Anthony Davis to the Warriors Would Also Make the NBA Unwatchable

A week ago I wrote, pleading to LeBron, to not join the Warriors. It looks like that is a pipe dream, as it should be, but the Warriors are in the mix for another superstar, and they wouldn't really have to give up too much to get him.

I have read and heard rumors that the Warriors are going to go hard after Anthony Davis this summer. First off, please, please, please do not let this happen. This would be just as bad as if LeBron joined the Warriors. I would be very hesitant to watch any of the regular season, or the playoffs, if this happened. And as I said last week, and on Monday, the NBA is only second to college football as my favorite sport to watch. But, if the Warriors are able to acquire Davis, without having to give up one of their 4 All Stars, what would be the point of watching? This would give them an actual center, even though Davis claims to be a 4, and a center who is entering his prime and was an MVP candidate last year.

The proposed package that I have seen would be Andre Iguodala, Jordan Bell and some picks for Davis. That is one of the most one sided trades that I would ever see in basketball, if it were to happen. I know that Iguodala is extremely important to the Warriors, but they can win, right now, without him. Hell, they did that for the first 3 rounds and the first 2 games of the playoffs. I know that he is their lock down defender, and one of the few guys that can "slow down" LeBron, but he is old in NBA terms. I know he is a sometimes shooter who can sometimes be lethal, but not anymore. He passed up tons of open looks in the 2 finals games he played because I think he thought he didn't have the legs. As far as Bell goes, he will be a second year guy that hasn't done much. I know he was a spark off the bench for the Warriors, and he was a solid rebounder, but isn't that is ceiling? I don't really think, as much as I like him, that Bell is ever going to become an All Star, and he will only be a starter on a team that is either tanking, or a fringe playoff contender. And I know he had his moments in the finals, but so did JaVale McGee. I think the team around him made him much better as a rookie than many thought. Then we have the picks. I know draft picks are very valuable in the NBA, but that is only lottery picks. Will the Warriors ever be in the lottery? Not unless something really terrible happens. So, that means that they will be in the 28, 29 or 30 range. There aren't too many superstars or even fringe all stars that get picked that late in the first round.

That is all the Warriors would have to give up, in this reported purposed deal, to get Anthony Davis. That is insane. The Pelicans would be insane to do this. The NBA would be stupid to let this happen. This would totally dampen down the game very, very much. The West, and this is even if LeBron goes to a West team, would be pointless. The Warriors would run ramshackle through the conference. The James thing was a rumor, but this Davis thing feels real.

Say it happens, I know that some will say this will crush their chance at depth, but I disagree. First off, a starting 5 of Davis, Draymond, KD, Steph and Klay is more than enough for this team to win 75-78 games, even if they go 50 percent. Then, I feel like they can poach ring chasers, at the league minimum, to fill out the rest of the roster. They can go out and get guys that have made money, been starters and now, just want rings. Look at David West. He was an all star before signing with the Warriors 2 years ago. Now, he is a 2 time champion who barely saw the floor in the playoffs this year. They could easily get guys like Trevor Ariza, JJ Redick, Brook Lopez and Serge Ibaka, just to name a few. These guys have been in the league long enough, that by now, all they should want are rings. They don't need the money either.

I really don't want this to happen from an esthetic point of view too. This would be, like I said, just as bad as LeBron joining, but it might be worse. Davis would fit ideally in with the Warriors. He isn't ball dominant like LeBron. He is a true center, which the Warriors need. He is young. He is entering his prime. He is a great scorer with, or without the ball. He is a great rim protector and rebounder. He has everything that the Warriors "need". But, like I said Monday and last week, it would be pointless to even watch. The outcome would be easier to pick than it has the past 4 years. I wouldn't tune in to watch a midseason game between the Warriors and Rockets. I wouldn't care about the first 3 rounds of the playoffs. I would tune in just to see who the Warriors would sweep in the Finals, but that would be about it.

I don't like where the NBA is headed. I don't like these guys jumping on the bandwagon of teams they cannot beat themselves. There is no competition anymore. Guys just want to play with their buddies. This would be like a pickup game where one team is clearly better than the other because they got all the height and skill because they all teamed up on the other players. I'm not a fan of the super teams. I'm not a fan of ring chasers. I want these players to stick it out and win a title the "right" way.

I'm pretty sure Davis will stay in New Orleans, but the fact that I am writing about it today means that this is a real thing that could really happen. Lets hope it doesn't.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

A Non-Coffee Drinker Finds Joy in Cold Brew Coffee

I was never a coffee drinker. As I kid, I didn't like the smell of it, so I never asked my dad to try it. My mom didn't drink it either, and since she was the at home parent, it wasn't ever really an option. As I got older, high school age, I had friends who drank coffee regularly. But, I still wasn't interested. I was also the one kid who didn't drink alcohol, and I still don't, in my whole school, so the fact that I didn't drink coffee was not surprising to anyone. Even when I left college and started working in the real world, coffee was never an option. I still didn't like the smell, and the few sips I had were far too strong. That was my own doing, being that I tried my father's coffee, and he used to drink it black. I still stayed away even after my son was born. But, the tiredness was starting to take over, this was in the first year of his life, so I wasn't an at home dad yet, and I needed something. I tried Diet Coke for awhile, but that used to upset my stomach in the morning, and no one should ever be drinking soda at 7am. I tried tea for awhile, but it was either much too hot, or again, too strong for me, even if I added sweetener. What is a tired man to do?

My wife finally convinced me, around 6 years ago, to give coffee another shot. I moaned and groaned that it would be too strong and mess up my stomach. She then introduced me to the concept of cream and fake sweetener being added to coffee. At first, it was just a little cream and Splenda because I didn't want too much coffee. But, the more I drank it, this sweetened version of it, the more I started to like it. I do have to say to all the coffee purists and snobs out there, I sweeten the shit out of my coffee, so please don't come at me and tell me I am not a real coffee drinker. I don't drink it for the taste, I drink it for the caffeine and the fact that I can add stuff to make it palatable for me is just an added bonus. So, after getting the right amount of cream and Splenda in my coffee, I became, in my mind, an adult that enjoys a coffee every morning. I now drink it everyday with breakfast, and sometimes, I may even have a cup in the afternoon. I enjoy going to local coffee shops to try out what they have. I go to Starbucks occasionally, but lately I have been more of a Kaldi's man. Coffee shops are neat little places, and even the major chain places, like Starbucks and Kaldi's, have their own kind of charm.

Recently though I have found my new coffee obsession. It has been brutally hot in Saint Louis ever since schools let out here, in late May, so a hot cup of coffee in the morning, while I still have one almost every morning, isn't as appealing as it should be. But, again, thanks to my wife, I have started to drink iced coffee, and my new favorite thing, cold brew coffee.

It is amazing.

The fact that the coffee can still be doctored up with cream and fake sugar, and be "refreshing" is so awesome. I had an iced coffee from Starbucks this morning because I didn't have time to make one before taking my son to camp. And it was great. It paired very nicely with the sous vide eggs I got. My wife and I now love to buy Stok brank cold brew coffee from the grocery store. It comes in a jug, akin to milk, and we put some in our Yeti cups, add cream, fake sugar and ice, and it is wonderful. We usually have that in the afternoon on the weekends too, when our kids are taking a nap and having "quiet time". I like the local shops version of iced coffee too. Every local shop has their own brand of beans they use, and I like them all.

This whole cold brew thing is simply amazing to me. I don't know exactly how it works, but the fact that they brew it, make it cold, then add ice and you can do whatever you want from there, is remarkable. I'm a big time fan of buying the Target brand, Up and Up, bottles of cold brew that they sell in their stores. The cinnamon flavor is great. But, when it comes to cold brew coffee, it gets no better, for me, than what Kaldi's is doing. I don't know what they do, or how they brew it, but their cold brew is out of this world. I treat myself to this once a week, usually on the weekends so my wife can have one as well, and it is so good. The coffee at Kaldi's is already much better than any other chain I've been to, but that added flavor of some kind of berry, I can't quite put my finger on it, makes their cold brew stand out. I don't even have to add too much cream or Splenda to it because it is so good on its own. The berry gives it a natural sweetness, and it tastes so god damn good. Kaldi's cold brew is something I will drink year round if they sell it year round.

I know that I am a novice when it comes to coffee. I know that what I drink isn't "real" coffee. I know that purists are probably super angry with me right now. But, I do know that Kaldi's cold brew coffee is a joy and I cannot wait to have another one in a few days. I like coffee, I love cold brew coffee.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is starting to catch up on food trends from the last decade. He is all in on food trucks, with a look at bone broth and raw water coming up next.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Terrible 2018 NBA Finals Were the Conclusion to a Terrible 2018 NBA Playoffs

The NBA Finals ended last Friday night, and like almost everyone predicted, including myself, the Warriors swept the Cavs. Game 4 was an absolute joke in fact. But, when reflecting back, this whole Finals, and besides 2 rounds, the NBA playoffs were, as a whole, pretty rough.

I love the NBA, but this past month plus of playoff basketball was not very fun to watch. The first round was pretty rough, save for the Cleveland-Indiana series, and that wasn't even top notch basketball. I mean, the Warriors beat the hobbled Spurs in 5, Houston dismantled Minnesota in 5, the Pelicans stomped on the Blazers and Utah blasted OKC. The first round in the West was pretty bad, and mostly predictable. In the East, we have the Cleveland-Indiana series, but, even though it went 7, only LeBron and Victor Oladipo were worth watching. Everything else about that series was rough. Toronto lost 2 to Washington, but we all knew that the Raptors would win that series with ease. Boston had little to no problem with the Bucks, even though Giannis did get 2 wins, and the 76ers, who it was very nice to see them back in the playoffs, dispatched of the Heat with relative ease.

The second round was not any better. In the West, the Rockets easily handled the Jazz in 5, all but showing the rest of the world that Donovan Mitchell was still a rookie. The Warriors gave Anthony Davis one game, but when they decided to care, they hammered the Pelicans. In the East, the Cavs, who clearly own this team, swept the shit out of the Raptors and the Celtics, fully without Kyrie Irving now, surprisingly, and with ease, beat the 76ers in 6.

The conference finals were the only good thing about the playoffs this year. Both series were hard fought and contested. Both series went 7 games. LeBron was amazing in the East. Even though they got beat, I thought James Harden played much better than he ever has this deep in the playoffs. But, the Warriors, after going down 3-2, reminded everyone how great, and how stacked, they really are.

