Ty Listens to Kendrick Lamar's "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers"

The other new record that I was looking forward to last week was the new Kendrick Lamar. It is called "Mr Morale and the Big Steppers".

I, like all his other fans, have been waiting for this record for five years. "DAMN" came out then, it was great, I believe that he won a Pulitzer for it and I listened to it on repeat for months. This record is a wonderful, ambitious, eye opening album. I literally cannot stop listening to the record. Every time I have some free time or down time, I put the album on and vibe out. The album has 18 songs on it and I wish there were more. The selfish side of me wants this album to go on forever and ever. It is so, so good. It is also deep. Kendrick Lamar has clearly been going through some things for the past five years and he lets it all out on this album. He is an open book. He reveals all. It is like the greatest hip hop therapy session ever recorded.

From start to finish this album is a hit. There is not a bad song on the record. The production value is second to none. The way the album flows from song to song is perfect. There is not a single wasted moment on it. Everything works. And it works so very well. I read a headline the other day that made me kind of scoff, but the more I listen the more the headline comes true. It simply read "Kendrick Lamar is Here to Save Hip Hop", and they are 100 percent correct. Modern hip hop, in my opinion, is not very good. There are a few good artists, but for the most part it is not great. I do not like Drake. I think he is very overrated. Kanye West needs therapy. He needs real help. Dababy is homophobic and transphobic. And not very good. Post Malone is trash. There are few exceptions, like Pusha T, but that is few and far between. What Kendrick Lamar does on "Mr Morale and the Big Steppers" gives me faith in modern hip hop.

Everyone who listens to this record has liked it. Artists galore are out here singing its praises. Not one of them has a bad thing to say about it. The same can be said for journalists and bloggers. We all love the record. It is so good. It is perfect. Kendrick crushes everything he does on here, and with him still out there doing his thing, maybe it will help energize some new up and coming young rappers. Maybe the artists that have hit will listen to this and realize that they too can make quality hip hop music. Take an artist like Baby Keem. I never listened to him before seeing he was on this record, and by checking him out now, you can hear the influence. There is hope, and Kendrick is here to push the younger artists in the right direction.

Getting back to the songs now, there is so much good on here and Kendrick is an open book. The opener, "United in Grief", hits. "Father Time" has him coming face to face with fatherhood. "We Cry Together" is what being in a toxic relationship has to be like in real life. "Purple Hearts" has a Ghostfast Killah feature, and the song rips. "Count Me Out" is Kendrick begging people to come for his crown. "Crown" is a great song about being the GOAT. "Savior" is another great song about Kendrick not being your savior, how he is just a dude. "Auntie Diaries" is a revelation. It is the best song on the record in my opinion. "Mr Morale" is perfect. And "Mother", followed by "Mirror" is the best way he could have ended this masterpiece.

This album is wonderful. It is one of the best records I have heard in quite some time. It will most likely be my number one album of 2022. But it is so much more than that. This is going to go down as a classic. Kendrick Lamar has cemented his place. He is one of the best of all time. "Mr Morale and the Big Steppers" further hammers that home. The wait was more than worth it. I love this record.

Ty

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

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Ty Listens to The Black Keys "Dropout Boogie"

A few new albums I have been anticipating came out last Friday. I will be taking the next two days to write about each one. The first one I want to talk about is "Dropout Boogie" from The Black Keys. I waited an entire weekend before writing about the albums because I wanted multiple listens before writing down my thoughts. So, let's get to

"Dropout Boogie". This is a return to form. I adore this album. I have listened to it fully four times now. It is short and sweet and to the point. There are 10 songs, it is a stripped down band, the focus is solely on Carney and Auerbach's talent, it is 34 minutes long and it packs a punch. It reminds me a lot of their last record, "Delta Kream". That was a covers album, but it was just the guys with a few other, older blues musicians on the album. "Dropout Boogie" is like a rock version of that. I like The Black Keys' other stuff, their previous stuff. But I was the typical, "I like their older stuff better" fan. I enjoy "El Camino", "Brothers", "Let's Rock" and "Turn Blue". But I was way more in the bag for "Attack and Release", "Magic Potion", "The Big Come Up", and most of all, "Rubber Factory" and my all time favorite, "Thickfreakness". Those albums are raw and have the feel of a band finding a totally unique sound unto them. That is not to say those other albums don't have that feel. They do, but The Black Keys were clearly trying some other, newer stuff. And it worked. Those are good records. But they never lived up to a record like "Thickfreakness", at least not for me. Then "Delta Kream" came out a year ago. I devoured that album. I loved the direction. I loved the idea. I am drawn to old blues music with a new sound, and the boys nailed it. I wish I could have seen them perform that album live. I bet those shows ruled. And now we get another very good, older sounding record from them in "Dropout Boogie".

