What are the Grizzlies Doing?

I truly have zero idea what the Memphis Grizzlies are attempting to do, but they are clearly up to something. I wrote while back that I was fully ready for them to trade Ja Morant. I wanted them to move on and preferably start building the team around a rookie, or even better, Jaren Jackson Jr (JJJ). Well, while out exercising this afternoon I got an alert on my phone that the Grizzlies had made a trade. I naturally assumed they had traded Ja, but I was wrong. Apparently they have traded JJJ to the Utah Jazz for a bunch of other players and draft picks. The Grizzlies, along with JJJ, traded a few other rotational players. But the big name here is Jaren Jackson Jr.

I just don't get it. The Grizzlies have been wildly inconsistent all season long. They will go on a little run, win five of eight games here and there, and then fall off a cliff. They are currently on the cliff as we speak. They cannot seem to close out games. They will carry a lead into halftime and find a way to get beat by double figures by the end of the game. They have been wildly frustrating to watch all season long.

Part of their inability to put together a long winning streak is the health of key players. Ja Morant has barely played this season. And when he does play you never know which version of him you're going to get. Zach Edey has been out most of the season. Kentavious Caldwell Pope hasn't brought it since the trade. He has only been 1/4 the player he was on his former teams. Ty Jerome, one of the better offseason additions, has not played a second yet. They have had no real continuity all season long. But, the one consistent player, the one guy I could count on to be on the floor most nights, was Jaren Jackson Jr. He may not be having as good a season as he has in the past, his defense and rebounding have regressed a bit, but he was almost always on the court. I knew he would be in the starting five and he would play 25 plus minutes a night. That's gone now. He is off to Utah.

Jackson is going to pair up quite nicely with Lauri Markkanen, if the Jazz ever let him play real minutes. JJJ is also going to help the Jazz defense. He will be another big body to clog up the paint. He can also take the ball outside and shoot the three. He has always had a solid low post game, but he has turned himself into a solid three point shooter. If I were Markkanen I'd be happy about this move. This would give me the feeling that they may not be going into the tank after this season. The rest of the Jazz roster is unproven and young, but some of these dudes have upside. Ace Bailey is a pure scorer. He just needs to get stronger. Isaiah Collier reeks of a microwave bench scorer. Keyonte George can hoop. Cody Williams hasn't lived up to the lottery pick he was in his draft, but he has shown minor flashes here and there.

The Grizzlies, I don't really know what they are planning on doing with this current roster. They let their most dependable guy go and apparently they're still shopping Ja Morant. The rest of the roster is odd to me. As mentioned before, Edey and Jerome have barely played or not played at all. GG Jackson can't seem to get real minutes. Santi Aldama had a few moments earlier this season, but that has died off as of late. Cedric Coward has been a bright spot, and maybe they will build around him if they eventually trade Morant. Brandon Clarke never sees the floor due to injuries, Cam Spencer is a one week wonder who has wildly cooled off as of late, Scotty Pipen Jr hasn't made much of a leap and Olivier-Maxence Prosper has not figured out the NBA. The Grizzlies roster is a total mishmash now that they have traded JJJ.

This really bums me out. I have had the pleasure of seeing JJJ play live and he was fun to watch. I, as mentioned before, relied on him to constantly be in the lineup. I knew he was going to do what he does and play a significant amount of minutes. That's all gone now. My hope for the rest of the year and into the summer for the Grizzlies is a full rebuild. Tear it down and try to build back up through the draft. Now that they have traded JJJ, they need to move Ja and some other vets. They should give the keys to Coward and see what they have in some other, younger and unproven players. Let this coaching staff start anew and give them two or three years to build the Grizz back up into a perennial playoff team. As for now, they have left me annoyed and confused. And there's still a few days left in the trade deadline to further frustrate me. Time will tell. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Ty Watches "The Smashing Machine"

A few months back I saw a trailer for the movie "The Smashing Machine". It piqued my interest at the time, but I never got around to seeing it in the theaters. It is now streaming on HBO Max and I had some time last weekend to watch it.

I recently wrote about my affinity for sports movies and "The Smashing Machine" is most definitely a sports movie. The sport is not one I watch or know much about, MMA fighting, but I've watched plenty of sports movies that feature sports I'm not a fan of.  I was most intrigued by what I saw Dwayne Johnson doing in the trailer. Johnson usually only plays roles in action movies where he can be the hero. That's all well and good and he seems to excel at such roles. He has done some different stuff, like "Southland Tales" for example. But he is usually the nondescript hero. This role in "The Smashing Machine" seemed much different. This is a more dramatic take. He had to go to darker places I felt. He had to do some real "acting" if you will. And I felt like he was up to the task here.

My quick initial review of the movie was okay. It was a bit melodramatic and overlong. I usually love Emily Blunt in her movies, but here it felt like she was directed to be an emotional over the top mess. She did that just fine but it was a cliched take on a girlfriend who felt scorned and not relied upon. There is an entire scene where she threatens to kill herself and I just didn't buy it. It felt very after school special. And as the Safdie's like to do, Benny Safdie had some real people and very green actors perform roles in the movie. It was fine, but it did not come close to the work that his brother Josh Safdie got from the same people in "Marty Supreme". you could tell the non actors in "The Smashing Machine" were not actors. I do want to point out the guy that played Johnson's buddy, Ryan Bader, did a fine job. This is his world, I read he is a former MMA fighter, and all he had to do was play a version of himself with a different name. The fighting sequences were cool and solidly acted and directed. But I just kind of got a hollow feeling after watching it because it was too sad and sappy for my taste when it comes to sports movies.

But, Dwayne Johnson was pretty great. He was the lone standout of this movie. He brought his A game. This was a role that had me realizing that he can be a solid actor when called upon to do something new and different. He was the titular Smashing Machine, Mark Kerr. I had no idea who he was prior to this movie, but I learned a lot about him from Johnson's portrayal. I guess Kerr was a pioneer of the sport and a pretty big reason why it has become as popular as it is today. Johnson also transformed his body for this role. He has always been a big dude, he was a college football player turned professional wrestler. But he had to build up his muscles even more for this movie. I read that Kerr was a pretty devout weight lifter and took his lifting very seriously. There is a part when Johnson turns his back to the camera and he had so many muscles on his back. I had no idea that one could have that many muscles and have them on one's back. Dwayne Johnson got absolutely ripped for this and he more than looked the part. Back to his acting for a moment. As I said, this movie was melodramatic, and in a melodramatic sports movie, the main character always seems to have a drug problem. Kerr was no different. He was addicted to opioids, namely pain relief drugs. But the way Johnson portrayed his addiction, he did it very well. You could see he was an addict, but he was able to hide it for a bit. And when he couldn't hide it, it reared its ugly head and Johnson did this very well. I especially liked the scene where he was in Japan at a fighting tournament and the strongest pain reliever he could get was Advil. Johson portrayed Kerr's addiction perfectly here. You could tell he was angry, but he didn't go over the top. But you could see him seething deep down which only furthered his addiction. And when he needs to get clean, him trying to stay sober with an enabling girlfriend was also very well acted by Johnson. The fight scenes were done very well by Johnson. It had to help that he was a professional wrestler and he has been doing stage fighting most of his adult life. I also enjoyed his arc throughout the movie and the ending was done very well.

Dwayne Johnson is the reason to watch this movie if you are thinking about checking it out. His performance is dynamic and it was the reason I was able to get through the more melodramatic stuff. So if you're on the fence, watch it for Johnson. His performance is worth the two hour runtime. 

Ty

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

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R.I.P. Catherine O'Hara

I was going to write about a movie I recently watched, but a very unfortunate thing happened as I was driving home this afternoon. I got a new update on my phone and checked when I got to a stoplight. I read that Catherine O'Hara had passed away at 71.

I was shocked. I didn't want to believe it at first. I thought that it may have been some misinformation that got wrongly released. I truly did not want this news to be true. Unfortunately it is true. Catherine O'Hara has died at 71 years old. She was too young and still had so much more work left to do. No reason for death has been made public, but the stuff I have read said that she had a brief illness. I am stunned.

