Ty Watches the 2022 NFL Draft First Round

The first round of the NFL draft was last night, and there were some good picks, wild trades and some head scratching stuff. I wrote my preview a few days ago, and today I want to talk about a few things.

First off, the Lions nailed it. Hutchinson "fell" to them at 2. They traded up to get Jameson Williams who I think may be the best receiver in this class. The Lions made picks that should help them in the near future. Williams gives them an immediate deep threat. I know he is coming back from an ACL injury, but all the reports seem to say that he is rehabbing nicely and he should be good to go for the season. Also, teaming him up with Amon Ra Brown gives them a great, and young, receiving duo. Hutchinson is going to have a long and strong career. He is a day one starter, a fun dude in the locker room and has all the tools you want from a pass rusher. These two young guys were great, great picks by a moribound franchise. If I were a Lions fan I'd be happy today.

I could say the same thing for the Giants. They got Thibodeaux at 5. He is as good as Hutchinson. He has amazing burst and get off. He will wreak havoc in NFL backfields for a decade. And to get Evan Neal a few picks after that, that was a homerun. The Giants have done some wild stuff the past couple years. But this season, at least in the first round, they made smart picks that will benefit this team right away. That Neal pick was a genius, genius move. Saquon Barkley is probably pumped right now.

The Eagles made a humongous move, and it was not a pick. But it did happen on draft night. The Eagles acquired AJ Brown for some picks. Brown is an awesome receiver. He wanted out of Tennessee and was given his wish. Now Jalen Hurts has a real weapon on the outside, and Brown is stoked to be going there. That is a big deal. And, not to be outdone, the Eagles still saved a pick and took Jordan Davis out of Georgia for their defensive line. Davis is the biggest human being I have ever seen. He is a bigger and much, much faster Vince Wilfork and he is going to be a great run stopper and gap chewer for this d line. What a pick.

The Ravens will be here twice, but this is the good part. Getting Kyle Hamiltion at 14 was tremendous. He was a highly touted prospect out of Notre Dame, and for him to fall into Baltimore's lap was wild. The Ravens also got some assurance on their o line with Tyler Linderbaum at 25. He may have been the best o lineman in the Big 10 last season. Both guys should be day one starters.

I think the Bengals got a true steal at 31 with Dax Hill. He can cover, can tackle and plays some of the most sound football I have ever watched. That will only help them maintain this elite level of play they had last season.

Some stuff I was not so high on was, first off, the Packers draft. What were they doing? They traded Davante Adams, let a few other receivers go, and with two first round picks they took two studs from Georgia, both of which are defenders. Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt are both very, very good. But the Packers have decent players at both spots. The Packers defense got better last year. They needed offensive help. And I understand they can get that in later rounds. But I was hoping they would trade up to grab a receiver. They chose not to. They went for depth as opposed to need. That is not what the first round should be used for.

I also loathe the Kenny Pickett pick by the Steelers. If they were going to take a QB, why not take Malik Willis? He is clearly the best QB in this class. But the Steelers would rather have a one hit wonder in Pickett learn from Mitch Trubisky. Oof.

I also do not get the Patriots pick at all. What are they doing? I think Bill Belichek might actually be losing the luster of how he drafts after this. It was such a weird pick that Sean McVay openly laughed at it on camera. That was confusing.

I do not like the fact that the Ravens traded Hollywood Brown. That would bum me out if I were Lamar Jackson. I just do not get why they would trade away one of his favorite targets for some picks. That is rough stuff. The Ravens really toed the line of having a good or bad draft night.

I feel for Drake London going to the Falcons. He and Kyle Pitts should make for a good tandem, but they do not have a solid enough QB, and their o line is not the best. They may not get a lot of targets.

The first round was wild and as fun as a draft can be. I'll be curious to see how the rest of the draft goes. If it is anything like the first round, it should get pretty wild and possibly memorable. Time will tell.

Ty

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

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Let's Show Some Appreciation for the Awesomeness of Nicole Byer

This morning I went out for a run and I like to listen to podcasts lately when I decide to listen to anything. The podcast is not important though, this piece is all about the guest on the pod. The guest was Nicole Byer. My piece today is an appreciation post to Nicole Byer.

She is the best. She is so funny. She is open and proud of her accomplishments. She's all about empowerment. She is a great actor and stand up. She is a great podcast host herself. I have been a fan of hers for awhile now, and after hearing her this morning it just hammered home my adoration for Byer. I am not one to get starstruck by an actor, but if I saw her I would be scared to talk to her. She has reached that level of fame to me. I'm sure it is silly, and I am sure she would be a delight. But I would still be in awe.

I knew of her awhile ago, but it was really my wife who opened my eyes to Byer. She had me listen to her standup when we were first dating. It was great. I like how blue and gross it can be at times. I also like how truthful and open she was, and still is in her act. We have both continued to follow her ever since I was first introduced to her. Besides her standup, her television performances are a thing of beauty. And she has been in a ton of stuff. I think I may have been one of the few people that watched every episode of "Party Over Here". That was an underrated sketch show, and Byer was the standout for me. Her two appearances on "The Birthday Boys" were awesome. She's excellent in "Michael Bolton's Big Sexy Valentine" special. She does excellent voicework, most notably for me on "Bob's Burgers". She fit so perfectly on her lone scene in "The Good Place". She was a gem as Trudy Judy when she was on :"Brooklyn 99". But the two shows that are her best in my opinion are "Loosely Exactly Nicole" and "Grand Crew".

"Loosely Exactly Nicole" was before its time. The spoof aspect of it was great. If that show were to come out today it would be a humongous hit. And it totally holds up. "Grand Crew" is letting her truly shine. I adore that show. I hope it comes back for another season. I felt like it was hitting its stride at the end of the season. And Byer was my absolute favorite part. I enjoy all the other actors, but Byer outshines them all. I laughed super hard at almost every scene that she was in. I also like when she does some dramatic stuff. This show really lets her be her best self. Please NBC let it come back for another season.

And then we have her podcast appearances and her hosting. There are too many to mention in this piece. When she is on a podcast I listen to, or one she hosts, I get amped to play it. I know it is going to be hilarious. I know she will do something that will resonate with me. I know she will be completely open and honest. I know she will have a good time. I know she will treat the other hosts and guests with respect and integrity.

Nicole Byer is a truly great actor and stand up who is finally getting her time to shine. She is crushing it right now, I like her so much more than John Cena on "Wipeout", and I am a Cena fan as well. Byer is getting work, the work she has deserved for a long time. I am a fan, obviously, and I just wanted to write an appreciation piece to her today. Keep getting queen, you have earned it.

Ty

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

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Ty's 2022 NFL Draft Preview

The NFL draft starts tomorrow night. I do like the new format, doing the first round in one night and finishing the rest off throughout the weekend. It makes for a bit of a quicker process. They still have the full fifteen minutes in between picks, and I still do now watch, but it is a better system.

Today I am going to do my version of a "mock draft". It feels wrong even calling it a "draft". I will not do picks, trades or any of the other stuff that other writers do on their mock drafts. I like to name a few players I think will be first day starters, some that may not be as good as they are being projected and then a few of my own personal "sleepers". Without further ado, let's get into it.

I am going to start with my "sure things". These are the players that should have good careers. Some will be solid starters and others will become stars.

My first sure thing is my guy Aidan Hutchinson. I know I am a Michigan fan, I have sung his praises a ton and this is a total homer pick. But come on, he is going to be a day one starter. He has incredible speed off the edge. He can bull rush with the best of them. He made other first round picks look human this past season. He comes from a football family. Whatever team drafts him, most likely in the top three, is going to get an all pro caliber player. Hutchinson is the real deal.

Staying on the defensive line, I also really like Kayvon Thibodeaux. I do not get the sour taste that some have for him. He is almost as explosive as Hutchinson. He is big and fast and plays with a mean streak. He is also a plug in on day one starter. He is going to be a force the moment he enters the league. And if he gets passed by a few teams on draft night, he will not forget that and it will only fuel his fire.

On the offensive side of the ball, the lineman in this draft are great. Evan Neal is a beast. He is going to be a starter for a long, long time in the NFL. He is great. So is Ikem Ekwonu from NC State. He is big, can pass and run block and will be an all pro. If they gave out rookie of the year to lineman, he may damn well win it. Charles Cross also has the ability to be a dominant pass blocker. He played in a system that favored passing, and he knows how to get it done.

This class of receivers is also very top notch. Garrett Wilson is small, but he is fast and can get open down the field with the best of them. Jameson Williams is going to be a legit number one when he gets fully healthy. Drake London looks to be one of the most reliable wideouts in the draft. And Chris Olave and Jahan Dotson were stars in the Big Ten on teams that passed exclusively.

I also like Sauce Gardner at corner. He is as lock down as they come. Andrew Booth Jr is also very good and pretty tall. That is a plus.

As for QB's, the only one that I think will be solid, should be a day one starter and will have a solid career is Malik Willis. He has a cannon for an arm, can scramble really well, is big and has the mentality to run a team from the jump.