Then we got the fourth straight year of Cavs-Warriors. On paper, and in reality for that matter, this was the most lopsided matchup of these teams since they have faced each other in the Finals. The Cavs are just not a good team. They were not nearly as good on offense this year as they were last year, when the Warriors beat them in 5 games. Losing a player of Kyrie Irving's talent will do that though. This year, probably since only his first couple of years in the league, LeBron had to do EVERYTHING for the Cavs to even have a shot at winning one game. And boy oh boy were they a historically bad defensive team. That showed tenfold these past 4 games. They were just horrendous on that end of the floor. And for the Warriors, this was a cake walk compared to every team they faced in the West playoffs. This is of no disrespect to LeBron, but that Cavs team, and I honestly believe this, would have gotten beat by the Pelicans in the Finals. They were so bad.

With that being said, the Cavs did have a shot to win a game, game one. I wrote all about that monstrosity of officiating and JR Smith and the lack of calling a timeout when you had one and wasting a 50 point plus performance in the Finals from LeBron last week. You can go check out my full thoughts on that. Game 2 was pointless. Steph came out, lit up Oracle Arena and set a record, making 9 threes in a Finals game. Oh, and Klay and KD did their usual thing. I also thought it was hilarious that people thought Klay was going to miss time with a minor injury. That nonsense made me laugh. The Cavs had another shot at a win in game 3, leading by double figures the first half. But KD took over, scored 43 and the Warrior won by 8. Oh, did I mention that they only got 21 points combined from Steph and Klay in that game too? Well, they did. And where has Draymond been all series you may be asking? He played fine defense, but he was a zero on offense. That is how stacked, and almost unfair, this Warriors team is. Three of their four main guys can have a terrible game, but never fear, KD will play the best game of the series, and they will win. Then game 4 was just stupid. RD even texted me at one point, and this was early in the fourth quarter, that this game was gross. I couldn't have agreed more. Game four was a funeral. It was one of the worst closeout games I have ever watched. The Cavs gave up, surrendered, and it showed. Hell, LeBron would only shake hands with the Warriors starters when he checked out, and no one called him out on his poor sportsmanship. People praised him for leaving the floor, as to not show too much emotion. And his "injury" news was some of the fakest shit I have ever seen. LeBron is a masterful basketball player, but all this "woe is me" stuff needs to stop. No one feels sorry for you LeBron.

When the final buzzer sounded, and the Warriors were "celebrating", I was left with a very hollow season. It was what we all expected, but it just felt weird. I wasn't excited. I knew this was coming. I knew KD was going to be the MVP. I knew that the players would talk about how this season was "tougher", and this "journey was different". None of that is true. They knew they were going to win a bunch of titles 2 years ago when they lured KD there. They are a real life cheat code, and it has made the playoffs kind of a drag. We all know now who is going to win, or at least, who should win. And going into next season, surprise surprise, the Warriors are the odds on favorites to win again. This NBA Finals were really a snap shot of how predictable and dull the Finals are going to be in the future.

I guess congrats are in order for the Warriors, but it is getting kind of boring being able to easily predict this stuff every year. I guess this will just make it even sweeter when someone finally knocks them off, whenever that may be.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

If LeBron Joins the Warriors there Will Be No Reason to Watch the NBA

Yesterday a report, coming from Stephen A Smith so take it with the biggest grain of salt you can find, came out that LeBron James will meet with the Warriors this offseason. If this happens, and I'm speaking of the meeting, I will be very, very pissed off. If it goes any further than a meeting, there will be absolutely no point to even watch the NBA next season, a sport I adore.

It is not new news that LeBron is a free agent when this season ends, probably tonight, and he is free to go anywhere. The speculation has been all over the map. At first, it was only the Lakers. He was seen spotted in LA looking at private schools, and he owns a very nice home there. But, doesn't every NBA player, or major NBA players, live in LA in the offseason? All the big time guys have outside interests, mostly in the entertainment industry, and LA is the best place to be to develop connections and make the most money you can. I take zero stock in the fact that he was looking at schools, and he has a home there. Since the middle of the season, the Lakers have kind of fallen off. There is a bit of a resurgence recently, but the Lakers seem unlikely.

After them, it was the Rockets. He was going to go play with his best friend in the league, Chris Paul, and they would finally be able to challenge the mighty Warriors. The three headed monster of LeBron, CP3 and Harden would be more than enough. But, they realized that they would have to get rid of some important people, mainly Clint Capela, and those talks have died down. I know that Vegas still thinks the Rockets have a good shot at getting him, but recent reports have said they will need a max deal to keep Paul, that shouldn't happen, and Capela is going to get paid by someone, and the Rockets better hope it is them because he is about to become a multiple All Star.

Recently it has been the Cavs and 76ers at the front of all the talks. In Cleveland he can do whatever he wants. He is Thanos, he is all powerful. He can snap his fingers and anyone he wants gone, they are gone. He can also bring in whoever he wants. He has carte blanche. He was instrumental in bringing in Kevin Love, Kyle Korver, JR Smith, and countless other veterans that he wants to have on his team. He is also the guy that runs everything on the floor. He controls the offense and he makes the decisions. He calls the timeouts and he picks when and where he wants to come out ad rest, or if he wants to play all 48 minutes. He controls the Cavs. As far as the 76ers goes, he could go to a young, but hyper talented team, and easily lead them to the finals every year. Me personally, I am not a fan of this, but if he wants that easy path to a shot at a title every year, the 76ers are in the East, they have the best young players in the league, and he could come in and be the super duper star that they need to push them over the top. Philadelphia, in theory, makes the most sense outside of him staying in Cleveland.

If all LeBron wants is an easy path, and to spend the rest of his career playing 28 minutes a game, and not having to worry about competition, then by all means, join the Warriors. This would be a brutal blow to the NBA. But, as I said, if LeBron doesn't want a challenge, and just wants to be one of the guys, not "the guy", then join the Warriors. If he were to do this, that Warriors team, even if they only had their 5 starters and 2 bench guys, could easily win 80 games, and sweep their way to a title. The starting five would be Steph, Klay. KD, LeBron and Draymond Green. All five All Star starters. They could throw RD and I on their bench and we would win the title. It would make for must see TV for about a week, but after that, watching games would be pointless. Would anyone really want to go see a midseason game between Golden State and say, I'll even pick a decent team, the Rockets? Not anyone outside those 2 cities. And I think even the Rockets fans might pass on that game. The great thing about sports is how dramatic it can be, but if LeBron were to join the Warriors, all that dram would be gone. The Warriors would easily win every game, even if they only gave 50 percent.

I also think it is terrible because LeBron is used to being the alpha. He is used to being the guy with the ball in his hands. He is used to getting every big shot. He is used to being catered by his teammates. That would destroy everything that Golden State has built these past three seasons. While I don't like the Warriors, I love their style of play. They are a newer, better and younger version of vintage Spurs. They play pure basketball, getting the ball to open shooters for the best possible shot. LeBron would halt all of that. He needs the ball in his hands to be as effective as he can be. Also, this is Steph's team. Sure, some may say that KD has taken over, but he hasn't. Steph is who the fans come to see. Steph is the one with the ball in his hands at the end of the game. More kids have Steph's jersey than any other player in the NBA. Then, second is KD. Then third is Klay. If LeBron signs there, he would be fighting with Draymond as the fourth most important player. Can he handle that? No freaking way.

This is a horrible idea on so many levels, and I really, truly hope it doesn't happen. I don't think it will, but I also didn't think that KD would join the Warriors 2 years ago. If the NBA gods have any sense, they won't let this happen.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

John Beilein is Staying at Michigan. That is Great News

Yesterday John Beilein confirmed that he is returning to coach the university of Michigan men's basketball team. Today he even said that he wants to finish his coaching career at Michigan. All of this comes about a week after he was made the odds on favorite to land the open Detroit Pistons head coaching job. I had very mixed emotions about all of this.

First off, I am not a Pistons fan, but I do not have the same visceral hatred for them as I do the LA Clippers. I am very indifferent when it comes to the Pistons. But, I know that there were many, many fans in Detroit that were very shook up by this news. They have love for Beilein, but I also think they thought that he would have been a good choice for the Pistons. It had to be hard for them to choose between their love for their pro team and their college team. I get it in the college sense, but as I said, I don't really care either way about the Pistons.

I was also feeling very odd about the news because it isn't Michigan's basketball coach that is always rumored to be going to the pros, it is their football coach. Every year since Jim Harbaugh has taken over Michigan's football team, some journalist or talking head has said that he will be leaving for the NFL. This has been going on for four years now. I'm used to the rumors, and to be quite frank, I always expect him to bolt. But, for John Beilein to be the one that was going to jump to the pros, it kind of shook me.

Coach Beilein has done wonders at Michigan. When he took over around 11 years ago, that team was a mess. They were still reeling from the Fab Five and Robert Traylor sanctions, and they were at the bottom of the Big Ten. Since then, they have slowly crept their way to, at least, being in the top half of the Big Ten, ranked in the top 25 every year and pretty much always an NCAA tournament team. He has also taken Michigan to 2 Final Four's and 2 title games. He has done all of this with, mostly, guys that were under recruited in high school. Yes, he pulled in some big time guys, Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III and Tim Hardaway Jr all come to mind. But, he has done most of his damage with the less heralded recruits. Trey Burke was Mr. Ohio basketball, but not even the University of Ohio State would recruit him. They said they didn't have space for him. And look at what Burke did in his 3 years at Michigan. He led them to a national title appearance, won NCAA player of the year, hit that spectacular shot against KU and was a lottery pick. I give Burke most of the credit, but it was Beilein's system and coaching that really made him a great college player. There is also a guy like Nik Stauskas. No one knew much of this scrawny kid out of Canada. But, he came to Michigan, became a lethal three point shooter and he also became a lottery pick. Again, I give a ton of credit to Beilein for doing that. Or take someone like Jordan Morgan, Beilein's first real big man. For those that know, Beilein likes to run a space and pace offense with shooters everywhere, and one big guy to rebound. Well, Morgan could rebound and defend, but he also became a very capable scorer under Beilein's tutelage. He now has a successful career overseas. And we have guys like Darius Morris, who was kind of a big time recruit, came to Michigan, struggled his freshman year, learned the offense, had a great sophomore year and turned that into a pro career. Manny Harris is another guy that thrived under Beilein.

