Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Lakers, Knicks, Suns

Day 3 of my NBA countdown begins with one of the most overrated teams coming into this season. People are expecting way, way too much from this team just because of who they drafted number 2 overall in the most recent draft. Need I remind fans of this team, they just traded away a point guard that they drafted second overall 2 years ago, so maybe they should temper their expectations.

The team I am talking about is my number 24 team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Now first I have to say, I do like the direction they are headed in. I love the hiring of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. These may be the 2 guys that can lure stars back to the Lakers. But, for people expecting a possible playoff push from this team, calm the hell down. This team is way too young and way too inconsistent. People seem to love the pick of Lonzo Ball. As I mentioned before, people also loved the pick of D'Angelo Russell. Now, from what I have seen so far, Ball is a better passer than Russell, but that is it. Ball has one of the most awkward jump shooting forms I have ever seen. That shot is going to get blocked so much by real NBA defenders. He isn't much of a defender himself yet either. People need to calm the hell down on the Lonzo Ball talk. He could be good, but he will have a TON of rough patches. He is a teenager and a rookie after all. He is not the savior that the Lakers faithful are expecting. Brandon Ingram looks like he has put on some weight, but the comparisons to KD need to stop. Just because he is long and can kind of shoot doesn't mean he is going to be KD. There is only one KD. I feel like if he played for any other team, he would be compared to a third or fourth option type player, or even a bench player. But, since he is in a Lakers uniform, he will forever get unfairly compared to KD. Julius Randle comes and goes. One night he looks great, the next, he looks like he doesn't care. He could be really good, but he needs to fully commit. I do think Kyle Kouzma could be good, but again, people need to calm down. He is not the next Steph or Dirk just because he has been filling it up in Summer League and preseason. I want to see him do it against the best of the best before I give him my full attention. Some people think the Kentavious Caldwell Pope signing is a big deal. I see it more as a ho hum deal. He was not that great in Detroit, so why would he all of the sudden be a great shooter for the Lakers? Doesn't add up. I do like Jordan Clarkson. He is a proven scorer and he could be pretty good for awhile. They got Brook Lopez in a trade, and while he is good, he is not a modern day NBA center. Again, I do not get the joy and all the big time talk by acquiring a player like Lopez. Who cares? Same with Andrew Bogut. How long until he gets hurt and misses the whole year. 10 games? Maybe 20? And while Larry Nance Jr is a great dunker, what else does he do, and how much playing time will he get? I can't answer that. People need to chill out on the Lakers. If they do get LeBron next year, then hype them up as much as you want. But with this current roster, I'd be shocked if they win 30 games this year.

At number 23 I have the New York Knicks. The Knicks finally, mercifully, traded Carmelo Anthony. What they got in return is not that big a deal though. Enes Kanter can score, but he is horrendous on defense, and Doug McDermott is worse than mediocre. His game has not translated. They gave Tim Hardaway Jr a ridiculous contract only 2 years after trading him. This deal was bizarre, but this is the same team that signed both Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose last year, so nothing they do should surprise me anymore. I like the French point guard they drafted, Frank Nkilitina, but I have never seen him play, so who knows how he will perform. I do love his cockiness and confidence though. Derrick Rose is gone, but unfortunately, they still have Noah and his outrageous contract. He is done as a player. Michael Beasley has been talking out of his ass this offseason, and he will be lucky if he gets 15 minutes a game on this horrid team. Courtney Lee deserves better than this. He could be a great 3 and D guy for a title contender, but he is in NBA purgatory. At least he will get a ton of minutes. Some people think that Guillermo Hernangomez is going to take a leap. I say, what gives you that impression? He hasn't really shown any flashes yet. Kyle O'Quinn is of no real consequence in the NBA anymore. And the rest of the roster is blah. What the Knicks do have is Kristaps Porzingis. He is one of the most unique players in the game right now. He can score, rebound and rim protect. What he can't do, stay healthy. He has gotten hurt every year he has been in the league. Also, I'll be interested to see how he handles being the top guy for an NBA team. Very interested. For the time being though, the Knicks will continue to struggle mightily.

The final team for today, coming in at number 22, the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are going to lose a ton of games this year, but they will also be a ton of fun to watch. I love the young players on this roster. Devin Booker is a born scorer. He scored 70 in a game last year, and he is only getting more and more confident. I love Tyler Ulis, who should take over for Eric Bledsoe at point guard. That is no slight to Bledsoe, I think he should be traded to a contender that needs a real point guard, but the time is now for Ulis to start, especially if the Suns are going to go the youth movement. Ulis is also lightning fast and a great passer. I LOVE Josh Jackson. He might be my favorite rookie this year. He can already defend. He can get to the rim. I know people are worried about his jump shot, but he can learn to shoot. You can't teach some of the gifts he already has. He is so long and so athletic. He is going to be a very good NBA player, and a multiple All NBA defender. Dragan Bender was awful last year, but maybe with an offseason of some work, he can be better. He is also super young. Marquess Chriss came into camp overweight, but he can play himself into shape, and when he is out there, he can rebound and score in the post. Alex Len is done. That dude is a bust. He has done ZERO in the NBA. Brandon Knight is still there, but he always gets hurt, and he should be traded so the Suns can go all youth. I'm a bit confused by the contract TJ Warren got, but the dude can play, and the Suns seem to like him. Derrick Jones Jr is electrifying, and with more playing time, he could become a real player. Tyson Chandler, who I love, needs to retire. I'm sure he likes being the veteran on a young team, but he just cannot get it done anymore. Look, the Suns will be awful, but when you get a chance, watch them because they will be a ton of fun. They will run up and down the court, and they will definitely get some highlight plays throughout the season.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Pacers, Magic, Kings

Day 2 of my NBA countdown starts with another East team that was in the playoffs last year. In fact, I was so high on this team last year, I thought they could have pushed all the way to a 2 seed. But, they couldn't play defense and they couldn't really score. They made the playoffs, but got swept out of the first round. They also traded their best player for a bag of beans this off season.

The team I am talking about is the Indiana Pacers. They got rid of Paul George before he left them in free agency after this year. That's the good. The bad, they got Victor Oladipo and Damontas Sabonis for him. Oh, they also got a second round pick. Oof did they get screwed. So, now that George is gone, they are really left with next to nothing. I think Oladipo is decent, but he is not a number one option on a playoff team. His game comes and goes, and he just hasn't been the great defensive player that many thought he'd be when he was drafted 4 years ago. It is also telling that OKC was ready to give him up after signing him to a decent contract. Sabonis really faltered and hit a big time rookie wall near the end of last season. He was basically unplayable in the playoffs. The Pacers also lost Jeff Teague, and replaced him with guys like Lance Stephenson, who is toast and Darren Collinson, who is also toast. They have no real point guard. They get Thad Young back, but so what? Is he really going to push them to the playoffs? He's a decent role player, but no more. They drafted TJ Leaf, but I feel like he is just slightly better than Lauri Markenan, and I think Markenan is going to be horrendous. Al Jefferson cannot stay on the floor for any kind of long stretches anymore. Glenn Robinson III might be good, but he has been wildly inconsistent his whole NBA career, and now he will be pushed into a starting role. Corey Joseph was their "big" offseason acquisition. That is quite telling. The only thing the Pacers have going for them is Myles Turner. Turner is going to be very good very soon in the NBA. He needs to get a few more moves, but this dude can play. He is who they should build around for the future. But, the Pacers are going to be pretty awful this year.

At number 26 I have the Orlando Magic. What is this team? Who plays what position? I know the modern NBA is "position-less", but the Magic have too much of the same type of player. They have a glut of point forwards on this team. Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Mario Hezjona and Nikola Vujavic all play the same spot. Gordon can dunk, but that is about it. He cannot shoot, isn't much of a rebounder and doesn't really play defense. Fournier plays no defense, can't rebound, but can score. Hezjona is a bust. I'm calling it now. He has not even come close to the potential that people thought he had when he was the fifth overall pick. He is toast. Vujavic is a tremendous fantasy player, but he is a good stats, bad team guy. I'd be curious to see if he could do this on a good team. The Magic have no real point guard. Elfrid Payton showed flashes near the end of last season, but he needs to put it together for a full season. He cannot shoot the ball either. DJ Augustin is still on an NBA roster, which is baffling to me. I like Johnathan Issac, their first round pick, but he is rail skinny and I am curious to see if he can hold up for 82 games. I do really like his game though. Hell, he might be the best shooter right now on this team. They signed Marresse Speights, but his days of instant offense off the bench are done. In fact, he was best suited staying in Golden State,, but they found him expendable, and let him go. Bismack Biyombo got paid last year, but he was non existent for this team all last year. This dude had a 20 rebound playoff game while in Toronto, but since then, its been all downhill. The one thing I do like about this team is the addition of Johnathan Simmons. He was great for the Spurs, and I think he might flourish with the extra responsibility and extra playing time with the Magic. Simmons has the makings of an All Star, especially in the East.

My final team for today, coming in at number 25, my first Western Conference team, is the Sacramento Kings. Now, before I get into it, I do really like this Kings team, they just play in the West, and the West is loaded. I love the pick of De'Aron Fox. He is an amazing defender, passer and can get to the rack. He needs to work on his jumper, but he is a professional now, and he can work on it as much as he wants. Fox is going to be so much fun to watch. The even better news for Fox, the Kings signed George Hill, who is not great by any stretch, but he can be a tremendous mentor on NBA life for Fox. Hill has been there and done that, and he should be able to work wonders with Fox. Even though he cannot do anything but dunk and kind of protect the rim, I love to watch Willie Cauley-Stein. He can jump out of the gym, and he has gotten a little bit better each of his first two years in the league. I'm a big time Buddy Hield fan. I have written a ton about him since SeedSing became a real thing. I think he will be a decent scorer for this team, and he will get free rein to fire at will. Now, the bad news. Outside of the guys I mentioned, I'm very luke warm on the rest of this team. Kosta Koufas is a waste of a contract. Malachi Richardson was horrendous last year. I am not a fan of the Harry Giles pick. I know it was late first round, but he was coming off a torn ACL his senior year of high school, barely played at Duke, and when he played, he was a non factor. Frank Mason was a great, great college player, but so was Trey Burke, Jimmer Fredette and Doug McDermott. I see a lot of those three in Frank Mason. I'm not too pumped about the Justin Jackson pick. He can play some pretty good defense, but he is an irrational confidence guy on the offensive end and he needs to let Buddy Hield and De'Aron Fox run the show on that end. The Kings also signed Zach Randolph and Vince Carter. While this seems like a decent fit, I think both guys are done. Zach Randolph could never really jump, but he was aided by having a great point guard in Mike Conley and an excellent front court companion in Marc Gasol. He now has Cauley-Stein and some also rans next to him. I do not like his fit with this team at all. Vince Carter, the ageless wonder, is back for another year, but I look at him more as a hanger on than a guy that will be a real contributor. More power to him for still cashing checks, but I hope this is his last season in the NBA. The Kings need to embrace the youth movement, and if they do that, they could be a decent, possible playoff team, in a few years.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Bulls, Hawks, Nets

This is getting rough, but before I get into my 2017-18 NBA countdown, I have to say RIP to the great Tom Petty. I know there were conflicting stories all day yesterday about his passing, but it was confirmed that Petty had died at the age of 66 today. He was an all time great. He was a great guitar player and one of the best song writers ever. I will greatly miss his music. He was one of the first musicians that made me respect the guitar and rock music in general. He was a master, and he will be deeply missed. RIP.

Okay, hopefully I don't have to talk about crummy or horrific current events for awhile. Now, lets get to my NBA countdown. For the next 10 days or so I will be counting down the NBA teams from worst to best as I see them coming into this season. At the end of my countdown I will pick all the award winners and who I think will win the title, spoiler alert, it will be the Warriors. But, before I get all the way to the good stuff, I have to start with the teams that I think will be the worst of the worst. Also, these rankings have no reflection on the playoff picture. I will tell you know that I have, at least, 9 teams from the West in my top 18. So, there will be some shitty team, or teams, from the East that make the playoffs. This is just how I see all the teams. Okay, lets start with the bottom of the barrel.

