Kirk Cousins is Robbing the Vikings

This offseason the Minnesota Vikings gave Kirk Cousins a 4 year, 84 million dollar contract fully guaranteed. I was skeptical of the contract simply because it was fully guaranteed. They are indebted to him every single penny of that 84 million dollars no matter what. He gets it all.

This was an insane deal. I even stated, after they signed him, that he hadn't done anything that warranted that type of money. Sure, he was putting up big stats, throwing a good amount of touchdowns and for 4,000 plus yards, but it was all hollow. He was doing against lesser competition. He was doing it in garbage time. He was doing it when the team had nothing really to play for. This is a guy who replaced Robert Griffin after he got hurt. Sure Griffin hasn't been good since, but at the time, he was on his way to being a real good pro and then he got hurt. Then Jay Gruden came in and essentially pushed Griffin out in favor of Cousins. Then Washington kept franchising him year after year. He kept putting up the stats, but again, the team never did anything of note.

This past offseason Cousins was free to go and the Vikings snatched him up. He was supposed to be the answer. This team made the NFC title game last year with Case Keenum, so Cousins was looked at as an upgrade. They had the defense, they supposedly had the running game, they have quality receivers, all they needed was the QB, and the Vikings thought that Cousins was the answer.

Well, after this past Monday Night game, against the Seahawks, the Vikings sit at 6-6-1. I don't think that is really what this team envisioned when they gave Cousins 84 million dollars guaranteed. They currently sit in the 6 spot in the playoffs, but this team had Super Bowl aspirations after singing Cousins. I picked them to be in the NFC title game. A lot of people did in fact. Some prominent writers had them in the Super Bowl. Some even had them winning it all. And all of it was due to the Cousins signing.

Those predictions don't look so hot right now. Cousins is proving to be the mediocre QB that a lot of people suspected he would be when he was a third round pick a few years back. He was drafted to be a backup. He was maybe going to start one day, but it would be on a middling team with no aspirations, basically what he was already doing in Washington. But nope, the pundits decided he was the guy to put the Vikings over the top.

After that Monday night game, I would have absolutely no hope for the next 4 years if I were a Vikings fan. Just look at his number against good teams, playoff teams. He holds an embarrassing record of 4-24 against teams with a record over .500. He is 0-7 in Monday night games. But most importantly, he is 0-1 in playoff games. Why is that the most important you ask? Well, for a guy getting 84 million guaranteed dollars for 4 years, he has been to 1 playoff game, which he lost fairly easily, in his entire career. That is not franchise QB stuff. That is not even Joe Flacco or Mark Sanchez or even Matt Hasselbeck stuff. Flacco has won a Super Bowl. Sanchez and Hasselbeck have been to conference title games. Hell, even Hasselbeck went to a Super Bowl. Even Blake Bortles has been to, and won more playoff games than Cousins. All these guys are awful QB's, but they have been so much further in important games than Cousins can even dream of right now. Cousins has been to, and won as many playoff games as Robert Griffin, the guy he replaced.

I'm at the point where I am even more certain that Cousins is overrated. He may put up numbers, but they don't matter. He is like the Kevin Love of the NFL, but even Love has a ring. I don't think Cousins will ever get that. He may get back in the playoffs again this year, maybe, but how likely will a win be? Not likely.

Cousins is robbing the Vikings, and he will continue to for the next 3 years. He is overrated and not very good. YOU LIKE THAT! If I were a Vikings fan, I would not think so.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty’s views of Cousins being overrated are not new. The QB came from Michigan State, the most overrated of Big Ten football powers.

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Some Thoughts on Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James

The other day I read a story wherein Kevin Durant said no super star wants to play with LeBron James because the atmosphere around him is “toxic”.

I have some thoughts on this.

First, I agree with KD. If I were a star player, who’s best attribute was as a scorer especially, I would not want to be a teammate of his. If I were a specialist it might be fine. But, a star player, no way. Also, if I were a legit point guard I would not want to be on his team. He needs the ball in his hands most of the time, especially in crunch time, and I’d hate that. I’d also not like to be a young up and comer playing on his team. I’d also not want to coach a team where he is the focal point. As the scorer, yes LeBron would put me in a good position to score, but only when he wants me too.

Take a guy like Damien Lillard. He’s an excellent scorer who can create his own shot. If he were to go play with LeBron I think he’d turn into a smaller version of Kevin Love. He would be relegated to standing in a corner and wait for whenever LeBron wanted him to shoot to get the ball. He would get angry very quick.

With the legit point guard, say a John Wall, or even a Steph Curry, again, he’d barely touch the ball. A player like Wall becomes disengaged when he isn’t creating. He sulks and sluffs off when not handling the ball. He needs to feel and dribble the ball. That keeps him focused. Steph is a bit better off the ball, he is more of a 2 guard, but when he has the ball in his hands, he’s a wizard. He’s an excellent ball handler and he can dazzle to get an open shot. Pair him with LeBron, and that’s gone. If you need another example, look no further than Kyrie Irving. He begged, after 3 seasons playing with LeBron, to be traded. He was frustrated and despised playing with LeBron.

When it comes to up and comers, look no further than his current teammate, Brandon Ingram. He was supposed to make the leap this year. He was supposed to become the perfect compliment. He was supposed to learn and excel next to LeBron. None of that has happened. He has struggled mightily. He seems frustrated and unhappy. He doesn’t seem to like his place on the court. He seems joyless when he plays basketball. Also, to a lesser extent, Lonzo Ball has become wildly inconsistent playing with LeBron so far this year. One night he will look great, the next, he disappears. How quick until this gets under LeBron’s skin? Also, imagine if a guy like Trae Young, Luka Doncic or Deandre Ayton were on the Lakers right now. I imagine Young would barely see the floor, Doncic wouldn’t get the time he deserves and Ayton would probably be sitting behind JaVale McGee right now. That would be awful.

As for Luke Walton, I just kind of feel bad for him. He, much like Ingram, doesn’t seem to be having fun. He was given a fun young core last year, and was supposed to have time to develop them. Now he has LeBron, and apparently LeBron is already running what he wants to do and telling the front office who to sign. The Lakers are winning now, but if that doesn’t last, like early in the season, Walton will instantly be on the hot seat.

As for where I take issue with this statement, it comes from the source. Let us not forget that KD left the Thunder one season after they had a 3-1 lead over the Warriors in the West Finals, and joined them. If anyone is a front runner, who needs to be paired with a super star so he doesn’t get called out, it’s KD. Also, this whole heel turn doesn’t fit with Durant. He’s not a bad guy. He’s not a villain. He’s not a scary player. Sure Durant said this, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he joins LeBron himself this offseason when he becomes a free agent. He’s already joined a team of stars before, why wouldn’t he do it again?

I appreciate what KD said and I agree. Someone needs to call out LeBron from time to time. But if this statement came from a guy like James Harden or Anthony Davis or Paul George, I’d be much more on board. And, didn’t Kyrie already bring this to everyone’s attention when he demanded a trade 2 years ago? It seems like odd timing and the wrong source for a very viable statement.

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 Mike McCarthy Era is Finally Over in Green Bay

Artist depiction of Ty watching Packers games the last few years

The Packers finally ripped off the band aid and fired Mike McCarthy. This has been about 4 years coming.

The Packers have really failed to adapt to the modern NFL, and a lot of that has to do with McCarthy's coaching. He became even more predictable after the Packers won the Super Bowl. His offense couldn't adapt. He couldn't keep up with the changes to offense. He wouldn't help his star QB out with modern, efficient offense. He refused to change and he paid the ultimate price.

For those of you saying they should have waited the last 4 weeks to do this, why? We all knew this was coming. We all saw the writing on the wall earlier this year when they couldn't beat the Lions. Hell, us Packer fans all saw the writing on the wall the past 4 years with year after year of fumbled playoff appearances. This team should have been better. This team should have gone to more Super Bowl's. This team should have been lethal offensively. This team shouldn't have had to squeeze and sneak into the playoffs year after year. They should have dominated the North. They should have had the division, or at the very least, a wild card spot by week 11 or 12. But that didn't happen.

And before you say that I am a whiny baby, and I should be happy with the one ring and the year after year of playoff appearances, stop. I know that I root for a perennial playoff team. I know they won a Super Bowl. I know they have Aaron Rodgers. But, this team should have been up there with the Patriots, Steelers and, more recently, the Rams. They should have always been in the contender conversation. They shouldn't have had to just barely make the playoffs year after year after year. And most of that has to do with McCarthy.

Before I get into the meat of this though I do want to heap some of the blame on Aaron Rodgers. He has been pretty bad, for him, this season. He is inefficient, hurt and missing receivers more often than normal. He is not as sharp as he has seemed in the past. And it's not like he doesn't have weapons. Davante Adams is a top tier NFL wide out. Aaron Jones is a legit number one back. The O line is stout. Jimmy Graham, while not as dangerous as he once was, is still a red zone threat. Rodgers has weapons and he is under performing. Plain and simple.

Now back to McCarthy. As I said at the top, he just refused to change his ways. The Packers were predictable. He was beginning to lose the locker room and Rodgers. Rodgers would, according to a lot of reports, change plays at his choosing. He didn't listen to McCarthy. That shouldn't happen with a head coach and his star QB. Even worse though, McCarthy seemingly blamed everyone but himself. He let Dom Capers take the blame last season for the porous defense, which needs a massive amount of fixing, but that is another topic for another day. He blamed the front office for not giving him enough game breakers on offense. He blamed his position coaches for the random injuries and poor play of those players. It was never, ever his fault. Well, when you are a 14 point favorite, at home, against probably the second worst team in the NFL, you have no one to blame but yourself for what occurred. The team was anemic on offense. They couldn't move the ball on a team that has given up chunks and chunks of yards all year. They couldn't put the ball in the end zone. They couldn't play in the poor weather that has always worked to their advantage. They looked really, really bad, and I put a lot of that on McCarthy.

To fire him directly after the game, to his surprise as it was reported, was rough, but we all knew this was going to happen. We all saw it coming. It was a foregone conclusion. The time was now for the Packers to make a change. McCarthy had done all he could do, and everyone needed to move on.

As for who I think the Packers should go after as their new head coach, I am kind of torn. The names I have seen pop up most are Josh Mcdaniels, John Defillipo and Lincoln Riley. Of course Jim Harbaugh has come up and there is the interim coach, Joe Philbin, among others. I know the trend is to go towards an offensive minded coach, but after what Mcdaniels did to the Colts last year, I do not want him. Defillipo needs more time before he is the head coach of the Packers. Lincoln Riley is not ready for the pros. Jim Harbaugh, if he is to leave Michigan for this job, will have left Michigan without accomplishing much of anything. And Joe Philbin has already failed spectacularly as a head coach in Miami. I think, right now, even though he has said he isn't interested, I would try and go after Bruce Arians. He would immediately command the respect of the locker room and Aaron Rodgers. And, he is a great coach. If not Arians, I would go for Jim Harbaugh's brother, John Harbaugh. There is no guarantee that he will be let go, or leave Baltimore, but if he did, I feel like he would get the same respect as Arians. Those are my top 2 choices. I'm sure they will go after Mcdaniels, that is the betting favorite. But, I want Arians or John Harbaugh. Hell, at this point, I would even consider a former coach like Gary Kubiak. He would bring instant credibility.

The Mike McCarty era in Green Bay is over. Thank god. That is how I feel about all of this. And, I am sure that McCarthy will get another job and I wish him success. The time had come for a change.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor picked the Packers to win the NFC North this year. His punishment? His hometown Bengals will finally fire Marvin Lewis and make Mike McCarthy the coach for the next decade.

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Liar Urban Meyer is Probably Lying About His Latest Retirement

Artist Depiction of Ty every few years when Urban decides to “retire”

This morning I woke up to the news, much like everyone else that follows college football, to the news that Urban Meyer is stepping down after the Rose Bowl.

It is like deja vu. I have seen this story before. I have heard the whispers and the whining and the acting and the destruction that he has left behind before. I have bore witness to this whole story about 10 years ago. He left Florida after a supposed heart condition. His Florida teams were good, playing in major bowl games, winning a national title, but the last few years there his teams weren't winning like they had before, and he saw some other teams, (clears throat) Alabama mainly, coming on strong. He saw the writing on the wall, spent his last season at Florida saying he wanted to be with family, his health was concerning him, and he had to step away.

