Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - The Contenders Division

Welcome to day 7 of my 2021 NFL preview. This is the top of the top. These are the eight teams I consider the best in the NFL. I expect each to make the playoffs and all could make a run. If any of these teams win the Super Bowl this year I would not be surprised. They all have flaws but they all have ways to overcome said flaws. These are the teams to beat.

At number 8 I have the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks have the look of one last ride with this squad. This is the final chance they have to win it all. Russell Wilson is an elite QB. He is an MVP candidate. He is the top dude on this team. He runs this thing, and he is more than capable of doing magical things. I may not be a fan of his, but the dude can play. Chris Carson, while not Marshwan Lynch, is that bruising back that is hard to take down. Rashaad Penny is a solid backup. Tyler Lockett is a legit deep threat and great return man. DK Metcalf is already an upper tier receiver. He is big and strong, he has great hands, he's fast and he will only get better. The O line has always been the problem for this team, but they have down stuff to shore it up. Duane Brown is a solid tackle. And Damien Lewis can play. Wilson shouldn't be running for his life all season. The defense is not the "Legion of Boom" anymore. They cannot strike fear in their opponents like they used to. I think getting Jamal Adams under contract was a big deal. He is one of the best safeties in the league. Bobby Wagner is still an elite linebacker. Quandre Diggs is a great sidekick to Adams. The defense is still good, with big time playmakers, but not as great as they used to be. The Seahawks have one final shot and I think they will play like that all year. I feel like they are an eleven win team, but they will have to fight off the Cardinals all season long.

At number 7 I have the Green Bay Packers. Talk about a team with one final shot left in them. After all the useless drama, Aaron Rodgers is back. He will be the QB for one more season in Green Bay. He is coming off an MVP year and he has a prove it year coming up. He will play well and then be ready to leave. I love that they re-signed Aaron Jones. He is a real good running back and Green Bay has not had that in awhile. I also really like AJ Dillon as the backup. I'll miss Jamal Williams, but Dillon is younger and similar. Davante Adams is in a contract year and he is awesome. I am a big fan of his. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard are good compliments to Adams. The O line has never really been a problem in Green Bay. This is the last time this group will be fully intact, and if healthy, they should be potent. Green Bay's defense is always a bit of a sieve, but they are working on shoring it up. Kenny Clark is a good D lineman. Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith are a great linebacker trio. Those dudes are going to have big years. Jaire Alexander is an excellent corner. Darnell Savage is a beast of a safety. This team, on paper, is good. They could be great. They also should easily win their division. The Packers are a twelve win team. Time for the final ride.

At number 6 I have the Cleveland Browns. This time the hype feels validated. They made it to the playoffs last year, they got better this offseason and they have the dudes to win. Baker Mayfield, for all his nonsense, is proving to be a solid game manager. He looked like he figured out last year that he doesn't have to do everything for his team to win. He let the game come to him, and that is how he should play QB. He is so much better as a game manager. Nick Chubb is a really good back. He is a good runner, hard to take down and can catch. Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry and Donovan Peoples-Jones could be one of the top receiving trios in the league. All those guys are different, but they are all really good. Austin Hooper is a good tight end. The O line got better. The offense is good. They are legit. The defense got better this offseason. The fact that Myles Garrett is being paired with Jadaveon Clowney is frightening. They are going to terrorize running backs and QB's all year. The linebackers are fast and heavy hitters. The secondary is legit. The Browns are a good team. I may not like admitting it, but it is true. They played well enough to be in the playoffs last season, and I think this season they could make a real deep run. They are a twelve win team for sure.