At number 30 I do not have the Philadelphia 76ers anymore. In fact, I have a team that was in the playoffs last year. My number 30 team is the Chicago Bulls. Yes, they were in the playoffs, as just mentioned, but EVERYONE of importance from that team is gone. Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo and Dwayne Wade all skipped town for greener pastures. What the Bulls have left leaves a lot to the imagination. The roster is filled with unproven players or guys past their primes, if they ever had one, or just mediocre NBA players. I'm pretty sure the best player on this team is Robin Lopez. Now while he isn't that bad, he is not a modern day center, and no team will ever even make the playoffs with Robin Lopez as their best player. Denzel Valentine may make a jump this year, but he was real bad as a rookie, and barely saw the floor. Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn, the guys they got for Butler, are very meh. Lavine will not be ready for the start of the year, still recovering from his torn ACL, and I think it speaks volumes that the Timberwolves got better when he got hurt. Kris Dunn was horrendous as a rookie, and I picked him to be the rookie of the year last year. He was just awful whenever he was on the floor. Maybe he will get better, but he has a long way to go before he is any kind of threat. Nikola Mirotic just signed a big contract extension, but what is he other than a liability on defense and a guy who's shot comes and goes. Cristiano Felicio could be better now that he won't have Wade chastising him for grabbing rebounds, but I just can't peg his game yet. Cam Payne is hurt and looking like a bust. Same for Bobby Portis, except he isn't hurt, his game just hasn't translated to the NBA. And taking Lauri Markenan number 7 overall was the worst pick of the whole draft last year. That guy is soft as tissue paper and he is going to get devoured by power forwards in the NBA. The rest of the roster is filled with D League guys and deep bench players. The Bulls stink. They will most definitely be in the lottery next draft, and I would be shocked if their head coach makes it through the whole year.

At number 29 I have another playoff team from last year, the Atlanta Hawks. This is the same team that just 4 short seasons ago won 62 games and sent 4 players to the All Star game. No one is left from that team. Hell, they lost a ton from last year's playoff team. Dwight Howard, Tim Hardaway Jr and, most importantly, Paul Milsap are gone. They all jumped ship. Their starting point guard this year, Dennis Schroder, just got arrested for some kind of assault. They are already off to a horrid start. Kent Bazemore is over paid and not producing like he did when he was a bench player. Marco Bellinelli and Ersan Ilaysova bring nothing to this team besides some lackluster experience. I'm curious to see how Dewanye Dedmon does away from the Spurs model. The only thing that the Hawks really have going for them is Deandre Bembry and Tauren Prince. Bembry looks like he could be a decent role player, and I really like what I saw from Prince last year. He looks like he could be the third or fourth guy on a title contending team. Problem in Atlanta, he will be the center piece. He isn't ready for that yet. The Hawks are going to take a GIANT step back. That's unfortunate because I have always kind of liked the Hawks. They are going to be horrible this year though.

My final team for today, coming in at number 28 is the Brooklyn Nets. They have been either 30 or 29 in my first 2 countdown's, but they moved up this year. Sure, it's only one spot, but progress none the less. Trading Brook Lopez was much needed, and they didn't get anyone great, but D'Angelo Russell isn't terrible, and Mozgov has played in a Finals. But, lets be serious for a minute about these guys. Mozgov is toast. He will bear no effect on how the Nets play. And Russell, he was the second overall pick a few years ago and the Lakers were eager to trade him. He just hasn't figured it out yet. Brooklyn is a better fit, but he needs to become a complete point guard. I think the Jeremy Lin hype is more about his hair and less his game now. He can still score a little bit, but he gets hurt far too often, and he is not the guy you want to build around. They took on Allen Crabbe's ridiculous contract, but that is what this team needs to do. They need to grab these guys that had one good year and hope they rekindle that magic because they have no draft picks of any note for a few more years. Maybe Crabbe finds his stroke again, but if I were a betting man, I'd say that one season was an anomaly. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has not turned into the type of bulldog, rebounding and defensive force I thought he could be. He has moments here and there, they are just too infrequent. They took on Demarre Carroll's contract, a la what they did with Crabbe, and maybe he can find his defensive prowess that got him paid so much by Toronto. But I seem to think that he is done as a player of importance in the NBA. They took the center from Texas, Jarrett Allen, and I think he will be a decent replacement for Lopez, but he is a teenager, and I think he will find the NBA interior to be tough sledding. Tyler Zeller left Boston for the Nets, but who cares. He is of no consequence. The player I like most on this team, and yes I am being totally biased here, is Caris Levert. If he can stay healthy, and that is a big. big if, he can be a player in the NBA. He has a decent inside out game and he can defend. I watched him do it for 4 years at Michigan, and he has played better than his former Wolverines teammates, Nik Stauskas, Trey Burke and Mitch McGary, all have in the NBA. I think Levert has a very good chance to be a player that other teams have to game plan for. But, the Nets still stink, and they will for some time.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow when I get to the next group of crappy teams. I have to say though, I'm so excited for the NBA to be coming back in 2 weeks. It's wonderful.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Get Ready for Ty's 3rd Annual MLB Playoff Preview

Check out Ty's preseason preview here.

Two quick things before I get to my MLB playoff preview. First, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" came back last night and it is as wonderful as it has always been. The show is pure genius, and it was like they never left. Larry David is a god damn genius and everyone needs to watch the show. It is glorious.

Second, what happened in Las Vegas last night is pure tragedy. We are in very dark times as a country right now, and just when you do not think it can get any worse, something like last night happens. This is scary and just awful, awful news. America is not the safe place I knew as a child. I should never be scared to go to a concert, but last night will forever have me looking over my shoulder at any live event. What a horrible tragedy.

Now, to lighten things up a bit, I am going to do my MLB playoff preview. First off, I have only been to one Cardinals game this year, and other than that, I have watched next to no baseball this year. Football is back. The NBA preseason is going on, so why on Earth would I watch baseball. But, I do enjoy the playoffs, even though I will enjoy them a bit less this year since the Cards didn't make it. Also, I have not read RD's preview yet, but that is on purpose. I want to write mine, then see how close we get to each other's picks. Anyway, lets get to it.

I'm going to focus on the American League first. In the Wild Card game we have the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. Man do I want to pick the Twins. That would be amazing. What holds me back from picking them is the fact that they lost 100 games a year ago, and they barely squeaked into the playoffs this year. The Yankees were pretty decent all year. Their pitching is subpar, but they can hit. In a one game matchup I just see the Yankees being able to score 6 or 7 runs and win a high scoring game. Something like 7-5 or 6-3. I'll be pulling for Minnesota, but I think the Yankees will win this first game.

A Yankees win would make the divisional matchups Yankees-Indians and Red Sox-Astros. The Red Sox may have think they dodged a bullet because you know Terry Francona probably would have swept them out of the first round again, but the Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball all year. They can hit, play defense, and since acquiring Justin Verlander, they have some solid pitching. The Red Sox have a great lineup capable of putting up numbers. What should scare Red Sox fans is their pitching. On paper they look dominate. But, David Price has been either hurt or inconsistent, David Pomeranz cannot go more than 5 innings and Chris Sale, who is supposed to be the surest thing in the AL, has been getting shelled lately. I like the Astros to win this series in 5 games. I think the fact that they can throw Dallas Kuechel and Justin Verlander out there for at least three games gives them the edge. They also have some great hitters, Jose Altuve to be more specific, and I just think they are a better team.

In the Yankees-Indians matchup, I do not see how the Indians don't sweep them. They are better in every phase of the game. They have better pitching, more timely hitting, better fielders and much better coaching. They may have peaked too soon some will say, but they will be sweeping the Yankees out in this round.

So, the ALCS will be Houston and Cleveland. Houston matches up better than the Yankees do, but I still like the Indians. Again, they are playing excellent baseball right now, they have a great lineup, great pitching and the best coach in the AL. This series will go a bit longer, I'm thinking 6 games, but I like the Indians to return to the World Series.

On to the National League. The Wild Card game again has me wanting to pick one team, but thinking the other will win. I'd love to see the Rockies make a long playoff run, but the Diamondbacks have better pitching and Paul Goldschimdt and one of the Upton brothers. That is more than enough for them to win. The game will be fun, but I see the Diamondbacks pulling away late in the game.

So, that gives us the divisional matchups of Dodgers-Diamondbacks and Cubs-Nationals. The Dodgers-Diamondbacks is going to be a hard fought, five game series. These teams matchup very well against one another. I know that the Dodgers have over 100 wins, but unlike the Indians, they have been in the tank for a couple months now. And, they have not been the best playoff team in the past few years. They still have Clayotn Kershaw and a great lineup and Yu Darvish, but they always seem to choke in critical moments. I expected this Diamondbacks team last year, but they are good this year. Their problem, they really only have Zack Greinke as a top notch starting pitcher. He can go, max, 2 games as a starter. They need more than that. Again, this will be a rough 5 game series, but I think the Dodgers, despite their recent playoff stumbles, move to the NLCS.

The Cubs-Nationals matchup may be the best of the entire playoffs. I love this matchup. These are 2 of the best young teams in baseball. The Cubs are also peaking at the exact right time, and they are the defending champs. When I watched them clinch the other night I kept saying to anyone around me, don't sleep on this team returning to the World Series. But, the Nationals may be the only team they did not want to face in the NLDS. They can match their pitching, and for me personally, especially with a fully healthy Bryce Harper, they have a much better lineup. I know the Nationals are a team that has never really won anything, but I feel like the time is now. This series is going to be amazing, and I think the Nationals will win it in walk off fashion in game 5.

So, that gives us the Dodgers and Nationals for the NLCS. This is so much easier for me to pick than the other series. The Nationals should cruise by the Dodgers. The Dodgers are swooning, the Nationals have their best player back, and they are a better team. They should, and will, win this series in no less than 5 games.

That means we have a Nationals-Indians World Series. I believe this was my preseason pick. And just like my preseason pick, I'm going with the Indians (ed note: Ty actually picked the Nationals. We'll let him slide). They are on fire right now. They were there, and should have won, last year. They are a better overall team. They will frustrate and small ball the hell out of the Nationals. The World Series is right there for them to snatch up. It will go either 5 or 6, but it will not be the epic that last year's World Series was. The Indians are so good, and just like the Cubs ended their title drought last year, the Indians will do the same this year. I like Cleveland in 6 games.

There you have it, my 2017 MLB preview. I have to go see what RD picked now, and for all my NBA fans out there, my NBA countdown starts tomorrow. I just wanted to get a little baseball in right before the playoffs start. Lets get ready to see how this all shakes out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He had convinced the head editor that the Nationals were going to win it all. Then Ty pulls the rug out and switches to the Indians. Damn you Ty. Damn you to hell.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2017 MLB Playoff Preview

Time for October baseball. 162 games in the books, and we have a playoff field. I want to start by saying I think this group of teams could make for a great October. Any of these squads could win it all, and I would not be surprised at all.

Having said all that, it is time to look back at our predictions for the season. Yes, the Reds and Padres were terrible, but the worst team was the San Francisco Giants. Both Ty and I put them in our playoff predictions. I was also way wrong, and Ty was way right, on the Atlanta Braves. They were terrible this year. The St. Louis Cardinals got old, and had a questionable man at the helm, and they will miss the playoffs. The Royals and Pirates hung around for a big chunk of the season, but they will both finish below .500. The Yankees will return to the playoffs, but the Red Sox were the better team, and Boston took the toughest division in baseball. Oh, and the Cubs, they did not come close to 110 wins.

I was right on a few things, or at least I was close to being right. Houston and Washington DC coasted in their divisions. The wild card races did have some drama with a surprising Milwaukee Brewers team battling another surprise in the Colorado Rockies for the last wild card spot. The Brew Crew just came up short. Joey Votto and Mike Trout also put up MVP numbers on teams going nowhere. I was right on that, but it still makes me sad.

With that out of the way, let’s look at what the SeedSing brain thinks the 2017 MLB playoffs will look like.

The Wildcard

Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

First up, great job Twins. I never even mentioned them in the season preview. Joe Mauer is still a stud, and the rest of team played good ball all year. It is awesome to see a team like Minnesota make it into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the party will be short lived. The New York Yankees are back, and they will not lose this game. The Yankees made some of the best moves around the trade deadline, and their lineup is going to be way too much for the Twins. Great year Minnesota, hope to see you again next year.

Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks

This game could go either way. Arizona finally started to unlock it’s potential. Colorado came out of nowhere and had a great year. The problem with these one game playoffs is that one player can make a world of difference. In this game, that one player is Diamondback’s ace Zack Greinke. Arizona has the playoff tested ace that every team desires in that one game. Greinke will take the Diamondbacks to the divisional round.

The Divisional Round

Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees

Are the Yankees back? Not against this Cleveland team. The Yankees lack of any real starting pitching, and their young lineup, will be swept out of the playoffs by Terry Francona’s club.

Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox

First off, sorry Boston. I was way wrong. I knew you were good, but I did not think you were this good. Chris Sale has been a beast, Mookie Betts is one of the best players to watch. The Red Sox were slept on by a lot of people. That was wrong.

The Houston Astros are the most forgotten team of the 2017 MLB season. This team was awesome. They nearly matched Cleveland’s win total, and the Indians needed a 22-game winning streak to get where they are. Houston has been consistent, and they have been great. This consistency will serve them well in a hard fought 5 game series win over Boston.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Los Angeles Dodgers

LA had the money, they got the talent, and they are back at the top of baseball. New superstars replaced aging ones, great prospects became great players, the Dodgers have a system that always works.

Except that system has not produced any meaningful postseason success. Clayton Kershaw has not been the multiple Cy-Young winner of the regular season in the playoffs. The Dodger bats seem to fall asleep every October. Will this be the year they finally make all that money spent worth something?

The Arizona Diamondbacks are not the team the Dodger’s want in a short series. Greinke could go, and win, two games. Paul Goldschmidt had another MVP like season. Arizona has also been red hot in the second half of the season, the Dodgers have not. Arizona will continue the postseason misery for LA and win in four games.

Chicago Cubs vs Washington Nationals

I will be shocked if the Nationals do not sweep the Cubs. Washington has great pitching, an unreal lineup, and fixed their bullpen through trades. Chicago has had an underachieving season for a team with that much talent. Maybe the Cubs can break their one-year curse next season. Washington skates to the LCS.

The League Championship Series

Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros

This is going to be a great series. Houston and Cleveland are like mirror images of each other. Both have pitching and hitting riches. Both have a mixture of youth and experience. The one difference is the manager. Terry Francona has proven he is one of, if not the best, skipper in all of baseball. That will be the difference in an incredible seven game series.

Washington Nationals vs Arizona Diamondbacks

The National League has had some truly great baseball this year. Milwaukee, Colorado, and Arizona all made the experts look like idiots. The Cubs struggled, and still took the division. The Marlins showed some life early on. It has been a great year for the senior circuit.

This will be a bad NLCS. Again, Washington will win in a sweep, maybe five games. The Nationals are far and away better than any team in the NL. The Dodgers have all those wins, and Washington would have swept them. The Cubs have last year’s title, and the Nationals would have swept them. Dusty Baker could get his DC squad to the World Series without dropping one game. They are that good.

The World Series

Washington Nationals vs Cleveland Indians

Back in April both Ty and I picked a Washington / Cleveland World Series. Ty picked the Nationals to win, I picked the Indians. Am I sticking with my pick?

No, I am not.

The Washington Nationals are the most loaded team in all of baseball. They had a problem with the bullpen early in the year. They fixed it. Their starting pitching cannot be matched. Their lineup is incredible. They have Bryce Harper. The only negative thing I can say about the Nationals is that Dusty Baker is their manager. I saw Dusty blow a few big games when he was here in Cincinnati. I do not think the same will happen this time. Francona is a better manager, and that will get Cleveland two games in the series. It will not be enough.

The Washington Nationals will be the 2017 World Series Champs.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is only picking the Nationals because he saw them live in DC. Maybe next year he will go to Cleveland and check out a game. It is a way faster drive. Have a thought on the playoffs?  Come tell us. 

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

Ty Watches "Nathan for You" Season 4 Premier

Last night was the season 4 premiere of the wonderful "Nathan For You". This show is the perfect blend of humor, humility, weird ideas and some of the best deadpan comedy that I have ever witnessed. Nathan Fielder is a master of his craft. He is so good at what he does, and on "Nathan For You", he gets to show that ten fold.

I've been on board with this show from day one. I became a fan of Fielder's when I first saw him on "Jon Benjamin Has a Van", a one season long, hilariously underrated comedy on Comedy Central. He is the best. He has gone on to do many other things, most recently being in "Tour De Pharmacy" with one of the better roles, but "Nathan For You" is his baby and he takes great care of it. The show is based on his business ideas that help businesses that are on the down turn, or that have fallen on hard times. He claims that he went, "to a one of the best business schools in Canada, and got really good grades" during the intro. They even show his grades, and he has a few A's, some B's and one C. He got average grades, which makes the premise of the show even better. Some of his stuff from the first couple of seasons have made national news. He did Dumb Starbucks. He was the one that made it look like a pig was saving another animal from drowning in a lake. He convinced a realtor to become the "Ghost Realtor", who would guarantee that there were no ghosts in the houses she was selling. He created Summit Ice. This is the clothing apparel company that gives all of its proceeds to Holocaust awareness. He had someone ghost write a self help book, which I bought and read, called "The Movement". He's done a lot of crazy, but also sometimes very good stuff for people. He knows that there is comedy in what he is doing, but the people he goes to help are not aware. They are looking for legitimate help, and he wants to provide them with it. And while he knows that the show is comedic in nature, he does it all in a good nature.

Now, before I get hammered for calling last name a premiere, I'm fully aware that last Thursday they did a celebration of sorts and revisited some of his past customers and where they are now. But, for all intents and purposes, last night was the season 4 premiere, and it was just as wonderful as every other episode. In this episode, Fielder goes to a diner in LA that isn't the hopping place that it once used to be. The diner used to be pulling in money and customers left and right. But now, while still having a solid customer base, they weren't doing as great as they once did. Fielder arrived at the diner and met with the owner. First off, the owner kept telling Fielder that he was trying to get on "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives", and Fielder had to keep reminding him that his show wasn't Guy Fieri's show. It was hilarious. The guy kept bringing it up, and every time, Fielder had to shut it down, and he did it in the only way he could, with pure deadpan comedy.

After the guy got over his Guy Fieri stuff, he finally let Fielder tell him his plan. Fielder let the man know that he always saw an uptick in business when a celebrity would leave a big tip. This is true. When famous people leave a crazy tip, it is shown all over the news. The problem Fielder found was that no real celebrities wanted to do this for his show. He found another route though, and he auditioned some celebrity impersonators. It was hilariously sad to watch these people try and get this meaningless job. The Ace Venture/Jim Carrey impersonator was equal parts hilarious and sad. Fielder showed the tapes to the owner, and he picked a guy that was a Kramer impersonator. This led to a whole new set of problems. First, the racist stuff. Enough time had passed that most people brush that off now. But, he needed someone with the name Michael Richards to give him their credit card info, and this was met with all no's, obviously. Next, he found a guy that was willing to legally change his name. This scene was great because of the negotiation between the 2. With the name change came new problems though. They needed a 4 week period where the name change was announced in a publication. So, Fielder hired back the guy that ghost wrote "The Movement", from last season, to be the head editor of a newspaper he called "The Diarrhea Times". This was all perfect Nathan Fielder and "Nathan For You" stuff.

Once the 4 weeks passed and the name change was set, Fielder had the whole crew of the restaurant, and his Kramer impersonator ready to do the deed. Before I continue, please watch the Kramer guy try and figure out how to be Michael Richards and not Kramer. It is gold. Anyway, the Kramer impersonator does all the things Fielder had him do, the staff reacted as they were supposed to, and sure enough, the story made local news. It was on a local LA news station the next day. Fielder, to hammer home his point, had this story be the headlining story on the last issue of "The Diarrhea Times". It was tremendous.

I am so happy that this show is back. It is one of my favorite things on TV right now, and probably ever. Nathan Fielder is so funny and this show is so perfect for him. I'm so excited to see where he takes this season. I have heard that the season finale is going to be 2 hours long! I can't wait. It was a long 2 years to wait for the new season of "Nathan For You", but I'm so happy it is back and I am so happy that it will be in my life for the next couple of months. This show is perfect.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is trying to figure out who is best to help a struggling business. Should you go with Jon Taffer or Nathan Fielder? Either way, the audience will always win.

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Adidas, Rick Pitino, AAU, and the Filthy Business of Non-Professional Basketball

All this sleaze for a stack of greenbacks

It looks like some schools, and Adidas, are going to be getting into a ton of trouble. The other day it was reported, by the FBI, that they have found a ton of money being funneled from AAU basketball all the way up to the NCAA. The main shoe company that was put on notice is Adidas. I'm sure some other shoe companies are involved, but the one with the biggest paper trail is Adidas, and most of the schools that have put assistants and head coaches on unpaid leave, are represented by Adidas. I have some thoughts on this whole ordeal.

First off, the fact that the FBI is involved means that this is some serious stuff. I've seen the NCAA try to dole out their fake punishments, i.e, small sanctions, taking recruiting away, missing one or two years of the tournament, but that isn't going to fly with the FBI. If the FBI is involved, that means some people may be going to jail. Some big name people may be going to court, then possibly jail. This is very, very serious, and there is a ton of money involved. When the FBI gets into a case, I have to imagine that it is millions upon millions of dollars. This is crazy. I cannot believe this is what is going to possibly be the death knell to some NCAA basketball programs. There has been a lot more shady shit that has happened, stuff like hookers, strippers, buying cars and homes for families of recruits, grade tampering, any number of immoral things, but it looks like the scourge that is AAU basketball will be what takes them down.

Which leads me to my second thought. AAU basketball is the worst of the worst when it comes to shady characters being around young kids and telling them that they will do great tings if they sign with them. These "boosters" and "agents" and "recruiting gurus" for AAU teams are the lowest of the low. They find some young kid, usually around 13 or 14, and they don't see a kid playing a sport, they see a brand. They think these kids can make them millionaires. They don't care about these kids or their families, they just want to make money off of them. It is sickening. Then with these kids, if they don't make it, these scumbags just disappear and move on to the next kid. And that first kid, who these guys give up on, still feels entitled and tries to move on to the next "agent" or whatever that can try and give them big things. It is so seedy and shady and corrupt. AAU basketball is as corrupt as FIFA. Yeah, I said it. These kids are not basketball players to these AAU programs anymore. Like I said before, they are brands. For the most part, the kids don't even get to pick which AAU team they want to play for. Either their parents or one of the scumbags I have talked about pick a team for them based upon what shoe company they are beholden to. It is gross. The kids sometimes have to move to a new state or a new county just so these AAU assholes can deck them out in Adidas gear. It is sickening. I remember when I was younger I tried out for an AAU team. I made it to final cut down day, but what I saw, as a 14 year old, made me feel sick. I didn't feel like a basketball player, I felt like a piece of meat. All these creeps hanging out on the sidelines that weren't coaches, just trying to figure out which one of us they could use as a marketing tool. That was over 20 years ago. I have to imagine that it has only gotten worse. I even watched a documentary on Netflix a month or so back called "At All Costs", and it was about the current AAU culture and parents that live vicariously through their kids. It was disheartening. These kids, these 14, 15 and 16 year old kids, already seemed like they were working full time jobs as basketball players, and the ones in this movie, seemed to be fed up already. Sports are supposed to be fun, but the people that run AAU and other things of that nature, have turned it into a job and a show. It is disgusting. I loathe the entire idea of what AAU basketball has become.

Which leads me to my next thought. Why is anyone at all surprised that Rick Pitino is right in the middle of this? He is a garbage person, and he is one of the biggest cheaters in all of NCAA basketball. The guy is a scumbag. He looks like a used car salesman. He hires strippers and hookers for recruits. He has done awful, reprehensible things to get kids to come to whatever school he is coaching at the time. So I say again, why are people shocked by his inclusion? Of course he is involved. Of course he is a major player in the whole pay for play feeder programs. Of course he is making deals with Adidas and people who have an Adidas sponsor in AAU. It makes too much sense. For him to come out and say that he had nothing to do with this is a bold face lie. He is justly going to get fired, finally. Rick Pitino is as big a scumbag as the "agents" and "boosters" I mentioned.

My final thought, don't let this news make you think that Sonny Vacaro is some kind of good guy. He was the one who started the whole shoe war with children. Hell, ESPN made a "30 For 30" about that single topic. Don't let Sonny Vacaro on any show to be a talking head about this situation because he is the godfather of all this. He started it all. It all comes back to him. He is just as slimy and creepy and crummy as Rick Pitino and the "boosters". AAU and NCAA basketball are complicit and a joke.

What is most surprising to me is how unsurprised I was when this story broke a few days ago. The NCAA has always been shady, and so has AAU basketball. It is all gross and disgusting. Why don't we just let kids be kids and let them play the game of basketball with joy as opposed to being a product of some dumb ass shill for shoe companies. What a joke.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. He was almost the 14 year old poster child for KangaROOS shoes. 

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Is Adding Dwayne Wade Good Enough to Win the Cavs Another Title?