O'Hara has literally been on my tv and movie screens since I was a kid. "Home Alone" was the first movie I can remember watching dozens of times. It was my favorite movie for a long, long time. "Home Alone" came out in 1990. I was 8. That was the start of my love for movies. O'Hara was the second lead, at least in my opinion, of that movie. She is the mom hell bent on getting back to her son. As a kid I sided with Kevin, as an adult and parent, O'Hara's foible and persistence to get back home hits so much harder. And again, I was 8 when I first saw that movie. She was in the next two "Home Alone" movies, which I obviously watched. But it wasn't until I was about 15 or 16 when my brother, RD, showed me the movie "Waiting For Guffman". Again, O'Hara has a memorable and major role in this movie, but this was also my first Christopher Guest movie. I began to heavily follow Guest's work after "Waiting For Guffman". This also meant that I was going to see a ton more Catherine O'Hara. Guest and O'Hara worked a bunch together after "Guffman". In "Guffman" she and Fred Willard are a hilarious couple who think they are the biggest actors in a small town in Missouri. It's a shame that both of them have now passed. After "Guffman" she did "Best In Show" with Guest. This is probably my favorite role of hers. She is so funny and gets to do her thing in this movie. I loved her limp, her backstory and the relationship she had with Eugene Levy in this movie. She is the star of this movie. She carried it, and this is a great movie with a wonderful cast. O'Hara steals the show and every time I go back and watch I find something new she does that cracks me up. In a break from Guest's work, she was in the very underrated comedy "Orange County", playing Colin Hanks' mom. She's great as the absent minded divorcee that is just trying to keep her youngest son home with her. In 2003 she returned to work with Guest in "A Mighty Wind". I mean, right next to "Best In Show", this is a powerhouse performance. She gets paired up with Levy again, but this time it is a totally different dynamic and O'Hara is more than up to the task. Her voice is also beautiful and I love when she sings in the movie. For three years she did a whole bunch of voice work before teaming up with Guest again in "For Your Consideration". I like this movie, regardless of what the critics said about it. The work she did with Guest was my favorite work of hers and she was always up for each and every job. I would be remiss if I didn't mention her work in "Beetlejuice". This is a great performance that was a joy to watch. I loved her work in a comedy/horror type movie. Her style was rad as well. And when they sang "Day-O", her mannerisms and facial acting was simply divine. She nailed it yet again in the sequel, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" She and Winona Ryder were such a great mother daughter duo in those movies. She was tremendous in her one episode of "Curb your Enthusiasm". She is the crazy Funkhouser and boy oh boy does she put on an absolute show. She is great as the "mom" in "Where the Wild Things Are".

Then, as a full fledged adult with a wife, kid and a house, I found "Schitt's Creek". I mean come on, Moira Rose is an all time character. This is one of those roles that will go down in history. The voice she used was perfect. Her performance was perfect. She was paired up with Eugene Levy again and the two of them continued to make magic. "Schitt's Creek" is a show that everyone needs to watch and O'Hara's performance is one for the ages. Since then she has continued to do voiceover stuff and, from what I have read, I have not seen either yet, she was tremendous in season two of "The Last of Us" and in the first season of "The Studio". This should show everyone how beloved and what a joy she was to work with.

Catherine O'Hara is one of a kind. She had her own comedy dynamic and she was unique. I'm still kind of in shock that she is gone. Like I said up top, I have been watching her content since I was 8 years old. That is 35 plus years now. I'm going to miss her and anything new she may have been working on. At least I have "Home Alone", her movies with Christopher Guest and "Schitt's Creek" to look back on.

Rest In Peace Catherine O'Hara. I hope you are making people laugh wherever you may be right now. I'm going to miss you. 

Ty

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

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Do You Want Your MTV?

mtv.com

On August 1st, 1981, American pop culture was forever changed. At 12:01 am people with cable tuned in to a new channel, saw a rocket launch and then heard the words "Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll", this was followed by the now iconic Buggles music video "Video Killed The Radio Star". Music Television, later branded MTV, was born.

The early days of MTV are now iconic. Music videos, cool hip Video Jockeys (VJs) guiding us through the day and night, and news just about the music of the day. As the years gave way to decades MTV changed. First a game show called "Remote Control" broke up the non-stop music videos, then more shows followed. The rise of reality television started on MTV with "The Real World" and the network executives at MTV pivoted hard towards unscripted shows and the music videos lost their time on the station. As cable expanded to more channels, MTV expanded to bring music videos back on other stations, but again those stations would bring on more unscripted television and the videos had to be sacrificed. On December 31st, 2025, MTV shut down all their music channels and retained just the original MTV for the showing of reality television. "The Real World" killed the Video Star.

Thanks to a coder that goes by the name FlexasaurusRex, you can have your classic MTV. MTV Rewind provides an easy-to-use archive of music videos. The site connects to YouTube playlists, giving users access to more than 40,000 music videos from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and today. Ads do appear periodically, yet they are ads from the time of MTV's music video dominance such as ads for Ginsu Knives, the Flowbee haircut system, and the California Raisins to name a few. There is an option to donate to the site to keep it truly ad free.

MTV Rewind will appease to all music tastes The site is broken up into several collections, including “MTV 1st Day,” Decades starting in the 70's and going all the way to modern day. It even has genre playlists that harken back to the channel’s signature shows, 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps, and Headbangers Balls. There's a channel of MTV's live broadcast of Live Aid in 1985, a VH1 Pop Up Video Channel, and one that hosts all the "MTV Unplugged" performances. If you can't decide, there’s a shuffle feature that will truly make it Your MTV.

While many of us who grew up with MTV lament it's downfall, there are still people like FlexasaurusRex out there that answer the call of "I Want My MTV". If you need to answer that call, and you have some Aqua Net on hand, then give MTV Rewind a look. At the very least it will help you answer the trivia question "What was the second video ever shown on MTV?".

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing.

The Space Shuttle Challenger and Confronting My Mortality

We will return

Ed Note: Today is the 40th Anniversary of the Shuttle Challenger disaster. This article originally appeared on January 28th, 2016. It has been updated.

Forty years ago today was the first time I had to confront my own eventual death. I was only ten at the time, and I was on my way to the hospital. There was something going on with my health, and not a single doctor had been able to figure out the problem. My legs were feeling heavy and tired, there was blood in my urine, and in addition to the physical symptoms there were visible red dots showing up on my legs. Every day I would get a few new red dots, and my parents would take me to see a new specialist. Having doctors not know what was happening to my body started me on path to thinking I was going to die, soon. On January 28th, 1986, I was visiting a dermatologist to see if the red dots had any explanation. The doctor quickly diagnosed me with having a little known, at the time, illness called Henoch-Schonlein Purpura. I was immediately sent to the hospital and spent the next few months being released and readmitted as they treated the illness. I was going to be ok, I did not die.

January 28th, 1986, marked the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. This launch was going to be extra special because a civilian, a school teacher, was going to be on the ship. The Challenger was the work horse of the U.S. space program, and this launch was going to reignite the public excitement for manned space missions. Christa McAuliffe's journey to being an astronaut was presented to the entire nation. Many school aged children, me included, were given lesson plans revolving around the civilian school teacher turned astronaut. McAuliffe's journey into space was going to be the first step to regular civilian space travel. I was convinced that getting off planet earth was going to be as routine and safe as it was to get from my house to school. Seventy-three seconds after the launch of mission STS-51-L the entire planet was reminded of the extreme danger space exploration holds.

The Challenger disaster was the harsh beginning to the end of serious US space exploration. We would not send another person into space for nearly two years. Politicians would use the disaster to dry up most of NASA's federal funding. The public quickly lost interest in all things related to exploration beyond our planet. The country was relating to Christa McAuliffe because she was going to be the first non-astronaut to go into space. The truth is that Christa McAuliffe was put through an immense training and safety program to make her competent to go on the shuttle, she was not like one of us. When the Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, the regular persons dream of going into space ended. The thought of death was greater than our willingness to take the risk.

What happened off the coast of Florida on that chilly January morning was not a mere random accident.  Politicians, news people, and businessmen demanded the launch of the Challenger, although many people in the scientific community warned of a looming catastrophe.  NASA administrators were being pressured by people in Washington DC to make the launch date. Many of the engineers at NASA, and around the world, knew that the cold weather could cause issues with vital parts of the shuttle. A failure would lead to disaster. Anti-science hubris caused the death of those seven astronauts and crippled the US Space program. Many in the scientific community tried to speak out. Mechanical engineer Roger Boisjoly tried to get the launch scrapped in the days leading up to the disaster. Mr. Boisjoly was not listened to, was not commended for his ethics, he was shunned by people in his own company and had to resign. Speaking out for astronaut safety was damaging to his career. By letting people who are good at politics make safety judgement calls over the advice of the scientific community was going to eventual lead to disaster. January 28th, 1986, saw that disaster.

When I got settled into my hospital room that night, my mother turned on the news so she could see what had happened in Florida that morning. We had heard from people in the emergency room about the disaster. It was heartbreaking to watch. I felt personally guilty because I was so worried about my own mortality, and just that very morning seven of our best citizens were killed by political hubris. I was still very afraid for my own well-being, but I was sad for the families of the Challenger astronauts. They had to deal with unexpected death that day. In the weeks that followed, my ten year old mind was consumed with all the news surrounding the Challenger disaster. I was a child surrounded by sick people, and I was constantly thinking about those seven astronauts. I was constantly thinking about death.

The last forty years have not quenched my thirst for knowledge concerning the Challenger disaster. As an adult I visit the Challenger memorial every time I make it out to Arlington National Cemetery. I am married to a mechanical engineer who learned scientific ethics from Roger Boisjoly. I work every single day to expose the arrogance and folly of those in the government who care more about fundraising than they do for the safety of their own constituents. January 28th, 1986, was the first day I had to deal with death. It was also the first day that I decided to do something about it.

One day I hope to go into outer space.

Rest in piece Gregory Jarvis, Judith A. Resnik, Francis (Dick) Scobee, Ronald McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, and Christa McAuliffe.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing.

