All the Monsters at Michigan State Need to Go

We have a suggestion of where these monsters should go

A lot of stuff happened late last week and this past weekend in the sports world that I didn't have time to write about last week. This week that all changes. I will be touching on a number of sports related subjects like, the NBA All Star draft, Boogie Cousin's injury, college basketball at the midway point and the dumbass return of the XFL. But, today I have to start with the sports story that was everywhere and was rather damning. Of course I am talking about the Larry Nassar case, and what came out about the Michigan State football and basketball programs in the "Outside the Lines" story.

First off, Larry Nassar is a horrific human being and he deserves all the horrible things that will happen to him in prison. He is a despicable and disgusting human being and what he did is terrifying and awful. I thought it was perfect when the judge told him that she was "signing his death sentence", and then proceeded to drop the pen as if it were a microphone. That was amazing. Also, Aly Raisman is a hero. I try not to use the word hero when talking sports, but what she did in coming forward and being the face of bringing this monster to justice, that makes her a hero. She is so awesome and she is going to do great, great things with the rest of her life. She is someone that I want both my son and daughter to look up to. I want them to know that they can speak up when they feel they are being treated wrong or bad in anyway, just like Raisman did. She is a wonderful person and I wish her nothing but the best.

While doing this Nassar case, and then "OTL" getting involved, more very bad stuff came to light about MSU sports programs and the people involved. First of all, after Nassar was sentenced, the president of the university "retired". I more think she got fired, but they said "retired". Then, only mere days later, the Athletic Director resigned. I was a little stunned by this. I figured something was going to happen with the AD, possibly a suspension or payment being docked, but he resigned. This was a brutal blow to begin with. When an AD resigns it is usually a sign of bad things to come. It usually means that they were involved with some kind of wrong doing. Then, a few hours, I say again, hours, not days or months, hours, a report came out that the AD resigned due to undisclosed and not followed up on sexual assault cases brought to him from the basketball and football programs. Apparently he was having multiple documents redacted to protect players that were essential to the program's success.

Spartans basketball has always been a top 20 team. Ever since Magic was there, and especially when Tom Izzo came aboard. They have been, not only a premiere Big Ten program, but a national program. Under Izzo they have been to 7 Final Fours, and they won the title in 2000. They currently sit at, I believe, number 6 in the country right now. They are one of the many favorites for the title this year. Then the "OTL" report came out. During one of their runs in the early 2000's a female student accused two of their key players, Adrien Payne and Keith Appling, of rape. She went into detail during the "OTL" airing, and it sounded horrifying. And when she went to report them, she was told, in not so many words, that she was going up against a giant, and she would not win. You may ask, what was the punishment for these players? Nothing. They missed 0 games and Payne is currently in the G League. Appling is in jail for a different charge, gun charge I believe, but he denied the report vehemently from his cell. When the female student that accused them was asked how they were disciplined, she said she heard that the program, Izzo included, handled it within. That means these guys probably had to do some running, and maybe got yelled at for a bit. A third player, that we know of, who was a captain on the team in the early 2000's, and then became a coaches assistant after his playing days were over, was accused of gang rape twice. When he was accused, and the police were working the case, was he suspended or fired? Nope. He was allowed to stay on the staff, with no limitations. Again, he has denied all the allegations, but it is beginning to pile up.

When it gets to be 6, 7 and 8 women accusing people of the same thing, that is a pattern. That usually means that what they are being accused of is true. It becomes systemic when more and more women feel like they need to come forward. and everyone who hid this, and didn't make the people accused of these horrific crimes suffer any consequences, that is a problem, and that includes the once Teflon Tom Izzo. He is complicit. He has allowed this to happen under his watch. He did nothing to the accused players because they were too important to his team and to him winning and to him being talked about as one of the great college coaches of all time.

When all this stuff came out and he gave his first press conference, I was disgusted. He tried to seem confused and troubled by the allegations, but he came off as sleazy and almost cocky. He would preface every question about the allegations by saying, "I will not talk about that any further", followed by, "I'm going to get my team ready", then finally, "we will help the survivors". So, he covered his own ass, then talked about his team, then brought up the students that were accusing his former players of rape. My wife watched some of his press conference with me, and all she could say was, "what a creep" over and over again. He said he has no intention of "retiring", but time will tell. We have to wait and see what the Michigan Police Department comes up with, now that they are involved.

"OTL" also brought up the football program during their story. Since their coach, Mark Dantonio, took over in 2007, 16 of his players have been accused of either rape, assault or sexual assault, all against female students. 16 players. In 11 seasons. That is alarming and appalling. Hell, not even Miami in its heyday of the early 90's had 16 players accused of what the MSU football players have been accused of. It was also reported that Dantonio knew of these allegations, and either swept it under the rug, or handled it internally, much like Izzo. He did kick a few players off the team 2 years ago, while MSU was 3-9, but none of those guys were important to the team. MSU football has gotten much, much better since he took over, but to what limits does he value winning over the safety of other students? MSU basketball, according to "OTL", had at least 3 players named. MSU football, 16. That is a big, big time problem. Of course in his press conference after the "OTL:' report, Dantonio called it all "completely false". Again, if it is 1 person, maybe. But 16 that we know of, the accusations are all true. 16 people would not make up a story about being raped or sexually assaulted. That would never, ever happen. Dantonio, much like Izzo, came off as sleazy and cocky and said he would refuse to "retire". Just like with Izzo, he may not have a choice after the MPD does their investigation.

To make matters even worse, Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, knew about all of this stuff as early as 2010 and chose to help the cover up. That is horrendous. He should have already been fired. He is a horrible person and if the NCAA had any kind of backbone, they would have released him of his duties already. This whole story is a very disturbing trend happening in college athletics now. Coaches at major universities, that achieve some form of success, are now going to great lengths to cover up sexual assault allegations to keep important players on the field or court. The fact that this MSU story has led all the way to the president of the NCAA being involved in the cover up is alarming. The NCAA is already corrupt, but now, it is criminal. This is very, very bad.

The only way the NCAA can save face, and right now that may be impossible, is to hammer down MSU, especially their basketball program. They had a chance with the whole Penn State thing a few years back, and what they did to them was akin to a slap on the wrist. They need to come down hard on MSU athletics. I mean, Michigan basketball was crushed for paying players during the Fab Five era, and they have just recently become relevant again. USC was hammered because they gave Reggie Bush's mom a car and a house. SMU football got the death penalty for paying players and they still haven't recovered. The NCAA needs to come down very, very hard on MSU. Izzo has got to go. Same with Dantonio. This is a very disturbing problem, and the men at the top of their 2 best sports programs are involved with all the torrid details.

Don't take this as a lifelong Wolverine fan bashing MSU. That is not the case at all. What has been alleged to have happened at MSU is horrible and tragic and sad and scary. Do the right thing NCAA and fire Mark Emmert, then hammer down MSU athletics. Players and coaches that sexually abuse and assault and cover up the problem do not deserve to be at the university. This is a problem.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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It is Time to Rename Margaret Court Arena

Margaret Smith Court, for those of you who don’t know, is an Australian former tennis player who holds the current record for major singles titles (24, one ahead of Serena Williams).  Although many of these titles occurred prior to the open era, it’s still a very impressive achievement, one that certainly might merit getting a stadium name.  In 2003 the 3rd largest show court at the Australian Open was named for her, after lobbying from, among others, Billie Jean King. That should have been the end of a nice story. 

Unfortunately, Mrs. Court (as I’m sure she’d prefer to be called) is also a hateful, homophobic, trans-basher who is extremely vocal about her views.  Here is a partial list of her idiocies:

Boycotting Qantas for being too gay friendly.

Calling transgender people the work of the devil

Complaining that tennis is full of lesbians, and suggesting that lesbians were trying to convert younger players

Claiming the “gay lobby” is trying to convert children through an Australian anti-bullying program.  Choice quote:  “Everybody knows it’s wrong, but they’re after our young ones.”

Attacking Aussie tennis player Casey Dellacqua after she and her partner welcomed another child.

Advocating conversion therapy through her Pentecostal ministry

No one is denying Court’s right to her opinion and her religious beliefs.  No one is suggesting she should be censored.  But that doesn’t mean we have to celebrate her either.  One of my bucket list items is to attend the Australian Open one day, and I would have a queasy feeling going into Margaret Court Arena.  I can’t imagine being a gay player and having to perform at my peak there.  Sounds pretty unwelcoming.

There are those who say that after 24 majors, one’s legacy should be “safe.”  Should it?  We didn’t consider Joe Paterno’s legacy safe once Jerry Sandusky’s abuse came to light.  Pete Rose’s standing in the public eye has been rightfully tarnished by his behavior, and I say this from my perch in Cincinnati.  What are we going to name after Tiger Woods?  Likewise, many athletes’ legacies reach beyond their results (Roberto Clemente and Muhammad Ali come to mind).

These people are still humans, and when we’re deciding, as a public, which athletes to admire, it has to be about more than stats and championships.  I don’t think that’s a controversial statement.  Even in tennis, the USTA’s National Tennis Center in New York is named for Billie Jean King.  Its premier stadium is named for Arthur Ashe.  If the idea were just to honor the most successful retired American players, they would be named for Chris Evert and Pete Sampras.  But the USTA recognized that King and Ashe have legacies that resonate beyond sports. 

So, here’s a suggestion to Tennis Australia, the Australian Open’s governing body:  rename the arena for Evonne Goolagong.  Goolagong was a major Aussie talent in her own right, with a 7 majors in singles and 7 in doubles.  In addition, Goolagong is from an Aboriginal family and weathered discrimination both in her childhood and her career.  (In a truly vomit-worthy move, in 1972, the South African government named her an “honorary white” so that she could play there.)  After retirement, she continues to work for opportunities for Aboriginal children. 

I can’t imagine anyone feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome at Evonne Goolagong Arena.  Your move, Tennis Australia.

Tina S

Tina is a sometime contributor to SeedSing and occasional guest on the X Millennial Man Podcast. 

We made a twitter for Tina, go follow her @TinaSeedsing.

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

It has Been a Great Six Years for Ty and his Son

Six years ago on this day my life changed forever. My wife gave birth to our son, and my life got instantly better. Today, he turns 6, and I am in shock that 6 years of his life have already come. I mean, so much has changed since he was born.

When my son was born, I was way in over my head. I had no idea what I was doing, like most first time parents. I had never, ever been that tired before. I also, besides my wife, never have loved someone with the entirety of my heart and soul. Miles completed our family at the time. He was the easiest baby that I have ever been around. Now, to that point, the only babies I was around were my nieces and my nephew. They were also easy kids, but Miles was easier. He rarely cried, unless he didn't have a bottle. He was on the smaller end when he was born, 7 pounds 6 ounces, but from the day we brought him home to now, that boy loves his food. Besides the food, he was pretty easy in every other aspect of his infancy. He slept through the night at 3 months. He crawled early. He walked before he was one. The only real scare we had was his minor surgery, and that went off without a hitch. It was so clean and well done, we got home that night, and that was when he took his first steps. From there on out, he remains a great kid, and super easy to take care of.

When he was still a baby I was still a 40 hour a week worker. I went to my job everyday while my wife was on maternity leave. This was very tough for me. I wanted to be around my baby everyday. Then, after 12 weeks, my wife went back to work, and we were both a mess. I had to take him to daycare everyday, and it was tough everyday. We had talked about me staying home with Miles before he was born, and at the time he was in daycare, the talks became longer, more frequent and more realistic. When my wife and I sat down and did our books, I was making no money. Everything I made went to daycare, diapers and formula. It just didn't make sense. That night my wife said I should quit to stay home with him and the very next day I put in my two weeks. While I loved the job I had, it was mainly the people I worked with that made me want to go to work everyday, this was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I found my calling. I started to stay home with Miles a little bit before he was 1 and a half.

This was when things truly started to change. I started to wake up with my son everyday and do everything with him. We ate breakfast and lunch together everyday. We worked on talking, walking, running, everything together. I was able to see milestones first hand. I was there for all of his firsts. It is truly amazing to watch your child grow. I will always have that. Then, we started to venture out and do things outdoors more often. We'd go to the zoo, the Science Center, the Magic House, the library and every free thing we could find in Saint Louis. It was awesome, but it also could be lonely at times. Talking to a 1 and a half year old all day can get frustrating.

It was through another dad I knew that I found out about a group of at home dads that get together once a week. I checked it out on Facebook and immediately became a member. Through this group not only was I able to teach my son to socialize with kids his age, but I was also able to talk to dads that were living the exact same life as me. This group was my saving grace. I now have great friends from this group. It is an amazing thing to be a part of.

As Miles kept having birthdays more and more things changed. When he was 2 he started to speak full sentences, and he hasn't stopped since then. Two years old was also when he became interested in sports, trains and super heroes. It was a fun, exhausting and all a blur. Then he turned 3. He was finally able to start playing tee ball and this meant more socializing and a chance for me to coach him. We loved the program he played in, and as you all know now, I am an employee of the wonderful i9 sports.