I then look at the team from last year. After the plane crash, then going on to win the Big Ten tournament, and make a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. That was amazing, and he did it with very unheralded recruits. Zak Irvin was a big time contributor on that team. Mo Wagner was still learning the college game. DJ Wilson blossomed in the tournament. Muhammed Ali Abdur Rahkmann was still figuring it out. And Derrick Walton, I don't think I have ever trusted a player with a coach's system since the Fab Five guys, as I did with Walton and Beilein's system. Walton Jr was incredible at running the super intricate plays that Beilein puts in there, and they had a great run.

Then we have last season. After Walton Jr and Irvin graduated, and DJ Wilson declared for the draft, I did not expect much from Michigan. I figured they would be a tournament team, and maybe make it to the second round, but that was it. But, with Wagner finally playing well and Abdur Rahkmann easily stepping into the Derrick Walton role, and Zavier Simpson doing great things and Jon Teske being a great back up center, and all those freshman, Isiah Livers and Jordan Poole come to mind, this team pushed all the way to the title game. Yes, they got throttled, but they made it there, and I give all the credit in the world to John Beilein for that. He turned these 3 and 4 star guys into a great team. Michigan doesn't need the "one and done" guys with Beilein there. He will develop guys.

So, that was why I was a little shook when he was interviewing for the Pistons job, and then especially when everyone thought he was going to get it. He just feels like a college coach to me. He is where he belongs. And hey, I would have not blamed him for one second of he took the Pistons job. I fully understand wanting to compete at the highest level to see if you can hack it. I have heard numerous people say it, and it is very true, there are only 30 head coaching jobs in the NBA, so if someone wants you, you must be doing something right. He has earned the right to have his choice. But boy am I glad he stayed at Michigan. I truly do hope he stays there for the rest of his career because he has made me care about their basketball team once again. I still love their football team with all of my heart, when it comes to sports, but I am starting to get there with the basketball program too. That is all due to John Beilein.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

SeedSing Classic: Please Leave Me out of Your Cool Beard Club

Behold hairy magnificence 

SeedSing classic is a look back at our most influential articles. These pieces have been presented in their original form. No Star Warsesque special editions. Enjoy

I've been writing about sports, music , TV and movies a lot lately.

Today, I'm going to go way off topic and talk about beards. I have a beard, but I'm not happy with the way I'm treated because I have a beard.

Now, I'm not treated poorly or differently from people without beards but, when I see another person with a beard they always seem to want to talk to me. I don't even know these people, but they feel a connection to me because we both have beards. Minus the facial hair, I'm sure we have nothing in common. These guys who share the same facial hair choice with me seem to be really into grooming their beards. They have them shaved in certain, "fashionable" ways or they have them combed in a specific way, or they have it in almost a hairdo type of way. Me, I have a "I'm too lazy to shave" type of way. I know that it's hip and cool to have a beard now. It's the new fashion trend for men. Much like the skinny jean or the glasses with no lenses, beards are having their day. The problem I have is the hipsters that groom these beards. You see guys out there with their handlebar mustaches that now have an equally groomed beard. This sickens me. Or, guys who have faux hawks and have a beard. How much more of a douchebag can you be. I'm a big Bryce Harper fan, but he looks like the definition of a douchebag frat boy with his hairdo and beard. There's also the guys with the "gruff" beard. This is done purposefully by these people. Just like shaggy hair was a thing in high school, having a "gruff"(I put it in quotes because these guys chose this look, they're doing it on purpose) beard is in. I believe the term thrown around is a "lumberjack beard". Do you know why lumberjack's have beards? It's not a fashion statement, these guys work in the absolute freezing cold, so a beard is just another layer of warmth for them. They don't do it to be fashionable, they do it to stay warm.

Now, I've had a beard for about 4 years straight. I shaved it completely off once because I lost 100 pounds and I wanted to see what my face looked like, but for most of my sons life, he's three and a half, I've had a full beard. I don't know why I started to grow it when I did. I guess it was because I started to lose my hair. I started going bald about eight years ago, but I was fully bald about five years ago. So, I guess I wanted to have hair somewhere on my face, so I chose a beard. When I started to grow it, I had bald patches right by my cheeks, so it took awhile for a full, big beard to grow. I didn't grow it big for fashion reasons, I grew it big so it looked full. It was around this same time that I noticed beards popping up almost everywhere. I'd go to the grocery store or the movies or even the mall, and about fifty percent of men had beards. No one was really doing anything fashionable at this time though. I was also given my first business card from a stranger promoting his beard grooming barber shop. This was when I started to become disillusioned with beards because I knew that something douchey and hipstery was coming.

And boy did it come with a huge explosion. I'd say the number jumped to about seventy five percent of men with beards (numbers are not exact). Still, I wasn't going to shave. Personally, I like having a beard because I feel that my face looks young without it. I like looking older. About nine months ago I had a normal sized beard, not too big, not too small. My wife told me she was pregnant with our second child and after an embrace, lots of hugs and kisses, I told her I wasn't going to shave until the baby was born. We are now six days away from the birth of my daughter. My beard is humongous(see above picture). I'm excited to get it trimmed after the baby is born because it is getting tangled and it's hard to clean thoroughly in the shower, basically it's more a hassle than anything else. Like I said, I'm going to keep my beard, but it doesn't need to be this huge.

The next thing I'm going to tell you almost made me shave my beard off last week. I was at Target with my wife and son and my parents. We were going through the check out aisle and another gentleman, a very nice guy in fact, came up to me with a business card, that's two for those of you counting out there, and it simply read, "Sweet Beard". This was all I saw at first, and even though this guy was very nice, I was angry. I was sick and tired of guys slapping me five or talking to me about grooming beards or casually telling me "nice beard" from a distance. I was fed up and I didn't want this card. I looked at him with a grimace on my face and quietly and angrily said "Thanks". I think he sensed my anger and softly told me, "my shop for beard grooming is on the back if you want to come by and get a trim". As I said, he was very nice and there was no need for me to be so mad. But then I looked at his beard and became even more upset. He had a HUGE beard, perfectly groomed. I wanted to scream at him, "I DIDN'T DO THIS FOR FASHION REASONS, I"M JUST LAZY!" I didn't do that because I'm a human being and I understand that I shouldn't act like a crazed lunatic to someone that's being nice to me (I have the internet as a place to act like a crazed lunatic).

But this brings me to the most important thing in my piece. I just cracked why I choose to have a beard. It was simple and has been staring me in the face for four years now. I'm lazy. I don't like to shave and the clean up afterward is too much. I don't like keeping my trimmers charged and I'm not going to use a straight razor because they burn my face. See, I found multiple reasons why I won't, but someone will read this and think that all that stuff is easy to do. But like I just said, I'm lazy. I'm not fashionable by any means necessary, and I didn't grow this beard to be "cool", I did it because I'm lazy.

It's as simple as that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This article may be a little dated, but that beard is still present in it's magnificent glory.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Any Good American Needs to Celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles

Not once, but twice I have found myself rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles this year. First was the Super Bowl, when they defeated the New England Patriots, thus not only winning for their city, but for the majority of NFL fans out there. Now, I cheer for them because of what they have made that repugnant, disgusting, racist, amorphous blob that currently resides in the White House release yesterday.

In a statement, the "president" (not my president), rescinded their invite to the White house today to celebrate their Super Bowl win. Every team, pretty much every year, that wins a title in a major sport goes to the White House to celebrate. This is supposed to be a big deal. It is supposed to be an honor. It is supposed to be something that we all see and say, hey, these athletes did something special. But, ever since that racist, pile of garbage, dip shit of a person took over as "president", more and more title winning teams are refusing to go and visit him and his cronies, and it is getting under his skin now. Sure, the Cubs went last year, but no one of real importance was there, with the exception of Joe Maddon, and he looked absolutely miserable. And yeah, the Penguins went a year ago, but hockey is stupid, and who really cares. But, the Warriors didn't go last year. The UNC Tarheels skipped their trip a year ago. I'm pretty sure Villanova won't be visiting any time soon. And now we have the Eagles. It was pretty much common knowledge that none of them were going to go. Well, scratch that, I think less than 10 of the players on the roster were willing to visit.

When you look at some of the guys on the team, you knew they wouldn't go and give that monster the time of day. Malcom Jenkins is one of the biggest protesters in the NFL, and he also happens to be a big time guy in the NFLPA, and we all knew he wouldn't go. Same with Chris Long. He has been very outspoken about his political beliefs, and I love that. He also played this past season, and he gave all of the game checks he made to random charities. That is a true American. I know Nick Foles had zero intentions of going to the White House after the Eagles won. He said as much. And I'm pretty sure guys like Brandon Graham, Jay Ajayi, Legarette Blount, Corey Clement, Alshon Jeffrey, hell, 99 percent of the roster, had no real intentions of going to see those pricks in D.C. As I said, they have been very outspoken on how much they despise and are concerned by what is going on in Washington, and I love that about them.

So, for this piece of white trash to come out and basically say, I'm taking my ball and going home, or you were never invited in the first place, shows how immature and unfit he is for the position he cheated his way into "winning". If I've said it once, I have said it a million times. You cannot rescind an invitation that was already declined. The Eagles, the majority of them that is, already came out weeks, hell, months ago and said they wouldn't go. Now, this nonsense comes out. Oh, and for Fox News to put that story out that they did, the one with a picture of Zak Ertz kneeling and praying before a game, saying he was protesting, do your god damn research. Even me, a blogger from Saint Louis, knows that he prays before every game. How can an entire company be so off base? And good for Ertz to come out and chastise them and call them "fake news", which is their favorite term to use. Mad props to him for going public and letting them know that they were wrong.

You can see how all of this is starting to really goad the "president" and his cronies. They are really starting to lose their shit because famous pro athletes, that win without cheating, are not going to "kiss the ring". They want to stay as far away from all that nonsense as possible. They don't want to be seen with that "person". They loathe him and what he has done in less than 2 years. This is what a racist deserves. They don't need to be praised, they need to chastised. They need to be held accountable for their wrong doings. They need to be shunned. They need to be shown for the monsters they are.

