and I'm embarrassed to call myself an American this morning. We turned the presidency into a popularity contest won by a bully and a predator. This is disgusting and I'm fed up. I have never, ever cared about politics, but last night was one of the worst things that I have ever witnessed. It is a true and utter embarrassment that we still have not progressed like we think in this country. So, my way to combat all the feelings, I literally feel sick, is to focus on things I love that cannot be taken from me no matter what that monster says he will do. My writings from here on out will be strictly pop culture/sports. These are the things, besides family, that make me happy. I will return my focus to sports, music, funny stuff, random things and my topic today, movies. I will also return to my greatest American band stuff because I really enjoy writing about bands I like, and dislike. Goodbye politics, you were absolutely terrible.

Ty

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

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

I'm Sorry

I will start with a picture of a puppy

I was wrong. For over a year here on SeedSing and the X Millennial Man Podcast I have not given Donald Trump the respect he deserves for running a winning Presidential campaign. Here, along with our community of citizen journalists, have never taken the New York businessman seriously. We have pointed out every gaffe and hateful action from the Trump campaign. We assumed that Donald Trump was going to be embarrassed on election night, and the country would not be that much different than before the election of 2016.

I was wrong. What we never took into account is the true anger, and disconnect, people feel with the Washington DC class. Many times on, this site, I have railed against the incompetence and corruption of our elected leaders. Voting for Hillary Clinton was endorsing this culture I was so very frustrated with. My assumption is that the recklessness of Donald Trump would drive people back into the comforting arms of an old and broken Washington DC system. What I never saw was the single issue rage that turned out the Trump voter. The majority of Americans have been left behind by DC, and enough of people chose the chaos of Trump over four more years of the same. Uncertainty is a better option than more of the terrible same.

So what is next. My first step was to apologize. No excuses, I just need to say that I am sorry for being so dismissive. The next step is to find a way to move America forward. The Trump voters who felt left out of the system now have an opportunity to make their voices heard. The people who were anti-Trump now get to decide if they are going to work for positive change, or just pray for Trump and the GOP to feel. I promise to look for ways we can make America better than it is. I will team up with anyone that truly wants a greater America. No hate, no anger, just progress. Who's in?

Be kind to one another

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. 

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

Did We Mention that you Need to Vote Today

As RD has already stated, and I'm going to state right now, go vote today. All my pop culture stuff is not nearly as important as going out and letting your voice be heard. Voting is a right handed to us when we turn 18, and now more than ever, you need to vote. Everyone who reads and listens knows who I voted for, but I do not care who you vote for, as long as you vote. Sitting this out and thinking your vote doesn't matter is dumb.

Our country is a democracy and voting is the best way to use your voice in picking, not only the next president, but governors, treasurers, any form of government in your state. There are also plenty of other issues on ballots today that will affect your city and state in the future that need to be voted on today as well. Go out and do your due diligence and vote today. Obviously, I think you should vote for Clinton as president, but you vote for whoever you want, just vote.

And let the world know that you voted too. Pass it along on social media and let people know where you voted, and let them know they have until 7pm in most states to vote. Also let them know that if you are in line, and stay in that line even after 7pm, they have to let you vote. You cannot be turned away, no matter what they try and say and do.

Also, go out of your way to thank the volunteers at your polling place. They are taking the day to help you vote. These are good people, doing thankless work. Let them know they're appreciated.

Anyway, vote, vote, vote. It is very imperative that you get your voice out via voting. I'll be back to pop culture/sports/music stuff tomorrow, but today, voting is what matters most. GO VOTE TODAY!

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He pops up on the Politics side when talks about voting, and to teach Donald Trump a little history. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

We Must Halt the Dumbening of Our Society

The most accurate thing in this photo is the uniform

So we now live in a world where a high school freshman is arrested for making a clock.  Although it impressed the science teacher, it scared the English teacher (apparently not enough to evacuate the classroom, but let’s not let logic interfere).  According to the police, said clock looked like a “movie bomb,” because their training came from Die Hard.  And then, with no understanding themselves, the left starts throwing around a word like “genius” as if any bright, curious kid who likes to play with technology is automatically Einstein.  (Apologies to Ahmed Mohamed, who may be a genius, but who might just be a talented future engineer.)  This whole pile of stupid is what happens when lay-people have no functional understanding of science and technology.

How many times have you heard a supposedly educated and thinking person say to you “Oh, I can’t do algebra” or “chemistry is so boring” without a hint of embarrassment?  These same people would never proudly declare “Oh, I can’t read at a 7th grade level,” or “Shakespeare is so confusing” because people would assume they’re uneducated rubes.  But to my ear, these are one and the same.

When did this happen?  Was it when we divided the world into jocks and nerds?   When we decided all science-types had some form of autism spectrum disorder?  (For the record, I know many socially well-adjusted science-types.)  Five hundred years ago, the model of the educated man was someone like Rene Descartes, who was a philosopher (Cogito ergo sum) but also developed an entire branch of mathematics.  Ben Franklin is as famous for being an inventor as he is for political theory.  But now, top caliber universities offer humanities and social science degrees without any lab science requirements, instead granting credit for “Biology for Poets” and other nonsense.

I’m not on this hobby-horse just because it’s a personal pet peeve.  This is important because it informs our public debate. 

Part of the problem is that lay-people do not understand the process and language of science.    I’m sure we were all taught the scientific method as children.  First, you formulate a hypothesis.  Then, you design an experiment to attempt to DISPROVE this hypothesis.  Once that hypothesis survives enough reasoned attempts at disproving it, it becomes established science.  Sometimes, new data or research methods yield contradictions to established science, and we develop a new testable hypothesis and go from there.

The words “theory,” and “law” mean something different in science than in the vernacular.  A scientific theory is not just a harebrained idea that hasn’t become scientific law.  It’s not a science bill awaiting Stephen Hawking’s signature or something.  They’re distinct concepts.  Laws are models that describe HOW things work, whereas a theory is a broader explanation for a set of phenomena.  (For instance, Newton’s laws of motion describe an object’s behavior at sub-light speeds.  On the other hand, a workable theory of gravity must pull together all prior work on the subject, from Galileo to Hawking.)

Prudent scientists are never 100% certain about anything.  But a dishonest media uses that 0.001% uncertainty as a cudgel in public debate to claim that the scientific jury is still out.  Thus, because of prudence on the part of science, we “debate” whether or not man-made climate change is real.  (It is.)  We “teach the controversy” about whether or not the earth is only 6000 years old.  (It’s not.)  Dr. Trump warns that vaccines cause autism.  (They don’t).  And we talk about whether or not these are “differences of opinion.”  (They’re not.)  These are as “proven” as science ever gets.  There is most certainly a debate to be had about policy approaches, but not about the data itself. To paraphrase the late Pat Moynihan, you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own science.

The other factor that allows liars, charlatans, and know-nothings to manipulate the public debate is lack of mathematical literacy.  I remember years ago watching Dennis Miller discuss climate change on Jon Stewart’s show.  He mentioned that the earth’s temperature had risen 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past century, and then dismissed such a small change as insignificant to the future.  Miller made the mistake of assuming that all relationships are linear.  They are not.  A 1 degree change over the past century does not necessarily predict a 1 degree change over the next century.  More likely, this change is exponential:     

With only two data points, Miller has no reason to assume that the trend looks like the chart on top as opposed to the second chart (or some other relationship altogether).  But he doesn’t even seem to understand that he made that assumption to begin with!   It requires a functional understanding of analytic geometry to see that (thanks Descartes!).  I’m not suggesting that comedians are considered authorities on climate change.  But they and other lay people influence the debate, and as a society, we need tools to critically evaluate their claims.  And we don’t have them.

We don’t have them because we think that math and science are only done by geniuses, so “regular” people can’t possibly learn them.  Or we think that science is informed by “opinion” and that anyone’s opinion matters.  Neither is true.  For the future of our democracy (baseball, apple pie, the American way of life, etc.), we must teach our kids that science isn’t “scary” and “hard.”  Props to Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and a host of others for trying.   The next step might be expecting educators to not immediately be scared of an engineering project.  

Science is as easily accessible as history.  We used to teach history as a rote collection of names and dates, but we don’t anymore, because context lends the subject relevance.  Scientific context and relevance should be even easier since you see it around you every day.  But you need reading comprehension to learn history, and you need math comprehension to learn science.  All are essential for an engaged public and a vibrant civic debate.  We know that we can’t leave history in the past.  We must learn that we can’t leave science in the lab.

Fight the dumbening of society.  (Is that how you spell dumbening?)

Tina S

Tina hangs out around the virtual cube farm of SeedSing and throws out world changing ideas. We assume those are home made clocks she leaves around the office. Show off your smarts by writing for SeedSing.

Second Annual Get Your Ass Out and Vote Call to Action

Just follow the signs.

Ed note: Much of this article was copied from our "First Annual Get Your Ass Out and Vote Call to Action". The names and entertainment have been updated. Next year will be a lot of the same words if you don't get off your ass and vote.

Hello All, again.

It is election day. I assume many of our good readers are well informed of the candidates and issues. You all probably woke up bright and early, presented your voting credentials, and are now wearing the "I Voted" stickers to the embarrassment of your non-voting friends, co-workers, and family. To all the good voters out there, good job, you make America proud. 

The preceding paragraph represents less than two thirds of America's eligible voter population.  In over 75 years we have seen Presidential election turnouts rate top out at 65% of eligible voters participating only one time (1976 - Jimmy Carter's victory). What the hell is the problem? Why do people not vote? Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are not inspiring a bunch of hope in the American electorate. The onslaught of the 24 hour media, and the subhuman conversation on talk radio, make elections into a quasi philosophical battlefield. Cowards like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh use their time on publicly created radio and television airwaves  to claim America will be ending if their chosen politicians do not win. The professional left (once again thanks Robert Gibbs) makes every election into a crowning of their latest political celebrity. With all of this noise, very few people actually vote.

What the hell is wrong with you people? The national (and most state) Democratic Party has totally given up on local elections so they can win the "Best in Show" ribbon that is the Presidential election. Way to go Democrats, Obama won two elections. How has that worked out? We have the psychopaths of the tea party in congress now, non-stop obstructionism, and a Republican Senate who promises to never give a hearing to a Supreme Court Justice if their party is not in power.. The Democratic Party's lack of developing any local candidates, and supporting them, has led to people in Washington DC much worse than Donald Trump. The mighty party of the people has completely failed at building a strong stable of candidates, and left the power to the most self serving political movement in American history.