Meyer then proceeded to take a few years off from coaching. But, he did do television. He was okay enough to fly around the country calling games for ESPN, and work those crazy hours with his "heart condition", but he claimed he couldn't coach.

Then the University of Ohio State went through all the Jim Tressel stuff, had to fire him, and they had to move to an assistant to take over for a year. It was one of the not so good years for them, and the Meyer rumors started. Remember, he left because of a "heart condition", but after a few years away, I guess he felt good enough, and was cleared by some quack doctor to come back and coach at his "dream school".

Now, to get off his case for just one second, he did wonders there. He won a national title. He had a consistent top 10 team. He never lost to Michigan. He never lost to Penn State. He dominated the Big Ten pretty much. Meyer is a hell of a college football coach, but he is a miserable human being, and he is a liar. Back to the hatred.

Before this season started the stories came out that he lied about covering up domestic abuse. I have given more than my share on how I feel about all of this on the site and the podcast. This is a vile, heartless, disgusting and disturbing thing he did. He covered for a guy that was doing cocaine on camera, hitting his then wife and constantly cheating on her. Meyer cared more about winning than helping this poor lady that was abused in more ways than one by a friend of his. That is appalling. The fact that this story dropped before the season started, and he was caught red handed lying to everyone, should have been more than enough to fire him. What did the University of Ohio State do though? They suspended him for three games. That's it. Three non essential games that they could have won with Lee Corso as the coach. What a shame.

When he came back Meyer all of the sudden started to look tired and distressed on the sidelines. Then his team started to really struggle against the lower tier of the Big Ten. They struggled with Nebraska, Minnesota and Maryland. Then Purdue crushed them. Those teams are a combined 21-27. I know, believe me I know, I wrote about it, exactly what they did to Michigan. But even during that game, Meyer was doing his same acting he did for the majority of the year when he came back. We could see the camera find him and he would be doubled over and grabbing his head whenever there was a tense moment in the game. People claimed he would be near passing out before, during and after games. Dumb ass announcers proclaimed that he was "coaching through so much pain. What a warrior" they would say.

This was all an act. I will believe that to my grave. He knew what he did was wrong. He knew he lied and he knew he got caught. He knew the hammer was going to come down on him one way or another. And like a grounded child, or an adult that has never faced any real consequences for their horrid actions, he pretended to be hurt. He pretended that he was in some unfathomable pain that no one could ever understand. He wanted people to feel sorry for him. He wanted an excuse so he could walk away, just like his ending at Florida.

This is an all too familiar story with this asshole. I'm curious if he was forced to retire. I'm curious if there is some sanction writing on the wall that he knows is coming, and he wants to get out before all that comes down, just like at Florida. I want to know the truth. I want to know why he picked now as opposed to earlier this year, or way, way far in the future.

I also know Meyer claimed today that he is done coaching forever. I do not buy that for one single second. I have already heard multiple credible sources say that he is just waiting for the USC job to open. I also heard that his real "dream job" is Notre Dame. I would be curious to see if he dips his toes in the NFL, but that would be a colossal failure. He is not a NFL coach. Not even close. This "retirement" is just as fake and phony as his "retirement" from Florida.

Urban Meyer is a liar, a cheater, a whiner, a crybaby and a despicable person. I do not now, nor will I ever, believe a word that comes out of his mouth. He wants people to feel sorry for him. He wants us to cry for him. He wants us to remember him as a coach that left at the top of his game. That is not how I will remember him at all, and it has nothing to do with my Michigan fandom. I've already talked ad nauseam about how he owns them. I will remember him as a liar and a coward. And when he comes back in 2 or 3 years, and he is suddenly "healthy" again, I'll be just as ready in 6 or 7 years when he gets caught cheating or lying once again, and he announces he is "retiring" to be with family and to get healthy.

Urban Meyer is a liar. He is a despicable human being. I will not miss him for one single second. Good riddance.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Does OSU want Ty to come and visit. Let him be the one to slam the door on Urban Meyer’s ass when the coach leaves and Ty will be there.

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Time to Get Ready for the College Football Postseason

The College Football Playoff is officially set. The 4 teams, from 1-4 are, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Dare I say, I think the committee got it right.

Georgia will complain, stating that no one can, or will, play Alabama any closer than they did. Well, maybe you should have won the game that you had a 2 touchdown lead in, and maybe you shouldn't have lost earlier in the season. No 2 loss team has made the playoff yet. 

As for the Big Ten contenders, the University of Ohio State may complain, saying that now, the past 2 seasons, the last 2 Big Ten champs have been left out of the playoff. Well, it was clear that the committee takes blow out losses earlier in the season seriously, and that has happened twice to that school. It doesn't matter how badly they beat Michigan or Northwestern, the University of Ohio State lost by 29 points to a 6-6 Purdue team. Michigan has no complaints whatsoever. They had it in their hands and they really, really blew it.

The only team that I think has a legitimate beef with this whole playoff thing is UCF. I mean, what else do they have to do to get in the playoff? They haven't lost a game in 2 years. They lost their star QB and went out and beat Houston. Then, after being down by as many as 17 points to Memphis in the AAC title game, they came back, scored 56 and won by 2 scores, with a backup QB and new coach. I mean, give them a shot. I know that their schedule isn't tough, but come on. They have beaten every team that has been placed in front of them, pretty handily, for the past 26 or so games, including Auburn in a New Year's 6 bowl last year. They should be in the playoff. The committee says they want the 4 best teams, and there are 4 undefeated teams left. The one that got left out, UCF. Who did Notre Dame beat that was so impressive? Michigan? We all saw what happened last week in their game. And as far as their "ACC schedule" goes, Notre Dame didn't face Clemson, so who cares. Alabama gets a pass because they have done the same thing as UCF, just with much better players. Clemson also. Oklahoma, they play zero defense, had to go to the limit with Oklahoma State, West Virginia, lost once to Texas, and barely beat them in the Big 12 title game. I'm not saying they are undeserving, I just think UCF is more deserving. I repeat, THEY HAVE NOT LOST A GAME IN OVER 2 YEARS! GIVE THEM A CHANCE! Okay, rant over.

As I said at the top, excluding the UCF stuff, I do think the committee pretty much nailed it. I like the matchups as well. In the 1, 4 game, we get Alabama and Oklahoma. We get the top 2 Heisman candidates facing off against one another in a playoff game. I think it will be high scoring, and both Murray and Taguviola, I can never spell that kid's name right, will put up big time video game numbers. In the end though, Alabama will win fairly handily due to the total incompetence of Oklahoma's defense. This is where they won't be able to just outscore another team.

I feel like the 2,3 matchup may be more of a blowout than the 1, 4. Yes, Notre Dame is good, yes they have won all their games, but I ask again, who have they played that is really good with the exception of Michigan in the first game of the season? FSU is 5-7 and home for bowl season. Virginia Tech is 6-6 and needed a miracle comeback against Virginia just to have a shot at a bowl game. Miami is a mess. Northwestern only won 8 games. Navy is having a very down year. I look at their schedule, and it just doesn't seem as tough as it could have been. Also, Notre Dame hasn't faced a team with as much pure talent as Clemson. Clemson is overwhelmingly good, and no one has really talked about them all year because of how good Alabama has been. That totally plays into their favor. I know they have a true freshman at QB, but that kid is awesome. They also have a great run game. Oh, and their defense is amazing. If Notre Dame thought Michigan was tough to begin the year wait until they see Clemson's front four. They are relentless. I like Clemson, and I like them to win big.

That would give us Alabama and Clemson in the title game. This would be the fourth time they have matched up in the playoff, and the third time in the title game. This is where the freshman QB will hurt them. I like Alabama in the title game. They are the best team, by a wide, wide margin in college football. They are the Warriors. They are the Yankees of the late nineties. They are the Patriots. They are the best team. They will win back to back titles. That's how I see the College Football Playoff playing out.

As far as some other bowl games I'm interested in, of course the Peach Bowl. Michigan will be facing off against Florida for the third time in 4 years. I'm curious to see how they rebound from their last game. That was an abomination. I want to see how they respond, and Florida is much, much better than the last couple times they faced off. I am also very curious to see if UCF can do it again. I think they can, and they will do it in convincing fashion. LSU is good, they have a stout defense, but their offense is just as average as ever. I feel like UCF will be able to put up points, and get enough stops to go into next season without a blemish on their record for a second straight year. I'm curious to see how many points Missouri and Oklahoma State put up against one another. Neither of those teams play defense. I want to see Kentucky's stud rush end go up against Penn State's running QB in their bowl game. I want to see how low scoring the Wisconsin-Miami game will be. I'll be curious to see if Georgia gets over themselves and disposes of a porous Texas team like they should. I want to see how many yards Pitt will give up to Bryce Love in his final collegiate game. West Virginia and Syracuse will provide a ton of points. I want to see how Gus Malzahn gets his Auburn team prepared, what with all the rumors swirling about his job, against a very inconsistent Purdue squad.

That's about it for me. I love bowl season. I'm looking forward to the games I mentioned, mainly Michigan. And, unfortunately, I think it is pretty easy to predict another title for Alabama. Bowl season is here folks. Get amped.

Ty

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

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Domestic Abuse is OK with the NFL, Colin Kaepernick is Not

What does Colin Kaepernick have to do to even get a shot to get back into the NFL?

This all comes about because of 2 recent signings, by the same team, that I have seen happen that have disgusted me. The first one was Mark Sanchez being signed by the team from Washington. The moment Alex Smith got his leg ripped in half, I knew, just like everyone else, their season was pretty much over. The backup to Smith is Colt McCoy. While McCoy was a great college football player, he is not a good pro. He is too small, too inaccurate and bails on plays far too often. He should have been a third stringer for the entirety of his NFL career. But now he is starting. And who does Washington go out and sign to back him up? Do you all remember the "butt fumble"? Do you remember the guy that couldn't get a starting job after the Jets let him go? Do you remember the guy that, while the head coach at USC, Pete Carroll told to not go to the pros because he wasn't ready, and it wouldn't work? That guy is now the back up to Colt McCoy.

I just do not get it. Colin Kaepernick is a younger, much, much, much more athletic version of Alex Smith. He may not be as accurate as Smith, but Kaepernick at least takes shots down field. The reason Smith is so "accurate", is because he is constantly throwing 5-7 yard out passes. Kaepernick would, at the very least, take a few shots down field. He would also add the QB run to a very anemic run offense. Sure, he would take carries away from Adrian Peterson, another guy that is somehow still in the NFL, but Kaepernick is not, but who cares. Their division is so bad, and Colt McCoy is not the answer. Nor is Mark Sanchez. Kaepernick would give them the best shot to win the division and play in the playoffs. Washington currently sits at 6-5, in second place behind the Cowboys because of the head to head matchup. But, I'm out on the Eagles now, they look broken and are super injured, and the Giants stink. They will be picking in the top 5 again. Where Washington stands right now, they have a "chance" at the playoffs, but it is only real if they would have picked Kaepernick over Sanchez and McCoy. He is light years better than those guys and he brings an added dimension that neither of them is even close to bringing to this horrendous offense.

The other player Washington just signed is making me despise the NFL even more than I thought I ever could. You all know how I feel about all the domestic abuse that comes with a good portion of NFL players now, and the league's "handling" of these abusers. They get, basically, a slap on the wrist. Ray Rice, until the video was released, was only suspended 2 games. Aldon Smith, who had a problem with alcohol as well, got seemingly a million chances until he was finally cut. Adrian Peterson admitted to hitting his child with a switch, that he made him cut down, and someone just did a report where he said he still spanks his kid. This report was made to seem like Peterson has changed. Clearly, he has not. But what Washington just did, and how long it took for the NFL to step in, is egregious.