Another day, another big NBA name on the move. This one isn't as shocking as Carmelo to OKC though. As many expected, after being bought out by the Bulls, Dwayne Wade made it clear that he will sign with the Cavs once he clears waivers at some point today. Two thirds of the Heat's "big 3" will be back together for what seems like one final season.

This move I am a bit more bullish on than I was with Carmelo to OKC. Where I like the fit in OKC, I see this as the Cavs having way too many guards that all will want equal playing time. It should be fine at first, what with Isaiah Thomas supposedly out until the All Star break. But, when he comes back, they have a glut of guards. On their roster now they have Derrick Rose, Kay Felder, Kyle Korver, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Isaish Thomas and, when it becomes official, Dwayne Wade. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 7 legit guards, and for all intents and purposes, LeBron pretty much runs the offense, so 8. They have 8 guards on a roster that holds 12 players. That is too much. Now, I'm sure someone like Kay Felder will be relegated to the D League, and they will look to move Shumpert most likely, but that still leaves you with 6 guards. How is Ty Lue going to find playing time for all 6 of these guards.

As pointed out, it will be a bit easier at the start of the year with the Thomas injury. Lue should be able to find a rotation where Rose, Wade and LeBron get the brunt of the minutes at the 1 or 2. So, that leaves 2 guys, Korver and Smith, in unknown territory. Korver will probably switch to an instant offense off the bench guy, but they are paying a player of his talent a lot of money for what will be 10-15 minutes a night. Korver's best days are far behind him, and he will see his playing time almost completely disappear. Smith, on the other hand, is a much better scorer than Korver, and he can play some defense when engaged. He has also come up big at times for the Cavs in the last 3 Finals. He has made, and taken, some of the biggest shots for this team. Now is he just going to have to give those minutes to Wade because he and LeBron are best friends? That is unfair to a guy that has found the perfect place for him to play basketball.

I think JR Smith is going to become very unhappy at the diminished role he will see.

Then we have Derrick Rose. By virtue of trades and injuries, he will probably be the starting point guard on opening night for the Cavs. Yikes. Rose was great while in Chicago for his first 3 years. Hell, he won an MVP. But his last 2 years with the Bulls were riddled with injuries and last year with the Knicks was a total disaster. I do not think he is the driving force that he was 5 years ago, and he cannot shoot the jumper with any consistency. He is also a ball dominant player, and we saw what happened to another ball dominant guy playing with LeBron, Kyrie. Irving got so much better, but he was so unhappy. So much so that he begged to be traded, and he was. Also, Derrick Rose is nowhere near the player that Kyrie Irving is right now. They are not even on the same planet.

And now they have to insert Wade into their starting 5 because he is Dwayne Wade and he and LeBron are best buddies. Wade is an all time great. I love the way he plays basketball. He is a joy to watch when he is fully engaged. The problem lately with him though, he cannot go a full season. He either gets hurt or needs rest. He is old, Carmelo Anthony old, in basketball terms. The Cavs will be lucky if he plays 60 games this season. I know that he has had a ton of playoff success, but not lately. He disappeared in the last couple of finals he went to with the Heat and LeBron, and with the Bulls last year, it was all about Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo. Wade was a non factor. But, he will be starting on this Cavs team.

The Cavs will also have to find a way to insert Thomas back into the lineup when he gets back, and I just don't know how that is going to work for him and the Cavs.

So, if I sit down and try to figure out the starting 5 for the Cavs this year, I come up with Rose, Wade, LeBron, Jae Crowder and either Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson, depending on if they want defense or offense that night. I don't think Love or Thompson will be thrilled with a move to the bench. I also think JR Smith will be pissed off too. But, this is what LeBron wants. He wants to play basketball with his buddies. And for the East, this will work because the East is horrendous. The Cavs will, barring major injuries, win the East again, and get smoked by the Warriors again. Sure, they are getting smaller, but the guys they have are much older and will not be able to keep up with the Warriors. Who is going to guard KD? LeBron. Great, then put someone like Rose on Curry and Wade on Klay. Both of those guys will torch them. Same can be said for any number of matchups between these 2 teams.

Like I said yesterday, I love that teams are trying to match the Warriors, but in the long run, it doesn't matter. The Warriors are too young and too good. Also, this move makes the Cavs a much older team, and that just won't cut it against the Warriors. So while I'm happy that LeBron and Wade are back together again, I still don't think it will matter in the end. The Warriors will sweep them out of the finals and run them off the floor.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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How Good will Oklahoma City be Next Year Now that they Added Carmelo Anthony?

Carmelo Anthony finally, mercifully, got traded this past Saturday. This was a long time coming. I was at work, and the news buzzed that Melo had been traded. Naturally I assumed it was to the Rockets. That was all the talk for the entire summer, so I figured both teams finally pulled the trigger.

Well, it wasn't the Rockets. My next thought was the Trailblazers. I knew they were a long shot, but at the "eleventh hour", it seemed like a deal was in the works. If this was the destination, I was actually on board. I didn't think it would make them a title contender, but I loved the idea of a McCollum, Lillard and Anthony backcourt. There wouldn't have been much defense, but they would have scored a ton.

Well, it wasn't the Trailblazers. The next team I assumed was the Cavs. I read that he had opened up to being traded to a few new teams, and the one team that was number one on that list was the Cavs. He could finally unite with is buddy LeBron, and he would add some much needed scoring now that Kyrie Irving is gone. He could also make that team a little bit harder to defend. They would have been horrendous on defense, but they could have scored 120 a night.

It wasn't the Cavs though either. Much to mine, and almost everyone else's surprise, Melo was traded to the Thunder. The OKC Thunder pulled off two of the most unexpected, crazy moves of the summer. I was floored when they traded Victor Oladipo and Domantis Sabonis for George. I was SHOCKED when they got Melo for Doug McDermott and Enes Kanter! Absolutely shocked. I didn't see this coming at all. The Thunder were never, ever in the mix for Melo. No one mentioned their name, especially after they pulled off the Paul George trade. My hat goes off to Sam Presti and the Thunder organization for what they did this summer. They may only have this "big 3" for one season, but in the process they were able to unload terrible contracts, Oladipo and Kanter, an unproven rookie, Sabonis and a poor man's JJ Redick in Dougie McBuckets. If they do lose all three of these guys after one lone season, they will have a ton of money to spend on free agents.

But, lets deal with that topic next summer. I want to look at this current lineup that the Thunder will trot out there this season. There assumed starting 5 will be Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Paul George, Carmelo and Steven Adams. That is a pretty damn good starting 5, if they can mesh. That will be the biggest problem they will face early on. I read a stat a few days back that said that George, Westbrook and Carmelo were numbers 1, 2 and 3 in isolation plays last year. This is a classic case of, "there is only one ball" talk. They will have to learn to share the ball. I'm pretty confident that they will figure it out, but Westbrook will have the toughest transition. He is coming of an incredible season where we won the MVP and averaged a triple double. But, he did those things because he had too. He didn't have many weapons at his disposal. He has those weapons now, and he will have to learn to share the ball. I think that Paul George is a perfect guy to play next to Westbrook. George is an awesome defender. He is one of the better ones in the league. He is also a good scorer, and I think he will thrive playing off the ball. He had to do too much while in Indiana. Now, with Westbrook running the point, he can roam and find open spots. He will eventually score in bunches. I'm very curious to see how Melo fits in. He has been "the man" in both Denver and New York. Now, he is the third option. He is older, a poor defender, but he can fill it up. He can score and score and score again. He will get a TON of open shots on this team. With Westbrook and George being more of the driving type player, he will get a lot of catch and shoot chances. That is when he is at his best. That is what he does on Team USA, and he always shows out at the Olympics. He is old though, at least in the NBA. He will be a liability on defense. He may get mad at the lack of touches he will get. But, he is a top 20 NBA player, don't buy that stupid ranking that ESPN, or whoever did prior to this season.

As far as the other starters, Steven Adams will be needed for toughness and rebounding, which is what he does already. And Andre Roberson won't have to worry about shooting and can strictly focus on defending one of the better players on the other team, which he is best at. They both benefit from these 2 trades. As far as their bench, the Patrick Paterson signing is great, but he will lose some minutes to Carmelo. It's not a big deal, but they will need Paterson in the playoffs. Jerami Grant will get a chance at being the backup point and 2, and he should do well in short bursts here and there. Alex Abrines will be a minor scoring threat off the bench. Semaji Christon was awesome in Summer League. I'd like to see that translate to the NBA. And who knows with Terrance Ferguson, their first round draft pick. He is a great scorer, but no one really knows all that much about his overall game.

This Thunder team will be all about Westbrook, George and Carmelo, as it should be. I think this team, once they figure it out, will be very good. I could see them winning 50-55 games. I think they could be the 2 or 3 seed in the West. That all depends on how well James Harden and Chris Paul mesh. But, the Thunder will be better than the Rockets.

With all this being said though, it does not matter. They are still nowhere near the level of the Warriors. The Warriors are the best team, by a wide, wide margin, in the NBA. I love that teams are trying to pull in stars and band together to try and beat the Warriors, but all their best players are some of the best at their positions, and they are all in their primes. The Warriors are too good. But, I love this trade and I'm super excited to watch the Thunder again. I'm still sticking with the Timberwolves and Spurs as my new teams, but these 2 trades make the Thunder must watch basketball for me this year.

I'm still shocked they got Carmelo Anthony.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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We Need to Talk About the NFL National Anthem Protests

There was a ton of things that happened in the sports world this weekend, and I will cover it all this week. But today, I have to talk about the biggest thing, and that was the mass protests prior to kickoffs at all the NFL games this weekend.

I LOVED all the protests that happened. When that moron came out and called Colin Kapernick a "son of a bitch" at a rally in Alabama, that was one of the lowest marks in American history. This golfing oaf goes to one of the most racist states in America, holds a rally, which is insane, and calls out an African American that was using his free speech better than most. I thought that was going to set all social media ablaze, but after Steph Curry said that he wouldn't visit the White House, after KD and Andre Iguodala had already said the same, that dip shit says some of the most childish shit I have ever heard. He "rescinded" the invite before it was even given out, and he took to Twitter to do it.

First off, cancel this douchebag's Twitter account. People have been thrown off Twitter for much, much less. All this orange piece of human garbage does is incite hate on your website. Suspend his account. And like a child that has been told that a friend of his or hers is not coming to party and says, "I didn't want them here anyway", that is exactly what this asshole, racist blob of flesh did. He is the mean guy or girl from high school. He is the frat boy that gets upset when he gets rejected and talks behind that person's back. He is the guy at your job that NO ONE wants to hang out with. He is THE WORST.

I was so happy to see all the love and support that Steph Curry got from athletes and all other people across the world. Everyone was stomping on the monster that presides, when he isn't golfing or staying at one of his tacky ass hotels, in the White House. A lot of athletes came to Curry's defense, but LeBron's was the best. He called him a "bum", and said, "it was an honor to come to the White House until you got there". He dunked all over that hateful piece of trash. It was glorious.

After the big time backlash for pulling the invite, later in the day, the UNC men's basketball team that won the tournament last year also declined their invite. Woo Hoo! Again, I was thrilled. This horrible person in office craves the support and attention from athletes, and they are spitting in his face, and I couldn't be happier. The Pittsburgh Penguins had to be the one downer, saying they'd go to the White House, but then I remembered that hockey is stupid and filled with idiotic white guys. No one cares about hockey or NASCAR or any white trash sport. The fact that the NFL, NBA and now even the MLB are coming out against this "administration" is truly great. With all the Steph Curry and LeBron James and the NBA making statements saying that they will not only accept, but stand behind people that protest, I was very happy.

Then the whole "son of a bitch" stuff came back up. After that failed business man attacked Curry and James, again on Twitter, he said some BS about any player that "kneels during the anthem should be suspended or fired", I was so stoked to see the response. I had to work yesterday, but I was able to follow all the anthem protests via my phone, and boy were they plentiful. The Ravens and Jags started off the day with the majority of the players kneeling during the anthem. We were off to a great start. Then, the Steelers upped the ante, by all of the players, excluding one veteran, staying in the locker room for the anthem. From there on out, it was a sea of players sitting, kneeling or locking arms. Hardly anyone had their hands on their hearts during the anthem. Again, I was so happy to see these millionaires taking a big, big stand. Even guys like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers participated in the protests. This was great. After a ton of NFL players took to Twitter to bad mouth the guy Russia got to be "president", they took to the field and showed their solidarity for each other, and protested this hateful and hurtful "government". Hell, even Robert Kraft, Shad Khan and Rex Ryan came out and chastised this oaf, and they all supported him.