Some Praise for Chase Infiniti and Jesse Plemons

I know that the Oscar nominations came out about a week ago and a bunch of people and publications have done their own writeups on them. I know some have their "snubs and surprises", and others have their own way of saying the same thing. I don't really pour over whom or who did not get nominated. There's only a certain number of nominations that go out and only those people are who the voting committee gets to pick the nominees. That's just the way it is. But I do want to point out two people who, regardless of getting no nominations, I think people should seek out the movies they are in to watch some incredible work.

The first one I will focus on today is Chase Infiniti and the work she did in "One Battle After Another". It's no secret to anyone who reads my stuff that "OBAA" was my favorite movie of last year. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. The performances make the movie what it is in the long run, but Infiniti may have stolen the show for me. She was amazing. She shows up about halfway through the movie and when she is onscreen she is the best part of every scene. She goes toe to toe with each and every scene she's in with Leonardo DiCaprio. He plays her dad and she is so, so good as a brooding teenager having to deal with an overprotective and all the frustrations that come with all of that. The scene where her friends come to pick her up and DiCaprio has to deal with all of that is funny and relevant. That is how I imagine I will react when my daughter inevitably starts hanging out with kids I don't know. And as much as I relate to DiCaprio in this scene, Infiniti steals the show from him. And the whole thing between her and Sean Penn is simply wonderful. She is the most powerful one onscreen at that time and she owns the scene. And the whole finale with her and the car chase is one of the most amazingly shot scenes I've ever seen, and Infiniti does such good work and she barely has to say anything. Chase Infiniti stood above the crowd in a movie filled with stone cold stars and up and comers who did get Oscar nominations. She was so awesome and when the movie ended my first thought was how great the work she did in this movie and that I want to see what she does next more than anyone else in this superb movie.

The other performance I wanted to single out was Jesse Plemons in "Bugonia". Emma Stone was rightfully nominated, and if she were to win, that wouldn't shock me one bit. She is the driving force and lead actor of the movie and she is so reliable that I expect her to shine. Plemons is right there with her in this movie though. Stone and Plemons were in Yorgos Lanthimos' previous movie, "Kinds of Kindness". They did some good stuff in that movie, but that was also a very odd and disjointed movie. I liked it, but it was a tough watch and there was almost too much going on in it. "Bugonia" is a much more focused movie and Stone and Plemons only had to play one character. And they both nailed it. Plemons is so good at playing a quiet psychopath. My buddy I saw the movie with said to me that he may be a little too good at playing these types of characters and then we had a full on conversation about Plemons and if he really is like the people he plays in real life. In "Bugonia" he is your typical internet obsessed crazy person who "does their own research". He claims to know who and who is not an alien amongst humans. He drags his cousin along on his wild fantasy. He drags everyone down to his level. He is the main one behind the whole kidnapping and questioning of Stone's character. The way he talks and deals with Donny frustrated me to no end. He was manipulative and acted like what he was doing was for all of humanity, when it really it was all about him. But, in the end, maybe he was right. Plemons was so pathetic and destructive that you are meant to think he is nuts. And while he is, he did kind of know what was going down, he just went about it in the absolute wrong way. As for being psychotic, Plemons nailed that as well. The way he could just switch his crazy on and off was wild. He was truly all the way gone and Plemons showed that tenfold in this performance. I think he was up to Stone's level in this movie and they both did some incredible work.

That was all I wanted to say about these two performances. While they may have not been nominated for any Oscars, go seek out these movies for these performances if you haven't yet. It is some of the better work you will see and the performances will stay with you for a long, long while. 

Ty

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

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A Fourteen Year Old is in My House

My son turns 14 today. Let’s discuss

This is wild to me. I feel like, just the other day, he was still a toddler asking me to help him with every little thing. He still asks, and from time to time, needs help, but not for everything. I do have to remind him to brush his teeth, make his bed and clean his room. Otherwise though, he gets more and more independent every single day. He has taken to walking or riding his scooter to and from school. Some days he walks with his buddies to some local fast food spot. I used to do the very same thing when I was his age, but this feels different. He is in his last year of middle school. The fact that he will be in high school in less than a year still blows my mind. Like I said, sometimes I still think of that toddler or baby that he used to be. But as he has gotten, the maturity has been great to watch. He used to be very hyper and bounce off the walls. All the way up until about 7th grade that was his way. But something must have clicked in his brain halfway through 7th grade because he has shown a massive amount of maturity and growth in less than two years. He still has mood swings and instances where he acts immature, but they are few and far between, and he is a teenager after all. Mood swings are part of that time in one's life. But he has been doing so much better with his school work. I used to have to keep tabs on him daily to make sure he was doing all of his work. I don't have to do that anymore. He is pretty much up to the task and he has, at last check, turned in all of his work. He has also become a better athlete and a more coachable athlete. I used to coach him in basketball, but this year he made it on a higher ranked team within the feeder program he plays in and I coach. He has a new set of coaches and they have done a wonderful job teaching him how to play and use his body the right way against better competition. He has even been asked a few times to play with the highest ranked team and he has held his own when he plays for the blue team. He is doing all the things I envisioned him doing when he played for me. I know part of that is the sheer fact that I don't coach him anymore, but also a part of it is his willingness and want to become a better player. He is going to have to beat out a bunch of other kids if he wants to play high school basketball next year, and I think that finally sunk in for him this season. He is having a very solid year playing up and that is because he is more willing to be coached. He finished off junior football this year as well, and while they didn't have the season they hoped for, he improved his game there as well. And the team he was on was more of a one for all, not all for one type team. I would pick him up from practice and he would complain about it to me. But he never complained to his coaches or called out any of his teammates. He didn't let his frustration boil over onto the field, and that is another massive sign of growth to me. He went to practice and games ready to get better everyday. And if a coach would ride him or chastise for something he felt was unjust, he would do as the coaches asked and try to make himself a better player. He has continued to workout for next season, his freshman year of football, and that can only help. He also asks me to take him to the workouts and tells me all about them afterwards. He wants to be better and he is taking some of the necessary steps to improve. This wouldn't have happened when he was 11 or 12. He is growing up. He also has a job, which was never on my radar at 14. He umpires baseball and, even though he was terrified during his first day, he improved every game after that and has become a reliable and dependable ump. He even did a few games last year where he had to call live balls and strikes, which is pretty tough for everyone involved in first year player pitch little league baseball.  The fact that he has to understand and deal with a schedule at 14 years old is pretty damn impressive if you ask me. He has grown in his taste of music and movies as well this past year. He still mostly listens to hip hop, which I did at his age and do to this day, but he has also been a little more forgiving of my music tastes. Instead of just dismissing my music he will say he gets why it's popular, it is just not for him. That is a good thing. I also have started taking him to see movies that I want to see. He and I saw "The Running Man" together and he loved it. My dad and I took him with us to see "Marty Supreme". He has asked me multiple times to take him to see "The Odyssey" when it comes out. He is starting to like the movies I like, and to me that means he will be my indie movie companion for years to come, which makes me happy.

It is great to see my son grow and become this teenager that he is blossoming into. He still has his little kid tendencies, but he also is more outgoing and more willing to try different stuff. He has always been a great student, but now he is taking accountability. He's becoming a better athlete. He is expanding his mind outside of his bubble he lives in. He is exploring new and different things. I want time to slow down, but I'm also very interested to see the adult he becomes.

Happy birthday buddy. I love you, can't wait to have the burgers you make tonight and can't wait to watch you grow into an adult. Enjoy it my dude. 

Ty

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

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Better Never Than Late on "Beer League"

I am currently in a movie watching mood, and to be more specific, I have been trying to watch sports comedies. I like most sports movies. And if I don't like them, I can usually find something enjoyable during a bad one. I played sports growing up, I'm a runner now and I coach feeder basketball. I like to be involved and around sports in general. So, when scrolling on Prime the other day I happened to notice a movie that I have never heard of before called "Beer League".

I had pretty recently watched the movie "Dirty Work". I adore that movie. I always liked Norm MacDonald and his style of comedy. "Dirty Work" felt like his magnum opus and it will always hold a special place for me. Artie Lange happens to play his best friend in that movie. I mention Lange because he is the lead of "Beer League". I have always been kind of leery of Lange. I know he has, or had, drug issues and he always tended to fall off the wagon every few years. He also does pretty blue humor that I determine to be very problematic. In "Dirty Work" he was fine, but that was because he was doing MacDonald's style of humor. In "Beer League" they let him loose and let him do his own thing. I'm not much for the argument that certain movies could or could not be made from the past in current time. "Beer League" came out in 2006, but I'm glad that movies like this are a thing of the past.

