Ty Watches "The Last Dance" Parts 6 and 7

I just finished up the most recent episodes of "The Last Dance", and this is why I was so interested in this doc. This is the stuff I was here for. These are the episodes I have been waiting for. This is the kind of new information I wanted to see, and hear from the man himself, in Michael Jordan. I was so enthralled by everything I watched.

The first episode talked about the first three peat. The team, and Jordan getting to that level, and all the stuff they went through after the third tit;e. This was when Jordan retired the first time. This was when his father was tragically killed. This was when all the theories came out that he was "forced" to retire by David Stern due to his gambling. All the people refuted everything, but still, seeing them questioned, and seeing them kind of shift and look around when they answered, it was glorious. I don't believe that Jordan was forced into retirement, but I also don't think he left to simply play baseball. He was at the top of his game, he was winning every year, he was making a ton of money and he was the biggest star in the world. I think he wanted a new challenge. He mastered the game of basketball, so I think he wanted to try to conquer a different sport, a sport he grew up playing, and falling in love with due to his dad. I think the passing of his dad was the main reason why he walked away. That, and that he was so tired from carrying the Bulls to three straight titles. The stuff with his dad was so upsetting and sad and just miserable too. To see the media drag him the way they did back then, that was disgusting. I cannot fathom what the media would do today. It would have been ten times worse. I will say, to see Jordan, his mom and brother talk about this was pretty upsetting, but I respect that they did it. It had to be really tough for them, but they still did it.

Then they shifted to his demeanor with his teammates. This was the stuff I have been waiting for. They touched on it a little in episode 7, but they really went into it in episode 8. In 7 we got to see Jordan going after a young rookie, Scott Burrell. The stuff he stood up to, the stuff he dealt with, the way he handled it, he is a much better dude than I am. He was a pro, and he knew why Jordan was doing what he did. We also got stories of him and Steve Kerr getting into it. He used to shit talk guys like Jud Buechler and Luc Longley. He went in on anyone that he felt didn't meet his standards. Jordan is the GOAT, and I would have hated playing on his team. But, he did win, and he helped to squeeze out every ounce of talent his teammates had.

They also talked about him coming out of retirement the first time, and how he had to reshape his body multiple times because of switching sports. Jordan was nothing if not maniacal when it came to getting the best out of himself. We also got to hear about the incredible pick up games that would go on while Jordan was filming "Space Jam". The people who made that movie built him a gym, and he had players fly in from everywhere to compete with him so he could get back into basketball shape. This was the season after the Magic ousted the Bulls in the playoffs. The only time I believe a Bulls team MJ was on, after getting past the Pistons, that didn't win a title. Reggie Miller, during a talking head interview talked about how MJ must have been a "vampire" because he filmed the movie all day, played games at night, lifted and did this everyday during the course of making "Space Jam". That was a special moment from this doc.

We also got a look into the 72 win Bulls team. This was the year after Jordan came back, the fight with Kerr during practice, and the way that Bulls team ran roughshod over the rest of the NBA. That team still irks me because they beat my team, the Supersonics, but damn it were they impressive. We also got more of the asshole Jordan during this season, and this part of the doc. I mentioned Burrell and Kerr, but he did this to everyone on the team. They asked him if he ever regrets being so mean, being described as a "mean person", and he said no, very bluntly I might add. He didn't care if he hurt your feelings, as long as you helped him win. I also liked that we got to see Gary Payton heavily interviewed during this episode, he is my second favorite Sonic ever behind Shawn Kemp. He was a great defender, and an even better shit talker. He talked about how he locked Jordan up to help the Sonics win two games in the Finals, and they showed the film to Jordan, and he kept laughing, and simply stated, "Payton didn't stop me, I had other things on my mind for those two games". We come to realize that Father's Day was the day of game six, and this was the first season, and Finals his dad wasn't at. The Bulls proceeded to dominate the Sonics to win the title, and they show Jordan just collapse in the locker room. I would be lying if I didn't say I teared up at this moment. It was a gut punch indeed. They finished the episode off with the East Finals in 1998 against the Pacers, and Reggie Miller saying that he was going to be the guy to retire MJ. Another great line from Reggie Miller.

These were the two best episodes to this point, and it has me so excited for the last two. It's bittersweet though because I don't want this doc to end, but I am so excited to see how they finish it. I imagine it is going to go out with a bang because, with every episode to this point, it has just gotten better and better and better.

This is an amazing docu series.

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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Aaron Rodgers is Not Leaving Green Bay

We are over a week removed from the NFL draft, which was a massive success, one I did not see coming, and my hat is off to everyone involved. That was something that could've had thousands of problems, but they figured it out. Kudos to all involved.

Now, my team, the Packers, did not have a good draft. I could see that, the media saw it, the fans saw it and the talking heads all on Zoom saw it and said it. The picks didn't make a ton of sense. They took guys at positions they didn't really need. They didn't take a receiver, in a loaded class, which was what they needed most. They reached for AJ Dillon, who I like but will be put in a bad situation for him. It was a mess of a draft. And, the big topic on everyone's mind coming from the Packers overall draft was trading up to take QB Jordan Love from Utah State in the first round.

There were a lot of questions about Love leading up to the draft, he didn't have a great final college season, he is raw, he is going to need a good amount of time, he is more of a mobile QB than a pocket guy, just a ton of stuff that people questioned. What those same people didn't question was his talent. He was deemed a first rounder the second mocks started to go up. But, nobody, myself included, had him going to a team with an established, Hall of Fame QB currently on their roster. I think this is the main reason everyone was so up in arms about this pick. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers, and while he wasn't great, for him, last season, he is still one of the best, if not the best, QB currently playing in the NFL. He has all the tools, he has the leadership and he has that will to push his team to wins they shouldn't get. But, Rodgers is also on the wrong side of 30. He has a big contract he signed last year, and while that isn't a big problem, I believe that it goes beyond what Love's rookie contract will be, which is a problem for the future. But, I want to point out some things that I have seen since the draft that have kind of blown me away.

I know as well as anyone that Rodgers is one of the prototype asshole professional athletes. He has a very open feud with his family. His former girlfriends don't have too many nice things to say about him after they split. He is tough on his teammates, and while he is great, he isn't Jordan great. He hasn't earned that right. He ran a coach who won a Super Bowl out of town, although it was time for Mike McCarthy to go. Rodgers has his issues. But, he can still play, and play at a solid level for a few more years, if us Packers fans are lucky. But to see articles being written with headlines like, "Which Team will Rodgers Play for Next Season", or, "Rodgers All but Done in Green Bay", or "Rodgers is not on Board with the Love Pick", it is all so stupid, and we are so lost without sports that people will seemingly write about anything that they hope will get clicks right now. Look, if anyone knows what Jordan Love is going through right now it should be Rodgers. So, instead of moaning and groaning about it, I would hope he would be a good mentor for him. He had to sit three years before he got a shot. Also, does he really want to leave Green Bay? Who would he go play for? I know everyone is all hyped about Tom Brady joining Tampa, but I don't think that is going to work out as great as some others do.

Let's say Rodgers does leave, then where would he go that would fit? People have thrown out the Jets as a possibility. They have a worse receiving corps than Green Bay. Some said Jacksonville if they don't get Trevor Lawrence. Why would he go to a losing team for the twilight of his career? I have heard Washington as a possible spot. Well, they still have Dwayne Haskins, and I still believe they would be better off with Cam Newton. Honestly, every team I look at makes no sense for me. I guess this is my roundabout way of saying I don't think Rodgers is going anywhere. Love is no threat to take his spot, this team was in the NFC title game last year and they have a solid defense and a good run game. Also, I truly believes he wants to finish his career as a lifetime Packer. I just feel that these articles are nonsense, and we are all just bored and missing sports.

Look, I was wrong about Brady, but I don't think it is going to be the seamless transition everyone else does. I would be shocked, more so than I was with Brady, if Rodgers doesn't finish his career in Green Bay. It would be a true sports stunner. 

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

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Ty Watches "The Last Dance" Parts 4 and 5

Episodes 5 and 6 of "The Last Dance" aired last night, and like the first four, this doc just continues to get better and better, and more revealing. I love this whole thing, and I am actually a little upset that there are only four more episodes. There are only two more weeks. I could watch this for another 10 to 20 episodes easily. That is how intriguing and wonderful this has been.

In episode 5 we got a look at a little bit of everything following the Bulls first title in 1991. We also got a dedication to Kobe Bryant prior to the start. The first part of the episode started with the 98 All Star game that featured the two going head to head. We even got a talking head interview with Bryant, and it was eye opening to hear him say the things he said about Jordan. Hearing him talk about his importance, and how if it wasn't for Jordan, he wouldn't have been the player he was. He even said how much he disliked the comparisons, and people asking who would win one on one. He all but squashed that, and let it be known that Jordan is the GOAT.

From there we got a glimpse into the 92 team that repeated. This was great because we got to see this team really rise to dominance, and see Jordan kind of take basketball to a whole other level. BJ Armstrong even said that he wasn't playing basketball anymore, he was simply out there to find new ways to win. That is how dominant, and great and maniacal he was as a player. The matchup between him and Clyde Drexler was supposed to be close. It wasn't. This series featured "the shrug" game, where MJ hit 6 threes in the first half, and scored 35 in the same half. He outplayed Drexler every step of the way. He said that he wanted to show how much better he was, and that it pissed him off that they were even comparing the two. Jordan is better, and will always be, and he proved that.

We also got a look at the Dream Team where, once again, and as usual, Jordan was the alpha. He was the dude. He was the guy. The video tape of a practice game was awesome. The way he and Pippen dominated Toni Kukoc was wild. They wanted to prove Jerry Krause wrong, and while Kukoc turned out to be a fine player, Jordan and Pippen proved they were better, and more important.

The episode also got into his cultural impact, what with his shoes and commercial appeal. It had to be hard to be Michael Jordan. That was the big takeaway for me from episode 5.

Episode 6 starts off with how hard it was for him to deal with the fame. It seemed like he had no time to just be alone, or away, or with his family. He was pulled in a million different directions. From there we dig into his gambling. This added to his competitive nature. There is a scene where he is betting with his handlers who can get a piece of change closest to the wall without touching it, and when he got beat by one of the dudes, you could tell it irked him very much. We then shift back to 93, with the Bulls working on their first 3 peat. This was also when they started to dig a little deeper into his gambling, referencing Sam Smith's wonderful book "The Jordan Rules". This was the same time they started to try and dig up dirt on him. They figured he couldn't be as perfect as he appeared. This is the episode I have been waiting for. This is where it got grimy and gritty and down and dirty. Apparently Horace Grant was the first one that spoke up, but it seems like there were plenty of other people. Jordan said it was Grant, but Grant said he didn't say a word. Who knows, but I do know that Grant wasn't too thrilled with the attention that MJ and Pippen were getting over him. But being the genius of basketball that he was, his play didn't waver a bit. In fact, he just kept getting better. It seems like it fueled him.