Now to the guys that I am not so high on.

So running back is a tough one in the modern NFL. I feel like they are disrespected and often get overlooked. I, unfortunately for him as a player, think Breece Hall is going to get picked too soon and have to play too soon. I like Hall, but I think he will be picked far too soon. I'm also a little nervous about Derek Stingley Jr. He only played three games last season, missed a ton of time in the COVID season and has to deal with this Lisfranc injury. He will need time, but I do not think he will get it. Trent McDuffie is good, and I know Michigan did not pass a ton in the early season game, but Washington was pretty bad last season and their defense was not that great. McDuffie is their best player, but he seems a bit undersized and overvalued at this point in the process.

I also do not like any other early mocked QB's. Kenny Pickett is too inconsistent. Matt Corral is coming off injury and seems erratic. Bailey Zappe is a system QB. And Sam Howell is a poor man's Baker Mayfield, and boy oh boy do I dislike Baker Mayfield.

Finally, I do have a few sleepers in this class. Wan'Dale Robinson is a jack of all trades type player. He reminds me of Tyler Lockett with more speed. He was awesome in the SEC and he will do some nice things in the NFL. Calvin Austin III is a great route runner, has some shiftiness and he will be a nice slot receiver in the league. And even though I said that running backs are treated unfairly and are out of the league sooner than usual, I am going to go full homer here and say that Hassan Haskins is going to be the steal of the draft. He is a Saint Louis kid who played his college football at Michigan. How could I not like him? But he is a great blocker, a hard nosed runner, can catch a bit out of the backfield and always falls forward. He beat out a group of five star players to become the starter at Michigan and he was the reason why they had such a great season last year. Haskins is my guy. I not only think he will be very good, I am rooting like hell for him.

That is it for my draft preview. Good luck to all the players about to be drafted.

Ty

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

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The Wind is Not to My Running Back

I've been in a bit of a running rut lately. I am still running, I will not give it up, but I'm in a funk.

I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why I'm at where I am at right now. I thought it was because of my allergies. My allergies have been very rough lately. Everyday I feel like I have to blow out a full cup of mucus from my body, sorry to be gross. I then thought it was because of too much running. I was on a run streak of nearly 300 days, but I was becoming disillusioned with it. Running became a chore. It wasn't fun. So I stopped that. I even thought that it was maybe due to my anxiety issues. My anxiety has been a little elevated lately, I'm fine, but I thought it was causing my running to take a nosedive.

Today I think I finally came to as solid a conclusion as I can find. I went for a run today. I have backed down to four runs a week as opposed to seven days a week. I feel better, but my time was slower than usual. I also ran the Lion's Roar this past weekend, I did the same race last year, ran 25 miles, but this year I could only do 20 miles. The same thing happened each time, and has been going on since late March and all of April. I think my continuing rut is due to the wind. It has been so damn windy lately. And it has been windy everywhere. I thought driving 120 miles this past weekend would help. It did not. It was even windier in Columbia. And today, here in Saint Louis, it seemed like the wind might be gone. It is 60 degrees and beautifully sunny. There are no clouds in the sky, it is calm and just a glorious day. But during the whole 4.75 miles I had god damn wind blowing in my face. The same thing happened in Columbia. I would turn a corner, the race was a 2.5 mile loop run over and over again for 5 hours, and the wind was so hard that, had I not had headphones on, my hat would have blown off every single time. I did eight laps and I would have lost my hat, at the very least, eight times. It was rough.

This has been going on every day since late March, as I said. I have been going out and running and there has not been a run where the wind was not blowing in my face or coming at me from the side. There have been times I have gone on a road run and had cold wind blowing in my face so hard that my beard would freeze, and there was no snow or ice. I have found that trail running is a bit better, except when there is an open space. I've gone trail running a few times lately, and when I'm under the trees it is fine. But, I will turn a corner, or hit an open switchback, and that is when the wind comes in and totally slows me down. It is brutal. I get frustrated by it at times. I have openly cursed the wind while running. I cursed it this afternoon. I kept yelling during my race "WE GET IT!!!!! IT IS WINDY!!!!". I did make some other racers laugh with that one. I have been doing this since all this wind started. It is wild. I never thought that windy running would cause such a problem. It has made me slower. I have been actively trying to go slower, but not as slow as I have been lately. The wind has angered me, and that is ridiculous. The wind makes me cold when I should not be cold. It has knocked my hat off multiple times. It has messed up my headphones when I wear them.

This wind is crazy. The only time I do not mind it is when it is at my back, which is very rare lately. I'm sure that there are other, underlying things that are causing me to go through this mini slump, but for right now I am going with my theory that it is the wind that is my biggest obstacle. The god damn wind. My new running nemesis.

Ty

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

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I'm Done with Ben Simmons

The Nets are struggling. They look bad. Durant is playing as bad as he ever has since returning from injury. The Celtics own them right now. They are getting whatever they want on offense and totally shutting the Nets down on defense.

Fact is that I do not like either team, especially the Celtics, but they look like the best team in the playoffs right now. They are impenetrable. They are getting switches and scoring at will. They should be the favorites.

Also, I could not have been more wrong on the Nets coming into this season. They have been a total mess. They were clear paper tigers. Kyrie is a selfish asshole. KD cannot stay healthy. Steve Nash is not a good coach. They have never gelled. And they traded James Harden away for Ben Simmons. That looked like a big time deal at the time. But I think we are now seeing who Ben Simmons really, truly is as a basketball player. All the talk before game three was that Simmons was going to be back for game four. He was going to be the defensive lynchpin and run the show getting the ball to all those shooters with wide open looks. It was all going to come together for the Nets when Simmons came back. Sure, they were not going to win this series, but they would put up a fight and be the true contender they should have been this season next season. Well, Simmons is now listed out for game four. After the Celtics cruised to a game three win, it seemed all but decided, both the series and Simmons not playing. In all reality I think it is the right move. I told my son that I would have sat him out for game four. The Nets have no chance, so why risk it?. But then the news came out that it was Simmons' decision. That his back was tightening up. That he just could not go out there and further hurt himself.

This is not a very good look. This is exactly what people have been saying about him all season. He is a diva. He is afraid. His nerves are shot. He does not want to go on the floor in a meaningful game and make a mistake. All of it, all of it is true. He is scared. Look, I get being nervous and not wanting to screw up. I live my life every day with anxiety, but Ben Simmons is a professional basketball player. He is paid to play a game. He cannot live in fear of messing up. He will mess up. It is going to happen. But if he continues to live in fear of playing basketball, his career is going to be over before he can even have a chance to redeem himself. This makes all that stuff he did in the offseason and when he returned to the 76ers look even worse. He did not want to show up to practice unless he was traded. That never happened. He was willing to give up his salary to "prove a point". Then he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. He was happy to stare at his phone and sit out drills during practice. He was called out by teammates and coaches. And then he finally got traded and said all these things about seeing him succeed when he got back on the floor. And now he has decided to sit yet again. It is all too much.

I have tried with Simmons. I genuinely like his game. I like a big point guard that plays excellent defense and can find open players everywhere. I rooted for him in college and fully supported him leaving school early to get ready for the pros. I even took time to process him talking about the anxiety and stress he was dealing with while still in Philly. But this is too much. He has said and done too many things for me to root or care about him anymore. He is a liar. He is afraid. He is skittish. He is a child. He is selfish. He only cares about himself. He will never be happy on a basketball court. That is the player I see now. I'm done looking at his jump shots online. I'm sick of hearing about his "progression as an all around player". I'm sick of the media and talking heads telling everyone to give him time. He has had enough time. He got everything he wanted, acting as childish as he did. He got his way. And this is how he repays the league and team that pays him millions upon millions of dollars. Ben Simmons wasted an entire year of his prime trying to prove a point. The only point he proved to me is how afraid and selfish he is.

This is a mess and a Brooklyn Nets team being led by an under qualified Steve Nash is not the place to fix it. Ben Simmons is officially, to me, the most overrated player in the NBA. Well, should I say the most overrated wannabe player in the NBA.

Ty

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

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Ty Revisits "The Rover"

Last night I was flipping through the channels and came upon a movie I saw years ago. The movie is "The Rover". I kind of remembered it, but it was lost to time for me. So I decided to revisit it. My wife is out of town, my kids were asleep and I had just watched the premiere of "Better Call Saul".

"The Rover" is better than I remembered, and I had forgotten a good amount. I remembered liking it, but it did not stay with me. This time it will definitely stay with me. The movie takes place in a dystopian future in the Australian outback. There has been an economic collapse and people are just trying to get by. A gang comes to a guy's house and steals his car. He sets out to get his car back, and that is when the movie gets bleak and scary and dark. There are two main people in this movie, Guy Pearce and Robert Pattison. There are other actors, but the movie is really about their two characters. Guy Pearce is the gentleman that gets his car stolen from him. Pattison plays one of the gang members that gets left behind and Pearce uses him to help him get his car.