This was also the same age that my wife and I decided that we wanted Miles to have a brother or sister. He was on board with this idea too, but I don't think he truly cared either way, that is until he found out it was going to be a sister. He said he wanted a brother, but we explained that we had no choice. A sister it was going to be. I'll never forget when the nurse doing the ultrasound said it was a girl and Miles said, "but I wanted a brother", and we all laughed. Miles eventually laughed too. He has always been a funny little dude.

Before his sister was born Miles started preschool at 4, and another milestone was hit. This was hard for me. I had been home with him for 2 plus years, and now for 3 hours a day, he was going to be gone. I needed something to do with that time before my daughter was born. This was right around the time I took up hiking and running. All the hiking and running led to me doing 5k's, 10k's, mini triathlons and even a half marathon. I also lost a big amount of weight(100 pounds to be exact, and I have kept it right around 60-65 total off). Being home with my son literally changed my life. I became, not fit, but in better shape because of him.

When he was in preschool, his sister was born. He was hesitant at first, but what 3, almost 4 year old wouldn't be. Someone new was honing in on his territory. But, after a rough start, he became a great help. He started to become more self reliant. He was still an excellent sleeper. He started to want to help with everything, except changing diapers. He was, and still is, a great big brother. He protects his sister, but he also plays with her. He truly loves her, and it shows.

At age 4, Miles, along with tee ball, started to play football and basketball through i9. He struggles with football, and I get it, that is a hard sport to learn. But, he is starting to love basketball, but I feel like he has loved it from the start. This makes me very happy on a personal level. I played sports with my dad, now my son is playing them with me. It is awesome.

It didn't just stop at sports for Miles. He loves school. He still loved super heroes. He started to love "Star Wars". He was still into trains. He became a dinosaur nut. He started to want to read more and more books. And, most importantly for me, he was potty trained. All this stuff happened between 3 and 4 years old. It is crazy how much growth happens in such a short span of time. He was also in his second year of preschool, and my wife was on maternity leave with our daughter, and we were both home with her. Those 3 months were amazing, and everyday that Miles got home from preschool, we all got to have lunch together. It was amazing.

My wife then went back to work, and it was me, Miles and our daughter. Again, Miles rocked the house. He was not only killing it at preschool, but again, he was a tremendous help at home. He would hang with his sister so I could shower or make a meal or just get a little break.

Then 5 came, and my baby boy was headed to school. No more preschool for him, he was a full fledged school kid. He goes full day kindergarten, and he is doing an amazing job. He loves it. He is in a gifted program there. He does Read, Write, Run, which is a great program. His teacher loves him. He has a ton of new friends. His transition to full time school has been remarkable. He has also become obsessed with Power Rangers and Legos during his fifth year. He has also gotten pretty good at basketball. He knows karate without taking a class. He plays video games with us. He is a real kid now. He is not a toddler anymore. It is so surreal.

Now that Miles is 6, I am just amazed at how much he has grown, and how the time has flown by, and everything that has changed since he came into our lives. I mean, I became a stay at home dad, my wife continues to climb the company ladder, I got a coaching/instructing/marketing job, we had a second child, we got a dog, we moved into a new house and are now looking for a newer house, I lost over 100 pounds and have kept 60 plus of it off, I have made new lifelong friends, Miles interests have only expanded, my daughter is now walking and talking and about to get potty trained, my parents have retired, I started writing for a website, I'm a podcaster, I got back to regularly playing pickup basketball, Miles continues to grow and learn new things everyday, he asks more and more questions, there are countless number of things that have changed in the past 6 years. It has been awesome, and it is all due to the arrival of Miles.

So, for his sixth birthday I wanted to give you all a little trip down memory lane for myself, but I also wanted to highlight the greatness that is my son. Miles, you rule and I love you so very, very much. You made my life so much better and I am grateful every single day that you are here. I love you buddy and I hope your 6th birthday is amazing. Happy birthday big guy, have a great day!

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor also wants to wish a very happy birthday to our sometime podcast co-host Miles. Have a great day buddy.

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A Brief Thought On ESPN and Tennys Sandgren

I don’t want to talk about alt-right mediocrity Tennys Sandgren.  I’m hoping his 15 minutes are over and within the year he’ll be back to anonymity on the challenger circuit and I won’t see him again.  Unfortunately, I certainly WILL see Chris Fowler again, and his defense of Sandgren (toward the end of his loss to Chung) was truly revolting.  If Fowler defends Sandgren because ESPN is desperate for another American star, well… I’ll just say if Sandgren is just breaking the top 100 at age TWENTY-SIX, then it’s unlikely he’ll ever set the world on fire.  If Chris Fowler is actually sympathetic to Sandgren’s views, he can get the hell off my TV right now. And for that matter, Patrick McEnroe, your mush mouthed objections are lame.  Do better.  ESPN can bite me.

Tina S

Tina is a sometime contributor to SeedSing and occasional guest on the X Millennial Man Podcast. 

We made a twitter for Tina, go follow her @TinaSeedsing.

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

Run the Jewels is the Best Band in World Right Now

The older I get the more I enjoy hip hop. I do not know why, I just do. It is always good to dance, workout, run and play basketball to. When hip hop is buzzing in my ear, it just makes me want to move. I also enjoy listening to it in my car because I can vibe out when I go on long or short trips. Hip hop, at least good hip hop, is the best music out there.

The short preamble leads me to my point of my piece today. I was cleaning my home yesterday and listening to Run the Jewels on my Amazon Alexa. It made the cleaning go by so much faster. It seemed easier. I wasn't as stressed as normal. I was grooving to the music as I cleaned. And when I finished cleaning, I just let the music keep going. As I sat there and listened to more and more RTJ I came upon a realization that I thought was impossible. But, I can now say with a clear conscious that RTJ has supplanted The Black Keys as my favorite band. Now, this isn't to say that I don't like The Black Keys anymore. It is the opposite. I still love and adore their music. I will always listen to them. I will always be excited when new Black Keys music comes out. I'm hopeful that they will put out a new record this year. I like Auerbach's solo stuff, but he is so much better as one half of The Black Keys. So yes, I still love their music. They are just my second favorite band now. There are just so many special things about Run the Jewels.

First off, El-P is the best producer in hip hop, no ifs ands or buts about it. He makes the best beats. He is far and away better than anyone else doing it right now. I'm sure younger people will bash me with their favorites, and old hip hop heads will throw out people they think are better, but El-P is a genius. Hell, even Killer Mike says in a song of RTJ's that, "a producer gave me a beat, said it is the beat of the year, I said El-P didn't produce it, so get the fuck outta here". That is poetry, and the truth. He is a genius. Oh, and by the way, he happens to be an incredible rapper. He is amazing. He is smooth and his flow is stupendous. His lyrics are amazing. He is the perfect sidekick to Killer Mike.

And Killer Mike, my god is that dude a beast. He is fast climbing my list as favorite rappers. Biggie is still one, Jay Z two and Kendrick Lamar three, but Killer Mike is at fourth, right behind Lamar, and he may surpass him soon. He is so awesome. He is so fierce and fast and spits some of the best verses ever written in rap music. He is also a political leader. While not a politician, I believe and follow pretty much every word he says when it comes to politics. When he goes off on trolls on Twitter it is a thing of beauty. He is amazing.

Put these two geniuses together and it is bliss. Every single RTJ song is perfect hip hop. It is the right blend of both of their talents. They know how to bounce off one another perfectly. They compliment each other the exact right way. They have fun while performing their songs. They work together better than any other hip hop duo that I have ever listened to. It was clear how much they like each other, and like working with each other when I saw them live last year. It is amazing to see two guys in the music industry that legitimately enjoy one another's company. They are wonderful.

Then their records. RTJ 1, 2 and 3 are the best hip hop records that I have ever listened to. RTJ 1 was like a bolt of lighting. It comes hard and it comes fast. It is like they each took one big breath and just busted out 10 phenomenal rap songs. RTJ 2 was when they started to get more political and attack corrupt politicians and it was awesome. The song with Zack de la Rocha on that record is, maybe, the best hip hop song ever. Then, as RTJ would say, on Christmas morning at midnight, like a "Christmas fucking miracle", they released RTJ 3. I cannot stop listening to this record to this day. I will listen to it all the way through at least once a week. It is a great blend of their first 2 records. Lately I have been blasting "Message to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters" a ton. This is the perfect song, and RTJ 3 is the perfect protest record right now.

While I used to feel this same way about all Black Keys music, it just isn't the same anymore. As I said, I still love, and look forward to, new and old Black Keys stuff. But, I crave new RTJ music. It is an addiction for me now. Hell, even my daughter, who is 2, knows how much her father loves RTJ. She asked me the other day, "daddy, are we listening to RTJ?", and I couldn't have been happier. She has never said that about The Black Keys, and she has heard them just as much. My son is the same, although I try not to listen to them as much with him in the car because he is just about to turn 6 and I don't need him to get in trouble for quoting RTJ in school, even though that would be amazing. But, the rare times he does hear them he likes it. He told me he likes the beats. He also told me that, outside of the kids music we listen to, RTJ is his favorite. I still love The Black Keys, but Run the Jewels is now my favorite band.

It doesn't matter what genre, what people, what era, RTJ is the best of the best for me. Maybe this will change, when I was a teenager no one was better than Bob Marley until I heard The Black Keys, but I doubt it. I'm at an age now where when I put my hooks into something I stick with it. Run the Jewels is the best band making music and I will not hear otherwise. If you doubt this statement, go listen to them, preferably "Message to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters", and let your mind be blown away by their awesomeness. RTJ rules.

P.S., sorry for the curse words mom and dad.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When Ty was 10 years old, he made a detailed flow chart on how Puff Daddy passed up MC Hammer as the greatest rapper ever. The innocence of youth.

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Do Yourself a Favor and Listen to Some RL Burnside

Earlier today, while driving in my car, I decided that I wanted to hear some grimy, gritty and dirty blues music. I had just recently listened to some old Black Keys, so they weren't an option. Same with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. I thought about Led Zeppelin, but I wasn't in the mood for 14 minute long blues jams. I then dug deep into my iPod and I found some RL Burnside. It had been a long while since I listened to him, so I decided that was what I going to go with for the day.

Boy was that the perfect choice for the music I was craving. RL Burnside does the gritty stuff great. He does the grimy stuff even better. But when you want dirty, muddy and greasy blues music, there is no better option. RL was ahead of his time even though he was in his late 60's and early 70's before he even recorded an album. 

The record I chose was "A Ass Pocket of Whiskey", and it was better than anything that Jon Spencer, The White Stripes and, and dare I even say it, early Black Keys have ever done. His voice is so perfect for this style of music. He has that old man growl that I adore when it comes to the blues. It is stupendous. You can feel his pain when he sings, but you can also tell that he is having a blast recording. When he is singing, you can tell he feels that he is doing what he is supposed to be doing. It is like he was put on Earth to sing grimy blues music. His version of the classic blues tune "Stop Breaking Down" is the best of any cover of that song. Bands like The White Stripes, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and The Black Keys have all covered this. They don't come close to Burnside's version. The growl and the groans are wonderful. The pain is awesome. The smoothness that his voice brings to this song is perfection. I love it so very much. This goes for all his songs, originals or covers. He knew exactly what he was doing when he was in the studio. One thing that will haunt me is the fact that I never got to see him live. I bet his shows were a blast. I bet he had so much fun on stage and I bet it showed. Man I wish I could have seen him live.

But, it isn't just himself that rules. His band, and his guitar was some of the best gritty and muddy blues ever recorded. The way he used reverb and distortion on every song, stupendous. When I play the blues I like to use the same stuff, but I am not 1/10 the player he was. And it wasn't like he was playing intricate or super hard music. He was playing standard 12 bar blues on his guitar, but the way he used the 2 main effects that he chose, it was masterful. I can see why he was such a big influence on Dan Auerbach. He uses reverb and distortion, especially in the early days, almost as good as Burnside used to. His backing band was great too. The drummer was awesome. I'm not a big fan of drums when it comes to the blues. When you use it like RL's backing band did, it works. To keep the beat for the band, but also use fills, make it sound just as dirty and to have fun with the drums, it was great. The bassist used reverb and distortion just like RL, and, again, it was perfectly simpatico. The way the bass bounced off the guitar was kismet. Again, I love it. Even the backing vocals were perfection. The guys that yell sing with RL, it just works so god damn well. On the song "Snake Drive", when the backup singer yells the words at the end, I don't want it to stop. They have another song where the backup singer is just straight up talking to RL and it is awesome. He is just asking RL random questions, RL answers him in his gruff voice, and it is oddly perfect.