Then we shifted to the rivalry between the Bulls and Knicks in the early 90's. The Knicks tried to be the new era "Bad Boys", but the Knicks weren't as dirty, and easier to root for. They also weren't nearly as good. They did some stuff. They went up 2-0 on the Bulls, we got the famous Starks dunk. But, other than that, they were no real threat to the Bulls.

We did shift from there back to his gambling, which people blamed for the Bulls dropping the first 2 games. This was also when we meet a guy named Slim Buller, who was a badass dude that gambled with him all the time. Apparently, Jordan spent a good amount of time with this gentleman. This was when people started to really push on the gambling, and if he was an addict or not. This was the first time I have seen Jordan a little defensive in the talking head interviews. He was near over explaining what he was doing. But, as he is want to do, he responded as he always did, and came back and dominated the Knicks in four straight games. We also got to see the epic game 5 finish, with Charles Smith getting blocked four times, right at the rim. Poor guy.

That win pushed the Bulls to their third finals appearance in a row, this time to face the Suns and league MVP Charles Barkley. That series was an okay one, but it still gave Jordan the platform to prove is greatness over everyone else, which he did. This 6th episode started to show more of the asshole that Jordan was, and maybe still is, and that was great. I have been waiting to see this side of him. This was one of the things at the very top of my list that I wanted from this doc. It closed out nicely with them getting ready for the 98 playoffs, and as I am every Monday now, I cannot wait for the next two episodes.

"The Last Dance" has been so worth it so far, and it is only going to get better and better the rest of the way. 

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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Ty Watches "The Last Dance Parts 3 and 4

I just finished episodes 3 and 4 of "The Last Dance", and just like the first two, this is amazing. This is exactly what I, and all other sports fans, have been craving. The show is starting to dig deeper and deeper into all the things that went into this last run for the 90's Bulls.

Episode 3 was focused on Dennis Rodman's addition to the team. First off, Rodman is a crazy dude, but man was he an excellent basketball player. I do not agree with his politics, he is crazy as I said, he is still a little loony, but man could that dude defend, be an enforcer and grab rebounds. Hearing him talk about his early days in Detroit was like taking a class on how to judge angles on the floor, and I loved every single second of it. When he talked about taking friends to the gym at 2 and 3 in the morning to shoot and miss shots just so he could watch how it came off the rim was astonishing. Talking about watching film of how big time players would shoot, and the way the ball would rotate, was like the coolest lesson I could have learned as a young player. His tenacity on defense, and his willingness to do the little things, the dirty work, it was amazing. But, he did come with a ton of baggage. He started to lose it late in his Pistons career. He really lost it while he was in San Antonio. And, while he gave in to the greater good of the team while playing for the 90's Bulls, he was for sure going through some mental issues. He had, and still has, some serious issues, but I say again, the dude was such a uniquely gifted player. He was also another one of these super small school guys who made it big in the NBA in the late 80's and early 90's, and it was because he was willing he work his ass off. He seemed to work harder than almost anyone else in the league at that time. It was pretty eye opening. My favorite part was when the director showed Rodman, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson the video of Jordan reacting to Rodman saying he "needed a vacation". That was epic.

Episode 4 picked up with Rodman on his "vacation", and we got a one on one interview with Carmen Electra, Rodman's girlfriend at the time, and again I have to point out the people they are getting for this doc are amazing, and she described Rodman perfectly. She talked about his constant partying and how much fun he liked to have and even spoke on when Phil, Scottie and MJ came to Vegas to pick him up. That was hilarious, and I imagine what must have been going through her head when this happened. We shifted from there to learn more about Phil Jackson. This episode was his episode. They talked about his childhood, his love of Native Americans, how much he wanted the game to be a team game, his work with Tex Winter, his playing days, his drug use and how great of a coach he was. I have said many times that I think Greg Poppovich is the greatest coach in the NBA ever. But I am now wavering because of the way we see how Jackson worked with the greatest ever. How he got him to buy in. How he made him realize that he needed his teammates to help him. MJ may have liked Doug Collins more, but Jackson was the perfect coach for him and that team. Poppovich has the best system, and it will always work. But, Jackson is the best at dealing with major, major personalities. He knows how to handle super duper stars. And while Jackson is the weird hippy guy, he knows the game very well. Well, he and Tex Winter worked together very well. I feel like this episode was kind of an ode to Winter. He is the genius behind the Triangle offense, Jackson was just the face. But, I came away from episode 4 really admiring Phil Jackson. I was also happy because they started to show the real asshole side of MJ in the middle and near the end of the episode. They talked a lot about the rivalry between the Bulls and Pistons back then, and this is when true MJ started to come out. He hated the Pistons, he did what he took to get over that hump, and man oh man does he despise Isaiah Thomas. Again, they showed him a video of Thomas explaining why the Pistons walked off when the Bulls finally beat them, without shaking their hands, and you could see Jordan, who is 57 now, seething with anger. It was another great moment.

"The Last Dance" has been truly wonderful so far, and I fully expect it to continue that way. While this is on, every Monday I am going to write about my thoughts with each viewing. I cannot recommend this doc enough people. It is a wonder. 

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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Ty Watches the 2020 NFL Draft: Round 1

Last night was the first round of the NFL draft, and it went fairly well, and fairly chalk.

The top 3 picks were what everyone was saying they were going to be. Luckily for RD and the Bengals fans out there, they, rightfully so, took Burrow number one. They have their QB now. Washington got the best athlete in the draft in Young and Detroit didn't have any trade offers, so they took Okudah. Then the Giants did what the Giants do and took the third or fourth best offensive tackle in Andrew Thomas. He will be a fine player, but if they wanted a tackle why not Wirfs or Jackson or Becton, who knows. We are talking about a team that took Daniel Jones last year. I am kind of stunned they didn't grab Simmons, but again, the Giants do this every year. The Dolphins pulled the trigger on Tua. They needed a QB, and they went for one of the best college QB's ever, but that injury still terrifies me. I hope he has time to sit and watch before they throw him out there. Then Herbert went, but this was another one of the foregone conclusions of the draft, and I think it will take some time before Herbert gets real playing time. The Panthers reached for Derrick Brown, but he will be a fine interior D lineman I suppose. The Cardinals got my favorite player in the draft, Isiah Simmons, and I really, truly believe they are on the come up. The Cardinals will be a solid team for a good long time. The Jags got their Ramsey replacement in CJ Henderson and then two O lineman went off the board, with Jedrick Willis going to Cleveland and Becton going to the Jets. Then the Raiders reached for Ruggs. They went with speed again, as they have always done. They could've had any receiver and they chose Ruggs. I would have gone with Jeudy, but I am not a scout, GM or coach. Wirfs landed in Tampa, and Tom Brady has his blind side protection. The fact that he fell to 13 is wild to me. The 49ers took another interior D lineman in Kinlaw, and this pick surprised me. They already have a great defense, and they need better wide outs. Jeudy ended up in Denver and Drew Lock should be very pleased. They got the best athlete on offense in the draft. The Falcons went with defense, which they needed to do, and got a solid corner in AJ Terrell. The Cowboys added another offensive weapon, and they took CeeDee Lamb. He is good, fast and has solid ball skills, but he won't stop anyone on defense. The Dolphins, with their second first round pick, got a day one starter in Austin Jackson. He is a solid tackle. The Raiders then took a second round talent in the top 20 in Damon Arnette. I know they need help everywhere, but they could've gotten this kid in round 2 or 3. The Jags went defense again and took K'Lavon Chaisson, and he is a solid linebacker that will be a 10 year player. Two more receivers went to Philly and Minnesota next. The Eagles got Jalen Raegor, who I wanted Green Bay to pick. He is good and fast. Minnesota took Justin Jefferson, and RD, this kid is going to be very good. He will easily replace Stefon Diggs. The Chargers took Kenneth Murray next, and while I am not high on him, he is going to a team already loaded on defense. He can sit and learn. One of my Michigan guys was next, when the Saints took Caesar Ruiz. He is a good, modern center, and the video of him tearing up after they showed his father, who has passed, on screen was very moving. The 49ers then took a receiver that, quite frankly, I know nothing about. They took Brandon Aiyuk, and while I think they need help at that position, I don't know why they didn't just go with Jeudy at 13.

Then my team, Green Bay, made the wildest decision of the first round, taking QB Jordan Love. I don't think it is as awful as others do, but I also don't get it. They could've gone receiver as well, maybe traded up for Raegor, or they could've gone linebacker, but they chose a backup, raw QB. At least he will be sitting for awhile, but while I am not as low on this pick, I truly do not get it, especially from the Packers, who usually draft smart. I will say, the last time they picked a QB I didn't like, it was Aaron Rodgers. Maybe they can prove me wrong again.

From there on out, it was pretty chalk. The Seahawks kept their first round pick and took a solid linebacker in Jordyn Brooks. The Ravens shored up their already awesome defense with Patrick Queen from LSU. Tennessee got a protection and hole opening tackle in Isaiah Wilson, which is what they need. Miami, with their third first round pick, which is wild, took a solid corner in Noah Igbinoghene. They are building a solid team there. Brian Flores is going to do good things with this squad. Minnesota took TCU corner Jeff Gladney next, and that pick is as ho hum as they come. And the Chiefs closed out round one with Clyde Edwards-Helaire, running back from LSU, proving further that they just want to get more and more weapons around Mahomes to defend their title.

Like I said, outside a few odd picks, this was a chalk draft. The only true surprises were Andrew Thomas going so early and the Packers trading up to take Jordan Love. Other than that, all solid, understandable picks. If I had to pick a "winner" of the first round I am going to go with Arizona. They got my favorite player, and the player I consider to be the best athlete in the draft in Simmons. He is going to be instantly great. I am also happy that Ruiz went round one, and went earlier than I thought. Now I bet the rest of the draft will be a bit more intriguing, with more trades and more reaches and steals. We shall see. 

Ty

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

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Gronk Will Not Be the Answer in Tampa

I teased it yesterday, and here I am today to talk about the Gronk trade to the Buccaneers.

This was inevitable the moment Tom Brady simply mentioned how nice it would be to play with Gronk again. Once he said that it was a forgone conclusion that the Bucs front office and Bruce Arians were going to do whatever they needed to get Gronk. Never mind the fact that they have a younger tight end they drafted two years ago. I know that OJ Howard hasn't totally lived up to the hype yet, but this upcoming year will only be his third in the NFL. Now he will be traded, or simply let go. That is a shame.

Look, I think most people know how I feel about Gronk. I do not like him. He is a frat boy, a douche, a party animal, a phony and if he was with any other team during his height, and was not a white person, people wouldn't love him the way they do. Say he played for a team like the Dolphins or Jets or Raiders, he is basically a nobody. Change his ethnicity, he would be viewed very differently by major media outlets. I don't like putting that out there, but it is, unfortunately, true. And now he is coming in to take a younger kid's job just because his buddy wants the team to.