As I stepped back and watched and was thrilled at what I was seeing, I did have a few things that crept into my mind that I wished had happened in addition to the mass protests. I wanted every NFL player to kneel. I'm fine with the locking of arms, and I love the sitting down, but I wished every single player took a knee. That would have been awesome. I was also upset at ESPN for giving Rex Ryan a lane to talk abut someone that he supported, but they tried to drag Jemele Hill's name through the mud for saying the same things on her personal Twitter account. They can't just pick and choose when they want someone to do what they say. And a little part of me wanted all the teams to protest like the Steelers. That would have been amazing. But all in all, I was very happy with what I saw yesterday from the NFL, for the most part. People always say, "don't mix sports and politics", but now is the perfect time to do this. Sports figures are more famous than ever, and they hold a ton of weight with younger generations. I love that they are showing young kids that it is okay to rebel against what most of the country considers a hurtful, hateful, racist, homophobic and Islamophobic "government". I've been incredibly embarrassed to be an American for 8 months now, but with these athletes, owners and commissioners coming to the support of their players yesterday, it was a step in the right direction.

Lets keep it up. Lets keep fighting. With good people making good choices and fighting for the right things, we can be better. Hell, we could even return to some kind of normalcy if we keep fighting the injustices that the current "government" keeps trying to push on us. Lets keep getting our voice out there. Keep protesting and keep fighting.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. For the very first time in his entire sports writing life, he is on the same side as Roger Goodell. Trump is so bad that he made Ty and Goodell agree on something.

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There are Only Four Rivalry Games in All of College Football

Any backyard Nerf football game is the fifth biggest rivalry.

I was out to lunch today with my daughter and my folks and the topic of college football came up between my father and I, as it almost always does this time of year. We were talking about the Purdue-Michigan game this Saturday and then moved on to some other matchups that intrigued us. I said to my dad that a big rivalry game was on tomorrow night. He asked me which game, and I told him that Notre Dame and Michigan State were playing. He kind of shook his head and asked me why I thought that was a rivalry game. I told him that ESPN, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, pretty much every sports media site and publication always says this is a rivalry game. What he said next was pretty profound, and really speaks to the current state of college football.

My dad said that when he was a kid, and even in his early adult life, Notre Dame and MSU was not a rivalry game. He said that the 2 teams barely played each other until fairly recently. He seemed to think that the media has this hyped as a rivalry game, but in actuality, it is just another game.

We spoke more about what we each consider to be relevant rivalry games in college football. We are both big time Michigan fans, obviously. So, he asked me who I considered was Michigan's biggest rival. Without hesitation I said the University of Ohio State. They always have been and always will be Michigan's chief rival. He was happy with my answer, but asked me about teams like Notre Dame, Minnesota, MSU, and I kind of shrugged them off. Don't get me wrong, those are big games, but not as big as the University of Ohio State. They don't play Notre Dame or Minnesota every year anymore and, while the MSU game can be big, it doesn't hold the same magnitude for me as a Michigan fan. We started to look at other games that are considered "rivalry" games by some places. We both agreed that Auburn-Alabama and Army-Navy are legit, big time games. Those games are almost always as important as the University of Ohio State-Michigan game. I was even quick to say the Egg Cup, Washington and Washington State, is a big time rivalry game too.

Outside of some in state stuff, we couldn't come up with many other true rivalry games, what with all the realignment, and the state of some teams currently in college football. Take a game like Iowa-Iowa State for example. Who, outside of alumni and people that live in Iowa, really care about this "rivalry"? I know I wasn't watching, or paying that much attention to this game when it was played a few weeks ago. Sure, they have some trophy, but who really cares besides the players and coaches. My dad informed me that some people consider Minnesota-Wisconsin a rivalry game. I thought they just played each other to get some big ass axe. I didn't realize until today that this was a rivalry trophy. Some people still consider UCLA-USC a rivalry game. Not me. For my generation, Notre Dame is a much bigger rival to USC than UCLA is. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans might take me to task because I don't really think Bedlam is a legit rivalry game. It's a battle for Oklahoma, but it usually doesn't have the big time stakes of true rivalry games. I remember asking RD's wife, who went to Purdue, who their biggest rival was and she told me Indiana. I would not have known that in a million years. I guess it makes sense because they are both in Indiana, but a rivalry game, I don't think so.

Then I thought about some old time rivalry games that are now gone due to conference realignment. We don't get to see Texas-Texas A&M every year anymore. That's a drag. That was always a fun game to watch on Thanksgiving weekend, no matter how good or bad the teams were. Colorado-Colorado State has fallen into that Iowa-Iowa State role for me now that Colorado is in the Pac-12. Who cares about that game, including people that live in Colorado. Missouri and Kansas not only stopped playing football against each other, but they don't even play basketball against each other anymore. That is a damn shame as someone from Missouri that roots for Kansas. The used to have some great matchups back when the Big 12 had 12 teams. Penn State and Pitt only recently renewed their rivalry, but both those schools aren't what they used to be when that game would have truly mattered.

I guess when I look at the new landscape of college football, it is hard for me to see a true rivalry outside of some in state nonsense, or some made up stuff by people that just want others to pay attention to their schools. Outside of University of Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Army-Navy and Notre Dame-USC, what are the big "rivalry" games? Who is Florida's rival? Is it Florida State or Miami? Same for Miami. Is it Florida State or Florida? Who is Georgia's rival? Is it Georgia Tech, or some random SEC school? Who's Texas main rival now? Oklahoma? Aren't they supposed to be Oklahoma State's biggest rival? What about KU or Missouri? Who are their chief rivals? How about Stanford? Do they consider Notre Dame or USC their biggest rival? Who is LSU's most hated team? Is it Alabama? Maybe Auburn? What about Clemson? Has Louisville jumped older teams, or is it still another team from the Carolina's? It is all very muddy now in college football.

I love to watch all these games, but I want people to temper what they consider a "rivalry game". I will still tune into Notre Dame-Michigan State, but only because Michigan's game should be over by then, and the only other intriguing night game matchup to me is TCU-Oklahoma State. No other reason. I don't know, I just feel like people are making up new rivalry games just to make them up. Tell me why I'm wrong. Let me know how much the Georgia-Georgia Tech game means, or why Miami is a bigger rival to Florida than Florida State. Because where I sit now, there are only 4 true rivalry games. All that other stuff is pure nonsense.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is on the wrong side of our world's greatest rivalry, yellow or red Gatorade. We all know the true answer.

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Let's Take Another Look: The Movie "Her" is Even More Relevant Four Years Later

I was scrolling through the movie channels that we have provided by our cable provider and I came across the movie "Her" from 2014. I saw this movie in the theaters when it was first released and I loved it. I remember it winning best original screenplay at the Oscars that same year. It was much deserved for Spike Jones and all the people that helped write the movie. It was a very forward thinking movie. I wanted to see if it held up, so I watched it.

First off, it totally holds up. In fact, I think it holds more weight now than it did when it came almost 4 years ago. In 2014, the idea of a lonely guy that just got divorced and ends up falling in love with a computer operating system was far fetched. Now, I think it is less than a few years away where this will be widely accepted. We are all already so heavily involved with our phones, computers, tablets, anything electronic basically. I'm just as much at fault for this. I read the majority of my news from my phone. I listen to podcasts on my phone. I watch TV on my computer and my son's tablet. All my music is played through my iPod. I use electronics everyday. Hell, my "watch" is also my Fitbit. It keeps time, but it also tracks my steps, my heart rate, the calories I've burned and how many "hills" I've climbed. It can also map my runs and any other exercise, and that is just a "watch". So in re watching "Her" the other day, it felt more like a "Black Mirror" episode that a light dramedy. It was kind of horrifying if I'm being totally honest.

For example, there is a scene near the end of the movie where Samantha, Joaquin Phoenix's OS that he calls his girlfriend, wants to be intimate with him and she finds a service where a real life person can come to his home and she can talk through an earpiece that they both wear. The scene is kind of awkward and I felt kind of wrong watching it. Phoenix didn't know this girl. She was hired to be a real life form of Sam. It was a very light form of prostitution. When Phoenix finally becomes too weirded out by the whole situation, he is made to be the bad guy by Sam and the girl she hired. That is crazy. Also, no one else besides a weirdo like Joaquin Phoenix could have pulled off this role, and more importantly, this scene.

How far off are situations like this in our real life? It is not too far fetched that some stuff like this may be going on right now. I have no doubt at all that some people have a genuine "love" for their phone or tablet, and they call that piece of electronics their partner. No doubt at all. We are all becoming attached to our devices. It is becoming a problem. I'm just waiting for a "True Life" on MTV or some god awful TLC show that talks about people wanting to marry their phone, computer, tablet, whatever it may be. People already have been on TV shows that have shown love for things like real life dolls, cars, furniture, basically all kinds of stuff. Now, as long as you aren't hurting anyone, I have no problem with this. Love whoever or whatever you want. I'm just curious, and I really think it is a real possibility, that people are already saying that some piece of electronics with an operating system is their lover. I know people that freak out when they can't find their phones. I've heard people say, "I don't know what I'd do without my phone". That is crazy.

Every time I go out for coffee or lunch with a group of friends there is inevitably a table filled with people that all have their computers out, are eating lunch and not speaking to one another. Same goes for teens. They'd rather text or Snapchat than engage in a real life conversation. Could this current generation of teens be the first to claim that an OS is their boyfriend/girlfriend? I say most definitely.

The one nice thing I took away from my second go round of "Her", and I say again, I think this movie is wonderful, the people in this futuristic society passed no judgement on these people that were in relationships with their OS's. I think that is great, and I think everyone should be accepting of all consensual love. Love is love and love is blind and love is great. I say again, as long as no one is getting hurt or worse, I'm down with whatever.

The one thing that made me look at "Her" with terror was the end of the movie. Before I go on, spoiler alert. I'm going to wreck the end of this almost 4 year old movie. But, at the end, Phoenix is struggling with his relationship. He and Sam are fighting all the time and they just seem bored and tired of each other. In a last ditch effort Phoenix tries to get her back on his side and he runs into a train stop. Here he realizes that "Sam" is in many relationships. She is an OS, so of course other people have this program for their piece of electronics. It is so heartbreaking and upsetting, but also real. Many people have similar interests when it comes to a partner, and Phoenix finds this out the hard way. It is so gut wrenching because of how true it really is.

Look, I highly recommend the movie "Her". It is great. But, the next time you watch it, if you have already seen it, or if this is your first viewing, think of how close this idea is to reality and watch the movie through that lens. It will really open your eyes. I know it opened mine.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once fell in love with an OS. Jennifer Aniston and Matt Perry could really make a guy love Windows 95.

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Kevin Durant Just Needs to Let it Go

I think it is time for me to give my two cents on this whole Kevin Durant trashing the Thunder organization from a dummy Twitter account.

First off, how does something like this happen with someone this famous? Why doesn't he have people that can stop this, or stop him, from doing something this dumb and easy for hackers and computer people to figure out? Do these pro athletes think they need to be this open to their fans? No way. I think it is cool that some pro athletes want to be able to reach out to fans, but trying to troll trolls, come on, they are better than that.

It is a matter of fact that there will always be someone out there that doesn't like you, especially if you give your opinion. I've found that out by writing for the site. I do not care about the people that say mean or bad things about me, but I also do not engage it. I just let it go. I never return comments on Facebook, Twitter or any other website that has a comment section. It is a waste of time and effort. Same goes for the good comments. I love to hear people say they like my stuff, but I never comment back. Again, there is no need to. The only time I comment back is when I have made a mistake and I want to clear the air. That is it.

Since his last year in OKC and his first full year in Golden State, it seems like KD thinks it is his personal mission to get social media trolls. Anyone that has called him a snake, a traitor, a front runner, a ring chaser, anything bad, he feels the need to write back. Why? What good does that do? Who is he trying to impress? How does he have time to do all this? I have so many more questions, but unfortunately, there seem to be no real answers.

What I think it boils down to is, he has never really been someone that people have actively rooted against. He has always been a player that 99 percent of NBA watchers love. He plays the game so freely and fun. I wish I could play the game of basketball like he does. He is so god damn good. He has been that good since high school, his one year of college, and his entire NBA career. He is one of the best players in the game right now, and he is a sure fire hall of famer. So, for him to call out the "haters" or "doubters", stop it. No one hates your game or doubts your talent. You are a once in a generation player and I am grateful that I get to watch you play, at least, 100 games a year. That nonsense needs to stop from him. He has proven his greatness. He has been to 2 Finals and won one. He is a multiple league leading scorer. He has won a regular season and Finals MVP. He is a multiple All Star. He is always a first team all NBA player. He has done it all. So stop calling out a few dumbass trolls that don't think you aren't any good. You are great. I also love your stance on politics. Keep that up.

