Thoughts On What is Going On with Michigan Football

I am going to take a day off from my best of 2025 lists because I have to address this whole bizarre situation going on at Michigan right now with Sherrone Moore and the football team.

For those that may not know, Moore was abruptly fired yesterday for cause as the head coach of the football team. I was stunned when I read this news. This was not something I was expecting at 4pm local time while waiting to get my daughter from school. As I was trying to come to grips with what was happening, more and more news was coming out and it just got worse and worse. Moore apparently had an "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer. I don't know anything else other than that. Then it was revealed he was in police custody because, this is what I read, he was confronted by his wife and then he went to the staffer's home, busted down the door and threatened to kill the staffer and himself. I know that a mug shot was floating around the internet, but that wasn't real. What I have read today, Moore will appear in front of a judge tomorrow morning. That should be interesting to say the least.

This is an absolute mess. I was always proud to be a Michigan fan because they have stayed away from stuff like this. This is akin to the whole Bobby Petrino incident while he was the head coach at Arkansas, minus the motorcycle. It also reminds me of what happened at Michigan State with Mel Tucker, except Tucker didn't reportedly threaten anyone. What I'm trying to say is, Michigan has been able to stay away from this type of scandal. The sign stealing stuff was stupid. Gary Moeller drove drunk, not that that's good, but it's not like this. Rich Rodriguez wasn't a good fit and Brady Hoke was in over his head. Jim Harbaugh brought the team a title, then bolted like we all knew he would for the NFL. And he gave Moore his ringing endorsement as the next head coach of the Michigan football team. I was all on board with this. I felt like it would keep what little continuity they had left after Harbaugh raided the staff. Year one wasn't great, but they ended the season with two big time victories. Then Moore and his staff brought in a tremendous recruiting class. Those kids played and had their moments, both good and bad. But I was here for it. I liked that they were getting quality playing time and I felt it would only help. I wrote as much in my best of 2025 sports list. But now that is all gone. And it looks like it is going to be a bit before the Michigan football team is relevant again.

After sitting on this and thinking about it and talking to friends and family, maybe it is time for this staff to be entirely replaced and for the football program to hit the reset button. There's clearly some issues with the current staff. We have this whole situation with Moore, and then add on the recruiting violations and sanctions. This has all come to light with this staff. Sure, I think Wink Martindale has done some solid things but the defense isn't near the elite level they were under Jesse Minter and Mike MacDonald. Chip Lindsay had his moments, but the last game of the season was worrisome. Grant Newsome is solid, but he was a part of the violations. Ron Bellamy can recruit, but the development isn't there. I think it is time to clean the house. I feel like that would be best for Michigan football. They need some type of cleansing to get back to normal. Because what is happening, and has been happening for the past couple of years is not normal. I fully understand that this means that a bunch of kids would transfer out, but that is going to happen anyway. The vultures are already circling Bryce Underwood, and I'm sure they won't be far behind on Andrew Marsh. There's no way Justice Haynes comes back now. The defense is going to have to get a bunch of new players. But that is the way of life in current college football. And then throw on a scandal like this, it is going to be an absolute mess for a bit.

This is bad. I'm not happy with this team that I truly love. I'm grossed out by it in fact. Moore seemed in over his head when he took this job and now I'm certain the pressure was getting to him. He may never coach anywhere again. He is facing prison time. I have to think that coaching is the furthest thing from his mind, as it should be. And that is going to leave an absolute tire fire in his wake. I know that people who dislike Michigan are just licking their chops, as they should. This is a horrible situation that just seems to get weirder by the hour. I don't know what happened to the university that I loved. They have taken a bad path and now they are dealing with their consequences, as they should. This bums me out, but the AD and the university have to do something to try and make this right. I don't know who they are going to try and hire, I have read a ton of names. But I also have to imagine that, whoever they hire, has to know that they have a big time rebuilding job ahead of them. This is awful and messy and hurts my soul as a fan. I'm so upset with what this team has become, and now serious changes have to occur. It's too bad that they are looking for a coach so late in the hiring process, but here we are. I will never understand why people in big time jobs think they can get away with whatever they want, especially in this day and age. The next head coach and staff has to have their heads on straight and focus on football, nothing else.

We will see what happens going forward, but right now. Michigan football is in a world of hurt and they won't be out of it for some time. 

Ty

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

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Best of 2025 - Music

Today I am going to give you all my top five albums of 2025. I have gotten back to listening to more music lately. I still do podcasts for running and some house cleaning, but music is coming back in my life in a big way and I'm here for it. This is also the first year in a couple where I have five albums from this year. This isn't about experiencing old music for the first time or discovering some band or solo artist that came out recently. I have five albums from five separate acts that all came out this year.

Before I get into the list, I do want to shout out Taylor Swift's "Life of a Showgirl". It didn't make my top five but it was close. This is a very good pop album. Taylor Swift is doing a lot of great things, and this record shows she is a pop superstar, if she wasn't already. I really enjoy listening to this record and my daughter, who is the big Swiftie in our home, seems to really like it too. I just wanted to give her a little shine. Now onto the list.

At number 5 I have "Getting Killed" by Geese. A few years back I saw Geese open for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and they intrigued me. I'm not always a big fan of openers, but Geese stuck with me. I went home after the show and listened to some of their work and I was in. I didn't know that they had a new record until my buddy let me know. I listened to it that night and have been playing it a ton since. I like the sound, I like how each song blends into the next one, I enjoy the lead singer's voice and the guitar playing is top notch. Geese are a bunch of young kids too, so this feels like just the start. I am so excited to see where they go from here and I will be listening all along the way.

At number 4 I have "Cover the Mirrors" by Ben Kweller. This record is so good and so heartbreaking. For those that may not know, Kweller and his partner's son died in a car crash a few years back. This record is how Kweller has been dealing with that heartbreak. Kweller is such a good writer. He conveys all his feelings to a T. I also like how some of the songs are upbeat musically, but when you listen to the words they will crush your soul. He gets some help on the record from Waxahatchee, and the song they do together, "Dollar Store", is amazing. I have been a Kweller fan for about 20 years now and this record may be his best to date. Again, it is very sad, but damn is it good too.

At number 3 I have "Thee Black Boltz" by Tunde Adebimpe. Adebimpe is the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, TV on the Radio, but he decided to venture out and do a solo record. This album is upbeat and fun. It has a bit of a TV on the Radio feel, but this is all about Adebimpe. I like that he beatboxes on a song. I have always loved his voice as well. That was what first drew me to TV on the Radio, and that is what I truly dig about this solo record. The songs range from upbeat to pretty to almost hip hop. I like that he can do a bunch of different genres in one album and do them all pretty spot on. I don't know who is in the band that plays on the record but they do some solid work as well. I wish more people would go seek this record out because it is one of the better solo records i've heard in quite some time.

At number 2 I have "Don't Tap the Glass" by Tyler, the Creator. This album came from nowhere. I was looking at one of the streaming services I use and all of the sudden they kept talking about a new record from Tyler, the Creator. I couldn't believe it because he had just put out "Chromakpoia" about 6 months ago. And now we were going to get some brand new music after one of his best records of all time. "Don't Tap the Glass" is a throwback to the hip hop I listened to when I was a teenager, except Tyler, the Creator does it way better than most artists back then could ever dream of doing. This record comes and goes in less than half an hour, but damn does it pack a punch. Tyler, the Creator comes in hot and never stops, and I love that about his music and this record. I am loving all the content he is giving us and he is on the ride of a lifetime right now. He's one of the best in the business at the moment.

And at number 1 I have "Let God Sort Em Out" by Clipse. I love that Clipse is back and they seem better than ever. I was first aware of them when they released "Grindin" back in 01-02. That song was so awesome and made it on every mix cd I would make. They kind of disappeared after that. But Pusha T reappeared on the scene and he instantly became one of my favorite emcees. There was some news that he was going to get back with his cousin Malice and make a new record. I was hyped at this news. The two of them kept showing up at random things and it seemed like they were actually working on music. But it wasn't until I saw them do a tiny desk show on NPR that it all became real. This record and that performance were amazing. I was floored at this. It felt like "Grindin", but they had grown up and gotten better. This record is so great that they have done some amazing shows in places that people have never performed live. Pusha T has been at the forefront letting people know that Clipse is back and here to stay. They got so many excellent features on the record, but no one outshines the two of them. They clearly had written some excellent songs during their break and that shows tenfold on this new album. I hope they make another new record soon. But, for the time being, we have "Let God Sort Em Out" and I'm very, very happy about that.

That's it for albums. Come back tomorrow for my top five movies of 2025. 

Ty

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

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Best of 2025 - Sports

We are getting close to the end of the year so that means it is time for my Best Of 2025 lists. This year I'm going to do four lists, sports, music, movies and tv shows. These are what encompasses the majority of my time right now, besides my family, so they will be the focus moving forward. I'm going to start with my personal top five sports moments of the year. Some involve my fandom, one involves my kid and the others were moments I was just happy to bear witness to, even if I had no real rooting interest.