Also, I don't think this is going to be as great as other outlets are proclaiming. I have already gone on the site and said that I don't like the fit with Brady in Tampa. I know Arians has done wonders with older QB's, but those QB's had big arms. I think Brady is the best QB to ever play in the NFL, but arm strength has never been his thing. He has always been a quick slant, diagnose the defense quick and make the right, shorter throw. That is how he destroys other teams. The only guy on the current Bucs roster that is fit for that is Gronk. But, Gronk has been away for an entire year, he has had multiple concussions, he may not play an entire year, if the NFL has a full year, and he has lost a ton of weight. He also went on this weird speaking tour where he talked about the dangers of the NFL. But, since his "bro" is in a city like Tampa, I guess he figures why not.

Actually, the more I write about it, I feel like Tampa is a fitting spot for Gronk's personality. But you don't win games with a "fun" personality. I actually think this trade, and the signing of Brady, is going to hurt Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. They are two of the better deep threats in the league, but just look at Brady last season, or even the season before. Last year he was not great. Maybe it was because he already knew he was leaving, maybe it was because the offense wasn't as talented or maybe it was because Brady is 42 years old. He is an old man in NFL terms. And as we have seen over and over and over again, when guys hit 40, they regress. Even the year before, when they beat the Rams in the Super Bowl, it wasn't because of Brady. He had an awful game. It was their defense, and how green that Rams team was. And Todd Gurley was very hurt. With this new addition, I am stunned at how the media is treating this. I don't want to put this out there, but does everyone remember after the Odell Beckham trade last off season how great that was going to make the Browns? Every major media outlet had them as a 10 plus win team, a favorite in the AFC and a lock to make the playoffs. How did that work out? And that team is much younger than this current Bucs team. And they have a better defense, even though they struggled mightily last year.

I don't know, maybe I am just a hater, but I don't think acquiring Gronk pushes the Bucs to the best in the NFC. I don't even think it makes them the best team in their division. I think the Bucs right now are champs on paper, but they will have to go out and play, and it will be tough sledding. This trade is so unimportant to me. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2020 Not Mock NFL Draft

Seeing as how they are doing a NFL draft tomorrow, via the internet, and it is still blowing my mind that they are doing it this way and not just waiting a month or so, I do want to do my style of a draft guide. I don't like doing a pick by pick thing. Last year I picked 10 players I thought were going to be very good and 5 busts. This year I want to go position by position, putting interior offensive and defensive line as a whole group, as in, I won't go nose guard, tackle, defensive end, or guard, tackle center, I will pick players for the whole interior. I will pick one player I think will hit, and explain, one that will bust, and explain, and a mild to deep sleeper. This seems like a fun way to approach this very odd, very complex draft.

Real quick though, even though I think there will be tons and tons of mess ups, I am stoked that there is going to be a draft. It gives us sports people a fix. And, I will get to the Gronk trade tomorrow. Believe me I have a ton to say about that whole thing. Lets get to the draft now.

Quarterback

I'm going to start where every NFL team starts, and that is with the QB position. I'm not as sold on this class as other writers and people on TV, but I do still have some thoughts. As for my prospect that will, or should hit, I have Joe Burrow, just like everyone else. You don't have a season like he did and then just flame out. He is agile, has arm strength and is wildly accurate. The only downside I see from him is the Bengals. They will need to find a way to protect him. Even still, he will be a solid rookie, and I think he will have, at the very least, a solid NFL career.

As for the bust, I have already written about him, but I just don't trust Tua. The injury scares the hell out of me. The kid is an incredible talent, but that injury ended Bo Jackson's career. And no one has seen him go through a real workout. I hope I am wrong because I like him, but I am just so scared of that injury.

As for my sleeper, I am going with Jalen Hurts. He is the new era QB. He already had the mobility, and last year at Oklahoma proved he can throw. He is going to be, at the very least, a weapon for whatever team takes him in the third or fourth round. He is also a good dude with a great attitude.

Running Back

So running backs are a dying breed, but there are still a few in this draft that could work as later round picks. I wouldn't take one in the first round, but late round two or early third, I would jump at some of these guys. My prospect that will hit is Johnathan Taylor. He is big, fast, durable and destroyed great defenses in college. He is on a long list of Wisconsin running backs that tore up college, but I feel like he will be the first to really, truly succeed.

My bust is Cam Akers. I loved this kid his freshman year at FSU, but it was all downhill from there. He never really got better over the next 2 years. He is also small, fumbles a bit and can easily get hurt. I had high hopes in college, and those weren't met. I don't think he will translate well to the NFL.

My sleeper, and it's not that deep, is JK Dobbins. This kid destroyed the Big Ten for two years, he put up similarly huge numbers like Taylor and he is a ball of strength. He is a bigger, stronger Doug Martin, except he will be better.

Wide Receiver

Shifting to receiver, this class is absolutely loaded. It is as deep as any group in a very, very long time. I had a good amount of trouble finding guys to pick for my prospect that will hit. I finally settled on Jerry Jeudy, but honestly, I could've picked any Alabama receiver. But Jeudy looks to be the biggest, second fastest, runs the best routes and has tremendous hands. I am hoping he falls to Green Bay, but I don't think he lasts outside of the top 10. He has a good mixture of Amari Cooper and Julio Jones. Jeudy is great.

As for my bust, and this hurts so much for me personally, I have Donovan Peoples-Jones. I rooted so hard for this kid for three years, and had such high hopes. He had tons of moments at Michigan, but he was more injured than not. He also was nowhere to be found in big games. He also drops the ball at a Braylon Edwards rate, especially when going over the middle. I hope he proves me wrong, really hope, but he just tailed off too much last season at Michigan.

As for my sleeper, I'm going with Jalen Reagor from TCU. This may not be a sleeper to you, but he played in a run option offense, yet put up stellar numbers. This is a guy that could actually land in Green Bay, and while he isn't Jerry Jeudy, he will do just fine.

Tight End

At tight end, and this is not the same level as wideout, I just don't really know. As for my top prospect, I guess I will go with Hunter Bryant from Washington. He is a big target with good hands and can block some. He will be fine.

For my bust, again I have no idea, I will go with Cole Kmet from Notre Dame because other people seem to love him, and since I am a Michigan fan, I am just going full on hater here.

My sleeper is Thaddeus Moss. He was so crucial in LSU's explosive offense, he is big and he will score TD after TD. Moss isn't his dad, but he will be a solid pro.

Offensive Line

As for the interior O line, my top prospect is Tristan Wirfs frim Iowa. He is huge, he is a roadblock and he can be a cornerstone for 10 plus years. O lineman are boring picks, but also the safest, and Wirfs is top of the list this year.

As for my bust, and again this is hard because O line is so easy to hit, I am going with Meckhi Becton from Louisville. I know people love him, but Louisville was so average, and he played in a very heavy read option offense. I don't see what others do in him.

My sleeper, and I am fanning out here, is Caesar Ruiz. He was the captain of the Michigan O line, he was the most important guy and he was the most improved on a very improved O line last season. I was sad to see him leave early, but I get it. He is going to be a day one starter in the NFL and he will be around for a very long time. He is a prototype modern offensive lineman.

Now lets shift to defense. I fully believe the cliche that defense wins titles, and there are some solid defensive players to load your team around in this draft.

Safety

At safety my prospect that will hit is Grant Delpit from LSU. He reminds me so much of Jamal Adams, except with better ball skills. Adams is a better hitter, but he is also on an awful team, so I don't think he is as respected as he should be. I think Delpit can end up in San Francisco, or Chicago, somewhere with a solid defense, and he will have a similar type career, but be more highly regarded.

As for the bust of this class I have Antoine Winfield Jr. Yes he has tremendous ball skills, he got a ton of interceptions and was the key to Minnesota's defense, but I just don't see it from him. The interceptions means college teams weren't afraid to throw to his side, and he did get beat some too. He has the name recognition, but I'm not sold.

As for my sleeper, I'm going division 1-AA here, and going with Jeremy Chinn from Southern Illinois. I hadn't heard of him until recently, but I saw some of his highlights, and this kid is good. He is going to be a solid special teams guy at the start, and he will be a starter sooner rather than later. He is also very big for a safety as well.

Corner

Switching to corner, how can you not have Jeffrey Okudah as the top guy. He is so arrogant and cocky and seems like a real asshole, but the kid can play. He is as shutdown as they come right now. I have to say, seeing him get torched by Trevor Lawrence was hilarious to me, but that was an outlier. He is really good, and if Detroit passes on him, it will be another in a long line of mistakes for them. I loathe that I have so many University of Ohio State players as top prospects, but they had a loaded team last year.

My bust corner is Kristian Fulton from LSU. Outside Delpit, the LSU defense got torched at times. Also, without Delpit, Fulton wouldn't be as highly regarded. Fulton was helped so very much by being on the same team as a legit top 5 potential pick. He was part of a secondary that let Ole Miss gain a million yards on them.

My sleeper at corner is Jaylon Johnson from Utah. He is 6 feet tall, almost 200 pounds and has some speed. He will be a solid slot corner that turns into a lock down corner within a year or two. Corners that big don't come around often, and I would jump at a chance to take him in the second or third round if he is still available.

Linebacker

Moving on to linebacker, Isiah Simmons is without question the best linebacker, and for me, the best player in the draft. He can do it all. I could have put him at safety or corner too, and he would be number one. He is so good, can do it all and will change the fortunes of whatever team takes him very early on in the draft. Simmons is dream modern prospect on defense.

My bust is Kenneth Murray from Oklahoma. I think he looks like a traditional linebacker, and he can hit, but I just cannot shake how much LSU exposed him in the playoff. They attacked him in the air and on the ground. I have images of him heaving and laying on the ground to try and get off the field. He got dusted by a team filled with NFL talent. I think he will just be okay, not team altering.

My sleeper at linebacker is Troy Dye from Oregon. He is fast, used to playing spread teams and can cover and hit. He will be a solid team dude as well. I could see him being a quieter version of Luke Kuechly. I think he has that in him.

Defensive Line

Chase Young is the guy. He is the best D line prospect since Jadaveon Clowney, and he may be better. To me he is a bigger and stronger Julius Peppers. Young wrecked backfields all year, and I think he will do the same in the NFL. If Washington doesn't take him I would be absolutely stunned.

My bust is Javon Kinlaw. I know he is big and strong, but leaving the Senior Bowl and not doing the combine left a bad taste. I know his spot is secure, but he isn't a QB or skill player, guys who normally do that. I wanted to see his times and other stuff, but he decided not to compete claiming he was injured. I don't know about all that.

My sleeper is Josh Uche. Again, fan boy here, but this kid was great, and he became a sack machine for Michigan over the past two years. He is quick, has good hands and can move. He was constantly in the backfield the past two years. I will forever be thankful to my dad for pointing him out to me early two years ago when we were at a game. He has been a joy to watch, and I think he will be a great NFL pass rusher.