The final team for today, at number 5, is the Tennessee Titans. Their coach is a moron. He is a cliched dumb jock. But his team is solid. Ryan Tannehill is playing like he should have his whole career. He is the prototype game manager. He doesn't make too many mistakes, doesn't take too many chances and runs the offense as he is told to. That is when he is at his personal best. Derrick Henry is the best back in the league. He is big, fast, impossible to take down with one guy, can catch and block. Henry can do it all and do it all well. He is awesome. He could be the MVP this year. The receiving core was majorly upgraded when they got Julio Jones. He is going to make this offense so much more lethal. Thinking about a play action deep ball to Jones is going to give defensive coordinators nightmares. They also have AJ Brown, who is getting better every season. The O line is nasty and big and good. The defense is devoid of prime time names, but the dudes can play. They got Bud Dupree for next to nothing, and he will help. Janpris Jenkins has stuck around so long for a reason. Kevin Byard is becoming a pro bowl player. Denico Autry is a solid D end. The defense has players that play their role and they play it well. The Titans are a good team, with aspirations of being great. They have made a few deep runs in the playoffs as of late, and it wouldn't surprise me if they did it again this season. They are a twelve to fourteen win team for sure.

That is it for today. Come back for the final four teams tomorrow.

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 Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - The Right Track Division

Welcome back to my NFL countdown. We have all had the weekend off, most of our kids are back in school and now it is time to get to the playoff teams on my list. These teams should all be good barring injury or COVID stoppages. They should all be in playoff contention and some will be title contenders.

Starting off the day, at number 12 I have the New England Patriots. Cam Newton should be the definite starter. He does need to update himself on the new COVID rules per this morning news, but that should not stop him from being the starting QB come week one. He has to prove he is a legit upper tier QB this year, and if his past is any indication, he is going to have a very good season. He seems to thrive when he is counted out. Mac Jones' time will come, but not this year. This should be Cam's team. Damien Harris is a fine running back, and a healthy and engaged Cam will only make Harris better. I like the Nelson Agohlor pickup at wideout. And they are going young with the other receivers. That is a good move. They seemed to sign every free agent tight end, so we will see who starts. Whoever does will be a focal point of the offense. The O line is always good in New England. The defense should be much better too. They have a good enough D line. The linebackers, led by Donta Hightower, are very good. Matthew Judon still has some good football left in him. And Kyle Van Noy is consistent. The secondary could be elite if they keep Stephon Gilmore, and it seems like they will. I think the Patriots will bounce back to ten wins this year if they go with Cam and he stays on the field. He has the feeling of having a good year.

At number 11 I have the Miami Dolphins. This division, with Miami, Buffalo and New England is going to be legit. Miami had a very solid year last season, Brian Flores is a legit upper tier coach and they moved on from Ryan Fitzpatrick. I feel like Tua is going to have a very good sophomore season. He is healthy, knows the playbook and the speed of the game and got quality real time reps last year. He is going to surge. Myles Gaskin and Malcolm Brown make a very good backfield. Jaylen Waddle looks like a homerun pick, when Will Fuller gets off suspension he is going to put up numbers and DeVante Parker has proven he is worthy of all the fantasy talk. The O line is better, and this Gesicki kid at tight end was awesome, and humongous, in college. Flores hangs his hat on defense, and this team was much improved last year. Christian Wilkins is a very good end. Raekwon Davis is a prototype nose tackle. The linebackers know their roles. Keeping Xavien Howard was a big time win for this secondary. The rest of the secondary should be thankful he is sticking around. Miami is a team on the come up. They've been rebuilding for quite some time and I feel like this season will be a good building block for them. They are a ten win team.