Everything seems right on this album. The guitar is crunchy and grimy and filled with reverb. It is like going back in time. The guitar on this album reminds me of a more refined "Rubber Factory". There is no denying Auerbach's greatness on a record like this. He is a one of a kind guitar player. He will go down as one of the greatest. Carney's drumming is just as ferocious and wild and awesome as it has ever been. I feel like he has never really strayed from the original sound they were going for back in the early 2000's. He has stayed true all the way to today. I adore that about him. I also like his manic drum playing, and that is on full display here. He gets to hammer away at his unusual kit and he does a bang up job. His fills and solos and everything work so well. I think when he and Auerbach decided to make a record like this he just smiled and was instantly on board. He feels like the type of guy that never wanted to stray from the main reason they got into this business. And add on the fact that this album comes at you fast, only slows down once and sounds like they are having a hell of a time making it, and it all works. They are cohesive. They have the same idea. They clearly wanted to make an album like this. I think they missed doing music mostly just the two of them. I am now contemplating seeing them this summer in STL. The show is outdoors and the lawn seats are cheap. And I want to see them perform these particular songs.

I like this record a lot. I highly recommend people give “Dropout Boogie” a listen.

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 "Jackass Forever"

For date night last week my wife and I finally saw "Jackass Forever". And before you think it was all my pick, my wife enjoys a good prank and bodily harm movie. We both like wild movies like this. "Bad Trip" was a godsend for the two of us. We both also used to watch the show, we have recently watched the original movie, which we also showed our son in a moment of wonderful parenting, and we both really wanted to see this. We tried to go to the theater but we just couldn't find the time. Then when it went to streaming it was only on Paramount +, which we do not subscribe to. But it was finally on VOD and it was only six bucks.

We jumped at the chance and we loved the movie. It was so funny. It was so wild. It made me think about the first time I saw the show. I was transported back 20 years in time. I was cackling like a maniac. We even let our son sit in on a few moments of the movie. He loved it as well. I could not believe that these guys could, and were willing, to do these things to themselves. It was crazy. They did a cup check yet again. This was one of their original bits and they brought it back. But instead of Johnny Knoxville letting little kids kick him in the crotch this time they let real, legit athletes test a cup on Danger Ehren. It looked and sounded like it hurt. They had an MMA fighter punch him in the crotch. Ehren's eyes looked dead when he was hit. They had the world's fastest softball pitcher pitch one into the cup. She nailed it after a few tries and it was glorious. They had PK Subban slap shot a puck into it. And they even let another "Jackass" member, Dave England, use a metal pogo stick and jump into him. It was all brutal. Ehren even ruptured a testicle. It was wild. They played a prank on a bunch of the cast members by making them think they were in a blacked out room with a venomous snake. My wife and I were cracking up. They did some cool stuff with the biggest slip and slide I have ever seen in my life. It was nuts. The opening scene was gross and hilarious. The stuff with Eric Andre and the cold brew truck was awesome. They got a ton of people with that one in fact. The tap dancing scene with Tyler, the Creator was dope. I am a big fan of his, so to see him in this movie was rad. The new cast members were good too. They had four or five new people and they were all game. They were all willing to go for broke and that is needed in a show like this. I also love that one of the new cast members got his dad involved, an ex-con who is terrified of snakes and birds, but did hard time. He was great.

The main point of today's piece, I cannot believe that most of the main crew is still around and still doing these things. Steve O went full bore like he never left. I mentioned Danger Ehren and Dave England. They brought back some old bits and let other cast members take them to task. Preston Lacy and Wee Man went for broke. They did things I do not think they would have even done back in the day. And Johnny Knoxville went for it all. He did a ton. He let himself get shot out of a cannon. He was involved in the vast majority of the pranks and stunts. He is still the ring leader. And he even brought back the bull stunt. And that bull knocked him out. He was so knocked out that he was snoring. He broke his wrist, ribs, got a brain hemorrhage and a concussion. And he still came back for more. I hope for these guys that this is the last one of these movies they make. They looked older and rough. They still had the gall, but most of the guys in the crew are in their late 40's or early 50's. I do not think their bodies can handle the damage anymore. It is too much. But I am glad they made this one. I hope they leave us with this one.

I enjoyed “Jackass Forever” quite a bit. So did my wife. And the little bit my son saw. "Jackass Forever" is a great trip back in time, and I highly recommend watching 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 Watches "Pam and Tommy"

I just finished watching "Pam and Tommy". I was putting it off because I thought my wife wanted to watch, but she was in Costa Rica last week and she told me to go ahead. So I did.