So there you have it, my version of a pre draft ranking of some players. I do want to say, I hope all the kids I considered "busts" prove me wrong. I don't like to judge children that are so much more talented than I have ever been. I want them to all have success. That being said, this draft will be odd, but I stoked it is coming, and I am interested to see how wild this thing gets because I think, especially in the later rounds, it is going to be real wild. We will find out starting tomorrow. Oh, and one last thing, I hope the Bengals do the right thing and take Burrow number one because I don't want to hear RD yell at me about it for years, and this is the most perfect situation that franchise could ever fall in to. They better not screw it up for a ton of people's sake. 

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "The Last Dance" Parts 1 and 2

"The Last Dance" made its much anticipated premiere, two months early, last night and it was everything I hoped for, and so much, much more. Sports fans are craving something, anything, that we can rally around and talk about and be excited about and be in the forefront of the media, and that finally happened for the first time since early March, in a good way.

"The Last Dance" is going to be focusing on the 97-98 Bulls team primarily, but this ten part docu series is clearly going to be touching on so much more. The first two episodes had so much stuff in couple hours that I hadn't heard or seen ever before. I am a rabid NBA fan, especially this particular era they are focusing on, and there was so much new information that I didn't even know I wanted.

The first episode primarily talked about the early Jordan years. We see him becoming the dominant force he was to be when he was at UNC. We heard from guys like James Worthy, Roy Williams and Billy Packer about how there was something special about this kid. They talked about his natural ability but also his almost maniacal work ethic, how he wanted to be better than everyone else, how he practiced longer and harder than anyone. They focused on his want and will to be the best. He told Roy Williams that he wanted to be the best guy at UNC, and Williams told him he had to work. Well, he worked his tail off, and we all know about his dominant career in college. He won a title, a player of the year award and was easily a lottery pick. They then shifted to his rookie year, and that was eye opening for me. He went to a, and I never knew this, what was a moribund Bulls team. They were being outsold by indoor soccer teams and plays in their own arena. Then Jordan comes, blows up, and all of the sudden they are selling out every game. The players on the current team realized pretty soon how good he was. They knew very early on that he was the best player on the team by a very wide margin. Some of the stuff they talked about that I never knew included how much drugs the Bulls players did when he was a rookie. Jordan didn't do this, instead, he lived on his own and just set a laser focus on the game. That was what separated him early on from everyone else.

Outside the Jordan aura, I learned how much the players, especially Jordan, really loathed Jerry Krause. They despised that man, openly picking on him in public. I also learned that Jerry Reinsdorf is a very quiet man, who tries to stay out of a lot. I found out that Rod Thorn truly wanted Hakeem in the draft. I also heard how other players and coaches never, ever thought that Jordan, a 6'6 guard, could lead a team to a title. And they started to show his real attitude near the end of the first episode, when the 97 Bulls traveled to Paris for an exhibition, and Jordan looked like he just wanted to leave, and that all the hubbub there was beneath him. He also showed that he didn't, I don't know if respect is the right word, that he didn't care about guys on the team that weren't Dennis Rodman, or mainly Scottie Pippen.

That is where the second episode takes us. We get to hear all about Pippen. He was a player that, as a kid, I didn't think was actually as good or important as he truly was. Now that I am an adult, and have studied the game a ton, I know I was wrong, and how great and important Pippen was. The whole thing was about how Pippen is the greatest number 2 ever in the NBA. I won't call him Robin because I feel like that is disrespectful to Pippen. I also learned that Pippen was a small college kid, who was so painfully shy, that he signed a ridiculously awful contract way too early in his career. He signed a seven year deal worth 18 million dollars. I mean, can you believe that. Can you fathom a world where Pippen is the sixth highest paid player on the team where he is clearly the second best option. That is nuts. He should have made triple that for what he gave to that team, and what he gave to Jordan. This episode also really dug into the aggressiveness and fight that Jordan had. He would yell and scream at his teammates in practice. He would tell them exactly what he thought of them. He didn't care about feelings, he simply wanted to win. And if he had to hurt your feelings to do that, he would do that. He was ruthless, he was a winner and he expected the best effort out his teammates no matter what. We also got a little look into his childhood in this episode, with some interviews with his brothers, and again, this was totally eye opening. It shined a new light on MJ's competitive edge. It showed how this started so young, and drives him still today.

These first two episodes were like a fix for me. I felt that urge for sports on my TV was given to me. It was amazing. I watched it in real time, which I never do. I am so very, very, very excited for the next eight parts. Sunday cannot come fast enough so I can watch the next two episodes. I love this, I love that ESPN pushed it up so we can watch something we all crave and I love that I get to watch a truly all access look into the life of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball. Watch this docu series. I implore you. 

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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College or the G League? More Players Should Follow Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd

I told you all I had some basketball stories this week, and I am coming at you with another one today.

Today is a one of, and I don't like to use important words like this for something that doesn't seem that important, triumph. It's a triumph for high school players. It's a triumph for the NBA and G League. It's a triumph to show how unimportant and ridiculous the NCAA truly is. It is a triumph to show how absurd to the "one and done" culture has become in men's college basketball. I am flat out impressed and hope that stuff like what happened the other day continues to happen. And for those that will call me out for being a hater, one of these kids was supposed to go to Michigan. These type decisions are what I have been advocating for, and I hope this will happen more and more until the NCAA decides that Pay for Play needs to be implemented sooner rather than later. Two days ago the number 3 college basketball recruit in the country, Jalen Green, decided he was bypassing his one season of college basketball to go play in the G League. He was given a 500,000 dollar contract and he is available to any team that wants to draft or sign him ASAP.

I cannot overstate how much I love this, and how great of an idea I think this is. Only a few hours after his choice, the Michigan decommit, Isaiah Todd decided to do the same. No money or contract numbers were announced, but we all know he will get paid to play, will play with pros, or guys that have the skill to be pros and he will be eligible to get drafted the very next season. Both guys will be eligible for next year's draft in fact. Again, I cannot emphasize enough how great of a move this is, and how much I respect these kids and the people around them to push them to make this choice.

Of course there are people out there bad mouthing this decision. They think it could be a death knell to smaller schools, and quite possibly, the NCAA as a whole. They think these kids will be exposed. They don't want them to get hurt playing against grown men who don't care what their mix tape looks like. They think a pro locker room could mess them up. To all of that nonsense, and whatever in the hell else other people are saying, who cares. If these kids are good enough, and pro teams want them, let them play with pro players. Let these teams sign them. Let them go overseas. It happens in hockey and baseball all the time. It happened in the NBA for a minute, before they implemented the dumb ass rule of one year removed from high school. As for the other complaints, small schools will still get other kids. Not every player is a 5 star player that has the talent to do what these kids are doing. And the NCAA will still be around and still be corrupt. I know that the NBA is trying to get rid of the "one and done" rule, and that is a good thing. Until then though, if pro teams want to sign these kids right out of high school, and they want to go, let them.

As I said, there are plenty of other players that will still use college as a stepping stone. The AFL, AAF and XFL were all going to kill NCAA football they said, and NCAA football is as popular as ever. Minor League baseball has never taken away from the great drama that surrounds the College World Series. And March Madness, man did I miss that this year, will still be compelling even without every single 5 star player playing for Duke or Kentucky. I also think this is a good test for these kids to get prepped for the NBA. They are going to be there the following season anyway, so why waste a year playing against inferior competition. The worst thing for Zion was his one year at Duke. AD won a title at Kentucky, but he really didn't have to play college ball. Joel Embiid's injury stuff started when he was at KU. I could go on and on and on. But, the major thing, we never bad mouth foreign prospects for playing professionally as young as 15. We heap praise on guys like Ricky Rubio and Luka Doncic, but bad mouth these kids when they want to try against higher level competition than division 1 college players. I don't get the hypocrisy. These kids are good enough to play in the G League, a bundle of teams want them, so let them go and play. If they get exposed, at least they get to make a little money before being out of the game. That doesn't happen in college, at least on the surface. This ties right into playing grown men trying to get a job by any means necessary. As a kid I was always told to play against people that were bigger and better than me. That it would make me a better player. And it did. So, I think it is an excellent idea for these kids to go play professionally wherever they are wanted. They won't waste a year, and they will learn, just a little bit, what it is like to be a real pro.

Speaking of the whole locker room stuff, that is a non starter for me. If you go and do your job, I don't see why anyone would really care, unless they have some deeper issues. You win, play hard and do what you're told, and stay out of the way to the best of your ability is to their advantage. I think all the hubbub is dumb, unnecessary and pointless. If a kid is good enough, a team wants him enough and they can make money, more power to that player. Go do what you need to do and get some money while you can.

My hat is off to Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd. I hope they succeed and I hope more players, players that are as good as they are, do the same.

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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Bill Laimbeer is a Stupid Head. Jordan is the GOAT.

The other day Bill Laimbeer, who I have never liked, appeared on an ESPN early morning talk show and was spouting off his usual nonsense. He came right out and said, without hesitation, that LeBron James is easily the GOAT of the NBA.

Now, what he said is not untrue, well, the GOAT thing is wrong, but why he thinks LeBron is the GOAT makes a little bit of sense. He said he runs like the wind, is 6'8 and 280 pounds and is unstoppable. That is all true, but everyone knows that about him. In fact, statements like that are why I like to compare LeBron to a player like Magic. They are unicorns. They are different. They are great. They are Hall of Fame players. They are champions. But, Michael Jordan is the GOAT. There is no question.

I have had this conversation with tons of people. RD and I argued this very thing on the podcast awhile ago. I have been lucky enough to watch both guys play in their primes, and I have no doubt in my mind that Jordan is a better basketball player than LeBron. Personally I think LeBron is the third greatest player of all time, behind Jordan and Kareem Abdul Jabaar. LeBron is the prototype player for the new generation. He can play any position. He makes worse players better. He went to a million Finals in a row. He came in with humongous expectations, and has more than lived up to them. LeBron is an all time great. But he is not the greatest. He has lost many more Finals than he has won. I believe he has a 3-6 record in the Finals. Again, it is amazing that he has made nine Finals, but he only has three rings. He is like the modern day Jerry West. Great player, but flubbed when it came to the Finals. He would also have only two titles if Draymond Green wasn't a selfish asshole. He also is a fake, wannabe bad guy. When he blocked Steph in the Finals a few years back and flexed and mean mugged him, that was one of the fakest acts of toughness I have ever witnessed. LeBron can be a great defender, but only when he wants to be. Look at last season for example. At one point in a game Kyle Kuzma had to physically push LeBron to guard his man who was wide open at the top of the key. That guy went on to make an easy bucket.

LeBron is also too nice of a guy to be the true GOAT. He doesn't have that psychotic mentality that true GOATS possess. LeBron wants to be friends with everyone. He also has had to team up with stars, make super teams if you will, to become a champ. He couldn't do it in Cleveland his first go round. That team was awful, but they got easily dispatched by a far superior Spurs team. He had to team up with Dwanye Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He then had Cleveland force a trade to acquire Kevin Love. And this past off season, he and Rich Paul made it a point to get Anthony Davis to LA. LeBron is never the guy, Jordan was always the guy.