After his second known report of domestic violence, in less than a year, Rueben Foster got released by the 49ers and Washington went out and signed him before he was even out of jail. Why? Why did they think this was okay? Why would they sign this dude who is a multiple domestic abuser? Why does he get a third chance when Kaepernick has been so clearly blackballed? Why did it take almost a week for the NFL to put him on the "exempt list"? This is wrong on every single level. Rueben Foster is a well known abuser. He continually hits his girlfriends. He has already been arrested twice since he joined the NFL. The 49ers kept giving him chances. And now Washington wanted to give him another chance. But Kapernick is too much of a distraction? Kaepernick can't lead this team to the playoffs? Kaepernick isn't as good a football player as Sanchez or Foster? Get the hell out of here with that nonsense. The fact that Foster was given his millionth chance by Washington is ridiculous. This team doesn't need a linebacker, let alone a linebacker that hits his girlfriends. This team needs a mobile QB with a big arm. That is Colin Kaepernick to a T. But, Washington would rather give a bust like Mark Sanchez a fourth chance. And they'd rather give a domestic abuser his millionth chance. But they won't even give Kaepernick a sniff. They wouldn't even bring him in for a workout.

This is disgusting . This is the problem with the NFL. They'd rather blackball a non violent protester. The NFL would rather let a domestic abuser play. They'd rather let a has been sign a million dollar contract. This is a disturbing trend. What makes this even worse though, it is the same team signing these 2 players and not even looking at Kaeprnick.

I'm disgusted and disillusioned with the NFL. I'm sick and tired of the collusion that the NFL clearly has against Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick deserves to be on an NFL roster. Much more so than these 2 yahoos. There is hard core collusion going on, and until he is rightfully back in the NFL, I will continue to stump for Colin Kaepernick. Until then, Washington disgusts me. They are a joke of a franchise and these 2 signings make them even more of a joke.

Screw you Washington and screw you NFL. You are a group of disturbed individuals that only care about money and yourselves.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He forgot to mention the Cincinnati Bengals also signed a new QB this week. We all know Tom Savage is way better than Kaepernick, right?

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Mack Brown Goes Back to North Carolina Football. Why?

I promised I'd talk about 2 "new" college football coaches yesterday, and I come to you today with the second "new" one. This is now official. I saw a quick little snippet of a press conference on "PTI" last night. Mack Brown is officially back as the new head coach of North Carolina's college football team.

I had forgotten until yesterday that Brown coached there before moving on to Texas. Whenever I see Mack Brown now, I think of Texas football. And he was great there. He won a national title, was a perennial top 25 team and regularly won 9 or 10 games every year. But, much like Les Miles and Lloyd Carr, he kind of got lost in the new world of college football. He was still coaching as if he was coaching in the early 21st century. And the Texas fans and boosters got tired of it. Suddenly he couldn't beat Oklahoma, and 8 wins and a solid bowl game weren't enough. He "retired" just like Carr, but it really seemed like a forced retirement.

Texas still hasn't fully recovered since he left. I feel like they didn't give Charlie Strong a real chance, and while I know they are a top 15 team right now, it doesn't feel like the same Texas teams from the past. They are stuck in a similar limbo that Michigan is stuck in. I do think, while he is a scumbag of a human being, Tom Hermann will turn it around, but I wish it was Charlie Strong reaping the benefits instead.

Back to Brown. While I feel like he was pushed out, the time had come for him to step away. As I said, he couldn't, or wouldn't, adapt to the new world of college football. The moment Colt McCoy graduated, Brown and Texas took a step back. Now though, after 5 years away, he is back where it truly all began for him. After realizing he previously coached at UNC, I looked some stuff up. He was pretty good there. He won double digit games a few times. He had UNC in bowl games pretty much every year, and he turned it into a bigger, and higher paying, head coaching job. But, this hire feels a lot like Herm Edwards being hired by Arizona State last offseason. That hiring puzzled me. Edwards had never coached college football, and he had been away from coaching all together for a decent amount of time. He was an analyst. He worked for ESPN. The exact same things can be said about Brown. Brown was one of ESPN's main college football in studio guys. He has been away from coaching for 5 years now. I just assumed he was done and was going to continue getting paid with his cushy and easy job. But I guess the allure of coaching is too much to resist for guys like Edwards and Brown.

So Brown is now back. He is back in a power 5 conference. He is coaching a power 5 team. He will be going up against teams like Miami, FSU and Clemson every year. This all feels a lot like Miles at KU, except UNC has a slightly better upside, at least to me. UNC is a basketball school. People in Chapel Hill only really care about the college basketball team. If the football team is good, that is just an added bonus. I cannot remember the last time UNC football mattered. You may say, Mitch Turbisky played there. I say, did he ever win more than 8 games as a starter? You may say that Butch Davis had them in the top 25. I say, look at the mess he left when he was caught cheating. UNC football is just not much of a program. And while that will give Brown the same long leash that Miles has at KU, and while this school will give him all the time he needs to rebuild.

I ask, what is the ceiling with Mack Brown as the head coach at UNC? Just like Miles, he is going to have to fight against better football schools for big time recruits. Brown was able to pull these 4 and 5 star kids in at Texas. He won't find it as easy at UNC. If he is recruiting against the likes of FSU, Miami and Clemson, I feel like most big time recruits will have Clemson as their top school, then Miami and then FSU. UNC will, at best, be fourth on any major recruit list. For me, success for Brown at UNC will come easier than it will for Miles at KU. UNC is in a worse conference. The ACC, while it has gotten much better, is not at the Big 12's level. So I think the ceiling for Brown is 8, maybe 9 wins, and maybe, possibly, a New Year's Day bowl. I do not think they will be able to compete with the upper echelon of the ACC. They are coming off a 2 win season. They have been getting crushed by the likes of Clemson, NC State, Syracuse and even Duke. And while I know FSU and Miami struggled this year, I feel like that is an aberration. With UNC, I feel like this 2 win season, while bad, is more towards the norm. Mack Brown will make them marginally better, but just marginally. As I said, I feel like year one will be tough, year 2 will be slightly better, and by year 3, he should have them at bowl eligibility, but that is the best they can be. UNC is not a national title contender. Mack Brown will not turn them into a national title contender either. He may make more people talk about them because of his name, but as far as on the field stuff goes, Brown is going to find out that the game has changed even more since he left 5 years ago.

UNC got a big name, just like KU, but I feel like it will be pretty much the same for both guys. They will struggle, and I think they may get more frustrated than anything else. College football has changed so much since Miles, and now Brown, have come back to coaching. It is going to be a punch in the gut for both of them.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. With all these announcers going back to coaching, Ty is waiting for Lee Corso and Lou Holtz to jump on the bandwagon. Oh what joy to not have to see those two every Saturday.

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Les Miles and Kansas Football Seem Like an Odd Fit

The next 2 days I want to talk about 2 “new” college football coaches. Today I will talk about the one that is for certain, he’s signed a contract and held a press conference, I don’t think it could be anymore official, and that’s Les Miles to Kansas.

To be honest, this shocked me. I was stunned when the news crossed my phone and computer. It’s no secret that Miles was once a great, national championship level coach. He took his team at LSU twice to the title and won once. He has been to “mountain top” of the college football world. He also has a very solid overall win percentage. He was good for anywhere from 8-10 wins a season while at LSU. Hell, in his last season there he was let go one year after winning 9 games I believe. His departure kind of reminded me of when Lloyd Carr “retired” at Michigan.

For Miles, just like Carr, being a perennial top 25 team and winning 8,9 or 10 games a year wasn’t enough for the rabid fans. It also felt like he was kind of coaching dinosaur football when the game was changing. He would try to win by pounding you to death with the run and play action. He also hung his hat on having a dominant defense. And while he was still producing bowl games and staying ranked, LSU couldn’t keep up with Alabama, Auburn and even teams like Ole Miss and Mississippi State in his own conference. They were revolutionizing while he was stuck in the early 2000’s. I didn’t think he deserved to be let go, but he was. LSU is just as good now as they were when he was let go. Nothing has changed.

I thought, after taking a year off, Miles would have a prime choice for a big job. I wanted him at Michigan before they got Harbaugh. I’m sure his name came up at Texas after Charlie Strong was let go. I bet Mississippi State thought about him after Dan Mullen left for Florida. I was certain he was going to get a big time job.

But, Miles chose Kansas very early on in the hiring process. I’m sure there will be more openings soon, this is the time when coaches leave or are let go. But clearly he didn’t want to wait. And while I know Kansas is in a power 5 conference, they’re not a power 5 team. I believe they finished with 3 wins this year, and that was looked at as a team getting better year. They hadn’t beaten a D-1 school for 2 years. They are in a very dire situation. To get a name like Les Miles to coach there is humongous for them, but I don’t have a good feeling about it. The best thing for Miles is, he’s going to have a very, very long leash. They’re going to give him the entire length of his contract to turn this team around. I just don’t know if it can be done. Les Miles is a big name who knows how to recruit. But, he’s going to have to go up against the likes of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and TCU for recruits. I can’t see top level, 4 and 5 star kids, picking KU over any of these schools. I know the promise of playing time will play a factor, but let’s not get it twisted, college football is a means to the pros. And KU doesn’t produce nearly as many pros as the schools mentioned above. The best pro they’ve produced in the past decade is Aquib Talib. Most of the other Big 12 schools he’s going to be recruiting against can name way more than one player they’ve sent to the pros.

My biggest fear for Miles is, I feel like he thinks this is a stepping stone job. I feel like he thinks he can turn this team around faster than anyone else thinks he can, and he will get another major job. I don’t think that will happen. I think, at best, he can get KU back to being a bowl team, but a 6 or 7 win bowl team. He’s going to struggle against the cream of the crop in the Big 12. He’s really going to struggle in his first 2 or 3 years there. That might cause him some frustration.

This is a puzzling hire. I hope it works out because I like Les Miles, and just to be a contrary Missourian, I like KU. But they’re a basketball school, and no one really cares about the football team. Maybe that will change under Miles, but I doubt it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He thinks Les Miles should have coached high school over Kansas. Ty’s old school has not had a winning season since his playing days. Come on Les, give it a try.

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Saturday Sucked for Michigan Football Fans. Now Let's Move On

Saturday was tough.

That was a brutal way to end the regular season. Michigan got absolutely dominated in every phase of the game. They looked predictable and boring on offense. Their top ranked defense was absolutely shredded. The special teams couldn't get off punts and settled far too often, trying to play the field position game. The coaching was not good. It was horrendous on every level. The team was unprepared, feeling themselves way too much, blew a golden opportunity and played how they have played in every big game since Lloyd Carr retired, poorly. They weren't up for their biggest game of the year. They weren't ready. They thought the University of Ohio State was just going to roll over for them. They figured they were going to walk to the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.

None of that happened.

The University of Michigan was embarrassed on a humongous stage in what should have been a big win for them. On paper they were the better team. On paper they had the better players. On paper they have the better coaches. But when it came to actually playing the game, they got the ass whooping they deserved. Karan Higdon, who I adore, didn't live up to his guarantee. Shea Patterson was flustered, pressured and mediocre all afternoon. The line couldn't open a hole against a team that let Minnesota and Maryland gash them for multiple big runs.

What was most frustrating for me was the defense. They could not stop anything on Saturday. What made it even more frustrating, they refused to deviate from their man coverage game plan that has worked so well all year. They stuck with it, and they got gashed again and again. I saw it in person last week, where Indiana was killing them with crossing routes. Well, the University of Ohio State has much better players than Indiana does. That much is a fact. But Michigan, Don Brown and Jim Harbaugh, also Greg Mattison and Chris Partridge, and the entire defensive staff for that matter, refused to make changes. They are usually so good at making adjustments, but for some reason on Saturday, they were too stubborn or dumb or arrogant or whatever to change. It was truly a terrifying watch for any Michigan fan.

I have been holding all this in until today because my wife and dad and brother didn't need to hear me gripe about this game. It was a disaster. It turned what was such a promising season into a massive disappointment. The one unit I have been able to count on all year really blew it. They had a major letdown at the worst possible time. It was awful. This was worse than Penn State crushing them last year. This was worse than the muffed punt in Harbaugh's first year against Michigan State. This was worse than most games from the Rich Rodriguez or Brady Hoke era. This much is true. They gave up a massive amount of yards, 62 points, probably could have been 70 plus, showed they aren't ready for primetime, were far too arrogant and got smacked in the mouth for it and got embarrassed. That is the best word.

Okay, got that out of my system.