The people who are on your school boards, city/town councils, and municipal courts have a ton more power over your lives than anyone who is elected to Washington DC. Your kids go to schools run by the philosophical whims of the school board. Your emergency services are managed by your city councils. Your home values are dictated by the people elected today. Yet nobody seems to care. We all get excited to vote for history (Obama) or vote to take our country back (Donald Trump), but we care not to vote for the person who will give the next generation a chance to thrive. What is wrong with us? The election you do not participate in today will elect the crazy person to your school board. That person will next move on to win a city council race you refuse to vote in. Next thing you know, that crazy person is being featured on "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" as another crazy right winger who belongs in the 1800's. They got there because we refused to stop them from winning their first election.  We elected them by not participating.

Wake up and get your ass out to vote. I know that levies, school boards, and trustees do not excite our electoral urges. Maybe you got up to vote against Hillary or Donald? Make sure you look down that ballot and make your mark against other names and issues. Grow up. Your home values, your kids education, and the overall future of our society depends on who wins this November 8th, 2016. If you decide not to vote, I will blame the next Trump/Clinton on you. 

Vote

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Not voting gives us leaders like Matt Bevin in Kentucky. The Bluegrass State would like a do over. Be a thought leader of tomorrow and write for SeedSing. 

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

Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump is the Least Important Choice on Your Ballot

Somehow we got to use this picture again.

Who is ready to do some voting?

At long last, the greatest election in American history is coming to an end. Jay Z has sung, Ted Nugent has grabbed his crotch, the most important voices have told you who to vote for. It is now the general public's turn. On election day, less than two thirds of eligible voters will make their choice. Hillary or Donald will emerge victorious in the days after the election, and America will enter a new era. The choice of the people will be ready to lead.

Unfortunately we are all already know what will come after the election. Trump will lose, and he will throw a temper tantrum. If in some weird way Trump does win, the Clinton supporters will lose their minds and accuse people of election fraud. The new President will be deligitimized immediately by the opponent's partisans in the media. The idea of respecting the outcome of an election is long gone. The new President will have an incompetent group of partisan hacks in the US Congress who will do everything in their power to stop any meaningful idea from the executive branch. The millions of people who vote for the loser between Clinton and Trump will feel left out of this new America, and they will react poorly.

The thing is, we have ourselves to blame for this dangerous division. The supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have made the election only about themselves. Clinton does not do rallies with down ticket Democrats, and Donald Trump has flat out refused to endorse some very powerful congressional GOPers. The media, national and local, spends 99% of its time on Trump and Clinton, and the other 1% on other races. The public is uninformed, and not curious, about any thing outside of the freakshow that has been the 2016 Presidential campaign. That attitude has created a broken America.

This is a huge problem. Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012 by a wide margin. He is the first President since Eisenhower in 1956 to win over 51% of popular vote twice. What do we remember from Obama's eight years? We have the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare if your nasty. We also have a ton of Republican obstructionism. That is pretty much it. There was the increase in LGBTQ rights, but that came from the courts. Obamacare and Republican obstructionism is pretty much what we saw over eight years. There has been a record number of votes to overturn Obamacare, all failed. We have now long past the record for the most amount of time a Supreme Court appointment has gone without a hearing. If Obama is so popular, how can Congress keep being do nothing obstructionists and get away with it?

Obama, like Clinton and Trump today, never made their supporters care for the down ticket races. It takes a whole lot of money, and personpower, to run for President. The hording of resources is what we have called the Ohio Problem (you can read all about on this fine website). The general electorate, or less than two thirds of it, get excited to vote for President, and forget everything else. Midterm elections struggle to get half the amount of voters in Presidential elections. There is very rarely times where people are excited to vote for the Senator, or school board member. That lack of excitement has given us a popular President, and a Congress more concerned with partisanship than with doing actual work. The most important races, the people running who can actual affect your life, are being pushed to the side for the dog and pony show of modern Presidential campaigns. 

In 2000 many people thought George W Bush was way less qualified to be President than Al Gore. In 2008 Hillary Clinton and John McCain made the case that Barack Obama was a celebrity, not a seasoned politician. The press liked the camera friendly Bush, and the dynamic Obama. The people followed the press. The American people elected the popular kids over the hard working salutatorians. The idea of celebrity was overshadowing the solid resumes of the DC lifers. People wanted to be part of a movement, they wanted to join the cult of personality. The experienced workers were squares who most of the electorate ignored.

While these media friendly neophytes were winning, the public forgot about the people who actually make laws. In the last two decades, a freshman member of the US Congress has more power than the President. Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have stopped legislation supported by both parties. Members of the House of Representatives you have never heard of are currently blocking vital federal funds from solving the water crisis in Flint, Michigan and containing the Zika virus outbreak in Florida. The most powerful members of our government were being reelected with no competition from the opposing party. Even in the swing state of Ohio, the Democratic party has ceded the election to a man who was once the Budget Director and trade representative to George W Bush. Hillary Clinton is working hard to expand the Democratic Party's electoral college map, but her hording of state resources are allowing the GOP to keep a stranglehold on Capitol Hill. Her supporters believe electing Hillary will be enough. It won't be.

How the Democratic Party keeps missing the lessons of 2012 are baffling. Hillary will probably win, and the Republican party will still control Congress. Senators John McCain, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee have promised not to hold hearings for any Supreme Court appointments for the next four years. That is unconstitutional and anti-American. Nationwide, people running for office as Republicans have promised to waste more taxpayer money by have a thousand more showboat votes to defund Obamacare. By ignoring down ballot races, the Democratic Party is embracing gridlock and giving up any chance of change until the next election.

This needs to be the next election. We have made the case for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but their victory is unimportant. Many people have expressed their frustration that both candidates are terrible. Then don't vote for the President, or vote third party. Who cares? Trump will not have the power to do what he wants to, and he will act the child he has been his whole life. Clinton will not have a Congress that will work with her, and she will use the office to enrich her family and her donors. Ok, they stink, but there are other people on the ballot. The person you elect to the US House, the Senate, your state legislature, town council, school board, they have real power. Your taxes are decided by these people. The education your child receives is in these peoples hands. Feel like you do not know who these people are, check out your local ballot. Think you don't know these people, Google them. If you plan on going to vote for Hillary or Donald anyway, it doesn't hurt to take time and vote for the people who really matter.

We get our chance to end this nightmare tomorrow. Clinton V Trump will not be listed as one of the more inspiring Presidential campaigns in US history. The good thing is we have a moment to take power back. Sure there all third party candidates like Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Evan McMullin, and Cthulhu, but we should focus on the not as well known names lower on the ballot. When we focus on getting a working Congress, a school board who thinks of children over partisan interests, and judges who focus on the law over special interests, then we will have a government who has real hope and change. 

Go out and vote.

RD  

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Be a thought leader of tomorrow and write for SeedSing. 

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

The Stink of the Packers is Coming from Aaron Rodgers

This picture seems to come up whenever we talk about the Packers at midseason

Waking up this morning I read a story on Bleacher Report that had Aaron Rodgers saying that he was upset with the Packers sense of urgency, and the way that some of the players conducted themselves after they lost their second straight game, to the Colts, and now stand at 4-4.

Look, I agree that most of that team, my team, has no urgency and they do not seem to care about the outcome of the game. But, with that being said, I think it all falls on their leader, quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The fact that he is blaming everyone except himself is laughable. I watched the majority of that game yesterday, and he looked as aloof and uncaring as anyone on the team. He had no sense of urgency. When they got down 14-3 quick in the first quarter, he approached each play as if the score was tied, or the Packers were winning. He looked very ho hum and kind of disinterested yesterday.

That game wasn't just an outlier, Rodgers has looked that way the entire season so far. He has been the main guy with no sense of urgency. Earlier this year, while playing the Bears, the Packers defense kept doing what they needed to do, getting stops, but the offense, led by Rodgers, would go out there, run 3 stupid plays, and punt the ball. They were even down in the third quarter of that game before the Packers realized that they are much better than the Bears, and they eventually pulled away. But yesterday, earlier this year against the Cowboys and Vikings as well, the Packers have looked mediocre at best. I say again, that goes on the leader of the team, Aaron Rodgers.

I'm a huge Aaron Rodgers fan, but he has looked pretty, for his standards, average this year. People will say the line is the problem, or the receivers aren't getting separation, or they have no running game with Eddie Lacy out. Whatever. All those things have been true for three years now, but this is the worst the Packers have looked in that three year stretch. I don't know if it is Mike McCarthy's play calling, he needs to be fired, if the receivers are really this average, or if Rodgers has just thrown in the towel on this season so he can do more TV appearances and commercials. I'm embarrassed to call myself a Packers fan right now, and it is mainly because of the play from Rodgers. He has been holding onto the ball much too long. The line has been giving him time, but he has taken far too many sacks, or just thrown the ball away too much.

You watch ESPN, and they will chastise the line, not Rodgers. Then, others will say the receivers aren't getting open, which is true to an extent, but that was never a real problem until late last season, and all of this season. Rodgers used to be able to fit the ball into the smallest of windows, but his ball doesn't have the same zip that it used to have. I also do not think he trusts the receivers like he used to. The guys are good, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and Richard Rodgers are all decent, but for some reason, Rodgers is afraid to throw to them in tight windows. He looks like he'd rather take a sack or throw the ball away then take the chances he took 2 and 3 years ago.

Then there is the running game. Look, I know it is rough. Ty Montgomery has become their lead back, and he is a slot receiver, but that cannot be why they are so bad this year. Montgomery has actually looked pretty good running the ball out of the backfield. Eddie Lacy wasn't setting the world on fire, but he was capable of making the run game a threat. I feel like Montgomery is doing the same thing right now.

Rodgers won't go on a post game interview and praise the fact that a slot receiver has really stepped up in the run game for the team and is doing well, he just wants to talk bad about everyone but himself. This is the first time that I can say that I have seen Rodgers be selfish. He has always seemed like a team guy, but this interview made me very angry. I get that they are struggling right now, I watch them every Sunday, so I know, but to throw your whole team under the bus, that is cowardly. These superstar players never do this publicly either, well, at least not the real superstar players. You never see Tom Brady publicly blaming his teammates. Michael Jordan handled his business behind closed doors famously. Mike Trout hasn't come out and complained once about being on a terrible Angels team. And I do not know many hockey players, but I have never heard any stories about guys like Wayne Gretzky or Mark Messier calling out their teammates publicly. Rodgers should have handled it like those guys, namely Michael Jordan. To air stuff out for the mass media, in public, is a shameful and a me first take on your team.