LeBron is an amazing player, he is the GOAT of the 21st century, but he is not the best player ever Bill Laimbeer. That title goes to MJ in a walk. I know that Laimbeer has some ill will towards MJ. He was part of the "Bad Boy" Pistons, and they all hated the Bulls and Jordan. They also used to beat them routinely. The Pistons were the team that Jordan had to figure out before they went on their dyanstic runs. The Pistons were the first team to get away with roughing MJ up. And it worked for two seasons. Then it didn't. MJ found a way to assert his dominance, and the Bulls took over. They beat the Pistons, and the Pistons were so sore about it, they walked off the court without even shaking hands with the Bulls and Jordan. I know Isiah Thomas was blamed for this, and he and Jordan have their own history, but I am sure Bill Laimbeer was a big advocate. He was the biggest punk of a team that was filled with some wild dudes. Laimbeer was a fine player, but on that team, he was like the 7th or 8th most important person. Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, Chuck Daly, they were all much more influential and held much more weight than Laimbeer. Laimbeer was a role guy on a very good team. Jordan was the face of the league for decade. Once they figured out the Pistons, it was a wrap for anyone else. And Jordan took that mantle and never let it go. He didn't have to team up with guys in their prime back then. Sure, Scottie Pippen was his teammate, but the Bulls drafted him. Jordan never asked to play with Barkley or Bird or Magic or Olajuwon. He wanted to beat those guys, and he did. He also made guys like Steve Kerr, BJ Armstrong, Luc Longley, Ron Harper and Bill Wennington household names. He also loathed and wanted to beat everyone. He is the prototype psychopath that has one thing on his mind, and it is beating the man in front of him. Be it practice, a game or a title, Jordan would find a way to beat you. And after he beat you, he would humiliate you. When Karl Malone beat him for MVP one year, Jordan went out and lit his ass up in the Finals. When people thought Clyde Drexler may have been better, Jordan destroyed him and the Blazers in the playoffs. He left no question about who was the best.

This is one of the first times I have ever seen a player from the older generation not take Jordan's side. But, coming from someone like Bill Laimbeer, I shouldn't be surprised. He is bitter and angry and just wants to say some dumb shit so people like myself will keep his name out there. This is a dumb take. I almost feel like he is applying to work at The Ringer with stupid ass hot takes like this. Oh well. Jordan is the GOAT, and there is no denying it. 

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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A Few Thoughts on Rudy Gobert's NBA Future

Even though there is currently no basketball, and if I'm being honest, I do not think it is coming back this year, I do have a few stories about basketball for you all the next couple of days. The one I want to focus on today is the rumors, which I fully believe, that are flying around right now about the fractured relationship between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

So, all of the basketball world, and most of the rest of the world for that matter, can pinpoint the Gobert incident as the starting point of shutting down sports across America. Gobert was infected, he acted nonchalant, he infected his teammate and the NBA was suspended immediately. They actually suspended it right after he was confirmed to have COVID-19 that night. For the rest of time, Gobert's name will be infamous with who was the catalyst for major pro sports leagues to shut everything down. That is a fact. And the way he treated the situation at first was wrong on every single level. To be on the court for warm ups was wrong, to touch all the microphones during his interview was wrong, to toy and mess around with teammates was wrong. The fact that he went out and thought it was okay to conduct himself in the manner he did was foolish, arrogant and, quite frankly, life threatening. With all that being said, he has tried to make up for his mistakes. He has donated a good amount of money to research. He has, I believe, let his blood get tested. He has adhered to all the guidelines since his infection. He has gone on in interviews and apologized for his actions and has said he is trying to reignite his relationship with his teammates, specifically Mitchell. But, if I were Mitchell, I would be very wary of him. I fully understand why he is pissed off, why he doesn't, or is hesitant, to try and repair their relationship. It all makes sense from Mitchell's stand point. Also, he is much more important to the Jazz franchise than Gobert is, full stop.

Which leads me to my point today. With all these rumors swirling, talk of trading Gobert, or Mitchell for that matter, but more so Gobert, have heated up big time. I get it, and it makes sense. The only real problem is the contract stuff. Gobert makes a ton of money, and he isn't a free agent until 2022. So the team that takes him on, if he gets traded, has to pay him a lot, and may not get him back.

With that being said, I have been racking my brain thinking of a team where Gobert would fit. Before I fully get into it, I am not going to match the money or contract or anything like that. I am just going to go off what I think fits, and where I think it would be best for him to repair his reputation. Therein lies another problem with this. Gobert may not be wanted by a good amount of teams. His actions were rough, and players and coaches and GM's everywhere saw that. That will forever be on their minds. So taking all of that in account I thought of two teams that would fit, that can compete and where he would make sense and the Jazz could get a solid return.

The first team is Boston. In Boston they don't care if you murdered multiple people, they will still wear your jersey and say you are innocent if you bring them titles. He could go there, play his suffocating rim protecting defense and help the Celtics become instant title contenders. The only thing they are really missing is a true rim protector. They don't have a guy that can do that at as high a level right now, and they wouldn't have to give up much of their super young, super talented wing guys. Mitchell is already a great wing player, so Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they could stay in Boston. In actuality I feel like the Celtics wouldn't have to give up much. They would have to part with picks for sure, and of they had to send a few players over there, they could send a guy like Semi Ojeleye or Robert Williams, or a return of Gordon Hayward to Utah. That is who actually makes the most sense to me. Boston could give Utah Hayward because the contracts are similar in money and time, and they would have to send picks, which I think they would do quick to get a guy like Gobert. And if he instantly turns them into a contender, the fans and players and coaches in Boston would easily forget about what he did.

As for the other team, the one I think makes almost too much sense, is the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio is quiet, they have their own culture and they protect their players. People didn't blame San Antonio when Kawhi wanted out, they blamed Kawhi's uncle. They have helped a guy like Rudy Gay restore his career. It's not like he had a rough career, he was always looked at as a guy teams were better without. That is not the case now. Nobody ever talks about Tony Parker cheating on his wife while in the league. I fully believe that San Antonio protected him, kept him out of the news and media buildings and made sure he never brought it up. San Antonio is like the New England Patriots of the NBA. If you can't restore yourself there, that means you are done. I feel like Gobert could land there and be totally out of the news, which would be the absolute best thing for him. They would have to trade some young assets, maybe a guy like Bynn Forbes or Dejounte Murray or Lonnie Walker. But I feel like the Spurs would be okay with letting one or 2 of those guys go to clear up playing time for whoever they keep. If they give up Forbes and Walker, that leaves Murray to run point. If they have to give up Murray. Forbes can return to a bench role and Walker can finally get his shine. They would make it work. And before I hear the backlash of having too many big contract guys, LMA, DeMar DeRozan and Gobert, they wouldn't be on the books for too long. LMA has a few years left, but DeRozan is a free agent this off season and Gobert would be off the books the next year. It also works for me because Greg Poppovich is not going to coach much longer. He only has a few seasons left, and getting a front court duo of Gobert and LMA could work. They are both big. LMA can score and rebound with some of the better bigs in the league. Gobert is the rim protector and rim runner that could work with Murray or Walker, whichever one they keep. The team is also filled with vets that could help take the heat off Gobert. It would also put this team back in the playoff picture. They could slow down some other teams that have bigger guys that crush them now.

Time will tell with this, but if I were the Jazz, and I wanted to rid myself of this whole thing, these are the 2 teams I would call first to test the waters. We will see. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

Ty Watches "The Scheme"

A week or so back HBO had a sports documentary on called "The Scheme". I wanted to watch it, forgotten about it and then remembered that we have On Demand, and that HBO replays stuff all the time. I found it, recorded it and finished it yesterday, and I loved it. Let’s discuss

"The Scheme" follows the embarrassing FBI investigation into Christian Dawkins relationship with high school basketball stars and whether or not he gave coaches money as well as players. I fully believe, and this doc furthers that belief, that Dawkins did not deal with coaches. He was friendly with them, and he talked to assistants, but he did not do anything that most people do, or do not do, when they deal with major head coaches dealing with big time shoe deals. It started with Sonny Vaccaro, and it is still going real, real strong today. In fact, my team Michigan, lost out on two big time recruits last night and today, and after watching "The Scheme", I am curious as to why one kid decided to go play pro overseas, although that actually makes sense because the kid can get paid to play right now, and the other kid chose Arizona State, which I believe is an Adidas school, over Michigan, which is Jordan Brand. I wonder if any of that went into their decisions.

Anyway, I found "The Scheme" to be very well made, but extremely eye opening. I have been on both sides of paying college athletes. When I was younger, thought that a scholarship was more than enough. Then I grew up and realized that was asinine, and that some kids bring in millions to the schools they go to. If a coach can make money hand over fist, and they can pay their assistants a million plus a year, why can't the kids, who bring in the majority of the money, get anything? Why are they treated like indentured servants? Why can't they make choices to further themselves and their families? Why can't they get something more?

As for the show, "The Scheme" introduces us to Christian Dawkins, who's name I didn't know until two years ago, and he seems to have the same questions. He was a player that was okay, good enough to play varsity at a very good high school as a sophomore, but he didn't have the tools to go all the way. He decided then that he was going to be in the business of rated and ranking and getting high school kids into good college basketball programs. He started a blog at first that blew up. He then started to meet people. He got a shoe deal for an AAU team when he was 17 years old. He made moves because of his relationship with other high school players. He knew his crowd, he knew how to market them and he ran with it. He went so far as to join an agency as a "runner". They called him an "agent", but what he did was get high profile players for the agency he worked for to sign with them. He then would find the next kid. He got guys like Malachi Richardson and Elfird Payton, former high first round picks. He then made a mistake, what they called "Uber Gate", and spent way too much of those guys money, he says by mistake, on Uber rides. He was fired from the agency, and that was when he decided to start his own business. This was also when the FBI got involved. There was so much stuff that went into this investigation, this pointless investigation, that it needs to be made into a live action movie. The FBI had two agents pose as money people to try and get Dawkins to get coaches involved. They had another agent type guy, Marty Blazer, working for them as well. They had phones tapped. They had fraud. They used the FBI's money to try and further their case. They tried to film Dawkins doing illicit things with coaches. They tried it all really. And Dawkins is no saint, more on that in a minute. But, the FBI flubbed this thing big time. They kept trying and pushing for Dawkins to get big name coaches involved. Coaches like Sean Miller, Will Wade and Rick Pitino. They wanted to take them all down. But, Dawkins kept insisting that he doesn't deal with head coaches. He dealt with assistants, and more importantly, players. He would tell the FBI informant, or try to explain during phone calls, how absurd it would be to get head coaches involved. He kept telling him it was easier, and quieter to deal with players and assistants. The FBI paid no mind to that, and they tried to take Dawkins down a bit too early. They tried to catch him in the act in Vegas, and while they may have been able to bring up some charges, they didn't do the damage they hoped. I, like a lot of people, thought that this was going to be the death of some major schools, but it really wasn't. Sean Miller is still at Arizona. Kansas was the favorite to win the title. Will Wade still has a job. Creighton was a top 25 team this year. The only person who got hit by this, besides Dawkins, was Rick Pitino, and he is already back in the college game, after one year coaching overseas.