RL lived a fast and hard life and it comes across in his music. He has a famous quote that sums up his music perfectly. When he was younger he spent some time in jail for shooting a guy. He was asked in court why he killed that man, and he said, "I didn't kill that man, the bullet from the gun I shot did". I know, that is crazy. But, when you listen to his music, it weirdly makes sense. Also, he shot and killed a guy, was released from jail and became a folk hero in the blues music scene. How crazy is that?!

RL Burnside died over a decade ago, but his music still lives on. If you like the grimy stuff, the gritty, the muddy and the dirty blues, filled with reverb and distortion, go listen to anything that RL Burnside recorded. He was an awesome blues musician, and I will forever listen to his music any time I want to get down and dirty with the blues. I suggest you do the same.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is only 1/10th the blues player that RL Burnside was, but Ty is 6/7 of acoustic guitar player of the random weirdo strumming at your local coffee shop.

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Some Predictable, and Some Awesome, Choices for this Year's Oscars Nominations

The Oscar nominations came out this morning, and for the most part, it was status quo. Everyone that has been rumored got their nominations. "Three Billboards" got a ton of nominations. "The Post", along with Meryl Streep, got their nominations. Willem Defoe got his nomination. Frances McDormand was there. So was Gary Oldman and Daniel Day Lewis. Like I said, status quo. I was a bit upset that "The Disaster Artist" only got one nomination, but with the recent Franco allegations, I was not surprised.

What made me smile a bit when I read the nominations was all the new people that are getting consideration. Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani got nominated for best original screenplay for the excellent "The Big Sick". That movie was amazing, and it was incredibly well written. It was very much deserved, and I'm happy that comedians are finally getting noticed by the academy. I love that "The Shape of Water" and Guillermo del Toro got nominated. Guillermo del Toro makes weird, but great movies, and "The Shape of Water" is no different. I'm stoked that Great Gerwig got nominated for what many consider to be the best movie of the year, "Lady Bird". Saoirse Ronan got a much deserved nomination too. Margot Robbie, playing Tonya Harding, will be at the ceremonies. Sally Hawkins, who rules, got nominated and she plays a mute in her movie. It's also pretty cool to see someone like Mary J Blige get nominated for acting and original song. I don't know that that has ever happened. Good for her. It's nice to see Woody Harrelson get some recognition.

What makes me happiest are three specific things from this morning. First off, "Coco" is getting the much deserved recognition that it needs. That movie is so innovative, great and moving. I will be very, very upset if it doesn't win best animated feature. It is leaps and bounds better than any other movie that is in that category. I'm also stoked that "Remember Me" is nominated for best original song. That too should win in a runaway. It is so sweet, but also is the running theme throughout that movie. It is not only a great song, it serves a purpose.

Next, I'm pumped for Daniel Kaluuya getting a best actor nod. He was amazing in "Get Out". He more than deserves this nomination. I only became aware of him last year when I first saw him in the "Black Mirror" episode "15 Million Credits", and I thought he was tremendous in that. Then I had the pleasure of watching "Get Out", and his performance blew me away. He was so good. He made me believe everything that was going on in the movie. He created a truly unique and dynamic character. I will be so happy if he somehow wins. But, the things that make me happiest are "Get Out" and Jordan Peele getting their due. "Get Out" was the most unique and interesting movie I saw all year. I know it wasn't my top movie of 2017, but it was the best movie I saw all year. The way they balanced horror, drama and a little comedy was stupendous. The people involved toed the line of each genre to perfection. "Get Out" is a one of a kind movie, and we need more movies like that in this remake and rehash age we live in now. It is a special movie. Which leads me to the thing that surprised me most, in a good way, this morning. Jordan Peele got a best director nod, he should win, a screen play nod, he should probably win and a best picture nomination, again, he should win. Jordan Peele created something truly different and wonderful and scary and honest and poignant and perfect. He outdid any other director that is up for the award. He did a masterful job with "Get Out". Everyone in that movie was made better by his direction. As far as screenplay, if I have said it once during this blog, I have said it a thousand times, there is no movie more unique than "Get Out". And not just this year, in quite sometime. He made something fresh and new and it speaks to the thousands upon thousands of people that saw "Get Out". No one knew what to expect, and everyone was talking about it after they saw it. This movie had more memes, GIF's and fan art than any other movie I have ever seen in my life. It is one of a kind.

As far as best picture, I think "Get Out" has only one, maybe 2 competitors. "Darkest Hour" is too boring and too historical. Same with "The Post". "Three Billboards" will get scrutinized too much to win. "Dunkirk" is a war movie, and those don't hold much weight anymore. And "Phantom Thread" is too weird. I think "Get Out" only real competition is "Lady Bird" and "Call Me By Your Name". "Call Me By Your Name" won't win because "Moonlight" is a better movie and it won last year. "Lady Bird", by all accounts, I have not seen it yet, is great, but I think the voters will only give it one award, and that will go to Ronan for acting. So, that leaves "Get Out" as the best movie left. I am hoping that it wins best picture. It would be so awesome, given the current state of our country, for a movie like "Get Out" to win best picture. That is my wish at least.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the people that were getting recognized this morning, and that hasn't happened in awhile with the Oscars, Hopefully, times are changing for the better. At least this year's nominees makes me hopeful that is happening.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He forgot to mention the robbery where "Logan" gets one nomination, and the movie of the year gets zero nominations. Why did the Oscars forget "The Lego Batman Movie"?  Why?

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Rob Gronkowski is the Most Overrated Player in the NFL

I watched the NFC and AFC championship games yesterday, and they were both pretty dull. I fell asleep during the Patriots-Jags game for one. I know it was a close game, but when the Patriots only get called for one penalty, it is pretty obvious who is going to win. The Eagles-Vikings game, sorry RD (ed note: ARGHHH), was done by the middle of the second quarter. The game was on, but I was not even paying it half attention. We ended up getting both number one seeds, and I think the Super Bowl will be a pretty competitive game.

I'm not going to touch on the game today. I have already picked the Patriots to win multiple times, and nothing I saw yesterday changed my mind. What I want to talk about is a very hot take that I came upon yesterday during the Patriots-Jags game. In the middle of the second quarter Tom Brady threw a pass over the middle to Gronk. Gronk got lit up, maybe it was an illegal hit, I just thought it was a football hit, and he was sent to concussion protocol and didn't return to the game. After the hit, Patriots Twitter was all a flutter. The tweets ranged from "what a cheap shot!" to "we are done without him". The announcers too, the highly overrated Tony Romo and the god awful Jim Nantz said that this could, "doom the Patriots the rest of the game". Everyone was terrified. I'm sure the fact that the score was 14-3 at the time added to the nervousness. And, I'm sure the fact that Brady threw 4 straight passes to him prior to him getting hurt added even more stress. But, after the injury the Patriots went right down the field and scored. The Jags ended up adding a few field goals, but the Patriots did what they do and won the game late in the fourth quarter. They scored all but 3 of their points after the Gronk injury.  

I then started to think about the past Patriots playoff and Super Bowl runs since Gronk has been on the team. Everyone assumes he is the best tight end in the league, and while I think he is a very good tight end, maybe he isn't as crucial to the Patriots offense as some want us to believe. That is my hot take. I think Gronk might be the most overrated player in the NFL. Yes, I just said I think he is good, but I do not think he is the best tight end in the league, and he definitely isn't the best tight end to ever play in the NFL. I'm sure Patriots fans will read this and call me names and tell me how stupid I am. I'm sure football people will read this and think I'm an idiot too. But, if you take away his gaudy regular season numbers and break down his playoff numbers, it is pretty telling that this team thrives not because of him, but maybe despite him. Also, we can even look at the regular season if you want to too because he is constantly injured. So, while I think he is good, I also think he is just another in a long line of Patriots that have benefited due to Tom Brady and the system they run.

Lets look at the regular season stuff real quick first. He does put up very solid numbers. When he is on the filed, he is a great red zone threat. When he is on the field he can rack up 10 catches some games. When he is on the field he commands double teams opening up spots for other Patriot receivers and tight ends. But, he is not always on the field. He is, at least to me, the NFL's version of Joel Embiid. He is a marvel to watch when he plays, but he doesn't play all that much. Yes, he has played more than Embiid, but he is also older than Embiid. And, as far as regular season tight end stats go, Antonio Gates has consistently put up the same numbers as Gronk for a decade plus, and he stays relatively healthy. Travis Kelce has started to become more reliable than him. Vance McDonald emerged big time this year for the Steelers. Kyle Rudolph, Tyler Eifert and Greg Olsen do the same things for their teams that Gronk does for the Patriots. Hell, even his backups, take Martellus Bennett last year, step in, and it feels like Gronk isn't missed at all. So while he puts up gaudy numbers, no, I do not think he is the best tight end in the NFL. I'll take Antonio Gates over him any day or any year. 

Now, for the postseason stuff. First off, again, he is not usually healthy come playoff time. He always has some lingering issue, and everyone freaks out. Well, the Patriots are 5-2 in the Super Bowl's they've played in, with a chance to win a sixth, and Gronk may not play in the game. But lets just look at his career postseason numbers. He has played in 12 total playoff games, tallying 96 total catches and 10 total TD's. Not bad, but, we need to look at the important games. We need to look at conference title games and Super Bowls. He puts up his big numbers in the divisional and wild card games. His best games, save for 2, have all come in the divisional or wild card rounds. While important games, that is not when they need him most. It's great that he had 10 catches for 145 yards and 3 TD's in the divisional game against the Broncos in 2012, but do you know how he performed in the next two games?  Against Baltimore in the AFC championship he had 5 catches for 87 yards and 0 TD's in a win, and against the Giants in the Super Bowl that year, 2 catches for 26 yards and 0 TD's in a loss. That was the year the Patriots finished 18-1. The very next season he only played in one playoff game, against the Texans and he had 0 catches for 0 yards and 0 TD's. In 2015 he had a better postseason, but not best tight end in football type numbers. In the divisional round he put up 7 catches for 108 yards and a TD, good numbers. In the AFC title game he went for 3 catches 28 yards and a TD. And in the Super Bowl, the one the Seahawks blew by not handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch on the one yard line he had 6 catches for 68 yards and a TD. Those are solid numbers, and he won a ring, but that Super Bowl was more about Malcom Butler's interception and Julian Edelmann catching everything that came his way all the while being concussed. I don't think anyone looks back at that game and says, " thank goodness the Patriots had Gronk". His best game since then came in the 2016 AFC title game against the Broncos. He had 8 catches, 144 yards and a TD. But, the Patriots lost that game, so who cares about his numbers. Last year he didn't play at all, and the Patriots came back from down 25 to beat the Falcons. Martellus Bennett did just fine in his stead, even though whoever covered the Super Bowl last year kept cutting to Gronk in the owners box. This postseason has been very ho hum for Gronk. In the divisional game against the Titans he 6 catches for 81 yards and a garbage TD, and yesterday, before he got leveled, he had 1 catch for 21 yards.

I guess I just do not think he is as important as others want us to believe. I watch a ton of football, both college and pros. The only reason I think people want us to think Gronk is so great is because he is a big lovable doofus. He does stupid shit like throw parties on yachts and chug beers, and everyone is supposed to like him. To me, he is an asshole frat boy, and I could care less about the dumb shit he does off the field. If he played for any other team, with any other QB, no one, and I mean absolutely NO ONE would praise him like they do now. He is part of a system that works and he is reaping the benefits. But, put a guy like Antonio Gates or Travis Kelce on the Patriots, and they are the same as they are with Gronk, if not better. Hell, last year they proved they could win with Martellus Bennett.

I'm over the Patriots hype machine, and I am definitely over everyone in major sports media telling how important Rob Gronkowski is to the Patriots. He is no more important than Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Corey Dillon or Randy Moss was to that team. He is just another cog in their machine. And no, I do not think he will be missed if he doesn't play in Super Bowl 52. I think the Patriots will be just fine with our without him. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was thinking about talking about how overrated Case Keenum is to the Vikings. Thankfully the real Keenum showed up on Sunday to stop any rating going overboard. God damn Vikings.

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Another Look at Our Favorite Television Shows: "The Office" Edition

My wife and I are re watching the American "Office", and we are currently in the midst of the eighth season. When we started the re watch, I was kind of excited to watch this show that I loved so much. And, the first 4 seasons did not disappoint. They were just as good, if not better, than I remembered. I loved it all over again. Steve Carrell was so god damn good on that show. He was a great person to play the Ricky Gervais role as boss. He was ignorant, arrogant and did the uncomfortable humor so perfect. The stuff with Jim and Pam was phenomenal. The looks, the flirting, the shooting each other down, it was masterful stuff. Dwight was great. He is the co worker from hell, and he excelled at this. He would be a nightmare to work with. Really, everyone in the first four seasons is just great. They made it feel like a real office. I felt like I knew all these people. I definitely worked with these people when I did work in offices. The show was clicking on all cylinders.