This movie is good. It has an eerie feel to it. There are moments where I was genuinely frightened. There are other moments where the silence has you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what happens next. The movie looks beautiful too. For it being a dystopic wasteland, Australia looks very pretty on film. The mountains and the outback are beautiful to look at on screen.

What really makes this movie work, what makes it memorable for me now, are Pearce's and Pattison's performances. Pattison really knocks it out of the park. This may be one of the first movies he was in post "Twilight" that actually had me shocked at how well he acts. He plays Rey. Rey is slow, reliant and acts out of character from time to time. He also does some things that are incredibly smart. Pearce's character, Eric, learns pretty early on that Rey can help him. Pattison truly embodies Rey. I bought his performance tenfold. I thought he did a masterful job. He really had me worried about him the whole movie. I was afraid he would find some way to mess it all up. He does, but in all reality, it is not his fault. He does help Eric get what he is after. There is a certain scene where Rey tells Eric how and when to get into the house with his former gang, and it is so well played. Then the director follows it up with another scene that shows Rey in the car listening to music and you can see his childish behavior. It is perfect. Pearce is furious and angry and determined. He has one goal in mind and will do anything it takes to get there. Pearce plays Eric with a quiet determination that flies off the screen. I openly rooted for him to win. I wanted him to get his car. I did not care who he had to get rid of to get there. I felt his anger towards Rey at times. I sided with him in every scenario. I wanted him to do everything he did in the movie. It was an even better performance than Pattison's.

I highly recommend this movie for fans of sci fi and westerns. It covers both genres incredibly well. But the real winner, the real reason to watch this movie is for Pattison and Pearce's performance. They are so, so good. They nailed it. They were magnetic. They should have gotten award consideration. They ruled.

Ty

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

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The White Problem in NBA Journalism

NBA award season is upon us. They have already given out Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, and more are to come. I have my choices for who I want to win, and who I think should win. And I have been very vocal about my want for Joel Embiid to win the MVP. He led the league in scoring, kept the 76ers afloat with Ben Simmons being a selfish child, kept doing his thing after the trade for James Harden and has been a defensive force all season long. He has also been a killer in the first two games of round one of the playoffs. He should be the clear favorite.

But he is not.

The NBA nerds and journalists and podcasters and bloggers all want their new hero Nikola Jokic to win the award for a second straight season. They have sung his praises up and down the floor. I was listening to "The Lowe Post" earlier today and Zach Lowe made every single excuse he could for Jokic playing poorly in the playoffs right now. So have all the other white NBA nerds on the internet. They have pointed out his VORP, his plus minus, his shot chart, his passes that lead to assists, and how he has become a "serviceable" defender. Again, nerd shit. What they are failing to point out, well it is actually a few things, is that Jokic is a dirty hotheaded player, and the exact same journalists and podcasters and bloggers and talking heads all slammed Russell Westbrook when he was the MVP favorite the year he averaged a triple double and won it.

I want to touch on the hotheadedness and dirtiness first. We have seen him implode in the playoffs so far. The Warriors, namely Draymond Green, are so inside his head. It is affecting his play. It is affecting his team. And instead of being a leader and showing MVP leadership, he got himself ejected and tried to chase Gary Payton Jr when he tapped him on the backside on his way off the floor. But he did stuff like this all year. He gets away with trips and elbows and griping all the time because the nerds love him. He injured Markieff Morris. He shoved him when his back was turned. He cheap shot him. Some, again the white journalists, have made excuses for Jokic. But what he did was childish and shows how easy it is to get under his skin. He is the classic "can dish it out but cannot take it". He thinks it is funny when he pulls his nonsense, but when someone fights back, he gets angry and dirty. Morris missed a ton of time, but people just let it go. They talked about it for a day and then it was gone, forgotten. That's nuts.

What irks me the most, why I wanted to write this piece, is the Russ comparison. When Russ won the MVP the Thunder went 47-35 and were the 6 seed in the West. Some of Russ' teammates, this was the season KD left for Golden State, included a very young and inexperienced Steven Adams, an oft injured Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis as a rookie, Alex Abrines, Norris Cole, Taj Gibson, Kyle Singler and Cam Payne, to name a few. The names may pop off, but this was before Adams was the dude he is now, before Sabonis was an all star, Oladipo didn't fit, Norris Cole was on his last leg, this was a team that Russ had to carry. He did all the things he did because his coach told him to. He had to carry the load. If he didn't, that team would have been a lottery team. And after he did his thing, and rightfully won the MVP, he had the Thunder playing tough, but the Rockets were a much better team that ousted them in five games. But people called Russ "selfish", a "stat hog", a "rebound seeker". They said people that voted for him were "basketball perverts", that we "didn't understand the game". They bad-mouthed fans that rooted for him and wanted him to win the MVP. We were all wrong and the white journalists and nerds were supposedly right.

Well, let's look at Mr Jokic this year. His teammates include Aaron Gordon, Bones Hyland, Jeff Green, Will Barton, Bryn Forbes, Boogie Cousins and Monte Morris. It is true that Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray have missed significant time. But the same nerds that love Jokic like guys like Hyland and Morris. I hear all the time that Will Barton can heat up at any moment. I see how athletic and versatile Gordon is when I watch him play. The teammates are similar, but I honestly think, even with the injuries, that this Nuggets team has more talent surrounding their star than that Thunder team did. And when you look at the record, the Nuggets are 48-34. That is one game better than the 16-17 Thunder. They are also the 6 seed. They are also being demolished right now by the Warriors. The parallels are insanely familiar, but no one is calling the nerds and journalists "perverts", saying they are "dumb" and "stupid". They find excuses for Jokic where they found flaws with Russ.

It is maddening that, in 2022, the NBA still has ignorant racists voting on these awards. It has never been more blatant than that this season. Joel Embiid should win this award. It should not even be a conversation. But when they announce Jokic as the winner, I am almost certain they will, the journalists and nerds, all of them white, will rejoice and still be quietly racist. It is frustrating. I feel for Joel Embiid. He is so much more deserving of this award. He is the clear MVP. But it is not up to him or me. Unfortunately it is up to the white journalists, a lot of which live in Boston. And that stinks.

Ty

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

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The Joys, and Dangers, of Eating a Whole Bag of Cadbury Eggs

During Easter, which I vaguely celebrate for the candy, I usually get a bag of Cadbury Candy Coated Chocolate Robin's Eggs. These are, hands down, my favorite candy. They have surpassed Snickers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Peanut M&M's. I do not know what Cadbury does with this treat, but my goodness is it tasty. I look forward to Easter because I know that my wife will be buying me a bag. But since I started doing low carb almost ten years ago, and have cut back on a good amount of sugar, I have come to realize that these Cadbury Robin's Eggs are a trigger food for me.

For those that do not know what a trigger food is, it is some type of food that you cannot be trusted with alone. I know some people who have Cheetos as their trigger food. My wife has said that Cheeze Its and Ruffles are trigger foods for her. I know it used to be licorice for my mom. Lately my dad has mentioned that black jelly beans are a trigger food. Everyone has one and it can get bad. This happened to me last night. I am home alone for the week with the kids. My wife is on a girls trip all week, and since the school year is still going, I am home with the kids. It is no problem at all. My kids are good. They listen enough. They are ten and six, so they can entertain themselves for a bit so I can get a break. And they go to bed relatively early. They are a delight.

Last night I was doing a good amount of catching up chores. And I did a good amount of yard work during the day to get that out of the way. So I got a solid workout in doing all that good stuff. I also ate pretty well all day. I had some carrot cake and a cup of coffee for breakfast. I had leftover pea salad and leftover turkey from Easter for lunch. And I had a minimal snack of jelly beans and some Cadbury Eggs. I laid off enough by putting them in a small bowl so I wouldn't over eat. I felt fine. I also went really low carb for dinner, having a whole wheat low carb chicken quesadilla. I also had a small amount of corn salad. So I felt like I did good. Then the kids went to bed and I turned on the TV to let myself relax. I did well at first. I had a small bowl of salt and vinegar chips and a Cadbury Caramel Eggs. Side note, Cadbury makes the best chocolate. Full stop. But I still felt hungry. What I should have done was drink some water or some seltzer water. What I did instead, well, I am still feeling the after effects today. I had about half, maybe 2/3 of a bag left of my Cadbury Eggs. I grabbed the bag and put it on the armrest of the couch. And while I watched TV I would grab a few eggs here and there. I figured I would stop after a few, but I did not. A few eggs became a handful. Then a handful turned to two handfuls. Before I knew it, the bag was empty.

I still felt okay after eating the rest of the bag, until I got up. I stood up off the couch and my stomach immediately hurt. I had gas all night. I kept sitting up in my bed to burp. I tossed and turned all night. I woke up with the same stomach ache. It was rough. It was around 9:30 when I finally started to feel better this morning. I went to my folks house, had some coffee with my dad and ate a very light breakfast. I also just had a late, light lunch. But I still feel a little off.