My number 5 moment is Michigan beating Alabama in the 2025 Reliaquest Bowl. Michigan was somehow able to beat the university of Ohio State in their regular season finale to give them a 7-5 record. Had they not won that game they may not have gotten such a decent non playoff bowl game. But they got into a bigger New Years Day game and they were matched up with Alabama, who had barely missed out on the playoff. Alabama was also at almost full strength, playing pretty much every important player they had on their roster. Michigan had a bunch of rotation guys step into starting roles. On paper this should have been a blowout for Alabama. Lucky for me, these games aren't played on paper. From the start Michigan looked more prepared and more game ready. The defense was firing off the ball. They were in Jalen Milroe's face all afternoon. Then it started to rain down. This only helped Michigan. They caused a myriad of turnovers, most of which ended with a Dominic Zvada field goal. They did have one td, a pass from Davis Warren to Fred Moore. But the defense won the day for this team. Even after Davis Warren had to exit the game due to tearing his ACL, Alex Orji, who had announced he was transferring after the game, stepped in and kept the ball moving on the ground. And Jordan Marshall announced himself as a serious force to come in the Big 10. This was a great way to start 2025 as a Michigan football fan. I was pretty happy.

At number 4, speaking of Michigan football, while the regular season ended with a thud, The Wolverines finished the year with 9 wins, but the big takeaway for me, the young kids got a ton of playing time and I got to get a glimpse into what this team might look like for the next three or four years. Uber recruit Bryce Underwood became the third true freshman to start at QB for Michigan. He had his ups and downs, but you can see the talent is there. Jordan Marshall came on strong after Justice Haynes got injured. Andrew Marsh looks like the best wideout prospect they've had since Braylon Edwards. They have an anchor at left tackle in Blake Frazier. Shamari Earls has a depth of talent at safety. Nathaniel Owusu Boateng got some run late in the season and he looks the part of a Big 10 linebacker. Jyaire Hill built on a solid sophomore year. Brandyn Hillman is one of the best hitters in college football. This team is young and has tons to improve upon, but they also have a good upside and I'm interested to see how they progress while they are with the Wolverines. I'm very, very cautiously optimistic about the talent they are bringing to Ann Arbor right now.

At number 3 I have the World Series. Now, I will fully admit I was rooting against the Dodgers the whole series, but damn this was exciting. I feel like baseball may be back. This series had it all. From blowouts to pitchers duels, it was all there. But game 7 was one for the ages. I'm sure Blue Jays fans were devastated at the outcome, they were so close, but damn did they play against this juggernaut incredibly admirably. They should have won. But the Dodgers' talent and luck showed up at the most opportune time. From Miguel Rojas', who hadn't had a hit in forever, game tying home run, to the Blue Jays getting robbed in the bottom of the ninth, to the Dodgers starters making up for the bullpen, they fought hard and earned this title. This wasn't a walkover. They had to fight for every win. And to see Shohei Othani pitching and hitting again, in high pressure situations, he may be the best to ever play baseball professionally. This World Series was incredible and I'm so glad my son convinced me to watch game 7 with him. It was one for the ages.

At number 2 I have the NBA Finals. This was another seven game series with a massive underdog making the heavy favorite work for every single thing they wanted. The Pacers did not go down without a tremendous fight. It is such a bummer what happened to Tyrese Haliburton in the first quarter of game 7. He looked to be on fire and then his body gave out on him. But the Pacers kept fighting, so much so that they had a lead going into halftime. But then the talent of the Thunder showed up and won out. Chet Holmgren became a black hole for anyone trying to drive to the hoop. Jalen Willimas started to hit shot after shot. Shai Gilgeous Alexander proved why he was the rightful MVP. Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso were pests. Lu Dort made big shots and frustrated everyone he guarded. The Thunder are on the cusp of something magical right now and last season's NBA Finals was just the start. This team is here to stay. But the Pacers did give them a run for their money.

And finally, at number 1 I have my son playing his last year of junior football and making the B team in his final year of junior basketball. My son is a big 13 year old. He is almost 6 feet and he weighs about 220 pounds. He plays right tackle on the offensive line for his football team and to see his growth this season was great. His team wasn't that great, they have issues actually acting like a team, but he improved in areas he needed work on. He used to struggle with smaller, faster defensive ends, but he worked hard with his coaches and found ways to block them this year. He played to the whistle. He would get pancake blocks that stunned me from the crowd. He worked with coaches individually in the offseason and you could tell it helped. He has told me he loves football and he is showing that by what he does on a field. Things will be different when he is in high school next year, but I know he has the talent and ability to be very good if he continues his hard work. As for hoops, he has been on my team since 5th grade, which is the C team in our feeder program. But each year he has added something new or really just started to literally throw his weight around on the court. I noticed him doing just that in a tournament last season, and the coach of the B team happened to be at that game. The coach approached me and said he wanted my kid on his team the next year. And luckily for my kid he had a great summer of basketball and a very good tryout. He made the B team and he has been doing some very nice things. He needs to get in basketball shape to continue, but to see him throwing around kids that may have a little more talent than him has been so nice for me. He's got a nice soft touch around the hoop. His passing has gotten way better. He could close out and rebound a little better for my taste, but I see his coaches working with him on that at practice. It is so nice to see his hard work pay off in the ways he has wanted and I'm very proud of him as a coach and a dad. We all want better for our kids, and in the case of my son and the sports he plays, he is better than I could have ever imagined being when I was 13.

That's it, those are my top five sports moments of 2025. Come back tomorrow when I give you my top five albums of the year. 

Ty

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

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Ty Predicts the College Football Playoff

Before I do my best of 2025 lists I want to do a NCAA College Football Playoff preview and prediction.

I love college football, I hope Michigan wins their bowl game, all that depends on what version of the team shows and the playoff has been fun to watch since they installed it in the game. I do find it hilarious the whole holier than thou stance that Notre Dame is taking since they didn't make the field. This whole idea that they're too good for any other bowl game is wild to me. I like their coach, but this is a bad move by him, the AD and the university. It will solve nothing, they will not be put into the playoff no matter what they do and they're giving up extra practices for younger players. I don't like that they are doing this, but that's where we are and they're going to have to deal with any consequences. With all that being said, let's get to my preview and prediction.

The top four teams that get a bye, in order from 1-4 are Indiana, the university of Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech. They have earned the rest and extra practice leading up to their playoff game.

The 5-12 matchup features Oregon and James Madison. Oregon is still explosive, but they have a solid defense now. I like Dante Moore, they have fast wideouts and can run the ball. The defense has kept them in games this year and they have some first round talent on that side of the ball. I truly don't know much about James Madison. I read that they are similar to Oregon, with different levels of talented players on their roster. James Madison may be like Boise State from last year, but without a Heisman finalist like Ashton Jeanty. I'll take Oregon here for a bunch of reasons, but mainly I just think they're better.

The 6-11 game has Tulane traveling to Ole Miss. This game is going to be very close, closer than many others think. The whole Lane Kiffin drama is going to linger around for a bit. I do like that they already have a new head coach and he is focusing on the game. But that whole ordeal was tough. Tulane also has an explosive offense with a very good QB. They beat USC in a high level bowl game a few seasons back too, so they know how to win big games. But, with a much improved defense and a coach in place, I'll go with Ole Miss, but it is going to be very close.

The 7-10 has Texas A&M playing Miami. I know the last time A&M was on the field they looked dead in the water. Texas beat them relatively easily. But A&M has Marcel Reed who is good and they can be explosive. Miami snuck into the playoff, but they have not been the same team they were at the beginning of the year. They are wildly inconsistent and Carson Beck has not been the steady hand they need. But the defense is elite and that is what got A&M last time. These teams are eerily similar, so I'm going to go with Miami due to having a better overall defense.

The 8-9 game should be interesting with Alabama facing Oklahoma. Alabama was the biggest shock to me getting in the playoff. They looked so overmatched in the SEC title game and they haven't looked great in the last month of the year. And Kalen DeBoer seems to choke in big time games. Oklahoma has an awesome and opportunistic defense. But the offense is a true wild card. John Mateer does some great things and then some head scratching things within the same drive. I'm going to go with Oklahoma in this one, but it is truly a toss up. Maybe the Alabama from earlier this season shows up and routs Oklahoma, but I just don't see that happening against a very good defense.

This leaves me with Oklahoma playing Indiana, Miami facing the university of Ohio State, Ole Miss playing Georgia and Oregon going up against Texas Tech.

If this game was a week ago I would have had no issues picking Oklahoma over Indiana. But then I saw Indiana in the Big Ten title game and they have an elite, elite defense. Their offense barely did anything and they still won. It was all about their defense. They are one of the top units in the country and they have shown up for every big game. I see them doing that here and moving on to the semis.

The university of Ohio State should cruise over Miami. Their offense is better, their defense is way, way better and they have the experience needed to win in the playoffs. Mario Cristobal will find a way to mess it up because that is what he does and the university of Ohio State will capitalize on every Miami miscue.

Georgia is going to boatrace Ole Miss. This game won't even be close. They should be able to go up and down the field on Ole Miss and this is going to be a blowout. It wouldn't surprise me if Georgia won by 21 plus points.