Now for the other half of my blog today. As I stated above, Saturday was terrible for all Wolverine fans. But the talks of firing Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown need to stop. These guys are great coaches. I know Harbaugh hasn't beaten the University of Ohio State yet, but he has beaten Penn State twice, Wisconsin twice, Michigan State twice, and he is now getting to coach his recruits. Michigan was in a bad place when they hired him, and he has won 10 games three times in 4 years, and has won 38, with a chance at 39 games, in 4 seasons. While they are not a title contending team, they have gotten much better. Jim Harbaugh should not be fired. That talk is insane. The people saying that are fair weather fans. They are probably the same people that clamored for him 4 years ago. And, to those that want him fired, you just want to start over again? You want to go back to being even more mediocre again? Are you ready for more Brady Hoke style football? I'm sure as hell not. I can get just as annoyed and frustrated with Harbaugh and his stubborn play calling, but the guy is a hell of a college football coach, no matter what Tim Tebow and Paul Finebaum say.

To those calling for Don Brown's firing, they make me more angry than the people calling for Harbaugh's head. Don Brown has turned this defense into a unit to be feared. Saturday was a major aberration. It was harsh. It was an embarrassment. It was awful. But it was a one time thing. The defense had a horrible day. He called a bad game. It was bad. But what about the rest of this season, and the past 2 seasons under him? They are a fast and aggressive and solid defense. Last year, when this team was dreadfully awful on offense, the defense was why they won 8 games. His first season as the defensive coordinator, he turned Jabrill Peppers into a Heisman finalist. He has coached some of the top linebackers in college football. The guy knows defense, and he knows it well. If Harbaugh were to leave for the pros, he is not going to get fired, nor does he deserve to, I have stated to my father many times that I would want Michigan to just name Don Brown head coach. I feel like it would be a seamless transition. Sure he would need an offensive minded guy to run his offense, and I feel like being the offensive coordinator at Michigan would be a coveted job.

None of the coaches deserve to be let go. It was one very, very, very bad game. But it was one game. The talk of letting coaches go is stupid and reactionary and uncalled for. Stop it. For the people calling out the players, they need to chill the hell out. One, it is a game. Yes I was mad, and I may have said some things during the game, but after it was done, I was done being mad. The kids playing are just that, kids. They are also playing a game. I am not going to let one bad game ruin my week, month or year like I used to when I was a teenager and in my early 20's. After finishing this blog, I will have gotten it all off my chest, and I will move on. Some people are going way, way too hard on these kids playing a game. Yes it was rough, but let it go. They played pretty great in almost every other game this year. No one was bad mouthing them on social media when they were trouncing Wisconsin or Penn State. This was one game, get over it. Also, if you are in your 30's like me, think about the fact that you are yelling at kids that could be your own. That is sad.

Finally, ever the Michigan fan in me, wants to say that the coverage on Fox was atrocious. The 2 guys calling the game were clearly pulling for the University of Ohio State. They would only say kind words about them. And while I know nothing really good happened for Michigan, the announcers made sure it was even rougher on Michigan fans with the way they called the game. They were terrible.

What made all the sports media worse was all the love they were giving Urban Meyer. The fact that companies like Fox and ESPN are going to spin this one game as some kind of redemption for him is disgusting. Jemele Hill, who despises Michigan by the way, tweeted during the game something along the lines of, "the media will try to spin this as a redemption story for Meyer, but let us not forget he tried to cover for a domestic abuser. No one win will ever heal the pain that the abused family is going through". I couldn't agree with her more. Urban Meyer is a liar. He is a cheater. He has vouched for Aaron Hernandez. Everywhere he coaches, the moment he leaves, the program is left in shambles. Also, people love him while he is there, but the moment he is gone, they seem to hate him. All the shots of him trying to quell his "headaches" were nauseating. He is an actor. He wants people to feel bad for him. He wants people to talk about his "health problems" so when he leaves, that is the reason why. Also, if he really does have this big of a problem with his health, why is he still coaching? That is wrong. Shame on him for risking his health and family so he can look good on TV. His actions on the sidelines this season have been laughably bad. Even if he really does have this "headache" thing, I feel zero sympathy for him. He is a loathsome human being.

With all this being said, Saturday was bad. Michigan got smashed. They got the beating they deserved. But, don't paint Urban Meyer as some kind of hero. He is a disgraceful human being. Also, Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown and the entire Michigan staff, I am still behind you guys. Things will turn around soon, hopefully. As for the Wolverine players, you had one bad game. Let it got and get ready for your bowl game. Try to go out and get a win, especially the seniors, to forget about Saturday's disaster. Don't let this game beat you twice. That is what makes me most excited, to see how you respond. You have had an okay season. You have a chance at 11 wins. You can set the tone for next year. Go out and do it after you find out what bowl game you get. Make it count. I have not lost faith, nor will I ever. I love Michigan, I love the Wolverines, I love the staff and players. I still, and always will, have faith. This can all be turned around. I truly believe that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Why does Ty care som much about a football game. Check out the X Millennial Man Podcast to learn how technology, and irrational love, makes a fan feel sick about their favorite team.

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The University of Michigan is First in the Big 10 When it Comes to Stress Free Traffic

To wrap up my week of remembering my trip to Ann Arbor, I want to talk about exiting the stadium after the game.

So, this is a real bone of contention for me. The amount of time it takes at other stadiums I’ve been to is infuriatingly frustrating. I’ve watched Michigan play college football games at Indiana, Northwestern and Illinois to date. Each place seems harder than the other to get out of. Northwestern is so tough because it’s in a residential part of Evanston. The stadium literally sits in the middle of a neighborhood. So that means that you not only have to deal with the regular game traffic, you have to deal with the people who live there that go out on game day. The parking is also always a crapshoot. You either get “lucky” and find a spot near the stadium for anywhere from 50-75 dollars or you have to park miles and miles from the stadium and make the trek. Illinois has similar problems. Parking isn’t as bad, but more times than not, you still have a hike to the stadium. And that includes tail gate parking. Leaving that stadium is a nightmare. It is like the worst drivers in the world all coalesce in one spot and drive as slow as possible. This is also where most of the drivers think honking the horn will make you move faster. It won’t. There’s still a line of people in front of you no matter how much you honk. It takes forever to get out of that stadium parking lot too. If you get out in less than an hour you are a much, much better driver than I am.

The worst is Indiana though. I’ve been there 3 times and I swear they are still doing the same construction from my first visit. This construction makes it an absolute nightmare getting in and out. Last year my father even bought a parking spot and it still didn’t matter due to the construction. He had to let me out so I could make kickoff. He didn’t show up until the second quarter because of the traffic. They don’t seem to plan for bigger college teams. They treat every game like any other game. It’s so insanely nuts with traffic I fear for my dad’s life because how mad he gets. It makes him so angry. It’s just as bad trying to get out. No one follows the traffic directors and cones. They just do as they please. And for out of towners, it’s horrifying. There’s also some weird back woods you have to drive through to get there. The whole Bloomington, Indiana experience, as far as football games go, is a shit show.

None of this happened at Michigan. Parking was easy. The tailgaters were nice. Finding our spot was simple. Getting out of the stadium, remember, there were 110,000 plus people there, was a cinch. They closed off one way of the street, thus giving the drivers 6 lanes to exit. It was the ideal situation. They seem to understand what they’re doing in Ann Arbor as far as the parking and exiting goes for football games. It was just another added bonus to a great trip. It was awesome.

The University of Michigan, and the town of Ann Arbor rules.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The other great thing about Ann Arbor being a Big 10 football town, no one steals the stuff out of car. If only Madison Wisconsin could be like Ann Arbor.

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A Chronicle of a Day in My Sport Heaven

Yesterday I returned home from my weekend in Ann Arbor with my father. I plan on spending the rest of the week talking about pretty much everything that happened while I was there. This was a very important and very fun trip for me. Many people have asked how it was, and the best response I can give them is, it was awe inspiring. I told my dad at one point that I felt like a yokel because I was just staring and my mouth was agape. I was in total awe of what I was looking at. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was soaking it all in because I do not know when I will be there again. Today I am going to focus on my experience at the game.

I'll start with how we spent the morning before the game started. My dad and I stayed at a hotel about 30 minutes from Ann Arbor, which was smart. It was cheaper and there wasn't an insane amount of traffic. We left the hotel in the morning, a little after 10 local time, and made our way. When we got to downtown Ann Arbor, we parked and went shopping. I needed to get my niece a birthday present and I wanted to get my wife and kids a little gift. I had 2 stores in mind. I wanted to go to Underground Printing and the M Den. These are the 2 shops were I personally get the majority of Michigan gear that I buy myself. They have all the best prices. Also, the M Den has about 8 different store fronts, but we went to the original one. Underground Printing was great. It is cool to go to the store and look and hold the gear in my hands. It is so much nicer than just looking, and hoping that it will fit, while online shopping. The M Den was a madhouse, it was packed and I couldn't have been more happy. This place was enormous and filled with people. My dad took a picture and it was nuts. But, this is where all the official gear is sold. Sure, it has a bit of a markup, but still, it is the best of the best. I wanted to buy everything in the store. I, which I am shocked by, did not buy anything for me. I only shopped for the people I needed to shop for. But, for any Wolverine fan, the M Den is the place to go. It is like the greatest candy store one can imagine.

After some shopping, we walked around, got some coffee and went to a local burger spot, more on that place later this week. After lunch we decided it was time to go to the stadium, 2 hours early, so we could park and take as many pictures as possible.

First off, the parking lot at the high school by the stadium, Pioneer High, was great. It was spacious, the tailgaters were welcoming and we found our spot with ease. We then started our walk to the stadium. I have been to a ton of college football games. My dad and I try to go to one game a year, but every other stadium now pails in comparison to the Big House. It was incredible. Again, we got to the stadium 2 hours early, walked around outside for about half an hour, and then found our seats, and there were more people there than at any other game I have ever been too. The stadium was half filled, so around 50-55 thousand people were there 90 minutes before game time. I've been to games that only have half that capacity for the game. I took so many pictures once we found our seats, which were in the 7th row on the 40 yard line right behind Michigan's bench. They were amazing.

When I walked into the stadium I forgot that it was a bowl. That means when you walk in, you are at or near the top. We had to walk down a good 50 flights of steps to get to our seats. Then, to see that humongous maize M on the 50 yard line gave me chills. To see the navy end zone with the maize Michigan written across was beautiful. To see all the seats was jaw dropping. Looking at the 2 big screens on both sides of the stadium made me cackle with joy. But, the coup de gras for me were the giant navy sign on both sides of the stadium with the enormous maize M. That is the symbol I know from video games and watching this team on TV for three decades now. That is how I knew I was actually there. It all felt like a dream, like it was not real, until I saw that M. That was when it all flooded in for me. This is when the grinning began and didn't stop. I texted my wife so many pictures of it because I was so excited. I couldn't believe that I was actually there.

After the initial shock of all this, my father, ever the calming influence on me, decided we should walk around so I could calm down. This was great because I did calm down, but I also got to see the bowels of the stadium. I got to see all the memorabilia they had out. I got to see the pillars with their fight song. I got to see the Crisler Center, which is right next to Michigan stadium. Most importantly though, I got to commiserate with fellow Michigan fans. So often my dad and I are in the minority. We root for the guest. Saturday, we were one of over 100,000 people rooting for the Wolverines. I was with my fellow football people. It was amazing.

With about 45 minutes of walking around we went back to our seats to "relax" before the game. This was when I got to see my beloved team in their home jerseys warming up. I was like a kid again. I kept pointing out players and coaches and saying their names to my dad, as if he didn't already know who they were. I snapped photos of the QB's warming up. I took pictures of the team stretching. I took pictures of Jim Harbaugh catching passes from all 4 of his dressed QB's. I watched the defense go through their drills with great joy. I was back into my mouth agape state. I was floored by how awesome the marching band was. All the before game stuff was heightened due to the fact that I was in Michigan Stadium.

Both teams then retreated to the locker room, and we edged closer to the game. It was Senior Day, so we got to watch the parents of the seniors walk out and hear the crowd cheer for them and their son's. They set up the big Go Blue banner that they touch prior to the game. The band played the fight song over and over again, and I sang it louder each time. By the way, I didn't even go to school there. And with about a minute left before the coin toss, the team ran out and touched the banner. This was like the big maize M for me. This is a thing I have seen all my life on TV or in video games, and I was now seeing it live and in person. It was heart stopping. I legit felt like crying I was so happy. Also, we were so close to the team that I could see each players face. It was amazing.