Then, Jim and Pam decided to get married. I'm not as put off by this as most, but it still looked the beginning of the end of this show. Personally, I would have ended it after the wedding. But, they had built up new characters, Darrell, Ryan, Kelly, Angela, Oscar, Kevin, they all had story lines that were unfinished. So, I understand that they couldn't just end it there. I admit, they had some great stuff happen in the next couple seasons. Michael dating Pam's mom I thought was pretty funny. Holly and Michael having to break up brought out the awkward comedy. Getting Holly back on the show was pretty neat. Introducing Kathy Bates as Jo Bennett I was a fan of. Gabe was a solid addition. I mean, it helps a lot that Zach Woods is such a good and unique comic actor. I liked the stuff with Idris Elba. I was even a fan of Will Ferrell's three episode arc on the show. But, all the stuff after season 4-7 that I truly enjoyed was the Steve Carrell stuff. He was easily the best part of the show.

Near the end of season 7 Steve Carrell left the show. We all knew this was coming. Carrell said that he was going to leave the show to do movies. And, they handled his departure pretty gracefully. Yes, it was pretty corny at times, but I still found it funny and nice. I loved the last Dundies episode. I enjoyed watching him being annoyed by Ferrell, but eventually accepting him. Then when he up and left a day earlier than he had told people, I liked that too.

Now we have the Carrell less season 8 starting. When they premiered, it wasn't that great, but it wasn't that horrible. The search party stuff was pretty funny. Getting all the guest stars that they had was pretty cool. I mean, Jim Carrey, Ricky Gervais, Will Arnett and Ray Romano, they are no slouches. But, in the end they picked the most callous, uninspired choice to replace Michael, Robert California, played by James Spader. Admittedly, I am not a James Spader fan. I have just never really liked him. Also, after picking him to replace Michael, they wrote in the fact that he became CEO due to his way of talking to people and made Andy Bernard(Ed Helms), the regional manager. No character on "The Office went through more character changes than Andy Bernard. First he is cutthroat, then he is an ass kisser, then an idiot, then a bad salesman, then good again, then a pushover and finally, put in a position of power, only once again to fall from his high post. It is maddening. But, while currently watching the eighth season, I just am amazed at how much the writers, actors and directors just seemed to phone it in. They legitimately look like they are just going through the motions. What could have been a great spot for Rainn Wilson to totally take over the show, he just seems to be going through the motions. The writers wrote in a pointless subplot of Jim and Pam having a rocky marriage. They are supposed to be the perfect couple, then all of the sudden, they are constantly fighting and seemingly on the edge of breaking up. That is outrageous. Kevin becomes dumber by the season. Oscar and Angela magically become best friends out of nowhere. Meredith just falls further in the hole as an alcoholic. It is all just ham fisted and kind of dull. And the writing in the last 2 seasons is subpar at best.

Like I said, during the re watch, it just got bad. James Spader was the wrong choice to replace Steve Carrell. This show does not fit his roles that he usually plays. He is too serious for a show like this. I am waffling on if I want to finish the series or not. I seem to remember season 9 being even tougher to watch than season 8. But, I will probably finish it due to my OCD. I have heard rumors that some people previously involved want to bring the show back. I beg you, please don't do it. That would be such a bummer, and it would not work out. I'd still watch it, but I do not think it will be good.

I guess what I am trying to say, if you have the inking to watch "The Office" again, stick to the first four seasons. That was when the show was best. Don't bother with seasons 5-7, unless you are a big time Carrell fan, and don't even bother with seasons 8 or 9 because they are not very good at all. I'm glad I'm re watching the show, but it really took an unexpected turn the moment Carrell left, and it is for the worse.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to rewatch "Boy Meets World", but has yet to catch up on "Girl Meets World". There is way too much quality television out there.

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I Just Saw "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". What the Hell is Wrong with People?

The movie theater protects me from reading what the internet idiots think.

Editor's Note: There are spoilers for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in this article. You have been warned about a movie that has been out for a month now.

This past Saturday my son and I went to see "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". Today I will do a short little review of the movie, but I also want to talk about the ridiculous backlash this movie has gotten from so called "lifetime fans".

First, the review.

I found this movie to be quite enjoyable. My son did too. We had a good time watching it together. The fight scenes were some of the best that I have seen in any "Star Wars" movie. In particular, the fight scene with Kylo Ren and Rey teaming up to fight the Imperial Red Guards was almost as amazing as what Darth Vader did at the end of "Rogue One". That Vader fight scene was the best "Star Wars" fight scene ever, but this was a very close second. I also really liked the opening scene, with the war in space. I thought that was rather cool. Hell, I even, I'd go so far as to say loved, the last battle between Luke and Kylo Ren. Every battle scene in this movie was well made and a joy to watch. I was more than happy with BB-8 being back in the movie. I really loved, and her performance makes me miss her even more, the badassness that is General Leia. Poe was just as reckless, but also as cool as he was in "The Force Awakens". Finn was back, and I love John Boyega in this role. He is perfect for it. I loved the additions of Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern). They were strong, important female leads that are much needed in the "Star Wars" universe. Chewbacca and the relationship with the Porgs was much more likable than the Ewok's. I liked evil BB-8. It was cool to see Snoke not in hologram form. He is a bad dude. I thought Benecio Del Toro was good in this movie. It was awesome to see Luke again. But, above all else, Rey was amazing. She was the star. Daisy Ridley has made Rey into such a likable and memorable character. She is wonderful in these first 2 movies, and I cannot wait to see what they do with her next. Hell, I even liked the use of Yoda in this movie. I thought it was cool to see the most memorable "Star Wars" character show up in a crucial scene in "The Last Jedi".

If I had to complain about anything, the movie could have been about 30-40 minutes shorter. It did not have to be 2 and a half hours long. But, that is a small complaint. Even with it being a "complaint", I was never bored, and neither was my son. If I had to put the movies in order, this definitely makes my top 4. I'd have "Empire" as 1, "Rogue One" 2 and "Force Awakens" 3. I am very new to all these movies, so recency bias most definitely plays a role for me. But, I thoroughly enjoyed my movie theater experience of "The Last Jedi".

Now, my second point. All these fan boy morons that can never get a date, that still live in their parents basement even though they are probably in their 40's, that probably think this new "government" is doing all the right things, that seem to despise females, that just feel the need to spit vitriol, that just need something to complain about, shut your god damn mouths. You should be grateful that they are still making new "Star Wars" movies for you to watch. To sit here and chastise Rian Johnson and all the actors involved is so goddamn childish. No one is ever satisfied anymore, and it is getting quite annoying. I made the mistake of reading some user reviews on Rotten Tomatoes after seeing the movie, and all that showed me was how stupid and disgusting and mean these fan boys can be. I read stuff that had quotes like, "keep your liberal agendas at home" and "this was feminist garbage", and one person even said that, "this movie raped my childhood". How dare you. That is so out of bounds that I don't even know where to begin. "The Last Jedi" is a fantasy movie, very well made might I add, and all you idiots can do is sit behind a screen name and bitch? What a bunch of cowards.

It doesn't stop with the Rotten Tomatoes user profile reviews. I was listening to "Doughboys" , and Mike Mitchell, who I am a big time fan of, called the addition of Yoda, "disrespectful". Why is it disrespectful? What does Rian Johnson or George Lucas or anyone else involved with "Star Wars" owe you? You are a ticket buying fan. I say again, be grateful that they are still making these movies. I have seen other comedians that I like complain about this movie on Twitter and say that the prequels are better. That is utter nonsense. The prequels are bad movies. "The Last Jedi" is well made and good. I guess what I'm trying to say is, these nerds and dorks that claim they have been a fan of this franchise from the start are liars. They aren't fans. They are whiners and complainers. They are real life Comic Book Guy's. That's not a compliment. Get over yourselves. And, if you don't like the movie, don't go see it. That is what makes it even worse. These people that are griping about this movie go see it multiple times in the theaters. If you hated it so much, why did you go for a second, third and fourth viewing? Why do you keep giving your own money, or maybe it is your parents money, to a movie that you claim to hate? Just knock it the hell off you dorks. I'm sick of the bitching and complaining about a very good movie. Get over yourself you bunch of babies. It is just a movie. And it is a very good movie at that.

These are my thought on "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". Good movie followed by a lot of whiny crybaby idiots.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. After getting his high waist pants, and doing a few crunches, Ty is shirtless and ready for the Kylo Ren challenge.

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Midseason NBA Checkup and Redo

We are at the midway point of the NBA season and it is time for me to checkup on some preseason predictions, and make some corrections and new predictions based on my previous thoughts. Unlike my NBA preseason preview, today I will not break down all 32 teams. Instead, I will talk about the teams I got right, wrong, make new awards predictions and pick the Finals. Spoiler alert, my Finals will be exactly the same as it has been for the past 3 years.

To start, lets look at the Eastern Conference first. I love that the "experts" are saying that the East is just as competitive as the West. That is hilarious to me. The East is very top heavy. The top 4 teams are the only teams that might be able to get a game from the team that will come out of the West. Looking at the standings now, the top 4 teams, in order, are the Celtics, Raptors, Cavs and Heat. The rest of the playoffs, if they started today, would be, going 5-8, Wizards, Pacers, Bucks and Pistons. Teams just on the outside looking in right now include the 76ers, shockingly, the Knicks and maybe the Hornets. The rest of the East is already toast. While the Nets aren't the tire fire they have been, that team plays really hard, they just don't have the horses yet. The Magic, after starting strong, are back to being horrible and shopping their best players. The Bulls are bad, but not as bad as I thought. Who knew that Nikola Mirotic was this good. Also, props to Lauri Markanen. I thought he was going to be an absolute bust, but he has played very well so far. And the Hawks, just yikes. They are so, so bad. I know they are losing on purpose, but man are they bad.

Looking at the bottom half of the playoff teams in the East, there could be some movement at the very bottom. I like the Pistons. I like Stan Van Gundy. Andre Drummond is awesome. But, they don't have much else. Drummond can carry them to the playoffs, but I wouldn't be surprised if the 76ers or even the Knicks claim that 8th spot from them. The Bucks should be better than 7th. I had high hopes for that team this year. Giannis Antentekoumpo has been great, but he isn't really getting much help. Khris Middleton isn't scoring. Jabari Parker cannot stay on the floor. Eric Bledsoe has been a good addition, but he is still learning the playbook. Antentekoumpo needs more help. Also, maybe Jason Kidd isn't that great of a head coach. The Pacers have been much, much better than I expected. I thought they'd be tanking, but they look halfway decent. Victor Oladipo has been great. He better damn well be an All Star this year. They have wildly exceeded my expectations, and I am very curious to see if they can keep it up and stay in the playoff picture. The Wizards are wildly underachieving. John Wall needs help. He cannot do it all himself. Bradley Beal has been better, but they need more from him. They need way more from Otto Porter. Marcin Gortat is a ghost. Kelly Oubre isn't living up to the preseason hype. But, when all is said and done, I think Scotty Brooks is the one who should take most of the blame. Wizards fans should now understand why Thunder fans were fed up with him. He is a mediocre coach. The Wizards should be much, much better. Maybe they will go out and get Boogie Cousins. We will see.

The upper half of the East is the cream of the crop. The Heat are finally figuring it out. Their role players are perfectly playing their roles, and even without Dion Waiters, they are winning games. Erik Spoelstra is the opposite of Scotty Brooks. Spoelstra is proving to be a great NBA coach. The Cavs are third, and I know there are rumblings about "discontent", but they still have LeBron. They will be fine. Their defense is horrid, but I say again, they have LeBron. They will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. The Raptors are playing awesome right now. They are embracing this new style of run and gun basketball, and shooting more threes. DeMar DeRozan has been fantastic this year. Even without Kyle Lowry for a few games, they were wining games. The only reason I pause with them, I hope they aren't peaking too soon, much like the Indians did in the MLB this past season. But for right now, the Raptors are fun. The Celtics lead the East, and they are a very good team. Kyrie Irving has been great. Jaylen Brown is proving to be a player to watch. Jayson Tatum is having a great rookie year. Al Horford is the glue that keeps that team together. And Brad Stevens is great. I will fully eat crow with him. He is a great NBA coach. He is one of the best. Losing Hayward 5 minutes into the first game could have been a death knell, but he has kept it together, and the Celtics are playing excellent basketball.

With that being said, I still believe that the Cavs will win the East, and win it fairly easily. They don't care about seeding or home court advantage or any of that garbage. LeBron can turn it on anytime he wants, impose his will and lead this team to a fourth straight Finals, and his eighth straight. I'm sticking with the Cavs to win the East.