To really hammer home their point, that athletes are people too, both LeBron James and Steph Curry came out today and said that neither team, whichever one wins the NBA Finals, will be visiting the White House any time soon. LeBron went out there and spoke his mind once again, and much like the Eagles players, I love him for that, Steph too. Kids are seeing this. My kids are seeing this, and seeing that they can stand up to bullies, and that makes me so very proud.

I hope star athletes and more famous people continue to speak their minds. We are fed up. There are monsters "running" the country right now, and we need more and more people to continue to speak their minds. Thank you Steph, LeBron, and most importantly for today, the Philadelphia Eagles. Thank you for what you are doing. You are the real patriots. You are the real Americans.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants all Eagles players and fans to know they are welcome at his house anytime. Just please leave the batteries at home.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Quench Gum Still Exists and it is Still Awesome

Think of this, but in gum form

A few weeks back, when my son's school year ended, he told me wanted to go to a comic book store and the candy store as his "treat" for finishing out the year. I was pretty happy about this because it meant we got to go to The Loop here in Saint Louis. The Loop is a cool little strip of wacky and vintage clothing stores, art stores, record stores, great dining options, the best movie theater in the state, and of course, a comic book store and a candy shop. We went and did the comic book thing, and he was stoked. Me, I'm not a big comic book guy, but he loved it. After we finished up there, we headed over to the candy store. The place in The Loop is called Rocket Fizz, and it has all different kinds of candy. It has new stuff, old stuff, crazy sodas, with flavors like buffalo wing and bacon, it is just a cool, old school candy shop. They also sell old school concert posters, movie posters and they have those big cut outs of characters from popular movies that they sell as well. My son picked out a bag filled with a bunch of different salt water taffy, a solid choice, and my daughter wanted some Dots, an even better choice. I figured since I was there, I would indulge. I got myself a fancy root beer, some Altoid cinnamon mints, my favorites, and then I spotted something I thought I would never see again.

When I was a kid playing little league baseball, I used to chew Big League Chew gum. It made me feel like a major league baseball player. But, as I got older, I started to dislike the taste, and the powdered substance it left on my face was just ridiculous. I was in a local sporting goods store when I was about 10, and I saw this new gum called Quench Gum. It was essentially Gatorade in gum form. As I 10 year old that was all I needed to hear. I wanted that gum. I needed that gum. And my parents, being as great as they are, obliged and bought me some. I was hooked. It really did quench my thirst, I thought, and I chewed it all the time. It was so sweet and delicious and perfect for chewing during one of my games. I used to have packs and packs just stuffed into my baseball bag. My teammates loved it too, and we all started to choose Quench over Big League Chew.

By the time I was playing high school baseball, Quench Gum was gone, replaced by sunflower seeds. That was all I chewed for all 4 years of high school baseball. It was all about sunflower seeds. But, from time to time I would go to that same sporting goods store and ask if they were ever going to get any Quench Gum. I was almost always met with a blank stare.

This brings me back to Rocket Fizz. Not only did they have my favorite flavor of Quench Gum, orange fruit punch, they had all the flavors. I was so extremely happy. Now, I didn't go nuts and buy one pack of each, I just bought the orange fruit punch. The moment I got home I had to try it immediately, and I did, and I had the total opposite reaction as to when I ate that Hostess chocolate pie. Quench Gum was just as juicy and wonderful as I remembered it when I was 10. I was so happy. It was perfect. I chewed and chewed until it lost its flavor, which happens in about 5 minutes. But, those five minutes when the flavor explodes in your mouth, it is amazing. It really does taste like a sports drink. It really does quench your thirst. It does what it promises. With the losing its flavor after 5 minutes, so what. Fruit Stripes gum, which I also love, is the same. So is Big League Chew. Same with Bubble Tape or the single wrapped Bubble Gum flavored Yubba Bubba. The only gum that keeps its flavor is minty gum because it is supposed to. Gum like Quench Gum is meant to give you that immediate pleasure, go away, and have you coming back for more. It achieves that goal tenfold. I am chewing some while I type this, and I will probably chew some more when I go for a run later today. I love this stuff.

It was such a great surprise to see Quench Gum sitting on the shelf at this candy store. I will definitely be going back to get some more in the very near future. I do have to try all the old flavors now since orange fruit punch was such a hit. For now though, I will just enjoy this very delicious and wonderful and juicy and thirst quenching orange fruit punch gum. I am so very happy that Quench Gum is back in my life. What a treat.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was also looking for some candy cigarettes for his kids. He found none so he just sprang for the real thing.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Game One of the 2018 NBA Finals Was One for the History Books

Game one of the NBA Finals was great last night.

It surprised me very much. I did not see this effort coming from the Cavs. I figured LeBron would be great, as he has been his entire career, and especially in these playoffs, but I did not expect his supporting cast to play as well as they did. Larry Nance provided that spark that he is so good at doing. Kevin Love finally showed up. George Hill was solid. I mean, the players LeBron has surrounded himself stepped up, for the most part.

Before I really dig into the game, LeBron's performance last night was otherworldly. He was absolutely amazing. He was so efficient and played hard and did everything that he could do to push his team to a victory. My problem with LeBron last night, I hate that fake ass tough guy he tries to be when the game is over. He blocked a Steph layup attempt with less than a minute left in overtime, and proceeded to shit talk him. Steph came right back and him, and Klay joined in as well. What I loved is that Steph didn't back down, he held his own, and seeing Klay laugh in his face and shrug his shoulders at him was amazing. LeBron is a sore loser. I get it, I hate losing too, but that fake tough guy bull shit needs to stop. We all know you are the best player in the game right now, but stop it with the fake tough guy attitude. It is tiring and annoying and looks really bad, especially when you let a game slip away that you should have won. LeBron was great, amazing and dominated, but he is a very, very sore loser and fake tough.

The Warriors did last night what they have done all year. They dicked around for the entirety of the game, until it went into overtime. That was when they locked in, and they dominated. But, the first 4 quarters had to be so frustrating for all the Warriors fans out there. They just seem to go out there, disrespect the opponent and expect to win. KD was awful on offense last night. I know he had 28 or so, but it was not at all efficient, and he took way too many jumpers. Steph had a good scoring game, but he was throwing bad passes and dribbling way too much. He was also exposed time and time again on defense. Klay had a rough scoring night and he was hurt early on in the game. You'd never know because he is so even keeled, but he needs to score more. Draymond was probably the only Warrior that really showed up last night, and he had a very solid game, and kept his shit talking to a minimum. The rest of the team, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, Nick Young and Patrick McCaw, were all non factors, as expected.

Now, we have to go to that final minute or so of play last night. First thing, the block/charge call. When I saw it in real time I thought it was a block. LeBron's feet looked to be shuffling over, and KD was not out of control on his drive. The refs initially called it a charge, and I thought, okay, he is a super star, and he has earned those calls. When they overturned it, I was shocked. I never, ever expected that, especially a call to go against LeBron in the Finals. It was very surprising. Even with that call going the Warriors way, the Cavs kept scoring and took a lead very late in the fourth, like under a minute left. Then, Steph hit a floater and was fouled, or maybe not, and made the free throw to grab the lead for the Warriors. I figured that was it, the Warriors were going to close it out in the fourth quarter up 1 point with about 25 seconds left. Well, George Hill made a fantastic cut, and while cutting he got fouled by Klay, and it was definitely a foul. So Hill, who is around an 80 percent free throw shooter went to the line for a chance to win the game with 4 seconds left. He easily sunk the first free throw, and then the second one happened. Hill left the shot very short, but JR Smith, somehow, got the rebound over KD, and instead of shooting or kicking it out to LeBron, he dribbled out the clock.

I have never, ever seen anything like that. It ranks right up there with Webber calling timeout in the title game when Michigan didn't have any timeouts. When pushed, Smith said he thought the Cavs were winning. If he thought that, why was LeBron yelling at him? Why didn't he check the clock or scoreboard? Why did he think everyone was yelling at him? Why would the Warriors not foul him? I have so many questions for JR Smith. This will be one of those infamous plays that will be showed on highlight shows for eternity. And even after the game, Smith tried to say that he knew the game was tied, but we all know that is some bull shit. He blew it.

After Smith's blunder, overtime started, and that was when the Warriors finally woke up. They dominated every second of overtime, scoring the first seven points and eventually winning the game by 8. But, it wasn't without drama. We had the fake tough LeBron show up. Tristan Thompson, who is a scumbag, also became fake tough. Draymond started to yap more. Steph and Klay laughed in LeBron's face. And KD was quiet as usual when it comes to this type of stuff.

For as well as the Cavs played last night, they really blew a golden opportunity, and they are more doomed now than I thought they were at the start of the Finals. The Cavs will not play any better than they did last night, and they still lost. LeBron may have another game or 2 like he had last night, but will Love show up again? Are they really going to count on Nance to give them spark minutes? How will JR Smith react to his horrible end of game blunder? Where was Kyle Korver last night? Are they going to give Clarkson another 20 minute game? Will Ty Lue ever outcoach Steve Kerr again?

My simple answer to all of these questions, no. Hell, the Warriors may still come out and dick around, but they are so, so, so much better than the Cavs, and I think they will want to brutalize them now. And for the Cavs fans blaming the refs today, take that heat and put it towards JR Smith or George Hill. They each had a chance to win that game, and they both blew it big time. Game one was awesome, but I do not think we will see another one like it. The Cavs don't have it in them to play like that once again.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

This Food Truck Trend is Pretty Great

The truck fumes add that extra zing

Today I took my kids to a local garden that has small pools and big splash pads everywhere. It is free and it is awesome, and if you ever visit Saint Louis and are looking for a good time, and to cool off, I suggest going to this place. The place I speak of is Citygarden. But, my piece today is not about Citygarden. I will do that another day. Today I want to talk about something that makes Citygarden great, and that is the food trucks.

There are food trucks everywhere when Citygarden is open. It is so awesome and perfect for kids and adults alike. There are many different types of food trucks down there today. Today it was seemingly all Mexican food, which is my favorite. But, I have seen fancy food trucks, grilled cheese food trucks, fried food food trucks, Middle Eastern food trucks, pretty much any type of food you could want, there has been a food truck for it down at Citygarden one time or another.