The game started and for the next 4 hours I was with my people. The game wasn't great, Michigan barely escaped, but I was there. I could see and hear everything that fellow lifelong Michigan fans do at home games. I saw Braylon Edwards little brother Berkley get knocked out cold. That was the most frightening things I have ever seen live. He did not move after he was hit, and they had to stretcher him off the field. I saw Chase Winovich get hurt. I saw Shea Patterson miss some throws, but also make some crucial throws. I saw Karan Higdon cut and dash and grind out 100 plus yards on 21 carries and score the go ahead TD. I saw the defense step up when needed. I saw Rashan Gary, who is as big a human as I have ever seen in person, get a critical sack late in the game. I saw the backup kicker set a record for field goals in a game. I saw Tru Wilson, a former walk on, play probably his best game of the year. Same for Chris Evans. I saw Harbaugh get on the refs. I saw Donovan Peoples Jones return punts with gusto. I have seen all this on TV, but I actually saw it in person, and it was ten million times better. Even after the game, my father said we were going to stick around for awhile and let the crowd thin out. I couldn't have been more thrilled. I got to see the players get interviewed on the field after the game. I got to see the players run to the student section and sing the fight song as they do after every home win. I saw all these things that I have seen my whole life from 7 hours away on TV in person. I was overjoyed.

I called my wife right after we got to the car and excitedly told her about everything I just told you all. She must have felt like she was dealing with another 6 year old. That was how giddy I was. This was an experience I will never, ever forget. I was, the best word I can find, in complete and total awe of Michigan Stadium and the game experience. No other stadium, college or pro, will ever live up to this for me, and I couldn't be happier about that. Michigan Stadium wildly exceeded my wildest expectations. I have been there once before, but I was in my early 20's, and I didn't appreciate it. I did not make that mistake this time. I documented everything, but honestly, I wrote this whole thing simply from memory. I know it was only 2 days ago, but I can guarantee that I will remember this past Saturday as well 10, 15 and 20 years down the line.

This was, by far, the greatest sports experience of my life. I'm still a little in shock at how awesome the whole day was. That stadium is a wonder of the world. The total crowd, they flashed it on the screen, was 110,158. I was one of those people. It was cold, and I didn't care. This was amazing. Everyone, even if you are not a Michigan fan or a football fan, should go see this place and gaze in amazement at how beautiful and big and imposing and wonderful it is. This was a once in a lifetime thing for me. Hopefully I get to do this again soon, but if not, at least I have this past Saturday. It was the best. It was awesome. I'm still shaking. I am still in awe.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He forgot to mention how awesome his bathroom experience was. When Ty flushed the toilet, the Michigan fight song would play. Maybe he just imagined that one.

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The Sad End of Carmelo Anthony's NBA Days

This really looks like the end of Carmelo Anthony. Rumors are swirling that he is going to be cut from the Rockets any day now. He has not been good this year, last year, or really, the past 5 or 6 years. He is too slow on defense. He is not a good three point shooter. He isn't really that good of a mid range shooter. He can't get to the rim. He doesn't like to pass the ball. He needs space to create his shot, and right now, he cannot get that space.

I used to love Carmelo Anthony. I was a big time fan of his when he was in Denver. His game was so fluid and fun. He still wasn't a great three point shooter, or a defender, he's never been a good defender, not even in college, but his offense offset all that. He was lethal from mid range. He could get to the rim, thus get to the free throw line. He still wasn't much of a passer, but when he did, it was nearly pin point. Even when Carmelo pushed his way out of Denver, he was still a very legitimate threat his first couple of years as a Knick. Hell, the last time the Knicks were good was one of his first couple seasons there. They won 50 plus games and made, I believe, the second round of the playoffs.

But then he did an interview with ESPN The Magazine, and it was all about his brand and how much more money he has made since he left Denver for New York. I read this cover story, and what stood out most to me was how little he cared about winning. He talked mostly about himself, or his brand. He talked about how much he was going to get paid very soon. He talked about how he has big plans after basketball. No mention of winning a title, or making deep playoff runs. No mention of being an MVP and surrounding himself with talented players that could have helped him. No mention of the kind of coach he wanted to play for that could put the Knicks, his team, over the top. The story was I, I, I and money, money, money.

That is when it all flipped for me, and I think it flipped for him too. He became a lesser player. He started to get more vocal with teammates. He hated Tim Hardaway Jr after the Knicks drafted him. He basically insisted they trade him, and they did. He didn't like many other teammates he had in New York.

This caused the start of the mess that the Knicks are in now. The Knicks then went out and hired Phil Jackson as the GM, and we all watched that disaster unfold. The start of that disaster, giving Carmelo a max deal. They could not get any other players of clout because they gave all their money to Carmelo. The Knicks started to tumble. They drafted Kristaps Porzingis, and the 2 people who disliked that move most, Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony. Jackson called him soft, Carmelo was worried he was losing the team, even though he already lost it a few seasons prior.

The Knicks eventually fired Jackson and got rid of Carmelo. He went to the Thunder last summer, after they stunningly got Paul George, and we all thought this was going to be great. I was fully on board with this at the time. The best Carmelo has been Olympic Carmelo, and I thought that was what the Thunder would get. But, when asked in the offseason if he would be willing to take a bench role, he scoffed and demanded he start. That was the crack for me. I instantly lost all good will I had. He was washed about 5 years ago in my opinion, but he still viewed himself as a star, a first option. Russell Westbrook and Paul George are so much better than he is at basketball, but he didn't see it that way. He struggled mightily last year too. He wasn't that lock down three point shooter. He wasn't hitting mid range shots. He complained that he wasn't getting the ball enough. He was even worse on defense. It was a mess. But, due to George and Westbrook, the Thunder still made the playoffs. Then they crapped the bed. All three of their stars played bad, but Carmelo was the worst. He might as well have not even showed up, that was how unimportant he was in that first round series last year.

The buyout eventually came, as we all expected, and he signed with the Rockets, as we all expected. What made me laugh most was hearing the Rockets fans talk about how they were going to get the best out of him. That was the same thing the Thunder fans said. I was skeptical of this move from the start. They were replacing defensive guys like Trevor Ariza with Carmelo Anthony. Those 2 guys are the same player. In fact, I think, where we stand right now, Trevor Ariza is much, much better, especially on defense. Carmelo has been downright dreadful this year. He is not the player he was expected to be. He is not the shooter that can help the Rockets compete with the Warriors, or Bucks or Raptors or Celtics or even the Trailblazers. He had one good game, against the Nets early in the season, and it shocked me. That is how far he has fallen. What was once expected is now a shock. And after that Nets game, he somehow got worse from the field. Then the stories started to come out that the Rockets were going to "reevaluate" his spot on the team. Then some Rockets players said they were going to start preparing for him to be cut. The GM came out and said they hadn't made a decision yet, but that is a kiss of death. He also didn't play the other night with an "illness".

Carmelo is cashed out. I agree with Tracy McGrady, that he should retire. He is of no use to a contender anymore. Those teams are all set. Also, if he still thinks he is a starter, when or if he gets cut by the Rockets, he is going to have to go to a bottom dweller. He can go to Atlanta or Cleveland or, hell, I don't know any other bottom feeder that would want him. I have heard that the 76ers and Lakers have expressed interest of he is cut. I hope the 76ers don't do that, especially after trading for Jimmy Butler. They don't need those 2 head cases in their locker room. And the Lakers, that would just be hilarious. Yeah, sign Carmelo so guys like Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma lose valuable playing time so LeBron's buddy can put up pointless shots that he will most likely miss.

I once loved Carmelo's game, but now, it is sad to watch him play basketball. He is not the same guy. The game has passed him by. He is a shell of his former self. I feel bad for him. Let it go.

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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Le'Veon Bell Lost

Before the season started I wrote about how I agreed with LeVeon Bell’s holdout. I felt like he was doing the right thing, and the best thing for his life after football. I’m all for athletes, but especially professional football players, getting their money while they can. There is such a short amount of time, and I feel like they need to seize that chance when /if they can. The career span in football is so short too, so get yours.

With the news that he didn’t sign yesterday, Bell is now ineligible to play for the rest of this season. I don’t think a decision like this has blown up more in anyone else’s face like it has to Bell. As I said, I fully supported him, but it is painfully clear that the Steelers do not need him to be a threat.

Who could have seen this coming from James Connor? I’ve liked this kid since I saw him in college at Pitt, and I felt like he’d be a great back up running back and perfect for third down. He seemed like the perfect back to bring in behind Bell. Well, he has been every bit as good, in some statistical categories better, than Bell has been his whole career. Connor averages as many yards per carry as Bell did. He goes for 100 yards seemingly at will. I know he didn’t eclipse it last week, but he still went for 60 plus and a TD before leaving a blow out win with a concussion. He is just as good a pass catcher as Bell. He gets the ball and goes. He catches pretty much everything that comes his way, and he usually turns those into big gains or TD’s. He is also a great team player. Everyone loves this kid, and it’s not just that he beat cancer and still plays. He beat cancer and has made Steelers fan comfortable with him taking over the running back role. I picked him up in fantasy football the moment I knew Bell was going to sit, and he’s one of my most efficient and effective players. He’s so perfect for fantasy football. He does it all.

Now, Bell has to realize that he may not be as important to the Steelers as he thought. I mean, how can he not. Connor is going to get award mentions at the end of the year. The Steelers are going to give him what he’s worth, which is less than Bell. He’s younger, which is just another notch in his belt. As for Bell, he’s going to be a free agent, which he wanted, but I don’t think he will get the money he could have gotten had he played this year. Also, he just wasted a year of his prime to try and prove a point, and it magnificently backfired.

What title contender is going to sign him to the huge deal he wants? The Patriots just drafted a running back who’s pretty solid. The Packers have found their guy in Aaron Jones. The Panthers have Christian McCaffery. The Saints have Alvin Kamara. The Rams, Todd Gurley. The Chiefs have 2 young and solid backs. The Vikings have Dalvin Cook. The Bears have Tarik Cohen. All these guys are younger and more important to their teams than Bell could ever be. He’s going to have to settle for a team like the Raiders or Jets or Dolphins or Lions. He destined to play for a mediocre team that will sign him so they can sell tickets. He won’t be a mainstay in the playoffs anymore. He won’t be the threat he once was. He will just become another guy.

This should upset Bell. He should have signed yesterday if only to get his money. He shouldn’t have wasted a year. He should have done what Earl Thomas did. I know Thomas got hurt, but the fact that he played will get him paid next year. This was a misstep and I’d be scared if I were Bell. He is just going to be another name. All because he wanted to prove a point. What a bummer for him. And good for James Connor. Way to secure your spot when you got your chance.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is afraid to hold out because the head editor may get the the DJ 3000 to replace Ty on the podcast. It worked on Bill and Marty.

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A Few Thoughts on the Jimmy Butler Trade

Jimmy Butler finally got what he wanted. He is no longer on the Timberwolves. He got out. All his whining and griping and bitching and moaning and poor attitude and disgusting behavior paid off. He is not on the team that he seemed like he would finish his career with after leaving the Bulls. Now, he has destroyed 2 locker rooms and he is on to his third.

First things first, I do not think Jimmy Butler is the type of player that can act like this. While I do think he is one of the better 2 way players in the league, he is not the type of player that can yell and demean his teammates and demand a trade and expect a big time contract. He is 29. I know that is not old, but in basketball years, with the amount of time he plays in games, and the playoff games he has been too, that is pretty old. He also has a history of lower body injuries. He seems to get hurt quite a bit. He also complains when teammates don't play or practice to his "level". He is also a mediocre shooter. Yes, he can create shots and get to the rim, but as a floor spacer, I don't buy it.

Second, the way he has conducted himself for the past 2 years is loathsome. As I said, while he is a great player, he is not as good as he thinks. He is not LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis or Giannis Antentokoumpo, just to name a few. Those guys are upper echelon players. Those dudes can come to a team and easily make them a contender. Those guys can demand trades and find a way out if they see that the current team they are on is not going anywhere. Jimmy Butler, to me, lands more in the Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Andrew Wiggins, Rajon Rondo category. While great, he isn't a top tier player, although he acts like it. Jimmy Butler, as a basketball player, I like. That's it, just like. As a person, I cannot stand what he has become. He is entitled. He thinks too highly of himself. He is more about money than titles. It is obvious.