I thought it was pretty solid. I, and I am being totally truthful, have never seen the Pam and Tommy sextape. I know the story since I was born in the 80's and grew up in the 90's. I was 14 and 15 years old when all of this stuff went down. But I have never watched the tape. It feels like a violation of famous people's property. And that seemed to be the point that this show was trying to get across. Seth Rogen played a carpenter who felt like he was being abused by Tommy Lee. One day he decides he is going to rob him and he just happens upon the tape. He then finds a way to put it on the internet, and that is when all hell breaks loose. Most of us know the outcome of the story from there. In my piece today I want to really focus on the actors. I do want to say that I have read and fully get that Pamela Anderson did not give her consent, and she is seeing no money from this. There are many things to unpack with all of that, but I do not have the time nor the patience to sit here and detail to everyone why I went ahead and watched anyway. I get it, I understand and sympathize with people who chose not to watch it, I think that is great and awesome for sticking to your guns. But I wanted to watch it so I did. You can be mad at me all you want. That is totally fine and I'm okay with it. Now, back to the blog.

The show was fine. It was cool to take a little walk down memory lane. I liked hearing the songs from the 90's that were all over the radio. I liked seeing record stores selling CD's. It was cool to see acid washed jeans and wild shirts. The mullets were all in the frame. It was crazy. But what I liked most about this show was how hard all the actors committed to their roles. They all did a very, very good job. Rogen was great as the woebegone carpenter. He was down on his luck, at his wits end and wanted to change something about his life. To see him go through a ton of stuff was interesting. And Rogen handled the dramatic stuff really well. I am a big time Rogen fan, and he delivered. Taylor Schilling played his ex wife and confidant. She was so sweet but truthful. She said the stuff Rogen needed to hear, not wanted to hear. I did not like her much in "Orange is the New Black", but I thought she was tremendous on this show. Nick Offerman was so good and so sleazy. He embodied what I imagine a sleazy porn producer would be like. He was the worst. Andrew Dice Clay was solid as a mobster and money man. It was right in his wheelhouse.

But the two stars, the two best in this show, by a country mile, were Sebastian Stan and Lily James. Stan played Tommy Lee and he was a spitting image. He looked and talked and sounded and acted like Tommy Lee. He engrossed himself in this role. Everytime he said "PAMMY!!!!", I found myself annoyed, but when you hear the way the actual Tommy Lee said it, it was perfect. He was a bomb waiting to explode, just like Lee. Lee could never control his emotions. Stan nailed that part. But he also nailed his love for Anderson. He truly did love her and wanted to be with her. He did some messed up stuff, but in the end, he really did love Pamela Anderson. Stan is a very good actor and this was a good role to see him in. I know him most as the Winter Soldier, but after watching "I, Tonya" and now this, Stan is showing me that he can do many different things. He is a good actor.

The true star, the one that made this show work, was James. She became Pamela Anderson. She looked like her. She sounded like her. She embodied her life and, at that time, the anger and frustration she must have been going through. James was so, so good. She was the driving force in the show. She made Anderson look and feel like the strong one in the relationship. She was, and still is, a feminist. She worked her tail off to become an actor. She worked hard to become the model she became. She jumped on an opportunity after being spotted at a football game. She had her mom on her side and she went with it. She forced Tommy to do things he may have felt hurt his career, but she knew it would be beneficial in the long run. She walked away from a toxic relationship. She handled herself with determination and grit and fury. I thought it was a glowing portrayal of Anderson. I think Anderson might actually like it and be swayed if she were to ever watch James portrayal. I would hope James will get Emmy consideration, but who knows.

All in all this show is good because they have good people on it and behind the scenes. It is also short, only eight episodes, which makes it go down even easier. I think this is a fascinating watch for anyone that grew up during all of this, or even remembers a bit about the time. It is a decent peak back in time. I recommend 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 Listen's the Pusha T's "It's Almost Dry"

I have now listened to Pusha T's new record "It's Almost Dry" about three times now. I enjoy it. I do not like it as much as his last record, but with each new listen I find something new that I enjoy about it.

I'm a Pusha T fan. I have been since the first time I heard Clipse in 2001. He just has this very cool flow about him when he raps. It comes out smooth. I think that is why it has taken me multiple listens to really get into "It's Almost Dry". I wasn't ready for it when it first came out. I have been in a pretty deep soul, R&B and heavier rock groove lately. There has been tons of Black Keys, Etta James, Leon Bridges and, I know this is a little out of left field, Bo Brunham on my playlists. So I just was not ready to receive what Pusha T was putting out there. But the more I've heard the better it has become. I truly do like every song on the album. I also appreciate that it is a tight 35 minutes long.

The record starts off strong, has some great stuff in the in between and has a perfect ending, with him reuniting with the other member of Clipse. Pusha T has a way of rapping over a beat that is like no other. He is one of the few rappers I have heard who do not really wait for a beat to kick in. When he is ready he goes. And he is good. The flow is so good that it doesn't need him waiting. I love how he just gets to it. He has something to say and he refuses to wait.