I guess the point today is, be careful with trigger foods. They can be very tasty and very enticing, but the after effects are not worth it. I felt really bad, and my mind tricked me while I was eating them that I was okay. Food is great. It is the best. It can be comforting. But when it gets to the level it got for me last night, that is the bad part. That is when food can become your enemy. I have not felt like this for almost 20 years, and now I remember why. Try to limit your intake of trigger food. Try to avoid it if you can. I think that would be best. I go back to a time when my wife and I first started dating and she dumped out a bag of peanut butter M&M's directly from the bag to the trash. I was appalled, but now I get it. She did the right thing. I should have done exactly that last evening.

Be careful when it comes to the foods you love. They can turn on you. I feel like I have learned my lesson, but time will tell.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Over the weekend my wife and I finally saw "Spider-man: No Way Home". We had planned on seeing it when it was in the theaters, but that was when Omicron was ravaging the US, so we waited. Not to worry, I still got Omicron, and it stunk. Anyway, the movie was streaming and on VOD, so we opted for VOD. It was only six bucks, so that was even better. We settled in after dinner, put our daughter to bed, and watched.

I really enjoyed the movie. I do want to point out that I like "Into the Spiderverse" more, but "No Way Home" was still very well done. I actually like the multiverse stuff. And being that I had seen "Everything Everywhere All At Once" a few days before, the idea of a multiverse movie was on my mind. I was in. I do want to say that I personally think that Tom Holland is the best Peter Parker/Spiderman. He is the only one of the three that truly reminds me of a high school kid. He acts dorky, he seems in over his head and he talks and, more importantly, acts like a teenager. My wife and I said that a lot when watching the movie. But, spoiler alert, seeing Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire was incredible. It was so neat to see the three of them interact. Maguire was great. He is the oldest and he played that well. When he was stretching his back, that was gold. But I actually think Garfield was the best Spiderman in this movie. He was funny and nice and sweet and willing to goof on himself. I loved the inside jokes, how he called himself lame and kept being referred to as "Spiderman 3", it was awesome. I also appreciated that the movie makers let him save Mary Jane. That was a nice touch.

It was incredibly rad to see the villains from the other movies in this universe. Alfred Molina is a true, true gem as Doc Oc. It was glorious to see him reprise the role. He was amazing. Rhys Ifan as Lizard was crazy because I barely remembered him from the movie he was in. But he did a solid job. I already enjoy Jamie Foxx, and seeing him reprise Electro was totally worth it. He did a very, very good job in this role. Even Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman was fine. Hell, it was even better than what he did in "Spiderman 3" by a mile. But Willem Defoe stole the show. He was creepy and terrifying and diabolical and awesome. He was so god damn scary in this movie, and that was exactly what this movie needed. He was great.

Hell, even the side characters, Zendaya, Ned, Aunt May, J Jonah Jameson, Happy, they were all wonderful. Marisa Tomei is Aunt May now. And her death scene was brutal. Jon Favreau as Happy has never been better. Zendaya is the only MJ I truly enjoy. Ned is so, so much better than Franco's friend character. And JK Simmons is the best person to play Jameson. He embodies that role.

The story was great. Again, it was like a live action version of "Into the Spiderverse", just not as good. But it still worked. They found a way to do it. Adding Dr Strange was exactly what they should have done to make this story work. And Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong, as Wong, were also great in their roles. And, as always, the imagery in the movie was top notch. Sony/Marvel know how to make superhero movies, and this was no exception. It looked magnetic.

All in all I really did enjoy this movie. My wife and I watched bits and pieces of it yesterday just to rehash some stuff we thought we missed, and that was a totally worthwhile revisit. "No Way Home" is another very good Tom Holland Spiderman movie. Go watch it if you haven't yet. It is great.

Ty

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

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Ty's 2022 NBA Playoff Preview

With the play in tourney ending tonight, today I have my NBA 2022 playoff preview and prediction.

Real quick, I have the Clippers beating the Pelicans tonight to take the 8 seed in the West, and I have the Hawks beating the Cavs, which hurts my heart because I love Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, and taking the 8 seed in the East. And even if I am wrong, I do not have either number 1 seed going out in the first round, so the play in finale tonight has no real bearing on my predictions today. With all that, let's get to it.

I'll start with the East. The 1-8 pits the Miami Heat versus the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are fun. They score a lot. They have been on a tear. They demolished the Hornets. And they were in the conference finals last year. That is all well and good, but the Heat are a far superior team. And they are whole. They play defense. They muddy the game. They do not mind bullying you. And the Hawks play zero defense. Bam is going to feast. Tyler Herro will thrive against the Hawks second unit. Jimmy Butler is going to get to the rim with ease. Kyle Lowry is going to make Trae Young's life miserable. The Heat are going to win this series, probably in five games.

The 2-7 is going to be fun to watch, but I also loathe both teams. At times I think about picking Boston because they are, relatively speaking, deep, play great defense and Jayson Tatum is ascending to star level. But then I look at the Nets and they have KD, Kyrie Irving is eligible for all the games and they can score in bunches. But when I really sit back and take a deep, deep look, Boston's defense is really, really good. I understand that Robert Williams is out, and that will hurt, but I do not think it will cause them to get beat. I would be terrified of KD, but I do think the Celtics will pull it out in seven games.

The 3-6 matchup pits the Bucks versus the Bulls. My son is a big Bulls fan. He loves DeMar DeRozan and DeRozan has been awesome this year. Zach Lavine has been hot and cold, but when that dude gets it going, watch out. And I have liked Coby White since his lone college season. But the Bulls do not stand a chance. They started too hot and have been really bad down the stretch. Oh, and the Bucks are the defending champs, and Giannis has been amazing all season, and Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are playing well, and the team is whole. I just do not see a world where the Bulls win even a game over Milwaukee in this series. If the Bucks take it seriously, which I am sure they will, they will sweep the Bulls.

This leaves us the 4-5, Philly and Toronto. Philly is good. Joel Embiid is the MVP. I do not care what white journalists have to say on their podcasts. He led the league in scoring, is a top flight defender and is as dominant as Shaq. James Harden is a great scorer, he just needs to show the hell up in the playoffs. It is time. It is now or never. Unfortunately the 76ers second best defender, Matisse Thybulle, decided to not get fully vaccinated and he cannot play in the games in Toronto. That is a blow to the 76ers. Toronto is playing with house money and Nick Nurse is a very good coach. He will find stuff to throw wrenches in the 76ers game plan. He will frustrate them to no end. And he has the players to do it. Pascal Siakim is playing great. Fred Van Vleet is a young Kyle Lowry, OG Anunoby is hyper athletic and Scottie Barnes has a real case for ROTY. This team is good. But I think Joel Embiid will not let this team get beat. He will single handedly win this series for them. It will be a tough seven games, but the 76ers will find a way.

This leaves us with second round matchups of Miami and Philly and Milwaukee and Boston. As much as I love Joel Embiid, I think this is where the playoff Harden will show up, and that is no good. Miami will frustrate and force Harden to make bad decision after bad decision. I have the Heat winning in six.

The Bucks and Celtics should be a good, hard fought series. But this is where no Robert Williams will hurt Boston. Giannis will feast. And when he gets double teamed he will find wide open shooters like Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton. And Jrue Holiday is going to make Jayson Tatum's life miserable. The Bucks will win in seven.

So this leaves me with an East Finals of Miami and Milwaukee. This is where Miami will not have an answer for all the scorers and shooters on Milwaukee. Giannis proved last season that he has that killer instinct, and he is even better this season. And the fact that Milwaukee is healthy, that changes things drastically. It will be a decent series, and Miami will take two games, both at home. But I have the Bucks winning in six and returning to the Finals.

Now let's move to the West.

The top three teams are legit. Anyone of them would have been the 1 in the East. The West is going to be a killer. The 1-8 features The Suns and the winner of tonight's game, I am assuming the Clippers. The Clippers have been a nice little story this year, winning 42 games with a totally depleted roster. Well, all the fun stops now. The Suns are a machine. They are the best team in basketball by a very wide margin. They have it all. Star power, veteran leadership, young players buying into their roles, depth, great coaching, they are all set. There is a reason they won so many games this season and lapped the field. The Suns are the clear favorites, they will be out for blood and they will sweep the Clippers. The Suns are loaded and ready.

The 2-7 features my squad, the Grizzlies, facing the Timberwolves. I'm kind of nervous about this matchup. The Timberwolves are very similar to the Grizz. They both have the same team makeup. They both talk shit and back it up. They both really, really want to win for their city. This will be fun. But where the Grizz separate themselves from the Timberwolves is their depth and star power at the point guard position. Ja Morant is better than D'Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverly. Jaren Jackson Jr is not the offensive weapon KAT is, but he is a far superior defender. Anthony Edwards is going to hate going up against Dillon Brooks for a whole series. The Grizzlies will prove this season was no fluke and take this first round matchup in six games.