Now, for how I see this as simply a basketball trade, I am not convinced. I liked the young core the 76ers had. I actually thought that "The Process" was working out. They seemed ahead of schedule. With this trade, they got to keep the important components, but they traded away 2 great locker room guys. Everyone seemed to like Robert Covington's work ethic and his fit on the team. From what I have heard, Dario Saric was the funniest guy on the team and he cheered everyone up when he showed up to practice. The other 2 guys in the trade, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second round pick are of no consequence to me. The 76ers got a young big man, Justin Patton and, of course, Jimmy Butler. Patton won't play much. Butler is going to be a starter. He is going to be a focal point of that offense and the go to defensive guy. He will guard the other team's best player every night he plays. He will also be the creator on the offense for the team. He does make the 76ers a top 3 team in the East right away. But, does this trade make the 76ers better than the Bucks, Raptors or Celtics? Maybe just the Celtics. The Raptors have a much better version of Jimmy Butler in Kawhi and the Bucks have Giannis.

As far as being a teammate, this is going to be a disaster for a 76ers franchise that was on the come up. Jimmy Butler will think he runs the team, but this is Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid's team. That is not even up for debate. I'd go so far as to say that this is Embiid's team, and Simmons is the second most important player. They are the 76ers. They have built this team around those 2 guys strengths. They have added the players they deem best to suit Embiid and Simmons games. Guys like JJ Redick give them the shooting they need. He is the only shooter they have, but he is a solid shooter and a bad defender. They have some young talent, specifically Landry Shamet, that will grow into his role as the future point guard of the team. TJ McConnell is the energy guy they need. And then we have Markelle Fultz. This trade is going to destroy Fultz's already shaky game. He has been an absolute disaster as a NBA player. While I had hope that he could get out of this funk, he has seemingly gotten worse. Take his free throw shot from last night, where he pumped faked. I fully, fully believe that he was thinking about Jimmy Butler during that shot. He knows that Butler is going to give him the business if he shoots like that in practice. We have all seen what Butler is capable of doing when he is mad at players on his current team. He will demean and yell at them, and then make it public knowledge. He will make sure he dominates them as well. Fultz is not going to be able to handle this. Guys like Simmons and Embiid will be able to, not only take his shit, they will be able to give it back ten fold, especially Embiid. Redick won't stand for his nonsense, he is a veteran, and he has played with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Shamet has his head on straight, and anything Butler says will just roll off of him. But Fultz is going to crack. He looks so out of sorts, the last thing he needs is a guy like Butler publicly calling him out in practice and games. It would be in his and the 76ers best intentions to trade him immediately, but I don't think anyone else wants him. Again, look at his free throw attempt from the other night. This dude has issues, and Jimmy Butler will only make it worse for him.

While this trade makes the 76ers better right now, I am not a fan of it. And just when I was started to get into this team they do this. The Timberwolves, the other team in this trade, if they fire Tom Thibodeau, this may benefit them. Wiggins and KAT don't have to worry about Butler's bull shit. The guards will get to play freely. Saric and Covington are solid NBA players that can play. And Josh Okogie looks like a real point guard. When/if they get a new coach, the Timberwolves could be the West's version of the Pacers.

In the end Jimmy Butler got his wish, but it comes at a big time cost. For the 76ers case, I hope they win or are able to resign him. Also, I hope they trade Fultz for his case. I'm not a fan of this trade because I do not think Jimmy Butler is top notch, build your team around style player. The 76ers should have stuck with what they were doing. That is my take.

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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Duke is Really, Really, Good

To keep my mind off the election stuff last night I decided to watch basketball. The college season tipped off officially last night and it was a very good distraction.

I watched the KU-Michigan State game. That was fine. KU looks pretty good, but MSU kept it closer than I thought. I watched Michigan play. It was their opener, they looked very sloppy and sluggish on offense, but that defense was as stifling as it was last year, and that was more than enough to beat an overmatched Norfolk State team. I checked in on a few other college games, watched a little NBA, but the game I wanted to watch most, even over Michigan, was the Duke-Kentucky game.

This was, by far, the best matchup of the night. It was supposed to be a close, tight game. There were as many as 7 potential first round picks playing in this game. It was Coach K versus Coach Cal, the two biggest "one and done" guys. It had all the build up. Then, the game happened.

Look, I loathe Duke. I despise Duke. I cannot stand Coach K, and everything he gets away with that other coaches get hammered for. I have never, ever liked this school. But holy shit do they look like they are going to be really, really, really good.

Duke didn't just beat Kentucky last night, they embarrassed them. I turned on the game a little late, Michigan was finishing up their win, and Duke was already up double figures. I was interested in all these freshman playing, but I had to see Zion Williamson. I also wanted to see Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett. These are 3 of the top 5 players in last year's recruiting pass. As I stated in my preseason preview, I have not seen a freshman class this good since the Fab Five at Michigan. They also have Tre Jones, who is, quietly, a great point guard. These kids all lived up to the hype, and then some. I know, this is one game, but it was against the preseason number 2 team, at a neutral site with players that were ranked just as high. And Duke won by 34 points. I mean, holy cow. Zion Williamson, at least last night, was as advertised. He is humongous, but extremely agile and moves pretty smooth on the floor. He also hammers the hell out of the rim. He finished with 28 points. Cam Reddish looked great. He scored the quietest 22 points, on only 14 shots. He also D'ed up very well. RJ Barrett scored 33, a freshman record at Duke. He seemingly could not miss. He is as pure a scorer as I have seen in college basketball. Tre Jones is the leader at point guard that this team needs. I know he is a freshman, but he seems wise beyond his years on the court. These 4 played so well it cancelled out anything the super freshman that Kentucky had. I don't remember a thing about them last night. This is the number 2 team in the nation. And Duke just destroyed them.

I know it's just one game, the first game, and there is a lot of season left and maybe Duke was just super gassed up, and the ACC is very tough. But, this team looked as impressive a college team that I have seen in quite some time. This is a whole thing of, I despise this team, I hope they get beat every time they step on the floor, I will constantly root against them, but they look nearly unbeatable. They are so talented and look like they can win anyway they please. If one of these kids has an off night, they have 3 others that can step up. They also have depth. I believe that I picked them to finish second in the ACC, but that changes immediately after last night. They should win the ACC. They should win it with ease. UNC may challenge them, but I do not think they can beat them one time, let alone 3 times.

After the amount of games that I saw bits and pieces of last night, Duke is clearly the best team. KU is the only other team that I think has a fleeting shot at giving them a game. I hope they get sanctioned to shit, but for right now, after last night, Duke is scarily good. They look like the Alabama, or New England Patriots or Golden State Warriors of college basketball. Unfortunately the hype seems to be legit.

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 Cleveland Cavaliers are a Dumpster Fire

I usually like to wait until I do my mid season redo of the sports I wrote about until it is near, or past mid season of said sport. But today, I have to eat a ton of crow because the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the worst basketball teams that I have watched this year.

For those that may have forgotten already, I picked them to finish 8th in the East and make the playoffs. That, most certainly, is not going to happen. They stink. They look like a group of people that hate playing the game of basketball together.

I purchased NBA League Pass a week ago and have made it a point to watch as much NBA as possible. I have tried to watch all 30 teams, if only for a few minutes. So far, I think I have seen about 20-22 of the teams play. The other day I happened upon a Cavs game. This was when Ty Lue was still their coach, and Kevin Love's health status was in question. People thought he may come back, others knew it was going to be awhile. So, I decided that I was going to watch this team that I picked to make the playoffs. Yes, they lost LeBron James, and that was a brutal blow, but they still had the majority of guys that played in the NBA Finals last year.

Well, this team, the way it is currently constructed, is abysmal. They stink. They do not know how to do the simplest things on a basketball court. They are ruining their young talent. They have already fired Ty Lue, who, good for him for getting out of that toxic place. The game that I watched, for about 5 minutes, was a mess. They looked discombobulated. As I said, they couldn't run the easiest of plays.

I have watched them one more time since, after Lue was let go, and it hasn't gotten better. And now, they have all these vets asking to be traded or let go. JR Smith was the first. He openly said he doesn't like playing there. He pulled an Eric Bledsoe, but did it in person, speaking from his own mouth. Now Kyle Korver is asking out. He doesn't want to be there anymore. Kevin Love is going to miss up to 6 weeks with his injury. The vets on this team are trashing their lottery pick, Collin Sexton, claiming he "doesn't know how to play at this level". Tristan Thompson, who is a scumbag, is not nearly the defender or rebounder he was a couple years ago. He has become a major liability on the offensive end of the court. Cedi Osmann plays hard, but he is not the dual threat the team thought he could be. Sam Dekker stinks. The team is in shambles.

This is what happens when LeBron leaves Cleveland. Notice that this didn't happen in Miami. That is because Erik Spoelstra is a hell of a good coach. The coaches before in Cleveland thrived with LeBron, but the moment he left, the team died. This team though, at least to me, wasn't supposed to die this easily. I legitimately thought they could put a playoff team, from the East, on the court. I didn't expect Kevin Love to get hurt immediately and miss so much time. He is well past his prime now. It is kind of sad how far he has fallen since he was traded to Cleveland. Sure, he has been an All Star as recent as last year, but he us not the guy he was in Minnesota. That is blatantly clear. JR Smith is cashed. He might be, might, able to help out a contending team with instant offense off the bench, but probably not. I'd rather have Jamal Crawford than him. Kyle Korver was cashed 2 years ago. I remember watching him in the Finals last year, and his shots were so short and he was so outmatched on defense it was sad. He should retire. Tristan Thompson is DONE too. He is an old school big man who would have been torched in the old school. I'm sure the Cavs regret that contract they gave him. Sam Dekker is a bust. Cedi Osmann is, at best, an 8th or 9th man off the bench on any NBA team.

And then there is Collin Sexton. I have made no bones about how much I like this kid, but I hate him being on this team. These vets, who aren't shit for real, are talking openly about him not being an NBA level point guard. That is insane. Sexton is a good basketball player, I will go to my grave believing this. He is in the exact wrong situation for him as an NBA player. This team is toxic. This front office is horrific. He is not going to get the chance he needs to play because of the vets and the front office. Playing in Cleveland will only stunt his growth as an NBA player. He will not be able to work through the kinks and the struggles that come to almost every rookie. And it is because the Cavs and Dan Gilbert and Tristan Thompson and Kyle Korver all stink and are horrible teammates and owners and GM's. He is the only good thing they have and they are on the path to making him hate basketball.

I'm sorry that I thought this team could win 35-40 games. I'm sorry that I picked them to make the playoffs. I'm sorry for Collin Sexton. This is a messed up situation, and it is only going to get worse. This team is awful. They have made horrible front office decisions. Their GM is atrocious.

The Cavs stink, and I would be shocked if they won 20 games this year. They are that bad. I will fully eat my crow for counting on this team. They're the worst team in the NBA. And it isn't even close.

Ty

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

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

Ty's Mid-Season NFL Redo

I've been teasing it for 2 days, and now I am ready to do my 2018 NFL mid season redo. Unlike my NCAA college football mid season redo, the NFL is actually in the middle of their season. Each of the 32 teams have played 8 of their 16 regular season games. I do need to say, right off the bat, I was very, very wrong about my Super Bowl pick for this season, which I will touch on when I get to them. I will re pick the divisions, the Super Bowl, but I will stick with my MVP. I will also talk about some of the new additions each team has made since the trade deadline, which was wild.

Okay, lets get to it.

I will start wit the AFC. The AFC East was in question for, maybe, one week, when the Dolphins were 3-0. Now, things are back to normal. The Patriots own this division. They are by far the best team, and will continue to be for some time. The Dolphins have crashed back down to Earth, the Bills are a mess offensively, but they do play solid defense and the Jets are mediocre at best, although I do like Sam Darnold. The Patriots are easily the winner of the East. Hell, they may wrap it up by week 10.