The record is produced by Kanye and Pharrell. I do not like Kanye at all. He needs real therapy. He needs true help. He has some mental stuff going on that only a doctor can fix. But the dude can make a beat. He has that skill. That has not left him yet. And the fact that he doesn't rap on this record, save for a few weak bars during some hooks, makes it all the better. The beats are his, you can tell, and Pusha T makes them work. Pharrell, on the other hand, is a true musical genius. He does things with hip hop that have just further pushed the genre to a whole new world. He makes complicated beats sound simple. He knows how to get the best out of his performers. He doesn't dip his toes too far into the water. He lets the talent do what they do best. Sure there are tweaks here and there, but for the most part Pharrell just refines it all in the end. He rules. There is a version of the record on Spotify right now titled "It's Almost Dry: Kanye vs Pharrell", and it is astounding to hear the two producers on the same record and how different they are. And how much better Pharrell is at his job.

I think what I like most about the album, and I mentioned this for a second a minute ago, is how there are now real hooks on the songs. It is all Pusha T's line of thought being put on wax. He has his verses and his bars and he rolls with it. He puts it all out there. He doesn't need a hook. He doesn't need a chorus. He can just go from verse to verse and not miss a beat. Sometimes hooks help, but in this case, I do not miss it at all. It almost seems like a hook would hinder the greatness that is Pusha T.

I am a fan of this record. I have most definitely come around after three listens. I will continue to listen. Pusha T is very famous, but I think he should be talked about far more than he already is by the media. This record is a great appetizer to the new Kendrick Lamar coming out in a day. I will for sure have both albums on repeat for a bit.

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 "Winning Time" Season One

I watched the season one finale of "Winning Time" on HBO yesterday. I wrote about this show when the season started. I was hyped for it. I was hoping it was going to work. I thought the casting was great. I, for the most part, like Adam McKay's stuff. I am fascinated by this era of professional basketball. It had everything on its side for me as a viewer.

For the most part the first season was solid. There was some good stuff in there. I enjoyed my time watching the show. I thought most stuff worked. I like the fleshing out of some of the side characters. But there were times when the show felt a little overdramatic. Hell, I'd even say melodramatic. The stuff with Jerry Buss and his womanizing, we all know that, at least those of us that follow the NBA. It was pretty cliche of Buss to ask his daughter which of her two brothers would best fit in for a front office job. We all know that she gets the job in the long run. The stuff with Magic Johnson and his girlfriend in college, Cookie, seemed forced a bit by the creators. So did the stuff with his teammates when he was first drafted. But the most egregious thing to me, as far as melodrama goes, was the whole Spencer Haywood storyline near the end of the season.

I adore Wood Harris. He is definitely up there as an actor whose work I seek out. He rules. But his portrayal of Haywood was a bit much. His monologues seemed lifted from soap operas. The whole calling a hit on the entire Lakers roster was so off base. Even the junkie stuff seemed forced. It just wasn't written well enough for an actor of his caliber. I could also say the same for the guy who played Larry Bird. Man I wish it had been Bo Burnham, but things happen. But this actor just seemed into the whole notion of Bird being a hick. And I know that him and Magic did not get along at first, but this seemed to be a bit overboard. They at least respected one another. I have to imagine that much.

Outside those little critiques, this show, as I said, worked. The basketball was real enough. The gameplay looked nice. The actors, minus the ones I mentioned, did good things with their roles. Adrien Brody shocked me. I do not like him, but I enjoyed him as Pat Riley. Quincy Isaiah was magnetic as Johnson. Solomon Hughes embodied this version of Kareem. Jason Clarke was solid as Jerry West. Gaby Hoffman was amazing. Hadley Robinson as Jeanie Buss was really good. The show works for the intended audience.

I think my favorite thing about this first season is how mad some of the real life people got. They took it personally. Hell, I'm sure I would too if my name was being thrown out there like some of these guys' names were. But this is a fictional show based on a book. This is not real life. The creators came out and said as much when West and Kareem and Magic all came out against the show. Again, they have that right, but them getting so upset made me want to watch even more. The fact that West was willing to ask the Supreme Court to get involved, that Kareem wrote a very good op ed about how off base the show is, that Magic won't even talk about it, that made me tune in every week as much as my want to actually watch the show. I know they are trying to keep their names clean, as they should, but them going off like that only made me itch for more.

"Winning Time" is a fine enough show. They get some things right and it is entertaining. Is it a bit of a soap opera? Sure. Is it too melodramatic at times? Definitely. But will I watch season two? You are god damn right I will. I hope they lose some of the stuff that I was personally not a fan of, but I will still record it and watch it.

Ty

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

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Embiid is Way More Valuable Than Jokic

Last week I wrote about the NBA MVP award. It was not given out yet. I broke down how the same writers who criticized Russell Westbrook's MVP season were the very same ones that would almost assuredly vote for Nikola Jokic. Welp, it was announced yesterday that Jokic had indeed won his second straight MVP.