The 3-6 matchup pits the Warriors against the Nuggets. Steph will not be 100 percent, and I do not know when he will return, but the Warriors have Klay, who has been great as of late. Draymond Green is looking more and more like himself. And Jordan Poole has been a revelation this year. Sure the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, and I cannot believe he will win a second straight MVP, that is pure nonsense. Quick little rant coming up here. When Russell Westbrook won his MVP a ton of the sports writers I read and listen to called it all types of names. They said the people who voted for Russ were basketball perverts, whatever in the hell that means. They chastised the fact that the Thunder had 45 wins and were a 6 seed. He averaged a triple double and dragged a team that lost KD to the playoffs in the West. Jokic's Nuggets are a 6 seed. They have three more wins than the Thunder did in Russ' MVP year, which is not all that much. And while Jokic is missing two key guys, the Nuggets bench players and current players are better than anyone Russ played with, with Steven Adams being the lone exception. I'm sick of all the excuses being made for Jokic when these same guys were crushing Russ and bitching and moaning all throughout his MVP season. It is racism at its best. Anyway, the Warriors are going to win this series. They are the better team. I think it will go seven, but when Steph gets back, it is lights out for Denver.

The 4-5 has another journalist beloved player-led team in Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, playing the new team that gets shit on, the Utah Jazz. The white journalists that are begging and pleading for Doncic to be "appreciated like the star he is", will finally get their wish and the Mavericks will finally win a series. The Jazz are too dysfunctional. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell clearly dislike one another. Quinn Snyder seems to have one foot out the door. It looks like Utah is about to blow up their team. The Jazz may take a game, Doncic is out for game one, but they will not muster another one in the series. The Mavs will win in five and all the white guys at ESPN, Bleacher Report and SI will finally be able to cream their jeans now that Luka will get out of round one of the playoffs.

So, I have the Suns and Mavs in one second round matchup, and the Grizz and Warriors in another. All those journalists that will be drooling and bending the knee for Luka will have to eat their words. Again, the Suns are on a mission. They do not care who is in front of them. They will score and score and score all over the Mavericks. And they will force everyone not named Luka Doncic on the Mavs to beat them. That will not work. I have the Suns sweeping yet another round. They are that good.

The Warriors and Grizzlies should be a total blast to watch. And I have some faith in the Grizz in round two. The Timberwolves will be tougher than the Warriors to face. The Warriors are better, and they have the two greatest shooters of all time, and Draymond is awesome, but there is something in the air in Memphis this season. I think Ja, after having beat the Warriors in the play in last year, will have no fear. I think JJJ will be able to help off Looney and Green and cover the shooters. Dillon Brooks is a beast and he can score. Tyus Jones is one of the better backup point guards in the league, and the Grizzlies second unit is better than the Warriors. I really, truly think the Grizz will win in seven games and advance to the West Finals.

Then the party will be over. The Suns are too good. I do not know how many times I have to write it. They are absolutely loaded. They are locked in. They have a bad taste in their mouths from last year. They are out for blood. I do think Memphis will get a game, but no more after that. Suns in five.

That means I have a rematch from last year. I have to be this boring, but the Suns and Bucks are the two best teams in the NBA in my opinion. I think the series will go six again, but this time the Suns will win. Chris Paul will get his ring. Devin Booker will establish himself as one of the new faces of the league. Mikal Bridges will start getting his much due respect. Deandre Ayton will be the first number one pick that has played a smaller role to grab a ring. And Monty Williams will etch his name as one of the best coaches in the league. Devin Booker will also score his way to Finals MVP.

So there you have it, my 2022 NBA preview and predictions. Hey, the Suns look that good everybody. I do not know what else to say. Enjoy the playoffs.

Ty

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

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RIP Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried has passed away at the age of 67. This is a bummer. There are too many people losing their lives lately. It stinks.

I have a fond memory of Gottfried. I have always liked him to be honest. I know people complain about his voice and his movies and other stuff, but that never bothered me. I found his voice unique and hilarious. He was a much better version of the Micro Machine guy. They each had their schtick, but Gottfried was much more my speed. I truly did not care that he yelled at his jokes. I found it funny honestly. It worked for me as a fan of comedy.

As for his movies, I loved "Problem Child". He was awesome in it too. I adore "Aladdin", and Iago is so memorable. He was the only good part about the horrible "Saved By the Bell: The Wedding" movie. He was definitely the biggest get in any "Sharknado" movie that he was involved in. As for TV shows, you could find him doing voicework in any number of shows ranging from the 80's throughout the current day. His voice is everywhere. Going outside of voice work, he was a cast member on what many consider to be the worst season of "SNL", but he was the only one on that season that thrived. Going back and watching those eps awhile back, and man are they bad, but Gottfried had something special. He was the only person that worked that season.

The thing I think made him stand apart was the roasts he did. I have been watching clips of him at these roasts the past couple days, and Gottfried kills every single time. He would just pummel the audience and the roastee with joke after joke after joke. He would crush it out there. He was doing the best in a room full of people that pride themselves on their ability to roast. He would have fit in perfectly in the old time roasts that I used to see commercials for as a kid. Gottfried was the perfect amalgamation of old school and modern time comedians. He knew what he was best at, and he ran with it. The roast clips are an amazing thing to watch.

Of course we all remember him as the Aflac duck. My kids even know his voice from those commercials. But, what I remember most about Gottfried as the Aflac duck was him getting fired from that job. It was classic Gottfried. He tweeted a very unflattering stance on the tsunamis in Taiwan, and he was let go. Part of me always thought that he did that on purpose. I think he wanted out of that job, did something awful and was let go. And we all forgot about it a few months later.

Gottfried went on to do many things after that. That would have ended other people's careers, but Gottfried soldiered on and kept plugging away. It has also been super cool to see the many people coming out and talking about how nice and polite Gottfried was on the stand up scene. He didn't big time anyone or refuse to help out. Quite the opposite. I've seen people like Paul F Tompkins, a comedian and actor I adore, come out and say that Gottfried would let him watch his sets for free. That rules. There have been countless other actors talking about interactions with Gottfried, and they are all glowing.

Gottfried's passing is a bummer. He was so young, I know they said an unknown illness, and that makes it even sadder. It is not on the Chadwick Boseman level, but it is akin. Rest in Peace Mr Gottfried. You will be missed.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches Jerrod Carmichael's "Rothaniel"

Jerrod Carmichael's new HBO special "Rothaniel" is a masterpiece. I watched it last week and have since watched it two more times and still think about it on the daily.

For those that may not know, Carmicheal is a strong stand up performer, had a very good, very underrated tv show, "The Carmichael Show" and has written a ton of great things for movies and tv. He was also in both "Neighbors" movies, and he was memorable in those as well. He wrote on "Loiter Squad", which is where I assumed he met Tyler, the Creator, and he does the interstitial parts on the epic "IGOR" album. But I think "Rothaniel" is going to open up a whole new level of stardom for this young man.

He opened the show and told the audience that he was going to leave no untold secrets for the hour-long set. He was going to let it all out. And he most definitely did as much. For instance, he revealed that his first name is Rothaniel. He went into a long bit about how he got his name. He said it was two names pushed together, the two names coming from two people in his life. One of which was his father. He then proceeded to tell us all about his father and how he was a lothario. The best part of this bit was when he told the crowd that his best friend saw his father at his house one day and his father lied about who he was. He told this young man that his name was Jerry Rice. This was so hilarious. But underneath it all you could see the pain and anger Carmichael had towards his father for what he was doing. He then told his dad he knew and he wanted him to tell their mom. She needed to know. And he did. He kind of skirted it and made his son's deal with the mom beforehand. But his dad told her, and she forgave him. This also seemed to irk Carmichael.

It was after this reveal when Carmichael told the biggest unknown secret of the evening. Carmichael revealed to the audience that he is gay. This was a powerful and moving moment in the special. And he did not sweat it or skirt it, he just came out with the news, and it was received perfectly. The crowd applauded and told him how much they loved him and how brave he is. He seemed a bit put off by the reaction, but he talked about that too. He said he is still trying to feel good when hearing people applaud him. He is still trying to accept the love. It is just tough. He then, and the rest of the set was about him coming out, telling many stories, both funny and moving, about coming out to his friends and family. I loved when he talked about telling his best friend, and his best friend told him he felt "forced to be friends with a gay guy". He said a lot of his friends actually felt "lied" to. But he did say that his girl friends were super supportive, until he told them he dated white guys. This was a riot. The crowd interaction was tremendous. I loved the back and forth. I also really adored Carmichael's openness. It was nice to see him getting all of this off his chest.

The last fifteen minutes of this set is what puts this special apart from others. He talked about his father accepting it, but his mom not. He is, obviously, devastated by this. He talked about his love for his mom, but he is clearly upset that she is using church and god as an excuse to not accept him. This was when the audience interaction was at his best. It was almost like a live therapy session, which can be intrusive, but this felt right. It was not awkward or intrusive, it was a breath of fresh air. Carmichael let it all out, and he fielded every question from the audience with grace. He was speaking his truth, and I loved it. I was moved by it. It was amazing. Carmichael used his talent to do an extremely brave and commendable thing. Bo Burnham's direction was spot on too. You can tell these two have worked together before.

