R.I.P. Rob and Michele Reiner

Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were tragically murdered in their sleep by what appears to be stab wounds inflicted by their son. This is a true modern tragedy. This is awful. This was avoidable. This didn't need to happen. People with substance abuse and mental illness need to find help that suits them. If they need to stay in these facilities longer they should be able to. This is so horrible and awful and brutal and simply did not need to happen. Rob Reiner and his wife should still be here right now making people happy with their work.

I am gutted by this. This one hurts. Regardless of what that volatile, maniacal, egotistical, narcissistic fascist in the White House has to say about Reiner, he was a beloved figure by everyone. His movies and his work meant real things to people. His and his wife's death had nothing to do with their political affiliation, and to try and make it about that is insane. Josh Gad and Jack White and James Woods and Tim Heidecker are right, anyone who agrees with his horrible rhetoric on Reiner, and still supports him and knowingly voted for him needs to live with that shame for the rest of their lives. But as I said above, Reiber's work meant so much to so many generations of people. Forgive me, I do not know much about his wife's work, other than the very few factoids my folks told me this morning, so the rest of this blog will focus on Rob Reiner's work.

I was out to coffee with my dad, who is in his 70's, my brother who is in his mid 40's and myself, just turned 43, and we all had different movies we mentioned when talking about Reiner. My brother instantly mentioned "Stand By Me". That was his movie when we were kids. He would watch it over and over again, and if I were lucky enough to get to spend some time with him. I'd watch it too and it stuck with me. My dad mentioned two things, "All in the Family", which I am not so aware of, and "This is Spinal Tap", which is the greatest mockumentary for me to date. I have always been a fan of "The Princess Bride", because that may be the only perfect movie that has ever been made. But look, just between three people aged 30 years apart, we found four things we all loved that Reiner had his hand in. "Stand By Me" is the quintessential coming of age movie. This was what I envisioned growing up to be like when I was a kid. That movie made me laugh and cry and gave me feelings I had never had until I saw it. It is truly incredible. "All in the Family" has its place as one of the greatest sitcoms in American history, and from what I can glean, Reiner played a pivotal role. "This is Spinal Tap" is one of the greatest comedies ever made, Reiner had to give Christopher Guest the idea for his future career and it has some of the best music that has ever been put in a theater. That movie never fails to make me smile, I laugh harder each time I watch it and Reiner as the director is perfect casting. As for "The Princess Bride", this movie made fun of fairy tales while telling one of the greatest fairy tales ever. This movie moves at a perfect pace, is beautifully cast, has romance and kissing, but it is never over the top, it has a grandpa/grandson relationship, I mean it truly has it all. We showed it to our kids recently, 13 and 10, and they loved it. That movie spans generations and will always and forever be a classic. Then you go and look at some other stuff he made or was a part of. We have one of my wife's all time favorites, "When Harry Met Sally", which might be the best romantic comedy ever. He also had a part in "You've Got Mail". He gives one of the best line reads in "Tammy and the T-Rex". He made "A Few Good Men", which may be the only courtroom drama I can sit through and be engaged with the entire time. Reiner directed one of the better Stephen King adaptations, "Misery". "The Bucket List" is funny and heartbreaking all at the same time. He did the most recent documentary on Albert Brooks and his last movie, unfortunately for us, was the decent "Spinal Tap" sequel. As for some memorable acting roles, I mentioned the director in "This is Spinal Tap". He's in "Mixed Nuts". He was in an episode of "Curb" and "30 Rock". He voiced himself in "The Simpsons". And the most recent thing I saw him in, in which he was fantastic, was "The Bear".

Look at all of those credits, and think of so many others I didn't mention that one person gave us. He was prolific and profound and we are all very lucky to live in a world where Rob Reiner gave us so much incredible content. I still cannot wrap my head around how he and his wife were ripped away from everyone. It baffles and upsets me.

Rest in Peace you two. You should still be here with us right now making us laugh and smile. I hope wherever you are now you are reunited with some of the people you worked with who have also passed away. What a tragic, tragic loss. Michele and Rob Reiner, you will be dearly, dearly missed. 

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 - Television

Wrapping up my best of 2025 lists today I come to you with my top five tv shows of the year. Much like I talked about on my blog Friday, and in the most recent episode of our podcast, tv is in a golden era. There's a ton of stuff to watch, and there seems to be something for everyone's taste. There are some shows I don't watch, or haven't seen yet, so that is why they're not on this list. I have watched four episodes of "Pluribus" to this point, and that show is truly amazing, but I feel like there needs to be a legit season before I personally put something on my list. I like the whole finality of a season or series finale. I had to really pare this list down, but in the end I feel like I got the five best shows for me.