The best game in this round is Oregon and Texas Tech. This is a strength on strength matchup. Oregon's elite offense against Tech's superb defense. Oregon has a reputation for dimming in the bright lights, but they won't have the spotlight on them this time. Tech will be the talk of this matchup. And because of that I'm going with Oregon in this one.

That means the semifinals will have three Big Ten teams and one SEC team. It's pretty clear who runs college football at the moment.

I'm going to go with Oregon to get revenge and beat Indiana this time around. They showed earlier in the season that they can score on them, and Oregon is a better team than they were at that time. This will be a low scoring defensive battle and I just think Oregon will be able to win it due to having less of a spotlight on them this time around.

As for the university of Ohio State and Georgia, give me Georgia. Ryan Day will find a way to mess this up and Kirby Smart will use that to his team's advantage. This will also be a low scoring affair, and I think Stetson Bennett's legs will be the difference in another low scoring semifinal game.

So that leaves me with Oregon and Georgia playing for the title. As much as I'd like to see the Big Ten win a third straight title, Georgia should take this matchup. They are better, it will be a reunion of sorts with Dan Lanning and Kirby Smart and I think Georgia is just a little bit better in every facet of the game. So that means Georgia will be the 2026 NCAA Football National Champs.

As for the Heisman, who cares. This is a boring crop of players, and I bet they give it to Fernando Mendoza because of Indiana's excellent regular season.

Bowl games start this Saturday and the playoff will be here before we know it. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. 

Ty

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

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Don't Be Nervous, Sam Presti is Just Better than Other NBA Execs.

Where we sit today the Oklahoma City Thunder are 21-1 and look even better than they did last season, one in which they won the title. They have all the depth any team could want. Their superstars are not selfish. They play swarming defense, they get to the free throw line and they score in bunches. They are young, have bought into the system and look destined to be some kind of dynasty. Things could happen, injuries occur all the time, but the way it looks now, the Thunder are going to be just fine. So, when I was reading some sports news the other day, I was kind of surprised to see a story that stated, in not so many words, that "rival execs are nervous" about the Thunder's possibly high pick in next year's draft, which looks to be loaded.

This is so funny to me that rival execs are nervous about the Thunder having what looks like could be a lottery pick, or two in the next draft. The execs for the ther teams didn't have to trade these picks to the Thunder. I understand that hindsight is 20/20, but the Clippers were far too willing and able to give up on the picks that convey this season. Due to some smart and shrill offseason moves a few years back, the Thunder also own what I believe to be a few of the Utah Jazz picks.

Sam Presti is smart and knows how to build a winning team. He has proven he can do it through the draft. He was part of the crew that drafted Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant. Sure there were misses on the way. Mitch McGary to name one, but he was also involved with drafting a key guy like Serge Ibaka. Then he went out and traded for Shai Gilgeous Alexander awhile back, who is the reigning MVP. He had to offload a healthy Paul George to do it, but he saw the inherent talent in SGA and wouldn't budge unless he was included. And then he teamed SGA up with Chet Homgren who the Thunder drafted. He got Lu Dort as an undrafted free agent. They traded Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso who has been a much better fit. They went out and signed Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks. Presti was involved in all these moves and it has given him a title, with what looks like a few more on the way. So, for these execs to be "nervous" about a pick, get over it. Decisions were made and Presti is just smarter than you. If anything this just proves that he is the best in the game right now at his job, and he may be the best to ever do it. I won't say he fleeced teams, but he seems to get it right more often than not. These picks were willingly traded to the Thunder. No one's arms were twisted. The other teams involved wanted certain players and Presti wouldn't trade them unless future picks were involved. And what, since the Clippers are bad now he has to give the pick back to them? That is ridiculous. He has every right to draft whoever the Thunder think will best help their team. Future picks are gold and Presti jumped at it before it was the popular thing.

I wonder if a team like the Lakers or Nuggets owned these picks if execs would be as "nervous" as they claim to be. I think part of the issue with the other execs, who I am assuming are from major markets, is that OKC is a small market. There's not much else to do in Oklahoma City than watch or play basketball, and executives from LA to New York have to hate that the Thunder thrive on very little outside noise. I think it is brilliant and awesome that Presti controls these picks. I'd much rather watch one of these young prospects go play for OKC as opposed to the tire fires in New Orleans, Washington and Charlotte right now. I'm so sick of seeing young and promising basketball players being wasted on teams that are in a forever rebuild. Brandon Miller should be so lucky to be in OKC. I bet Alex Sarr would be ten times better if he was on the Thunder and coming off the bench. I have to assume they would rather be on a winning basketball team too, and not playing to be in the lottery season after season.

So, to all the execs that are "nervous" about the Thunder having high picks, deal with it. Your nerves have no bearing on how Sam Presti is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. 

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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An Ode to the Comedy Stylings of Mark Rennie

Today I want to take my time and give Mark Rennie his flowers. For those that may not know who Mark Rennie is, he is a comedy writer. He has done stuff for UCB, he was a writer for "Gay of Thrones" and he did stuff for the game show "This Might Get..." among other things.

Where I was introduced to Rennie was through the world of podcasts. I would hear him pop up on random shows and he always made me laugh. Then I became a patreon member of CBB World and Mark Rennie started popping up more and more. Where I became most aware of him was on the podcast, "Eat Pray Dunk". This is the podcast hosted by Bill Walton, played by Dan Lippert. Bill Walton goes on a tour of the world and Mark Rennie plays his companion and assistant. I saw Lippert play Walton live on stage in 2023, so I knew a little about his characterization of Walton. Rennie was a revelation for me. He is so, so funny. The quips and one liners he comes up with make me laugh very hard. I listen to the episodes when I'm running sometimes, and when Rennie is in his bag I have to really slow down because I am cracking up and it messes with my rhythm, in all the right ways. Whenever there's a new episode of "Eat Pray Dunk" I get giddy because I know Rennie is going to appear and he is undoubtedly going to make me laugh. He is so funny that even Lippert cannot control his laughter while they're recording. He will slip into laughter and then slip back into his Bill Walton character still laughing. The two of them have such great chemistry, and while I went to this podcast for Lippert at first, it has become all about Mark Rennie's appearances. I find him to be so goddamn funny on this show.

Today I was listening to the most recent episode of "Doughboys" and Rennie was their guest. This was great for me. As much as I love "Doughboys", the addition of Rennie made me so psyched to hear it. And of course he has been delivering over and over again. Even when they get into talking about Rennie's surgery, Rennie finds a way to make it funny. I couldn’t believe I found myself laughing at his horrible ordeal, but he was the one making the jokes and they were damn good jokes. He has also been at the top of his game with joke add ons and he is making Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell laugh as much as he makes Dan Lippert laugh. It makes me so happy that he is so consistent and so funny and just about as reliable as it comes to having a guest on a comedy podcast.

Rennie’s appearances do not stop at "Doughboys". He's been on Wiger's other podcast, "Get Played". He does a bunch of movie podcast appearances because he is considered a movie buff. He worked with Lippert prior on "Mandog Podcast". He has been on "The Neighborhood Listen" and he has hosted podcasts of his own, most notably "Two Old Queens". I know him from "Eat Pray Dunk" and "Doughboys". I would love to hear him on "How Did This Get Made", if he hasn't already been on before. And even though I haven't heard his other appearances on multiple shows, I bet he is hilarious in each one of them. I will most likely dive deeper into the podcasts he hosts, but until then I have "Eat Pray Dunk" to hold me over, and this most recent of "Doughboys", which I have about 30 minutes left.

If you enjoy the comedy I write and talk about, do yourself a favor and search out Mark Rennie. He is one of the best in comedy podcasts and he is as reliable as they come. 

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

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Chris Paul Deserves a Better End

I awoke to the news that the Clippers and Chris Paul have parted ways. This is wild. Just last week I wrote about Paul after his decision to retire at the end of the season. In that piece I wrote about my personal feelings on where I have Paul in the pantheon of all time point guards. then I was just kind of waiting to see how his final season was going to play out. It seems we have an answer, albeit not the one that I thought it would be.

I truly don't know what is going on with the Clippers. They have been an absolute mess this year. They cannot stay healthy, they cannot win many games, they are atrocious on defense, which should be their calling card, and they are very boring offensively. They have reverted to James Harden dribbling for 20 seconds and then trying to create. He has had a solid year, probably the best of any player on the Clippers, but him dribbling the ball for far too long was boring six years ago. It is even more boring now with his advanced NBA age. Kawhi Leonard came back the other night and looked okay, but it is just a matter of time before he is injured and out. Ivica Zubac hasn't played like he did last season, Derrick Jones' three ball isn't falling and Brook Lopez looks washed. And now we have this whole ordeal with CP3.

Since it was announced that the Clippers have cut ties there have been a ton of stories from both camps refuting the other. CP3 was apparently not even talking to head coach Ty Lue. CP3 used Instagram to make an announcement that he was "sent home" by the team. The Clippers immediately sent out a statement saying that was not the case, but that he had been cut from the team. Recently I saw that Ty Lue refused to meet with him to possibly mend some bridges. Then, Clippers team president Lawrence Frank said that the release of Paul was not made to make him the "scapegoat" for how poorly the team has played this year.