I am upset, obviously. The Packers are tanking and their best player is blaming everyone but himself, even though he probably has the most problems on this team right now. This Packers season has not gone to plan, and to hear Rodgers say this stuff this morning has made it even worse. Hopefully they can turn it around, but I do not see that happening, not after these remarks from their "leader".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Not long ago he thought the Packers could turn it around. Read what he had to say. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Case for Hillary Clinton

The combo for the case was in one of the 3000 emails

In case you live under a rock and still find time to read SeedSing.com, there is a pretty contentious race going on for the Presidency of the United States. New York businessman Donald Trump is running against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. There are a few other people on the ballot, but they have no chance whatsoever, so we will not name them here.

Are you one of those undecided voters? Really? What is wrong with you? Well we are going to give the undecided, and the determinedly decided, voters a look at why each candidate deserves your vote for President of the United States. Enjoy, and make damn sure you vote on or before (if allowed in your state) November 8th. 

Why Hillary Clinton should be President of the United States

Time for some real talk.

Hillary Clinton will walk into the election on November 8th with almost enough electoral votes to win the Presidency. If you take, Ohio, Iowa, and Florida, all states won by Obama in 2012, and give those votes to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton will still have over the needed 270 electoral votes. This huge advantage is not because Clinton is a transcendent candidate, it is because the Democratic Party nominee will always have this advantage until the GOP can figure out how to grow voters. Complaining about immigration, and offering no credible solutions. Voting constantly to defund Obamacare, and offering no real alternative. Claiming white christian men are the real victims, while ignoring every other demographic group. These issues are keeping the national Republican Party isolated from the majority of Americans. How and why the GOP can win everything except the Presidency has been a mystery to many. We have discussed how the GOP has been so successful at the local level, and so very bad in Presidential elections. While the Republican Party rests on the success of their small ball approach to elections, and not evolve to bring in new voters, the Democratic Party will continue to win ever single Presidential election. Most of these victories will be by a wide margin.

Being gifted this Electoral College advantage is why Hillary Clinton will be elected President of the United States, but it is not why you should vote for her. The contrast between Clinton's centrism, and Trump's populism is almost nonexistent. There are many issues where the candidates are on the same page. They will both work with a pro business Congress to bail out Wall Street when there is another economic downturn. Both candidates will acquiesce to any recommendations the Pentagon makes in concern to our continued military operations in the Middle East. Like every recent Presidential campaign that preceded them, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have claimed to be the change candidate, but when it comes to the big issues they will not have the Constitutional powers to make the broad sweeping changes promised on the campaign trail. The economy, gun rights, foreign policy, it will all stay the same under a President Clinton or President Trump. Sorry, but those are the facts.

Where Hillary Clinton does separate herself from Donald Trump is in the areas where the Republican Party is falling behind on the national stage. The GOP, led by Trump, has taken a very hard stance on immigration. Talk of loyalty tests, banning entire groups from entering the country, and the constant defense of racist leaders, and their racist ideas, has hamstrung the Republican party with many minority groups. Immigrant groups like Latinos, and Muslims, are growing, while the old middle class white man as a voting group is shrinking. While Fox News, and other thought leaders of the Republican Party, continue to demonize these growing groups, the GOP will continue to lose voters. Gaining these groups is creating a permanent fire wall of supporters the Democratic Party can count on for generations. If these groups turn out, there is no way the Democratic candidate can ever lose the Presidency. The Clinton campaign is counting on these voters to put them over the top.

Many people wonder why the majority of minority groups blindly support the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton, along with majority of the Democratic Party, has not been demonizing Muslim or Latino immigrants . Along with African Americans, the immigrant community sees the Democratic Party as their only choice in a national election. Clinton has highlighted the struggle of the people who come to America for a better opportunity. She has put on display the heroism of immigrants who have given it all to defend America. The GOP has tried to present a case to American minority groups that the Democratic Party does nothing to help the true struggles immigrants face, but it sounds hollow when in the same day Donald Trump is turning Muslims, African Americans, and Latinos into people all Americans should fear. By acting gracious, and not suspicious, the Clinton campaign is adding voters with almost all minority groups in the United States. Alienating these voters is killing any future the Republican party hopes to have at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare if your nasty, is another area where Clinton is focusing on solving a problem and Donald Trump is only concerned with creating division. The Affordable Care Act is not a very good piece of legislation, but it has areas that almost everyone agrees on. People should not be denied healthcare because of a preexisting condition. No matter of income level, every American deserves adequate access to good health. The mythical GOP plan that has been presented as an Obamacare replacement has included both of these provisions at one time or another. Hillary Clinton has been involved in reforming America's healthcare system for over twenty years. She wants to create a solution, not have endless defunding show votes that accomplish nothing. Donald Trump, and the Republican Party, continues to treat Americans health as a commodity where there is money to be made. Hillary Clinton may not have evolved to the point where access to good health should be equal, but she has devoted a large part of her life in trying to gain access to good healthcare for all. Her leadership on this vital issue is a comfort to a nervous electorate.

Donald Trump likes to criticism Hillary Clinton for being in politics for so long, and not accomplishing anything. If Mr. Trump, and the Republican Party, had read the United States Constitution, they would understand that a former private attorney, First Lady, US Senator, and Secretary of State does not have the unilateral power they all believe she did possess. If one was to have an unbiased look at Clinton's actual record of accomplishment, they would come away impressed. Clinton has made her mark on both US domestic and foreign policy. People may not agree with everything she has accomplished, but the record is long, and even Republicans will see some good. Trump likes to say she created ISIS, any thinking person can see the lie in that statement. The Republican Party has tried, and tried, and tried to trip up Secretary Clinton on Benghazi. They have failed and embarrassed themselves. Hillary Clinton's long political career has not only created an unparalleled list of accomplishment, but it also created one of the craftiest political fighters in US history.

This is usually the point where the Trump supporters will point to the corruption that has followed Hillary and Bill Clinton their entire political careers. There have been a lot of news stories, hit pieces, and congressional investigations, yet Hillary Clinton has never been indicted or charged with any crime. None whatsoever. While the GOP has gone after Hillary Clinton, she has swatted every single attack down. The email scandal has been going on since before Clinton announced her intention to run for President, yet their is still no smoking gun. Foreign entities have tried to derail Clinton's campaign, they have all failed. Former President Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and many other administration officials, kept government information on private email servers and deleted millions of communications when investigators came knocking. Surprisingly there have not been endless investigations by the the Republicans in Congress who claim they are just trying to protect Americans. While the Bush administration has gotten away with deleting millions of emails concerning government business, Hillary Clinton has constantly been hounded about 30,000 communications that no one can find. Most Americans see the double standard, and Donald Trump is losing the argument.

Hillary Clinton has spent most of her adult life working in the Washington DC machine and slowly climbing her way to the top. On the campaign trail people like to see an outsider running for President, but we have always preferred the comfort of knowing that our President knows Washington DC. Hillary Clinton definitely knows DC. Voting for Hillary Clinton is like walking through a haunted house attraction. How everything works is hidden from your view. The secrets of the house are closely guarded. You have an idea what to expect, but there will be a few scares. In the end you will be right back where you started. Nothing has really changed. On the ride home you are left wondering if it was all worth it. 

Go out and vote.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is not embarrassed about writing what is not in his heart. Why does he have no shame? Because journalism has no shame. Be shameless and write for SeedSing. 

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

KD May Have Won the Game, but He Lost a lot of Respect

Does KD need this for the game?

Last night the Thunder traveled to Oakland to face the Warriors. This is one of the first times in my life that I can remember caring about an NBA game this early in the season. I mean, as an NBA fan, how could you not be excited for the first matchup between Russ and KD?

The game happened and the Warriors crushed the Thunder, but that's beyond the point of my blog today. If anyone thought the Thunder had a chance to beat the Warriors in Oakland, you're lying, unless your name is Russell Westbrook. KD played out of his mind last night, but I came away embarrassed for the way he carried himself throughout the game. He kept acting like that guy that doesn't want to fight, but keeps telling people to hold him back. He has been firing back handed comments in Westbrook's direction all offseason, but going into the game last night, he said some nonsense about how they'd always be friends. I think Westbrook would disagree with that statement. So, instead of going at Westbrook and talking trash on the court to him, he would talk to guys that don't really matter, Enes Kanter and Jerami Grant, and yell and scream after every shot. We all know that you're a good basketball player, but when did you become a punk KD? You have never been a trash talker, but you join the best team, the team that beat you in the West Finals after you had a 3-1 lead, and all of the sudden you're a shit talker? That doesn't make sense to me.

This new persona of his is really off putting. He's a shit talker that gripes about people calling him out for his decision. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, get used to everyone outside of Oakland not liking you and rooting against you KD. You made this choice. You picked to be the villain. You chose to hitch your wagon to a championship team, instead of building one in OKC. You left OKC high and dry. Luckily, Westbrook stayed, so they'll be competitive, but you left and barely told anyone in the Thunder organization.

I guess this is my long winded way of saying that I have lost a ton of respect for KD, especially with everything he's done since he signed with the Warriors. He bitches and moans about everything now and wonders why people root against him. It's baffling that he is this unaware of his profession and his choices. You're a great basketball player, but you've turned into a poser. You are not tough and not a shit talker. You are a ring chaser, a follower and the third best player on your current team. Watching him shit talk everyone but Westbrook last night showed his true colors to me. He will go after marginal NBA players, but put stars like Westbrook or LeBron in front of him and he shrinks.

KD is great, but I do not respect him and his decision. I will be rooting incredibly hard against the Warriors and KD for the rest of the season. And this isn't the first time, or the last time, I will be talking about KD and the Warriors this year. I guarantee that. The hate will be coming hard this NBA season, especially for KD.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. It may be early in the NBA season, but you should not be late and hearing Ty give his NBA season preview on the mini-X Millennial Man. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

It has Now Been One Day Since the Chicago Cubs Last Won the World Series

The last one standing, finally.

What an epic, epic game last night. Even I, an admitted outsider baseball fan, was swept up in the final 4 innings of that game last night. I waited out that short rain delay, even though I was very sleepy, just so I could finish that game. This has been the year of teams breaking long droughts, I won't say curse because curses aren't real. Also, good for me, because one of my predictions actually came to fruition. I know it wasn't all that far fetched to pick the best team in the MLB to win the title, but after the Warriors, Panthers and Oklahoma Sooners made me look like an idiot, at least I picked the Cubs correctly.