I loved "Rothaniel". I think everyone should see it. It is one of these HBO specials that will resonate with anyone anywhere. It is a work of art. Check it out.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Everything Everywhere All At Once"

I just finished "Everything Everywhere All At Once" about half an hour ago. I went to a theater again, this time with my dad to see it. Let’s discuss.

I thoroughly enjoyed the absolute hell out of this movie. The actors, writing, directing, set design, costumes, literally everything worked in this movie's favor. I had heard very little about the movie prior to seeing it too. That is the way to go. I had heard about it about a month ago, only watched one preview and stayed away from reviews until I saw it. I have not read a review yet in fact. But I am here to give you all a spoiler free review of this epic movie.

The long and short plot synopsis of the movie is an immigrant family from China is trying to pay their taxes, they have some family trouble and all of the sudden the matron of the family is thrown into a multiverse. I loved the idea. We have seen multiverse stuff in movies and in comic books, but it is all within the world of superheroes. This movie takes a regular family, one that is struggling financially, has problems within the family and throws them into this crazy situation that changes everything they ever knew. I loved how they showed the shift from universe to universe. It was so cool. I also adored how many jokes were in this movie. The first half, hell, the first 2/3rds has so many jokes. There were times where I was cracking up. So were the other patrons in the theater. I went to another vax only theater, and this one was packed. When I saw "The Batman" a month ago, around the same time, there were five total people, counting me, in the theater. Today, it was pretty full. I'd say there were maybe four or five empty seats. The theater is not too terribly big, but still, an 11:35 am showing of a A24 multiverse movie being that full, I found that impressive.

Also the acting in this movie, my goodness was amazing. Michelle Yeoh as the mom and business runner, she was tremendous. She deserves awards consideration. Stephanie Hsu as the daughter, simply terrific. And her costumes were the best. Ke Huy Quan, you may remember him from "Indiana Jones" and "Goonies", was a total delight. James Hong, as the dad and grandpa was awesome when his character shifted into gear. And Jamie Lee Curtis was incredible. Her performance was one of the best in a movie filled with great performances. Even Jenny Slate, Harry Shum and Biff Wiff, all in very small roles, did great.

The set design as previously mentioned was dope as hell. The scenery and imagery was amazing. I mentioned Hsu's costumes, and boy oh boy were they cool as hell. I could not take my eyes off the screen.

The writing was the most impressive thing going on in this terrific movie. The idea was original. The jokes were on point and delivered with perfect timing. The story was awesome and moved along really well.

This movie is great. It is a must see. More and more people need to check this out. I'm sure it will be streaming soon, and when it is I will most definitely watch it a bunch more times. I cannot recommend "Everything Everywhere All At Once" enough. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Full stop. Go see it.

Ty

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

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Ty Previews the 2022 NBA Play-in Games

I will be doing a full NBA playoff preview when it is fully set. Which leads me to today's piece. Since the NBA playoffs will not be starting until later this week, I will do a preview and prediction for the four play-in games that will be happening tomorrow and Wednesday.

I love the play-in tourney. This was a wildly successful idea. I cannot wait until it becomes a permanent fixture. It makes the first few games so exciting to watch. I think it is the absolute best. I'll start with the East.

The 7-8 features the Brooklyn Nets facing the Cleveland Cavs. This would be a much more fun game if Cleveland was at full health. Unfortunately Jarrett Allen isn't likely to play, and that will be the ultimate downfall for the Cavs. They need his rim protection. Evan Mobley is good. He will be the ROY. But he is not ready to be a full time rim protector yet. Darius Garland is good, but Kyrie Irving, whom I loathe, is more prepared for this stage. Kevin Love has been great, but he is a zero on defense. And Caris Levert is trying to come back from yet another injury. Oh, and the Nets have a fully healthy KD. As much as I'd love to see the Cavs win, and they could, I just do not think it will happen. KD is too awesome, the Cavs are not full and the game is in Brooklyn. The Nets will win and clinch the 7 seed.

The 9-10 game is going to be a score fest. The Hornets and Hawks do not play a whole lot of defense, but man oh man do both teams score. The Hornets love to run up and down the floor and bomb threes. LaMelo Ball finds open guys, Miles Bridges is a better creator and Kelly Oubre is a microwave off the bench. As for the Hawks, Trae Young is wonderful. He is an offensive wizard. Clint Capela is an excellent rim runner and rebounder. Bogdan Bogdanovich is a scorer off the bench. Deandre Hunter is a solid three and d guy. The Hawks have scorers. They also have more experience. And they have been on fire lately. The Hornets are on the come up, but not yet. The Hawks will win this game.

With the Cavs getting beat, and the Hawks beating Charlotte, that means they will face off for the 8 seed. I would love to see the Cavs win this game and make the playoffs, but they will not. They just do not have enough guys, and no one to fully protect the rim. And the Hawks are on a bit of a tear lately. They will grab that 8 seed and make a return trip to the playoffs.

Now we head to the West.

The 7-8 game is going to be fun and I have an interest since the winner will be facing the Grizz in round one. The Timberwolves are the 7, and they are a very good offensive team with a somewhat serviceable defense. KAT has also taken a leap. So has Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves are young, but they are confident. The Clippers found a way to get in without Kawhi all year and with PG missing more than half the season. The utility guys have made the most of the season and Ty Lue has coached one hell of a year. And, as much as I'd hate to see the Clippers in round one, I do think that will be the Grizzlies first round opponent. I think the Clippers, with all the veteran leadership, will find a way to grind this game to a halt and win.

The 9-10 game features the Spurs and Pelicans. This game will be a ton of fun to watch for the young talent on both squads. I think neither one of these teams thought they'd be here, but they are and they have a game to play. I like what the Pelicans have done this year too. They started real slow, 3-16, but they have found a way to turn it around somewhat. And I think the CJ McCollum trade was great. The Spurs probably had no desire to be here, but they found a way. And they are getting their guys back. Dejounte Murray is back. Josh Primo is healthy. Devin Vassell is playing well. This Spurs team is young and they are playing with house money, and I think they will win this game. The Pelicans are very inconsistent and the Spurs have the best coach to ever coach in the NBA. He will devise a game plan to find a way to win.

So that leaves us with the Spurs and Timberwolves fighting for the 8th spot. The Spurs have had an odd and fun year, but this is where it all ends. The Timberwolves are a better team and they really, really, really want to get in the playoffs. That is not to say the Spurs don't, but the Timberwolves need to get in the playoffs. And they will and their reward will be the best team in the NBA.

So I have the Nets as the 7 and Hawks as the 8 in the East. In the West I have the Clippers as the 7 and the Timberwolves as the 8. Again, I love this play-in tourney and I cannot wait to watch. Bring it on.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "The Alpinist"

After doing my regular activities on a Thursday I had a few hours to kill. I like to watch movies when I have down time, so I fired up the Netflix account and went searching. I was in the mood for a documentary, and when you can make it about sports, I will be fully in. I found a great doc that was recommended on my account called "The Alpinist".

I am a big fan of extreme sports docs. And when I say extreme sports I do not mean skateboarding or snowboarding or surfing, none of the cliche extreme sports that I have no ability to do. When I say extreme I mean ultra running, ice climbing, stuff like that. "The Alpinist" is about a person who many consider to be the best solo climber that ever lived. I saw "Free Solo", and thought that guy was the guy, but he was in this movie talking about Marc-Andre Leclerc. Marc-Andre is the person who many consider to be the best solo climber there ever was. This guy did some wild and crazy things that many people thought were impossible, and he did it, mostly, by himself. Sometimes he would bring a helper, or a guy that would film his climbs. But he was usually doing the climbs alone, filming alone and putting everything out there on his own time. The filmmakers decided they needed to make a movie about this guy, and when they approached him he was on board. But they soon found out that Marc-Andre was a free spirit who did not succumb to the everyday norms. He wasn't a social media guy. In fact, he barely ever truly owned a phone. He did not do these climbs for the recognition. In fact he shied away from it when possible. He simply wanted to see what he could do, and how far he could push the limits. Like I have said, this guy did some solo climbs that people considered impossible. He did this big time climb in Patagonia, Argentina that was the thing of lore amongst the climbing community. And when he filmed it, and we the viewer got to see what he put out there, I was blown away. I could not believe what I was seeing. I am afraid of heights, and while watching the movie at home, I was getting weak in the knees and sitting up in my seat. It was so high and dangerous, and he was doing this with a minimal pack and low food and water. But he was fast and figured things out quickly. They also would show him climbing other mountains, after he did one solo he would allow the filmmakers to film him doing it again, and it was silence and him climbing and it was beautiful. It was also mesmerizing. I was completely wrapped up in what I was watching.

After the Patagonia climb, I thought that was where the movie would end. Unfortunately, and this is all too often the case, Marc-Andre went on a climb in Juneau, Alaska with one other climber, and they never returned. There was some video of them at the top, but after that a big storm came along and an avalanche pretty much ended their lives. It was sad. I felt awful for his girlfriend and mom and all the people who came to know him and truly love him. It was a bleak ending to a very moving and fascinating movie. Marc-Andre was only 25 when he passed away. That is far too young. But near the end the movie showed his girlfriend still climbing and making videos for him. His mom spoke at his memorial service, and the place was packed to the brim. She said that Marc-Andre always lived his life to the absolute fullest, and she knew he would want everyone to do the same. It was a sad ending with a very uplifting message.