Who knows how weird it is going to get from here, but we all know one thing, it will only get wilder. I already laid out all the reasons why I think CP3 will be a hall of fame player and why he is one of the best to ever play point guard, but if this is the end for him, what a thud. This is not how someone like CP3 should go out. He has earned so much better than this. I get that he wasn't playing much this season, but just last year he was doing some solid things with the Spurs. He was an important player for a young team with a budding superstar. I think he still has something in the tank for a playoff team. He could go to almost any team in the East and be an upgrade for their bench. The Hawks could use him with Trae Young still out, just as a bridge. I believe the Magic would welcome him with open arms since they don't have a real point guard at the moment. I think Giannis would like to try and play with CP3. And if I look to the West, the Thunder could bring him back as a deep, deep bench player, just so he could go out with a ring, possibly. The Kings, while not in the playoffs, could take a flyer on him and let him and Russell Westbrook play together again. I'd take him on the Grizzlies just so he could knock some sense into Ja Morant. I guess what I'm saying is, there are plenty of teams that could use CP3's services. I don't think he's fully done, but he is fully done with the Clippers. And I bet he is okay with that.

The Clippers are an absolute mess and cutting CP3 will not do them many favors. He's old and barely played. It's not like he was a key piece to their awful season. I expected the Clippers to be good this year, but ever since the season started, they have been abysmal. And none of that is CP3's fault. All in all I think this will only benefit Chris Paul and further hamper the Clippers. This is just going to add to the weird offseason they have had and even worse regular season they are having. Bringing CP3 back was a good idea, but cutting him twenty games in is a bad, bad look for a team that has nothing going for them. We will see, but I think Chris Paul will catch on somewhere, and he will be the one we remember fondly from this whole ordeal. 

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Ty Watches "The Chair Company" Season 1

I watched the season finale of "The Chair Company" yesterday and I want to say a few things about the first season of this show. This review will be spoiler free. I am not going to divulge any big news because I feel like what Zach Kanin and Tim Robinson achieved with this should be watched by anyone who is a fan of their work.

I was predestined to like this new show of thiers, and it wildly exceeded my expectations. After the finale I sat back and tried to figure out what it was that had me so interested. And I have come up with a few ideas. First off, for the most part, they cast people that look like real people. This is a show filled with people that I feel like I could see walking down my street. This is not a knock on their looks. I appreciate when shows have real looking actors on. Not everyone on tv has to be this ideal look of beauty and skinny. They don't need to have pounds of makeup on covering any minor thing that may not look great on film. The people who populate this show look like me and my family and friends. They got people who know how to act, then put them on a major tv program, and I don't know why but I appreciated that. Tim Robinson is a normal looking guy, as is Zach Kanin. So is Jim Downey and almost everyone else on the show. They did cast Lou Diamond Phillips and Lake Bell, who are both very attractive, but that didn't take anything away from the rest of the cast. Even the actors playing Robinson and Bell's kids were great choices. I like that they did that because that's what they did on "I Think you Should Leave" and "Friendship".

I also liked how compact and quick this season went. It was eight episodes, all about 30 minutes long. That is how it should be done. I don't mind 45 minute to hour long shows, but they can be tedious from time to time, especially when an entire episode is basically foreplay to some big idea later in the season. With each episode going 30 minutes they needed to get it all out there in each episode. They leave no stones unturned. We get answers and I am fully on board with that. I want more shows to adopt the 30 minute runtime and have a season be 10 episodes or less. It is way less of a commitment and leaves room for other content to stream.

I liked how dark and angry this show is. Tim Robinson isn't afraid to do comedy like that and that is why I like his work so much. My mother in law was asking if this is a show she should watch and I immediately told her no because of how dark it is. She doesn't like that stuff, and while I do, I know that she would be put off by it. I am all for it. I want it to be dark and dreary. I loved when something uncomfortable would happen during this first season. The whole scene at the bar with the local actor and the bowl of soup was cringe comedy gold. And that was just the tip of the iceberg with the first season.

But, the thing I loved most and what kept me coming back was how involved I became with the plot. I wanted to know why the chair broke. I was invested in the whole investigation between Robinson and the people who helped along the way. I wanted to know more and more about Tecca and Red Ball Marketing. These are things I shouldn't care about, and shouldn't work on a tv show, but they made it work and made it tense and anxiety riddled. The run-ins with the bad guys were great. The "friendship" between Mike and Ron was so bleak yet I couldn't turn away. The sheer fact that they made me care that Mike wasn't invited to a teenager's birthday party should speak volumes as to how well done this show is. But, the whole idea of watching a middle aged midwestern dad go down this crazy rabbit hole because he fell when he went to sit down on a Tecca chair just shouldn't have worked. Yet it worked like gangbusters and I cannot wait to see what they do in the next season and beyond.

If you enjoy dark comedy and specifically the works of Zach Kanin and Tim Robinson, "The Chair Company" is a must watch. It shows growth but also gives you all the stuff you have liked from their previous work. This show is awesome. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on Lane Kiffin to LSU

Lane Kiffin is the new head football coach at LSU. They let Brian Kelly go in the middle of the year, and they have to kind of rebuild their image. I fully understand that there are other jobs that filled vacancies, but Kiffin to LSU was the biggest deal. Penn State is the next to hire, and when they do I will most likely write about their pick to run the football team. But Kiffin to LSU is a big, big deal.

I am not a Lane Kiffin fan. I feel like he has failed his way up almost his entire career. He was a disaster when he was the coach of the Raiders. How he was ever a NFL coach is beyond me. He drafted a kicker in the first round while he was there. He had the same kicker attempt something like a 70 yard field goal. He had no respect from his players and he was quickly ousted. He then, again, shockingly, was hired by Tennessee. I was floored. He had only shown his inability as a head coach with the Raiders, but he somehow snagged a big time college job. He was bad there too. He made more headlines for offifeld stuff than on the field. He parlayed this into the head coaching gig at USC. Again, floored. I could not believe another major university was going to give him another chance. He was so bad there that they fired him on the tarmac after a bad, bad game. I figured he was done as a head coach at this point. And for a bit he was. He did find his way on Nick Saban's Alabama staff, rising all the way to offensive coordinator. Saban had a reputation as a coach where he would take on reclamation projects and make them a head coach again. This was where Kiffin rebuilt himself. He was good as a coordinator. I kind of thought he could have thrived for a very long time as the OC under Saban, but it seemed he always wanted to be a head coach. And that was when Ole Miss came calling. This seemed like a good fit at the time. Ole Miss was good, not great. They're an SEC team, but never one of the premiere programs. If Kiffin could build Ole Miss into a threat, he could become the true real deal head coach he always wanted to be. And he did just that. He never won a title, but Ole Miss was always a threat. They were a team the big dogs hated to play in the SEC. They would upset a few teams here and there and Kiffin could recruit.

Kiffin is kind of built for this modern NIL era of college football recruiting. He is a slimy salesman, and that is what most modern college football coaches need to be in this day and age. Ole Miss has won 10 games for three straight years, and they are all but certain to be in the 12 team playoff field this year. A lot of that is due to Kiffin's recruiting and his offense. He knows what he is doing now, and it is paying off. But then he seemed to revert to his former self in this flirtation with LSU. He would deny it, although almost everyone knew he was going to take the job. He claimed he wanted to coach the team throughout the playoff, which I don't deny, but that would also give him a chance to poach current players on Ole Miss that he would want with him at LSU. He has said things to the media that he will contradict the next. He is out here making constant quotes on his Instagram. These are the things he wasn't doing, but now that he is back at a big time program, it feels like he is back to his douchey ways.

I just feel like I want him to not do so great at LSU. But, I also understand that he has become a better coach. He seems to know what it takes. And if he was able to recruit as well as he did at Ole Miss, just think of what he is going to do with the resources and gobs of money at LSU. This is about as homerun a hire as LSU could have done. They got one of the best coaches in this cycle. He rebuilt himself, he understands the job and I just feel like he is going to be successful. And I will be rooting against him every step of the way. That's just the way it is for me. I do not like Kiffin and I have been very very blah on LSU. I'm sure the fans are stoked and I know that the world of college football is very happy to have another big name at a big program that ESPN can talk about endlessly. I'm already ready to see what he does in his first season. 

Ty

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

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An Ode to the New Pizza and Cool Ranch Doritos

I'll be taking the week off after today, so I wanted to leave you all until next Monday with what I consider to be some hard hitting material. Let’s go.

This is the time of year where we eat far too much as people. We stuff ourselves and blame it on the holidays. I am not immune to this either. I feel like if I run nine miles on Thanksgiving morning I can go nuts, thus negating all that running I did in the morning. But I will still do it, most likely, I am on Wegovy so who knows what that will do to my body, but I plan on eating more than normal. I also know that "Stranger Things" is coming back either today or tomorrow for everyone to stream on Netflix. I don't watch that show, so the hype is nonsense to me.