The AFC North is a different story. The Steelers started off horribly, seemingly unaware that they had to play defense. They have shored things up as of late, and they look solid, even without LeVeon Bell. The Ravens looked great to start off the year, especially their defense, but they fallen flat the past 2 weeks. They pass too much on offense, and the defense is getting no rest, thus causing them to struggle. The Bengals looked like a possible 10 win team, but they just got throttled by the Chiefs this past Sunday. The defense cannot hang with upper level teams, and Marvin Lewis is back to his choking ways. And the Browns, well, they have played better defense, but the offense is so far behind, they have rookies everywhere, and they just fired their head coach, deserved, and their offensive coordinator, also deserved. But, to promote Greg Williams, that is insane. The Browns are still a mess, and not a very good football team. I'm going to go with the Steelers still because I just don't trust the Bengals or Ravens.

The AFC South was the division I thought would be best. It is not. The Titans stink. They are not a viable NFL team. The Colts play very hard, but they don't have the talent. The Texans are starting to look better, and they just added Demaryius Thomas, but they cannot protect Deshaun Watson. And the Jags, my preseason pick for the Super Bowl, are an absolute, Browns level mess right now. Blake Bortles is awful. They have no run game with Fournette hurt. And the defense, which was my main reason for picking them, has been getting gashed and gutted week after week. The Jags are a tire fire, and I do not think they will get up from it. I'm going with the Texans because of Watson, but this division is nearly unwatchable again.

The AFC West is a 2 team race, but really, the Chiefs are the cream of the crop. Patrick Mahomes has been wonderful. He has been so much better than I ever imagined. So has the rest of the offense. I thought they'd be good, but they are great. The Chargers are their only "threat", but I don't see it with them. Sure, they are fine offensively, and they have an okay defense, but I wouldn't trust them in the playoffs. The Broncos are going full rebuild mode, trading Thomas and sticking with Keenum was wrong. They are wasting a great defense. And the Raiders, oof. The Raiders are absolutely awful. They are horrid. They got rid of any good player they had, and they have won 1 game. Hope you guys enjoy this as long as Jon Gruden is your head coach. The Chiefs are going to run away with this division.

So, my playoff teams are as follows, the Patriots, Chiefs, Texans and Steelers. My wild card teams are the Chargers and, oh I don't know, lets say the Ravens. In the AFC title game I will go with the Chiefs playing the Patriots, and the Chiefs getting their revenge. The Chiefs will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. God damn you Jags. You really made me look like a fool.

Now, the NFC.

The NFC East is a joke of a division. Washington is the "best" team, and their defense got better with the addition of Ha Ha Clinton Dix. They play all slug fest games, and they will find a way to win 10 of those. The Cowboys are as inconsistent as any team in the NFL. They also stink on defense. They also have no real receivers. I don't buy Amari Cooper as a number one. They have 8-8 written all over them. The Eagles, my other Super Bowl pick, have been almost as inconsistent as the Cowboys. They lost Jay Ajayi, their best running back, to an ACL injury. They did get Golden Tate, and that should help. And Carson Wentz is still not one hundred percent yet. And the defense has been underwhelming so far. The Giants are atrocious. This is one team I was totally right on in my preseason preview. Eli Manning is trash. They cannot run the ball. Odell Beckham is being wasted. And their defense is a sieve. They might be worse than the Raiders. Washington will win this division.

The NFC North has provided the NFL with some of the ugliest football all year. My team, the Packers, have been wildly frustrating to watch. They still cannot run the ball, they still cannot stop opposing offenses and Mike McCarthy is wasting Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams' best years. They seem to have thrown in the towel with the Clinton-Dix trade too. I don't know what to do with this team. The Vikings have looked better as of late, but let us not forget what happened when they played the Bills and Rams in consecutive weeks. The Bills destroyed them in Minnesota. It was as shocking a loss as I can remember. They then got ramshackled by the Rams on a Thursday night. As I said, they have played better as of late, but time will tell. Also, I think they will soon regret the contract they gave the highly overrated Kirk Cousins. The Lions are odd. They just got rid of Golden Tate, Stafford best receiver, they don't give the ball to Kerryon Johnson enough, and they have a bad defense. Matt Patricia is not the greatest head coach either. And the Bears, while they have a stout, top 5 NFL defense, they have the wrong QB. Guys like Tarik Cohen, Jordan Howard and a healthy Kevin White have to deal with Blake Bortles 2.0 in Mitch Trubisky. He is not a good QB. He should be a back up. But, this defense, especially Khalil Mack, can take this team to 8,9 or even 10 wins. I'm going to go with Minnesota, but I wouldn't be shocked if the Bears won the division. God damn you Green Bay.

The NFC South is competitive, but it is only 2 teams, not the three I thought it could be at the start of the season. The Panthers look a little bit like their 2015 team. They aren't as explosive, but Cam is getting into a groove, Christian McCaffery is being used properly, and Devin Funchess has turned into a solid wideout. The defense isn't great, but they get the job done. The Saints are great. They are so threatening on offense. They can seemingly do anything they want at any time. They are awesome. Their defense has also gotten better as the year has gone on. The Falcons are a mess. They lost their best defensive players to season ending injuries, and they just cannot stop anyone. The offense has been pretty good, but when you need to score 40 points just to stay in a game, that is a problem. And the Buccaneers aren't even worth my time. I'm going with the Saints, they are so good, but this division will get 2 playoff teams.

The NFC West is all about the Rams. No other team has any shot at this division. The Rams are so much further ahead of every team, and they just added Dante Fowler to their already stout defense. They also have Todd Gurley, who is amazing. The Seahawks have played better than I thought, but they are still not a real threat. They could sneak into the playoffs, but I doubt it. And then there is the Cardinals and 49ers. I mean, both these teams stink. They have no playoff aspirations. The 49ers lost their QB early in the year. The Cardinals waited too long to play Josh Rosen. These teams are dreadful. These teams are playing for next year. The Rams, who are still undefeated, are going to roll with this division.

So, as far as the playoffs go, the division winners are as follows, the Rams, Saints, Vikings and Washington. And my wild card teams are the Panthers and, I am going to stick with the Eagles here. Sorry Bears fans. Sorry Packers fans, me included. I just think the addition of Golden Tate will help the Eagles get to 10 wins. Carson Wentz is also starting to play better. In the NFC title I have the Rams and Saints, mainly because I want to see them play twice this year.(They play each other this weekend) I'm going to go with the Rams. They remind me so much of the 2015 Panthers, but with a better defense.

So, that means I have the Chiefs and Rams in the Super Bowl. And, I'm picking the Rams. They are devastatingly good. I also think the Saints will be a tougher matchup than the Chiefs. This would also be a fun Super Bowl.

As far as award winners, coach of the year should be Sean McVay. Offensive rookie of the year will be one of these QB's, lets say..... Sam Darnold. Defensive rookie of the year will be Jaire Alexander. Defensive player of the year will be, and damn well better be, Aaron Donald. Offensive player of the year, and MVP will be, and should be, Todd Gurley. I know that what Mahomes is doing is unheard of, but so is what Gurley is doing. Look at his numbers. They are comparable, and he is the best player on the best team.

There you have it, my NFL season redo. I was clearly wrong in the preseason, but I feel like my redo is much closer to what will happen. I'm still pissed at the Packers. 

Ty

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

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The Red Sox Won a Sport I Do Not Really Care About Anymore

Many of you that come to SeedSing to read my sports writing might be wondering why I haven't touched on the Red Sox winning the World Series. Well, I didn't even realize it was going on, or that it was over, until this morning when my son told me that one of his friends was very happy that the Red Sox beat the Dodgers. It only dawned on me then that the World Series, and the MLB season for that matter, were over.

I hadn't even thought about baseball for a myriad of reasons. I only pay attention to baseball when my son plays, and his fall ball season ended in late September. The Cardinals didn't even make the playoffs, so that was another thing that made me tune out. College football is in full swing right now. We are in the thick of conference play. The NFL is at its halfway point, I will have my mid season redo of that tomorrow by the way. And, most exciting for me, the NBA started, and college basketball is right around the corner. Baseball took a big, big time step back from all of that.

Also, why would I care about a title between a team from Boston or LA? I don't like any team in any major pro sport from either of those cities. Also, aren't these big market teams always involved? Maybe if the Brewers had made it in I might have paid attention for may Dad's sake. That is the team of his youth.

The realization this morning, again, coming from my 6 year old, made me really look back at how far baseball has fallen off the map for me. As I child I lived and breathed baseball. That was all I wanted to do. That was the only sport, and thing, that I truly cared about. Baseball was life. Then I started to get older and started to get into basketball. I immediately fell in love with that sport. Baseball was still first, but basketball was beginning to take over. Then, when I was finally allowed to play football in high school, that immediately jumped to the top for me. It supplanted both baseball and basketball. But, I still loved, and played, both those sports too, along with football. As I have gotten older though, baseball has just fallen off.

I really stopped caring about baseball my senior year of high school. I was on the team, I enjoyed hanging out with my friends, but it started to become boring to me. I was a relief pitcher too, so I spent a lot of time just sitting and watching. That made it worse. This was when basketball started to jump ahead of baseball. I loved playing. I was on my high school team, and while I saw little playing time in games, I loved practices, and when I did get to play, it was so much more fun than baseball. Football was the same. I played a bit more, I got to tackle people, and the vast majority of my close friends were on the football team. Then, after high school and college, I just started to forget abut baseball completely. I stopped playing, so I stopped paying attention.

Football was now more in the forefront, and my love for the Wolverines started to get very, very important. Then I fell back in love with basketball, mainly the NBA. Baseball was just an after thought. If the Cardinals were in the playoffs or World Series, I would peek in and out here and there, but a random Thursday night NBA game, or any Michigan basketball or football game took top priority, especially Michigan football. And now that I am a husband and father, the only baseball that matters to me is when my son plays. That is the only time I care about baseball. I still play pick up basketball and watch the NBA constantly. In fact, I just got League Pass, and that may be better than the Red Zone Network. And, as all of you know, I am fully obsessed with Michigan Wolverines sports, most notably basketball and football. Baseball just doesn't matter. I don't really care.

I am stoked for Red Sox fans, and I'm sure the parade and party will be fun, but I have totally checked out. It is kind of sad, but also seemed inevitable. Baseball isn't a sport you can just play pick up like basketball. You need, at least, 6-10 people to even play some form of baseball. Basketball can be played with 2 people. Hell, you can work on the game solo if you want. And football, even though it can be plodding, and there are so many things in and outside of the game that are disconcerting, is still much, much more enjoyable to watch than baseball. I have been to one college football game this year, and I am going to a second soon. I am going to go to an NBA game here very soon in either Memphis or Chicago. You know how many baseball games I went to this season, one of 2 pro sports teams we have in Saint Louis? One. And we didn't even stay for the first pitch. My son's team got to walk on the field before hand, we asked him if he wanted to stay, and he said no. That was my one MLB game this season. I wish I could say that I miss it, but I really don't. I just find the game very, very boring now.

Once again, nice job Red Sox. Now I do not have to worry about baseball until the head editor makes me write a season preview in March. See you baseball fans then.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. We asked Ty to name the last ten World Series winners. He mentioned the Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, and the Warriors. Ty really does not watch much baseball anymore.

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Ty's Mid-Season NCAA College Football Redo

I know that I am about a week or so late, but I need to do my mid season college football check up. Boy, was I very off on 2 of my four playoff teams. I was also wrong about a few teams, both good and bad, from the power 5 conferences. I'll go through each conference with a short little redo, and then I will pick my new winners, most should be the same, and my new playoff teams. I will also pick a new Heisman winner.

Okay, lets get to it.

First off, lets go to the ACC. I mean, does any other team matter in this conference besides Clemson? They are so far ahead of every other team. They are like the Warriors of the ACC. I thought Miami could give them a fight, but they have stumbled as of late. They can't find a QB and their defense, while still very good, cannot win all the games they play. FSU is a total mess. They looked to be getting back to normal, but then Clemson came to town and everything came crashing down again. UNC is mediocre. So is Pitt. Virginia Tech has stumbled big time since Old Dominion beat them. NC State has lost their last 2 after starting 6-0. Louisville, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia are all at, or around .500. Duke is okay. But, Syracuse might be Clemson's biggest "threat". Clemson owns the ACC, and they will continue to for many years to come it seems.