As I said, today it was all Mexican food. I was stoked. I went to the nacho food truck for my kids because who doesn't like chips and cheese? I got them some BBQ nachos to share, and they woofed them down. It was perfect. For me, I had a hard time deciding if I wanted nachos, a quesadilla or some tacos. I eventually decided on tacos, and boy was I happy with my choice. I went to the nearest truck to me, and found a limited taco menu. This makes me happy because whenever I see a small menu, I feel like they know what they do best, and that is all they will serve. I am not a fan of menus that are 3, 4 and 5 pages long. And Cheesecake Factory needs to really slim it down. There is a thing as too many choices. But the menu today had 5 different tacos, a burger if that was what you wanted and a few sides. The tacos were a sweet potato, a fish, a pork, a chicken and a beef taco. I got the pork, chicken and beef. And they were delicious. Not only was the menu small, but the portions were just the right size, and while the stuff on the taco was minimal, it was the perfect blend of flavors. The pork taco had braised pork and a cabbage slaw with some Mexican cheese, and it was outstanding. The beef taco was super simple. It had this exceptional tasting beef, that same Mexican cheese and something they called Cha Cha sauce on it. Again, outstanding. But the best one I had had the fewest ingredients, and that was the chicken taco. It had shredded chicken that was put in a citrus glaze, and Mexican cheese. Oh my goodness was this taco amazing. I ate the thing in 3 bites and I wanted to go back and buy 5 or 6 more of these tacos, it was that good. The tortillas on these were excellent too. They had a little grill to them they were flour, they were the perfect size and they held in all the ingredients. There was no spillage or seeping out, it was just right. This was heaven as far as food goes for me. Oh, and don't let me forget my corn salad side, it was awesome. It had chilled corn, red peppers, cilantro, jalapenos and that Cha Cha sauce on it. It was so refreshing and delicious on a hot day like we had in Saint Louis today.

While you are reading this you may be saying, well it was a food truck, those are trendy now, it must have been expensive , right? Nope. My whole meal cost me 10 dollars. And when you put my kids nachos in the mix, it only cost me 17 bucks to feed me and my 2 children. That is one hell of a deal if you ask me.

I love the food trucks downtown, but today was something special. There was a little something extra. The delivery of a taco, not from a fast food restaurant, is just perfect, when it is done right. I wish I could remember the name of the truck, and I hope it will be downtown the next time I take my kids, but today's lunch was a meal I won't soon forget. I try to lay off the carbs during the week, but these tacos today were just too enticing. Go out and eat a taco tonight from a food truck, and this will all make so much more sense to you. What an excellent meal. Tacos from food trucks rule.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is used to eating food out of truck, but prepared food being delivered from a truck with a health inspected kitchen, that is a new one.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Cloves and Fedoras: Catch Up on the Great Podcast "Heavyweight" Before the New Season Begins

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

Awhile back I wrote about a new podcast I really liked called "The Habitat". After listening to all of it in 2 days, I was looking for something new, in that same vain. My wife actually has a friend that works for Gimlet Media, the company that put out "The Habitat", and she recommend that I check out "Heavyweight". so, I subscribed and started listening to it the very next day. I was immediately intrigued right off the bat.

"Heavyweight", when you break it down to its bare bones, is about the host, who is amazing, more on him later, takes on a problem from family, friends or complete strangers, and he tries to help the person or people get closure. It is truly amazing. The first episode, as I said, it was the one that hooked me, was about him getting his dad and brother to speak again. The host, his name is Johnathan Goldstein, is so, so perfect for this show. He has a very calming way of speaking, and his hosting and writing are impeccable. One of my favorite things he does, at the start of every episode, he calls his friend Jackie and just harasses her. It is really funny. It is also needed when he gets into some very deep topics. It is a nice breath of fresh air. But Goldstein is just wonderful. I love pretty much everything he does, and how he goes about doing it. He is an amazing podcast host, and I cannot wait to hear more from him. Back to that first episode now. As I said, Goldstein has come to find out that his dad and brother haven't spoken in years due to some nonsensical fight. He gets them on the phone together, and eventually gets them to meet in person. The ups and downs and laughter and tears are all real, and it was a tremendous listen. And when Goldstein would try to interject, with these 2 very old school New Yorkers, I loved every second of it. The first episode was a great way to kick off this wonderful show.

From there on out, every episode was very enjoyable for me. Goldstein covers so many different things on the first 2 seasons, and I loved it all. He tracks down a girl that he saw on a video in a theater class in college that struck him so many years ago. He watched this video about angry people, and there was a transgender person who brought her daughter on set with her, and that was the person he remembered. He remembered her angry and confusion as to why she was brought to this set. He finally found her, and the conclusion was awesome. In one of the "funnier" episodes, Goldstein helps one of his buddies, who went to high school with Moby, try and track down a CD collection he lent him in high school. The CD collection was important because Goldstein's buddy loved it and could not find it again, and for Moby, it changed his life. That collection is heavily featured on his biggest hit record, "Play". The story of Goldstein and his buddy going to Moby's house, hearing Moby's side, and his friend eventually not getting his CD's back, it was great. It was so funny. There is another episode, possibly the saddest one, that involved bullying between teenage girls. Goldstein helps a lady that was bullied in high school find out why the girls started to bully her, and even when she moved, why they came to her house one day. The girl also reached out to another girl that was bullied, and their stories were heartbreaking. Another sad story was when Goldstein helped a lady find out why, after being diagnosed, and beating cancer, she was kicked out of her sorority. That story was all too real and all too troubling as to how cliques and rumors get started, and how they can last into adulthood. Another episode that spoke to me was about a foster child who fell in love with basketball, but then had to quit because her foster mom didn't feel like she made the proper grades to continue playing. The basketball hooked me, then the story, while tragic, was also moving and important for me to hear. When she plays basketball with her husband at the end, I shed a few tears. The best episode I have heard was the season 2 finale that involved Goldstein going home with his wife and new baby, and all the things he goes through and talks about with his mom. It was so great and so wonderful and so eye opening and just perfectly done. It is the brightest gem among many strong episodes.

"Heavyweight" is a podcast that is well worth your time. Know going in that it is sad and can be tragic, but Goldstein alone is worth listening. Season 2 ended awhile ago, but it is coming back for a third season this fall, and I cannot wait. Check this podcast out, and Gimlet Media, keep doing what you're doing because you are crushing it right now.

Find "Heavyweight" here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He likes to go out and solve people's problems every day. Just today, he gave a man directions, even though Ty had no idea where the man was going.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The 2018 NBA Finals and Our New Basketball Normal

We all knew it would come to this, and starting tomorrow night, the Cavs and Warriors will face off for the fourth straight NBA Finals matchup.

I think most of us knew this was going to happen, but at the very least, there was a teeny tiny bit of drama. Cleveland had to survive a very tough fight from Indiana in the first round. In reality, I thought the had a real chance to win. I would not have been shocked if they beat Cleveland in Cleveland. But, they just aren't there yet. The Raptors put up nothing. They looked awful. The Cavs must really be in their heads. They were the one seed, and it was so lopsided, LeBron was clipping his fingernails during one of the games. It was one of the easiest sweeps I have ever seen in the playoffs. And while the Celtics put up great effort minus their 2 best players, I don't think anyone in their right minds really thought this particular Celtics team would beat LeBron in a game 7. All that being said, what LeBron has done this playoffs is remarkable. The team around, much of it his doing, is awful, and he dragged them to his 8th straight Finals appearance. That is incredible. He is clearly the best player in the game right now. He did a wonderful job with a bunch of too young or too old or just flat out scrubs around him. My hats off.

The Warriors kind of just dicked around the first 2 rounds of the playoffs, like they have done all year. They drew the Spurs, who didn't have Kawhi Leonard all year, and their 3 best guys were Tony Parker, who is a million years old, Manu Ginobli, who is even older, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who I like, but he is not equipped for the modern NBA. They won that series pretty handily in 5. They then drew the Pelicans, who were coming off a thrashing of the Blazers, and everyone said this was the one team no one wanted to face, and disposed of them in 5. Anthony Davis was great, but the Warriors made everyone else beat them, and everyone around Davis is not that good. They did have a hell of a fight from the Rockets though in the West Finals. Sure, some of the games were blow outs, but games 4, 5 and most of game 7, were all close. It may not have been pretty, but they were close. But, in the end, KD and Steph stepped up, and Harden disappeared and Chris Paul got hurt. That is their destiny. This was probably their best shot to beat the Warriors, and they just couldn't do it. And to miss 37 threes, 26 in a row, that is downright embarrassing. Just stop shooting them for awhile. Man, that was brutal.

All of this led to the inevitable. We all picked this before the season. Sure, there were moments during the season when the Cavs were questioned, but they don't play for the regular season. Sure, the Warriors dicked around all year, but when you have 2 MVP's and 4 All Stars you can get away with that. There was never a doubt in my mind. I know that I wrote the Warriors were in trouble a week ago, but I didn't pick them to lose. In fact, I doubled down. I figured they would start to care, and when they did, they provided that knock out punch. I was more skeptical of the Cavs, but LeBron did what he does, and here he is again. My son has only been alive for 6 years and he knows no one other than LeBron always in the Finals. It is starting to get that way with the Warriors too. He asked me this morning if we will see the same 2 teams he saw when he was three, and I told him yes and he sighed. This is the NBA now. This will continue to be the NBA. These are the 2 teams that everyone else will have to look up to until LeBron leaves and the Warriors can't afford their team anymore.

Since the Finals start tomorrow, I figured I would give a pick. If the Warriors don't sweep, I will be very, very surprised. They are so much better in every aspect of the game than the Cavs. The Cavs do have LeBron, who is the best player, but they can let him get his and make the rest of the Cavs beat them, just like the Pelicans series. The Cavs have no one around to help LeBron. Kevin Love is a shell of himself, and he is hurt. JR Smith has admitted how tired he is. Kyle Korver cannot hit the ocean right now. Jeff Green is Jeff Green. Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance are non factors. Tristan Thompson is a scumbag, and he is too slow to play in this series. George Hill comes and goes. They just don't have the horses to keep up with the Warriors. KD, Steph, Klay and Draymond are going to destroy the Cavs. This series is so lopsided, it should be on NBA TV. And I'm sorry saying this because LeBron is so great. He is so gassed though from carrying this team, and if he continues to play defense in the Finals like he has the entirety of the playoff, it will offset anything he does on offense. This is going to be a bloodbath, and I wouldn't be shocked id the Warriors win the first 4 games of the series by 10-15 points a piece.

Warriors in 4, no question.