But, and this is me getting to the hard hitting news that I want to dive into, "Stranger Things" and Doritos have some kind of deal together right now and I recently tried their new flavor of Doritos. The whole "Stranger Things" of it all had nothing to do with me buying it, it was the flavor that I noticed and that was what intrigued me. As a kid I used to love pizza flavored chips. I don't believe Doritos ever had a straight up pizza flavor, but I remember other brands did and I used to house those bags whenever I could get my hands on them. And, for me, the best flavor of Doritos is the cool ranch. It is tangy and zesty and hits all the notes I want my savory snacks to hit. Well, this flavor was pizza and cool ranch. I was all in the moment I saw that. I will say, the bag was cool and retro. It had a late 80's early 90's look to it. I don't know from "Stranger Things", but the color way on the bag was dark and cool. Whatever the execs did to market these, it for sure worked on me. I bought them and tried them that very day.

I loved these chips from the first bite. I heard "Doughboys" try them on a recent episode and they were not fans. I couldn't disagree more with them. These were exactly what I wanted. The pizza flavor was definitely there. The food scientists messed with the flavor just enough to give it a pizza flavor. And for those who may be asking me what is "pizza flavor", let me explain. The pizza part of these chips tastes like the sauce on a pizza. The sauce is my favorite part. I don't know what it is, or why for that matter, but when I eat pizza the main thing I look for first is the flavor and extent of the sauce. I like my pizza to have more sauce than most and I like when it has a zip to it. That is the taste I got from the pizza in these chips. It was nice and zesty. It reminded me of old school Pizza Hut pizza. I don’t like Pizza Hut anymore, but as a kid, they had so much sauce that it was always my go to when my folks asked where I wanted pizza from. I believe that is why I like Cecil Whittaker's here in Saint louis so much. Sure, they load up the toppings, and they use a nice provel and mozzarella mix, but they also have the best sauce and they are generous with how much they put on each pizza. Then, to button it with cool ranch, that's a chef's kiss for me. The cool ranch makes these chips tangier and gives me all the good feelings I get when I dip my pizza in the ranch. That's one of my favorite things to do at a pizza spot. I like to get pizza and then ask for a side of ranch to dip the pizza in. It makes it taste better to me. It is even better if I get wings and ranch, dip the wings in first and then the pizza. Then I have a buffalo ranch that I dip my slices in and it is the best. That is the exact flavor I get out of these new Doritos.

I don't know if these are here to stay, but I'm hopeful they are. I am all in on this flavor. I like the meshing of two different flavors in one bite. I'm always mixing salty with sweet, and here I get to do two savory flavors that I really enjoy quite a bit. I love these chips and I recommend them to anyone that is a fan of pizza dipped in ranch. These will hit the spot. Enjoy the holiday and I will see you all back here on Monday. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on Chris Paul Retiring

After a long and storied career, Chris Paul will be retiring after this season. The Clippers are not a very good team right now, and the sheer fact that he doesn't see the floor much must have been the push he needed to finally hang it up. Let’s discuss.

Chris Paul will go down as one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. He was as wily as they got at that position. For such a small guy, in NBA terms, he found a way to score and assist and irritate and frustrate his opponents and sometimes his teammates. Paul was like the principal out there on the court. Any little discrepancy or what he considered wrong doing, he would call people out on it. Chris Paul would frustrate me as a fan because I always knew he was going to pull some kind of nonsense that would drive me nuts. But then he would do something that was so incredible that I would forget all about his pettiness. I have actively rooted against him his whole career, but that's not to say that I did not recognize and appreciate how great of a player he was his entire career.

I remember first seeing him when he was in college at Wake Forest. It blew my mind that someone as small as him controlled the entire game. Wake Forest ran everything through him. He was the end all be all for that team. During his time at Wake he was an All American and ACC rookie of the year, as well as being a perennial all ACC player. His excellent college career propelled him to the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft. The Hornets, then of New Orleans, struck gold when the Bucks, Hawks and Jazz passed on him. CP3 may have been the best, and most prepared prospect in that entire draft. He was rookie of the year and first team all rookie. He made the Hornets relevant. He turned a moribound franchise into a playoff contender. His opponents hated playing him because of his attention to detail, but also because of his play on the court.

After pushing the Lakers in round one with the Hornets, the lock out came and suddenly CP3 was available. It looked like he was all but certain to get traded to the Lakers, but David Stern vetoed the deal. I still don't know why, but it was a big deal and it changed a lot of things in the NBA. He did end up in LA, but not with the Lakers. He was a Clipper. And he helped usher in one of the more fun teams to watch and root against. I despised the "Lob City" Clippers. They drove me nuts. I like to say it was because they didn't win anything, which they didn't, but it was the hype surrounding a team that never really lived up to the hype. They had flashy names on the roster, but when it came time to really win something important, the "Lob City" Clippers always found ways to blow it. But the one constant, the one guy that showed up most of the times, he did have his bad, bad games in there, was Chris Paul. He seemed ready for the moment 99 percent of the time. The 1 percent was a spectacular disaster, but for the most part, CP3 was a clutch player. After the "Lob City" Clippers broke up, CP3 found his way to Houston where he was teamed up with James Harden. They were tailormade to beat the Warriors, but injuries and playoff debacles never allowed that team to thrive. He was on the Thunder for a hot second and he found some way to guide them to the playoffs in The Bubble. He spent a season with the Warriors, and while they made the playoffs, he was hurt for a good portion of that season. And now he is back with the Clippers, and as i mentioned before, he doesn't see the floor much. But he has had an amazing career.

I have heard some people try and place CP3 where they believe he belongs in the pantheon of NBA point guards. CP3 is an all time great, but I don't know if he is in the top five of all time for me. Magic Johnson is the greatest point guard of all time, I have a personal adoration for Gary Payton, who I also deem the best defensive point guard of all time and Oscar Robertson finalizes my top three. Robertson revolutionized the position. Outside those three, I'd take Isaiah Thomas and, if you consider him a point guard, Steph Curry before taking CP3. But he is probably the very next point guard in my opinion. I'd take him over Steve Nash and John Stockton anyday. He is a better traditional point guard than Jason Kidd. He puts Bob Cousy to shame. He's better than any current point guard, if that is even considered a position in the modern NBA anymore. For all of those reasons, and all the stuff I mentioned above, CP3 is a surefire hall of fame player who lands at the number six spot in my ranking of best point guards to ever play the game.

I'll be curious to see if he sees the court anymore during his final season, but if not, he will be remembered as one of the best to ever play point guard in the NBA, and he will always be known for being meticulous if nothing else. Congrats on a great career. 

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff has passed away at 81 years old. I saw the news this morning and it bummed me out. At first I had hoped it was one of those hoax announcements and it would be revealed later that he was still here. Unfortunately though, Cliff did pass.

I first knew of Jimmy Cliff when I was a young kid. I used to love the movie "Cool Runnings" growing up. I must have watched that movie a billion times when I was younger. I tried to get my teachers to show it when they would put on movies in class. I memorized most of the lines, and when I rewatched it as an adult, all the quotes were still there. I bring up "Cool Runnings" because the song that played over the end credits was Cliff's version of "I Can See Clearly Now". I knew this song as well as quotes from the movie. I would walk around the house singing it when I was a kid. That didn't stop as I continued to get older. That song is so easy to sing along with, and it may be the very first "reggae" song that I ever heard. Of course I found my way to Bob Marley and other reggae greats, but Jimmy Cliff was most likely my first time listening to reggae.

When I eventually stopped watching "Cool Runnings", I forgot about Jimmy Cliff. As I got older I focused the majority of my reggae listening around Bob Marley. I heard other artists in the genre, but I was all Marley pretty much all the time. One day when I was about 16 I was visiting my oldest brother in Columbia and he knew of my love for Bob Marley. He asked me if I had ever listened to or seen "The Harder They Come". I had no idea what he was talking about. He then showed me the movie and it was an eye opener. First off, the movie is really good. It is an underrated gem. It is a hard, hard Jamaican movie about falling into the world of crime. The accents are so thick that, when I have watched it every time since my first viewing, I have to put the subtitles on. That's no bother when the movie is as good as this one was. I was all in from the first viewing, and that was when my brother told me that Jimmy Cliff played one of the main characters in the movie. I was shocked because he was just the guy that sang over the end credits of "Cool Runnings". I had no idea he had acted in the past, but more importantly to me, that he was an icon in the world of reggae music. He did a bunch of the songs on that album. He did four of the songs, writing and singing them, and they are all bonafide hits in reggae music. He opens the soundtrack with "You Can Get it if You Really Want", which is this fun and bouncy tune. It is all about going out there and trying to get the things you want by any means, but the way the song is arranged and sung, it sounds fun. He then performs "Many Rivers to Cross" which is one of the most beautiful songs ever put to vinyl. It is such a beautifully sung song. I love this one so very much. It is one of my favorite songs ever recorded. I truly adore this song. He also does the title track, "The Harder They Come", which is a true hit. It mixes pop instruments of the time with electric reggae vocals. And he closes the soundtrack with an almost five minute version of "Sitting in Limbo" which is just haunting in all the right ways. This is a song that I truly feel like everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime. It is an achievement and one of the best songs ever written.