My number 10 team is the Indianapolis Colts. They traded for Carson Wentz, and while I am not a fan, and he is hurt, reuniting with Frank Reich could be a big deal for him. He knows Reich well and Reich has proven his worth as a head coach. Johnathan Taylor had a very solid rookie year and he will be the starter. That is deserved. But do not sleep on Marlon Mack. That dude can play. TY Hilton is back and that bodes well for the Colts. He is so consistently good for them. The rest of the receivers are young, but that is what the Colts do. They run and hit you with play action. The O line is elite. The defense continues to get better. Obviously I love Kwity Paye and the Colts seem to as well. He is going to have a long and productive career. DeForest Buckner was a solid free agent signing. Keeping Darius Leonard was a must and they did. Xavier Rhodes and Kenny Moore II are solid cover corners. The Colts are not flashy, they are consistent. They are the Spurs of the NFL. They will be fundamentally sound everywhere. This team is back to be a perennial playoff contender and a nuisance when you face them. They should win ten or eleven games this year.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 9 I have the Arizona Cardinals. I am super high on this team. I like pretty much everything they have done and I think they will reap the rewards this season. Kyler Murray is legit. I had doubts about him choosing football over baseball, but it looks like he made the best choice for him. He can also go back to baseball anytime I suppose. They were able to get off that enormous contract they gave David Johnson a few years back and have replaced him seamlessly with Chase Edmonds. I also really like them going out and getting James Connor for real cheap. The receivers are amazing. Deandre Hopkins needs to stop this nonsense about the vaccine. Go out and get the shot. It is easy and free. I had very little side effects when I got my COVID vaccine. Just do it so I can watch him play because he is awesome. I love Christian Kirk and to go out and get AJ Green, that was big. I know he hasn't been as productive the past few years, but just imagine what he will do with a competent QB. The O line was much improved and Maxx Williams is a decent tight end. The "problem" for the Cardinals is their defense, but I feel they improved on that side of the ball this offseason. They went out and got JJ Watt. He gets hurt way too much, he isn't as effective as he once was and I think he is a bit overrated, but the dude still gives opponents problems. Chandler Jones is great. He is so quietly good and he seems to stay in good shape and continues to perform. Zaven Collins has some off field stuff to attend to, but if he gets his head straight, he should be good. I'm still a fan of Isaish Simmons. He is too talented to not figure it all out. I'm bummed they let Patrick Peterson go, but they still have Budda Baker and they went out and grabbed Malcolm Butler for next to nothing. The Cardinals have the offense to compete and it looks like they now have the guys on defense. I expect them to win eleven or twelve games this season and possibly win the division. Arizona is back.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next four teams.

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 Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Playing a Game in January Division

Day five of my 2021 NFL countdown begins with my number 16 team the Los Angeles Rams.

We are only three years removed from them being in the Super Bowl. Sean McVay came out of the box with a bang but it looks like the better teams may have figured him out. They also have an almost entirely new roster, especially on offense, from that team that went to the Super Bowl. They traded for Matthew Stafford. I have written about this trade twice now. It is almost a totally even swap. Stafford has a much bigger arm than Jared Goff, but he cannot stay healthy and he has never been further than the first round of the playoffs. He also doesn't have a Calvin Johnson type receiver to just chuck the ball in the air and hope they come down with it. I was kind of stunned when they let Todd Gurley walk a season ago. They paid him big money and they just cut him. They are now left with Darrell Henderson Jr and Xavier Jones. Sure they don't make as much as Gurley did, but had Gurley gotten the proper time to rehab they might now be in this predicament. Robert Woods is a fine receiver, Cooper Kupp is a poor man's Julian Edelmann and Desean Jackson is old. The O line is serviceable. Why the Rams are here, and not somewhere in the 20's is their defense. Aaron Donald is the most dominant player in the NFL. He is the best D lineman I have ever watched. Jalen Ramsey is a world class corner. He is almost as lockdown as Charles Woodson. He is so good. Taylor Rapp is a heat seeking missile and interception machine. Leonard Floyd is a good linebacker. McVay may have gotten this job based on his offensive mind, but the Rams will win with defense. The question is can they win enough to make a playoff push. They feel like an eight win team, but if they win nine games that wouldn't surprise me. Neither would six wins.