At number 5 I have "The Chair Company". Much like I said with "Friendship" on my movie list, "The Chair Company" allows Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin and their whole crew to go as wild as they want. They do some odd and different comedy and it all works for me. While this show was on I wrote a whole thing about how much I like how real everyone looks and seems on the show. This isn't some type of beautiful people being put in odd situations. This is people who look like you and me dealing with everyday stuff. That is awesome to me. I like that Robinson casts his buddies in major roles. I was all in on his friendship with that creep Mike all season long. I wanted to see how all that got resolved. I loved the stuff with his kids. His and Lake Bell's relationship felt real. I like how Robinson, as Ron, would complain about mundane stuff like his pillow and they kept it in the show. Best of all was they made me care about such an innocuous thing like this random guy falling on some random chair and then going to great lengths to prove a non existing conspiracy. "The Chair Company" is great because Tim Robinson and crew are in a total groove and they have had nothing but good ideas to this point.

At number 4 I have "The Rehearsal". This season of "The Rehearsal" enacted real change in our world. Pilots and co-pilots now get to talk about their feelings more openly because that was the crux of what Nathan Fielder wanted to do with this show. And boy oh boy was this season a doozy. Fielder created this season to try and find an answer to why accidents happen on planes and his idea to base it on the pilot/co-pilot relationship was a great way to start. From there on out we got to see Fielder cosplay as Sully Sullenbeger, we got to see actors try to date co-pilots, I learned a ton about the Evanescence song "Wake Me Up" and we found out that Fielder's show is of great importance to the autistic community. But, the biggest thing we learned was Fielder put his money where his mouth was and became a real deal pilot. He has flown everything from one man planes to big cargo planes delivering massive objects to remote places. When he flew that jumbo jet, it was awesome. Fielder is a modern day comedy genius and season two of "The Rehearsal"  was one of his greatest works to date.

At number 3 I have the final season of "The Righteous Gemstones". Danny McBride and crew sent this show out in the best way possible. This final season was a great sendoff, and I feel like they gave everyone proper due. The Gemstones had their typical trials and tribulations,  and they came out back on top. We got to see Eli fall in love and be happy once again. Keif got his just due and a proper happy ending. Michael Rooker, Sean William Scott and Megan Mullaly were excellent additions to this final season. We got to see Bradley Cooper give us the origin story of the Gemstone family. But this season was all about Uncle Baby Billy, one of the greatest characters ever played by Walton Goggins. All credit due to RD when he brought this up on the last podcast. Uncle Baby Billy transcended the show the moment he exclaimed, "All I want is an eight ball and two million dollars". He didn't have to do anything else, but he also gave us "Teenjus", yelling "COCAINE!!!!" like it was his superpower and his constant fights with his family's live-in nanny. Goggins made this the iconic role it became and I will be forever grateful to him for that gift.

Getting off HBO Max shows, at number 2 I have season two of "Severance". It was going to be hard to build upon what they did in season 1, but they did just that and so much more. This season was heavier than the first, but it also helped to grow the story. Zach Cherry having a relationship with his wife being his innie and outie was heartbreaking, The fact that John Tuttoro and Christopher Walken didn't get a happy ending crushed me. Brit Lower did a masterful job as Helly because I grew to despise her more and more as the season went on. The whole episode on the snowy mountains was one of the best hours of tv I've ever watched. Trammel Tillman made me feel bad for his character, and then he gave us such a dope dance sequence in the finale. And Adam Scott and Dichen Lachman just continued to break my heart with their backstory and everything that culminated in the finale. When we saw Lachman's backstory it was so eye opening and sad as hell. It was going to be hard to come back but "Severance" did it with aplomb and I'm not patiently waiting for the third season. In fact, maybe I'm not so patient.

Finally, at number 1 I have the second and final season of "Andor". First off, thank you RD for coaxing me to watch this show time and again. "Andor" is one of the best tv shows to have existed and this second season was one for the books. I have told my dad to watch it and he is hesitant because of the whole "Star Wars" aspect. I have told him that they use names from "Star Wars" and the same weapons, but this is a show about overthrowing a fascist government. It has very little other connections to "Star Wars". This show is dark and bleak but also hopeful. I loved in season two how every three episodes gave us a one year time jump. People died and it crushed me. I also found hope when an entire planet decided enough was enough and wanted to fight back and did their best. There's people I hate and people I root for as should be the way on a show like this. I'm glad Bixx got the ending she did. She more than deserved that after everything she went through. I thought Diego Luna was the best as Cassian. And Stellan Skaarsgaard's death may be the most brutal I have ever seen on a tv show. There isn't any perfect show out there, but "Andor" is as close as it gets.

Thank you all for reading my best of lists. Please let me know what I've missed. Now, I'm going to continue watching "Pluribus". 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Best of 2025 - Movies

Now that I've said what I wanted to about the current situation with the Michigan football team, let's get back to my best of 2025 lists. Today I'm going to give you all my top five movies of the year. I realized while writing this list that I saw a ton of movies this year, and more so, I went back to the theater to see a bunch of these movies. I have missed the theater and going back was totally awesome for me. There was a weekend where my wife, my two kids and I went to see three movies on three straight days in the theaters and it was awesome. The theater going experience adds so much to the movies in my opinion and getting back there was a big deal for me.