After seeing the movie and devouring the soundtrack I became a pretty big fan of Jimmy Cliff's. I wanted to listen to more and more of his music. I went back and listened to more of his older stuff because the stuff from the 90's and 2000's had more of the "I Can See Clearly Now" sound, which while good, that's not the reggae I tend to gravitate towards. The older stuff was more raw and heartfelt in my opinion. It is more barebones which i like. You can hear his voice over the music, which is a plus because Cliff had such a great voice for reggae music. That being said, I'm glad he was still making new music all the way up until 2022.

Jimmy Cliff is a musical icon. Even if you may not be familiar with the name, I bet you have heard him sing before. His music seems to end up in movies or tv shows, and I appreciate that fact. I am going to miss Jimmy Cliff, but I'm glad I have an older brother who knew that I liked reggae music and went out of his way to show me how great of an artist he was. Rest in Peace Jimmy Cliff. I hope you are singing wherever you may be right now. 

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 "Sisu: Road to Revenge"

I have just returned home after seeing "Sisu: Road to Revenge". Let’s discuss.

This is the sequel to the very underrated "Sisu" that came out in 2022. "Sisu" was about a Finnish man who was protecting his gold from the Nazis. The movie was incredibly action packed and a blast to watch. I still think of some of the action sequences in that movie to this day. There's a scene involving a massive plane crash, and to see the main guy walk away from that, it was pretty amazing. And that's the entirety of that movie. It's massive action sequences, and it is a bunch of villains chasing one hero. The original truly blew me away, my dad came over to my house to watch it On Demand with me and we both rave about it to this day. So, we both had to see this sequel. The theater only had about six people in it this morning, including my dad and I, but it was perfect. I knew the other audience members were fans of the first movie just like my dad and I. This new one also got very good early reviews, so my expectations were pretty high going in.

And "Sisu: Road to Revenge" absolutely delivered. This movie has about five to ten minutes of story to tell and the rest is pure action. I feel like this movie puts a franchise like "Fast and Furious" to shame. While those movies are fun and funny, this movie is all about adrenaline and action. I'm not big into that type of stuff either, unless I'm watching a movie. I love the "John Wick" franchise, and this whole world of "Sisu" is akin to that, it just takes place during and after a war in the former Soviet Union and  Finland. After we see the main guy tear his old house down it is pretty much non stop action pieces. I really like that these movies are told in chapters. It lets me know what to look forward to. And in this one the main guy has a big truck, so he has to be on the road, thus his "Road to Revenge".

When I say what I'm about to say, remember that this is a compliment. "Sisu: Road to Revenge" makes the first "Sisu" movie look understated. I mentioned before that he survived a horrendous plane crash in the first movie. Well, that is almost child's play in this one. They go for it and then some with the action in the movie. The main character has to fight motorcycle bad guys with bullet proof helmets on. There's a whole train sequence that is wild. He has planes coming after him. It is nuts. And the whole while we have one guy that is setting all this up, and they establish very early on how evil this villain is. But that's the thing, everyone besides our hero, for the most part that is, are villains. The train is full of villains. It is almost like everyone is out to get him, but he is so damn crafty and superhero-like. The things he survives this time around are wild. From electric fire whips to multiple punches in the face and a myriad of bullets flying his way, our hero finds a way and I was there for every second of this movie. I told my dad after the movie was over that I liked it so much for the action, but also that I could just turn my brain off and watch such a kick ass movie. The makers of this movie aren't trying to win any major awards or trying to tell some kind of heart wrenching story. They just want to make a straight up action movie and boy do they achieve that and then some.

I loved this sequel. I was primed and ready for it and it still found ways to surprise me. I cannot recommend it enough. And if you do see it, make sure to watch the original first just to understand what is all going on in this world they have created. "Sisu: Road to Revenge" rules. It is a total blast. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on Shedeur Sanders First NFL Start

Shedeur Sanders is getting his chance to start this Sunday. I'm excited to see how he performs. Let’s discuss.

A bunch of people are out here dumping on him right now for his performance last week, but that needs to be put into context. The Browns are a bad, bad offensive football team. They have a great defense led by Myles Garrett. He's having an unreal season, but no one knows it because the rest of the team is not very good. They seem to stay in games for a quarter or even a half, but after that, the talent on the other team wins out. Garrett can only do so much, and he is, but the rest of the team is letting him down. This offense though, they're horrendous. They cannot put drives together. They have no semblance of a run game. Sanders will be the third QB to start a game for them this season. Joe Flacco tried his best, but he is old, cannot move all that much and played behind a very bad o line. Dillon Gabriel never put it together. He's a rookie so it makes sense, but he didn't do a thing that stood out and oftentimes he was picking himself up from being hit constantly. Now Sanders gets his chance.

Look, there were times last season, when he was still in college, where he was being projected as a top 10 pick. I even saw some people say he could be the first overall pick. I never saw that in him at Colorado, but I definitely saw the talent to be a late first round pick. The line he played behind at Colorado was not very good. But Sanders made up for that by getting rid of the ball quickly. Or, he would get out of the pocket and throw a beautiful deep ball to Travis Hunter or Joe Horn Jr. He made some of the best throws I've seen on the run last season. I usually don't watch many other teams closely except for Michigan. But, Colorado kind of became a must watch for me last season to see Travis Hunter play. While Hunter was an incredible watch, I also saw a ton of Shedeur Sanders. And while he would frustrate me at times, the kid would make plays that left me in awe. Those deep throws on the run were awesome. For those throws alone I thought he could flourish on a team like Baltimore, playing behind Lamar Jackson, or, if forced into action early, the Jets would have allowed him to make mistakes on the field, and they could have benefitted from him when he played well. This is no disrespect to Justin Fields or Tyrod Taylor, but Sanders is younger and has way more potential than both of them combined. And the Jets are already a tire fire, so why not take a chance on him. I feel like he would be in the same boat as Jaxson Dart or Cam Ward right now if the Jets had taken him earlier in the draft.

As the draft approached I saw all the stuff saying that he may have a fall on draft day. I saw a bunch of people the night before saying that he may slip all the way to the end of round one. I saw a bunch of people saying a team like the Raiders were going to try and snag him late if they could. That never happened. Round one came and went and Sanders was still on the board. When I saw this I thought, well, he had a very bad bowl game against BYU, and apparently he interviewed poorly. I figured these were the only reasons why he was not drafted on night one, but surely he was going to go on day two. There was no way he was going to slip that far. Well, he was not taken until the fifth round. guys like Dillon Gabriel and Tyler Shough were drafted before him. When it got past the fourth round, all the teams passing him up felt personal. I guess they were "trying to teach him a lesson". When the Browns finally drafted him I felt like they got a steal. Sanders was a first round talent that fell into their lap in the fifth round. If it were me, I would have had him fighting for the starting spot from day one. That didn't happen, people threw mud on his name, he has been nothing but professional since he showed up there and now he gets his chance. I don't expect him to light the world on fire this Sunday, but I also don't expect him to flounder. He has the skills to be good. He already played behind a terrible O line in college, so the Browns line will be nothing new for him. He will make mistakes, as all rookies do, but I bet he will also make some throws that are great. I'd love to see him simply prove that the teams that kept passing on him were wrong. If he were to throw for 180 and a few tds, that would be a massive success.

The one thing I know for sure is that I will be keeping my eye on how he does, which means I will be checking in on a Cleveland Browns game during the 2025 NFL season. And that has absolutely nothing to do with the Brows at all. And, if nothing else, i'll get to watch Myles Garrett play football, and that's always a treat. 

Ty

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

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Better Late Than Never on "The Toxic Avenger"

Editor’s Note: This article is about the original 1984 film and not the recent version starring Peter Dinklage.

A few weeks back, when I was watching "scary" movies, I came across "The Toxic Avenger". Look, I'm not much for gross out movies, but something about "The Toxic Avenger" kept calling out to me. I once saw a Troma movie a long time ago and I didn't particularly care for it. It was odd and goofy and disgusting. I know that Trey Parker and Matt Stone made one that I had planned on seeing, but I never got around to it. But, after reading the synopsis, I decided I was going to pull the trigger and watch "The Toxic Avenger".

This movie was gross, but let's not get it twisted, this is a comedy. This movie was funny. It was stupid and pointless and gory and mean and wrong, but it was also funny. The whole idea, a nerdy gym worker gets tricked into doing something embarrassing, and when he is running away he ends up in some toxic ooze which transforms him into the Toxic Avenger. Leading up to that, this movie was wild. The bad guys play a game where they run people down for points. I remember hearing about this game as a kid, but I never knew where it came from. From now on I'm going to have to assume that it came from this movie. And these villains were horrible. They were doing drugs and running down kids. They were drinking and driving. They took advantage of everyone they could and had no remorse for it. At one point the two dudes go out and acost an old lady just to steal her car. While these villains are doing villainous activity, the Toxic Avenger is finding out what he has become. And what he has become is a crime fighting superhero. The Toxic Avenger's whole identity has become stopping all the bad guys in Tromaville, which, chef's kiss on the name of the town. The Toxic Avenger stops guys who are looking for a fight. This scene, with the main guy and the three bad guys is one of the funniest things I've seen in a movie in a long time. Then there's an attempted robbery, where they hurt a dog, and the Toxic Avenger goes to town on these dudes. He puts one guy's hands in the fryer. He also meets his girlfriend here, who happens to be blind. I wonder if the whole "Fantastic Four" relationship between The Thing and his girlfriend was copied from this, or if this movie copied from "Fantastic Four". The movie culminates when the town mayor wants to get rid of the Toxic Avenger, but the town has grown to love him. They want to protect him. And they do. And, spoiler alert, the Toxic Avenger rips out the mayor's guts, and the whole town cheers. The mayor was corrupt by the way.