It's stuff like this recent Twitter thing and the new shoes that make me rethink my thoughts on you as a person KD. The new shoes, with all that garbage written on the bottom of the shoe is ludicrous. People only said that stuff about you because you joined a team that you couldn't beat, which is fine. NBA players have done that all the time. Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers late in their career. Charles Barkley got traded to the Rockets near the end. Steve Nash and Dwight Howard also joined the Lakers. It happens all the time. Get over people calling you a front runner. You are a front runner and that is okay. You made the Warriors nearly unbeatable. I never thought I'd see a team destroy a LeBron James led team like the Spurs did in his last go round with the Heat, but due to your presence, the Warriors did just that, and they will continue to with you on their team. Yes you are a ring chaser, but you have a ring. Stop going after people for spouting out facts. It is the truth. You know, I know it and most of the NBA fan base knows it, including Warriors fans. But what you did with these comments about the Thunder and Billy Donovan and Russell Westbrook is straight up childish. You whined and complained when people bad mouthed you for leaving this organization to join the team that beat you and you didn't say anything about the Thunder then. You griped that people called you a snake or a traitor during the season, you didn't say anything about the Thunder then. You outplayed Westbrook in the regular season head to head matchups and you didn't say anything about the Thunder then. So why, one week before media day and 2 weeks before training camp kicks off, do you say this stuff? This is like when a high schooler breaks up with his or her boyfriend/girlfriend, dates someone more popular and trashes their ex to the whole school. This is some childish bull shit that you should be above.

You won KD. The Warriors are champs. The Thunder are a second round playoff team at best. Get over it. To publicly call out Billy Donovan and say that the roster was terrible is so whiny and conniving and just flat out wrong. This might be worse than some high school bull shit. This is like when my kid says he got into a fight with someone smaller than him and beat him up. That is unfair and he gets punished for that. And when it was found out that you did it, you tried to play it off all cool. I do not buy it for one second. You said you let your emotions at the time get the best of you, I say BS. These were clearly feelings that you had inside the whole season and off season. That doesn't just come out of nowhere. 

All in all, this childish behavior and "woe is me" attitude coming from a multi millionaire that gets to play basketball for a living is really making it hard for me to continue to root for you KD. You are a tremendous talent. Just let your game do the talking. Don't engage with dip shits online, no good will come of it. This will be something that you will always be remembered for the rest of your career. People will say, "multiple champion, 20 plus time all star, multiple all NBA teams, multiple MVP and weirdo that trashed his former organization on Twitter through a dummy account, Kevin Durant". That is crazy, but you brought this upon yourself when you decided it would be a good idea to throw the Thunder under the bus. Let this social media stuff go and just go out there and kick ass on a basketball court. You are better than this KD.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. He also spent one semester at a D 1 college like most of the players in the first round. When will his name be called?

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Ty Watches "Vice Principals" Final Season Premier

This past Sunday "Vice Principals" returned to TV. I loved the first season of this show. Anytime that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green get together, save for "Your Highness", I am completely on board. They did great work with "Eastbound and Down", and they are doing it even better, in my opinion, on "Vice Principals". That is very high praise from me. "Eastbound and Down" is one of the greatest shows to ever appear on TV. It was perfect in every possible way. But, I feel like "Vice Principals" is darker, funnier and just a sight bit better. The show is so dark.

The opening scene of the season 2 premiere was intense. I watched it while sitting on the edge of my couch. It only got darker, but also funnier from there. Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the first season yet, McBride's character got shot in the school parking lot by a masked person. I didn't know if the show was going to come back, or if they did, how would they treat what happened? Would McBride be dead? Would he be paralyzed? Who did it? Why did this person do it? I had so many questions. So, when they announced that they were doing a second season, and it would be the last season, I was pumped.

I watched the season 2 premiere yesterday when I finally had a chance to sit down. As I said, they had that crazy dark opening dream sequence, and then the show snapped back to its comedy roots. McBride was awoken by his daughter, and she told him breakfast was ready. What made this so funny, he was staying at his ex wife's house, played by Busy Phillips, and her new boyfriend was his live in nurse. If people remember my review from season one, one of my favorite characters is Busy Phillips new boyfriend. He is so nice to Phillips, her daughter and, especially, McBride. That is hammered home in the season 2 premiere. McBride seems to think he needs a wheelchair and a lift to get up and down the steps, but we find out that he was shot in the shoulder and the hip. He is not paralyzed, but he acts like he is. He has become so reliant on the chair and the lift.

Later on Walton Goggins shows up to give McBride his medicine, so we find out then that he and McBride still hang out. They successfully got the new principal fired, and now Goggins has become principal of the high school. He does find time to help out McBride though. They go on walks and feed ducks. McBride tells Goggins his plans for getting Dr. Brown back, he believes she shot him, but Goggins says that everyone in town, including the police, say that it was a stereo thief that was spooked by McBride's presence. McBride doesn't believe that, and neither does Goggins. But, they have to go along with it so no one will find out all the terrible things they did to Dr. Brown in season 1.

At this recent walk in the park, Goggins gets McBride to get out of his chair and walk. He needs him back at the high school. Goggins is having a hard time being the full time principal. He goes on to explain how hard it has been by describing all things he has to do for the parents and administrators by describing it as "the worst gang bang I have ever been a part of, and believe me, I have been in some gang bangs". McBride returns to the high school the day after his last encounter with Goggins, and that scene was hilarious. He has the student choir sing "Tears in Heaven", and McBride is so very uncomfortable the whole time. It was comedic gold.

The episode did get dark when McBride found out where Dr. Brown was living now and confronted her in the restroom of a restaurant she was at with her kids. She told him she did not shoot him, and at this point, McBride tried to pull a gun on her. It slipped out of his arm, still using humor even in dark scenes, and rolled to her feet. He then pulled the sword out of his cane and told her not to move. She explained then all the reasons why she wouldn't shoot him, and even showed him a tattoo of him and Goggins holding hands and eating shit. She has put them behind her, just like gin, and got it tattooed on her back, as is her way. She then tries to tell him that she thinks it may have been Goggins that shot him because everything worked out for him. McBride storms into the school the next day and asks Goggins if he shot him at their meeting spot in the woods. Goggins is appalled, and starts to walk away. McBride apologizes, and this is when we hear about how bad it is to be principal. Goggins shows him a binder filled with possible suspects of people that could have shot McBride. They seem to be back in business as partners in crime again.

The final scene of the first episode shows McBride getting his gumption back and tearing into students that are acting up at lunch. It was great, and he is most definitely back. I'm very excited to see how this second, and final season, goes. I want answers, hilarious scenes and dark shit to happen, and I'm one hundred percent sure that "Vice Principals", Danny McBride and David Gordon Green will deliver. Everyone should be watching this show. It is amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is right that "Vice Principals" is an awesome show. It is not better than "Eastbound and Down". I mean the first ten minutes of that show's premier is the greatest piece of entertainment man has ever created.

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The NFL is Pretty Terrible Right Now, and Other Thoughts

Can you smell what the NFL is giving you?

There will be no Emmy talk from me today. I saw that people like Donald Glover won some awards and "Black Mirror" got its due respect, but I did not watch one single second of the show last night. Also, "Legion" didn't get a single nomination, so who cares.

Second, I cannot sit here and type about the horrific judge's ruling here in Saint Louis this past weekend. I'm embarrassed, ashamed and saddened to be a Saint Louis resident after last Friday. That police officer killed a kid in cold blood and was ruled not guilty. It is the 21st century yet people are still racist and blind. The police all over this country are becoming, if they weren't already, horrible, power hungry monsters.

Instead I want to talk about something that I feel like I am pretty well versed in, and that is the NFL. Now, don't expect this to be some lovey dovey ode to the NFL. This is going to be quite the opposite in fact. I have 2 games in my mind that show how far the NFL has fallen off in the past couple years.

The first game was the Texans-Bengals atrocity  that the NFL fans had to bear witness to last Thursday night. That game was an abomination. The two teams playing in that game played some of the worst offense that I have ever witnessed by "pro" football players. The Texans kind of have an excuse. They started a rookie. Sure, they traded up very high to get Deshaun Watson, but he is still a rookie, and this was his first start, and the game was on the road. Yes, the Texans offensive line is horrendous and they have no real running game, but Watson was fine, for a rookie, and at least he got the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, something Brock Osweiler couldn't do last year. That being said though, the Texans offense was just horrendous. I didn't think the Bengals would be worse, but damned if Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton didn't prove me wrong. I'm sorry RD, but the Bengals may be worse on offense than any team in the NFL, including the Jets.(Ed Note: The Bengals stink) In 2 games the Bengals have 9 points. I say again, they've played 120 minutes of football and they have scored 9 total points. They haven't put the ball in the end zone yet. I found it funny during the offseason when some people called the Bengals a "sleeper" team and thought that Andy Dalton could "take the next step". If anything, they have taken a major step back and Andy Dalton is never going to be any better than his rookie year. That seems much more likely to me. There are stories coming out today and yesterday that a bunch of current Bengals want the team to sign Colin Kaepernick, and I think that may be the best thing to happen to this team. They won't do it, but they should. The final score of that game on Thursday night was 13-9 and the best player on the field was a rookie QB that ran the ball 49 yards for a score. That game was a disgusting display of coaching and playing. It was bad all around.

I thought we had seen the worst game of the week, possibly the year, but when I got home on Sunday, I turned on my favorite channel, the "Redzone Network", and watched games all day long. One game they kept going back to for some inexplicable reason was the Seahawks-49ers game. I know that the Seahawks have some "big name" players, and the 49ers have some young talent and a new head coach, but this game was just as bad, if not worse, than the Texans-Bengals game. Neither team could do anything on offense at all. Some blamed it on the weather, but that excuse needs to be tossed out the window. Teams play in bad weather games all the time and they never play as poorly as these 2 teams play. The Seahawks apologists will say, "the 49ers always play them tough", but the Seahawks have destroyed them, especially at home, since Russell Wilson has been their QB. I think these fans were thinking of the Rams, and that is not much better. But, like I said, "Redzone Network" kept going back to this game to show me a 2 yard gain here, a big hit there and nothing but field goals or punts. It was a big time test of my patience. There were some other good games going on at the same time. The Buccaneers were pounding the Bears during their first game of the year. I want to see if this Buccaneers team is for real. The Patriots were filling up the scoreboard against the Saints. The Steelers were pounding the Sam Bradford less Vikings. Hell, even the Browns and Ravens were playing a better game. The Raiders were putting it to the Jets. All these games would have been so much more entertaining to watch. But, they kept cutting to this terrible Seahawks-49ers game with the hopes of something big about to happen. Nothing big ever happened. It was 6-6 at halftime. The second half was not much better. They kept going to the host, I believe his name is Chris Hansen, and he kept yelling as if he was Gus Johnson anytime Russell Wilson scrambled for 10 yards, or whatever 49ers running back was running would go for an 8 yard gain. He was really trying to sell this game to the viewing audience. When the 49ers went up 9-6 you would have thought that this was the Super Bowl. Hansen was pulling out nonsense stats left and right. The Seahawks eventually scored a TD, only to miss the extra point, and win the game 12-9. It was a joke of a football game. I know it is only 2 weeks into the season, but for all the people that picked the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl, they may want to rethink that prediction. The Seahawks cannot protect Wilson and they have no one, and I mean NO ONE, that is a threat on offense. Their defense is great, but their offense could be their downfall. They have scored a combined 21 points in 2 games. That's more than the Bengals, but not that much more.

The NFL has been pretty rough for the first 2 weeks. The QB play last week really showed this, and these 2 particular games only magnifies it more for me. It has been rough to watch for 2 weeks. I'm almost to the point where fantasy football is the only reason that I will even pay attention to the NFL. As I said last week, football on Saturday's is so much better than football on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. The NFL is slowly but surely turning into a horrific product. And I do not know if they can fix it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor wants to once again say that the Bengals stink, because they really do stink. Stink.

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Cloves and Fedoras: Go Check Out the Awesome Comedy "I'm Sorry"

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

While listening to the podcast "How Did this Get Made" a few weeks back they had Andrea Savage on as their guest. I do not remember which movie they were talking about, but I knew that Savage and Jason Mantzoukas were both cracking me up. I am already a big time fan of Mantzoukas. I have sang his praises many times on the podcast and the website. He is a funny dude and I really enjoy the characters he plays. I vaguely knew of Savage. She has shown up in bit parts on shows I watch like "The League" and "Veep". In fact, she plays the president on "Veep". She was also in a very underrated, short lived Comedy Central show, "Dog Bites Man" that everyone should check out. She is also very funny in the movie "Step Brothers". She has a smaller role, but she does wonderful things with it.