I do want to shout out three movies that did not make my top five really quickly. First of all I loved the new "Superman" movie. It was cool and sweet and very well made. I also happened to really enjoy Edgar Wright's "The Running Man". This one was truer to the book and it was ultra violent and even silly from time to time. Michael Cera was tremendous too. And finally, "Bugonia" is one of the most original and interesting movies I saw all year. Jesse Plemons and Emma Watson give powerhouse performances and when the movie goes barreling towards the end, it is a wild ride. Also, a small shoutout to "Eddington". That movie was magnetic for 90 minutes, and then it goes off the rails, but in a good way. And Joaquin Phoenix gives what I consider to be the best performance of his career. Now let's get to the list.

At number 5 I have "Sisu: Road to Revenge". This movie is an absolute orgy of violence. This movie is nonstop action and I was so enthralled at every second I watched. I saw the first "Sisu" with my dad at home and we were blown away at how wild it was. I mean, he survives a horrific plane crash amongst so many other things. In "Sisu: Road to Revenge", the plane crash seems timid. There's so much action in this sequel. The main guy, who doesn't speak in the movie, rides a train car that has an atom bomb attached to it. He has to fight his way through said train with a bunch of people after him. He has planes chasing him through the woods. He even finds a way to get a tanker to flip over obstacles in his way. This movie rules, it is so fun, it is violent and it might have been the best time I had in the theater this year.

At number 4 I have "Friendship". I am a Tim Robinson fan. I think that much has been made clear time and time again. This movie just allows him to do his thing for 90 minutes. Paul Rudd is in this movie, as is Kate Mara, but this is all Tim Robinson. Make no mistake, this is his movie through and through. And he nails it. It is a perfect movie for him because he gets to do what he does best, and that is his version of cringe comedy. The scene in his home, where he is confronted by Connor O'Malley while Robinson is at his drum kit is hilarious. When he takes his son to go pick mushrooms and then gets sick in the mall, wonderful. All the stuff between him and Rudd and his friends was tremendous. This is such a funny movie and I have watched it multiple times since it made its way to streaming. This is the best comedy of the year and I think everyone should seek it out.

At number 3 I have "Sinners". This would have easily been number 1 almost any other year. This is such a cool and unique take on vampires. But the movie is so much more than that. What Ryan Coogler was able to do with music and making this somewhat of a musical was magical. The scene where the young kid is playing his guitar in the juke joint and all of the past, present and future musical genres show up was one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed in the theater. We got that scene and the Irish folk song with all the vampires which was amazing in its own way. I know some people said that the movie was slow in parts, but I disagree. All of that was to build the story and get us to the finale, which was incredible. Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo and most notably, Michael B Jordan, playing two roles, do some of the best work of the year. Michael B Jordan deserves all the accolades, as does Coogler. "Sinners" is an amazing movie and it needs to be seen by everyone.

At number 2 I have "Weapons". I'm not usually a fan of "horror" movies, but with "Sinners" and Weapons", I'm all in on this style of horror movies. "Weapons" is a fascinating story about a classroom of kids that all disappeared one day and this movie tells us the story of how it all happened and gives us a conclusion. I knew Zach Cregger from "The Whitest Kids U Know", but he is on the Jordan Peele trajectory of former comedy creators who now do horror. And they are absolutely crushing it. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys. She is more than deserving of awards consideration for this role. She was so menacing and scary and diabolical. The stuff she does to the main kid's parents was horrific and she totally sells it. Madigan gives such a great performance. It may be the best of the year for me.

And finally, at number 1 I have "One Battle After Another". This is not only the movie of the year, it may be one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is such a well made and perfectly told story. From the opening sequence, where we see Leonardo Dicaprio and Teyana Taylor and their group and what they're doing, it is so compelling. And the movie just gets better and better from there. I don't know if there is a movie out there that tells the story of what is happening in America right now. Taylor and Dicaprio are awesome. Taylor plays her role perfectly. Dicaprio has never been this funny in a role. Chase Infiniti is a revelation. Benecio Del Toro is wonderful. Sean Penn is eerie and diabolical. And Paul Thomas Anderson directs the hell out of this movie. He had a vision and he put it out in the world and it is getting all kinds of love. From the opening sequence to the stuff between Infiniti and Dicaprio to the car chase scene, this movie is so well made and so awesome. I was floored after I saw the movie and I implore everyone to see it if you haven't already. "One Battle After Another" is a true achievement and it is not only the best movie of the year, it is an all timer.

That's it for my top five movies of 2025. Come back on Monday for my top five tv shows of the year. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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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.

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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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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