This movie is bad and offensive and crude and very poorly made. I played softball up until about four years ago. It was fine. Some people took it a little too seriously while others were just there to have a good time. I don't drink or smoke, so that aspect never appealed to me. But I always loved to play baseball as a kid, and softball let me hang on to that a little bit longer. The softball they portray in this movie is crass and stupid. There's an entire montage where the team has practice. We never practiced or even thought about practicing. The shit talk in this movie was offensive. I'm not saying that people didn't talk in the leagues I played in, but we never used problematic language or said offensive stuff every other word. It was more in jest or playful. Some of the words they use in this movie made me cringe when I heard them say it. And it happened way too often for my taste. I would hope that some of the stuff they said , when they wrote it down, would have double checked it and decided to try and find a different way to get the joke off. They didn't though. They took the lazy route and just said some foul stuff. And I'm not trying to be the language police, but some words just need to disappear forever. Other than the language, the movie was just bad. It wasn't funny. It was poorly written, obviously. The actors seemed uninterested in their dialogue. The comedians they got to play random characters are bad comedians. Artie Lange is not a leading man. Not in the least. I felt bad for the actresses in this movie. I understand that a job is a job, but their roles were so underwritten and, quite frankly, demeaning. The bachelor party scene was tough to watch and pretty disgusting. This is just a bad, bad movie. And like I said before, even in bad sports movies I can find something to enjoy. That was not the case here. I have pretty bad OCD, so I decided that I had to finish this movie, but there was nothing redeeming about it. Sure, I got to see a young Jerry Minor, Joe Lo Truglio and Tina Fey, but they were underutilized. Hell, Tina Fey was in one scene and had one line and she was gone.

"Beer League" is a bad, bad movie. I am writing this today to implore anyone that may want to watch this movie to tell them, don't. Don't waste your time. It is truly repugnant and just a bad movie. 

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 "M3GAN 2.0"

In my quest to see a bunch of movies I wanted to see last year, I finally saw "Megan 2.0".

I loved the first "Megan". I thought it was a great idea for a movie and they executed it pretty well. I liked how eerie it was. I appreciated how, with a limited budget, they were able to do suspense and horror and even a little comedy. The concept of the movie was solid too, especially in this day and age. I am a little fearful of AI and the firm grip it has on some people already. I think there are good uses for AI, but most people use it for not so good things. That's the scary part to me. "Megan" does a good job telling that story. The main kid's parents die in a horrific car accident and she is sent to live with her aunt, who's a big wig in the world of computers. She has created a robot companion and she decides to see if it works by pairing it with her niece. Things go awry, as they do in movies like these, and the companion is overprotective of the child. The robot companion, Megan, decides that anyone who does so much as raise their voice at her is deemed a threat and the robot needs to take them out. This is where the first "Megan" movie really achieves its goal. It is violent and sinister and they even manage to sneak a few jokes in here and there. I thought about the movie a lot after seeing it. I really enjoyed my viewing experience. So when a sequel was announced,  I was pumped. It felt like the first movie was the little engine that could type movies, and it more than earned its sequel. I'm not always a fan of sequels, but when a movie surprises me as much as this one did, I'm all here for a sequel. And when it was announced that they would have most of the same people back, that made me even more excited. I never had the chance to see it in theaters. It felt like it kind of came and went pretty quickly, which should have been a sign to me. But it is streaming on Peacock, which we subscribe to at my home, and I had some free time to watch.

Right off the bat I got a bad feeling. First off, the sequel is rated PG13. I know the first one is also PG13, but the sequel felt much more like an actual PG13 movie. It felt subdued and like a bunch of stuff got cut, stuff that may have been deemed too violent. The kills in this one just didn't bring the same oomph. I felt like they showed much more in the first movie than they did here. "Megan 2.0" seemed to cut away from every kill right before it happened. I'm not a violent person by any means, but movies are where we all escape. I love the "John Wick" franchise. I'm all in on the "Alien" movies. I loved "Weapons" and "Sinners" from last year. Those are violent movies that show you pretty much everything. "Megan 2.0" showed almost nothing. I also felt like they tried to make the Megan doll too quippy in the sequel. It felt like they wanted to make the robot like Deadpool, but without looking directly into the camera when making a joke. Megan seemed to have a one liner for every single thing that was said. I don't care for that unless I know that is what is coming, like the "Deadpool" movies. I also wasn't crazy about the new robot they introduced in this movie. This robot could have been so much more badass, but they subdued this one as much as they did with Megan. And when they have their big fight in the end, that whole scene felt kind of hollow and unfinished. And as much as I don't want to rag on children actors, the kid in this one was too preachy and too much of a teenager. I'm raising a teenager who has big feelings and lets us know about them. I don't want to watch that when I turn on a movie. I thought the kid did an okay job, she was just very moody and very much a teenager, which was frustrating to watch. I do want to point out Allison Williams, who returns as the aunt. She was all in and did her best to make this a solid movie. My favorite part was when she and Megan were paired via Williams' brain and she had to fight some bad guys. That part reminded me of the first movie.

All in all this sequel did not deliver for me. It didn't have the same juice as the first one and they tried to do too much here. This is the problem when a bunch of money is thrown at a movie that should feel more like a low budget project. I'd say just watch the original and skip this sequel. You'll thank me in the long run. 

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 "Him"

I finally saw "HIM" yesterday. I wanted to see this movie when it was in the theaters, but the timing never worked out. I saw that it was a Monkeypaw produced movie, which is Jordan Peele's company, and that was almost all I needed to check this movie out. The sheer fact that it was about football was just an added incentive for me. I also saw that Tyriq Withers was co-starring in the movie, and his one episode of "Atlanta" was one of the better episodes I've ever seen. It is really good and I highly recommend checking that one out.

Withers is very, very good in this movie. He commands the screen. Seeing him work, opposite Marlon Wayans, was an absolute delight. He played this highly touted draft pick that suffers a horrendous injury and has to come back from all of that. He also has to go workout with the greatest player to ever play the game. When Withers gets to the remote desert to work out with Wayans, this is where the movie gets nuts.

Wayans plays the aforementioned GOAT. I have always liked Wayans, but I have only ever seen him do comedic work. He is not doing comedy in "HIM". Not by a long shot. He plays a deranged lunatic who is obsessed with being the best there ever will be. He does not want to be usurped by Withers. He wants to continue to play the game. He will literally do whatever it takes to stay on top. He is nuts and is willing to do some horrific things to stay on top. Withers and Wayans are so good and so watchable in their roles. They were, by far, the best thing about this movie.

As for the movie, it had loads and loads of potential. But it felt like they didn't know how to really end the movie, and it truly goes off the rails in the last act. The whole idea of an up and coming draft prospect trying to take over for the greatest of all time is an interesting concept. This happens all the time in professional sports. And since these guys are pros, they may not want their job taken by a younger, more intriguing person. Withers plays that intriguing prospect very well. Everyone likes him and wants what is best for him. He loves his family. He constantly says that family is the most important thing. He is the true vision of a future GOAT. Wayans is on his way out. He has done it all. He has eight titles. He has multiple MVP awards. He is considered the best ever. But he is also old and he is on the verge of retirement. This dynamic is great between the two of them, and when the movie explores that, it works. The whole idea of Wayans inviting Withers out to his house in the desert to work out with him and see if he can take over the franchise is solid. I like that they break it down into six different days. Each day is a different, specific work out for a future pro. Like most horror movies, it starts out fine. But after the first day Withers' world gets turned inside out. First he has to strip down to nothing for a physical. Then he starts to see odd things while staying at the place. He is pushed to his limits. He starts to go kind of nuts. He sees the lengths and craziness Wayans is willing to go to to play this game at the highest level. He starts to get freaked out by what he is seeing, but he is also intent on being the best. He gets advice from people there to leave. He doesn't. He gets pushed and pulled every which way. He starts to see some horrific things, but finds it easier to move on the longer he stays. This all works. I was fascinated by watching how each day escalated. I loved seeing Wayans get deeper and deeper into the darkness of his character. It cannot be stated enough how good Wayans was in this role. But as we get closer to the end, this movie unravels and my interest starts to wane. After the party where Withers is selected to be the next franchise QB, the movie goes too big and gets too kooky. The violence and gore is all of the sudden the centerpiece of the movie. What made the first half of the movie so good was the mood and the vibe. It was dark and seedy, but I had no clue what was going to happen next. After the party it became a typical gross out horror/gore movie. It was gore porn in the very last scene. That kind of turned me off from what I had seen before. I get that they were trying to tell a specific story, but they went too far with the gore in my opinion.

I would say check “Him” out for Withers and especially Wayans' performances. But just know going in that it takes a deep dive in the final act and that was frustrating for me. 

Ty

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

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Indiana is Now a Football Power

Indiana did it last night. They won the whole thing. They beat every team on their schedule. They have the most wins in a season since some Yale team back in the early 1900's. Let’s discuss.

Indiana is on top of the college football world and they turned their entire program around in two short years. Curt Cignetti proved his worth and then some. I may not personally like him, but he is one hell of a college football coach and he knows how to win in this new era. I read some people griping about his roster being old. Who cares? He did nothing illegal in recruiting fifth and sixth year seniors. These guys wanted to come play for him through the portal, he picked the players that fit his system and he has won big with them at Indiana. He used the portal to perfection.

I made comments a week or so back about Fernando Mendoza being a game manager. I was wrong. He won that game last night. He was the reason that Indiana was able to sustain a few drives and get points. His run on fourth and long that scored the winning TD for Indiana was one of the best runs I have seen in a college football game in quite a long time. He secured the number one pick in the upcoming draft. Mendoza was no game manager last night. He was awesome.

As I said in my previous post about Indiana and Mendoza, this Indiana defense is elite. They are one of the better defenses I have seen on a college football field in a few years. The corners were all over the wideouts. The run defense, save for one long run, stuffed Miami at the line most of the night. And the linebackers cleaned up any messes that came their way. They also provided nice pressure on Carson Beck all night. And the secondary came up with the game sealing interception with less than a minute.