I'm not going to try and demean or make this title seem less worthy than it is because I'm a Cardinals fan. The Cubs earned this championship, even though Aroldis Chapman and Joe Maddon did everything in their powers to blow it for this team. Chapman should have been pulled much earlier when he wasn't hitting the strike zone, and Maddon shouldn't have put him in for 8 outs remaining in a game that the Cubs lead by 7 runs in game 6. But, Ben Zobrist came through in the clutch when this team needed him most. Zobrist proved to be the best of any addition the Cubs have made in the past 2 years. He won a World Series last year, with the Royals, so who better than a guy that was just there to come through for them. Some may say, what about what Jon Lester did in relief? He was great, but he did not provide the hit that clinched the win for a team that hadn't won a title in 108 years. Zobrist was the main acquisition, on a team filled with players that played elsewhere in the past 2 years, that truly lived up to the moment. As I said, Lester was fine, but he looked shaky in his starts early in the World Series. Jason Heyward was non existent throughout the playoffs. Dexter Fowler was great, but not really until last night. John Lackey got beat up in his lone start. This was all on farm talent, think Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and Javy Baez, and Ben Zobrist. He was the undoubted MVP of this World Series. Yeah he was 0 for 4 going into that at bat in the 10th, but he came through, as he is expected to do.

Lets step away from the Cubs for a second and bask in the glory that was this game 7. The Cubs came out on fire, with Fowler hitting a leadoff homerun. I thought that would be enough, but they piled on 4 more runs to up their lead in the 5th inning to 5-1. But, the Indians would not die. They kept chipping away, cutting the lead to 5-3 near the end of the 6th inning. The Cubs added another run, so I figured, with a 3 run lead and all the great relief work Lester did and David Ross hitting a solo homerun in his final game, the Cubs would cruise in the final 2 innings and close it out.

But, the Indians, with their never give up attitude, kept plugging away. Maddon decided, against his better judgement, to put Chapman in, and he looked shaky from the start. He couldn't get the ball over the plate, and the Indians hitters were making him throw a lot of pitches, just waiting for the mistake. They got an RBI double, then Rajaie Davis came up, worked to a full count, and smoked a fastball over the left field wall to tie the game in the 8th.

All the momentum shifted, I thought the Indians would seize the game from there, the Cubs fans they showed on TV looked defeated. The Indians then came out, gave up a leadoff hit, let Heyward get all the way to third on a throwing error during a stolen base, but the Indians got out of the jam.

Then, they did nothing in the bottom of the ninth.

Then, as we were getting ready for extra innings, they had a rain delay.

A RAIN DELAY IN GAME 7 OF THE WORLD SERIES!

It was crazy! Luckily it was short, and the Cubs took back that momentum, with Schwarber getting a leadoff single in the tenth, The Indians tried to work around the front half of the Cubs loaded lineup. They got Bryant to fly out, but the guy that was pinch running for Schwarber excellently read the ball and tagged up to second. They walked Rizzo to face Zobrist. Zobrist looked outmatched, but took a 2-2 outside fastball to left field, and at that moment, I knew the Cubs would close it out. They added another run, then gave up one run in the bottom of the 10th, just to make it interesting, but they finally closed it out on a weak grounder and ended the longest championship drought in professional sports history.

Good for you Cubs, and Cubs fans. You finally know what it feels like to be a champion in baseball, even though the White Sox won the World Series 10 years ago, but the White Sox are not the Cubs. The Cubs are way more important to that city than the White Sox, that is a fact.

This was an epic game 7, and a part of me is happy for the Cubs fans. It is a really cool thing to see your team win a title. Especially when it has been this long since the last one. And, sorry Indians fans, but your team choked. They had everything in front of them for 3 games, controlled their own destiny, and they couldn't close it out. Classic Cleveland baseball.

This has definitely been the year of breaking droughts and trends. The Cavs won the NBA title, the Cubs are now World Series champs, so I guess that means a team like the Arizona Cardinals (now the holders of the longest championship drought in American sports), since the Browns have no shot at even having a winning record, as the Super Bowl favorites, even though they are far from making the playoffs. This should also mean that some college teams that haven't won a title in decades, like former dominant teams; Navy, Michigan, Florida, Washington, Indiana or even Georgia, may win a title in either football or basketball this year. And with pro hockey, I think the Saint Louis Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, so they should probably be the favorites to win it this season, but I know nothing about the NHL. Nothing. But hey, droughts are ending, apparently that is the trend, so if the Cavs and Cubs can win, so can all the other teams I mentioned, they just need a shot.

Anyway, congrats Cubs. You guys were the best team in baseball, and you proved it by winning the first of what will be many titles, if this team stays mostly intact. The Cubs have the best roster, and for the most part, they are young, so baseball fans, get used to seeing this team in contention for a long time. Congrats, and keep celebrating.

But, to end on a sour note, because that is what I do, ESPN will not be watched that much in my house for, at least, the next 6 months, because this Cubs title will be all they talk about for months on end. Even when the NFL shifts to playoff mode, the college football playoff comes along and the NBA gets deeper and deeper into its season, ESPN will still bring up the fact that the Cubs won the World Series. It will be insufferable.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also forgot to mention the greatest sports person of the 21st century, Theo Epstein. The man is some kind of god. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The Case for Donald Trump

The case is filled with lead and swings in the general direction of the candidate.

In case you live under a rock and still find time to read SeedSing.com, there is a pretty contentious race going on for the Presidency of the United States. New York businessman Donald Trump is running against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. There are a few other people on the ballot, but they have no chance whatsoever, so we will not name them here.

Are you one of those undecided voters? Really? What is wrong with you? Well we are going to give the undecided, and the determinedly decided, voters a look at why each candidate deserves your vote for President of the United States. Enjoy, and make damn sure you vote on or before (if allowed in your state) November 8th. 

Why Donald Trump should be President of the United States

With the current state of the national political climate, any Democratic candidate has a huge electoral advantage over their Republican counterpart. It is the facts of math. Mitt Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008 were blown out in the electoral college vote because of the Democratic Party's advantage. In order to win the election, Donald Trump will have to get a state, or two, who have leaned towards the Democratic candidate for nearly a decade. Trump has to gain votes that Romney and McCain could not. Being so unpopular, how does Trump gain these voters?

The fact is that the only way Donald Trump will win the US Presidency is if enough people vote for him because he is not Hillary Clinton. To this vital group of people, who can swing the entire election, the case for Donald Trump is that he is not Hillary Clinton. That is it, these people want to find a way to keep Clinton out of office.  The anybody but Hillary crowd need to break for Trump. If that happens, than the Republican nominee may have gained the voters the GOP have been searching for over the last two elections.

Why does Donald Trump deserve the lion's share of the never Hillary voters? To begin with, Trump is definitely not like Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump is not like any politician in modern memory. The election of Donald J Trump to the Presidency of the United States would be shocking. For years, many people have run for elected office claiming to be outsiders. Trump is genuinely an outsider. He has ran as a third party candidate. He has been registered as a Democrat longer than he has been a Republican. The talk of being an outsider is never right, except when it is Donald Trump doing the talking. For people saying that the problem with politics is politicians, Trump is the messiah they have been waiting for.

Donald Trump has also put a great amount of effort into running for President. While most of the Republican field took the electorate for granted, Trump was always on tv, and at rallies, making his case. When the fundraising has been a little light, Trump has put his own money up. Hillary Clinton has run a very low key, and low energy, campaign, while Trump is a force that never stops. His constant presence has had many consequences, but no one can deny his effort. Being a figure who has taken advantage of other people's hard work, it is shocking how much energy Trump has put into his 18 month run for the President. Donald Trump may be accused of a lot of bad stuff, but being a lazy candidate should not be one of those accusations.

If Donald Trump is elected to the Presidency of the United States, it will end the Clinton Dynasty. The Democratic Party has been crippled at every level because of the hording of resources and manpower done by the Hillary Clinton campaign (just take a look at the Ohio Problem). The constant defense of the sins of Bill Clinton has caused the Democratic Party to lose the moral high ground. Any Trump accusation is turned around to make a similar, if not worse, accusation against former President Clinton. True or not, there is an unfortunate history of Bill Clinton and infidelity, and the left wing never condemns the former President. The mainstream media, along with the entire Republican Party, has spent decades litigating Bill and Hillary Clinton. Many people are tired of the overzealous investigations, and the same amount of people are tired of the general corruption that follows the Clintons. Make no mistake, there are plenty of scandals surrounding Donald Trump, but they are new scandals. The nation does not have the same kind of fatigue concerning the Trump scandals. There will be plenty of media, and maybe even a few congressional, investigations into a possible President Donald Trump. That does not matter. What is important to the nation's psyche is that we are finally investigation someone not named Clinton.

There is also no way of knowing what a Donald Trump Presidency would look like. I know many people find that frightening, but to others it will be an exciting breath of fresh air. We know what we get from a Hillary Clinton Presidency. She will help Wall Street, not fix Obamacare, continue the terrible foreign policy Bush II started in the Middle East, protect her big campaign supporters at the expense of everyone else. Hillary Clinton will act like every President before her because that is what the system rewards. Trump is an unknown. He says a lot of things like building the wall, and tearing up trade and defense treaties, but he does not have the unilateral power to do these things. Congress will definitely not follow the currently laid out Trump plan. How will President Trump react to this? The last time there was such an unknown, and feared, person in the Oval Office his name was Teddy Roosevelt. History has judged President Roosevelt quite well. Could Trump take his unknown qualities and change America for the better? 

Do you want an unknown quantity, who is very high energy, and will finally kick the Clinton machine to the curb, then Donald J Trump is your man. His language may be rough, his past is filled with landmines, and his business acumen is questionable, but he is definitely not a part of the same DC machine that has given us our current broken government. Voting for Donald Trump is like diving into the old quarry late at night. You have no idea how far down it is, how deep the water is, and if you will actually survive, but it sure gets the heart racing. It is up to America to decide if we want to make that jump. The only thing we risk is death, paralysis, or one hell of thrill. Leap at your own risk.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is not embarressed about writing what is not in his heart. Why does he have no shame? Because journalism has no shame. Be shameless and write for SeedSing. 