This movie has a very thin and easy to follow plot. But it was the comedy that made me finish the whole thing. I wasn't too interested in the gore or some of the language in the movie. I don't think I'll be going back to watch any more Troma movies in the near future. But I am glad that I watched this movie. It was exactly what I thought it was going to be, and that was silly and goofy. The guy that played the Toxic Avenger before he switched played the best nerd I've seen since the nerds on "Saved By the Bell". The amount of nudity was plentiful. The jokes came and they never stopped, which I loved. It felt like the actors knew what they were doing and they had fun with it, especially the blind girl. In no world would I ever believe she was blind, but she had fun with this one, and I respect the hell out of that. And the villains were so heinous and vile and gross, which is just how they were supposed to be. I hated them so much and that was when I knew they did their job.

Movies like "The Toxic Avenger", and Troma movies in general are not very good. But I can see why they have an audience. These movies are made for niche fans and I do kind of understand what they enjoy about them. So I guess, in the end, I found "The Toxic Avenger" to be fun but I will probably never revisit it again. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on Virginia Tech Hiring James Franklin

It was announced yesterday that Virginia Tech football is hiring James Franklin as their next head coach. Franklin was not out of a job for that long. I figured he was going to find a job sooner than later, but this was much faster than I expected. I went a little hard on Virginia Tech when they let their coach go midseason. I may be wrong on the actual dates here, but I believe Brent Pry and James Franklin were let go from their old head coaching jobs only a few days apart. Franklin is a better coach, and I wasn't all that shocked that he found a job this quickly.

I have thought about this hiring for the past day, and I have to say, I feel like Virginia Tech kind of hit a home run here. I'm not a James Franklin fan at all. I feel like he is an okay enough coach, but when it comes to big moments and games, he always finds a way to fumble it away. The last three seasons at Penn State he had all of his biggest games at home and didn't win a single one. They had a chance to make the final four of the college football playoff last year, and he let his QB throw late in the game. He was constantly saying out of pocket stuff and not backing it up. There were times while he was the head coach at Penn State where the job seemed too big for him. And it seems like the pressure finally got to him. He didn't even come close to the playoff while Saquon Barkley was on his team. He could recruit the big names, get them there, but when it was time to deliver, he never really came through. But, the job at Virginia Tech is not nearly as pressurized as Penn State.

While at Virginia Tech, Franklin will be given time to rebuild the program. If he gets to a small bowl game in year two, that will be a success. He can build up from there. Virginia Tech also happens to be in the ACC, which may be the weakest of the Power 4 conferences. Franklin is going to be able to fly under the radar for a few seasons. Sure, he has a recognizable name and stature in college football, but after a while people will forget he coached at Penn State if he can turn Virginia Tech into a top 25 team, which I think he can do, if given time. Franklin can recruit. He got big names in his time at Penn State. And he squeezed the very best out of the talent he had while he was the head coach at Vanderbilt. Franklin will help up the NIL at VT, he will get better players to commit because of name recognition, and he should be able to get four star guys simply due to the wealth of playing time that will be available after a bunch of current players transfer out. Franklin is going to be able to rebuild this whole program in his eyes. He should be given carte blanche to do what he needs, within the rules of course, the moment he steps on the campus.

The most beneficial thing for Franklin, and why I think this may actually work, is the lack of pressure at this job. This is not the Virginia Tech of old. Mike Vick is not walking through those doors. The special teams isn't the elite unit it used to be. The defense has been struggling for quite a few years now. And Franklin is going to be able to put his stamp on this team. While they may never reach the levels they did with Vick at QB, this team should be back in the top 25 within two years. James Franklin knows more about football than I could ever dream of. He is in the position he's in because he has won at his first two stops. He was in the playoff last season. He made Vanderbilt a perennial bowl team. He can recruit with the best of them. And now he will get to do all of that in relative silence.

I have spent a good amount of time trying to figure out who Penn State was going to hire, when I should have been looking out for Virginia Tech. They did a great job in this search, they got one of the best names on the open market and they should be back to being competitive in a short amount of time. While i'm not a big fan of Franklin's, this was a great move by him and the university. A true homerun hire for Virginia Tech. 

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 Running Man"

My son and I had a night out, my daughter had a sleepover, so she, her friend and my wife hung out, and we went to see "The Running Man". Let’s discuss.

I have always liked the original movie. I have plans to read the book at some point. What I love most about the original movie is how campy and hilarious it is to me. The idea of the movie, the US has slipped into a post apocalyptic state, reality tv shows are all the rage and the most popular one is "The Running Man". This is where the top athletes in the world go and compete. The contestants are usually hard up for money, have some kind of wild athletic prowess and want to go on this show because they think they can win. The whole show has the entire world hunting them as well. It is a no win scenario for the contestants. Sounds bleak, but the original movie made it funny.

This newer, updated version is still funny, but with Edgar Wright directing, it has some heart and humility as well. Glen Powell plays the lead role in this version, and he is pretty perfect for this role. He's down on his luck working man, but he was let go from his job for trying to help his other coworkers. We also see that his baby is sick and can't get the proper medicine. Instantly we are all rooting for him. There's two other contestants, and they play their roles, but this movie is all about showcasing Glen Powell, and his journey through this show. Josh Brolin plays the evil producer of the show, Coleman Domingo is the host and Lee Pace plays one of the main hunters on the show. Where this movie differs from the original, people can pick to be on this show. It is all voluntary. I loved watching the montage scene of the contestants showcasing their skills. It was cool to see the difference in each person. The movie is somewhat of a real world to me. Powell is picked to be on "The Running Man" because he is clearly the best athlete there, and Brolin fully believes that he can win the game, or so he says. When the game starts, the movie gets intense, but still manages to stay fun and funny. Seeing Powell play an adult and deadly version of hide and seek was fun as hell. He tries to do the whole disguise thing, but that eventually wears off. I will say, seeing Powell trying disguises is hilarious to me. He is still incredibly buff and handsome, no matter how many fake mustaches or pairs of sunglasses he wears. As the game goes on the movie gets way more intense. Powell is constantly on the move. His videos that he is forced to make are being doctored. He gets help from random people along the way, and they have to suffer through all his nonsense. Michael Cera shows up at one point and he is my favorite part of the whole thing. He is funny, he makes it feel like an Edgar Wright movie and he plays a very memorable role. I have always been a fan of his, so having my son kind of geek out at his appearance, that made me very happy. When we get to the conclusion, this is where we see Lee Pace. Pace is brutal and extremely violent. He is very good in this role and I liked his performance quite a bit.

All in all the vibe of this movie was perfect. It was reminiscent of the original, but updated. Edgar Wright was kind of perfect to direct. He knows how to make a solid action comedy. And when he gets his people involved, it makes the movie so much better. I would recommend this movie to anyone who liked the original and wants to see an updated version. I liked it, my son really liked it and it has made me want to revisit the original and read the book again. That is the mark of a solid movie going experience for me. 

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 "Frankenstein"

After three sit downs, I finished Guillermo Del Toro's "Frankenstein" yesterday. Let’s discuss.

Right off the bat, I loved it. It was melodramatic in all the right ways. The movie looked beautiful. I wish I had seen it on the big screen, but my television at home was just fine. I thought the acting was stellar, the writing top notch and, for a two and a half hour long movie, I was never bored. This was a movie where I wasn't even enticed to look at my phone, and that is saying something.

I was pretty hyped to see the movie after a few trailers and RD telling me he saw it and seemed to enjoy it. I am also all in on anything involving Oscar Isaac. He is a great actor and seems like an even better person. He was perfect as Victor Frankenstein. He can pull off the egomaniacal like no one else. I found myself feeling for him at times during this movie, then at the next moment I would loathe him. That was his job in this role. Every version of Victor is different, but the one Isaac chose was perfect for my viewing experience. Mia Goth pulled double duty and she was equally great. She played Victor's mom in the first half, then switched to Victor's brother's fiance. She shined in both roles. As the mom she had very little to do, but you could see the very close, very odd relationship she had with Victor as a child. Her death wrecked him, and both Goth and the actor playing young Victor nailed it. Then, as his brother's fiance, she was great playing coy and toying with Victor to an extent. Goth has this look about her that is so compelling. She reminds me of an actress from a forgotten era. She is so good at playing these over the top roles, but bringing the character down to Earth. She was exceptional here. Christoph Waltz was a made up character in this version, but as he always seems to do, he was wonderful. He was goofy at times. He was flirty in a way with Victor. He made me feel for him as he was sick and dying. I was shocked, spoiler alert, when he plummeted to his death. I wanted more and more of his work in this movie, but the character is only supposed to be around for part of the story. And Waltz was dynamite. And Jacob Elordi was a revelation. I liked what he did in "Saltburn", but he was so, so much better as The Creature. He took his portrayal all the way from infancy to fully functioning adult, all the while looking like a monster. I felt for him. When he continually asked for a companion, I wanted Victor to make him one. When he could only say, "Victor", each different way of voicing it said all he needed to say. It went from joy to pain in a matter of seconds. When Victor was abusing him I wanted him to fight back. When he finally did, I was stoked. The opening of the movie, on the Russian ship, was one of the coolest ways I've ever seen a movie start. It was violent and loud and brutal and showed us everything we needed to know about the current relationship between our two leads of the movie. Elordi did so well with his work in this movie. He truly proved his star is only going to shine and rise brighter than most working right now.