Editor's Pick: LeBron gets one, Warriors in 5.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Pearl Harbor and Forgetting Our History

all photos by RD Kulik with a Nexus 6p

Today is Memorial Day. Many people, including myself, will spend the day laying about and maybe grilling up some good old American hamburgers and hot dogs. This is not a solemn day for me because like many of my fellow Gen Xers, I do not have many peers who fought, and died, in service to America. Memorial Day is almost never been about the lives lost, it has been a celebration of the time to come. One summer day a couple of years ago, I did have an opportunity to reflect on the lives lost in service to my country. This is that story.

In the summer of 2016 I was lucky to visit Hawaii for a few weeks. It was my first time in the 50th state, and like all good tourists I made my way to visit Pearl Harbor. I had grown up hearing stories of what happened on December 7th, 1941. In history class, we would learn all about the cowardly sneak attack by Imperial Japan. My grandparents, and their peers, would tell me about the nation coming together and vowing to defeat the evil that is in the world. In my lifetime Pearl Harbor has become a point of American pride, a romantic time that usher in the age of US dominance and moral superiority. During my visit to the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Park, I learned that back in 1941, the people stationed in and around Pearl Harbor were left under threat because of Washington DC saber rattling, they were left unaware and unprepared by the politicians gearing up for war. That December day was not a moment of pride for the people at Pearl Harbor, it was a nightmare with no end.

The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Park is like a lot of parks in the United States. The exhibits could use a little updating. The grounds could use some attention. The food is not cheap, or great. The thing Pearl Harbor has going for it, the weather is almost always perfect. 

Fun fact: temperature in June is 80, today it is 78

There are tons of things to see before you go out to see the remains of the USS Arizona. There is a submarine, models of US and Japanese World War II naval weapons, a lot of informational stations, and a film about the attack. The movie is the first part of the journey to the tomb that is the USS Arizona. What surprised me about the film is how direct it told the story of Pearl Harbor. Part of me expected to not hear a lot of negativity about the Japanese due to the PC culture right wingers are so afraid of. The film did not skip the fact that the Japanese attacked. I was also surprised by the film's explanation of why Imperial Japan felt the need to attack the United States. Growing up, we learn that the US was good, and Japan was bad. They were imperial monsters, and we believed in global freedom. That is not the case. World War II had been going on for a few years before the US got involved. The uncertainty in the world was making everyday resources extremely valuable. Many politicians in Washington DC wanted to get involved in the war, and they were creating policies to antagonize the other side. One of the policies used by DC to hit the hornets nest was to impose an oil embargo on Japan. The Japanese needed oil, and they had to find away to get around the embargo. The path chosen by the Japanese military was to bring the US into the global conflict. This was a non-surprising action by the Japanese. By destorying a large part of the US Pacific Naval fleet, the Japanese could easily get resources by taking over the Dutch East Indies. The film clearly explains this left out part of what led up to Pearl Harbor. The good people who make the movies for the US Park Service do not want us to forget what leads up to disaster and death.

The day I visited the USS Arizona memorial, the park was packed. I imagine that Pearl Harbor is filled with visitors on any day it is open. 

Any given day at Pearl Harbor

People were not dressed for mourning. We were all excited to be on our way to an iconic building, and an important piece of American history. Once we all stepped foot onto the memorial, the gravity of what happened started to sink in. Directly below our feet was the remnants of a once mighty warship.

What was not seen is the remains of the 1,102 sailors entombed with the ship. There was a wall in the memorial building with the name of every life lost.

The far end of the memorial was the wall of the lost. Everyone in this room was quite and reflective. The entire experience on the USS Arizona was one of shock and sadness over an event that happened over seventy-five years ago. 

The USS Arizona memorial may be the main part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Park, but there was much more to explore. Just acroos the harbor was the decommissioned USS Missouri. This ship was famous for being the place where the treaty to end the war with Imperial Japan was signed. It was also featured in the Cher video of "If I Could Turn Back Time"

These guns saw the end of World War II, and Cher's crotch.

Exploring the USS Missouri makes one respect the size of these warships. We only saw the rusted out tops of the USS Arizona, but we know that the ship is way bigger. Those 1,102 lost men are on a ship that is massive in size. There is very little we still see, and remember, of the USS Arizona, but that ship held a massive amount of people. Many of those people died, without warning, on the morning of December 7th, 1941. 

The memorial over the wreckage of the USS Arizona exists to let us know the horrible cost of war. The over 1,000 men that perished on that December day knew the risks, and they did not back down. Hawaii was not the safe vacation spot that is also a good place to film shows about smoke monsters, polar bears, and a strange group of castaways. Hawaii was known by the soldiers to be dangerous. Those soldiers were there to serve their country and protect the people of an American territory. The Valor in the Pacific National Park honors their service, the white structure over the USS Arizona acts as their tombstone, and the USS Missouri stands as their victory. Memorial Day is for them, and every person who gave selflessly to serve their fellow man.

May we never forget it.

RD

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

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

How the Rockets are Beating the Warriors

Last night the Rockets took a 3-2 series lead on the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

I have to admit I was wrong first of all. After game one I wrote that the Warriors were locked in, and that should run away with the series now that they were actually trying. Well, the Rockets have muddied up the game, James Harden and Chris Paul, and the Rockets bench, are playing much better, and they have total control of the series. They can close it out on Saturday night, and it would not surprise me. I know that Chris Paul is officially out of game 6 with a hamstring pull, but I do not think it will matter much. I also realize that the game is in Oracle, but again, I don't think it will matter much.

The problem, after game one, the Warriors returned to how they have played this entire season. They have only really showed up when they need to, and they have played bored and careless almost all season. It is all coming back to haunt them now. After game one, they have only played one other game, game 3, where they have looked like the team that they are supposed to look like. In games 2, 4 and 5, the Warriors have looked helpless and lost. They are playing way too much isolation basketball. They are playing right into the Rockets hands. They are doing everything that the Rockets want them to do. The Warriors are letting the Rockets shoot threes. They are letting Harden get to the hoop unimpeaded. They are letting Clint Capela constantly burn them on pick and rolls. Their bench, or lack there of, is hurting them. Their old school centers are pretty much unplayable. And the Rockets are taking total advantage of all this, and more. Props to Mike D'Antoni for letting his team play like they have all year, and letting Harden run the show. Props to Harden for getting the playoff choking moniker off his back. Even if the Warriors wake up and win the series, Harden has been very solid. Props to Chris Paul for going out there, playing his game and not letting the moment get to him. I'm actually a little bummed that he is out of the next game because I want both of these teams at full strength. This series has gone the exact opposite of how I thought.

Maybe I should have seen this coming. As I said, the Warriors have lacked the killer attitude all year long. They do not seem to care, no matter how big the moment. Steph is playing better, but he is still getting exposed on defense. Every night there is a highlight of him getting shook by Harden or Paul. Klay Thompson is hurt, and has gone ice cold from the field. He cannot hit the ocean, and he is getting torched on defense. KD has been scoring a ton, but that is really it. He has a very small amount of assists. Besides game one, his defense has been mediocre at best. And he is playing far too much iso ball. Dare I say, he has become the Warriors version of Russell Westbrook. Draymond Green has been horrendous in this series. He cannot score, he is getting dunked on every night, and he keeps talking shit as if he is doing something. Even his own mom called him out on Twitter for his poor play.

The most egregious performance, at least to me, is Steve Kerr's coaching. He is being wildly outcoached by D'Antoni. His willingness to let his players play through big runs is shocking. His decision to not call timeouts has been Andy Reid bad. Then his attitude, for example his, "I feel like we are in a great situation" quote after last night's game, has shocked me. This team is on the brink, and he is acting as if it is game 30 of the regular season. And I say again, that has been the problem all year. They just do not seem to care. They look like they will be just fine going on vacation after tomorrow night's game, if they do not win. They just seem disinterested. And the Rockets are taking full advantage of it all.

Hopefully the Warriors find their mojo again, because I'd love this series to go 7. But, the way the Warriors have come out the last 2 games, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Rockets end it tomorrow night. We will just have to wait and see.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Clippers Continue to Be One of the Worst Franchises in All of Sports

I want to start off today with a question.

What in the hell are you doing Los Angeles Clippers?

Look, I know that I have written about my extreme dislike for this team, but to give Doc Rivers an extensions, that is bananas. Yes, he was an okay coach at one time, although I think he gets a little inflated with his one title when the Celtics acquired KG and Ray Allen. Before that though, the Celtics wanted to fire him because he wasn't winning. And even before that, I'm pretty sure he was let go by the Magic. Rivers is a very, very middle of the road NBA coach. He has that one title, but that can only take you so far. Since he took over the Clippers, my mind has not changed on him. He had some very talented teams there, and the furthest he got in the playoffs, the second round. He had a team that had a prime Chris Paul, a never better DeAndre Jordan, and a healthy Blake Griffin, and they blew a 3-1 lead against the Rockets. And before that, there is the epic Chris Paul meltdown against the Thunder. There is the plethora of injuries that have this team bounced in the first round. There is his horrific instincts as a GM that has cost this team any semblance of a bench. His go to move as a GM was to sign guys that played the Celtics well when he coached there, but they were far out of their prime, or give his son a ridiculous contract because he's his son. Last year they got bounced by a Jazz team that was not that good in the first round, and I blame the majority of that on his coaching. They had game 7 at home, and his team laid a total egg. Chris Paul looked disengaged. Deandre Jordan wasn't being played hardly at all in critical moments, and Blake Griffin, well, he has been a shell of himself since the blown 3-1 series lead. Then this offseason, after losing Chris Paul, which Rivers did not handle well publicly, they gave Griffin a max deal. They said he would be a Clipper for life. They then went out and signed Danilo Galinari and some other dudes off the scrap heap, and the offseason chatter was that this team may be good. Well, they traded Griffin halfway through the year, Galinari was constantly injured and the guys they acquired from the Pistons, Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris, they were either hurt, Bradley, or didn't do much of anything, Harris. And they were out of the playoff picture before the year was close to done.