Now, lets go to the much better conference, the West. As far as the top 4 in the West right now, we have, of course, the Warriors, Rockets, Spurs and Timberwolves. The bottom half of the West includes the Thunder, Pelicans, Trailblazers and Nuggets, all separated by one single game. Teams just on the outside include the Clippers and the Jazz. The rest of the West is tanking or old or just not good. The Suns are incredibly young, sometimes fun to watch, sometimes a pain and Devin Booker is legit. This team could be pretty good in 3 or 4 years. The Lakers are trash, and now they have the Ball family to deal with. They too are young, but they are proving to be very dysfunctional. This team should be building around Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, but Lonzo Ball is being stuffed down their throats, and that will be a problem if it continues. Also, if I were LeBron I would stay far, far away from this team. He doesn't need this dysfunction this late in his career. The Mavericks are still relying on Dirk, JJ Barea and Devin Harris. They should be focusing all their time on developing and letting Dennis Smith Jr take over this team. But, Rick Carlisle is still giving time to guys that shouldn't see more than 10 minutes a night, and I'm sorry Dirk, I love you, but that includes you. This team needs to embrace the youth movement. They have good, young players and they need to let them play. The Grizzlies are riddled with injuries to star players, namely Mike Conley, and the other guys they have just aren't that good. Conley and Marc Gasol are all they have. Tyreke Evans is fine, but not an All Star. Ben McLemore, who I thought would do good with a change of scenery, has not been good. JayMychal Green is not developing. Dillon Brooks is seeing crucial minutes, and he isn't ready for that yet. As much as they don't want to, the Grizzlies need to tear it down. The Kings are dreadful. They are going nowhere fast. They have too many of the same style player. DeAron Fox deserves better than this. So do Zach Randolph and Vince Carter. The Kings are a mess.

Looking at the playoff teams, I like the Nuggets. They are young, they hustle and they make you work. They are lacking a true point guard, and that could be the difference in them and a team like the Clippers or Jazz grabbing that eighth spot. No real point guard may doom them. The Trailblazers are all about CJ McCollum and Damien Lillard. They are who they have decided to build around. I know that they are trying to push Jusuf Nurkic as their third guy, and while he is good, he often gets hurt or doesn't go hard all the time. When relying on 2 guards to be the guys, you will win enough regular season games to be a bottom playoff teams, but the lack of defense and a real big man, they won't go past the first round. They are fun to watch though. The Pelicans have 2 of the top 10 players in the league, and nothing more. Jrue Holiday is good, but not 5 years 125 million dollars good. That is what they paid him this offseason. The Pelicans will need Boogie and Anthony Davis to continue to each put up 20 points and 10 rebounds every single night. That is doable, but AD has to stay healthy, which he has never done in the NBA, and Boogie needs to stay calm. That is asking a lot of the both if them. The Thunder should be so much better than the 5 seed. Adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony should have this team as a top 3 seed, not fighting for the 5th seed. They really need to figure it out sooner rather than later. The Thunder are the team that I am most disappointed in. I had so much higher expectations for them coming into this year. They have not lived up to the hype.

The top half of the West is legit. The Timberwolves are playing this year like many thought they would last year. Adding Jimmy Butler was a big time help. So was the additions of Taj Gibson. Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford. Andrew Wiggins is in his rightful place as the third option on offense, and he is playing better defense. And after a horrid start on the defensive end, Karl Anthony Towns has been better, and he is putting up double double's every night. The only problem with the T'Wolves, Tom Thibeodeau needs to start staggering minutes. He is playing his top guys way too much, and that will kill them come playoff time. The Spurs are still the Spurs, even without Kawhi Leonard. The fact that they are still a top 3 seed in the West proves that Greg Poppovich is the greatest NBA coach ever. He is winning with guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, who wanted out before the year, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, who are all about a million years old, Patty Mils, Dejonte Murray, just no real big name players,  but players that have bought into the system. I will never bet against the Spurs as long a Poppovich is coaching there. The Rockets have exceeded my preseason expectations. I thought they'd be good, but not this good. They are making a record number of threes, and they are actually playing solid defense. I know James Harden as been out for awhile, but the Rockets are still winning for the most part. It doesn't hurt that Chris Paul is back from injury to help until Harden gets back. Eric Gordon has been great. Clint Capela is developing nicely. Ryan Anderson is still hitting threes. The Rockets are great right now, but the playoffs will be the real barometer of how much better they truly got this offseason. And then we have the Warriors. It is no secret to anyone that watches basketball that the Warriors are, far and away, the best team in the NBA. It's not even close. They can be without KD for a week and still win. Same for Steph. Same for Draymond. This team is amazing and will continue to be for some time. Obviously the Warriors are my pick to come out of the West. They will, and should, skate through the playoffs. I wouldn't be shocked if they go undefeated in the playoffs this year.

That means I have the Warriors sweeping the Cavs in the 2018 Finals. I have very little doubt that this exact thing will happen. As far as awards go, lets start with Rookie of the Year. Ben Simmons will win this by a mile. I picked Dennis Smith Jr in the preseason,  but Ben Simmons has been far and away the best rookie. Don't count out Donovan Mitchell yet, but Ben Simmons is the big time front runner right now. For Sixth Man of the Year I stupidly picked Tristan Thompson. He has been a train wreck. Now, I'm going to go with Eric Gordon to repeat. He is so explosive off the bench for the Rockets. Coach of the Year should be Greg Poppovich, but Brad Stevens is going to win it. The people that vote want him to win, and picking Pop has become boring, even when it is blatantly true. As for the MVP, had I written this a few weeks ago, it would have been Harden with a bullet. Then he got hurt. Now, I'm going to go with LeBron James. I know the Cavs aren't as good as normal, but LeBron has been amazing this year, even more so than he normally is. He is that awesome. 

There you have it, my midseason checkup on the NBA. Lets hope I get some stuff right this time around.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He believes the only way Golden State will lose a playoff game this year is if the team is forced to take a test by student acting as a teacher Kelly Kapowski. How could she do that to poor Slater?

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It Was an Almost Perfect Weekend of NFL Playoff Football

This past weekend of the NFL playoffs was pretty wild. Well, 3 of the 4 games were wild. Lets get the boring one out of the way first.

The Patriots throttled the Titans. I had a slight glimmer of hope that the Titans would make it a game when they went up 7-0 late in the first quarter. But, the Patriots, and almost more importantly, the refs, made that null and void pretty quick. Mariota regressed pretty quick after the first quarter. The Titans defense could not stop the Patriots offense. Making the Titans play from behind is how you beat them handily. And, as I said, the refs were atrocious. It seemed like anytime that the Titans would get a stop, a first down or even grab some momentum, the refs stepped in and gave it all back to the Patriots. When the score was 7-7 and the Titans were driving again, Eric Decker got called for an absolutely terrible offensive interference to kill the drive. Then, after stopping the Patriots deep in their territory, and forcing them to punt, a phantom offside call was made when it was clear that the Patriots jumped first. This resulted in another Patriots TD. Finally, on a fourth and one play, the Patriots tackled Derrick Henry by his facemask, but nothing was called. No flags, nothing. It was horrendous.

The other three games on Saturday and Sunday would not let the horrific mismatch and terrible reffing spoil some great games. Truth be told, I did not watch a second of Eagles-Falcons, I was at the movies watching the new "Star Wars" with my son. But, I caught up on the highlights, and that was some tremendous defense played by the Eagles. With that being said, Steve Sarkisian proved to be a terrible play caller, especially when they had four chances from the 9 yard line to win the game. But, the Eagles suffocated and stifled the Falcons offense all game. They did not give Tevin Coleman or Devonta Freeman any space to run the ball. The Falcons defense played good too, but they let Nick Foles do just enough to get the win. Matt Ryan also reverted to his poor decision making late in crucial moments. I fully thought that the Falcons were going to win, especially after how they manhandled the Rams, but the Eagles would not let it happen. While they didn't do much on offense, they did enough. And their defense was awesome. They deserved to win, and they earned it too.

The most surprising game for me was Pittsburgh-Jacksonville. I did not see any of the first half of this game, I was at a birthday party. But I would periodically check my phone to see the score. Every time I checked it, it seemed that the Jags scored another TD. When I first checked it was 14-0 early in the second quarter. About 15 minutes passed, I checked again, and it was 21-7. Then we left the party and I saw it was 28-14 at the half. I assumed that when we returned home and I turned on the game that the Steelers would have tied it or taken the lead. Well, they cut it to 7 in the third, but they never grabbed the lead. When it was 28-21, I figured this was where the Steelers would wake up and grab a stranglehold on the game. Well, the Jags immediately took the ball all the way down the field and Leonard Fournette ran in his third TD of the game. This was when I started to think that maybe the Jags were going to win this game. But, not to be denied, the Steelers had another miracle TD on a fourth and three play. Roethsliberger heaved the ball in the air and a very injured Antonio Brown made a great, great catch for a TD. They cut it to 7 again. I started to go back around to thinking that the Steelers were going to win. But again, the Jags got the ball, god help me, Blake Bortles made some plays, and they scored on an easy pass to a wide open fullback to get a 14 point lead again. I was amazed at how well the Jags looked on offense, but also how poorly the Steelers were playing defense. The Steelers still wouldn't go away, getting back to within 7.  But, to attempt an onside kick with 2 timeouts and 2 minutes and 18 seconds left in the game at home, was simply stupid. That was a horrific choice by all the coaches involved on the Steelers. This gave the Jags great field position and set them up for the easy 2 score lead again. The Steelers blew this game, they were definitely looking ahead to the Patriots, but props to the Jags for going into Pittsburgh twice this season and winning both times.

The game of the weekend, the playoffs and maybe in the past 5 or 6 years, was the Saints-Vikings game. This was, to use a cliché, a tale of 2 halves. The Vikings owned the first 2 quarters. They stopped everything the Saints wanted to do, and they moved the ball at will. They looked like they were going to win with ease, especially when they had a 17-0 lead at halftime. But, credit to the Saints for making adjustments and turning this into a game. Drew Brees was making some great, great throws in the second half. His pass to Alvin Kamara was amazing. Kamara was also amazing in the second half. He is going to be a star. Michael Thomas started to get much more involved. He now is in that conversation of second best wide out in the league, behind only Antonio Brown. The Saints defense also started to make plays. When they took the lead at 21-20, I thought the Vikings were in for another heartbreak in the postseason. But, to their credit they kept plugging away. They got the ball back, marched into field goal range and kicked the go ahead field goal with just over 2 minutes left. That was more than enough time for Brees to lead the Saints down into field goal range to kick and take the lead very late in the game. The Vikings got the ball back with about 40 seconds left, and one timeout, but I figured they were toast. I mean, one timeout, Case Keenum, Vikings postseason history, no real deep threats, everything was stacked against them. And that was how this final drive started. They had one chunk play, but they had to burn their last timeout, and they were so far out of field goal range and hail mary range, I didn't think it mattered. And the next 2 plays made me feel this even stronger. Keenum was throwing ducks and getting pressured. Everything pointed to another blown playoff game. Then third down happened. With less than 10 seconds left the Vikings snapped the ball, and a sports miracle happened. Keenum bought just enough time in the pocket and just chucked the ball in the air. Out of nowhere Stefon Diggs, who it looked like jumped about 20 feet in the air, snagged the ball and turned up field. The Saints safety, poor, poor Marcus Williams, went in for the hit, but he completely missed Diggs. This was the worst attempted tackle I have seen at any level. Williams, who had a great rookie year, and had played very well in the game up until this point, just completely whiffed. His head was down and I think he just assumed that he was going to run into Diggs. That didn't happen, and now there are about a thousand GIF's and meme's "commemorating" this missed tackled. After Diggs realized he wasn't going to get hit, he turned up the field and ran. I kept yelling, the Vikings bench too, "GET OUT OF BOUNDS!", thinking that the Saints had another safety deep. But, much to mine, and everyone else's surprise, there was no one there. Diggs could have waltzed into the end zone if he wanted. It was a truly amazing sports moments. It is one of the best endings to a game that I have ever seen. I could not believe that the Vikings won a game in this fashion. It was such an amazing ending. I'm still kind of in shock how that game ended.

This was, at least 3/4 of it was, a very great football weekend. It was fun to see the NFL be fun at least one time this year. I don't think it matters in the long run though. I still think we will get Patriots-Vikings in the Super Bowl, and I still think the Patriots will win. But, this past weekend made it fun to be an NFL fan for a couple days. Hopefully the conference championships will be half as good as this past weekend was. We will have to wait and see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is used to seeing Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers pull out last second miracle wins. This year's Rodgers is Case Keenum and the Packers have become the Vikings. 

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Keith Jackson Taught this Millennial to Love Football

About one year ago we lost Craig Sager. I know that there is some crazy stuff going on with his will right now, but that doesn't discount the fact that he was one of the best basketball analysts and reporters that we have ever seen. I still miss his sideline interviews. This weekend we lost another great sports broadcaster. Keith Jackson passed away on Saturday at the age of 89.