I was surprised, but I guess I shouldn't have been. I laid it all out for all of you anyway. I knew that these writers were licking their chops at the chance to crown another white superhero. If it couldn't be Jokic, you better damn well believe that would have wanted it to be Luka. But they got their wish. The voters voted, they were counted and Jokic narrowly beat out Embiid. All of the talking heads on ESPN said they were fine with it. Most of those people were white or old. Most of the writers on Bleacher Report were talking about how great it was that they went with analytics. That the game is changing for the good. Most of the analysts on NBA TV, mostly white, were happy with the outcome.

Jokic has now won two straight MVP's. There are only a few players in the history of the game that have done that. The only current players that have done it are Steph, LeBron, Giannis and now Jokic. To write his name in the same sentence with those guys has me utterly baffled. Jokic is a very good player. He can shoot, is a very good passer and is pretty lethal in the low post. But is he Steph? No way. Steph revolutionized the game. He has done things that no one has ever done in the history of the NBA. Giannis is a modern day Shaq who can shoot. He is un guard-able. When he has a head of steam, get out of the way. And, even though he didn't need to prove anything to anyone, he put up 50 points in a closeout game in the finals. He is currently the best player in the NBA. And then we have LeBron. I mean, it is LeBron. He is the second greatest player to ever step on an NBA floor. He is a giant among men. As for some other names that have won back to back MVPs we have Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan. And now Nikola Jokic. Looking at that list, and having to now add Jokic is jarring. He is not on the same level as any of those guys. Russell and Wilt are Mount Rushmore guys. Jordan is the GOAT. Larry and Magic are freaking Larry and Magic. Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time. I mean, even Steve Nash is more important than Jokic could ever dream of being. But now he is on this list. That is messed up.

This is purely analytical driven. The NBA voters, for the most part, are a bunch of dorks that only care about pointless stats. They will talk about VORPS and second hand assists and any other nonsense that makes basketball as boring as baseball. I do not watch basketball for the analytics. I go by the eye test. I watch and decide who I think is the MVP.

With my eye I can see Joel Embiid is a much, much, much more palatable player to watch. He is infinitely more fun. He is a far superior defender. He is a better offensive player. The only thing Jokic has over him is passing ability. And Embiid is a serviceable passer. People will point out the teammates and all of that other stuff, but do not act like Embiid didn’t have some shit to deal with this season. Ben Simmons was a selfish little baby all year. Embiid kept them afloat. Embiid missed two playoff games and the 76ers looked lost. He comes back and they win the next two games. It is wildly clear to me that Embiid is far more deserving of MVP.

This is going to be looked back upon as a miss. This is Nash over Kobe. This is Russ over Harden. This is Malone over Jordan or Barkley over Jordan. This is BS. This is white voters finding a white savior and trying to ride him for all he is worth. So when Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe and all these other writers that hemmed and hawed about being a "basketball pervert" when they voted for Russ over Harden, just remember that you all voted Jokic over Embiid, and that is a far worse fate in my opinion. Embiid is the MVP. I will debate anyone on that. Bring it.

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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Bad Calls Has Been the Story of the NBA Playoffs

The next few days are going to be dedicated to the NBA. This is the big part of the year and lots of stuff is happening. What I want to talk about today is the officiating so far in the playoffs.

It has been abysmal. The fact that people are talking about it daily speaks volumes as to how bad it has been. People do not talk about officiating if it is going okay. The last time, in my opinion, that the officiating was brought up this much in the playoffs was when Tim Donaghy was reffing Lakers-Kings. That was historically bad. Donaghy went on trial for it. The Kings got robbed. It is a well known time in NBA history. This officiating has been almost, almost as bad. And there is still time for them to get to that level of bad.

I did not watch game three of Celtics-Bucks, but I read about it. I also watched the Marcus Smart three point play, and boy oh boy was it as bad as I read. I am not a Celtics fan by any stretch of the imagination, but they got absolutely robbed by the officials. Smart was clearly shooting a three pointer when he was fouled. It should have been three shots. There is no doubt in my mind. I have been watching basketball for decades, and there is no world where that is not a 3 shot foul. But the officials deemed it non shooting. And Smart made the first, missed the second intentionally and the Celtics could not tip the ball in before the buzzer. The Bucks won and took a 2-1 series lead. They also shot many, many more free throws. I understand it is a home game, and the home team gets calls, but the Bucks shot 34 free throws to the Celtics 17. That is too much. That is Duke level favoritism. It was rough.