So, I assumed, much like everyone else, that the Clippers would relieve Rivers of all his duties, head coach included. They stripped him of player personal development and his GM duties, and I figured head coach was next. But today, they totally flummoxed me. Not only did they retain him, but they gave him a decent extension. I believe his deal lasts into the 2020's. That is insane. Do they really think this team, led by Austin Rivers and Deandre Jordan, if he sticks around, and coached by Doc Rivers will be a viable option in the West? Do they think Doc Rivers will be the guy to lure free agents like Kawhi and Paul George and LeBron to the Clipper over the Lakers or 76ers or any other team that is currently better than them? Do they really think they can reach the Finals being coached by Doc Rivers? None of that is going to happen. As long as Rivers is the coach there the Clippers will continue to be mediocre. He hasn't adjusted his coaching style to the modern game. He still lives in the past, and as I said earlier, signs guys that were once great against him, but are now trash. He will continue to give the keys to the team to his son, and his son is not a great NBA player. His teams will always hover around 38, 39 or 40 wins, but that will never be enough to be a playoff team in the West.

This is a dumb decision by a historically dumb franchise. I've been impressed with a lot of the offseason coaching moves, but this one is a head scratcher. Teams in the West will continue to pass by the Clippers, and the Clippers will return to being a laughingstock of a franchise. This move makes zero sense.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet. He also does think it is awesome how LeBron handled the MAGA hat wearing douche in his last game.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The NFL is Filled with Cowards

If that ball does not stand up, it will be kicked out of the Backyard Football League

The NFL is cowardly and stupid and the owners and the people in charge only care about money.

I had to say it.

Today it was announced that there will be some rule changes involving the anthem protests that have been all over the place for 2 years now. This is so frustrating and makes me so very angry. The rules that they will most likely implement are, if a player is kneeling during the anthem, the team will be penalized. But they say that teams can stay in the locker room if they want during the anthem.

Excuse the hell out of me, but aren't these protesting players just expressing their right to free speech? This is a right given to us all, and the mouth breathing rednecks that voted for this current "government" are now getting their way. That is bull shit. Whenever the mouth breathers want to say whatever they want, they claim free speech. But, if a professional athlete decides that they want to kneel for the anthem, they are traitors. What a load of garbage.

Also, why does the NFL care so much about the protests? Why is it such a big deal? The NFL has much, much bigger fish to fry, but they focus on under inflated footballs and players exercising free speech. This is truly appalling. It is sickening and gross. This makes me hate a sport that I love so very much. Stuff like this makes me not want to watch the games anymore.

I fully support the players that have decided to kneel or sit down for the anthem. I am 100 percent behind Colin Kaepernick. He did it due to police violence, and now this thing has grown into something that I am proud to stand with. I don't stand for the anthem at sporting events anymore. I was just at my son's school the other day, and they played the anthem and I sat down next to him the whole time. Did the school scold me, or fine me, or put my son in the principal's office? Nope. They let me exercise my right to free speech. But, pro football players now will penalize their whole team for standing up for social injustices.

Jesus Christ this is depressing.

Roger Goodell is a spineless joke of a commissioner. He will go down as the worst commissioner in any sport ever. He always bends over backwards for the wrong people. I know, he works for the owners, but so does Adam Silver, and he takes stands with the players every time over the owners and coaches. The NBA is light years ahead of the NFL as far as supporting players and their right to express their beliefs in non violent ways. Major League Baseball is getting better than the NFL with this too, and that sport is almost as white as golf. College sports have even allowed kids to take a stand anyway they seem fit, so long as it is non violent, and none of those kids get chastised or kicked off the team. So why is the NFL so ridiculously in the bag with the owners and the people in power right now? I don't get it. The NFL is the most popular sport in the country, but people like Roger Goodell are doing everything in their power to destroy the fans will to watch the game anymore.

I said it before and I will say it again, I love football, but I am growing to despise the NFL. These proposed rule changes are so dumb. They are old school in all the wrong ways. This will make the owners feel like they are gods, like they can do whatever they want. I'm sickened by this. The fact that they are going to penalize teams for using freedom of speech is so, so, so stupid. And how have the anthem protests effected the game, or the ratings? Again, the NFL is thriving. The games are almost always sold out, at least for the top teams. During the fall, football is on most televisions across the country. I don't see many ad companies pulling from CBS, Fox or ESPN because of the protests.

What it all really boils down to, in my opinion, the owners and Roger Goodell are trying to show who is supposed to be in charge, and that is a crock of shit. I hope players still protest on the field. I hope big time guys come out and kneel during the anthem. If the NFL wasn't absolutely filled with collusion, I would hope that when/if Kaepernick got signed, the first game back, he would kneel. These players have all the right in the world to continue with their anthem protests. A 10 yard penalty shouldn't change that. And, if a coach or GM or owner thinks a minuscule little penalty is going to change the way the players protest, I think they are stupid.

The NFL is becoming awful, and it will only get worse with these proposed rule changes. This makes me so angry. Please get into the 21st century NFL. These players are people, and they have minds of their own, and they are allowed to express their freedom of speech. What an awful decision by the NFL today.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

LeBron James is Not Michael Jordan Great

With his exceptional play in these NBA playoffs, the talk of "is LeBron better than MJ" has started up again. I'm here today to put a stop to this nonsense as best I can.

First off, I never thought I'd say this, listen to what Scottie Pippen has been saying. These guys are 2 different types of players in 2 different eras of the NBA, so they cannot be compared favorably. If we had done this in the past, why not bring guys like Bill Russell, George Mikan, Kareem Abdul Jabaar and Oscar Robertson, just to name a few legends, into the debate. Those guys are never brought up because of the eras they played in. So, like Pippen says, this whole MJ vs LeBron debate is moot. LeBron plays in a much softer, score as many points as you can and lets all be friendly era of basketball. Jordan played in a rough, gritty, knock you down and make sure you are hurt era of basketball. While I like the current NBA more than the 80's or 90's, I think there is no question that the 80's or 90's was tougher, with better players. Names from that era include Jordan, Pippen, Ewing, Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Magic and Bird, Karl Malone and John Stockton and Reggie Miller. If I'm not mistaken, all of those guys are in the Hall of Fame. And while there are great players now, Steph, LeBron, KD, Westbrook, Dwayne Wade and Tim Duncan, they do not hold the same weight, not yet, as the guys I mentioned from the 80's and 90's. They are, without question, better players. And while the current guys can become great, none of them, and that includes LeBron, hold the same aura as these guys from the 20th century. I'd rather have any of those guys on my team than anyone from the 21st century of NBA basketball. Yeah, I said it. So we can throw the eras out of the conversation immediately. Also, if prime MJ played in this current age of the NBA, he would average anywhere between 50 and 60 points a game, easily. Imagine MJ, with all the restrictions on defense, and his will to get better, adding the three point shot to his game, how much he would dominate. He would absolutely be a killer right now in the NBA. No question about it.

When I sit down and really think about it, really hard, there is no way that LeBron is a better basketball player than MJ. I love LeBron. I think he is great. He is definitely top 5 of all time NBA players. He has had a monstrous, and highly successful career. He has molded his game and gotten better every year. He is like a fine wine, except better. The things he is doing right now, after 15 years in the league, is undoubtedly one of the best things I have ever witnessed. So yes, I realize his greatness, but he is no MJ. LeBron has gotten fat off of horrific competition. When you look at the "toughest" teams he has had to face, teams like the Pacers, led by Roy Hibbert, before Paul George was great, or the Celtics with the rotting corpses of KG and Paul Pierce, or a super young, not yet ready Thunder team, when they had Westbrook, KD and Harden, are all over it. This isn't nearly the competition that MJ had to face. He had Starks and Ewing and the Knicks led by Pat Riley. Or, earlier in his career, the Bad Boy Pistons led by Thomas and Dumars. Or the Lakers with Magic and Kareem and Byron Scott. He faced the likes of Barkley in the Finals with the Suns. He dominated the Jazz, led by Stockton and Malone. He had to beat up on the Trailblazers when people thought that Clyde Drexler was as good as him. He dominated the Sonics led by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. I mean come on, the competition is not even close. Jordan had the much stiffer players and teams he had to beat, and he not only beat them, he dominated them.

Which leads me to another reason why this isn't even a debate. LeBron is friends with every other current star. Sure, he may play tough when he blocked one of Steph's shots 2 years ago, but off the court, they are buddies. This I am sure of. He has also openly admitted that some of his best friends are Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. In fact, I think the only guy he doesn't like is Dan Gilbert, and that is for good reason. I bet you he even thinks Lance Stephenson is an okay dude. MJ hated everyone, including his teammates. You may read that and think, well that makes him a miserable person. I see it differently. He expected the same amount of greatness out of his teammates, which was impossible, and not only wanted to beat his opponents, he wanted to embarrass them. He was a killer on the court through and through. He wasn't friends with Ewing or Malone. People say he and Charles Barkley were friends. I just think they gambled together. People say he was friends with Charles Oakley. No way. He just needed a body guard. Case in point of his need to embarrass players, look at the Dream Team, and what he did to Toni Kukoc in the 92 Olympics. Kukoc was the Bulls new guy that would usher in a new era of Bulls basketball, and not only did Jordan take this personally, but he convinced Pippen to as well. And boy oh boy did they dominate and frustrate Kukoc in the one meeting. It is a thing of beauty. So, while LeBron wants to befriend everyone, Jordan just wanted to win. I'll take the winner over the friendly guy any day.

Finally, back to the Pippen thing, they are 2 different types of players. LeBron wants to involve teammates and only take over when it is absolutely needed. LeBron also only goes hard on defense when there is an opportunity for a highlight play. LeBron whines a bunch, just like most other modern players, constantly to the refs. And LeBron, I say again, I think he is one of the greatest, might be the most uncoachable player in the history of the NBA. LeBron is more Magic, but a better, and much, much bigger scorer. Jordan took over from the start. Jordan did everything on the floor. Jordan was a bulldog defender. Jordan, while he veered from time to time, holds Phil Jackson and Doug Collins in high regard. But most importantly, Jordan never lost when it mattered the most. He was undefeated in the Finals. He won those Finals for the Bulls. He was the guy they went to when they needed it most. He never took games, let alone plays, off. Jordan was the perfect basketball player.

