2022 Top Five - Sports

Today I come to you all with my top sports moments of 2022. This has been a good sports year for me as a fan. I have not had much to complain about, but being a true fanatic, I have found stuff here and there. My list is all football and basketball. Well, there is one baseball thing. But those are the sports I watch. I do not watch hockey, soccer, NASCAR or even boxing anymore. I understand that the World Cup just happened, but I didn't watch a second of it. And RD and Tina do all the tennis talk for the site. I just wanted to give you all a heads up. On to the countdown.

At number 5 I have the final season of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. I am not the biggest MLB fan, but being a native St Louisian, and a Cardinals fan, this was a very important sendoff. Pujols came back to play his last year here. Yadi is a lifelong Cardinal, and in my opinion, the greatest catcher of all time. To see them play their final season together where they started was magical. What unfolded was even better. Yadi did his thing. He was consistent. He gunned wannabe base stealers down left and right. He hit his usual .270. He had clutch plays. He was as good as ever. Pujols started off slow but something happened to him after the all star break. He found his power. He started to bomb homeruns. He got to a point where 700 seemed like it was possible. And when he hit that magical number it was euphoric. I was stoked. The kids I coach in baseball were stoked. It was so cool to see the whole city get behind Pujols on his run to 700. The Cardinals won the division and looked like they could make a deep playoff run. The Phillies had other plans though. Even though they choked, seeing Pujols and Yadi finish their careers in St Louis, on a relatively high note, was pretty damn cool. They are two of the best to ever do it and two of the best Cardinals to ever do it. 

At number 4 I have the Cincinnati Bengals going on their incredible playoff run all the way to the Super Bowl. I could not believe what I was seeing while it was going on. Sure, one win seemed like it was possible. But to run through the AFC the way they did, and then beat the Chiefs to make the Super Bowl, it was great. I am not a Bengals fan at all, but my nephew is and my brother has lived in Cincy for a bit now. I was happy for them. I was stoked to see guys like Jamaar Chase and Joe Burrow show up big time in big time games. I like those dudes. And the Bengals did not disappoint in the Super Bowl. They may not have won, but they had a chance. They had an open guy on the final play. They stayed in the whole game. The Rams were bought to win a Super Bowl. The Bengals were built to win one. They are playing great this year. But that run, and all the texts between RD and myself during their run, that was pretty rad. I like the team and I wish them nothing but success in the long run.

At number 3 I have the Warriors-Celtics NBA Finals. It was an incredible series. I was rooting for Golden State because of my disdain for the Celtics. But it was cool to see Jayson Tatum, a STL native, play on the biggest stage. And I was certain that the Celtics were going to win after going up 2-1. It seemed inevitable. But then the Warriors woke up and looked amazing. Klay Thompson was coming off two ACL tears and started to look like himself. Draymond Green got back to playing top notch defense. Kevon Looney became a very poor man's Tim Duncan. Jordan Poole was getting points in limited minutes. Andrew Wiggins was locking up Celtic after Celtic. But it was Steph Curry who willed this team to victory. He did not want to be beat and it showed. He scored at will. He hustled on defense. He proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that he is one of the best to ever play. He earned this title. He was the well deserving MVP. He said this one felt best and it showed. I was in awe of his performance from game four to six. He was on a mission and it was beautiful to watch. This was a great finals and the best team won.

At number 2 I have the Michigan Wolverines football season. The new year started off rough with Georgia crushing Michigan in the CFP. I didn't know what to expect from the team going into this season, but they did not disappoint. They handled their cupcake of a non conference schedule. Then when they got into Big Ten play they opened with a tough win over Maryland. They then went on to crush every opponent until Illinois. They beat Penn State by 28. They put Michigan State into submission. They sacked Indiana QB's eight times. They ran over everyone. Illinois gave them a scare. Michigan did not deserve to win but they found a way. They then went to Columbus and won there for the first time in 22 years. Not only did they win though, they dismantled the university of Ohio State. They ran up and down the field on them. They made CJ Stroud look pedestrian. Blake Corum, the team's heart and soul, was hurt the week before and barely played. It didn't matter. They had the next man up mentality. They used this momentum and throttled Purdue in the Big Ten title game. They have a date with TCU coming up and I am terrified as always. But this team has proven me wrong all year. They have figured out ways to win games. Guys like Mike Morris, Mike Sainristil, Blake Corum, the entirety of the O line, Will Johnson, DJ Turner, Cornelius Johnson, they all deserve this. They have all earned this. I am hopeful as a Michigan fan for the first time in a long time.  I hope it doesn't bite me in the butt, but time will tell. As of now I am a hopeful Wolverines fan.