Even IU's special teams came up with a humongous punt block for a TD that helped get the momentum back in the third quarter.

Indiana was the most sound, most serious and best college football team by a wide margin for the 2025-26 season. Miami put up a fight and made it interesting for a while, but Indiana's run seemed destined to end this way. Miami made the title game by upsetting higher seeded teams. Indiana looked every bit the overall number 1 seed, dominating Alabama and Oregon on their way to the title. Miami may have more "pro" ready players, but Indiana was a much more complete and better team. Sure, Mendoza is the QB and Heisman winner, but he has guys all around him loaded with talent. They have two very good running backs. The receivers seemingly never drop a pass. The o line is dominant. The defense is amazing. Indiana is the definition of a team in modern college football. They play for one another, not draft positioning. They won because they bought into the new culture and coaching that came with the new coaching staff. They used the portal the best way possible. They made all the right moves and turned that into a championship team. Now they will have the joy and frustration of playing as the hunted rather than the hunter. They are not going to be taken lightly ever again. This is going to be a perennial contender, and the other teams on their schedule will be looking for new ways to beat them. It seems weird for me to say that about Indiana, but it shouldn't be. They are national champs and national champs play with a target on their back.

I also want to point out that the Big Ten has now won three straight national titles. For years and years the Big Ten always struggled during bowl season. They just couldn't seem to get to the title game, or if they did they would get trounced. But now, in the modern NIL and transfer portal era, the Big Ten seems to be the best conference in all of college football. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that they have usurped the SEC as the dominant conference. With Indiana last night, the university of Ohio State last year and Michigan two seasons ago, the Big Ten has won them all. And they didn't play a SEC team in any of those title games. Sure, the SEC has a few teams here and there that make the playoff, but so does the Big Ten. Oregon made it to the final four this year. Last season the Big Ten had five playoff teams. The SEC only had three. In the 23-24 playoff, the last with four teams, there was one SEC, one Pac 12, one Big 12 and one Big Ten, and the title game was Pac 12 versus Big Ten. We are in a new era of college football, and for the first part of this era, the Big Ten is the best conference, and it is not even close. And before people say, well they have 16 teams from all over the country, it is not fair, the last three champs from the Big 10 are all traditional Big Ten teams. So, as a fan of a Big Ten team, this makes me happy.

Anyway, congrats to Indiana. They are the no questions asked champs of the 2025-26 college football season. Enjoy it. 

Ty

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

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Ty Predicts the NFC and AFC Games

The NFC and AFC championship games are set. Let’s discuss.

It's nice to have some new blood, no Chiefs, Eagles or Bills. But it also feels like it is teams who used to dominate climbing their way back to the top. I think this is a good thing. This shows parity is still a thing in the NFL. Teams can go from worst to first every season. Look at teams like Chicago and Houston. Houston used to be an also ran, but they are a perennial playoff team, and look to be right on the doorstep of the Super Bowl. Chicago really struggled for the past decade or so, but now they have a viable QB, a ball hawking defense and have made some much needed changes on the o line and in management, and they were a play or two away from the NFC title game. It is refreshing to see some of these teams back at the top.

Where we stand now we have the Patriots playing the Broncos in the AFC title game, and the Seahawks playing the Rams, an inter division matchup to go to the Super Bowl. The NFC title game has some stand-ins playing for the chance at a Super Bowl, and the QBs are both journeymen that have made a solid career for themselves. The Rams have Matthew  Stafford, who is the most likely MVP winner. He has a ring already, but that was on a team that was built to win right away. This Rams team is different. They are more built from the draft. Their star players, outside of Stafford, are pretty much all in house guys. Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum were all draft picks. They traded for Davante Adams, and he is very important to this team. But outside him and Stafford, this team is all in house products. They do happen to have the best coach in all of football in Sean McVay, and he is churning out future head coaches left and right. The Rams are a legit threat to win it all, and they may be the favorites at this very moment. The Seahawks are a bit more of a mystery and unproven. But damn are they good, especially at defense. They have built that unit through the draft, with a few dudes coming from other teams. Their head coach, Mike MacDonald, is a defense guy and he is showing that he knows what he is doing. The offense is a mishmash of draft picks and free agents. The offense gets the job done. It may not always be pretty, but they know what they are doing and they do it well. They steamrolled a pretty hot 49ers team in last week's matchup. The offense that night was pretty much the run game, led by Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet is now hurt and out for the rest of the playoffs, but Walker is more than capable of handling a bigger workload. The o line is mean and nasty and they have a solid group of wideouts that know their roles. This game is going to be interesting, but I'm sticking with my Seahawks pick from a week ago. They have home field advantage, they have a better defense and they are riding high right now.

The AFC title game is a pure look at the future of this conference and this sport. I get it, Bo Nix has a broken ankle and is done for the playoffs. He was the main component of their comeback win last week and him being out will hurt them quite a bit. But Nix is a future perennial all pro QB. I was very wrong about him in his draft class. I thought he was going to be a bust. He is not. He is legit. They have a very good run game and o line that compliments Nix. Courtland Sutton has become a dependable number one wideout. Evan Engram has worked out as a viable tight end. And they have more than one running back they can count on. The defense is solid and dependable. Nik Bonitto and Dre Greenlaw are good linebackers. Pat Surtain II is one of the better secondary players in the league. They have some studs on the d line. The Broncos are a legit threat, even without Bo Nix. Jarret Stidham is not the answer and may be their undoing in this upcoming game. The Patriots lived up to the offseason expectations. I feel like Jerrod Mayo got a raw deal, but this team has had a major turnaround, and beating the Chargers the way they did last week was eye opening to me. This Patriots defense is for real. The d line gets after the QB and the run game. The linebackers are all over the field. And the secondary gets after the ball. They're a legit top unit in the league. The offense was even better than I expected them to be this year. Drake Maye is for real. I think him sitting a year was the best thing that could have ever happened for him. It humbled him and now the team, and Maye himself, are reaping the rewards. TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson are a great 1-2 punch in the backfield. Stefon Diggs, who has major off field issues, is productive. Kayshon Boutte has been a revelation. He is awesome. Hunter Henry is a solid tight end, and the o line, by drafting Will Campbell last season, got infinitely better. The Patriots are young, but they play with a tenacity that a ton of other NFL teams do not. There's a few reasons to pick the Patriots in this game, but the main one is the absence of Bo Nix. That should be more than enough for the Patriots to win. I'm sure the run game and defense and home field advantage will help, but all of that is moot with no Nix playing for Denver.

That means I have the Seahawks and Patriots in the Super Bowl. This is a throwback to the early to mid 2010's NFL. In this game I think the Seahawks defense will win the day and they will be the champs. Time will tell. 

Ty

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

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Willem DaFoe was Next Level in "The Lighthouse"

I like to rewatch movies from time to time. I believe I have mentioned this before. I find things I may have missed while doing this, or sometimes I just want to watch a performance that was so good once again. That was my reasoning for rewatching "The Lighthouse" recently.

I love this movie. The first time I saw it it confused and frustrated me. That was because they speak in old timey sailor talk, so I had no idea what they were saying to one another for most of the movie. When I watched it the second time I put the subtitles on and this made all the difference in the world. I felt like I understood so much more of what was happening and going on in the movie. I could parse together the stuff that made no sense and that was the moment it became a movie I knew I would revisit. While watching it this most recent time I was taken aback at the performance that Willem Dafoe gives. Robert Pattison is great in this movie. This was one of his performances, much like his work in "Good Time", where I found myself amazed by his acting and it washed all the "Twilight" nonsense from my brain. But Dafoe is a true powerhouse and the star of this wild movie.

For people that may not know much about "The Lighthouse", the movie takes place in 1890, two men travel to work on a lighthouse and live there for four weeks and they both go insane. It is pretty much a story of two dudes losing their minds and growing to hate one another. Dafoe got the juiciest of the two roles. He is the older guy that works there. He is the veteran and leader. He knows what needs to be done and how it should be done, in his vision. He is rude, crude and kind of gross. Our first glimpse into his portrayal of this character is him getting up from a bed, snorting and then farting. And not to be outdone, as he is walking out of the room, he rips another fart and leaves it in the room for Pattison to deal with. At dinner he gives the same toast every single night. He says the same thing over and over again. That alone would drive me nuts if I was living there with him. He constantly chides the work that Pattison is doing. Nothing is ever good enough for him. The work doesn't mean his ridiculous standards. He forces Pattison's character to do extra work, and when he is done with the hard work, Dafoe's character will tell him to do it the easier way next time, giving him the proper tools after he has already done the grueling work. He swings the swing so hard that Pattison is painting from that it rips. He drinks constantly. He snores and farts when he sleeps. He likes to get nude while he is up in the lighthouse. His laugh is loud and obnoxious and almost done at the wrong time every time. He refuses, only for a few minutes, to call Pattison by his name after he asks him politely to do so. He degrades and demeans Pattison any chance he gets. He is grumpy and old and taking it out on this poor young kid just trying to make some money. And Dafoe nails it. I grew to despise his character during this most recent watch. I wanted Pattinson to beat the hell out of him. I just knew that if he went at him with full force that he could really mess him up, and I found myself rooting for that. The constant passing of gas was akin to something a frat boy would do to a young pledge. He was supposed to guide this young man and maybe usher him into taking over when he was too old. But he refused. He would lock Pattinson out of the lighthouse, forbidding him from going up there. And if he saw him getting close, he would shut him out immediately.