Keith Jackson, in every way, was more important to me as a broadcaster than anyone ever, including Sager. The reason, Jackson is the first announcer that I can vividly remember hearing and enjoying. He always seemed to call the Rose Bowl, and most importantly for me, pretty much all of Michigan's football games that were televised on ABC. As I child I can remember hearing him say his patented, "Whoa Nellie!" during many Michigan games. He is one of my first memories watching Michigan football with my dad. He is right up there with Bo Schembechler. Not in terms of importance, but significance.

As I said, he was always calling Michigan games and the Rose Bowl, and when he was announcing, Michigan seemed to be a regular in the Rose Bowl. I used to get the pleasure of hearing him call anywhere from 3-6 Michigan football games a year, and he was great. I mentioned the "Whoa Nellie!", but he wasn't just a catch phrase guy, he knew the game and knew it well. He helped me to understand football. He, not as much as my father, but still, helped me understand how important Michigan football was/is.

It wasn't just Michigan, Jackson knew every team, and knew them well. He could tell so many stories about so many different teams. He was very well versed in college football. The man was a genius broadcaster if you ask me. He could break down film before it was en vogue to do that. He could rattle off the names of former greats at specific schools without needing to take notes. He remembered important dates in college football better than anyone else. But above all, he was a joy to listen to.

I wish we had more announcers like Keith Jackson nowadays. I know this sounds weird coming from the millennial, but Jackson is the best football broadcaster ever, at least for me. He was soft spoken yet brilliant. He did have the catch phrase, but like I said, he was so much more. He understood the game better than his colleagues. He was most certainly more respected than his colleagues. He was one of the few people that Schembechler would actually talk to. That's a huge deal for a guy like Schembechler. I'm sure the same can be said for Woody Hayes, John Robinson and any other coach from the Big Ten, and back when he was calling games, the Pac 10. He was the guy that these coaches wanted to talk to. When he would call the games I can remember my father pointing Jackson out specifically as the only announcer he liked. I am now the same way. When I watch games now, I either complain about who is calling it, or mute the game and listen to music while I watch. I never, ever did anything like that with Keith Jackson. He was must listen when he was on a game. I prefer Jackson to a guy like John Madden. While I kind of enjoyed Madden, and even Summerall to a certain extent, they were nowhere near the talent that Jackson was.

To prove how great Jackson was, he made me tolerate Dan Fouts. Watching the NFL playoffs yesterday, with Fouts calling a game, I was enraged at his total lack of knowledge. Then I remembered that he used to be the color guy with Jackson, and I was amazed that he used to not bother me like he did yesterday. That is strictly due to the brilliance of Keith Jackson. Even after he retired about a decade or so ago, I still watched old games on ESPN Classic that he would call just to hear his voice. The fact that he is gone now makes the people currently calling games that much worse. They will never live up to the excellence that Jackson brought to the game.

The closet we have to a Keith Jackson is probably Kirk Herbstreit, and he is way, way, way behind Jackson's greatness, and will never achieve the respect or accolades that Jackson did. The NFL announcers are even worse. Morons like Cris Collinsworth, Al Michaels and Tony Romo wish they were 1/100th the announcer that Jackson was. I am really going to miss Keith Jackson. He gave me so much joy. He was the last great college football announcer. We will never have another person as awesome as he was at calling games. I hope wherever he is now he is chatting it up with Pat Summerall and Howard Cossell. That would be ideal.

Rest In Peace Keith Jackson. You will be greatly missed.

Ty

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

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Ty Listens to "Goin' Platinum!"

After the holidays is when I like to catch up on some music that I haven't heard yet, but have been looking forward to. I usually get some iTunes gift cards and use them on all the stuff I have wanted to hear, but just haven't gotten around to yet. This year I got some good stuff, but the cream of the crop was Robert Finley's newest record, "Goin' Platinum!".

Truth be told, I hadn't heard anything of Finley's until I saw that Dan Auerbach, of The Black Keys, was producing this new record. He did his own solo record, the very good "Waiting on a Song", with a new label, Easy Eye Sound. This piqued my interest because I am an unabashed fan of Auerbach. I mean, he has The Black Keys and everything else he has done on is own and has produced is awesome. So, I checked out some of Finley's stuff on YouTube, and what I heard and saw, I was on board with. Finley is an older gentleman, and he has that sound to his music. His voice is so perfect for what he does. He has that blues-y growl to his voice, but he can do ballads and standard, old school R&B when it is called for. Needless to say, I wanted to hear his new record when it came out.

I waited, but it was the first thing I bought the day after Christmas. I have not stopped listening to it ever since. I adore this record. It has everything that I enjoy about modern artists doing old school music. It also totally helps that the backing band, The Easy Eye Review, has a very Black Keys-ish sound to their music. The Easy Eye Review sounds like a mixture of "Brothers" Black Keys and Auerbach's first solo record. Then, when Finley drops in his guitar and vocals, it all blends perfectly.

From start to finish this record is solid. The opener, "Get it While You Can", has a great guitar riff at the top, then it is all brought home by Finley's vocals. He uses that blues growl and tears through this song. It is a perfect way to set up the rest of this record. From here on out the record trades genres with ease. The songs, "If You Forget My Love" and "Honey Let Me Stay the Night" blend rock and R&B excellently. "Honey Let Me Stay the Night" has some great backing vocals by the Easy Eye Review's singers. They add the extra pop that this song needs. "Medicine Woman" is a trippy, throw back blues song that rules. Great lyrics, vocals and music throughout. "Real Love is Like a Hard Crime" should be a single played on radio. Finley howls through this song in all the right ways. I find myself openly humming this song, or outright singing it, as I walk through the house while I'm cleaning, changing diapers or running on the treadmill. It is such a great song. This song also has the backing vocals that permeate the record. "Complications" is a great straight forward blues song. Finley's vocals on this are the icing on the cake that is this record. When he scream sings "Complications", I cannot get enough of it. The closer, "Holy Wine", is a perfect ending to this great record. It is sweet and nice and just a gem. I love this song very, very much. In fact, I love this entire record.

I know Finley is an older gentleman, but he is doing throwback music perfectly. I'm sure it helps that he grew up with this kind of music, but he didn't get any real notoriety until now for playing this kind of music. This record is so in my alley. It has everything that I like about music, minus any hip hop. But, Finley is not a hip hop musician. He is a rock/blues/R&B musician. I also love that Auerbach worked on this album with him. I am also stoked that he is currently on tour with Auerbach, opening the shows for him. I'm very much considering going to see them both in Kansas City, that is the closest they are coming to Saint Louis, and it is not just to hear Auerbach's new stuff live. I want to hear Finley perform just as much.

If you like old school music with a modern twist, check out "Goin' Platinum!". It is so good, and it fills that need of no new Leon Bridges music yet for me. It is an awesome record.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He needs some good bluesy tunes to help with the diaper changes.

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Go Out and Read the Funny and All Around Awesome Book "Basketball and Other Things"

I have just finished one of the best books on basketball that I have ever read. No, it is not a historical reference type book. No, it is not written by a former coach or player or GM. No, it does not come from anyone at ESPN or Sports Illustrated. This book is by my favorite writer who writes for Bill Simmons company, The Ringer. The book is entitled "Basketball and Other Things", and the writer is Shea Serrano.

I became vaguely familiar with Serrano when I got his first book, "The Rap Yearbook", a few years back as a gift. I kept "The Rap Yearbook" on my shelf for awhile, kind of staring it down, waiting to open and read it. I finally did, and I loved it. It was a great representation of all the things I think about rap music, but can't get across as funny and proper as someone like Serrano can. The illustrations also drew me in. Serrano's buddy, Arturo Torres, does all of the artwork for his books, and he is an amazing artist. Seriously, go google his name and check out his stuff. It is incredible.

So, after being on the high that was "The Rap Yearbook", I searched and searched to see if Serrano had written anything else. I saw all his columns, but I wanted a book. Then, about a week or so after my search, I saw on Twitter that he was working on a new book. He was vague, but he did say it was going to be about basketball. I was on board immediately. Then, he started a pre order campaign on Twitter, before he even finished his book. I, of course, pre ordered the book and waited for it to arrive in October. The only reason I am writing about it now, I just finished it very recently, and I am terribly OCD, so I read books in certain orders, and I had a few to read before "BAOT".

When I finally got around to "BAOT", I did not want to put it down. This is one of the funniest books, probably the funniest book, ever written about basketball. And don't get me wrong, Serrano knows his shit when it comes to basketball. But, he is undeniably hilarious. The stories he tells in the notes of this books, and throughout the chapters, had me in tears. In one of his chapters, when he talks about who he would dunk on if he could dunk on anyone, he tells a story about being a kid, finding 8 foot rims, playing 3 on 3 and dunking on one of his buddies so hard that he gave him a nose bleed. I have done this exact same thing. Reading this made me think of all the times that my friends and I would find smaller rims and yam on each other, and it was amazing. Also, when he breaks it down and announces that he would dunk on MLK, I was howling. That is what makes this book so great, the chapters.

The theme behind "BAOT", and I heard Serrano say as much in interviews, is to ask a question at the top, and then try to answer it. For example, he has a chapter about replacing Karl Malone with a grizzly bear, and seeing which one would succeed in the 1997 season. He breaks down each strengths and weaknesses, mind you, the bear in this chapter does not maul anyone, it is just put on a court and knows how to play basketball. It was also hilarious to read him talk about Malone living in the forest like a grizzly bear. This was the perfect chapter. He also delves into things like, which group of NBA players would be helpful or hurtful if the purge ever became a real thing. He puts players in the "Disrespectful Dunk Hall of Fame". He breaks down the careers of Allen Iverson and Dwayne Wade in one of my favorite chapters. Iverson had the better career, and Serrano proves that tenfold. He makes a Frankenstein type NBA player that would be dominant. He does a fictional basketball draft, which RD and I have also done on the podcast. He breaks down the most important NBA titles. He talks about the rules for pickup basketball, all of which I agree with him on. He does a chapter where he changes famous NBA players by just removing or replacing one letter of their names and says where they would be now, and the James Harder stuff is awesome. I would one hundred percent see the "Hammer" movies that Serrano makes up based on James Harden new name. They sound amazing. He talks about Nick Anderson making one of the four free throws he missed when the Magic played the Rockets in the Finals, and how that could have changed the history of the NBA. He even brings up the proposed Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaq one on one game that they were supposed to play after said Finals. That was a great chapter too.

Serrano covers so much great stuff in this book. Every chapter also has at least one drawing from Arturo Torres, and they are amazing. Each chapter opens with one of his drawings, and it is of an NBA player that has the number of the chapter. Shea Serrano has done something very special with "BAOT". As I said, this is my new favorite book about basketball. Serrano is easily my favorite writer at the moment. And it is not just me either. "BAOT" is so popular, even Barack Obama put it on his top 10 list at the end of the year.

Do yourself a favor and read "Basketball and Other Things". You don't necessarily have to be a basketball fan, but it helps. But, if you like comedy, Serrano is one of the best comedic writers out there right now. I am in love with this book. It is amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was dunked on by the head editor one time when they found a 5 foot rim, and the head editor beat Ty their in a footrace. 

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Better Late Than Never on the Gem of Movie "Brigsby Bear"

I finally got around to seeing the movie "Brigsby Bear" yesterday. I have wanted to see this movies since I saw the first trailer for it over a year ago. I do not watch "SNL" anymore, but when I still watched it, the one person I always enjoyed was Kyle Mooney. He appealed to my weird comedy side. He was always doing something unique and different on the show, and 99 percent of it, I loved. My favorite character of his was the 90's standup that he played on "Weekend Update". He was so sad and wanted so much attention and tried so hard.

When I heard that he was writing a movie, and that The Lonely Island, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schafer and Andy Samberg, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller were producing it, I was intrigued. I assumed it was going to be a bizarre comedy, which it has elements of. But "Brigsby Bear" was way different than I expected. I gathered from the trailer that it may be more of a moving and heartfelt movie, but I still expected mostly comedy. For the most part though, "Brigsby Bear" is a drama. It has so much more drama and kind of bleak moments than I expected. And, I loved every single second of the movie.

First, a short synopsis of the movie. Kyle Mooney plays James. He lives in a bubble of a home with his "folks", played by Mark Hammil, who was a delight, and Jane Adams. James watches a show every night called "Brigsby Bear", and the show teaches him life lessons and is the only thing he has ever seen. James loves it so much, he runs a message board solely based on each episode. His "folks" tell him he can't go outside because of the poisonous air, so he barely leaves his room. One night he decides to go outside and sit on a rooftop, and the police come. We find out that James was abducted 25 years ago as a baby. He gets returned to his real folks, Matt Walsh and Michaela Watkins. He also has a sister, played by Ryan Simpkins. They try their best to acclimate him to the real world. Remember, James has been in a bubble his entire life. James is an outcast. He is very odd. He only likes "Brigsby Bear".