I loved this movie. I cannot recommend it enough for people that love sports documentaries. "The Alpinist" is a must watch.

Ty

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

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The SeedSing 2022 MLB Preview

Much to my surprise, yet again, the MLB season started this afternoon. I was oblivious to this news. I have been more focused on my son's baseball team, we started on Tuesday. I remember the lockout, and them resolving it eventually, but the season always seems to sneak up on me. I just do not seem to give it the same attention I did as a kid. Truth be told, I am much more pumped for the NBA playoffs, which start in about a week.

Like I do every year, I have my version of a "preview" of the season. RD is much more the expert on MLB, but I will give it a go and give you guys some predictions. I'll give division winners, the multiple wildcards, the AL and NL champs, some award winners and my World Series winner. Like I say every year, take this with the biggest grain of salt you can find. I truly am out of my element, but hey, I still like baseball. Here it goes.

The AL seems to be solid. There are some really good teams. I do not remember who the Braves played in the World Series last year, had to look up who won in fact, but there are always big hitting, high run scoring teams in the AL. The Toronto Bluejays seem to be the vogue pick in the East, and I am not different. I adore Vlad Guerroro Jr, and I think he alone can lead them to the playoffs. The Central will be competitive. The Tigers look good on paper, the White Sox won it last season and they appear to be loaded. Most "experts" are picking the White Sox, but I am going to go with the Twins. I have family members that are big time Twins fans, so this is a family fueled pick. For as much as they cheat, the Astros should win the West. They are the far superior team in that division. The Angels cannot seem to get it together and the Mariners are done being everyone's "surprise" team. As far as the three, that is right three, wild card teams, I'll go with the Yankees because they can buy talent, the Red Sox because they too can buy talent and the Rays because they seem to have dope pitching every season.

Moving over the NL, we will start with the East here too. The Mets and Phillies seem to be the vogue picks for the division. But why is no one on the Braves? They won it all last year. They did it without Acuna Jr. And I don't think they lost too much. I'll stick with the defending champs in the East. Man oh man would I love, love, love to pick the Cardinals in the Central. But the Brewers are too loaded. I remember seeing them in the playoffs for a minute last season. They are better than any team in that division. But, at least the Cards will be better than the Cubs. The Brewers will win the Central. The West will be owned by the Dodgers. They have the most talent, the most money and if push comes to shove, they will buy any type of talented player they want. The Dodgers are now the villains of baseball. They are the Yankees of the 90's. They will coast. As for the three wild cards, I am going full homer with the Cardinals in one spot, and the Phillies and the Mets to round it all out.

As for the AL pennant, I think the Bluejays will play the Astros, and the Bluejays will win. Good will prevail. And I just want to see Guerroro Jr get his just due. That kid is awesome. He makes baseball fun to watch. Him, Shoehai Ohtani and Fernando Tatis Jr make the game of baseball watchable nowadays. In the NL, I'm going with the Dodgers over the Brewers. I would love to see the Brewers win for multiple reasons, mainly because that is my dad's team, but the Dodgers are too good. They have so many all stars on that team. And like I said, if someone gets hurt or wants out, they will just replace them with an equal or better player because they have so much money.

I think it is pretty obvious that I have the Dodgers beating the Bluejays in the series and winning it all. Unfortunately. But the sports world will really get to know Vlad Guerroro Jr very well this baseball season. I even think he will find a way to beat out Ohtani for the MVP this season. Well, maybe. I do think that someone, maybe Mookie Betts, from the Dodgers will win the NL MVP. I could see Juan Soto giving a fight, but Betts is probably the best player on the best team. I want, and am predicting, that Shoehai Ohtani will win the AL Cy Young and Max Scherzer will win the NL Cy Young. As for the other stuff, honestly, I have zero idea what is going to happen, and I don't know enough to throw some names out there.

There you have it, my 2022 MLB preview. Play ball.

Ty

Another View

2022 the first “normal” season in years, is all about transition. A few teams are taking one last plunge with their guys. The Cardinals, Yankees, Astros, and Dodgers are all or nothing for 2022. Other teams, like the Padres, Blue Jays, Brewers, and Mariners, are ready to take that next step. Let’s break it down.

The AL East will be the most competitive division in baseball. Every team except the Orioles will have over 85 wins. In the end the Toronto Blue Jays will have the most wins.

The NL East is going to be a paper tiger. The Phillies and Mets look good now, they will not be good in the end. Atlanta takes the division again.

The AL Central is the White Sox and everyone else trying to get into the wild card conversation. Any of them could make it, but Chicago will win the division again.

The NL Central has the good, Milwaukee and St. Louis, and the bad. Chicago, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh will not compete this year. The Pirates may lose over 120 games. They are terrible.

The AL West is like the AL East, just not as good. Texas Anaheim, and Oakland will be bothersome, but it will be a fight between the been there Astros and the upstart Mariners. I’m going with Seattle to win the division.

The NL West will be interesting, yet predictable. No way the Giants win 107 games again, but the Dodgers will still have to contend with them and San Diego. Dodgers will win the division.

The three Al Wild Cards will be the Yankees, Rays, and in a surprise, the Detroit Tigers.

The NL Wild cards will be St. Louis, San Diego, and San Francisco.

The ALCS will pit the surprising Seattle Mariners against the soon to be dynastic Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays win.

The NLCS will be a division matchup between the Cardinals and Brewers. The old guys on St. Louis will win the pennant.

Blue Jays and Cardinals, battle of the birds for the World Series. St. Louis wins with a walk off homerun from Albert Pujols in game seven. Fairytale ending.

RD

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

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The Lakers are a Disaster

At the start of the NBA I did my massive preview. I had the Lakers relatively high. I remember saying that I thought they would be a very good regular season team, but be running on fumes by the playoffs. I think I had them going to the second round of the playoffs. I assumed, with LeBron, they would win one series. And even though they started out kind of slow, I figured they would figure it out. I never put too much stock in early regular season NBA games. As the season wore on, and the injuries piled up, as did the losses, it seemed inevitable that they would not make it. They had been on the backend of the play-in tournament for a month, and then fell out completely. And with the Spurs beating the Nuggets, and Suns wallopping a LeBron less Lakers last night, they were officially eliminated.

To be honest, I am kind of stunned. This team has a very solid collection of talent. Sure, it is old. and tons and tons of people made the same joke over and over again, but still, tons of stars. They also got some solid guys on the buyout market and got some younger vets to sign for the league minimum, assuming they would make a title run. I wasn't crazy about the additions of Russell Westbrook, who I adore, and Carmelo Anthony. But I did like getting Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn for very cheap. I thought Dwight Howard was a solid backup center choice. I loved the shot they took on Stanley Johnson late in the year. Austin Reaves turned out to be hot and cold, but when he is hot, watch out. When healthy, Talen Horton-Tucker is a good creator. I thought that Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore and Trevor Ariza would bring good veteran leadership. And Avery Bradley is still a decent defender. But it never came together for this team.

LeBron got what he wanted. Three years ago they emptied the picks and young players to get Anthony Davis, which worked. They won a title with those two. But, in letting Alex Caruso walk, in trading KCP and Kyle Kuzma for Russ and picking Deandre Jordan at the start of the year was way, way off. Jordan couldn't get on the floor with any regularity. He was mercifully let go. It is clear they miss Caruso on the defensive end of the floor. They just do not have the guys to play competent defense. And Russ, again a player I love, has been downright bad this season. He just doesn't have the explosiveness that so well defines him. And he is not a shooter, especially a three point shooter. They could have had Buddy Hield. They had a trade ready to go. But LeBron wanted Russ. They could have had DeMar DeRozan. He wanted to play there. But LeBron wanted Carmelo. It was some bad choices I'm sure they wish they could have back. When the trade deadline came and went, and the Lakers did nothing, that clearly pissed him off. But I say again, these are the dudes he wanted to play with. He went to bat for these guys. He told the media to keep bad mouthing them and call them old, that he would get them to prove everyone wrong. Welp, the date is April 8th and the Lakers are 31-48 and officially out of the playoffs.

LeBron is not solely to blame. The front office did not do a thing, as previously mentioned, to help shore this team up at the deadline. And maybe the front office should have put their foot down when LeBron came to them and said give me a mid 30's Russ and late 30's Carmelo and Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk. Those were poor, thoughtless moves. Injuries did not help this team either. LeBron continues to miss more and more time with each passing season. He is getting older. Anthony Davis has proven that, while an incredible player, he simply cannot stay healthy. He misses time every year. He gets cuts and bruises and sits out multiple games. Russ, while not hurt too much, is just old. Same with Carmelo. Kendrick Nunn has not played a single minute all year, and he is done for the year. It just never came together for this team. They never gelled. They openly fought and griped with the media. Frank Vogel never found a way to get these guys to play for him, and that is fully his fault.