My number 15 team is the Minnesota Vikings. First and foremost, Kirk Cousins is a moron. I cannot stand him. At all. He is such a crummy dude, and he is not that good of an NFL QB. He got all that guaranteed money and what do the Vikings have to show for it? 0 playoff wins in two appearances with him as their guy. Dalvin Cook is a very good running back when healthy. He gets hurt far too often, but it does look like he has put in work this offseason to bulk up and try to stay on the field. Justin Jefferson was phenomenal last year. He was a revelation. Adam Thielen is a fine wideout, he is just a bit overrated. Irv Smith is a fine tight end. The O line is fine. The defense has taken steps back every year under Mike Zimmer. Everson Griffin is good, but he has some demons he needs to figure out. Danielle Hunter is an okay D lineman, but maybe he has already played his best football. Patrick Peterson was a good pickup, but he is much older and has kind of fallen off each season. Anthony Barr is okay at linebacker. The Vikings had a teeny tiny window and it looks like they blew it. Until they can move on from Cousins this team is destined to underperform. They are a .500 team at best.

My number 14 team is the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are slowly building some semblance of a playoff contender. They seem to be putting in some kind of work. Derek Carr isn't great but he isn't bad. He needs to just manage the game and minimize mistakes. Josh Jacobs has that look of having a breakout year. The time seems to have come. Hunter Renfrow and Henry Ruggs look to be a solid receiver duo, if Carr can get them the ball. The O line is okay enough to keep the QB upright and open holes for Jacobs. The Raiders have taken big swings on defensive players way early in the draft, but maybe they put it together this year. Clelin Ferrell has shown flashes. Yannick Ngakoue was one of the most coveted free agents a few seasons ago. Maybe he finds his footing again. Trayvon Mullen has the ability to be a good cover corner. So does Johnathan Abram. The Raiders do have some players, but I still do not trust Jon Gruden. I love that they are requiring a negative test or proof of vaccine to come to the games this season though. Maybe the Raiders put it together this year and make a playoff push. I see them as an eight or nine win team.

The final team for the day, and week for that matter, at number 13 is the Los Angeles Chargers. They should still be in San Diego but that is a topic for another day. Justin Herbert kind of shocked me last season. He sat for a bit, but when he came in he looked confident and ready to go. He has a big arm, can see over the line and will listen to coaching. That pick doesn't look so bad a year later. Austin Ekeler has truly proven he deserves the starting running back role this year. He is a very good all around back. Keenan Allen is one of the best route runners in the NFL and he has great hands. Mike Williams is big and physical and when healthy he can do damage. The O line is very good and got better with the addition of Rashawn Slater. The defense has some dudes. Joey Bosa is an asshole, just like his brother, but the dude can play. He has proven that. He's still a dickhead though. Kenneth Murray is a throwback linebacker, and I will thoroughly enjoy watching him play football this season. Derwon James is amazing. He is so good in the secondary. He can do it all. And I like Nasir Adderley. The Chargers have the guys. They should make a playoff push. Hell, they should be in the playoffs. I felt they did not give their past head coach a fair shot, but they moved on. The new coach could reap the rewards of his hard work. The Chargers should win nine games this season. That is it for today and this week.

Come back on Monday for the next four teams.

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.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Just on the Outside Looking In Division

Welcome to day four of my NFL countdown.

Coming in at number 20 I have the Philadelphia Eagles. I am stoked that they have moved on from Carson Wentz. He always seemed to have this holier than thou arrogance about him. I was also not a fan of his coming out of college. And the whole religious thing is so overdone. The Eagles did the right thing. I also like Jalen Hurts. I'm a little annoyed by all the offseason workout videos, but it does show that he cares. He is putting in the time. I was lukewarm on him at Alabama, but when he transferred to Oklahoma he really showed me his full arsenal. Hurts is not just a scrambler, this kid can sling the ball. I'm not so high on the running backs. Miles Sanders is fine but he doesn't wow me. I do really like Jaelen Reagor, I really wanted Green Bay to take him two years ago in the draft and I adore Devonta Smith. They both have big time upsides, but they are both very young. Smith is a rookie in fact. I think they will be good soon, but not this year. The O line is fine, and Hurst scrambling helps them a ton. The Eagles defense is a big time question mark. I love Brandon Graham, but he is getting old. Ryan Kerrigan was a solid addition, but he cannot stay healthy. Fletcher Cox is awesome, but he is constantly double and triple teamed. Darius Slay was fine in Detroit, but now he is corner number one. The Eagles will be asking a lot of their defense and young skill players. The division, as previously mentioned, is a trash fire, and seven, hell maybe even six games could win it and secure a playoff spot. I like the pieces on offense, but the defense is older and often injured and they will struggle to stay in games. Six wins seems like the ceiling.