"The Scheme" only made me further despise the NCAA and all their cronies. The fact that they wasted tax payer's money and time is crazy. The fact that they acted all high and mighty, and basically did nothing to the people who should have gotten in trouble, Will Wade and Sean Miller mostly, is ridiculous. The fact that Dawkins had to spend tons of time in court, and a year and a day in jail, is utterly insane. Yes, what he did was immoral and wrong and is against NCAA rules, he did nothing that hundreds and hundreds of people before him have done. Every major school has a guy like Dawkins working for them. I'm 100 percent positive coaches like Coach K and John Calipari and Miller and Wade and Bill Self all have guys like Dawkins, or ties to Dawkins. That is the cost of winning and recruiting at the level they continue to recruit.

I really enjoyed this doc, I highly recommend sports fans watch it and I one hundred percent believe that Dawkins is not the bad guy, and he didn't do anything that a bunch of other people are doing or did. Dawkins said it best when they neared the end when he was asked what he has to say to the NCAA, and he said, "F&*k the NCAA". I couldn't have said it better myself. 

Ty

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

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I'm All in for a Professional Game of HORSE

We are now over a month without sports, and I know a good amount of people are trying to figure something out right now. I read that baseball is looking into playing, at least the first part of the season, all their games in Arizona, or at minor league parks. The NFL and college football is hoping they can start practices in July or August, which is a big time hope. And the NBA seems to be doing anything and everything they can to try and at least have some kind of playoff or tournament.

Personally, I think all these leagues should be extra, extra cautious, and only play when it’s 100 percent safe. But, and I want to give Adam Silver and the people that work for him a ton of credit, they’re doing everything they can to keep people interested, reading and trying to watch something. They did that thing a week ago where they had NBA players play each other in NBA2K, and it was fun. Hell, I would’ve watched anything at that point, but it definitely scratched an itch. I saw these guys “competing”. I saw them trash talking. I saw them trying their best to win. I saw the competitive nature that I have been really craving and really missing. And now the NBA has this wonderful idea, that is going to happen, where they’re going to have current players, WNBA players and former players play each other in a tournament version of the game HORSE.

For those that may not know, HORSE is a game where one person makes a shot, and the person after them has to make the shot, or they get a letter. The first person to get HORSE loses the game. The winner is the person with less letters. This is a game that I’ve played ever since I picked up a ball. I’ve done it with friends, during practice, at basketball camps, anywhere there’s a hoop, and we want to get some trick shots up, we played HORSE. So, the fact that former and current professional basketball players are going to do this tournament style, and they’re going to air it, you better believe I’m going to watch it, and I’m going to LOVE it. I’m not sure about all the participants, but I know guys like Trae Young, Chris Paul and Zach Lavine are going to do it. Imagine how insane some of these shots are going to be! It’s going to be crazy. These guys have dedicated their lives to basketball, and practice their craft endlessly. I’ve seen a ton of videos, and live at games, NBA players, not well known players, who make ridiculously hard shots. Shots that would take me hundreds of tries to even get close to making. CP3 is going to do some wild mid range stuff. Trae Young may pull up from 3/4 court regularly. Zach Lavine has turned into a solid shooter, but he’s such a phenomenal leaper, I’d love to see him do some wild 360 layups, or jump from the free throw line and do a reverse layup or something. All the other participants are pros as well, so you know they’re going to bring it. I also think, with the lack of games and competition, that the players involved are going to take it very seriously, and I love it. It was great to watch the All Star game ending because it mattered. I feel like this game of HORSE is going to bring out a similar intensity. I’m not sure how it will be done, if the people involved are quarantined together, or if they’re going to do it from their home gyms or something. But, I have to assume the powers that be have that all figured out, and this is going to kick so much ass.

I never thought in a million years I’d be excited to watch a game of HORSE, but that’s the world we live in for the moment. This is so awesome. Thank you NBA for this. This makes me love this league more than I thought possible. I’m so stoked.

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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Three Legendary Players Heading to the Basketball Hall of Fame

This year's NBA Hall of Fame class is superb. There are many big time names, both in the men's and women's game, and some all time great coaches and player personnel people. But I want to focus on three guys going in that made a humongous impact on the game, and on me, as I was really getting into the game.

This year we will see Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett inducted. That is some otherworldly basketball talent going in. All three are champions. All three have won MVP awards. All three were always in the all star game. All three were leaders of their teams. All three were lottery picks. Two of them even stayed on the same team their entire career, which is unheard of nowadays. And I bet KG would have stayed in Minnesota, if they were a better run franchise. These three also left an indelible mark on me as a fan. I love KG. He is one of my all time favorite players. Tim Duncan was a quiet super star, who was all about team and fundamentals. And Kobe, he was the guy I loved to hate. The one I rooted against. They all had pivotal roles to me, as I was growing up as a player and a fan.

What else is there that can be said about Kobe Bryant. We lost him much too soon. His death is a true tragedy. He seemed like he was finally happy. And then in a flash, and I still sometimes cannot believe it, he was gone. But as a player, man did I dislike him. There is no denying his skill, his will to win, his killer mentality, his ability to make scrubs important, but I rooted like hell against him. And you need that villain as a fan. And Kobe was more than up to the that task. He embraced his villainy on the court. It drove him. It made him the great, Hall of Fame player he was. He was a scoring machine. He would put up tons and tons of shots, and he would score tons and tons of points. Sure, he excelled when he played with guys like Shaq and Paul Gasol, but he also had teammates like Tyronn Lue, Smush Parker and Kwame Brown, and he pushed those guys with him to conference finals. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest offensive players to ever play in the NBA. He is imitated and loved by so many modern super star, and non super star, players. He is some younger kids version of Jordan, or Magic or Bird or Russell. He is that dude. He is so polarizing as a player, but one thing you cannot fight, he is a well deserved first ballot Hall of Fame player. He would've been inducted no matter what happened. It is just so tragic that he lost his life before he could see this come to fruition.

As with Duncan, I cannot think of a player that was so, so, so great, yet so unmentioned and barely talked about when greatest players conversations start. Duncan was a modern day Bill Russell. The only thing he didn't do that Russell did was block shots, but he made up for that by being a 20 plus point per game guy his whole career. Duncan also did what was best for the team. When they needed him to score, he scored at will. When they needed him to rebound, he would go grab 20. When they needed him to shut down the other team's big man, he was more than up to the task. I cannot think of a better player-coach duo than Duncan and Greg Poppovich. Those two were meant for each other, and it worked out to perfection. I personally think that Duncan is the best big man of all time. The way he could manipulate with moves reminded me of Olajuwon. The way he could back guys down, it was like if Shaq had a finesse game. The way he hit the mod range jumper, always using the backboard, a shot I have tried to perfect for years, it was like watching a taller Jerry West or Larry Bird. Duncan kind of did it all, and did it at an extremely high level. He was the reason why David Robinson won a title. He helped nurture guys like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Kwahi Leonard. He was the leader of these players, all of which I expect to be in the Hall of Fame. I feel like he gets unfairly compared to a player like Karl Malone because of position. Tim Duncan was so much better as a player, and there is no question that he was a much better clutch player. Duncan walked away with five rings, multiple MVP's, both regular season and playoffs, and I personally think he is the greatest power forward to ever play in the NBA. He was a wonder to watch. He played basketball the right way, and the kids I train now, the big men, I implore them to watch Tim Duncan highlights because he was so fundamentally sound and so incredible.

And then we have my dude, Kevin Garnett. There are only two NBA players I like more than KG, and they are Shawn Kemp, I had never seen an athlete like him before, and Charles Barkley, an under sized big that rebounded and dunked and could shoot. But KG holds a very special place in my heart. He was the first high school to pro player that I wanted to achieve. He was this scrawny kid coming out of South Carolina I believe, and I rooted hard for him. Maybe it was because he had said he was considering Michigan as a college, or maybe it was his story coming out of high school, but I wanted him to succeed. I think taking that year to go to Chicago to play at the legendary Farragaut Academy was one of the best things he had ever done, to prepare for the pros. Then when he came in the league, like I said, he was scrawny, but he had this energy that was so intoxicating as a fan, and I bet his teammates loved it. I bet they fed on it. He needed to hone his game, and during his time in Minnesota, he became this chiseled go getter who never stopped hustling. He out rebounded, out ran, out hustled, out trash talked and just flat out beat dudes that were supposed to be guarding him, or trying to at least. Then when he developed that jumper, it was over for opponents. He was a nearly perfect player. He took the Timberwolves further than they have ever been in the playoffs. When he realized that they wouldn't do much to help him, he knew it was time to get out, and he headed to Boston to play with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, forming the first "super team", and they won the Finals that year, KG's only ring. And he was the unquestioned leader. I'm sure Boston fans will say Pierce was, but that team went as KG went. It was also pretty neat to see the Celtics beat the Lakers in that Finals. KG also did the impossible for me as a fan, making me root for a team from Boston. I didn't like the Celtics, but I LOVED KG. So I rooted for them in that particular NBA Finals. He went on to play for Brooklyn for a few seasons, then helped out big men in Minnesota for awhile, and now has his own TV show, which is awesome. But it was his time in Minnesota and his title in Boston that really solidified his Hall of Fame resume. KG is one of the most intense, fierce competitors that the NBA has ever seen. He could have played in any era and he would have been equally successful.

Kobe, Duncan, and KG, these are three of the greatest players to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This is what real Hall of Fame talent looks like. This may be the best class, and these three in particular, three of the best players ever inducted. This is an insane amount of talent, and it is very, very well deserved. Kudos to these three on a much deserved nod to the Hall of Fame.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Should Michigan's Isaiah Livers Go to the NBA

Even though we have no sports going on right now, there are still a ton of prospects declaring for the upcoming NBA draft.

Quick little side note, I have never been as excited as I am to watch current NBA players play each other in NBA 2K this Friday. I know it's just them playing a video game, but it is going to feel so cool to see these guys, some of them super stars, playing a basketball video game. I'm pumped. Anyway back to my original point.

This is always the time of year when players declare for the NBA draft. In fact, the only guys who don't at this time are the ones still in the tournament. Since there is no tournament this year though, which still feels so god damn weird, it seems more and more guys are declaring. One such player, who declared yesterday, took me by surprise though.

Isaiah Livers, from Michigan, declared yesterday. He did leave the door open to return, which I like. But still, he has potentially entered his name in the upcoming draft. I am surprised for a good amount of reasons, but none more so than how important he is to the team currently. I watched them all the time this past year, and Livers was, by far, the best player on the team. He was also the most important, and I felt like he was going to be the perfect upperclassmen leader for the incoming group of pretty solid to very good freshman that Juwan Howard has recruited. You could tell just how important he was when they rushed out to a quick 7-0 start, beating Gonzaga along the way, and pushed themselves all the way to number 4 in the country. Livers then got hurt a little bit after that, and they struggled. They missed his shooting, defense, free throw shooting and leadership. Having him out there, with Zavier Simpson, was comforting. When Livers missed time, it was frightening as a fan. He came back after they struggled, and he healed, and Michigan then went on a solid winning streak, which secured them a spot if there was a tournament this season.