James's father does take him to the movies, to try and give him a normal life, and this starts an idea in his head. He decides that he wants to make a Brigsby movie. Things further progress when his sister takes him to a high school party and he meets some people that want to help him. He also meets a detective, played by Greg Kinnear, who has always had a dream of acting. At first, things are going well. He is making friends and his movie is plugging along. Things take a turn for the worse when he makes a real explosive for his movie and the cops find it and arrest him. He is then sent to a psychiatric ward. He soon breaks out, his family comes to accept his love for Brigsby, and they help him finish the movie. He is welcomed at the theater to a hero's welcome.

I really, really like this movie. Kyle Mooney is the only person that I would have bought playing the role of James. He can pull off the weird loner better than anyone out there right now. He is truly amazing in this movie. I could not take my eyes off screen when he was on it, which was the entire movie. And while it does have moments of comedy, this movie is more about friendship, finding yourself, being accepted, coming to terms with a terrible tragedy and the love of a family. Hell, even though Hammil and Adams characters kidnapped him, he still felt love for them. They did a truly awful thing, but they were never awful to James. They truly did love him. Even after taking a life sentence for what they did, James visits his captors in jail to have him do some voices. He holds no real ill will towards them. Seeing Walsh and Watkins and Simpkins deal with this tragedy and accept for James for who he really is was wonderful. Walsh and Watkins are mainly comic actors, but they do nothing of the comedic variety in this movie. They are parents that lost their kid, got him back and are trying to make up for lost time. Simpkins, the reluctant sister, was great too. She acted like any teenager would, but when push came to shove, she loved, and missed, the brother she never knew she had. Kinnear was excellent as the detective that helped to find James, but also had an acting bug. His turn is so good and he was so good in this role.

I truly loved this story of friendship and family. I would be lying if I didn't say that I teared up a bit near the end. I hope that this means more things will come from Kyle Mooney. He found a very unique way to tell this story. He is the only person who can tell this type of story the way he did. "Brigsby Bear" also proves to me that The Lonely Island and Lord and Miller are only attaching their names to cool and different stuff, but stuff that works, stuff that finds its niche audience. I highly recommend people seek this movie out and watch it. It takes you places you don't expect, and that was great to see. I'm very glad that I saw, and now own, "Brigsby Bear". It is a very well done movie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is now inspired to make a movie of the television show that taught him how to be a good and compassionate person. Look out for Ty's "Saved By the Bell" film any day now.

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Ty Watches "Black Mirror" Season 4

I have just recently finished season 4 of "Black Mirror", and I want to break down, very simply, each episode, in my personal order. With this being said, there will be some minor spoilers. I will do my best to keep them minimal, but if you haven't watched the new season yet, watch it before reading this piece. Second, I LOVED every episode this season. I thought all 6 were fantastic and different and unique in only a way Charlie Brooker and the rest of the writers can do for a show like "Black Mirror". So, when I say "favorite to least favorite", every episode would get an A grade from me. Third, and final thing before I get into it, this is my own personal ranking. I am going strictly off what I liked about each episode and why I think one episode is better than the other. For a show like "Black Mirror", I purposefully stay away from social media while I'm watching the show. I don't want anything spoiled for me, and I do not want to hear what critics think of the episodes since they get to see them all well in advance. Those are my three rules. Here we go. Oh yeah, I will go from 6-1 by the way.

My sixth favorite episode of the season was "Crocodile". This is a very, very dark and brutal episode of "Black Mirror". There is a lot of murder and covers up that happen in this hour long episode. The acting is very well done. The actors are creepy and silent and fearful and worried in all the right ways. I really enjoy the idea of finding things out by using people's memories. The tech in this episode was very cool too. I like all the tech in this show in fact. The ending was brutal and one of the tougher things I have ever had to watch on TV. While "Crocodile" is a great episode, it is a very tough watch. Some very brutal things, unfortunate things, happen in the episode. Being a father made this one that much more rough. While still great, again, it is a tough, tough watch.

At number 5 I have "Arkangel". Again, this is another tough one for parents to watch. I love the story behind this episode. I am one of those parents that have always said, "if I can put a chip in my kids head and see what they are doing at all times, I would". Well, "Arkangel" has me really rethinking that idea. "Arkangel" shows you all the problems that something like this could cause to your child. Kids with chips in their brains may not know how to properly process things like violence, eroticism, drugs and all the bad parts about growing up. I, just like the mom in this one, a great performance from Rosemarie DeWitt, am OCD, and I could never not look at my screen to see what my kids are doing. She shows a little more control that me, but I would have given in way earlier. This too has some very bad consequences. This episode should be shown to young adults that are contemplating having kids, what with all the advances in tech nowadays.

At number 4 I have "Black Museum". This was a very well done "parody" episode of "Black Mirror". A girl stops at a museum of crimes, and the majority of the exhibits are from past "Black Mirror" episodes. It was pretty cool to see them reintegrate stuff from previous seasons. The lady and the masks from "White Bear" where in there. The bees from the season 3 finale were there. The tub from "Crocodile" was there. The pad from "Arkangel" was there. It is neat. Fortunately "Black Museum" did not rehash these old "Black Mirror" episodes, but told new stories. The pain addict doctor story was nuts. The guy who puts his coma ridden baby mother's conscience in is brain was wild. But, the twist at the end was awesome. Since watching this episode, I have read that this episode was a kind of sequel to the "White Christmas" episode, and I can totally see the similarities. As I said, the twist near the end is incredible and very, very satisfying. This episode is pretty dark too, especially the pain addicted doctor. Also since watching this one, I have heard that some critics don't like it. Those critics are stupid. This was a great episode of "Black Mirror".

At number 3 I have my wife's favorite from this season, "Hang the DJ". This was one of 2 "Black Mirror" eps that have a "happy" ending. The idea behind this one, where you let a computer set you up and tell you how long you will be in a relationship with said person is so real, it is kind of scary. The 2 leads are wonderful. They have a great chemistry together. To see them go through a non-meaningful relationship, one right after the other, until they finally realize they need to be together is really sweet. That was my main takeaway from "Hang the DJ", how sweet and nice it was. My wife likes "Hang the DJ" more than the very well received "San Junipiero". Truthfully, I really like both the same. If you are looking for a nice and happy "Black Mirror", "Hang the DJ" is the right episode for you.

At number 2 I have the wonderful, and bleak, "USS Callister". Jesse Plemmons is amazing in this ep. He totally crushes his role as a put upon CTO of tech company, who is a creep that runs a virtual reality game in his apartment, placing the people he works with in a "Star Trek" type TV show. The whole way this episode was shot was awesome. It made me want to watch "Star Trek", and I have never had that feeling before. It was so cool and retro when they went into the video game world. Jesse Plemmons is very good at playing a creep. I actually felt bad for him at first, a "Black Mirror" staple, and then I found out how twisted he was and I wanted him to get what he deserved, which he does. The other actors in this ep, mainly Cristin Milioti, are awesome. They are subservient in the video game world, but in real life, they walk all over Plemmons' character. This is a classic "Black Mirror" episode. It is so perfect. Like I said, you feel bad, at first, for the main guy, find out he is a creep, then wish him or her the worst. "USS Callister" was awesome, and a great way to kick off the new season. It had me rapt and wanting to watch more. It is an awesome hour plus, and totally worth your time. 

Finally, my favorite episode of the season, which is ironically the lowest fan rated one on IMDB, is "Metalhead". "Metalhead" is the shortest episode in "Black Mirror's" short history. But, I was on edge for all 38 minutes. The episode takes place in a post apocalyptic Australia, I am guessing. It is shot in all black and white, and there are only 3 people in the entire ep. And, only one person makes it to the end, and she meets her demise as well. The three people go searching for something in a warehouse and they are greeted by a metal dog like creature that shoots shrapnel into their bodies so it can track them down, and wipe them out. It was a horrifying glimpse into what I expect the future to be like. The stuff that the one survivor from the initial meeting in the warehouse, the woman, goes through is pretty intense. Her attempts to get away from this murderous metal dog are heart racing and had me on the edge of my seat. "Metalhead" reminded me a lot of "Mad Max". Maybe that is why I liked it so much. I love heart pounding episodes like this, and "Metalhead" was perfect fro someone like me. This is a very sad episode, especially the ending, but everything leading up to that was fast paced and pulse pounding. "Metalhead" was the far and away winner of season 4 for me. I loved it.

With all this being said, "Black Mirror" rules, and season 4 was great. I highly recommend everyone check out this show, especially of you like seeing the dark side of new tech that we now have. "Black Mirror" is an achievement and a treat and I am so glad we have a show like this to watch now. I cannot wait to see where they go with the fifth season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is not aware of a program where Head Editors put chips in their associate editor's head to track their writing output. Let's not tell Ty all about this.

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This Jon Gruden Raiders Thing Will Not Be What Everyone Thinks it Will Be

Some new/old feet on the Raiders Sideline

Tomorrow Jon Gruden will be returning to the NFL as a head coach. The Oakland, soon to be Las Vegas, Raiders are giving him a 10 year, 100 million dollar contract.

Sigh

I think that all of this is nuts, and that it will blow up in the Raiders face. It needs to be said too, I like the Raiders. I think the NFL is better when blue blood teams like the Raiders are competitive. When you get that whole "Black Hole" fan base thing going on, it is a good. But, all this Gruden stuff, I am not buying any of it at all.

I know that he was successful his first go round in the NFL. He had a pretty decent team when he first coached the Raiders, and he won a Super Bowl when he moved on to Tampa. Granted, he inherited one of the greatest defenses in football when he took over the Tampa job, but still, he won a ring. Then he just up and left. After winning his ring, he stuck around for a few more 9-7 seasons and after hearing the chants die down, he bolted for the broadcast booth.

People thought he was great at this. I did not. He offered nothing of importance to me as a viewer. In fact, I found him grating and annoying. I loathed his whole "Gruden's QB Camp" bull shit show he had on ESPN. It was a half an hour to an hour long episode of him yelling and grilling soon to be rookie QB's. That show, or special, or whatever the hell it was supposed to be was dreadful. I also thought he was a terrible in game announcer. If he was calling a game with someone coaching that he knew, or even worse, a family member, it was horrible. He always sided with the coach, especially if it was his brother Jay. It was never the coaches fault, always the players. He was so, so, so bad at this. It got to the point with me that I had to mute the games when he called them. He wasn't as awful as Cris Collinsworth, no one is, but he is a solid second choice as worst sports announcer out there.

Then, nearing this playoff season, his name started to pop up for head coaching gigs. I heard his name attached to Tampa, but that ended pretty quick when it was announced that the Buccaneers were sticking with Dirk Koetter for one more year. The University of Tennessee stuff was a pipe dream that I never bought in to. And then I did not hear his name attached to any other openings, or possible openings. Then, after the disaster that was their 6-10 season, and the way they ended the year, the Raiders, one year after giving Jack Del Rio an extension, fired him. I thought this was nuts, and then Gruden's name started to come up again. All the broadcasters and writers were frothing at the mouth at the possible return of Gruden to Oakland. I just kept thinking to myself, hasn't the game passed him by? Isn't he happy with the money he is making now, and doesn't he enjoy being terrible on "Monday Night Football"? Isn't this a better overall life than becoming a NFL coach again?

Well, I guess not. He hasn't formally accepted the job yet, that comes tomorrow, but he has signed the contract. That is the only thing I can think of as to why he would come back. Ten million dollars a year for 10 years! He'd be crazy to not take that kind of money. ESPN can't offer him that. I also believe he now owns a stake in the team. This contract has everything that Gruden could have ever wanted.

I want to try and answer the questions I just asked. First off, why leave the booth. I guess, because he is horrible at that job. He is a joke. He's a gimmick. He is a worse version of Dick Vitale. His takes are garbage, and he just fat out doesn't know how to do it. Maybe coaching is better for him, or maybe not. As far as the game passing him by, I say YES to this. He has not coached in a decade. The players now, especially the QB's, are entitled. They make more than anyone else, and they are coddled more than anyone else. He won't be able to, try as he might, break Derek Carr down and force him to be the type of player he wants him to be. Carr won't take to that kind of coaching. I think Derek Carr is who he is, which is an average QB. Gruden won't take that lightly, and he will probably run him out of town. That would be horrible. How is he going to deal with a player like Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper or Marshawn Lynch? All these guys are crucial to this team, but Gruden will come in thinking he is the end all be all, and that isn't the case anymore. Players in the NFL are more important than coaches. I'd even go so far as to say that Tom Brady is more important to the Patriots than Bill Belichek is. Derek Carr is no Tom Brady, and Gruden is nowhere near the coach that Belichek is. Returning now is going to be a big time kick in the ass for Gruden. Just wait until he gets roasted on Twitter or Facebook by die hard Raiders fans. He is going to HATE it, and there is nothing he can do about it. As far as life being better, maybe he likes the misery of being a coach. Coaches don't get sleep. Coaches are always the ones to get blame. Head coaches have to game plan every aspect of the game. Is Gruden really ready to jump head first into all that right away? No way.