Near the end of the podcast, both Savage and Mantzoukas, while doing plugs, plugged a show that Savage created that Mantzoukas was a co star on. The show is called "I'm Sorry" and it is on the TruTV network, and it is glorious.

After hearing about "I'm Sorry" on "HDTGM", I wanted to check it out and I was glad that I landed on it while channel surfing. My wife came into the living room while I was watching it and she sat down and finished the episode with me. We both loved what we saw. The show was hilarious. We were lucky enough to see that TruTV was having an all day marathon on Labor Day leading up to the season finale. We recorded all the episodes and the finale. We had 10 episodes on our DVR and we blasted through them in about 3 days. We would sit down after putting our kids to bed, say we were only going to watch one, then we'd watch 3 or 4. We could not get enough. The show is so funny. The wit, the jokes, the acting, the writing, the directing, it all comes at you so fast and furious and it is all hilarious.

First off, Savage is an absolute comedic genius. she is so damn funny on the show. Her jokes and acting are top notch. She makes me laugh harder than anyone else on the show does. It makes sense because it is her show, but she ups the comedy to a whole new level. Tom Everret Scott plays her husband. You may know him from "That Thing You Do". He is great on "I'm Sorry". He is quieter and kind of just plays off Savage's fast paced comedy, but he has his moments. There is a great scene after they see their marriage counselor that I do not want to spoil but Scott is so funny, sad and reverts back to being his quiet self immediately. It is the best moment of season one. Both Savage and Scott have great chemistry too. They play so well off each other. Their daughter is equally funny. She is 5, just a child, but Savage and crew write some great lines for her. Some of the stuff she says blows my mind because she is so young, but being on this show, I guess it should be expected. Her mother, played by Kathy Baker, has great moments too. She is very funny. Martin Mull, who plays her father, has a tremendous character arc that is one of the funniest things from season one. The aforementioned Mantzoukas plays her writing partner, and every scene he is in is awesome. He is so god damn funny on the show. He is still playing a kind of disgusting character, but it is nowhere near Rafi from "The League". He actually gets to be human in this role. Mantzoukas is great, and I am so glad that he is getting chances to play different roles in movies and TV shows lately. He has earned his shot.

There are also a ton of people in the current comedy world that show up on this show in small roles. Gary Anthony Williams is great as a stay at home dad that is friends with Savage. Steve Zissis as "shorts guy" has a very funny, very small role in the show. Judy Greer is great as one of Savage's friends who rally enjoys to see Savage squirm. Allison Tollman, in her 2 episodes, is very funny. Nelson Franklin as Savage's brother, is really good. Morgan Walsh is great. Pretty much everyone one of Savage's friends that show up for an episode here and there are just wonderful and I love when I see them on the screen.

"I'm Sorry" is a gem. I highly recommend that everyone watch this. It is a great show for couples, especially married couples, to watch together. Like I said, there has only been one season, so it is easy to catch up. Every episode is on TruTV On Demand, and they are about 25 minutes long. The show has been picked up for a much deserved second season, and I cannot wait to see where they take it from season one. Go watch "I'm Sorry", it is one of the funniest new shows on TV.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is a big supporter of shows married couples can watch together. Shows like "The Red Shoe Diaries", "Coed Confidential", and "The Erotic Traveler".

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Injuries have Already Rewritten the 2017 Professional and College Football Season

Going to have out give out some new game balls.

We are 2 weeks into the college football season and one week into the NFL season, and my 2 major picks, Heisman and MVP, are both done for the year.

My Heisman pick, Deondre Francois, the QB of FSU, tore his patellar tendon in the opening game of the season against Alabama. This could be a brutal blow to FSU's hopes of the College Football Playoff. Francois was/is one of the tougher QB's in college football. That kid got hit so many times last year as a true freshman, but he always got up. The same thing was happening in the opening game of the season, but late in the third quarter he got crushed, and when he didn't immediately hop up, I knew something was wrong. I'm not an FSU fan by any stretch of the imagination, but to lose your starting QB in the firsts game is pretty crummy. FSU can still rebound, possibly even be a major competitor in the ACC, they have a tremendous defense, but losing Francois will be brutal. I do not know how that offense will look, their second game of the year was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. But, I imagine it will look a lot like what Clemson and Michigan are doing right now. They are going to try and run as much as possible, pass only when needed and rely on their other worldly defense. It is going to be an uphill battle for FSU, but they still have some decent talent. When you really think about it, relying on Cam Akers is not the end of the world in football terms.

I do have to say, my last 2 Heisman picks have been way off. Two years ago I picked Trevoyne Boykin, and while he had a decent season, he was not even a Heisman finalist. Last year I picked Deshaun Watson, and I still think he should have won, but Lamar Jackson won it last year. A couple weeks back, 2 days after the Francois injury I said that I was going with Derius Guice over Baker Mayfield, so I hope that I do not jinx any chance Guice may have of winning the award.

On to my pick for NFL MVP. I was completely on board with staking my claim to being one of the few people that was picking David Johnson for MVP. He had a breakout year last year, and he was the key to the Cardinals offense. I expected the Cardinals to surprise, possibly fight for a playoff spot and David Johnson was the main reason why. I had the number one overall pick in one of my fantasy football drafts, and like many other people with the number one overall pick I grabbed Johnson without hesitation. I fully bought into the David Johnson hype. He was the second coming, my generation's Marshall Faulk I called him. I bought all the David Johnson stock that I could.

Then week 1 happened. The Cardinals had an early afternoon game on Sunday, and I was at work, so I couldn't watch him play. But, I just assumed that he was going to put up big number against a subpar Lions defense. When I first went to check my numbers on my fantasy app, he had gotten me about 5 points, and it was only in the first quarter. I did the math and figured, at worst, he was going to get me between 15-20 points and that his MVP campaign was off to a great start. I waited about 20 or 30 minutes before I checked the scores again, and much to my shock, his numbers hadn't changed at all, and the game was going into halftime. I thought, no big deal, still on pace for double digit points. Then, as my work day was winding down, I hadn't checked my scores in about an hour at this point, I got a notification from my fantasy app. I heard the noise, stopped what I was doing for a moment and checked out what the update said. The app told me that David Johnson was questionable to return to the game with a wrist injury. My first thought was, oh no, my preseason MVP pick is already hurt. Then I thought about my fantasy team, and knew I was screwed. No good was going to come from this. I got home, watched some more football all day, and any new news on my preseason MVP got worse and worse. People were saying a sprained wrist and that he'd only miss a few weeks. Other people were reporting possible surgery, which would have him missing 6-8 weeks. Some people were saying that he was going to get a second opinion, and that is never, ever a good sign. Basically all news was bad news. 

On Monday morning it was announced that David Johnson was being put on IR, and he was going to miss 2-3 months. Basically the entire season. My preseason MVP and number one overall pick in my fantasy draft was pretty much done for the year. As far as my fantasy team went, this is what happens sometimes. People get hurt and there is nothing I can do. I was upset, but not mad. I was mad about going out on a limb and picking him as the MVP. I expected so much from him, and it was a total bummer when he announced that he needed to get surgery. Not only did it wreck my MVP pick, but it wrecks the Cardinals season. I have no faith in the Cardinals as a playoff team anymore. They have to rely on Carson Palmer, who looks cooked, Larry Fitzgerald, who produces, but is old and they signed Chris Johnson, who hasn't been viable in about 4 years. Their defense is still good, but that offense is going to be a big time problem for them.

I guess I am bad news for any player that I pick to win preseason awards. I picked Cam to repeat as MVP last year, and he got illegally hit and hurt too much last year. Now this happens to David Johnson. I guess, if I have to pick someone else to win the NFL MVP now, I will go with Aaron Rodgers. I hate doing this, since he is the QB of my team, but there is no one else I can think of that is more valuable to his team. Just like with Guice, I hope this doesn't spell doom for Rodgers. We will see what both the college and NFL seasons have for us from here on out, but what a bummer for some big time players for the first 2 weeks. Major injuries are a big time bummer.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He did not to well in his first fantasy football game of the season. The Head Editor? He won his game behind a dominant performance of Sam Bradford. MVP of the whol year will be Bradford. Write it down.

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We Need to Talk about the Awesome Jemele Hill

Respect it all, or not at all

ESPN is in the news once again for being shallow, callous, timid and stupid.

Jemele Hill had the right to tweet whatever she wanted to the other day, and for ESPN to come out and apologize on her behalf was an absolute joke. Hill is right. That monster, and monsters, that are currently in Washington right now are the biggest bunch of racist assholes that may have ever been in office. And yes, I'm counting the people that were in the government in the 19th and early 20th century. What we have in office right now is a terrifying group of horrendous racists, homophobes, yes men and women, people who will not chastise and condemn white supremacists, people who want to roll back long lasting Title IX laws. Basically, we have the scum of the Earth trying, and failing, to run this country. These morons are more interested in denying climate change, claiming that there is fault on both sides when talking about Nazis and trying to fatten their own pockets. This current "government" has no clue.

So yes, I stand with Jemele Hill. She can say whatever the hell she wants when she goes on her own personal Twitter account. I don't care that she is a Michigan State grad, she was using her free speech and ESPN decided they needed to chastise her. This is horrendous. Why do they constantly do stupid stuff like this? Is it the fact that Hill is a big time face of the network now, and she is even bigger when it comes to football? Most definitely.

ESPN is so in the bag with the NFL and the owners that they will not let anyone that talks about football say one bad thing about the higher ups. Look at what happened to Bill Simmons when he called out Roger Goodell. The same Roger Goodell, when asked about Colin Kaepernick, said he wasn't a "football expert". Did ESPN go out and protect one of their most popular employees? Of course not. They fined, suspended and eventually fired him. Look what happens when Tony Kornheiser bad mouths the NFL on "PTI". He gets suspended and loses a good chunk of money.

The thing with Hill though, she wasn't attacking the NFL. She was going after the "president", which the majority of the country does now. That oaf is not fit for the position that he is in right now. Everything Hill tweeted was one hundred percent correct, and I have thought the same things many times over the past 7 and a half months. Hell, I have said as much on the "X Millennial Man" podcast, and written about it more than enough on the website. Hill was in no way out of line.

I would have taken it even further. That goon in office right now is a cancer to society and many, many people are saying the exact same thing that Hill tweeted the other day. I have no problem with what she said, as previously stated, and not many other people do either. In fact, she has gotten a wealth of support from many people, including big name people. Colin Kaepernick is one of her biggest supporters. Michael Rappoport has become one of her biggest aides, especially on Twitter. I love the videos he has been making since all this came out. Many political pundits have agreed with her. She has so much more support than anyone could have ever imagined, but ESPN does not care about that.

I ask again, why?

Why did ESPN feel like they had to come out and issue an apology? Can grown people not speak their mind anymore if they work there? Is the talent supposed to keep their mouth shut no matter how bad the injustice is? Do we live in the 50's again where no one can talk back? Is it because she is a woman? I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think the answer to all these questions, at least from ESPN's side, is yes, and that is a crying shame. Did they issue the apology because that douchebag in office has a bunch of NFL owners in his hip pocket? Yes, and that is horrifying. ESPN is more worried about sponsors and money than letting a grown woman speak her mind. What a crock. Apparently the only time grown people can talk at ESPN is when they are told too. That is ridiculous as well. Let these people talk. They have minds of their own and they should be allowed to express their feelings while not at work, which is exactly what Hill did. We most definitely do not live in the 50's anymore, so speak your mind Hill. You are extremely popular with the younger viewing audience, so even if ESPN is stupid enough to let you go, you will get picked up quick. Hell, it may be for the best. As far as her being a woman, I think that most definitely had something to do with this. ESPN got scared when Erin Andrews started to speak her mind, but she got out and got a better gig at Fox. Like I just said, Hill will get a job in half an hour if she leaves or is let go at ESPN.

This is all ludicrous and a just flat out stupid. Keep speaking your mind Jemele Hill. You have the right to free speech, and that is something that no one, especially not ESPN can take away from you. I stand with Jemele Hill.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to hustle people at pool. His trick is to convince someone that Ty can pull of a trick shot of hitting a ball over a stack of money. When the money is down, Ty grabs it and runs. It doesn't always work

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": The Lucky Irish Saloon Edition

"Bar Rescue" was back with a new episode, and it was a classic. This was one of the episodes that I will fondly remember because it was so down the middle, and so perfect.