I did happen to watch the Suns-Mavs game yesterday though. That was rough stuff. The numbers do not tell the whole story either. There is not some free throw disparity or anything like that. But some of the calls, in favor of the Mavs, were downright atrocious. They were flat out wrong. I always tell my kids and players that officials are going to screw up, they are human, but these are supposed to be the best of the best. They should not be screwing up this much. If this is the best, the NBA has a real officiating problem on their hands. This was one of the worst called games I have ever watched. And I have no rooting allegiance. Sure, I despise Luka Doncic and think he is overrated, but it is not like I am a Suns fan. I rooted hard against them in the finals last year, and really wanted the Pelicans to win round one. But the Mavs were flopping all over that floor yesterday. They would get blown by and simply fall down and the refs would blow the whistle. Devin Booker went up for a jump shot at one point, was fouled, yet somehow got a technical called on him. The refs claimed he slapped Dwight Powell in the face on his follow through. He did not. Booker made zero contact. Powell maybe, maybe got a pinky on him, but acted as if Booker open hand slapped him. And the Mavs were rewarded. Almost the exact same thing happened to Javale McGee. He was going for a rebound and, in any regular scrum under the hoop, got his arms up. He was subsequently called for a tech. But when Booker drove to the basket later in the game and made a layup, he was smacked on top of the head by Maxi Kleber. But Kleber got no technical. There was not even a review. They called a common foul. There was another play, when the Suns were really cutting into the lead, where Mikail Bridges was boxing out Jalen Brunson. Bridges arms did get up in the air and make minimal contact with Brunson, something I would never call in a pickup game, and he was called for a foul. It has to be because Brunson jerked his head back and acted like he was punched in the jaw. This happened with Bridges and Doncic too. There was a loose ball they were both chasing and the two players made contact. Bridges stood his ground and Luka fell to the floor as if he had been shot. Of course the Suns were called for a foul. But the most egregious stuff happened to Chris Paul. Again, not a fan, but there is no world where he should have fouled out of that game. There were some ticky tack calls. Luks would bury his shoulder into Paul's chest, but Paul would be called for a foul if Doncic missed a hot or looked at an official. Paul ran after a missed shot and picked up a terrible fourth foul before halftime. But after a replay, he made no contact with the Mavs player. But, I do not remember which player, fell to the floor as if Paul had body slammed him. The worst was Paul's sixth foul. He did not even touch Brunson. In fact he let him go to avoid a sixth foul because there was still 9 minutes left in the game. The game was still in the balance at the time. But Brunson missed the shot, threw his arms up at the nearest official and, like clockwork, the official called a foul on Paul. He bought into the flopping and fouled CP3 out of the game. It was all downhill from there for the Suns. This was some of the worst officiating I have ever seen. I was openly laughing at the screen. I know the Mavs tried to play it off and say that they learned it from Paul himself. But this was horrific. This was bad. This looked like a fix was in. This was atrocious. I understand that the playoffs is a TV show, and the league wants it to go on for as long as possible, but this was bad.

Like I said at the top, the officials should not be a topic of discussion. Yet that is what is on most people's minds that watched or paid any attention to this past weekend. It was bad and something needs to be cleaned up. The flopping and whining and crying to the refs has got to stop. And if the players continue to do it, they should be held accountable. I do not watch these games to see players mope and flop. I watch them to see the best athletes in the world playing at the very height of their game. The refs should never, ever be this involved.

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 Listens to "Never Heard of Them" Podcast

I’m a listener to the Patreon podcast “The Flagrant One’s”. I’ve written about that show, but they have other, newer stuff. They also have the classic stuff. “Hollywood Handbook” is still there. They have a pro version of that. I very much enjoy “Carl Calls His Cousin”. That’s a fun chat show. It’s all pretty great.

Recently they put out a new show featuring Carl’s cousin, Ashonn. That podcast, co hosted by Jacob Wysocki, is my new thing. It’s called “Never Heard Of Them”. It’s a music podcast. Some music podcasts can be very hyperbolic and pretentious. This one is not like that. Save for the fact that they “called out” The Black Keys, one of my favorite bands, in the first episode, this pod is all about keeping an open mind while discussing music. The two hosts seem to lean more punk, but they have talked about many genres of music only five episodes in to date. They’ve covered a lot. They’ve done punk, hardcore, R&B, soul, blues, electronic and so, so much more. I really enjoy the layout of the show too. The two of them talk about what they’ve been “chewing on” for the last week. This is basically a segment where they give each other a song or band that they think the other might like. This is super interesting. I’m not much of a punk guy, I have never dig deep into that world, but some of the stuff they’ve played has grabbed my ear. They’ve also played Howlin Wolf, which was so awesome for me. I’m older than the two hosts, so to hear them talk so glowingly of one of the greatest guitarists of all time, it was dope. I love that they are exploring musicians like that. When they get done with that segment they bring in a guest. They had Alana Johnston on their first episode. She rules. She’s a spitfire and super fun to listen to on a podcast. She’s got a deep knowledge of music too. They then had Carl Tart. That interview segment was hilarious. Tart was his honest self, and he let his true feelings show. It was great. Tawney Newsome was on after that. She is a musician, a great actor and has a super awesome catalog of music she likes. That was a wonderful interview. Newsome is the best. Nicole Byer was the next guest, and you all know how I feel about her. Go read my piece from last week. And this week, their most recent episode, featured Betsy Sodaro, who is a delight. She is almost as fun as Byer. Almost. When they finish the interview they then play a game. I love playing along. They did a ghostwriter game and I was on point that day. They did a great game with marching bands recently. That was hilarious. They wrote an emo, Creed esque, song this past week and that was a riot. They were spot on with their impression. I enjoy the little game section. I also like that they try to play a song from a genre the guest does not like to see if they can change their minds. They usually don’t, but it’s fun to hear the reactions.