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

The Drought Will End Tonight for Chicago or Cleveland

One last time

Tonight there will be a game 7 in the World Series. This is a great thing for baseball. To be honest, I have not watched much, if any, postseason baseball. As I stated in other posts, since the Cardinals aren't in the playoffs, college football is in full swing and the NBA has started, I have totally checked out of this particular World Series. I am not a fan of either the Cubs or the Indians. Honestly, I could not care less who wins. But, game 7's are always exciting. I will probably watch little to none of the game, but I will be following it on my phone, checking the score every 30 minutes or so. One beleaguered franchise, that fans have been waiting a long, long time to bring home a title, will win it all tonight.

That intro is my long winded way to get to what I really want to talk about for this particular post. Both of these MLB franchises, for the past 60 plus years, have always found a way to lose games that they should win. The Cubs, back in the Mark Prior/Kerry Wood days could not close out any NLCS. Blame Steve Bartman all you want, but they blew that game 6. They had many chances to win, but they choose to blame Bartman, while dozens of other people were trying to catch that ball that Alou had no chance to catch anyway. The Cubs also had decent teams in the 80's and 90's, with players like Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Sammy Sosa, and so on and so forth, that never made it to the promise land.

The Indians are another team that have never been able to close it out. In the 90's, with Albert Belle leading this team, they couldn't get past the Marlins. Try as he might, Omar Vizquel could not bring a title to Cleveland. The Indians are another team that has had all time great players that can not finish it off when it matters most.

That all changes tonight. But, I ask, which team will continue to be the team that cannot close the deal? Will it be the Indians? They had a 3-1 lead just a few days ago. They were shutting down this excellent Cubs lineup. They were stealing bases and small balling the hell out of the Cubs. Everything was going their way. Sure, the game 5 loss seemed preordained, but last night's throttling was surprising. I know the Cubs have a better lineup and had last years Cy Young winner on the mound, but to get beat 9-3, in a possible clinching game, that should scare Indians fans. The Indians got dismantled last night. They were beat from the start. But, was this their way of reverting to what is the norm, or is it an aberration? I guess we will find out tonight.

Then, there are the Cubs. They came out of the block slow. Corey Kluber absolutely shut them down in game 1. The Cubs could not do anything. Kluber outdueled Jon Lester as well. Lester is probably the Cy Young winner in the NL this year, but Kluber won it in the AL last year. Then, game 2, the Cubs bats woke up and they won handily. I thought this was when they would take over and win the next 3 and end there 108 year drought. Well, the opposite happened. The Cubs, returning to Wrigley Field, got completely shut down for the next 2 games. They had Kyle Hendricks on the mound during one of the those games, he pitched an absolute gem, but the Indians got one run and that turned out to be all that they needed. The Indians controlled the first 2 games at Wrigley. I turned from thinking that the Cubs would roll to thinking that the Indians would roll. 

Then, game 5, with the Indians having a chance to clinch, happened. Like I said, it was a predictable outcome. The Cubs came to play. So did the Indians, but the Cubs roster is better, and in a tight game, they pulled out the win like they should. So, maybe the Cubs were turning it around, but I thought that it would come to a close last night, even with Arrieta on the mound. As I have already said, that was not the case. The Cubs bats woke up and they crushed the Indians last night. So, the Cubs turned on what they normally do, choke, and now the pressure is on both teams.

This all leads to my final thoughts. Which team will exercise the demons tonight, and which team will continue to be the underachievers in big games? The pitching matchup will be great. The Cubs bats seem to have woken up, but will they do the same against a 3 day rest Corey Kluber? I wish I could answer that Cubs fans. Will the Indians wake up and continue to steal bases, play small ball and shut down the Cubs like in games 3 and 4? Again, I wish I could answer that Indians fans. This has been a great ending to the baseball season, again, I have barely watched any baseball all year. But, this should be exactly what the baseball apologists and purists should have wanted. We have 2 teams that have not been this far in a long time, and one of them will come away as champions tonight and themselves and their fan base will breath a huge sigh of relief and party the night away.

I know that the game is in Cleveland, but I have picked the Cubs in every prediction post and podcast on this site, so I have to pick them tonight. I think the Indians will revert to their choking ways, blow their 3-1 lead, and the Cubs will be celebrating on their field around midnight tonight. The game will be a lot closer than last night's game. Maddon putting in Chapman, who is a domestic abuser, for an 8 out save last night might have killed his arm, but I do not think that will matter. This is the last game of the MLB season, so all will be left on the field tonight and the Cubs will exercise their 108 year drought. That is my outsider view of what will happen tonight.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is so very wrong on picking the Cubs. Cleveland is a city of champions, Indians all the way. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Brickhouse Bar and Grill Edition

This past Sunday, "Bar Rescue" turned in one of their worst episodes that I have seen in awhile. Taffer and crew headed to the "Brickhouse Bar and Grill" in Colorado to help save it. From the start, I was not very happy with this episode. The great thing about this season is the fact that it has been so different from the other seasons. This season has not taken itself seriously, or when they do, it is with a coy smile as if to say, we know what we are doing. There have been some home run episodes in earlier seasons, like "The Landing Strip", "Piratz Tavern" and "The O Face Bar", but most early episodes are filled with "redemption" stories and cliché after cliché. It can be pretty off putting. That was the case with "Brickhouse".

The episode opens with your typical sad, my bar is failing, can you help me Jon Taffer type story. But, we come to realize that the guy running the bar is a member of the army that gets deployed a bunch. I have no problem with the troops, they are doing the US a great service that I could never bring myself to do, but to constantly talk about the fact that you are an army guy, so you need help more than others, stop with that. The bar is not failing because you get deployed, it is failing because the owner likes to get drunk on the job, not charge anyone and hit on patrons in front of his girlfriend, who also works for him. I do not like when people use outside excuses as to why their company is failing. That is some Donald Trump type shit, and Trump is a colossal failure when it comes to pretty much everything in his miserable life. But, this owner used his army and deployment as the only reason his bar was failing. That was a terrible excuse.

Unfortunately, "Bar Rescue" and Jon Taffer didn't really tell him that he was the problem, they kind of ran with the army stuff, because it makes for "touching" TV I guess. Taffer, when talking and berating this guy, kept using military terms and telling him that he needed to run his bar like he runs his platoon. What a bunch of crap. A bar is not a war zone Jon Taffer. I hate, hate, hate when people compare everyday stuff in life to something as horrific and terrifying as war. I don't like when athletes are called "warriors" or "heroic". I don't like when a field or a company is compared to a "battlefield" or a "platoon". It is all nonsense. Athletes are not warriors or heroic, they are athletes. The same can be said for a business owner. He is only a warrior or heroic when he is on the literal battlefield, not when he is running his bar into the ground. But, that did not stop the "Bar Rescue" crew from running this comparison into the ground. Every time the owner got yelled at, or had a nice little sit down with Taffer, everything was compared to his military record. I COULD NOT CARE LESS about his military record. I wanted to know why his bar needed to be rescued. I wanted to know what he was doing wrong. I wanted Taffer to berate him for getting drunk on the job and treating his girlfriend like garbage. I wanted to know why their systems were so terrible. I wanted to see the experts get into it with the employees.

The things I love about "Bar Rescue", we only got a very, very little bit of this. The small bits of good stuff was not enough to get the bad taste of this episode out of mine, and my wife's mouth. The stress test was not nearly as gleefully terrible as it could have been because, any time they ran into a problem, Taffer would yell at the guy and tell him to run this bar like he runs his army unit. What a pile of crap. During training, they kept talking about making cocktails and food that was affordable, but also appealing to an army man. I'm sorry, does every patron at this bar have an army background? I don't think that everyone in the whole state of Colorado is in the military, but this episode tries to make it seem that way. The training was filled with army related puns and it was so, so stupid. After training and the crew fixing up the bar, Taffer renamed it "Garrison's Tavern", I have no idea what this has to do with the military or the people that work at this place, but the people at "Bar Rescue" sure tried to make it seem that way.

After re launch, they of course were firing on all cylinders, and Taffer was praising the owner for running the bar like he runs his army unit. They would not stop the army talk, hanging on to it all the way to the end. It was infuriating.

This was a very lackluster episode lumped into what has been a pretty great season of "Bar Rescue". I guess they can't all be winners, but this was a humongous step down. I loathed this episode, and I hope with the final 2 episodes this season, they stay away from this type of crap. As I said, stop comparing everyday life with scary situations like war. It comes off contrived and superficial. It is also very patronizing to people in the army who fight for their lives everyday. A rescue on "Bar Rescue" will never be as scary or hard as life in the army. This was a bad, bad episode. Do not watch it, unless you want to be frustrated by terrible writing and bad war puns.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Something else Ty really hates are the shenanigans of men's rights activists. Hear all about his anger towards these terrible people. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Happy Halloween from SeedSing

The end of October is upon us. The trick or treaters are getting ready with their store bought costumes to come fleece the neighborhood of it's fun sized candy bars. In honor of the holiday, we here at SeedSing want to present a treasure trove of Halloween related content. Read, and listen, if you dare.

The Monsters Live on Chalie Brown's Street. 

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown has been a Halloween staple for fifty years. The show has delighted generations of readers and views. What is hidden in this classic is a horror story of children without supervision, and the monstrous adults who feel like it is ok to bully a bald, and maybe depressed, kid. There are monsters hiding everywhere.

Treehouse of Horrors is One of the Only Good Things about Halloween

The Simpsons has been going strong for over twenty five years, and in that time the show has presented a triumvirate of Halloween stories every year. Revisit some of the greatest THOH episodes and see what the greatest show on television does with our spookiest of holidays.

Ty says Boo-Urns to Halloween

Pop Culture editor Ty is not a big fan of Halloween. Nothing gets him more annoyed than the terrible puns associated with the holiday. He does not care for "spooktacular" savings or listening to the dulcet tones of "Rocktober". Oh, and adults dressing up, that is not Ty's favorite thing either. Maybe next year the Halloween fad will fade away.

The X Millennial Man Podcast Episode XVII: Strip Clubs, Hangovers, and the Innocence of Halloween

Ty and RD talk about the scary real life consequences of Halloween. Did you know that strip clubs do not always let you enter when you have a mask on. Even on Halloween. Many adults like to dress up and drink on Halloween too. Most of the time, these adults end up forgetting the night's festivities and spend All Saint's Day praying in front of the toilet. Who says kids get to have all the holiday fun.

The X Millennial Man Podcast Episode LXVII: Trolls and the Other Monsters Who Live on the Internet.