I am kind of surprised more people didn't talk about award consideration for this role. Dafoe was so up to the task and so good playing this vile person. I believe this was when the partnership really blossomed between him and Robert Eggers. They both continue to do wonderful work together to this day. But this may be my favorite performance of Dafoe's to this point, and he has put on some excellent performances before and since this movie. But he is doing the best work, in my opinion, in "The Lighthouse". I highly recommend watching for his performance alone. 

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 The Giants Hiring John Harbaugh

It looks as if John Harbaugh will be the next head coach of the New York Giants. Let’s discuss.

Harbaugh was the most coveted coach on the market. When the Ravens let him go it was only a matter of time before he found himself a different team to take over. I know that the Titans, Falcons and Giants all really wanted him. I was kind of hoping, after their meltdown in the playoffs, that maybe even Green Bay would try to hire him, if they decided to move on from Matt LaFleur. I know he was looking at and talking to other teams all last week, and he finally went on an in person interview with the Giants on Monday. I read he was supposed to do an in person interview with the Titans, possibly today, but that isn't going to happen now. The Giants went all out, basically giving him everything he wanted, had current players sit in on the interview and it looks as if he is accepting the job.

I think the Giants really lucked out here. Harbaugh knows the game better than most. He has been around coaching his whole life and it feels like he has been the head coach of the Ravens for almost two decades. He has a Super Bowl ring, went to the playoffs most seasons and commands respect from everyone in the NFL. The Giants have a ton to fix, but hiring Harbaugh was damn near the perfect first step. I'm not too crazy about Jaxson Dart as the QB of the future, but Harbaugh seems to have bought in on him. Dart feels like a flash in the pan, I kind of wished they went with Jameis Winston a little more last year. But if he has the go ahead of Harbaugh, then he will be the QB of the future, until he gets hurt or flames out. And even/when that happens, Harbaugh has much of the same duties as a GM with the proposed deal he is about to sign to coach the Giants. He is not only the head coach now, but he has GM abilities now, so he will get to pick and choose the players he wants. He will have to get a real cowbell running back. Cam Skattebo is not the answer. He reminds me of Peyton Hillis. He showed up out of nowhere last season, has already capitalized on his "fame" and will most likely continue to get injured, especially coming off a torn ACL. The best thing that Harbaugh has on this offense is Malik Nabers, also coming off a torn ACL. Nabers is a legit number one wideout, he cares about winning, he wants to get better and he has all the skills to be a perennial pro bowl player. Harbaugh will need to fix the o line, but he does have some pieces. The defense may be a full teardown and rebuild, but this deal is meant to give Harbaugh time to build this team in his image. It is similar, though not as big a contract with as many responsibilities, to his brother's deal with the Chargers. Jim Harbaugh was lucky enough to have Justin Herbert and a solid defense with the Chargers, but he has built that team the way he wants it and they have been to the playoffs, with weak exits, two seasons in a row. John Harbaugh should have the Giants looking more confident and similar to the Ravens in a few seasons. He will most likely start with building through the draft, but I wouldn't be shocked if he goes big name hunting ASAP. New York is a massive market, guys want to play there, he is a coach that players like. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes after AJ Brown right off the bat to team up with Nabers. I bet he will try to get respectable o linemen on the free agent market. I bet, since he knows a ton about defense, he will rework the entire defense with both the free agent market and the draft. The Giants will have a high pick, and if he can get a couple of more studs to pair with Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux, this defense can be formidable as soon as next season.

I didn't know if I liked this idea of Harbaugh with the Giants. But after sitting on this for a day, this is a good move by both parties. The NFL is better when the Giants are relevant. They play in the same division as the Cowboys, so if they can beat them every season with regularity, that will make me happy as a Cowboy hater. And giving him some GM control was a good move. I don't usually like when a coach also has the duties of a GM, but a coach like John Harbaugh has been around the game long enough and has some ideas on how to build a team. I like this for both Harbaugh and the Giants and I'm interested to see how this team looks going forward. Time will tell. 

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "The Gutter"

I was looking through the streaming services for a movie to watch earlier today. On Wednesday mornings I usually go for a decently long run and then have the afternoon to myself. I usually take that time to watch a movie. I always try to find something I haven't seen yet and that was just the case today. While looking through Hulu I found the movie "The Gutter".

I remember vaguely hearing about “The Gutter” through Paul Scheer and his podcast "How Did This Get Made". The movie came out over a year ago, but I remember Scheer talking about it when I was listening to episodes around that time. He is not the main guy, he has one very funny scene in the movie, but he was promoting it a ton and when I saw it today his talk jogged my memories. I also saw that the runtime was just over 90 minutes and I was in.

As the movie unfolded I found myself laughing and really enjoying my time. For people who may not know, "The Gutter" focuses on Walt, played by Shameik Moore. He moves from job to job and lives his life kind of aimlessly. He eventually finds a job at a bowling alley, working in the bar. The whole interview scene, this is right at the top of the movie, was great. We get a montage of sorts of Walt's former jobs and this stuff cracked me up. The owner of the bowling alley, played by Jackee, plays off Walt pretty perfectly. She is funny, makes more jokes than Moore and she was a delight to see on screen again. D'Arcy Carden is a former pro bowler who now gets drunk at the bar everyday. She basically lives there. I have enjoyed Carden's work since I saw her on "The Good Place". In "The Gutter" she plays a totally different character, but she is still hilarious and great. She is the one who finds out that Walt is actually a great bowler, and they go on an adventure together trying to save the bowling alley where they hang out and work. This is the conflict in the movie, and this is the main story line. Watching Moore as Walt being this great bowler was awesome. I have found that I enjoy movies that take place in and around bowling alleys. I adore "The Big Lebowski". "Kingpin" is a riot. I love the episode of "Documentary Now" that focuses on bowling. I guess I find that bowling makes for funny content. "The Gutter" is now firmly in that camp.

As Carden and Moore go on this road trip, we meet a ton of people. Susan Sarandon plays the "villain" of the movie. She is Linda Curson, a former professional bowler and beloved by her fans. She is upset that Walt is about to take over and break all her records. She does some things that aren't on the level to slow Walt down, but when that doesn't work, she decides to come back and challenge Walt. She doesn't do the back handed stuff on her own, she gets help from Angelo played by Paul Reiser. Resier is the host of a bowling show and he is, quite possibly, the funniest person in this movie. He knew the task at hand and he was up to the challenge. He had the most jokes and I feel like they all landed. During this we meet some of Walt's cousins, played by Langston Kerman and Jay Ellis. They were both great. Rell Battle plays Brotha Candy and he was awesome. He is always monologuing and going on about what he believes in. He is also kind of the savior of the bowling alley in the end, minor spoiler alert. Kim Fields plays Walt's mom and she was dynamite.

Look, is "The Gutter" the best movie ever made, no. But did I laugh and enjoy my watching experience, absolutely. I said aloud to no one that I loved how goofy the movie was. It never took itself seriously. The movie makers were in on the joke. This was kind of like a spoof in certain ways. I also found this movie to be hilarious. I thought Moore and Carden had great chemistry, and I liked that the movie made them just friends. Their partnership was never meant to be romantic. And then I found out that Yassir Lester was the writer and director, and it all made sense.

"The Gutter" is a good time and a very funny movie. Go find this movie and check it out. I highly recommend it. 

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "The Toxic Avenger" (2023)

A while back I watched the original "Toxic Avenger". I had seen a few Troma movies prior to that one, but that was the main Troma movie I wanted to see. I had heard so many interesting things about it and the time had come to finally sit down and watch. And it was fine. It was pretty much what I expected. It was gory, silly, kind of stupid and upsetting at parts, purposely.

After seeing the original I happened to come across a new interpretation of "The Toxic Avenger". I saw that they had a solid cast and I kind of figured I would watch it at some point. Well that day was yesterday. I had some free time in the afternoon, I usually watch movies while folding laundry, so I decided to watch the remake, or reimagination.

What stood out right away to me was that this new version was going to be just as silly and slapstick as the original. The movie starts out with a voiceover by Peter Dinklage, he is the main character, but all the while he is doing voiceover, he is making jokes throughout. I was in from that moment on. I like Peter Dinklage. He was my favorite part of "Game of Thrones". I love his minor role in the MCU. His work in "Elf" is wonderful. He is as reliable as they come in Hollywood. And he is funny as hell. He gets to do a ton of jokes in this movie and I'm here for it. He also plays this put upon scaredy cat before he transforms and he nails that as well. And when he turns into Toxie, although the hero is played by someone else and voiced by Dinklage, his voice work is so perfect for this type of movie. I loved seeing him in a starring role in something goofy and gory. Dinklage has earned the right to star in more movies, and I hope he gets that chance soon.