The Pac 12 is a lot like the ACC, except they don't have a dominant team. At one point this season it looked like Oregon, Stanford or Washington could fight for a playoff spot. Oregon just got smashed by a 4-5 Arizona squad, Stanford, who is again making me look foolish, just cannot get it together, most recently losing to Washington State. And Washington might be one of the most disappointing teams in all of college football. They just got beat by Cal, and only scored 10 points in that game. USC is in a tail spin. Colorado just blew a 28 point lead to Oregon State, who is awful. Arizona State has some okay wins, but they are very blah. UCLA is STRUGGLING in Chip Kelly's first year. The only 2 teams that are kind of consistent are Washington State and Utah. Utah is solid in all three phases,  but they don't blow anyone away. Washington State throws and throws and throws the ball, and they have the best record, at 7-1, but their defense will doom them. I was made a fool again by Stanford, and they have no shot at the playoff or the Pac 12 title. So, I guess that I am going to go with WSU, but I have zero confidence in their defense. I wouldn't be shocked if Utah does find a way to win the conference.

Up next I want to go to the Big 12. The Big 12 is solid, but the Big 12 does not play defense. Oklahoma, even with the lone loss to Texas, is still the best team to me. They have a great, great offense. They play zero defense, but when you score upwards of 50 a game, that doesn't really matter. Texas was the darling of the conference for a minute, but they got beat by Oklahoma State, and Tom Hermann made an ass of himself in the process. Oklahoma State is okay, but they are no real threat to Oklahoma. West Virginia has a great QB in Will Grier, and they can run, but their defense is suspect. TCU has fallen off a cliff. Iowa State is still a tough out, but they are no better than a 7 or 8 win team. Kansas has won 3 games, which matches their total from the last three years, which says all I need to about their program. Kansas State is having a very down year. Baylor should not be allowed to field a team. And Texas Tech is the same every year. They can air it out and they can't stop anyone. Oklahoma has the best player and the game against Texas feels like an aberration to me. They will win the Big 12.

The SEC is all about Alabama. Sure, Georgia is a top 10 team, but they have their own problems. Florida is much, much better under Dan Mullen, but they are not at Alabama or Georgia's level. Texas A&M is better under Fisher, but they still have a long way to go. Kentucky is a top 15 team, but they needed a timeless down to beat Missouri. LSU has been very, very solid all year. Their offense isn't great, but they have signature wins and a tremendous defense. Tennessee is still trying t get back to relevance. Missouri has a very good QB, but a horrendous defense. Vanderbilt stinks. Arkansas is worse. Auburn is right there with Washington as a disappointment. South Carolina is average. So is Ole Miss, who should be sanctioned to hell soon. And Mississippi State has been wildly inconsistent. Alabama is Alabama. They seem unbeatable. They are top notch everywhere on the field. Tua Tigaviola is one of the best college QB's I have ever seen. They got Jalen Hurts to stay. They have threats all over the field. Their defense is amazing. Alabama is the Death Star of college football. LSU has the best "shot" to beat them, but they won't. Alabama is going to roll the rest of the season, especially through the SEC.

The final power 5 conference, is my conference, the Big 10. The Big 10 has been wild, disappointing and surprising this year. Nebraska is not very good. Sure, they have won 2 straight, but against real teams, they have been dominated. I think Scott Frost will turn it around, but it will take time. Minnesota is struggling to find an identity under PJ Fleck. They started 3-0, and are now 4-4, just barely beating Indiana last week after blowing a 4 score lead. Rutgers is a tire fire, but they did show signs of life 2 weeks ago against Northwestern. Indiana has a better defense than normal, but they cannot put together a full game. Maryland is about to go through the ringer with the NCAA, as they should, and they are mediocre. Illinois is bad. Lovie Smith looks like he now hates coaching football. I wouldn't be shocked if he steps down at the end of this year. Purdue started 0-3, then won 4 straight, one of which was a thrashing over the University of Ohio State. But, they just let Michigan State manhandle them. Michigan State, who also shouldn't be able to field a team with the offseason stuff, is average at best. They do have a good defense though. Penn State is all about their QB. They go as he goes, and luckily for them, he is usually pretty good. Wisconsin doesn't have a good enough QB, their O line isn't as stout as it was last year and their defense is a mess. They just got manhandled by Northwestern. Speaking of Northwestern, that team has just found ways to win their last couple of games, 2 over once ranked teams. They aren't the best, but they are currently in first in the Big 10 West. and I didn't forget about Iowa. Iowa should have beaten Penn State, but they didn't, and that may haunt them. They are a bit more fun on offense though. The University of Ohio State had an atrocious game their last time out. Apparently they have some inner turmoil with the staff. Urban Meyer is a liar and a phony. And the team is very average on defense. Their offense however is explosive. They are a very, very light version of Oklahoma. And then there is my team, the Michigan Wolverines, winners of 7 straight. First off, I still have my doubts about this team. It took them forever to pull away from MSU. I know that is a rivalry game, and it was on the road, but they were the much more talented team. I also watched them struggle mightily to beat Northwestern in person. They also didn't really blow out SMU like they should have. It took them until the third quarter to pull away from Wisconsin. They start off too slow. If that happens this Saturday, at home against PSU, that could be a problem. Now for the good. They are much better on offense this year. Shea Patterson has shown that he is easily the best QB in the short Jim Harbaugh era. They can run the ball. I love Karan Higdon. The receivers are big and strong, and Tarik Black could be back this weekend. The O line has been better. The defense, in their last game, absolutely shut down MSU. Since week one, the defense has been solid. They have the pieces in place to actually make a run. They have a tough game this weekend, they then have to travel to Rutgers, and road games are tough, then they get Indiana at home, but for the past 6 or 7 years it seems, Indiana plays them very tough, and they finish out the season in Columbus. Where we sit today the Wolverines are in complete control of their side of the Big 10. I am very curious to see how they play now that they are expected to win. That hasn't been the case sine Peppers was a Heisman finalist, and they stumbled to finish that season. Saturday will show me a lot about this team. That game will determine how they finish. They are now the team with the bulls eye on their back. Lets see which team shows up. Right now though, and I do not like doing this because I am a pessimist when it comes to anything Michigan related, I am going to go with the Wolverines to win the Big 10. They should.

As far as teams outside the power 5, Notre Dame is going to get in the playoff as long as they win out. They have the win over Michigan to open the year. They went to Blacksburg and won. And even with struggles against Ball State and Pitt, they still found a way to win. UCF still hasn't lost in a game in almost 2 years. They may not have a tough schedule, but you play who you play, and they have beaten all comers. Mackenzie Milton is awesome too. Houston is really good, and they have the best defensive player in football in Ed Oliver. And Utah State and Fresno State are having a flash back to the early 2010's, finding their way into the top 25.

As far as the Heisman, I had Bryce Love to start the year. I was very, very wrong. He, of course, has been perpetually hurt all year. Tua is going to win. He is putting up monster numbers on the best team in college football. Tua is the best QB Alabama has had under Saban as well. He is an amazing talent.

The playoff, this was tough for me. The first official rankings come out tomorrow, and while that will most definitely change, I know 2 of the teams that will be there will be in my final four. Going from 1-4 I have, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and number 4, the toughest one for me to pick, I am going to go with Oklahoma. Michigan will be the team left out. Oklahoma has the great, probably Heisman runner up QB, Kyler Murray. They also have an easier end of season schedule than Michigan. Oklahoma should run the table the rest of the way. Michigan could too, but they could also lose a couple of those games. Like I said, the last time they had expectations, they stumbled. Oklahoma is going to be able to outscore every team left on their schedule and in the Big 12 title game. They then get the unfortunate task of playing a rested Alabama team. Alabama is so much better than EVERY team in college football. They win with ease. So does Clemson in the 2-3 game. Notre Dame has not, and will not, face a team as talented as Clemson the rest of the year. Clemson will dominate that game. So, we would get, for the third time in the four year history of the college football playoff, a Clemson-Alabama game. And, Alabama will cruise. They are so, so great. They have stars all over the field. You know how I said that Clemson is the Warriors of the ACC? Alabama is the Warriors of all of college football. They are so dominant.

Now, with only 5 weeks of regular season games left, I think a lot of this could change. But, where we are now, at this point in the year, this is my redo. These are my changes. Lets see how these picks pan out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Wolverines could every game the rest of the year, including the National Championship, and Ty would still not be optimistic on Michigan’s chances this year. The terrible life of a superfan.

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The Overrated Blake Griffin is Finished in the NBA

To round out my 2 weeks of basketball previews, I want to finish up talking about a specific player. This is not a young player. This is not a rookie. This is not a super star, not anymore at least. This is not a player that will matter come playoff time. This is not an all star. This player is Blake Griffin.

I want to ask a very specific question about him, and then I will try and answer it. And know this, I do not, and have never, ever like Griffin. Even with him going to the Michigan football game last weekend did not score him any points with me. The question, is Blake Griffin done?

Now, I have never thought he was as good as others used to say. I have always thought that he is/was wildly overrated. I have always thought that he is/was soft. I despise his constant complaining. I do not think he takes the games as serious as a supposed super star is supposed to. His win in the dunk contest, however long ago that was, was ridiculous. He did not jump over a car, he jumped over the hood. It was lame. I always thought he was the third wheel in the whole "Lob City" era with the Clippers. I do not think he is funny. I do not like his commercials. I just do not like Blake Griffin.

And before you think this piece is just to slander, you are 50 percent correct.

I have multiple signs that point to the fact that Griffin is cashed as a NBA player. Reason one, the Clippers gave him a max contract last year, and when the time to trade him came up, they did it without a second thought. And, they traded him to Detroit. For Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley. That is not the return you'd expect for a supposed super star. He then proceeded to do nothing to help the Pistons get to the playoffs. The one thing he helped do was get Stan Van Gundy fired as GM and coach. Van Gundy took that risk, and it blew up in his face.

Even before the trade, he was not the star the Clippers made him out to be. He was more known for his whining, dunking, doing stupid shit to fans and getting hurt. He missed his entire rookie year due to injury. He then wasn't much of a star in his next year, even if he won Rookie of the Year. Michael Carter Williams has also won that award by the way. He then got paired up with Chris Paul and Deandre Jordan started to come into this own, and while the Clippers were now a playoff team, it wasn't because of Griffin, at least not to me. Chris Paul pushed that team to the playoffs. Deandre Jordan was the defensive and rebounding stalwart they needed. Griffin was there to dunk. Sure, he developed a mid range shot, but in the modern NBA, most people don't want mid range shooting. Teams want threes, which he cannot shoot or dunks, which he is only getting worse at. The Clippers never made the conference finals with him as their supposed star player.

What really put this all into perspective for me was one instance in the preseason, and another that just happened the other night. Blake Griffin attempted to back down a smaller player, and then tried to elevate for a dunk. This happened against the same team, and the same player denied him, twice. When Griffin went up to dunk, to make the highlight reel like he used to do, his attempt was stopped cold by Jarrett Allen. Now, I know who Jarrett Allen is because I am a humongous NBA nerd. I like Allen. I think he is one of the better rim protectors in the NBA. But, he isn't Joel Embiid, Al Horford, prime Serge Ibaka or Rudy Gobert. Allen plays a smallish role on the awful Nets. And he stoned Griffin's dunk attempt twice. Griffin doesn't have the lift anymore. People aren't afraid to challenge him at the rim. He, of course, looked for a foul call, but both blocks were as clean as they come. These younger guys, that play modern NBA defense, are not afraid of a guy like Griffin anymore. I mean, Jarrett Allen made him look like a scrub. He stopped him cold two times in the matter of a week. Blake Griffin cannot do it anymore. It's either that, or he just doesn't care enough anymore since he is in Detroit, and he thinks no one is watching.

Well, I was watching. I saw the clips, then I watched them again and then I watched them a third time. I have told friends and family that like the NBA to check out the clips. I am writing an entire piece about his lack of explosion now. I have never though that Griffin was a star, and the 2 Allen blocks have just reaffirmed it for me.

This is pure joy for me, and I cannot wait to see the next back up center stone him at the rim again. Blake Griffin is done.

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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