At number 19 I have the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are the most overrated team in sports, at any level. I am so tired of hearing how this is the year for them. It has been the year for 2 decades now, and I do not know the last time they were in the second round of the playoffs. Dak Prescott is back from that horrific injury, and while I like him and like that he got paid, it is going to take time for him to look like himself. He is also having shoulder issues in camp. It is going to take time. Ezekial Elliot seems to have already past his prime and he is still owed a ton of money from the team. Tony Pollard is not a great back up option there either. Ceedee Lamb looked like a great pick last year, and while it still could pan out, he wasn't the threat people hoped he would be. That could be due to Prescott's injury or him being a rookie. Maybe it changes, maybe it doesn't. The jury is still out. Amari Cooper is a real legit number one receiver, but I do not even think he is as good as Dez Bryant was when he was on the Cowboys. Bryant was very good, but he was never in the upper echelon. Cooper is not as good as him. The O line is supposed to be one of their strengths, but guys have left or guys have been getting hurt. The Cowboys defense is not good. Their best linebacker, who was not that good, retired this offseason. The D line has names, but no one is that good anymore. Also, why do teams keep giving Randy Gregory chances? Sean Lee is being replaced by Micah Parsons who is a rookie and sat out last season. Leighton Vander Esch is extremely overrated. And the secondary is going to get carved by better teams. The Cowboys are the University of Michigan or Texas in the NFL. They are always about to breakthrough, and then they win seven games. I think that is exactly what is going to happen this season. And that could win them the division.

At number 18 I have the San Francisco 49ers. This is another team that has not recovered from the Super Bowl hangover. They should have won that game too, but they blew it. The Jimmy Garoppolo experiment should be over. They drafted Trey Lance and have clearly been shopping Garoppolo. He is not good, cannot stay healthy and takes up way too much of their payroll. I hope they start Lance ASAP and move on. The time has come. Raheem Mostert has proven to not be a one season wonder. He is a solid starting running back. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield. The receivers are not great. Mohammed Sanu is old. Brandon Aiyuk has not shown me much of anything. And Deebo Samuel has not popped yet. I think George Kittle is as overrated as Leighton Vander Esch. The dude is a haircut and nothing more. He is a poor man's Gronk, and I LOATHE Rob Gronkowski. The 49ers O line is fine, they open holes for Mostert, which is nice. It is not their fault Garoppolo holds onto the ball for far too long. The 49ers are built on defense, but that may be crumbling. Nick Bosa is coming off a torn ACL and he is an absolute garbage human being. He is racist and sexist and misogynistic and an egotistical asshole. I cannot stand him as a player but more so as a person. Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw are good, but always hurt. Jason Verrett is a good corner, but he is starting to get exposed. The 49ers were trying to win with defense and build the offense, but both phases are not that great or never were great. The 49ers are a six win team at best.

The final team for today, at number 17, I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben Roesthisberger is a terrible human being, a trash QB now and super old. Their backup, Mason Rudolph, is a racist asshole. And Dwayne Haskins never got a real shot. They are boned at QB. I do love Najee Harris. He was so good in college. He seems like a genuinely good person. He is insanely athletic. And he can catch and block. He was a great pick. Ju Ju Smith Schuster is fine, but not as good as he thinks he is. Chase Claypool has serious skill, but he is hurt and no one knows how bad it is yet. Eric Ebron has never popped at tight end. The O line is serviceable. The defense is good. The Steelers do still have a solid unit on that side of the ball. Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Hayward are good D lineman. TJ Watt is a solid defensive end. I adore Devin Bush, and he is awesome at football. They traded for Joe Schobert, and he can play. And Minkah Fitzpatrick is a great lynchpin for the secondary. The Steelers have the dudes on defense to compete for a playoff spot. Their division has gotten much better, and the Steelers offense, outside Najee Harris, has done nothing to compete with Cleveland or Baltimore. The Steelers are an eight win team at best, because of their defense, but I bet they win only six or seven games.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow. We are getting to real playoff threats now.