Joining Dinklage is a pretty solid cast of actors. Jacob Tremblay plays his step son. He is an anxious riddled ball of nerves, and when he finally gets his voice, Tremblay does some good work. I had only seen him in "Good Boys" prior, which is an underrated movie, but seeing him in something like this was a nice change of pace. Taylour Paige plays a former worker of the corrupt company in the movie who is out to show the world how evil the company truly is. She is a very good actor, and I've never seen her do comedy before this. She is the "straight man" in this role, but when she needs to make a joke or a funny face or do anything comedic, she is up to task. Elijah Wood plays the injured brother of the CEO of the corrupt company. He is bald on top,  but has long stringy hair in the back. He uses a cane, talks with a raspy voice and needs an inhaler. He is head of security, but all I could glean security was in this movie was killing people who speak out against the company. Don't worry, minor spoiler, Wood does save someone near the end, but he still has a not so happy ending. And Kevin Bacon plays the CEO of the evil corporation, and he is so good as the villain. He is vile and mean. But he's also being controlled by a mob boss and he gets to play a scared person whenever that guy is around. Bacon has become so good at playing a villian, even in a silly movie like this, and he nails it here. The big fight between him and Dinklage at the end is pretty epic.

Besides the acting, the action and gore in this one is very over the top on purpose. Heads get ripped off, limbs get pulled around, multiple shots are fired to and about faces. It is an endless orgy of gore, but that is the whole idea of Troma movies. They purposely go over the top, and there's nothing left to the imagination. One of the bad guys gets half his head ripped off. Another bad guy gets his arm ripped off by accident. Dinklage uses a mop covered in acid to fight off the bad guys. They do a throwback to the classic fast food restaurant scene in this movie and it gets way more amped up and violent here.

This new version of “The Toxic Avenger” is, overall, a better movie because people make better movies now. That's just a fact. But I think I prefer the original a little more. I like the whole low fi idea of the original movie. But this one is still very funny and a good time. You need to know what you're getting yourself into when you watch a Troma movie, and if you can deal with the gore and goofiness, I'd recommend both the original and this reimagination of "The Toxic Avenger". They're a good time for what they are. 

Ty

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

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My Vinyl Record Problem

I had been contemplating getting a record player for a while now, and on my birthday my buddy actually bought me one. This was very unexpected and very much appreciated. Believe me, I have thanked him many, many times to this point. Let’s discuss.

When I first got the record player my parents had given me three records that they didn't play anymore. They have given away most of their records because they no longer own a player. I played these three pretty immediately because I was psyched about my new gift. Then about a week later I went out with my dad and my buddy that bought me the player to go record shopping. This was great. I found three albums that I wanted to try out on the player, they weren't all that expensive, and when I got home all three got played. I also bought my wife a Fleetwood Mac album because that is probably her favorite band. Then I took a break from shopping for albums because the holidays were fast approaching. I got a few more albums for Xmas and ever since then my record buying has become a minor problem.

I was worried this was going to happen. Having a record player is wonderful because it means I have gotten back to listening to music daily. I was mainly listening to podcasts for a good long while. I still prefer podcasts when I run and when I do errands. But at home I have gotten back into strictly listening to albums when I do housework or any other chores that need to be done. This morning, after grocery shopping, I put on a record and did all my prep work for the week as far as food stuff goes. I chose to listen to "Good Kid M.A.A.D City", and having that playing in the background on my record player was amazing. When I play video games at home I have the record player going. My kids went with me to the record store over the weekend and each got to pick an album to have, and we have listened to them multiple times already, especially my daughter who was literally hugging her album, "Life of a Showgirl" after we brought it home. The record player was great simply because it has reopened my love for listening to music while hanging around the house.

But, the downside, as I mentioned a minute ago, the purchasing of records is going to become a problem. I can already tell. This was the main reason why I was so hesitant to get a record player. I was the last of my brothers to get one. All of my close friends have players in their homes. I would go to their houses and look and pour over each record they had and think to myself that it was time to get one. I just never went through with it. Now that I have one though, I'm fully back in on getting albums. As a teenager and early 20 year old I bought countless CD's. you can ask RD. He used to make fun of the size of my CD books, and those bad boys were totally filled up. I fear I may be doing that with records already. My wife got me a record holder for Xmas, and that is already half full. I mentioned my kids got records over the weekend, well, I bought three for myself on that same trip. I grabbed "Good Kid M.A.A.D City", "Midnight Marauders" and "Stop Making Sense". When we went to check out the total was much more than I had anticipated spending. I went to a local store about a week ago and easily blew about ninety dollars on three records.

I have been making lists of what I want to get next. My grand idea when I first started to collect was that I would only buy records I wanted for the album artwork. That was always a big selling point for me with CD's. I loved the artwork, especially the artwork in late 90's, early 2000's hip hop records. The more boisterous the better I thought. But now I'm simply buying albums because I just want to hear them on a record player. For example, "Stop Making Sense", the version I got, is just black and white with some writing on it. There's nothing too special about it. But I do like the simplicity of it. A few records I have, "Chromakopia" for example, have very cool artwork and cool inserts, but I truly love that album and wanted to hear it on a different player. "Igor" is very simplistic in its packaging. I try to tell myself that I'm going to buy the most basic record because I just want them for the music now, but even the most basic album costs anywhere from twenty two to fifty bucks. I got "Getting Killed" for twenty four dollars and I felt like I got an excellent deal. I need to pace myself because this will only get worse before it gets better.

Damn it I'm thrilled that I have a record player and I feel like a kid again when I go shopping for new albums. I'm not much of a looker when I go to stores. I want to be as efficient as possible. But if you put me in a record store, filled to the brim with music, I could shop for hours and be very, very happy. But I will also spend too much money and feel bad about it afterward. I hope this doesn't get too out of hand too fast, but at the rate I'm going right now that seems to be the case. Oh well, I guess the best thing to do now is buy more storage for the inevitable influx of new records coming my way. This is a good problem to have I suppose. 

Ty

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

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The Transfer Portal Needs to be Fixed

There is a big, big problem with the transfer portal, and while I think it must stick around, there needs to be some kind of new rules put into place. Let’s discuss

To start off, I'm all for college athletes getting as much money as they can while they are still playing in college. For some of these athletes, this is the only time they will get paid playing their preferred sport. And for the players that are going to be picked to play professionally, they can start a nice little nest egg for their future. And I'm all for kids being able to move from school to school as much as coaches do. I don't blame any kid who was recruited to Ole Miss by Lane Kiffin looking to go somewhere else now that Kiffin has moved on to LSU. They had an idea of who the coach was going to be, that coach is now gone and maybe they were only going to Ole Miss to play for Kiffin. The same thing is going on at Michigan right now. Some kids have asked out of letters of intent, or some kids who came in from the transfer portal that were recruited by Sherrone Moore are now looking elsewhere since Moore is no longer the head coach. Those kids don't really know Kyle Whittingham, and maybe they don't want to get to know him. And that's fine.

What is happening right now, especially in football and men's college basketball, with the portal is pure madness. There seems to be dozens of new players everyday since the recent transfer window opened up that are leaving one school for another. What's worse, some kids have announced intentions to transfer while their current team is still in the playoff. I know that Ole Miss was bounced last night, in an epic game by the way, but their backup QB has already announced that they have committed to play football at Mizzou next season. I believe this same thing happened with Penn State last season. These players still have important playoff games to prepare for, but the non starters possibly have their mind elsewhere. That's not good. You need your players to be locked in and focused. If Trinidad Chambliss were to get hurt, Austin Simmons may not be all that hype to go into a game because he may not want to get hurt. I bet Mizzou coaches would implore him not to play at all. In a case like this, if a kid is already committed elsewhere, they should already be with that new team. And Simmons very well may be in Columbia, Missouri as we speak. But the sheer fact that Simmons was all but out the door while Ole Miss was still playing, that is part of the problem. Michigan has seen starters leave for the portal. Some have come back, but others are still in the portal. Brandym Hillman was a two year starter, but he entered the portal last night. TJ Metcalf transferred in last year, played the most snaps on defense for Michigan, and now he is gone. Justice Haynes, who started at running back and was the feature back before getting hurt, announced today he was going to transfer. Indiana is the clear favorite to win it all this year, but that hasn't stopped them from getting one of the top QBs in the portal to commit, as well as one of the top wideouts in the portal. Again, they have a game tonight, but that hasn't stopped them from bringing in transfers. Oh, and their current starting QB, the Heisman winner, hasn't declared for the draft as of yet. But they already have his replacement waiting to take over in Bloomington.

As of today, over 2500 players have entered the transfer portal, and almost half have already committed to new schools. That's insane. And I kind of assumed that the portal was going to be used for players who felt they have earned playing time, but haven't gotten as much as they hoped for. That seemed like the best option. Or even, the portal could be used for players who have one season of eligibility left that are playing at a "smaller" division 1 school to go play for a power 4 school and get scouted for the pros. But we have all kinds of players entering the portal now, and this includes guys who have been starters since they got into college football. I mentioned Justice Haynes and Brandyn Hillman already. Josh Hoover was a two year starter at TCU, but now he is off to Indiana. Brendan Sorsby started at Cincinnati last season, but that didn't stop him from almost instantly committing to Texas Tech after Oregon knocked them out of the playoff. Nick Marsh was the top wideout at Michigan State, but he is off to greener pastures at Indiana. Michigan got instant help on defense from former Utah edge rusher John Henry Daley, who was an All American this past season. DJ Lagway was supposed to be the savior for Florida, but next season he will be suiting up for Baylor. Rocco Becht was a two year starter at Iowa State, but he just followed his coach to Penn State. I could go on and on and on naming more and more players. It truly does feel like free agency. It's getting to a point where I don't even know some current starters on Michigan's team, and that is the team I love the most. I just started to root for TJ Metcalf and Justice Haynes, and now they're gone. I have to learn about John Henry Daley and Taylor Tatum now, among others.