This pod is really growing on me. Again, I like that the hosts are not being cliche and pretentious. They’re both very knowledgeable too. I’ve learned a lot about music I’ve never listened to in 5 short weeks. This is a good pod for music lovers. I suggest everyone become a patron of “The Flagrant Ones”. And if you like music and hearing different stuff, you need to check out “Never Heard Of Them”. It’s top notch.

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 Leon Bridges Live in Concert

Last night I went to a live concert for the first time since January of 2020. I had been staying away because I was nervous about getting sick. A large group of people in an enclosed area just seemed like not a good fit. But the show I went to last night was outdoors, in a smaller venue, and even though COVID is still very, very real, the numbers have not been as high as they have been before. I felt okay going to the show last night.

It was a total blast. I went to see Leon Bridges at St Louis Music Park. I am a fan of Bridges' music. I know he has not been doing the straight forward soul music on the last two records. But I still find myself enjoying the music on said records. And he still played some stuff off his first record. Bridges was wonderful. That dude can sing. I was blown away by how good his voice sounded. I do not know why I was on the fence about hearing him live because he is so good at what he does. His band was on point too. I went with a buddy of mine and we had seats. When the bass would kick in, you could feel it in the seats and hear it reverberating in the stands. It was rad. The guitar player was on point too. That guy was doing some great things last night. The keyboard player was not only on top of his game on the keyboard, he also shredded the saxophone. He was playing the hell out of that thing. The backup singers were great as well. When they would trade vocals with Bridges, it was a thing of beauty. I especially loved it when they got the crowd involved. And when Bridges closed the show he brought one of them out to sing with him and her voice was outstanding. I was blown away. It was a great show.

The venue was also really cool. It was an outdoor stage with a roof over the top. It is like a dome with an opening. The enclosed part really let the acoustics sing through the whole crowd. You could hear almost every note. I also liked the way the venue was laid out. They had the floor area, which was open and easy to spread out. The seating was comfortable and open and easy to find your spot. It was also very clean. I know that sounds weird, but the venue just had a clean feel to it. It looked nice and just felt good. I really like this spot. I will definitely be seeing more shows there.

I also had a blast with the person I went with. My wife has lots of friends from work, and she told me that one of them is a concert goer who's wife also does not like concerts. I have gotten to know him the past couple years and I thought he was going to be the perfect person to invite. I was right. He was great. I had a very good time hanging out with a new friend last night. It was awesome.

Finally, it was really, really cool to see a live show with a group of strangers. I was nervous beforehand. But when the music started, I just let all that slip away. I would look out over the crowd and see people vibing to the music and I was just happy. I had a smile on my face the whole time. The crowd ranged in age and it was just comfortable to see a group of people crowded together to see some live music. But, there was also enough space to spread out during the show. Besides the person I went with I do not think I was within six feet of anyone else for the majority of the night. This was also a perfect show to ease myself back into the world of live shows.

Leon Bridges is cool and calm, his crowd is respectable and everyone there was having a good time. There was one person that passed out and Bridges stopped the show to make sure the person got the proper help. I have never seen that before, and to see Bridges and his band take the time to make sure that person was okay was tremendous. I had a blast last night. Everything about the evening was awesome. It has made me excited to return to live shows, especially ones that are held outdoors. What a fun night. It was a blast.

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 "The Bad Guys"

We took our kids to the movies for the first time since the pandemic last night. They had not been to a theater in two years, our son had wanted to see the movie "The Bad Guys" since he heard it was coming out and we had some time that all four of us were together at the same time last night. So we pushed the button and bought tickets.

The theater was rad, there were only about seven other people in there and we were looking to have a good time. We bought some snacks, got the kids some drinks and took our seats. After the previews were done, both our kids made comments about how long the previews were, so we settled in our seats and watched the movie.

I have to say, "The Bad Guys" is a very fun, very funny and a very solid movie. I found myself thoroughly enjoying the movie. I was laughing. I was interested in the story. I liked the characters. I adored the animation. It all worked really well. Even the slow parts worked. They were needed to move the story along. And our kids were a delight. They followed the rules and were very well behaved throughout the runtime. Back to the movie.