The X Millennial Man was doing some internet research on Mad Max: Fury Road, and we learned that there are some men who are not happy with the movie. It seems these fellows do not like a movie that portrays women as strong, or stronger, than men. It also seems many of these upset men can not find dates. In order to express their frustration, these gentleman go to the internet and write about their troubles. It is frightening. Join Ty and RD as they read some of these tales of MRAs and MGTOWs.

We hope you enjoy a cavalcade of Halloween scares. If you really need a good fright, go ahead and read anything we have written on Donald Trump. That will keep you up at night. Have a fantastic All Hallows Eve. 

The Writers of SeedSing

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

Ty Watches "Jon Glaser Loves Gear"

Tru TV is at it again, putting on great, irreverent comedy shows. This past Wednesday, Jon Glaser, who I am a huge fan of, new show premiered, "Jon Glaser Loves Gear". I heard very little about the show until earlier in the week. I was on Facebook and I'm a fan of another Tru TV show called "Those Who Can't", and their page was promoting Glaser's new show. I immediately put it on my DVR so I could watch.

The show's premise is quite simple. Glaser and his gear expert, who he calls "spert", are pitching a show where they go out on random excursions and try out the newest and best gear for that particular trip. The first episode focused solely on a camping trip. After the execs at Tru TV green light the show, Glaser and his "spert" go on a shopping spree. The show is a mix of reality and scripted sequences. I really enjoy this. For example, when they are talking about their upcoming shopping spree, it's easily identified as scripted TV, but when they go to the store, that's when the mix of reality TV comes into play. To watch Glaser and his buddy shop is hilarious. One of my favorite things that Glaser does, after every piece of equipment that he seems serviceable, he loudly yells, "GEAR!!!!". I think this is so funny.

Before they head out on their camping trip, Glaser goes to his home to tell his wife and kids about the show and all the new stuff he purchased. Well, his wife wants nothing to do with the show. She doesn't want to be on camera and she doesn't want her kids on camera. This bit really reminded me a lot of one of Glaser's older shows, "Delocated". It was very goofy, and everyone's face was covered, except Glaser's. So, after his wife says she will not go with him on this trip, he has a casting call for someone to play his wife. Again, Glaser hits it out of the park with this bit. Go watch it, it is comedy gold.

After he hires an actress, they go on their camping trip. A lot of funny stuff occurs during this trip. Glaser's "wife" is way more into his "spert" than him. This makes Glaser very angry and jealous. He goes so far as to fire his "spert" after some advice from "geari". Who's "geari" you ask? That's what he calls Siri. "Geari" is a lot like Siri, but it only gives gear advice, writes scripts, gains the power to feel and basically runs Glaser's life. When Glaser is in the process of firing his "spert", there is another great bit involving a phone call with Andy Richter. Again, go watch it, you won't be disappointed.

Once the camping trip is over, Glaser gives a run down of how his gear did, and the first episode ends. We were granted with a second episode during the premiere. This one focused on bikes. There are some great scenes where Glaser is harassing a guy that sells night vision goggles. He also gives a guy that works on bikes a hard time. He has another run in with his wife where he thinks she's cheating on him.

You know how I mentioned that "Geari" writes scripts, that comes up in this episode. "Geari" writes a ridiculous script about a bike messenger that has to deliver male seed to keep the world afloat. Glaser goes so far as making a trailer for this movie. This episode was more about the movie than any gear. The gear actually takes a backseat to everything else. That's another thing I really like about this show and Glaser's comedy, it can go anywhere.

Again, do yourselves a favor and go watch the trailer for "Quick Rush", it's so weird and so funny. I highly, highly recommend everyone check out this show. If you're a Jon Glaser fan, you'll love it, but I think people who do not know of Glaser will enjoy it too. The show is weird, goofy, dysfunctional and very funny. I already love "Jon Loves Gear", and I think you will too. "GEAR!!!!!!!!".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Join him and RD for the X Millennial Man Halloween podcast where they discuss the biggest monsters on the internet, the MRAs. Download it for free tomorrow. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The NFL is Terrible and It's Roger Goodell's Fault

Goodell's progress report

It has been a very tough year for the NFL. Ratings are down, the public perception on how the league treats domestic violence is in the toilet, the games stink, America's most popular sport does not have much going for it. While the NBA and MLB are going through a ratings renaissance, the NFL is starting to fall behind. The once unstoppable marketing and ratings machine of the NFL is starting to fall, and it is Commissioner Roger Goodell's fault.

Here at SeedSing we have written many times about how terrible of a job Roger Goodell does as the NFL commissioner. Nearly every single one of those posts concerns the stupid deflategate controversy that the commissioner would not give up on. Every time the league was dealt another loss on deflategate, Goodell acted like a sad spoiled child who was told that he could not take the Ferrari out for the night. Every press conference, or interview, was a lesson in how not to do public relations. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have a whole bunch of haters, yet Goodell turned many of those haters into fans because of how idiotic the commissioner looked during the dumbest sports controversy ever. The terrible way the deflategate scandal was handled by the commissioner was comical in its terribleness.

Deflategate may have been stupid, but the way Roger Goodell has handled players accused of domestic violence is down right evil. When Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was confirmed to be a domestic abuser, Goodell suspended him for two games. Two whole games for Rice who admitted to hitting a woman so hard she was knocked unconscious. Once TMZ released the elevator video, and people actually saw the much larger Rice hit his fiance, the public lost their mind. We, along with Roger Goodell, already knew that Rice had knocked a woman out with his punch, but seeing it really ignited the public's passion. Days after the tape was released, Goodell increased the suspension and instituted new tough penalties for domestic abuse. Once he was properly embarrassed for his lack of action, Goodell tried to regain some humanity by trying a new tactic. He failed this test, and unfortunately for the commissioner, many more tests were coming.

The most recent domestic abuse case to test the Goodell policy concerned New York Giants Pro Bowl Kicker Josh Brown. Brown was accused of abusing his wife on numerous occasions, many while she was pregnant. Goodell decided to give Brown a one game suspension because his ex wife, the one being abused, many times while pregnant, would not cooperate with the NFL investigation. After weeks of the NFL defending Goodell's horrible inaction, it comes out that yes Josh Brown is a domestic abuser, and the commissioner does not treat violence against women as a serious issue. The NFL once again failed a big test, and they failed because of Roger Goodell.

It is easy to blame Roger Goodell because he wanted all of this power to punish the players. Since he became commissioner, Goodell has continual sought more power over player discipline. There is no committee to dole out punishment, only the commissioner. Once granted this awesome power, Roger Goodell has used his pulpit to rail against the crime of under inflated footballs more than the crime of domestic violence. He has been more interested in banning players who smoke pot, than those players who abuse children. Goodell wanted this power, and he should therefore be the sole person responsible for the consequences.

It is not just domestic violence that Roger Goodell does not care about, it is also the players themselves. Once the Goodell era began, the NFL has been trying to expand their weekly influence beyond Sunday and Monday. Thursday Night Football was introduced, and has been the first culprit in watering down the NFL on the field product. Goodell does not care about what players think of the stupidity that is Thursday Night Football. The games on Thursday stink, and directly lead to the Sunday games stinking. While NBA Commissioner David Silver is listening to his players, Roger Goodell ignores his. The NBA product is getting better, while the NFL product is becoming garbage. The correlation is pretty easy to see.

The players are not the only ones that Roger Goodell dislikes, the fans are also a big thorn in the commissioner's side. Goodell has been the most aggressive sports commissioner in forcing cities to pay for stadiums so the billionaire owners of the teams do not risk their own money. Yes, the job of a commissioner is to represent the owners, but the way Goodell goes about these scams would make a super villain jealous. Look no further than what happened with the St. Louis Rams to see how much Roger Goodell looks down on the fans who pay to see his league. The whole fiasco in San Diego is another Roger Goodell screw the fans special. In the commissioner's world, his job would be a lot easier if the fans just did not exist. That does not seem like a very sustainable business model. 

Just last weekend, Roger Goodell was in London, England for another disposable NFL game being played across the Atlantic. When asked by a reporter about the Josh Brown case, Goodell stood by the his decision to suspend the domestic abuser only one game. In order to cover his heartlessness, Goodell actually said the fans do not understand how the league deals with domestic violence. What Goodell is missing is that the fans know exactly how the commissioner treats domestic abusers. He lets them off easy while players who underinflate footballs, or dance in the endzone, or smoke pot, get the full punishment allowed by the commissioner. The fans are a lot more intelligent than Roger Goodell gives them credit for.

Whenever an issue has come up, Goodell has made the wrong choice. He ignored, and try to hide, any meaningful research being down on player concussions. He has threatened the players health, and overall competition, by insisting on the terrible Thursday Night Games.  He approves of weird rules that fans, and many of the television commentators can not even understand. Explain to a first time football watcher what a catch is. He gleefully goes after certain players, but if Peyton Manning is accused of something, the commissioner quietly pushes it out of the way. He insults fans, and blames the hardworking people who buy tickets to his bad game for the problems. If Roger Goodell is as smart as ESPN and Fox Sports tells us he  is, then maybe the commissioner really does hate the NFL and wants to see it destroyed.

By marginalizing his players, and insulting the fans, Roger Goodell is making people turn off the NFL. The commissioner's job is to make money for the owners, and after many years of incompetence, the money is starting to leave the NFL. Cities are starting to call the league on the terrible practice of demanding public money for privately owned stadiums. Youth football participation is falling off. Ratings are plummeting. Roger Goodell inherited a rapidly growing league, and every action he has made has directly affected the positive growth of the NFL.

The NFL still pulls in better ratings than the MLB or the NBA, but the gap is narrowing. The sports talk world will still go out of their way to defend Goodell and claim that on his watch the NFL has exploded. These sports talk hosts are giving up their journalistic integrity to defend an incompetent Roger Goodell because they are afraid of upsetting the NFL. Anything good for the league has been solely due a generation of great players, and coaches who have innovated. Goodell treats the best player in NFL history as a problem, and protects a kicker who abused a pregnant woman. There is no misunderstanding to see Goodell is wrong, once again, on the issues affecting the league.  

The fans have noticed that Roger Goodell's NFL is not very good. One bad decision after another has taken a great sport, and put it in the toilet. The fans are not to blame for misunderstanding Roger Goodell's bad management. Roger Goodell is to blame for making the NFL terrible.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What do you think of the current state of the NFL? Tell us all about it. 