Livers is a solid team player that I was counting on, for whenever basketball comes back, for the next generation of players coming to Michigan. I looked to him as the guy that was going to be the captain, the coach on the floor, the leader. And, he still has that chance. He hasn't signed with an agent, he said he is leaving the door open to return. He has talked about how he could easily be convinced to return. He is truly "testing the waters".

Now, and I am not going to dump on this kid because he is a great player, and I wish nothing but the best for him, but I do think, if he stays in the draft, he is going to have a similar outcome that some former Wolverines have had when they left, what I consider, a little too early. Nik Stauskas and Trey Burke were lottery picks, and leaders on a team that went to the title game. Trey Burke was National Player of the Year. Stauskas was a killer from three. They both left after two years, and Burke is already a journeyman bench guy, and Stauskas is out of the league. Mitch McGary was on that team as well, and he was out of the league before his third season. Those guys weren't fully ready, with Burke maybe being the only exception. But he is just so small. Even take a guy like Glenn Robinson III. He seemed to be most NBA ready, and he is best known as a bench guy, and won a pretty awful dunk contest two years ago. Even last season, when Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole left, I didn't hate on them for it, but I also didn't think they were ready. And I think I was proven right, at least so far this year. Both have been, mostly, in the G League all year while it was still going on. They just didn't seem ready.

In fact, the only recent guys that have had a career that has lasted are two guys that stayed until, at least, their junior season. Both Tim Hardaway Jr and Caris Levert are solid NBA players that have been in the starting lineup for the majority of their careers. But, they had all that time in college. I would hope, if Livers stays in the draft, he has a career like they do, but I think he has stuff to work on still. He is an okay three point shooter, but not consistent enough. He is a good defender, but he does get beat up by bigger guys. He can slash to the rim very well, but that seems to be how he has gotten himself injured this past year. I'd like him to stay, work on his jumper a bit more, get a little thicker and show that he can lead a team filled with top prospects. He wouldn't be the household name, if all the kids that verbally committed stay with it, but he would be the most important guy. He would be the glue to a team that could be a potential top 10 team.

Who knows what is going to happen with this particular draft. There may not even be one, and this could be a moot point. But, if there is one, and Livers stays in it, I will miss him greatly. I didn't know how much I actually liked him as a player until he declared for the draft. And not only do I like him, I truly appreciate all the things he does for my favorite team. I now get why he is so important, and why this team needs him so much. I hope he comes back, but if he doesn't, I wish him the best of luck.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

Cam Newton and Washington Makes Tons of Sense

Hope everyone is being safe and social distancing and staying home when you can. Still, go outside and get exercise and do things with your family, just make sure you are social distancing. For real.

Anyway, today I want to talk about Cam Newton. He is clearly done in Carolina. The Panthers hired a new coach, and last week they went ahead and grabbed the biggest fish on the QB market and signed Teddy Bridgewater. So the next question was, where will Newton end up?

I thought of this as well after the Panthers signed Bridgewater. I tried to think of what teams could use him. He is still young, still has a good arm, can still move and is only three years removed from a Super Bowl appearance and MVP season. I'd like to think that a good amount of teams in the NFL would want him. The first team I came up with was Chicago. Well, they went ahead and traded for Nick Foles, and they will now have one of the most boring "QB competitions" in NFL history. Miami, I guess, only wants to have a great defense, and is willing to roll with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh, for some reason, is sticking with their 100 year old, oft injured QB. I have no idea what the Rams are doing, but they couldn't afford Newton anyway. And Jacksonville, well, I guess they are content to be 4-12 under Gardner Minshew every season because he has some weird "cult" following in the area.

Then I saw some stories surfacing saying that Washington was interested in him. At first I scoffed. I mean, Washington has made mistake after mistake after mistake every since Dan Snyder bought the team. But something seems to be happening this offseason for them. They fired Jay Gruden, finally. He has been a mess since he was hired. He has fought with most of the star players openly. He seemed to call out any solid QB they had while he was coaching. He was never really the guy for the job. Then they replaced him with Ron Riviera. I found it puzzling, but then some stories came out that those in charge where going to let him pick his players, and run the team his way. This is a good move because their front office is not good. I think they should let the people who are in positions in the front office keep their jobs, but let the smart people, like Riviera, make the player decisions. They then cut Josh Norman who was a bust of a signing. They are finally willing to move Trent Williams, but not unless they get a big return. And they seem to be keeping important defensive pieces that Riviera can work with. Then the Newton stuff came out, and the more I thought about it, the more this makes sense. Washington has some good, young wide outs. They have an okay enough O line. I wish they had younger running backs, but maybe this is the season Derius Guice stays healthy finally. And they have a solid enough defense, like I said before. Newton also has plenty of experience playing for Riviera. I believe it is the only NFL coach he has ever played for. He has also had some great success under Riviera, which I also mentioned above.

When you sit and think, this has the potential to be a very good move. It would help, a little bit, some of the fans to forget about all the bad stuff. In that division, having a healthy Cam Newton could push them to playoff contention. The only person I feel bad for, if this is to happen, would be Dwayne Haskins. Look, I am a Wolverines fan as you all know, but I thought Haskins had the potential to be a solid NFL QB. He was very good in college, and I don't think he got much of a fair shake last year. First off, that dumbass Gruden went on record and said he didn't want to draft him, even though he was one of the better QB prospects in the draft. Gruden then proceeded to start guys like Case Keenum and Colt McCoy before injury and poor play forced his hand. Haskins didn't perform great, but he was never really given a fair shot. He was stashed on the bench by the coaching staff, didn't get much help from his skill guys, and now, well, it looks like they might take a chance on Newton, and it is the right move. Haskins may get a shot somewhere else, hopefully he does. But, when you have a chance to get a fully healthy Cam Newton, especially with his only NFL coach, I feel like that is a move you can't pass up, especially for a team like Washington.

Newton would be another good move, and would help out Washington tremendously. Now lets see if they actually do it.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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What is Tom Brady Thinking?

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

Yesterday Tom Brady announced he was moving on from the Patriots. I talked about my feelings on this, and went through some of his options, and where New England goes from here. I also said that once he picked a team I would write about his decision, and my thoughts on that.

Well, about an hour after my piece posted, it was reported that Brady was planning on signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were one of two teams that was mentioned most as a destination for Brady. I said in my piece yesterday that they have some of the best wide outs, young too, that Brady will ever play with. They also have a solid O line and an okay enough run game. But, I still stand by the fact that I think their defense is less than average, that Brady's arm is not equipped to throw the deep ball consistently, and that Tampa is not a Super Bowl contender, even with the addition of Brady.

People all over sports media were losing their minds when this happened yesterday, and I assume rightfully so. Brady is the best QB ever, the receiving corps is ridiculously good and the line will protect him. But, Brady is going to be 43 years old, and did no one watch his play kind of slide at the end of the season last year? Also, I saw someone say that Ronald Jones is a "weapon". While I think he is a solid back, he is not in the upper echelon of running backs. I don't know that he is any better than who the Patriots, or the Chargers, the other teams that had a shot at signing Brady, have at running back. Honestly, I think Sony Michel is better, and he is younger.

I can't help myself, but I keep going back to that defense. Yes, they have the sack leader from last season in Barrett coming back on a franchise tag. They resigned Jason Pierre Paul, and he is a solid D lineman. But who else do they have on that side of the ball? Ndamukong Suh is more of a name than a disruptive player at this point. Vita Vea is still very green. The secondary is filled with guys that haven't proven a thing. The linebackers, outside of Barrett, are very so so. I don't have a ton of faith in the defense doing enough to push this team far in the playoffs. I do think they have a shot at the playoffs with Brady, and that offense, but that defense is going to give up gobs of points, and that means Brady will be forced to throw a ton. And that is fine when you have guys like Chris Godwin, OJ Howard and Mike Evans. They are going to give opposing teams coaches headaches trying to figure out how to cover them with Brady throwing to them now. I mean, Jameis Winston had a career year with these guys, and Tom Brady is much, much, much better than Winston. But, he is also much, much, much older than Winston, and doesn't have the arm.

I am sure people will throw the fact that Bruce Arians is a QB whisperer, and he did wonders with Carson Palmer in Arizona, but two things need to be said about that. One, Palmer, while older, was still I his thirties when he signed with Arizona. And two, and I know I keep going to this, he always had a stronger arm than Brady. Palmer thrived in a deep ball offense. This is no offense to Brady. I don't know how many more times I can call him the greatest to ever play his position before people stop calling me a hater. But, he is old, he has always been much better at underneath routes, he is immobile and he is very set in his ways. The only time he ever had to throw deep was when the Patriots signed Randy Moss, but that was over a decade ago, and Randy Moss is way better than any receiver the Bucs have right now could wish to ever be in their careers. Also, while I think Rob Gronkowski is wildly overrated, OJ Howard hasn't proved yet to be a real threat at his position.

I am still puzzled by all of this. I, honestly, don't get his decision. This is going to be so much harder for him than it has been for the past 20 seasons. He is used to winning a very easy division. He now has to face Matt Ryan, Teddy Bridgewater, and Drew Brees eight times next season. They will try and keep up with the scoring, but I think he will find it much tougher sledding than anything he has faced in his career. The Falcons and Panthers may not be as good, but they will score points. The Saints should've played in the Super Bowl two years ago, they blew it this year, but their offense is better than Tampa's, and their defense is light years ahead of Tampa's. Finally, it is going to be so god damn weird to see him in that jersey. It is going to take awhile for all of us football fans to adjust.

This decision is one of the wilder, and more confusing ones I have ever witnessed in super star sports figures making at the end of their careers. This ranks right up there, for me, with MJ joining the Wizards and Ichiro Suzuki going to play for the Marlins. I will be curious to see if he has a better ending than those guys did, but I doubt it.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

OK, For Real This Time. Where Will Brady Play Next Year?

I was planning on writing about one of my new favorite shows today, "Black Monday", which premiered this past Sunday, but a certain QB decided they would be moving on from their current team, and it blew up the sports world this morning. And no, I am not talking about the Colts signing Phillip Rivers just now, which I think is a decent signing.

I'm of course talking about Tom Brady sending a "farewell" message to Patriots fan via, I think, Instagram. He said he wants to "take a new direction at this point in his career", or some nonsense. I wrote on this site, when Brady said he was going to test free agency this offseason, that I would be stunned, and would eat a ton of crow, if he didn't stay in New England. Well, I hope you all have your serving utensils ready because I was very, very wrong.

This, as far as sporting news goes, is stunning. Brady has been with the same team, the same coach, and for the most part, the same offensive coordinator his whole career. He was a late round pick, a back up thrust into action due to injury and turned into the best QB the NFL has ever seen. Yes, while I am not a Patriots fan, Brady is the best QB ever in the NFL. He is the most clutch, driven and has won more than anyone else. He and Belichick and the Patriots are like Bill Russell and Red Auerbach and the Celtics, or like whoever coached the Yankees in the late 90's and early 2000's and Derek Jeter and the Yankees. They were the dynasty. They were the team that was either loved or hated, no in between. They were the Deathstar, and a good amount of that has to do with Tom Brady.