Taffer and crew traveled out to a smaller town in Florida, I believe it was Davenport, to a bar called "The Lucky Irish Saloon". Right off the bat, the name threw me for a loop. That is a very weird name. This bar had all the typical resounding success right off the bat. The 2 owners bought the bar, turned it into a big time money maker and eventually married each other. They were in love and forking in the money hand over fist. They seemed to have everything going in the right direction. Then, as with almost all the bars on the show, things turned for the worse.

The owners began to fight in front of employees. The employees became afraid of the husband that was the bar owner. He is an old school Irish guy and he talked down to all his employees. He was a real piece of work. It got so bad that the wife owner divorced the husband. But, they remained business partners and lived in the same house. That is a recipe for disaster. After the divorce, things went from worse to horrible. The employees despised whenever the husband owner was there. As I said, he would degrade them, and when he left, the employees would jump for joy. One of them said that they felt like a weight was off their shoulders. The wife owner, after the divorce and the bar starting to go under, basically gave up. She was at her wits end. She was in debt almost 300,000 dollars and was ready to throw in the towel. She tried "Bar Rescue" as a last ditch effort.

Of course this was way too juicy for Taffer to pass up, so he went to rescue this place. When he showed up, he did his usual recon. This time around he brought 2 experts, Phil Wills, his mixology expert, and Vic Vegas, his food expert with him. They watched from outside in the van like they always do. What they saw was a travesty. The drinks were so poorly made. They showed 3 of the exact same drinks all side by side, and they were different shades of color and each had different tastes. The staff was slow. They were deliberate, but very slow and didn't have any proper training. The wife owner kind of kept to herself and just stayed away from all the action. The kitchen was basically for show. They did do bar munchies, but that was it. They had a single fryer for that. Every patron in the bar was there to smoke more so than to buy drinks.

The icing on the crap cake that was this bar was the husband owner. Instead of running his business, he was hustling patrons at pool. He was taking money from the bar to play people in pool to try and win some extra cash for himself. And in between pool games, he would openly yell at the staff. This guy was an ass. In fact, Taffer sent in Vegas to do some in house recon, and what he saw made him very upset. Vegas walked in with a baseball hat on and sat at the bar to get a beer and food, all in the façade of trying to get the husband owner to challenge him in pool. Vegas had a beer, didn't say much about it, and ordered some food. The food was frozen and greasy. It all looked disgusting. The husband owner eventually walked up to him, and Vegas urged him to play some pool. The husband finally said yes, and this was when Taffer blew his lid. He stormed into the bar and immediately started to berate the husband. He must have called him an asshole 15 times in under a minute. He yelled and screamed and forced him to give the people he hustled their money back. The husband tried to fight back but he realized that he had no business to even try and fight Taffer. He relented, paid the people back and closed up shop.

After Taffer ordered them to clean the place up, the staff all sat down and had a heart to heart. The husband owner said he would ease up so they could get their bar back to being a money making machine. This guy's 180 with his attitude was incredible. He was so easy to give up his bad attitude and make a change. The next day Taffer showed up with his experts and they got to training, but not before Taffer explained why he went after the guy the night before. It was unnecessary, but also hilarious. Training was kind of so so. First off, the kitchen needed to be a one item menu because they wanted the bar to stay a smoke friendly establishment. They decided on beer braised hot dogs that they would sell for 99 cents. It was a great idea. The bartender training was a little tougher. The bartenders were inexperienced, and that showed when they tried to make the fairly easy cocktails that Wills taught them. Stress test was an absolute disaster. They couldn't get the drinks out right, or on time. They have 5 and 6 people deep and the bartenders were almost immediately drowning. The food was coming out on time, it is just hot dogs, but it was going to the wrong tables and the wrong people. They had horrible systems in place. The best/worst thing though was a gentleman who took a seat on his stool and the stool exploded. It was a riot. After about 2 hours, Taffer told the owners to shut it down. He moved them to a different bar to train while his construction crew fixed the place up, and the staff, I must say, worked pretty hard. They seemed like they wanted to be successful.

The next day the crew showed up at the newly renovated bar and had their big reveal. The name was changed to "Lucky's Corner Pocket", due to the husband's love for pool, but it sounded more like a sexual innuendo to me. The inside looked much better. No exposed wires, the place was clean, a new bar top, new stools and new POS systems and, of course, a lifetime subscription to Partender. The re launch went great, as always, and everything seemed to be going smooth. Even the divorced couple were smiling and hugging each other, which forced my wife to say, "I bet you they both get lucky with each other tonight".

At the 6 week check up, the bar sales were up 32 percent from the year before and everyone, even the ex husband and wife, were getting along great. I love when "Bar Rescue" comes back after a couple week hiatus and gives me a classic episode like this one. I need more of these. I'm sick of the "Back to the Bar" ones, which they are doing this Sunday. I want more of the timeless classic like "Lucky's". This was a fun watch.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to hustle people at pool. His trick is to convince someone that Ty can pull of a trick shot of hitting a ball over a stack of money. When the money is down, Ty grabs it and runs. It doesn't always work

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Colin Kaepernick is a Better Quarterback, and a Better American, Than Most of the Starters in Week 1 of the NFL

Artist depiction of the quality of quarterback play in the NFL

I was going to start off this week like I did last week with an instant reaction to the first week of the NFL season. I had some takes, but there is one take that has to take up my entire blog today.

The quarterback play that I watched this Thursday, Sunday and, presumably, tonight, was absolutely atrocious. It was so dreadfully awful. I had to work in the morning on Sunday, but I was home in time for all the late afternoon games, and I saw the end of some of the early games. The QB play, at least on the Patriots side, Thursday night was pretty awful as well. Tom Brady played horrendous football on Thursday night. His bad play wasn't a call to arms for me though. He has been great since 2001, so he can have a bad game here and there. He is 40, and that is to be expected.

What I didn't expect was Alex Smith to outplay him by that much. This was the first time in Smith's career where he actually looked like the number one overall pick. He was throwing beautiful deep balls and hitting receivers in stride. You have to remember too, the Chiefs traded all the way up to number 10 in the most recent draft to take Patrick Malholmes, and many people, myself included, assumed that was the end of the Alex Smith era in Kansas City. Well, he squashed any talk of that for at least one week.

So the opening game of the season started very odd, with Alex Smith looking all world and Tom Brady looking awful. Then, I arrived home, turned on "Red Zone Network", and saw all the horrific QB play in the NFL. The first one that really popped out to me was Tom Savage and the Houston Texans. He got absolutely owned by the Jaguars. The Jacksonville Jaguars. They sacked him 10 times and scored a defensive TD. He looked so much worse than the other terrible QB on the same field that day, Blake Bortles. Don't get me wrong, Bortles was awful too, completing less than 50 percent of his passes, but the Jaguars relied on Leonard Fournette and their defense. And, due to the terrible play of Savage, they ran away with the victory. In fact, the only TD the Texans scored was when Deshaun Watson stepped in and threw a dart to DeAndre Hopkins. The time is now for Watson to be the Texans QB. That much should be clear.

Throughout the rest of the early afternoon games there were some veteran QB's that were just as bad as Savage. Two that come to mind for me are Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton. Between the 2 of them, they had 1 TD and 7 interceptions. Both of their teams got beaten easily too. The Ravens shut out the Bengals and the Lions came back and beat the Cardinals by 2 scores. Both Dalton and Palmer looked old and past their prime. Palmer probably is, but Dalton is still young, but he has only gotten worse every year he has been in the league. Kirk Cousins, betting on himself for the third straight year, looked pretty inconsistent with a whole new group of receivers. He was over and under throwing balls all day and missed an easy TD that could have turned the tide of the game. Not a great start to a season where Cousins expects to get paid big time money.

Then came the late afternoon games. Everyone else in the early games was either fine, or average. I was pumped for the Seahawks-Packers game, and both QB's let me down. Rodgers looked flushed and hurried all game. The only TD he threw was on a busted play where he caught the Seahawks off guard. He looked very average yesterday. Russell Wilson looked even worse. His O-line cannot protect him, and he was running for his life all game against a revamped Packers defense. He was also missing throws and throwing the ball away more often than not. He did not look like the MVP that some writers, not me, predicted him to be this season.

The 2 main horrific QB's I watched were in the late afternoon games though. Scott Tolzien and Brian Hoyer were hot messes yesterday. The fact that Brian Hoyer is still in the NFL is astounding. He wasn't even that good in college. He is, at best, a third stringer in the NFL. But, he keeps finding starting jobs somehow. He was horrendous yesterday. He was sailing balls, missing open guys and getting sacked left and right. He looked timid and frightened every time he stepped back to pass. People need to stop giving Brian Hoyer contracts and starting jobs. He is so bad. I didn't think it couldget much worse than Brian Hoyer, but then I saw the "highlights" of Scott Tolzien. My god is he terrible. He made Jared Goff look like the second coming of Joe Montana. Tolzien has no business setting foot on a professional football field. Hell, I wouldn't even let him quarterback a high school team. He has no leadership of the team. He has no control of the huddle and he puts no fear in the opposing defense at all. Scott Tolzien is the worst QB in the NFL. The fact that he started a game yesterday is an absolute abomination and a total indictment of how poor the NFL is right now.

While watching this shit show, I took to Facebook and Twitter to write a simple 2 word status update. I wrote, "Can someone please explain to me why Scott Tolzien and Brian Hoyer are starting NFL games today, yet Colin Kaepernick remains unsinged? What a joke". That was it. I just put it out in the ether. Of course I got responses, most of them agreeing with my statement. But, there were a few people who said things like, "if he had a QBR of 125, it wouldn't matter. He is no good, that is why he isn't playing". And my favorite, "he is the most unpatriotic person ever".

Lets unpack the, "he's no good" comment first. Colin Kaepernick has been to a Super Bowl. He has won multiple playoff games. Hell, he was okay last year when he got to play, playing on an awful 49ers team. Colin Kapernick is better than at least 10 guys that started yesterday. I would much rather have him than Tom Savage, Carson Palmer, Andy Dalton, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Tyrod Taylor, Josh Mccown, Brian Hoyer, or god help me, Scott freaking Tolzien. He is so much better than any one of these guys. He has achieved more than anyone of those guys too. He has had more success than anyone of those guys. He is a better football player than all of those guys. He belongs on a team, especially more so than the players I just mentioned.

Now for the "unpatriotic" comment. Colin Kaepernick is more patriotic than these morons that claim he is "unpatriotic". Him kneeling for the national anthem is his way of protesting, which is encouraged by most American's because it is a great way to use our freedom of speech. I do not care one bit that he chose to kneel for the anthem. I love the reasons why he chose to kneel. I fully agree with him in fact. The police in the US, not all of them, but most, are cruel individuals who try and get away with more than anyone else. They are power hungry morons that have let what little power they have make their heads explode. They are trigger happy psychopaths that terrify more people than they put at ease.

Secondly, not only does Kaepernick use his freedom of speech to near perfection, he puts his money where his mouth is. He has donated millions of dollars and clothes and food and anything and everything to the certain charities he donates to. He is a good person doing great things in the name of freedom of speech. He is out there doing so much more than anyone who claims to be "patriotic". The people who claim to be "patriotic" are mostly arm chair patriots. They do what I did yesterday. They post some dumb, "I love America", bull shit on their Facebook page, then chastise people like me who think Colin Kaepernick deserves a job in the NFL.

I probably should have kept that thought to myself until today, for my blog, but what I saw yesterday made me angry. People like armchair "patriots", Roger Goodell, and the majority of NFL owners are making me hate a sport that I once loved. I look so much more forward to Saturday's for football than Sunday's now. The NFL is becoming an absolute joke. The powers that be would rather sign and play guys that hit women, Ezekial Elliot, or children, Adrian Peterson, or bully teammates to the point of the contemplating suicide, Richie Incognito, then sign a guy that doesn't want to stand for the stupid ass national anthem. Colin Kaepernick is a much better person than the three people I named, and he is more patriotic than anyone that calls him "unpatriotic". And for those of you that didn't care for my status update yesterday, get used to me stepping up for Kaepernick all season long until he gets his much deserved roster spot on an NFL team. Also, I do not stand for the national anthem anymore too, because I agree with Kaepernick. This country is a mess, and he is one of the good people left.

Thank you for all you do Mr. Kaepernick. You are truly a hero.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is also going to sit for the Canadian Anthem. He will give up that protest when the stop selling those delicious Kit Kats we can not get in the States. How dare they have better candy.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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