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

Ty's Midseason College Football Redo

As I did yesterday with the NFL, today I'm going to look at college football at the mid way point. Also, much like the NFL, I got some things right, but more things wrong. That's how it goes when you are in the business of making predictions. No one is perfect, and I'm far from it myself. Anyway, let's get into what I got right and wrong, update my predictions and make some more changes.

First, let's look at the SEC, my least favorite conference. Alabama is the clear cut favorite. I think that everyone expected this. Alabama is clearly the best team in the SEC, and the nation. They have a historically great defense. They have scored 12 non offensive touchdowns, and they have only given up 12 touchdowns all year. They are elite. Their offense is just fine as well. They have a read option style QB, who is not a great passer, but an exceptional runner. He runs the read option to perfection, and, when he has an open man, he usually hits them in stride. Their offense, while not great, is just fine. Alabama is a cut above the rest in the SEC. As far as some teams that may present a "challenge", you have Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M. Some may say, you left out Tennessee, but Alabama recently beat them by 39 points. They also, just last week, beat A&M by 19 points, so they may not be much of a threat. Florida has a very good defense, but they were exposed against Tennessee in the second half of that game. Alabama is much, much better than Tennessee. Auburn may be the only team that can truly threaten Alabama, but their strength is running the ball, and Alabama's strength is stopping the run. Auburn has looked very good since Rhett Lashley took over the offense, but they will run into a buzz saw when they face Alabama's front seven. LSU could possibly pose a threat, the game is at night and in Baton Rouge, but they, much like Auburn, love to run the ball and Alabama is nearly impossible to run against. I will say, I was right about Tennessee. They are paper tigers. They should have been beaten a few times already, pulled some games out of nowhere, but have been brought back down to Earth the last two weeks. Anyway, at the midway point, Alabama is still the team to beat in the SEC.

Let's move to the Pac 12, which has been an absolute disaster thus far, minus one team. I was way, way off about Stanford. I thought that Christian McCaffrey would be dominant and lead this team to the playoff. I thought their defense would be great. I thought the lack of a decent QB would not matter. I was wrong on all three aspects. McCaffrey, while still putting up decent numbers, is literally the only threat they have, and he has missed parts of, or full games. He will not be making a return trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony. Their defense has been fine, but they have been on the field way, way too much. The lack of a good QB has crushed this team. Their passing game is no threat, so teams just load the box to stop the run, and it has worked thus far. UCLA has been incredibly underwhelming and Josh Rosen isn't even playing right now. USC, after getting crushed in their first 2 games, has looked better, but they are still 4-3. Utah is good, they have a great running game and an okay defense. They have a huge matchup this weekend, but I'll get to their opponent in a few. Oregon is atrocious, especially on defense. They cannot stop anyone and they can't settle on a QB. Oregon State is no good, Washington State is fine, but terrible at defense, Arizona State is average, Arizona is mediocre, which leaves us with one good team. That team is Washington. I was wrong about this team. I thought it was all talk, but they have lived up to the hype and then some. They are clearly the best team in the Pac 12. They have an elite offense and a very good defense. Jake Browning is putting up monster numbers, and if they get past Utah this weekend, they should have a clear path to the playoff. They are the Pac 12's only hope.

The Big 12, on the other hand, may not send a single team to the playoff. I was convinced that Oklahoma was going to have a breakthrough this year, but Bob Stoops reared his ugly head during week one. Houston trounced them, then 2 weeks later, in Norman, Ohio State throttled them. They have rebounded a bit, but they are no threat to be in the playoff. Texas started strong, but are limping to the finish line. Charlie Strong is all but done with his tenure there. TCU has been very up and down. Kansas State is in rebuild mode. Baylor is undefeated, but it is all for naught because none of this will matter because of the atrocities that they did off the field. They are going to get the death knell from the NCAA, hopefully. West Virginia, very surprisingly, has been the class of the Big 12. They have a very good offense, and in a league that thinks defense is optional, WVU actually plays really good defense. They have shut down both Texas Tech and TCU in consecutive weeks, and both those teams have great offenses. WVU is the team to beat in the Big 12, at this moment.

The ACC is still Clemson's to lose. Louisville has come out of nowhere, at least to me, but Clemson did beat them already. But, Louisville has been impressive thus far. Lamar Jackson is the front runner for the Heisman. He is putting up video game numbers, and no one, not even Clemson, truly stopped him. Florida State is average, Their QB is too young and inconsistent. Their defense is very mediocre. Dalvin Cook is very good, but he is their only threat. They have a big game against Clemson this weekend, and that game should show their true colors. Miami started out great, but they have fallen back to Earth the last three weeks. As far as some other challengers, there isn't any. NC State is average, and should have beaten Clemson, UNC has a great offense, but a terrible defense, Virginia Tech is fine, but not world beaters. This conference is Clemson's to lose. They are still undefeated, they play excellent defense and they still have Deshaun Watson, who is incredible. Until this team gets beat, I will stick with them. This weekend poses their last real threat, and if they get past FSU, they should roll to the playoff.

Now, for my conference, the Big 10. This is still a 2 team race. Ohio State, coming off their inexplicable loss to Penn State, is still a real playoff possibility. They have looked vulnerable the last 2 weeks, especially on offense, but they can go off at any time. JT Barrett is a very good QB, but he has gotten very little help from the rest of his teammates. The O line is shaky, the running game, outside of him, has been up and down, and they have no go to receiver. Their defense is awesome though. They can shut teams down. Ohio State has no room for error after last week, but if things break their way, they could sneak into the playoff. Michigan is playing incredible defense right now. They have shut down everyone that they have faced. It's hard to run on this team, and even harder to pass on them. Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown and Greg Mattison have a very, very good defense. The offense has been serviceable, but they are going to need to get better when they play better teams. Wilton Speight is still inconsistent with the long ball. Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh have not had their breakout games yet. Jake Butt has been fine, but not All American level yet. The running game has feasted on lesser opponents, but not so much on the better teams they've faced. I love their defense, but their offense needs to step it up. And, I do not care what their record is, they better be prepared for a very, very tough test this weekend at Michigan State. That team will bring their A game this weekend. As far as the rest of the Big 10, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and more recently, Penn State have looked good. Wisconsin has an incredible defense, but, much like Michigan, their offense leaves a lot to be desired. They also faced Michigan and Ohio State already, and both teams beat them. Nebraska may be the shakiest team in all of the top 10 rankings. They should have lost to Indiana and Oregon, but escaped with wins. They will probably get beat this weekend, when they face Wisconsin, but who knows, they could pull out another amazing win. Penn State has looked a lot better, but their offense is still a work in progress, and I do not trust them to be a real threat. Iowa has been underwhelming. Northwestern has looked good at times, but bad at times. Michigan State cannot seem to put it together. They can't pick a QB, and their defense is not as great as it usually is. Minnesota has 5 wins, but they have not looked impressive, and they tried everything to lose to Rutgers last week. The rest of the conference is below average. This conference is Michigan's to lose now. They have very high expectations for the first time in 10 years, so lets see how they react. This team has not been in this position for a long time, so let's see how these kids respond.

As far as other teams like Notre Dame, Houston, Western Michigan and Navy, only 2 of them have a say in being in a New Years 6 bowl. Notre Dame has been abysmal, and it all starts with their head coach. He has blamed everyone but himself, but he is the reason this team could miss out on a bowl game. They are 2-5 at the moment, so that means they need to finish the year 4-1, just to be considered for a bowl game. That will tough for this team. Houston was riding high with their opening season win at Oklahoma, but they have lost 2 of their last 3, and are out of the rankings. Western Michigan has looked great, owns 2 wins over Big 10 teams, and should rip through the MAC. They could find their way into an important bowl game by seasons end. And then there is Navy. They have played hard and played well pretty much all season long. They run that option to perfection, and they have looked really good all season. They were the first team to beat Houston I might add. I'm a Michigan fan through and through, but I have always liked Navy for some unexplained reason. It's good to see them play well.

As far as playoff teams go, right now for me, I have, from 4-1, Washington, Clemson, Michigan and Alabama. That is the exact order of the AP poll right now. I do not see that changing, unless one of these teams get upset, which could happen as soon as this weekend. So, that would pit Alabama-Washington and Michigan-Clemson in the semifinal games. Alabama will steam roll Washington and, as much as I would love to pick Michigan, Clemson has been there before and Michigan's offense is not nearly as good as Clemson's offense, so I'm going with the rematch. And, just like last season, I think Alabama will repeat. Clemson couldn't beat them last year, and Alabama's defense is way better than last year. I do not want Alabama to win, but they are leaps and bounds above everyone in college football. They are the Patriots of college football. I'm going to stick with Deshaun Watson has my Heisman winner though. He has already beaten Lamar Jackson head to head, and I think he will explode this weekend against FSU, which will solidify his place in New York.

There you have it, my mid season college football redux, redo, whatever you want to call it. College football has been so much better than the pros, so this piece was much easier and more fun to write than yesterday. Go watch some college games, they are way more fun, and quite frankly, better than the NFL, by a wide margin.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Test Ty's predictions by listening to the Mini X Millennial Man all about the upcoming NBA season. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty's 2016 Midseason NFL Redo

As we approach week 8 of the NFL season, I need to do my annual mid season revision. I did a 3 day preseason NFL preview, and like last year, I have some stuff that I got right and some stuff that I got wrong. Today, I want to pat myself on the back a little bit, but also eat some crow, especially with my Super Bowl and MVP pick.

Before I get started, I know that RD is putting up a big piece about this soon, but the NFL has been absolutely atrocious this season. I'll let RD do the majority of expounding on that, but I have eyeballs, and what they have seen has been terrible. The game is watered down and the teams are not that good. This first half of the season has been abysmal. Thank goodness for college football, which I will touch on tomorrow, at least that has been fun this year. Anyway, let's get to my mid season NFL review.

So, as you all know by now, I had the Panthers as the Super Bowl winners. I thought that they would come out and slay pretty much everyone in front of them. I thought that they would be pissed at how they performed in last year's Super Bowl, and want to make up for that. I thought Cam Newton would trash any defense that came his way. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. The Panthers have been terrible this season. They are 1-5 as we speak. Their defense is dreadful. They cannot get off the field, and teams are putting up 30 plus points on them with ease. I did not think that they'd miss Josh Norman as much as they do. Luke Kuechly has been very, very average this year. Their D line is getting little to no pressure. They stink. The offense isn't much better. Cam Newton looks miserable out there. He is not playing with the joy that turned me into a fan. He is getting head hunted, and the NFL is doing nothing about it. But, he also seems more concerned with what kind of celebration he is going to do when he scores instead of just getting in the end zone. They have no running game. Their passing game, which added Kelvin Benjamin, has been pretty porous. The Panthers have been the biggest, by far, disappointment in the NFL this year.