I enjoy a good heist movie. I found this out about myself a few years back. I like the conniving and double crossing and misdirects. It is fun. I like trying to figure out who did it. That is exactly what "The Bad Guys" was. It was a heist movie through and through. Sure they used famous characters from old stories, but they updated them. The big bad wolf was hip and cool. He was the lead of the movie. The snake was slimy and mean, but he also liked push pops and Hawaiian shirts and funky hats. The shark was a master of disguise and lovable. The tarantula was a hacking genius. And the piranha was wild and crazy and could sing. It was cool. I enjoyed how they updated them and made them cool. I also liked the message of the movie. It was all about heists and getting away with robbery and all that cool movie stuff, but the movie was really about being nice to your friends and trusting one another. Oh, and also being good. I liked how they managed to make that the focal point in a movie like this. I mentioned the animation before. It was so cool. My son has read the books and he told us that that is how the characters look in the book too, if they were colored with crayons. I appreciate the attention to detail. And the fact that my kid recognized it speaks volumes to the animators. They did a top notch job. The voice acting was on point as well. Sam Rockwell was great as the wolf, Anthony Ramos crushed as the piranha, Marc Maron epitomized the snake, Awkwafina was hilarious and cool as the tarantula and Craig Robinson was perfectly cast as the shark. It all worked so very well. There was a point during the movie where I leaned over to my wife and told her that I was having a great time. That is what I look for in "kids" movies. I want my kids to like it, but I also want stuff that keeps me interested. "The Bad Guys" nailed it.

I highly recommend this movie for kids and parents everywhere. It was wonderful. I had a blast and I think you will too. What a fun, fun movie.

Ty

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

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The Memphis Grizzlies are Not Ready to Take Down the Warriors

I was following the Grizz-Warriors game yesterday, obviously. I could not watch it because I went to my nephew's first bday party, then we planted our veggie garden and then my daughter had a softball game. It was quite the afternoon.

Even with my busy Sunday, I would periodically check my phone to see how the game was going. The Grizz played pretty well. They were loose, had fun and were winning for a good chunk of the first half. They held a six point advantage after the first half in fact. I was happy. They were in it. They were playing well. They were making shots from what I could gather during my phone checks.

Then the Warriors woke up. They had one of their patented rain storms of threes in the third. It felt like they could not miss. I was bummed. The Warriors even held a ten point lead early in the fourth. I stopped checking after a while. We were driving to softball, I was tired and I was frustrated with the Grizz.

Then I checked a few minutes before the softball game started and the score was tied. I was stoked. I figured they would do what they had done in round one and win on a comeback. Well, that did not happen. The Grizz led by two with just over 35 seconds left. The Warriors had the ball, but the Grizz won games like this in round one. Every game, except one, was a comeback win. But the Warriors got Klay wide open, of course he hit the three and the Grizz turned the ball over with a chance to win. That was it. Game one goes to Golden State.

I understand it is just one game. The T'Wolves beat the Grizz in game one in the last series. The Bulls got a game from the Bucks in round one. Hell, the Pelicans took two from the Suns. But this one felt different. This was a game that the Grizz controlled for three of the four quarters. They weathered the Warriors storm of threes. They had the lead. Hell, they even had a chance to win game one in the end. But they didn't. And I am terrified that this is going to haunt them. This could be their undoing. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr were amazing in this game. The defense, minus the third quarter, was solid. They kept things at bay. Draymond got ejected, which was very, very questionable. But they still did not win the game. They still got beat. The Warriors got the win. Steph hit threes and played really good defense. Jordan Poole has been a revelation. I love watching him succeed, being that he played at Michigan. I just wish it was not against the Grizz right now. Looney and Wiggins and the "other guys" did what they needed to do. But Klay did not do much until he was absolutely needed. And he showed up. A guy who has not played much basketball for the past two years did what he does. He hit that three. He let the crowd know. He actually said, "this is what I do", and he is not wrong. Klay is a killer. Klay loves taking big shots. He thrives in moments like this, no matter how off he has been all game. He is that good. It is frustrating to watch when he does it to your team. But as a fan of basketball, it is hard not to admire. That is the sole reason why this game felt so different. The Grizzlies played well. Their stars showed up. They hit open threes that they usually don't. They did enough to win. The Warriors goofed off for a half, then had a super hot quarter and then had a player who was struggling hit the biggest shot of the game. They did not have to go 100 percent and they still won.

The Grizzlies are young and brash and they have the feel of a team that can put this past them. But this is also the playoffs. This is against the Warriors. This is Steph, Draymond, Klay and now Poole. This is Steve Kerr. This is the NBA who'd much rather see the Warriors in the conference finals. This is the big time. And the Warriors did what they have become known to do. I am still pulling hard for my team, but they have a very, very, very big uphill climb, and I'm scared, as a fan, that they aren't ready. Prove me wrong Memphis. Win this series. I am rooting big time for that to happen. But my expectations have been squashed after seeing what happened in game one.

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 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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