Enjoy the honeymoon period while it lasts Raiders fans, because this is going to blow up like a bomb in your faces. While Gruden is a big name, I just do not think he is going to be that successful in the modern NFL. He is an old school coach, and the NFL is becoming a young man's game. I'd much rather have Sean McVay than Jon Gruden as my head coach right now. That is just the way I see it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is looking forward to the day when Gruden is run out of town for a one hundred year old Jon Madden. That would be newsworthy. 

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The SeedSing NFL Playoff Preview

I've had an entire week now to pour over the upcoming NFL playoffs. First off, this "bombshell" story that ESPN dropped this morning about the Patriots, while very juicy and filled with schadenfraud for me, has no effect on how I think they will play in the playoffs. Apparently this stuff has been going on all year and they still finished 13-3. Also, why is it so crazy to now know that Tom Brady is nuts? I thought this was widely known stuff around the league. The dude has been crazy since he was playing QB at Michigan. This story was not as eye opening as was promised yesterday. It is a big no deal. Nothing new was revealed. I think anyone that has watched football for the past decade could see that something like this was coming. There are far too many egos at every important position in that organization. Nice try ESPN, but this story is tired and boring and pointless. Okay, got that out of the way, now lets get to my playoff preview.

I'll start with the AFC because every team in the playoffs not named the Steelers or Patriots are going nowhere. The AFC is as easy to predict as the NBA Finals. Lets start with the Wild Card games.

In the 4-5 matchup we have Tennessee and Kansas City. Tennessee stinks. How they made the playoffs I will never know, and I picked them at the start of the season. What is even worse for them, DeMarco Murray has been ruled out. Derrick Henry is good, but not as good as Murray. Marcus Mariota has struggled with consistency and injuries all year. The receivers are mediocre at best. Their defense is okay, but not good enough to carry this team. Mike Mularkey is a wildly average coach. Kansas City looked like early season darlings. Then they faltered, and now they seem to have righted the ship. They are giving Kareem Hunt the ball more, which is good, and Alex Smith has looked better as of late. They do have the X Factor, and that is tight end Travis Kelce. He is one of the better tight ends in the league. They have some okay wideouts too. Their defense, while not great since Eric Berry went down week one, has played much better as of late. If the Chiefs don't blow this Titans team out I would be shocked. The Chiefs will win with ease.

The other Wild Card matchup features Buffalo and Jacksonville. Buffalo unexpectedly and amazingly made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. That is great for them. Now they have to play the game, and possibly without LeSean McCoy. If McCoy doesn't play this team has zero shot. He is, by far, their only option on offense. Tyrod Taylor is an okay QB, but he won't win playoff games. They have no real outside threat. Their defense is okay, but not there yet. Jacksonville has a very mediocre offense, especially with an injury to Leonard Fournette, and Blake Bortles at QB. They have okay receivers, but again, Bortles is throwing them the ball. What Jacksonville does have is an awesome defense. They are legit top 3 in the league. They will harass Taylor all day, and if Fournette plays, it will be tough sledding. This game will be ugly, but I have Jacksonville pulling away in the third to advance to the second round.

So that would pit New England against Kansas City, a week one rematch and Pittsburgh versus Jacksonville, another rematch. New England is the best team in the playoffs, and I think they want blood for week one. The game is in Foxborough too, which will prove to be far too much for KC to overcome. While I will be rooting for the Chiefs, the Patriots will most likely blow the doors off of them. Pittsburgh-Jacksonville is a bit of a better matchup. I still like the Steelers, depending on the health of Antonio Brown. The Jags have the 2 best cover corners in the league, but the Steelers have 3 really solid receivers. They also have LeVeon Bell. They also have a defense that can get stops. It will be closer than some think, but I have the Steelers winning by a TD.

That gives us the inevitable Patriots-Steelers matchup in the AFC title game. Pittsburgh got screwed out of a win earlier this year against the Patriots, but this is a new game, and it is in Foxborough. Again, people will be talking about "distractions" from the ESPN story, and Pittsburgh can score a ton against this Patriots defense, but I just think the Patriots will end up winning. They own the Steelers. So that means the Patriots will be returning to the Super Bowl.

Now, the NFC. This conference is so much more up in the air. The teams are better, there are key injuries and it is going to be an absolute bloodbath to get through. We will start with the Wild Card matchups again.

In the 2 Wild Card games we have Atlanta-Los Angeles Rams and Carolina-New Orleans. Atlanta is back in the playoffs, but barely. They have been incredibly inconsistent all year. One week they look great, the next, terrible. Los Angeles is extremely explosive on offense, but they haven't been to the playoffs in a long time. This team is very young too. But, with that being said, I like the youth and inexperience in this game. They won't know what to expect, but that can be an advantage sometimes. They will come out and pour it on if they can. The game is in LA too, which is a big time benefit for this team. Their defense will shut down Atlanta's offense as well. The Rams will move on.

We have an inter divisional game in the other Wild Card game. Which Carolina team will show up? Will it be the competent one, where Cam Newton looks like a former MVP, or will it be the one we saw last week score 10 points in Atlanta? Therein lies the problem with Carolina. New Orleans gets to play this game at home, and they look to be fully healthy. This is also a totally different Saints teams from the past. They control clock and play solid defense. The Saint should, and probably will, win this game with relative ease.

That puts the second round matchups at Philadelphia-LA and Minnesota-New Orleans. The Eagles would have been an easy pick here, but not Carson Wentz is out, and Nick Foles has look dreadful in his place. They have great running backs that can keep the Rams offense off the filed, but it will be tough against that Rams front 7. It will be very cold in Philadelphia, which benefits the Eagles. But, Nick Foles is so bad at QB, and that will be their undoing. I think the Rams will do just enough to push their way to the NFC title game. Todd Gurley is going to be very big in this game.

Minnesota should, and will, win because this game is outdoors, and it will be violently cold. Also, their defense will shut down Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, and Drew Brees has always struggled in cold weather games. The Vikings will win with defense and ball control. It will be a snooze of a game, but that is how the Vikings win. 

That gives us a Minnesota-LA NFC title game. This is way, way off from my preseason pick. The Vikings will dominate the Rams once again. They controlled the game they played earlier in the year, and I see it happening again. The extreme cold will play a factor, and the Vikings defense will come up big.  You are welcome RD, or maybe I should say, you better hope I'm right because my predictions haven't been so great this year. But, I see the Vikings representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, that just happens to be in Minnesota this year.

While the game is in Minnesota, and as painful as it will be to root for the Vikings, I think the stinking Patriots will repeat as NFL champs. They are used to the cold. They are better coached. They have an offense that can move the ball on the Vikings defense. They will find a way to win again.

So there you have it. I have the Patriots beating the Vikings in the Super Bowl. I think the final score will be close, something like 20-14, but the Patriots will find a way. Alright, I am now ready for the NFL playoffs. Bring it on.

Ty

Editor's picks - Let me say that I think the Buffalo/Jacksonville game is the best story of the NFL season. Both of these teams have been terrible for a very long time, no one thought they would be playoff teams, and now they are pitted against each other. One of those teams will win a playoff game. That is awesome.

Who will win the game. Jacksonville will, they are a better team. The other AFC game should be Kansas City, it should be, but Andy Reid is known to blow playoff games. I am going to very reluctantly pick the Chiefs to overcome their head coach and beat the Titans.

The NFC wild card games are more up in the air. Atlanta was in the Super Bowl a year ago, and I know they have been inconsistent this year, but they will beat LA. The Rams are too young in my opinion. Flip a coin on Carolina and New Orleans. I think New Orleans will win a close game.

The Divisional round will have Pittsburgh hosting Kansas City and Jacksonville going to New England. The host teams will win both games.

The NFC will have Atlanta going to Minnesota to play in the Viking's indoor stadium (sorry Ty, their new stadium is indoors, the outdoor University of Minnesota stadium hosted the Vikings last playoff game.) I hate this matchup so much. Matt Ryan is a former MVP, Case Keenum is a game manager. Julio Jones plays for the Falcons, Minnesota does not have the corners to stop him. Atlanta will win this game, and I will be pissed. The other game pits a resurgent Saints team against a Philadelphia team who lost their best player a few weeks ago. The Eagles have not recovered from Wentz injury, the Saints will win.

The championship games will have predictable Steelers v Patriots in the AFC. The Patriots will easily win this home game. The NFC has the surprising Falcons v surprising Saints in New Orleans. That will be a great game, and the Saints will come away with the victory.

The Super Bowl will feature the heavily favored New England Patriots against the no one gives them a chance Saints. Drew Brees will have an incredible game, the Saints will win the game, Brees and Tom Brady both retire. Drew goes to the broadcast booth, Tom goes to write for Goop. The End.

RD

Ty and RD are internet masterminds. They also have a soon to be award winning podcast called The X Millennial Man.

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Ty Watches "Happy"

I have just recently caught up on the show "Happy!" on the SyFy Network. I have mentioned that I wanted to watch this show on the podcast before, and luckily for me, they had a 4 episode mini marathon last night. I watched 2 of them in real time and watched the other 2 this morning while my kids rested.

This show is insane, nuts, wild, jarring, dark, bleak, gory, filled with curse words, hard to watch at times, but above all else, totally awesome. I am fully in on this show. I am down 100 percent with what they are doing. The only thing that baffles me, why is it on SyFy? "Happy!" seems like it was destined for premium cable, networks like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. But, SyFy nabbed it. Hell, maybe they were the only network that wanted to take on a show this bizarre. But I say, good for them for taking the chance. This could be their "Always Sunny" for FX. No one else gave "Always Sunny" a chance, but FX did, and now, it is probably their best, and most well known and liked show. Maybe that is what "Happy!" will become for SyFy. We all know SyFy for the wacky and stupid D level movies they make. I believe they had the rights to a show like "Merlin", which my wife loved. And I know that they have weird make up reality shows. What all this tells me, SyFy was a niche, yet sometimes, dumb channel. They have average at best programming. But, "Happy!" could very well be changing all of that.

Like I said, this show is wild. It is based on a graphic novel, of which I have never heard of, but now want to read. It stars Christopher Meloni as a disgraced ex-cop in New York City. Meloni shines on this show. He is amazing. In fact I told RD last night, I feel like he took his character from "Wet Hot", and just made him about 10 times crazier, and it totally works. When he is introduced in the first episode, staring at his face in a dingy bar bathroom, it is great. He then proceeds to have a dream where he blows his brains out, but the way they shot it, it was like a fever dream dance sequence. It was AMAZING. What a great, great way to start off your show. It hooked me immediately. The colors flowing from his head, the weird dancers dancing around him and the upbeat music, it was just so perfect. When he comes to, things start to take place. We find out he is a disgraced cop. We find out that he is now a hitman for hire, of sorts. We find out he is a drunk. We find out he hangs with lowlife scumbags. He is just a down on his luck nobody.

In the pilot episode we also meet a little girl named Haley that gets abducted by the scariest looking Santa that I have ever seen. This guy that plays Santa on "Happy!" is an absolute creep. I literally get sick to my stomach anytime I see him on screen. I have to workout while I watch just so I don't turn my head away in disgust. Through this little girl is how we meet Happy. Happy is a blue unicorn that flies around helping Haley out. He is her imaginary friend. Happy is voiced by Patton Oswalt, and I cannot think of a better person to have cast to do this voice. His upbeat tone and nature is so perfect because of how different it is from everything else on this show. We only think that Haley can see Happy, but after brutally killing three gangsters that he was hired to kill, and falling out a window, we do find out that Happy has tracked down Sacks, that is Meloni's character's name, and Sacks can see him too. Apparently, minor spoiler alert if you haven't watched the show yet, Haley is Sacks daughter, and she sent Happy to find him to come and save her from this demented Santa that has kidnapped her, along with about 5 or 6 other kids.

In the first 4 episodes I have seen things on this show that have made me laugh, blush, feel sick, disgusted me and made me think about hours after watching. But, above all else, I keep going back because this show is very well made. It is brutally violent. I cannot understate that enough. I am talking about some "History of Violence" or "Eastern Promises" type stuff on a basic cable show. The show is also unedited. There are curse words and nudity in every episode. And the demented Santa is very terrifying. Do not, I repeat DO NOT let anyone under 18 watch this show, it will haunt them. But, I am 35, and I love it.

I'm excited to see where "Happy" goes form here. Happy and Sacks are now working together to find Hailey. There is an entire second story involving local mob and corrupt police. We have a mom dealing with the loss of her child. We have flashbacks to when Sacks was still a "hero".

"Happy!" is a very good crime show. I recommend people watch it with the caveat of knowing that it is not for the faint of stomach. It is brutal. But, check it out. Meloni is so awesome on the show, and Patton Oswalt is crushing it as a blue unicorn. I know it sounds weird, but it works.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also has an imiganary friend who helps out in times of need. Walter the Wolverine is there to take Ty's abuse when Michigan Football is not doing very well.

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