Guillermo Del Toro directed the hell out of the movie too. From dream sequences, to when The Creature was created, to the build up and the conclusion, he was on the mark. While "Pan's Labyrinth" is still my favorite Del Toro movie, this one is quickly rising the ranks. With this cast and director I expected something great and I was pleased that this movie lived up to my expectations. I couldn't take my eyes off screen. With each passing day that I didn't finish it I felt the urge to go back and watch the next day. I wanted to see it all. I liked how the story was told and was very pleased with everything we were given on the screen.

Watch Del Toro's "Frankenstein". It is currently streaming on Netflix, but if you can, go see it in a theater. I bet the IMAX screenings are amazing. This is a very, very good movie. 

Ty

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

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An Ode to My Favorite Licorice

Growing up in my house we ate a good amount of licorice. Let’s discuss.

My mom seemed to get it at the store and we would have it as little treats now and then. My mom liked red and my dad liked black licorice, so we got to try them both. I had some neighbors who would buy chocolate licorice every once in a while and after trying it I was not the biggest fan. When my mom would buy it she usually bought Twizzlers. That was what our local grocery store sold and that was what they had at the movies. I have always liked Twizzlers. It is soft and chewy, just as it should be. When it comes to Twizzlers I do prefer their strawberry to their black licorice. Both are good, but there are way better black licorices out there. For a time, my mom would bring home Switzer's, a local Saint Louis company.

This licorice blew my mind. It was sweeter and chewier than Twizzlers. Switzer's became my go to brand. Wherever I could find it I would either buy it myself or ask my folks to buy it. And when they would, I would eat it way too fast. But I was all in. Their red licorice was the best, and their black licorice absolutely blew Twizzlers out of the water. It was better all around. But then Switzer's kind of went away. It is having a comeback of sorts, The Arkadin here in Saint Louis sells it in smaller bags. I buy one every time I'm there if they have it in stock and it always brings me back to being a kid.

I do quite enjoy the taste of Australian licorice. This is my go to for chewy licorice. There is no one that even comes close to the level of chewiness that Australian licorice contains. And all of the flavors are dynamite. I love the red, the black Aussie licorice is my favorite black licorice and they do other flavors that work so well because of the texture. I've had mango, lime, pineapple and other fruit flavors that are quite wonderful. The problem I run into with Aussie licorice is the amount that I eat. I will continue until I feel sick. It is so good and so chewy that I forget that I'm eating it. I have eaten full bags in one sitting. That's not good.

Recently I have been buying licorice for my kids and I online. My wife doesn't like it all that much, but we do. The website I use is licorice.com. Simple enough. What makes this company so great is the many different forms of licorice I can purchase. We recently ordered some and we got cherry flavored short sticks, creme filled rainbow small rolls and the spiral red licorice wheels. I'm not too keen on the creme filled ones, they're too sweet, but the other 2 flavors are excellent. The cherry shorties look like Twizzlers, taste like Switzer's and are chewy like Aussie licorice. I'm not the biggest licorice wheel fan, but these ones work because they are not stringy like other wheels. I like that I don't have to take them apart just to get the licorice flavor.

And, of course, we have Red Vines. Red Vines are hit and miss with me. They're nice and sweet, just how you want a red licorice, but they also taste waxy from time to time. When you get a waxy bunch it is a true bummer. I went through a heavy Red Vines stage, but it was short lived because too many of the batches had the wax issue. I kind of left that brand behind.

While I'm sure there are a bunch of other brands out there that I'm forgetting, these are the ones that have stuck with me over the years.

I'm writing all of this today to say, of all the brands of licorice I’ve had, all the flavors I've tried, all the times my mom and dad bought me different varieties, Switzer's is still the absolute best. Maybe it is because I'm born and raised in Saint Louis, maybe not. But when I sit back and think about all the different licorices I've had in my 40 plus years, Switzer's always makes me the happiest. I get giddy thinking about it. When I find some to buy somewhere here, I get super amped. Switzer's has the best red and black licorice, and it is not even close. The last time I was at the Arkadin I bought multiple bags because eating it was that wonderful.

I know everyone has their favorite, and mine is Switzer's. If you are a licorice connoisseur like I like to fancy myself, go out and search for some Switzer's if you've never had it. It will blow you away. 

Ty

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

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Is This the End of Bradley Beal?

About an hour ago it was announced that Bradley Beal is out for the season due to hip stuff. I don't know if it's a fracture or a break or surgery. All I know is that his hip is giving him enough pain that he is done. And that brings me to what I want to touch on today, is Bradley Beal done as a pro basketball player?

I have always liked Beal from the first moment I knew he was a Saint Louis kid. I'm always going to root for a kid from here, as long as they don't do anything foul in their personal lives. For all intents and purposes, Beal seems to be a solid dude. I followed him his one season at Florida and saw the lottery pick potential. It was no surprise that he was going to go top ten, and the Wizards did just that when they drafted him. I liked the pairing with John Wall there. I felt their respective games complimented each other very nicely. And they found a little success with those two as their guys. The Wizards were a perennial playoff team, Wall and Beal were both constantly in all star talks and they were fun to watch. I know that when this whole website started, during one of my earliest NBA preseason preview and prediction blogs, I had the Wizards, with Wall and Beal, making it to the Finals. That obviously never happened, but the Wizards still made a push and won a playoff series here and there. Then John Wall got hurt and was kind of the forgotten guy in Washington. The team decided to let Beal be the star. And they found minimal success. They were still a playoff threat. When they got a still solid Russell Westbrook to team up with Beal, it was a little reminiscent of Wall playing with him. Bradley Beal was still putting up a ton of points and running the offense. He got a massive deal with Washington, one in which he got a no trade clause, and then it started to tumble off a bit. The Wizards were bad. Beal would miss big chunks of the season. He didn't have the juice that many had come to expect from him. He started to have his name pop up in all kinds of trade talks. A lot of people deemed his contract one of the worst in professional sports history. He handcuffed the Wizards. It seemed like he was content to stay there, cash in his checks and not win too many games. But I have to imagine at some point the lack of winning games had to wear on him. He was on teams that were mostly competitive.  And I have to think that the front office went to him and said they were going to rebuild during this time. When he finally relented, he accepted a trade to Phoenix to pair him up with KD. It didn't hurt that he was going to get to play with Devin Booker as well. The three of those guys teaming up had me thinking that the Suns were going to be one of the most lethal offenses in the NBA. That never happened. Devin Booker is not a point guard. Bradley Beal is not a point guard. KD is not a point guard. They had no player that could truly run the offense. Beal insisted on starting, and with three too many guys that needed the ball, he felt like the odd man out there. Then the injuries started to pile up. KD got hurt warming up for a game. Then Beal would miss massive amounts of time during the year. The only one who stayed on the court was Booker, but man that had to be frustrating for him after being in the Finals a few years before all this went down. The Suns were so bad last season that it seemed inevitable that this group was going to fracture, and that Beal was the main reason why. KD went over to the Rockets in a big time trade and Beal was cut and able to roam free agency as he wanted to. He only ever wanted to go to the Clippers, so when he finally signed there it was not a surprise to anyone. I liked the fit under one condition, Beal needed to come off the bench. He is so bad defensively now that I would rather have Kris Dunn start, a non shooter, because he is wonderful on the defensive side of the ball. But Beal had to be a starter, and the Clippers relented and let him start. The Clippers are 3-8 at this point in the year, the defense is horrendous, which should be their calling card, and the offense isn't much better. James Harden is still productive, but Kawhi Leonard is hurt, Ivica Zubac has underwhelmed and Bradley Beal wasn't doing much when on the floor and he is now done for the year. In the long run this may benefit the Clippers because now Ty Lue can play rotations and starters that he trusts.

Bradley Beal has taken such a deep dive since signing his humongous deal with the Wizards. He never got back that oomph that made him so much fun to watch when he played with John Wall. He seemed okay to clock in and out and cash his paycheck. It didn't feel like he was legitimately trying to improve his game in any way. He just kind of fading into the back and now I am left wondering if he will be an afterthought when he finally decides to retire. And that bums me out being a fan of his previous work. 

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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