This constant movement and constant change is going to do damage to the sport and to the rivalry aspect of college football, which is a big deal for college sports. The university of Ohio State and Michigan rivalry is still pretty heated, but the university of Ohio State has had two transfer QBs start the past two years and Michigan has had multiple transfers on defense. What will happen to the Notre Dame-USC rivalry when  players can transfer from one of those schools to the other. I know Michigan is in contact with some rival teams players in the portal, so I have to imagine the same thing is going on with other big time schools with players in the portal. The rivalry games are going to become just another game because there will be zero continuity with players. Each team is going to have new players every year, and that is going to do nothing but dim these supposed rivalry games. There's also going to be more parity, which is fine. But, with more and more players transferring every season, no team is going to have true continuity. The coaches are going to have to mold things to fit the transfers every year, and if you miss out on a transfer you went all in on, your season will be toast.

The transfer portal can be used for good, but right now it is the wild west. It is free agency. Players are going where they can get the most money, and maybe not the most playing time. To each their own, but rules should be put into place. There should be some kind of restrictions, or this is only going to get worse and worse every year, and it is already pretty bad where we are right now. Changes will hopefully be made, but time will tell. Until then, the average college football fan is going to fall off a bit when they don't get to know who the players are each year. You used to get four years to root for certain players if you're lucky. But now it changes pretty much every season and it is watering down the game in my opinion. 

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 the Trae Young Trade

Trae Young was traded to the Washington Wizards yesterday. This has been a deal in the making for about a week now, but I did not think it would end up with Young playing for the Wizards. Let’s discuss.

When I first heard about his trade request, the two teams first mentioned were the Timberwolves and Nets. These two teams made some kind of sense to me. The Timberwolves need a true, real deal point guard and that is exactly what Trae Young has been since he entered the league. I didn't know how this would work on the Timberwolves end, but that didn't make it make any less sense. The Timberwolves already have a real deal star of the team in Anthony Edwards. He is the most important player on the team and he has the keys to the car. He is their leader and most important player. I don't think Young would take to that so well. You could see some fracturing on the Hawks with Jalen Johnson emerging as an all star candidate. They also took Zach Rissache number one overall in last year's draft. And they have some other young players that they may want to build the team around. Young wasn't the player to build around anymore on the Hawks, and he would be the third or fourth option if he were to join the Timberwolves. Besides Edwards, the Wolves like to feed Rudy Gobert from time to time in the low post. Sometimes the offense goes through Julius Randle occasionally, and even a guy like Naz Reid gets to run the bench unit. Young may have given the Timberwolves a true point guard, but I feel like he would have been almost instantly unhappy at his place and role on that team.

The Nets actually made the most sense to me because they have picks and young players looking to prove themselves. And playing for the Nets would give Young a humongous market, Brooklyn, and he would be the number 1 option by a mile. I would have to imagine the Hawks would have wanted picks, which the Nets could provide, but I also think the Hawks would have wanted some of their young shooters. I would have asked for Michael Porter Jr first. He is having a breakout season and he would be a perfect replacement for Trae Young in Atlanta. If they wanted a pure scorer, they could have asked for Cam Thomas. He may not pass much, and he isn't the best defender in the NBA, but the dude is a microwave when his shot is falling. If they wanted an unproven guy they could have asked for Egor Denim. He is a rookie and he pretty much only shoots threes. But if he can hone that skill and become a lesser Kyle Korver, he could bring spacing to Atlanta. And if they wanted to go big for some reason, why not ask for Nic Claxton. He is young and a good rim runner and rebounder and he could bring more energy to a younger roster in Atlanta. But Brooklyn didn't happen either.

Then, as I was writing yesterday, I saw that Young all of the sudden wanted to go to Washington and Atlanta was willing to try and make that happen. I was confused, but hey, if that was where he wanted to play, why not go for it. Throughout the afternoon I had to imagine both sides were working on a deal. Then it was announced that a few of the Wizards players were "healthy" scratches right before their game. That was the only evidence we all needed. Pretty soon after that Young was traded to the Wizards for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. After the trade came out and the players were mentioned, I was unmoved. The deal seemed to be very boring and dull. The only true "star" in the trade was Trae Young, and his star is starting to fade. McCollum had his moment, but he is now your typical veteran journeyman. And Corey Kispert is no better than a bench player. He can score here and there, but he is not a name that moves the needle all that much. The Wizards got the guy that wanted to be there. And Trae Young is going to be able to do whatever he wants. They won't win much, and I wonder if a guy like Alex Sarr, who is having a solid second season, will grow frustrated playing with such a ball dominant guard. And the Wizards are not going to win all that much with the addition of Young. As for the Hawks, they have been a bit of a disappointment so far, and while they played well without Young earlier this year, I don't know if that will happen again. And bringing in Kispert and McCollum doesn't really help or hurt them all that much. They added two decent shooters, but neither is as good as Young. And they don't make defenses shift as much as Young did for them.

This trade feels odd and unfulfilling. I don't really think either team got better. Young got to go where he wanted, and the Hawks got two shooters, but I don't think either team will see any real difference in their records for the rest of the season. Maybe this is just the start of a wild trade deadline. Time will tell. But this trade isn't as juicy as it could have been. 

Ty

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

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The Prophetic Vision of the Classic Movie "Blue Chips"

I just finished watching the movie "Blue Chips" for what must be my tenth time. This movie predicted the future. Let’s discuss.

This was an important movie to me as a kid because it is all about college basketball and they have a ton of scenes involving game action. I remember my dad and his assistant basketball coach taking a bunch of us to see it when we were 12, the movie came out in 1994, and that memory has always stuck with me. I think about it often. We got to see a movie based on a sport we all loved and we all had dreams of being college basketball players at the time. I can also vividly remember going to play basketball with some of my teammates after seeing the movie. After watching it we had to go play. We had to blow off steam. And I also remember, after seeing the movie, how much I stood with Nick Nolte, he played the coach of the team. As a 12 year old I always equated the coach as the boss. They were in charge, they ran the show and whatever they said, that was the law. So when he decided he was going to go to the boosters and whatnot to get the players they needed to return to relevancy, I was devastated. He was breaking the rules to win again. It bummed me out. I sided with the writer, played by Ed O'Neil, who constantly pushed and questioned every recruiting move. I thought Nolte's ex wife was right to chastise him. She should have anyway because he lied to her, but she seemed more angry about the recruiting violations. The AD and the assistant coaches all tried to turn a blind eye, but Nolte was hell bent on getting these top recruits, no matter what it took. And I looked at someone like the character of Ricky Roe as a total scumbag. He asked for money and he did it in a very slimy way. And the villain of all villains in "Blue Chips" was Happy, played by JT Walsh. He was the booster who paid everyone. He helped the football and basketball teams stay in the top 25. He made sure they were a perennial power by any means necessary. And boy oh boy did 12 year old me despise Happy. He was the worst. I couldn't believe what he would do just to keep a college program relevant. And when Nolte called him out at the press conference after they won their first game with the new players, I openly applauded in the theaters. I didn't care what my friends and coaches thought. Nolte was standing up for what was right, or so I believed.

After finishing the movie again yesterday, I'm here to say, justice for Happy. He was right. He was doing NIL before it was legal. He has a line early in the movie where he is talking to Nolte about him signing six figure deals to be a coach, then six figure deals to wear certain brands and how pathetic it is that a coach can cash in on this money, but the players get nothing. He was absolutely correct in his assessment. He also takes care of all of the action without coaches knowing anything. That has to be the dream for college coaches. And Happy didn't focus on one sport, he was doing this for multiple athletic programs at the fictional university in the movie. That is what every agent in America is doing right now for athletes in the NIL era. They made Happy out to be such a slimy and smarmy scumbag, but he was the only person who understood and gave the college athletes what they deserve. I have talked so much about this on the website and the podcast, but college athletes bring in so much money, especially to big universities, and all they used to get was a full scholarship. That's a drop in the bucket for these universities that make billions off their athletics. Happy knew that and he made a choice to give the athletes their worth. NIL has only been a thing for a few years now, and it is a true mess, they need to find a way to sanction some stuff and make new rules, but the best thing about NIL is these college athletes are finally able to make money for themselves. They don't have to live on stipends until they get to the pros, if they get to the pros. Happy was just taking care of the athletes. He is not the villain. The villain is Bob Cousy, who played the AD. The villain is Nick Nolte for chastising these kids and boosters. The villain is Ed O'Neil for being a grown man obsessed with the lives of college students.

Justice for Happy. And if you've never seen "Blue Chips", do yourself a favor and check it out. It is a moment in time movie and it is one of the better ones out there. 

Ty

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

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