At number 1 I have a very personal sports moment. My son started playing football this year. Let me rephrase that, he started to play tackle football this year. I was nervous. I told him horror stories. I tried to convince him otherwise. But he was adamant and we relented. It was wonderful. He got better and better everyday as a football player. He was taught the right way to play the game. He seemed happy at practice and at games. He really looked like he was in his element. As the season went on the team continued to get better. They started to win more. They were really beating teams up. And my son lived in the backfield on defense and pancaked would-be tacklers on offense. It was a shock, in a good way, to see him progress the way he did. They won enough to make the fifth grade playoffs and it got even better. They won their first game handily. They had a tough test in the second game, but they ran away with that one as well. The championship was on a very windy and cold day. And they even gave up an early field goal. From there on out they scored 30 unanswered points. They destroyed the team that made it to the finals. They hammered them. And my son was smiling all the way. He loved every second of football. And I loved watching him. I am so glad I didn't coach also. I got to enjoy it from the stands. I am always proud of him and this is another notch in his belt. I was so happy to see them win and to watch him play all year. That is the best a sports dad can ask for.

That is it for sports. Come back tomorrow for my final top five, top five podcasts of the year, tomorrow.

Ty

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

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Still Pumped After a Great NBA All Star Weekend

On Friday I gave some predictions, and what I was looking forward to, for NBA All Star weekend. Now that it is all wrapped up I want to talk about some observations I had. I was only right about 2 things, that Team US would beat Team World in the Rising Stars game, and that Team LeBron would win the All Star game. Other than that, I was wrong.

First of all, I have to eat some major crow about the three point contest. I figured Steph would win, and win easily. While he did make it to the Finals, and scorched in the first round with 27 points, the guy a lot of other journalists were high on, Joe Harris, took home the crown. I wasn't as high on him, I thought it was all smoke, but the dude can shoot. He filled it up with 25 in one round, the round that mattered. I was wrong, Steph didn't win, and Harris did. I didn't think that he could do it, I thought people were just trying to be NBA hipsters, but they were right and I was wrong.

I also blew it on the skills competition. I figured DeAaron Fox would literally run away with it, but that competition was filled with wild finishes. Fox got beat on a crazy deep three from Kyle Kuzma after racing out to a huge lead. Then, when Trae Young advanced to the finals against Saint Louis' own Jayson Tatum, he raced out to a big lead only to be beaten on a half court shot. It was wild, fun and really neat to see.

Props to Tatum for taking that shot, and even more props to him for making it. In the rising stars game, Team USA jumped to an early lead and ran away with the game. John Collins did some impressive stuff. So did Marvin Bagley. I also liked what Luka Doncic and DeAndre Ayton did for Team World. I really enjoyed this game and it was a good watch. These guys are the future, and they showed out.

The dunk contest was great. I was a bit skeptical because the names weren't household. I knew the guys because I am a dork about the NBA, but I am pretty sure the average fan had no idea who the four guys were. But, they did great. I loved Miles Bridges dunk off the side of the backboard when he wore a throw back Larry Johnson jersey. It was neat. John Collins did some good stuff. He is a powerful dunker, but he can also fly. I saw a picture of him and his forehead was above the rim. It was sweet. But Dennis Smith Jr and Hamidou Diallo put on a god damn show. The stuff DSJ did was super duper athletic. When he jumped over J. Cole and did a windmill while doing it, I wanted to jump out of my seat. He can really fly. I figured he was a shoe in to win. I wanted him to win. But I did say to watch out for Diallo. The kid could jump in college, and he proved that tenfold in the dunk contest. He too had a picture where his head was above the rim, and he looked at ease. It was like he didn't even have to really try to jump that high. It looked effortless. But that dunk he did in the second round, when he dunked over Shaq and did the honey dip, it was akin to what Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon did a few years back, or dare I say, what Vince Carter did in 2000. I was amazed at all his dunks, but the one over Shaq in particular. It was a phenomenal show of athleticism. This Diallo kid is legit, and I hope he continues to do the dunk contest every year.