Well, at 42 years old, with pretty much the same team coming back, he has decided that he wants to play elsewhere, and to be honest, I don't get it. I don't get why he is going to leave his situation, his coaches, his comfort for the past almost two decades. Sure, maybe he wants to play somewhere warmer, or throw to some legit wide outs, but still, this is a puzzling move to me. And to see the stories that have come out today, it seems like both sides were ready for this to happen. Brady did his thing, and the Patriots have said what they needed to say, including that they "never intended on resigning him".

So, where does this leave Brady and the Patriots you may be asking? Well, I will try and answer both. Lets look at the Patriots first. I, honestly, don't think this changes much. I assumed Brady would be back, but the team doesn't look much different to me than the most recent season. They have a legitimately elite defense, but their offense is lacking. They have no real run game, the line is shotty and the receivers are just okay. I believe they can win 10 games, even with someone like Jarret Stidham at QB, but they will be an easy out in the playoffs, if they make it. Brady did not look elite last year, and the Patriots got beat, fairly easily I might add, by the Titans in the first round. I could see that happening again. And even if they do go out and try to find a veteran QB, their isn't much left. Rivers, Teddy Bridgewater, Marcus Mariota, they are all off the board. They could choose from guys like Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, but neither really move the needle, at least in my opinion. The Patriots will be an okay team next year, maybe win 9 or 10 games, but they are done as the dominant dynasty we have seen recently.

As for Brady, like I keep saying, this is a puzzling move. Apparently it is down to two teams, the Buccaneers and Chargers, and I don't see a great fit with either. The Chargers are an okay team, with a solid, and young, defense. But, they are going to lose Melvin Gordon, Hunter Henry is always hurt and Keenan Allen, while super solid, is older and more frail. It might be nice to play in LA, but he will be playing in a half empty stadium, it was empty before Coronavirus was a thing, and the Chargers are an 8 or 9 win team at best. The Patriots and Chargers, assuming Gordon gets traded, are almost mirror images. The Buccaneers are an odd choice, but might be the best of what is left. They have great wide outs, especially Mike Evans, they have a solid enough run game and the O line is competent. They also have a very explosive and athletic tight end. But, they have a so so defense, and their head coach Bruce Arians likes to air the ball out. You may say, well he did great with Carson Palmer, and while I agree, and don't yell at me for saying this, but Palmer has a better arm than Brady. Brady is a better, and smarter QB, but he has never really had the arm to air the ball out, not even at Michigan. I almost feel like him signing with the Bucs would stunt Evans and OJ Howard's growth. I also don't think he could rely on that defense to get enough stops. Yes, they have Shaquille Barrett and Jason Pierre Paul, but who else? Who really moves the needle on that defense for anyone? They gave up tons of points last year, and they will, most likely, do that again this season. And, on a little side note, Brady would look so weird in that jersey. Just, really, really odd. As for any outside teams with a "shot" at Brady, nothing really matches up for me. The Colts would've been good, but they went with Rivers. The Bears, it seems, are looking to add a vet to fight Trubisky for the starting job, and they can't afford Brady anyway. The Dolphins aren't actively trying to win, not just yet. The Titans resigned Ryan Tannehill. And any other team, playoff teams from last year especially, don't need a soon to be 43 year old QB who can't bomb the ball anymore.

This is wild, but I am glad the NFL keeps doing this because it is keeping my mind off the regular world for awhile, and I welcome that any day. Soon Brady will pick his new team, and I write about that when it happens.

Ty

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

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What a Dumb Trade by the Houston Texans

So, there may be no sports on, we all should be social distancing and staying in our homes as much as possible for the next 10-14 days, crowds of 50 people are not allowed for the next 8 weeks, schools are closed, and this thing shows no real sign of slowing down. But, the NFL hit us with some news today.

I do want to say, I am going back to trying to write strictly about sports and other pop culture stuff because this Coronavirus is serious, threatening and scary, and I want my blogs to be a place for people to try and forget, even if only for a few minutes. That is what I am here for until this nightmare passes.

Anyway, as I said, the NFL has been making noise all day. I believe it is because free agency and franchise tagging guys has started. The players and GM's, I'm sure, are doing all this stuff over the computer, or FaceTime, but still, deals are getting done. Dak and Derrick Henry got, unfairly, franchised. Austin Hooper is now a member of the Browns. Calais Campbell is headed to Baltimore. Apparently Teddy Bridgewater is in extended talks with the Bears. RD's buddy Kirk Cousins got extended in Minnesota (ed note: UGHHHHH). Ryan Tannehill, for some reason, got another solid deal. The Packers signed a new starting offensive lineman. But the news of the day is the trade that went down between the Arizona Cardinals and the Houston Texans.

I first heard that the Texans traded for David Johnson. I thought that this was an okay deal, if it was 2016, when David Johnson was the do it all back that everybody, myself included, was taking first overall in their fantasy drafts. I thought, before I knew everything, that maybe, just maybe, Bill O'Brien had made a smart move. He was teaming Deshaun Watson with a solid running back, looking to revive himself, with some really good receivers, most notably Deandre Hopkins. Hopkins is one of the best wide outs in the league, without question. He always seems to have right around 100 catches, 1,000 yards and double digit touchdowns. He and Watson also seem to gel very well together. But, and this shouldn't have surprised me, but it totally did, the David Johnson trade involved Deandre Hopkins. In fact, it was basically a player for player swap, with some draft picks thrown in there.

This is absolutely insane. It is also very, very dumb on O'Brien's part. With the addition of Johnson, who the Texans could've gotten for mere picks I bet, they would've had one of the better offenses in the league. But no, O'Brien, and whoever the hell else works for him in upper management decided they needed to trade him. I heard some stuff about how they didn't want to redo his deal, that he may have clashed with management, you know, the typical nonsense from the idiot team that trades on of their best players. But, this type of stuff needs to be figured out when your franchise QB, who they traded so far up to take, has made such a fast, and easy connection with Hopkins from day one. Watson has had this symmetry with Hopkins since the jump. Now, he will have to find a new guy because Bill O'Brien "didn't want to redo his deal". That is ludicrous. That is asinine. That is stupid. And if I were a fan of the Texans, I would be so pissed off right now. They are basically telling Deshaun Watson that they don't care about him. That they will trade away a proven pro, one of the best at his position, for a guy that had, and I'm sorry if this comes off mean, maybe two good years. David Johnson had one year that was so great he got a massive contract, and as I said, was a top overall pick in most fantasy drafts. But, since then, he has had to deal with a torn ACL, and last year, he looked like a shell of himself. Like I said, he can revive his career, but it will take time. It would've been easier if he had another skill player like Hopkins on the same team. But he doesn't.

On the other side, the Cardinals seem to be building something of a modern NFL air raid offense. They have the type of players that will thrive in that offense, and they are adding one of the best. The Cardinals will line up Larry Fitzgerald, who is still very, very productive, on one side, and Deandre Hopkins on the other. And with the way Kyler Murray played last year, that would fill my face with a smile if I were a Cardinals fan. They could put up tons and tons of points. Maybe the Cardinals will start to turn a corner this season.

This is a disaster trade for the Texans, and an absolute homerun for the Cardinals. I'm still a little stunned by this, but I am also happy that this kept my mind off of what is going on in the real world for a few hours. What an odd, odd trade. I'm now excited to see how Hopkins plays in an air raid style offense.

Ty

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

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Michigan State Football is Again Making the Wrong Kind of News

Keeping with my theme of sports or upbeat pieces lately, I come to you with a sports piece today.

So, I know it is going to seem like I am attacking Michigan State, and people will immediately assume that because I am a die hard Michigan fan, I just cannot escape all the bad press that is coming out from the football program in East Lansing since Mark Dantonio resigned a few months ago. It was reported last night that there are new allegations, and this is all that it is right now, allegations, that Dantonio had staffers film other teams practices.

This is wrong on so many levels. Do you all remember the first Patriots scandal, all the way back in 2001? The one where they were accused of filming the Rams practices ahead of the Super Bowl that year? You do. Well, this is just like that, except the report said they did it for every team they were facing. That is bold, it is the definition of cheating, it is morally wrong and it should be another blow to this football program that so desperately needs to get hit hard by the NCAA.

The NCAA, and Mark Emmert for that matter, come off so holier than thou, but with bigger name programs, lately, they seem to simply slap them on the wrist. At Michigan State and the University of Ohio State there have been reports of abuse in the wrestling and gymnastics programs, and nothing has come to light yet. The whole Penn State thing was a disaster, and they got a two year bowl ban and some scholarships taken away. Urban Meyer has been a proven cheater, and recruited some not so great kids, yet he is looked at as a legend. Ole Miss looked like they were going to get sanctioned to hell a few years back, but they were able to recently hire Lane Kiffin, for better or worse. It just seems like the NCAA doesn't really care if the school is making them money hand over fist, which Michigan State football has for the past decade. This is a team that was perennially ranked in the top 25, made a playoff appearance and won a Rose Bowl. They are NCAA darlings.

I think the NCAA feels like they don't need to do too terribly much because Michigan State became a household name under Dantonio. But, last offseason the whole Larry Nassar scandal broke, and that opened the flood gates to their sports programs. Every sport was seemingly involved, but especially the football program under Dantonio's watch. There have been multiple sexual and physical assault claims that directly involve former and current players. There were the excuses of injuries and the media as to why they haven't been as dominant. There were the multiple cover ups by coaches. There was steroid use with some of the better players. And now we have the filming accusation. All of this is bad, every single bit of it, and filming practices should be the straw that breaks the camel's back. And before all the MSU fans get all up in arms and call me a hater or whatnot, if this were Michigan you'd be so much worse about it. What MSU did is immoral and wrong on every single level.

As bad, or blight as this may sound, lets take away all the abuse and steroid stuff, and just focus on the filming. SMU's football program got destroyed for giving kids money to come play there. That is far less worse. Michigan basketball got crushed after the Fab Five era because of money. Reggie Bush had his Heisman taken away because USC gave his mom a house so she could be near him in college. These things are far, far less destructive than abuse, steroid use and filming practices. How immoral and gross and seedy do you have to be to film another team practice? Why do that? What edge does it give you? did they not think they would get caught? The Patriots, a professional football team, got caught. Of course MSU was going to get caught.

With each passing day since Dantonio's unexpected resignation, the stories get worse and worse. What I want to know is all the stuff. What else did he try to get away with while coaching that team, and who else was involved. All these stories coming out have already begun to tarnish any type of "legacy" Dantonio had as a coach. Now I wonder how the NCAA will respond. Are they going to go with the slap on the wrist, or are they going to make a big boy decision. Time will tell. But all in all, this doesn't give MSU a good look.

Not at all.

Ty

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

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