Outside of the Panthers, the NFC is not really great. The Vikings are probably the best team in the NFC, but they just got absolutely shut down by the Eagles last week. They have an other worldly defense, but their offense is very bad. The Cowboys, very surprisingly, have been right near the top of the NFC this year. Ezekial Elliot is currently leading the NFL in rushing. The receivers, minus Dez Bryant, have been very good. Dak Prescott has been exceptional. He is doing the best job of managing the game. He makes no mistakes, hardly ever, and dinks and dunks all the way down the field. I'm not a Cowboys fan, but I hope that when Tony Romo and Dez Bryant come back totally healthy, they stay on the bench because you should not rock the boat. This team is 5-1 for a reason. Who knows what Jerry Jones will do, but he needs to keep Prescott in there, as long as this team keeps winning.

As far as some other NFC teams, the Cardinals have been very disappointing. Carson Palmer looks like a shell of himself. Larry Fitzgerald is still good, but getting older. Michael Floyd drops more than he catches. David Johnson and their defense has been their saving grace, but they are 3-3-1. The Seahawks are probably the most underwhelming 4-1-1 team in the NFL. Their offense is mediocre, but their defense, who gets away with penalty after penalty, week after week, is still good. They are dirty, but still elite. The Packers are mediocre. Their defense is average and their offense has been mind numbingly frustrating to watch. The Lions, Saints, Eagles, Buccaneers and Falcons are at, or near .500, but they will make no difference in the long run.

As much as I hate to write this, I think the Cowboys, if they stick with Prescott and the running game, will become the team to beat in the NFC. They could very well make the Super Bowl this year, that is how bad this season has been.

The AFC, while not much better, does have the very best team in the NFL. The Patriots are leaps and bounds above all 31 other teams, and they are filled with holes. Their defense is very mediocre. they do give up some big plays a bit too often. After his ridiculous 4 game suspension, Tom Brady has looked like a man possessed. He is the front runner for the MVP right now, after only 3 games. He has lit up the 3 teams he's faced. He is on pace, in 12 games, to surpass 4,000 passing yards. That's crazy. Gronk is fully healthy, and he is just as unstoppable as ever. Martellus Bennett is a great addition, and takes pressure off Gronk. The slot receivers that fill the rest of this offense are perfect for the Patriots system. LeGarette Blount has been a great runner for them this year too. He's on pace for 1,300 plus rushing yards and 15 plus touchdowns. They also have James White, great out of the back field and Dion Lewis will be back soon. The Patriots, even with their holes, are the cream of the crop in the NFL. Eat it Roger Goodell.

 As for the teams not playing at Gillette, the Broncos have a great defense, but their offense is very much below average. They can't sustain drives, and unless their defense gives the offense primo field position, they usually punt. That should rule out a return trip to the Super Bowl. The Steelers, who I was very high on before the season, are minus their QB for another 3-5 weeks. Try as he might, LeVeon Bell can only do so much. Without Roesthilberger, this team will not go very far. But, 9-7 could win that division, so who knows. The Raiders, another team I was very high on, have been great offensively so far, but terrible defensively. The still hold a 5-2 record, and I'd love to see them in the playoffs, but I worry that their defense will make it unlikely. The Chiefs, who I was not so high on, have been pretty good so far. Sure, they got thumped by the Steelers a few weeks ago, but other than that, they have played pretty well. The Bills are well on their way to another 8-8 or 9-7 season. The entire AFC South stinks. The Texans are the worst division leader in all of football. The Colts and Jaguars are bottom feeders and the Titans are so bad on offense, that will hold them back. The Harambes, AKA Bengals, have been very mediocre, and I'm sure RD will agree. The Chargers are bad, but actually kind of fun to watch either blow games late or win games late. The Dolphins and Ravens are destined to be .500, and the Browns may not win a game all year long. The Patriots are, not only the best team in the AFC, but the best team in football. They are 100 percent going to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this season, barring any major injury.

That means I have the Cowboys playing the Patriots in Super Bowl 51. Yikes. The Patriots should win it going away, if this turns out to be the matchup. I have the Patriots as my new Super Bowl champs. I also have Tom Brady as the MVP. David Johnson might be more deserving, or Julio Jones may put up unprecedented numbers, or Ezekial Elliot may rush for 1,800 yards, but what Brady has done over 3 games, and will continue to do, just to twist the knife in Goodell, will win him the MVP. He is the greatest QB ever, and this season will prove that even further. As far as rookie of the year, I was way, way off on LaQuon Treadwell. This is clearly Elliot's to lose. He has been as good as advertised, and as much as I may dislike his demeanor and the way he carries himself, he has been great this year. I still have Jack Del Rio as my coach of the year. He has the Raiders at 5-2, as I already stated, and they are relevant again. But, I would not count out Bill Belichek. He won 3 of 4 without Brady, and now, they want to crush everyone in their path, as they should. And defensive player of the year should, and probably will be Von Miller. He is incredible and playing incredible. He should own this award for many years to come.

So, that does it for my mid season review. I got some stuff right, but way more wrong. I'm pissed about my love for the Panthers, but happy about my feelings for the Raiders. The NFL is in a rough place, but I still watch and will continue to watch. Come back tomorrow and I will have my mid season college football review. That will be much more fun to write.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He may think the Cowboys ccan make the Super Bowl, but in his heart he knows Jerry Jones will ruin the teams chances. Romo is Jones's guy after all. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches Bar Rescue: Sam Jordan's and Tradewinds Edition

Much like yesterday, I'm back today to catch everyone up on another show, "Bar Rescue". Lucky for you and me, the past 2 episodes have been fairly, and kind of shockingly, similar, so I am going to lump the two of them into one blog for you today.

Two weeks ago, Taffer and crew went to a bar called "Sam Jordan's", and this past Sunday, they went to a bar called "Tradewinds". Right off the bat I will let you know that Taffer did not change the name of either bar because they are both landmark places with landmark names. Both bars have been around for 50 plus years, so changing the name would have caused a big problem in the communities, and we know that Taffer does not want to upset any community. So, the names never change, and I think this is a good thing because Taffer always picks something dumb, for the most part, anyway.

Another similarity, both bars were family owned. "Sam Jordan's" was now owned and operated by a brother and a sister, after their father, a former pro boxer, had passed away. "Tradewinds" was run by a step dad, his friend and the step dad's son. "Sam Jordan's" owners had a very splintered relationship since the bar started to go down the drain. The sister ran the day to day and front of house, and the brother ran the kitchen. The sister was doing a fairly good job of running the front of house. The bar was okay, not blowing anyone away, but not hemorrhaging money. The kitchen though, it was a disaster. The brother had kind of thrown in the towel, and was microwaving old BBQ and dousing it in sweet, disgusting sauce. "Tradewinds" was a shit show everywhere. The step dad and his friend had no business running a bar. They were both former car salesman, so the restaurant business seemed a bit much. They couldn't make drinks and their food systems were crap. They gave the step son a 20% stake in the bar because he has restaurant experience, was a manager at most of those jobs, and was young and energetic. Well, after getting his stake, the step son kind of gave up. He would show up late, if he came in at all. He would drink behind the bar. He would leave his bar and go to another bar to drink, thus giving his own competition money. He was a mess.

As you probably can tell by now, "Sam Jordan's" had people that wanted to change and get better, and "Tradewinds" had a spoiled, rotten little brat that got too much too young and was flaming out. As far as "Sam Jordan's" goes, we came to find out later that the brother running the kitchen did not have to pay any rent and all the money the kitchen made, it went straight to him. This pissed his sister, and Taffer off, but it was an agreement they made. Taffer had the people, during stress test, compare the food and drink at "Sam Jordan's". Needless to say, the drinks and bar crushed the kitchen. The brother was taken aback by all this, but I think it opened his eyes, and he seemed like he wanted to care again. He and his sister had a heart to heart, and it looked real, not staged like a lot of these interactions on "Bar Rescue" so often do.

During the first stress test at "Tradewinds", the young owner actually walked out. He was over matched by the amount of customers in his bar. And, try as they might, the two other owners were way in over their heads. The young son's mom was the chef, but she didn't really cook anything. In fact, when people asked for a menu, they said they did not have one, and they offered the people a cup of popcorn. After the horrific showing of the first stress test, all the owners had a big meeting, and it seemed like the young guy wanted to do better. He actually listened during training and helped the other employees. See, both stress tests and families having heart to hearts, really worked out. It was very much the same thing in each episode.

After the brother and sister from "Sam Jordan's" had their talk, and the brother realized that he needed to start giving a shit again, they actually did a pretty good job with their main stress test. They were getting drinks out of the bar fast. The food was coming quick, and it was better tasting. It was pretty nice to see. As far as "Tradewinds" real stress test, it was not so great, but all the people actually put in work. They had terrible systems and the layout was garbage, but, people were putting in effort.

So, after both stress tests, Taffer and crew did their thing, and gussied up both bars. The inside of each bar looked nice. Taffer does have a good eye for making the inside of a bar look nice. As I stated early, the names were not changed, but he made the signage and the layout outside more appealing. Again, Taffer can make a place eye popping. He makes it look like a place you, at the very least, want to check out. At "Sam Jordan's" re opening, everything went very smoothly. The bar did great, the food tasted much, much better and the brother and sister were getting along. I was very happy to see this bar have a decent turnaround. I wanted this bar to become successful, and during the 6 week check up, by all accounts, "Sam Jordan's" was starting to make money again, and the brother and sister weren't fighting anymore. "Tradewinds" re opening went just as well. The staff was on fire, the mom became a calzone making machine, the two main owners were much more invested and doing a better job and the young owner cut his hair, and seemed to care again. He was yelling out drink orders, conversing with the whole bar, making 5 or 6 drinks at a time and always had a smile on his face. During their six week check up, all was well. They were making money, getting along and everyone was coming in, as scheduled.

It was nice to have two similar episodes that I could put into one blog for the readers. I'll be back next week for the next review, and I will be back every week as long as the show keeps pumping out new episodes. Stay tuned

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor recommended Ty get his beard trimmed up, but no one tells Ty what to do with his beard. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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