I would love to be all hate and doom, like I was with Duke the other day, but this is really simply sad. This team should have been good. They should have been a playoff team. They should not be 17 games under .500. But here we are. It is a bummer that we will have no Lakers or Knicks in the playoffs this season.

No matter what anyone says, this season was a massive failure for the Lakers. They are, without a doubt, the most disappointing team in the NBA. And, quite frankly, it stinks. I wonder what will happen this offseason, but it cannot be much because this team has no picks and no really desirable trade pieces. Time will tell.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches the 2022 Mens College Basketball Championship

The men's NCAA title game was quite the event last night. It was played in a football stadium, it was filled to the brim, there were a ton of famous people and alums of each school and the game itself was pretty gratifying, especially for this viewer who had no skin in the game.

I hoped for a good, close game, and when that second half started, that is exactly what I got. The first half was pretty one sided. Kansas came out and scored the first seven points, but then UNC took over. They calmed down, hit some shots, and before I knew it they were up 16, at 38-22. They went on an incredible scoring run. They went 38-15 after being shut out for the first few minutes. And they looked like they could not be stopped. While KU settled, UNC attacked. They went inside, which opened up the outside, and UNC feasted. At one point they scored 16 unanswered points. When it went to half, UNC was up 40-25.

I thought we might be in for a blowout, but I still wanted to see the start of the second half. Basketball is a game of runs, and KU has shown all tourney long that they seem to rev it up after halftime. That is precisely what happened. KU came out and attacked. They became the aggressors. They got to the rim seemingly at will. The layups they missed in the first half were falling. UNC was fouling. Things started to turn around. The lead was cut to 12, then 10, then 7, then 4. Before too long KU cut the lead to 1. UNC would answer each run though. KU would cut it to 1, UNC would follow with a dunk or a 3 to stretch it to two possessions. But KU kept going. They stopped settling and kept attacking. They were passing up threes for layups and dunks. The attacking nature in the second half then opened up the outside shot. This was where super transfer Remy Martin showed up. He nailed three big time 3 pointers in the second half. He made big shot after big shot. Ochi Agbaji started to hit shots as well. He stopped shooting mid range shots and threes, and went to the rim. He was making shots and getting fouled. He was getting 3 points the old fashioned way. KU's big man, Tim McCormack, started to own the paint. Armando Bacot played a hell of a game too. That kid was everywhere for UNC last night. But he could not stop McCormack. He was playing hurt, and the second half showed that. He also got far less touches. Brady Manek was not making his usual shots either. He played great defense, but he just couldn't put the ball in the bucket. Caleb Love, who has been sensational all tourney, had a very poor and unfortunate shooting night. RJ Davis kept UNC in it, but he had to put up a ton of shots. And Puff Johnson, even though he hurled during the game, played one hell of a game off the bench. But KU kept grinding and getting to the basket and playing world class defense. Their defense in the second half was a thing of beauty to a basketball nerd such as myself. They played tight defense up and down the floor. KU's guards were making life miserable for UNC's guards. UNC kept trying to pick and roll, but KU's guards were jumping screens and fighting every time. McCormack would not let Bacot get his touches. They flustered UNC in that second half. It was a clinic.

All in all this was a very well played, hard fought title game. I was glad I stayed up to watch the whole thing. I feel for the UNC fans and players and coaches. But I am also happy for the KU players and fans, not so much their coaches. But I want to extend a big thank you to UNC and KU for putting up a wonderful, down to the wire title game. I love it when they are close like this. A blowout is not fun. Last night was fun. A well played game won by a very deserving Jayhawks team. Congrats.

Ty

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

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In the End Coach K Will Always Be Coach K

I figured I was done talking about Duke after I stated that they would win the title no matter what. I am glad to say that I am wrong. I have to eat a lot of crow on this site, but this time it doesn't taste as bad as it usually does. I loathe Duke. I love to hate them and hate on them. I have never ever liked that school, the majority of their star players and, obviously, their head coach.

Which leads me to my point today. I was so, so, so happy that UNC beat Duke Saturday night. It ruled. I was so happy that I was wrong. I was stoked to see UNC not only beat Coach K in his last game in Cameron, but even more happy to see them beat Duke in the tourney, and end Coach K's career without another title. It was akin, I kid you not, for me, when Michigan beat the university of Ohio State in football this year after Ryan Day said he was going to hang 100 points on them. I was almost as excited by what UNC did.

Yet that still did not stop Coach K from revealing the slimy asshole he has always been and will be until the day he passes. He, during a presser on his last game as a head coach in college basketball, managed to throw an 18 year old under the bus. He still found the time to blame someone else for a loss. He may have said some nonsense about how "other factors led to us being beat tonight", but that does not change the fact that he did not take any blame for his much, much better team getting beat in a game where they had the refs, most of the media and a good amount of fans on their side. A player on his team, a freshman, who has had a really good year by the way, missed two late free throws. That stinks. I did feel bad for the kid afterward. That is not something anyone that has ever played basketball wants it to go down. You dream of being the hero, not the goat. But, even at the lowest level of basketball, you never expect your coach, on live TV with millions upon millions of people watching, to openly blame you for the loss. That is just unspeakable petty. I would have lost my goddamn mind if I was that kid. That kid came to play for Coach K when he could have gone anywhere. He did everything that was asked of him. He probably put in as much extra effort as anyone else on the team. I'm sure he gave it his all. And what thanks does he get from the "might Coach K"? He gets completely and utterly run over by a bus followed by a mack truck ending with a semi rolled over him.

Again, how petty does Coach K have to truly be? I mean deep down, what is this soulless person really like behind closed doors? But it just shows who he really is to people who do not know him. I have never liked the guy, and this only reaffirmed my dislike. It is about as classless as one can be. He even said some garbage about how "this was all for the team" and he "really loves and cares about these kids". Well, he may love and care about a few of them, but not the kid who tried really hard to make some free throws and came up a bit short unfortunately.

I do now get it now why he wouldn't have been able to hack it in the NBA. I understand why he stayed at Duke and never gave it a real try with the pros. You can tell me he coached Team USA, but he was a figurehead coaching a bunch of super duper stars, just like he had done at Duke. If he had tried, like really tried for an NBA job, it would have been similar to Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Hell, he may have been closer to John Beilien. But, truly, he is a less successful Nick Saban. Saban could not hack it in the NFL and cowardly left Miami without telling any of his players for Alabama. And he has turned into the greatest college football coach of all time. But a vast majority of people despise Saban. That is Coach K, minus the trying at the highest level. And he is not nearly as dominant in basketball as Saban is in football.

Coach K is a bum. I'm so happy he is retired. I am so happy UNC beat him again. I'm so glad that, even with all the extra help, he still could not get it done. And I am incredibly disappointed, but not at all surprised that he would blame an 18 year old for the defeat. That is the man that he really is. Inside and out.

Ty

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

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Some Praise for the College Transfer Portal

Following college sports means I read a lot about the transfer portal. It has been on fire the past couple years. In the past I used to get mad about players transferring all the time, but then I grew up. If a kid wants to go somewhere they can get more playing time, so be it. They deserve that choice. If they are promised time somewhere else, go play somewhere else. Coaches can leave whenever they want, so why cannot players do the same? Coaches leave for bigger and better opportunities, players should be able to as well. The same goes for fired coaches. If a player is recruited by a certain coach, and that coach gets fired, why wouldn't they want to go play elsewhere?

This leads me to LSU men's basketball. They have lost, at last count, seven players to the transfer portal this offseason. Will Wade was fired, and for cause. That dude cheated incessantly. He did so many wrong things, and he was horrific at hiding it. Coaches like Coach K, John Calipari, Bill Self, they all know how to, or how to get away, with illegal recruiting. And now with NIL, it is even easier to cheat. But Will Wade found a way to get caught and was let go. Now LSU men's basketball is paying the price. Will Wade cheated, got caught and now players are making a mass exodus. Again, seven players are gone. A few of their top recruits have decommitted and I would not be surprised if a few more decide to leave.

I ask yet again, why are fans and other people mad at these kids? They did nothing wrong. I have told my kids that if they become big time recruits, and someone offers them an ungodly amount of money, take it. They may not have another chance at that kind of money. I have also let them know that if they go to play sports at a school, and the coach gets fired or leaves, they should look elsewhere to finish their college careers. So I have no problem with what these kids at LSU are doing right now. I would love it if some of them were to choose Michigan to finish their college careers. I hope most of them go to another school and thrive. I would love to see a few of them head overseas or go play in the G League if they have the skill. I think the high school kids that decommitted have made the absolute right choice. Now they can reopen their recruitment and find a much, much better fit for their ability.

The transfer portal is there for a reason, and LSU men's basketball is a prime example of why the portal is a good thing. These kids have many better and newer options. They can find places that will hone their skills and help them get better and possibly play at the next level. What has happened at LSU makes me like the transfer portal that much more and makes me believe that it is a great thing for college sports. A lot of people may disagree with me, but hey, I am all for these kids finding the best possible situation for them and their families.

The portal works.

Ty

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

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