This is a pointless debate started for pointless reasons. We all want to say that we saw the best, so we will hold onto anyone at the current moment that we might think is the best. Hell, I hear people now saying that Mike Trout is the greatest baseball player ever. Slow down on that. I also hear that LeVeon Bell is the best running back ever in the NFL. Or even crazier, back to basketball, that Steph or Westbrook are the greatest point guards ever. That is all nonsense. Maybe my kids will look back and think that LeBron was the best ever, but I know that Jordan is, was and always will be the best NBA player ever. There is no debating this.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet. He also does think it is awesome how LeBron handled the MAGA hat wearing douche in his last game.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The Naked Chicken Chalupa was Good for the Taste Buds, Not So Good for the Stomach

Damn you Beautiful Taco Bell

Last Friday I wrote about how excited I was that Taco Bell was bringing back the naked chicken chalupa. It was my ode to the one thing I love about Taco Bell. Well, last night I went to get a few for me, and one for my wife. She wanted to try them too, because much like me, she loved them. So I got us 3 mild ones, 2 for me, 1 for her, and we dug in.

I have to tell you, they’re still pretty great. The fried chicken shell was pretty tremendous. It has a nice crisp to it, the way it’s shaped is perfect for a taco, and the “chicken” tastes pretty good. The inside is filled with shredded lettuce, shredded Mexican cheese and diced tomatoes. This was all fine, but didn’t add much. But, something I forgot about, there is some kind of spicy green sauce at the bottom. It’s too smooth to be guacamole, but too green to be sour cream. I am glad I got us the mild flavor because this green sauce has a kick. I am a big fan of what they did with this sauce. I added 2 packets of hot sauce and my wife ate her’s sans sauce. I prefer my method. While eating the naked chicken chalupas there were just sounds being grunted, or the occasional, “yep, these still hold up”. We both remembered why we liked them so much.

So yeah, the naked chicken chalupa is still pretty great. And, shockingly, I didn’t feel sick or gross after eating them last night. I was kind of surprised by this pleasant feeling. I was full, but not bloated. But, all that changed this morning.

Now, before I get into it, I regret nothing. My wife got up to get ready for work and told me she wished she hadn’t eaten the chalupa. I asked if she were sick, and she said no, but that she felt awful. I was surprised because I still felt okay. This was around 7am this morning. My wife left for work, seltzer water in hand around 730. I still felt fine, but as I was making my son breakfast, the pain set in. I’m not going to get gross, but I will say, I’ve spent a good amount of time in my restroom today. I feel like I’m being punished by my diet and by Taco Bell. I shouldn’t have eaten one of these, let alone 2. My body is rejecting these chalupas. I now remember why I don’t eat like this regularly anymore, and why I stay away from Taco Bell. As I said, I regret nothing, but my body sure does. The thing that frustrates me most is how long it took to take effect on me. I thought I was in the clear. I thought my stomach was going to let me get away with it. I thought, since Sunday is my day to eat whatever I want, I would be free from this feeling. Well, I was/am not. I should have only had one, but who’s to say I still wouldn’t feel like I do now? Taco Bell is evil, and I’m paying for it today. All of this isn’t to say that I won’t be going back to get more naked chicken chalupas, hell, I might get more this coming Sunday, but I will think about it a bit more.

The fact is that the naked chicken chalupa is great. I still love it. But, I despise the way it has made my body feel today. Was it worth it? Probably not. Will I buy more, eat them and deal with the aftermath? You better believe it. Go, please and buy these because they’re great. Just know, you will be in for a rough day the day after. God damn you Taco Bell. Why must you torture me so?

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His body has not been properly trained for Taco Bell like the head editor. A strong regiment of chili cheese burritos should be all the training Ty needs.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Long Live Taco Bell's Naked Chicken Chalupa

Taco Bell has big plans for you guys

I'm not much of a fan of Taco Bell. I have stated as much on the podcast. Hell, RD and I went into a big time debate early on in our podcast. He loves it, me, not so much. Everything there tastes the same to me. It is all one big goo of meat and random sauces. Now, this isn't to say that I do not go there. In fact, on days that I don't diet, Taco Bell is one of my go to fast food spots. It is cheap, and I know what I am going to get, and that it will satisfy me until it decides it is time to void my body. I want to give the right person credit, and I am pretty sure it is Matt Braugner, a fantastic stand up comedian, but he nails it when it comes to Taco Bell. He basically says that everything comes from what is basically a caulking gun, and that the food is meant for drunk people to "soak up the night". I mean, come on, that is too perfect.

I say all this because I am excited about something that I saw on my TV last night pertaining to Taco Bell. One thing I do "admire" about them, they always take chances. They come up with new food stuffs all the time. I remember when the chalupa first came out. I remember when they first started making their version of quesadillas. I have tried their take on fries. I haven't had their breakfast, but I have heard good and bad about it. I used to love their 2 shelled tacos, I can't remember what those are called (ed note: Double Decker Taco), but I do know that they were held together by a smear of refried beans, and their selection of drinks, even though it is a Pepsi establishment, and that is utter blasphemy, is pretty unique. But, the one new product they came out with a little over a year ago that I went nuts for was the naked chicken chalupa.

For those of you that don't know what that is, first off, you are a better person than me, second, it is a taco, but the "shell" is a piece of fried chicken shaped like a corn tortilla. When this first came out I stayed very, very far away. I did not want to lower myself to being a person that tried, and liked, a naked chicken chalupa. I had lost all this weight, I was calling myself a runner, I was, and still am, hiking all the time, and I was, still am, an avid basketball player. I didn't need the naked chicken chalupa. But, I was convinced by many, many people, who I trust, to try this thing. So, my wife and I ventured on over to Taco Bell on a day where I let myself eat whatever I wanted, and I tried one.

Oh my goodness was it amazing. I kid you not. I was floored by how good this naked chicken chalupa was. I couldn't believe that, of all places, Taco Bell made something so original, and tasted so good. This wasn't like their typical fare, this was unique. As I stated, the shell was a piece of fried chicken shaped to look like a shell. That is insane. Then, the inside had some lettuce, diced tomatoes and a little Mexican cheese blend. I put some fire sauce on it and I was hooked. I went back that day and got some more. I then went a few more time, just to get the naked chicken chalupa. Then, like some cruel joke, it was off the menu. No reason was given, other than it was seasonal, and I was crushed. I finally had a reason to got to Taco Bell, and not be ashamed of myself. I know it isn't healthy, but as a big time advocate of the Atkins diet, this was as close as Taco Bell, or any other fast food restaurant for that matter, has gotten since KFC made the double down, which is horrendous.

Lucky for me, I saw a commercial that brightened my day last night. Taco Bell has these new ads that are like throwbacks to old creepy news stories, and the guy that is the spokesperson said that they were bringing the naked chicken chalupa back. I was so excited I rewound the commercial and showed it to my wife, who was just as excited as I was. I'm not sure the exact date that they are bringing it back, for all I know, they already have them in the restaurant, but I know for god damn sure that I am going to buy a shit ton of them. This is a good thing that Taco Bell has done. They are bringing something back that was wildly successful, and hopefully this time, they keep it around for longer, or just put it on the menu permanently.

I know this is a weird and goofy thing to be excited about, but dammit, I'm pumped. Thank you Taco Bell. For once in your odd existence, you are doing the right thing. Long live the naked chicken chalupa.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is not yet aware that there is a "Wild Naked Chicken Chalupa" that is advertised to be a little spicy. Dump some fire sauce on that thing and experience fast food heaven.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Mike Budenholzer is the Perfect Coach for the Milwaukee Bucks

Another day, another basketball story.

It was reported yesterday that Mike Budenholzer is about to become the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. I think this is going to a great fit. The Bucks now have a coach that is really good at the X's and O's, can draw up solid offensive plays and will get them to play better defense than they already do. Budenholzer comes from the Spurs/Poppovich coaching tree. Those guys seem to do pretty well in the NBA when they become head coaches.

Budenholzer was also very successful in Atlanta until they decided that they needed to blow it up because they couldn't beat any team that LeBron James was on in the East. He had great success with guys like Kyle Korver, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Paul Milsap and some also rans that are still in the league. Hell, he won 60 games and had 4 All Stars and was the one seed in the East one of his seasons. But, they ended up running into the LeBron buzz saw, and we all saw it coming. All those guys are gone, and so is the majority of the players he cultivated and won with. As I stated, the Hawks went into full tank mode this year. A season ago, it started, especially when they let Al Horford go to Boston. But, they still had Milsap and some other dudes, and they still made the playoffs. Then, this past offseason, they let Teague walk to Minnesota, Milsap was traded to Denver, Korver got traded midseason last year to the Cavs and they let all their youth play. That wasn't good for Budenholzer, and it showed in the play and record. The Hawks were awful this past season. They weren't as bad as Dallas or Phoenix, but they were bad. And now, they are trying to offload even more players and go full youth movement. That clearly didn't sit well with Budenholzer, and the front office mercifully let him go.

Now that Budenholzer is in Milwaukee, I think he is going to be happier, and that the Bucks are going to be very, very happy with his coaching. The one thing people keep pointing out about Milwaukee's past coaches is that they don't know how to best utilize Giannis. Well, Budenholzer will have no problem with that. As I mentioned before, he made guys like Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague All Stars. That is one hell of an accomplishment. Sure, Paul Milsap and Al Horford are very good NBA players, but they are not as good, or as young, as Giannis. Giannis is going to greatly benefit from Budenholzer's coaching. He is going to find so many ways to utilize all of his wonderful athletic tools. Giannis is on his way to being a consistent All Star and always in the MVP talk, and Budenholzer is only going to make his growth that much faster and better.

You look at the rest of the roster, and this team should thrive under his tutelage. Eric Bledsoe is a much better version of Jeff Teague. He is a better defender and just as good a point guard. I think he will finally be happy with his place in the NBA now. Thon Maker will finally be used properly, and he is going to shine. Giannis and Maker is a better duo than Horford and Milsap. Come at me. If he stays, Jabari Parker can be a much, much better version of Kyle Korver. He is not the three point shooter that Korver is, but he is a better driver and a more athletic scorer. And I have to say it again, Budenholzer turned Korver into an All Star. Think of what he will do with a player like Parker. The rest of the guys on the Bucks reads like the older Hawks roster, but the players are younger and hungrier.

Mike Budenholzer is probably the best choice that the Bucks front office could have done when hiring a new coach. He is perfect for the NBA, he knows the terrain and he has had a very good amount of success. If I were Giannis I would be thrilled. I know they met the other day to have a talk and it must have went well because Budenholzer is about to be named their next head coach. This is a big time get, and the Bucks seem like they are trying to do everything they can to keep Giannis around for a long, long time.

Great hire Milwaukee.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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