All this was just an appetizer to the game. The big game that is. Team LeBron versus Team Giannis. It was a good game. It was a competitive game. There was the slightest bit of defense played. And a ton of shots went up. Seeing Team Giannis jump out to that big lead was great. The alley oop to him from Steph, where he bounce passed it and Giannis seemed to jump 10 feet in the year, was one of the best things I have witnessed in an All Star game. It was awesome. Then, to see Damien Lillard hit 3 straight threes, 2 of which from very, very deep, was incredible. That run that Team LeBron went on in the third was pretty neat. They seemingly couldn't miss. And just when you thought that Team Giannis was about to start making a run, tying it up several times in the second half, Team LeBron, mainly KD, just kept making threes. It was a decent All Star game. I still think Giannis should have won the MVP, he went for 38 on something like 17 of 23 from the field, but I suppose a player from the winning team deserved to be MVP, and KD was the best player on the winning team last night.

All in all this past weekend was a good one for the NBA. All the side games were good, and the All Star game was fun. Well done NBA.

Ty

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

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Being a Star of the NBA Summer League Does Not Make One a Real NBA Star

I have been watching a ton of the NBA summer league because, as I have stated many times, I'm a hoops junky. I love seeing all the rookies, the high picks, the mid to late first rounders, the second rounders, the undrafted guys and the foreign prospects. I love watching all the guys that are still hanging on to their NBA dreams, hoping for a contract or a chance in the D League. I love that the assistants coach. Remember last year, Becky Hammond won one of the Summer League titles as the Spurs coach. But what it all really boils down to, I'm obsessed with basketball, and any chance to watch it, I'll grab it like a loose ball.

All this being said, the basketball is not great. There are many hangers on that just shoot and shoot and shoot again. The defense is abysmal. The shooting is wildly inconsistent. Some, most of the guys there in fact, need to stop chasing the dream. Most of the rookies, I'm looking at you "one and done" guys, are still teenagers, and they're still growing. This makes them sloppy.

Summer League is a mess, but that doesn't stop the commentators at ESPN telling us how stellar all the youngsters are. Every time Phoenix is on, Josh Jackson is the second coming of KG. When the Celtics play, Jayson Tatum is the best Celtic since Paul Pierce. I was watching the Bucks the other day and they were saying that DJ Wilson can take some minutes from Giannis. Dennis Smith Jr is the greatest point guard the Mavericks have had since Steve Nash. DeAaron Fox is going to turn around the Kings. Lonzo Ball is the second coming of Magic. Hell, even before Fultz got hurt, he was the key to the 76ers run to the playoffs this season. All this stuff sounds great, and it's wonderful to look ahead, but these commentators need to pump the brakes. After all, it's Summer League.

At the top of this I laid out the types of players that fill up Summer League rosters. You didn't notice names like KD, Klay, Draymond, Steph, LeBron, Kawhi, Giannis, Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony Towns, Russ, Paul George, and so on and so forth. All the stars do not play in Summer League because they don't need to. So all the accolades being handed out, wait until these rookies have to face real NBA players. Wait to call Josh Jackson the next KG unless he explodes on a player like Klay or Kawhi. I like Jackson, but that's not happening for awhile. Before christening Tatum as the next Pierce, I want to see him hit clutch three after clutch three in a critical game against the Cavs and LeBron. Before claiming DJ Wilson will steal minutes from Giannis, remember that people are saying Giannis is a future MVP. Dennis Smith Jr could be great, but the Mavs are going to be mediocre next year, and he will have bumps along the way. He's also going to have a tough time in the West against the likes of Chris Paul and Russ. DeAaron Fox is lightening quick, but he needs to learn to shoot and the Kings stink. He will not, at least not right away, be the savior for that franchise. Lonzo Ball has great court vision, but his jumper is disgusting, he looks disinterested at times, especially on defense, and wait to give him top line status until he faces the same guys Dennis Smith Jr has to face. His dad is also an arrogant asshole. And Fultz, who knows. He has a sprained ankle, and while that's a 2 to 3 week healing process, the 76ers might make him sit all year. He may not be the greatest point guard to put on a Philly uniform since Allen Iverson. The commentators need to tamp it all way, way down.

I remember last year that D'Angelo Russell and Larry Nance were Summer League stars. How'd that work out for them? Ben Simmons didn't play in Summer League. Jaylen Brown was a non factor but dominated Summer League. People need to realize the level of basketball they are watching and wait to assess these guys until they play real meaningful NBA minutes and games. This is the Summer League, not real, important NBA games. Take the expectations WAY down.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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