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.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Out of Contention By Thanksgiving Division

Welcome to day three of my NFL countdown.

Coming in at number 24 I have the Carolina Panthers. This team is in what should be a rebuild. They need to start over. After they let Cam Newton walk they should have torn down the whole thing. Instead they gave Christian McCaffery a humongous salary and he proceeded to tear his ACL. Then they let Teddy Bridgewater leave and opted to sign Sam Darnold. They have no real number 1 or number 2 receiver. The O line is very bland. I thought Darnold was going to figure things out, but ever since the "I'm seeing ghosts" thing was plastered all over TV and the internet, he never recovered. He hasn't had a great camp by all accounts. I'm not a big proponent of giving running backs big money, and the Panthers are dealing with that problem as we speak. McCaffery is coming off a big injury, and while I really enjoyed Chubba Hubbard in college, he missed time last season and he needs to develop. DJ Moore is not the dude at receiver, and he is their best option. The defense is not so great either. Luke Keuchly retired, rightfully so, and some of the dudes they have taken a chance on haven't panned out. I still think Brian Burns has the potential to be a very good edge rusher, but he is about it. Shap Thompson and Jeremy Chinn could be good, but they haven't shown much of anything yet. Hasson Redick is getting a second chance after not doing much in Arizona, but I just do not see it with him. The Panthers will not win much until they get a decent QB.

At number 23 I have the Detroit Lions. The Lions traded oft injured, much maligned Matthew Satfford for a clone in Jared Goff. Goff has been the QB of a team that made it to the Super Bowl, but that was based on the running game and the defense. I do like that Goff is younger, but he doesn't have the arm that Stafford has. He is also less mobile, and Stafford isn't very mobile. I did not like this trade at all. I do not think Lions fans are stoked about it either. I will miss Jamal Williams in Green Bay, but the fact that he isn't starting in Detroit is crazy to me. Deandre Swift is fine, but Williams is better, and more deserving of the starting role. Breshad Perriman had moments in Baltimore, and I do really like Amon-Ra St Brown, but they do not have the good, not yet, to be number one wideouts, especially with a QB like Goff throwing to them. The O line is fine, but it doesn't matter. The defense is not awful but not good. Jeff Okudah had a rough rookie year. Jamie Collins has already played his best football. Trey Flowers could be solid. I like Da'Shawn Hand but he cannot stay healthy. The team has some dudes, but they are past their prime or not ready yet. This is a five or six win team at best.

My number 22 team is the New Orleans Saints. That may seem low, but Drew Brees retiring and Michael Thomas not talking to the team has made a big impact on me. This team is going to find it tough to get back to contention. The fact that they did not go after a QB in free agency and decided to pay Taysom Hill and keep Jameis Winston was a big mistake. They will regret it for sure. Hill is no more than a gimmick and Winston has shown minimal flashes but also has shown that he does not have what it takes to win important games. I'd be frustrated as hell if I were Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas. They chose to stay and now they have no real QB to get them the ball. Kamara will still do what he does, but it will be tough because he will be the focal point of every defense they face. Thomas may not play this year, we do not know, and that is a bummer for the Saints. The O line is good, which is a luxury, but they have a whole new QB to break in. As for the defense, they have gotten better, and with the uncertainty at QB, I think the defense will be their best unit. Cam Jordan is elite. Marshon Lattimore is a shutdown corner. Kwon Alexander is a good linebacker. And I really like Marcus Davenport. I kind of look at them like a little better version of the Jets. The defense is good, they will keep them in games, but the offense will not be as potent as they have been in the past. That will be their undoing. I think six wins is the ceiling.

The final team for today, coming in at number 21, I have the New York Giants. This is the year to see if Daniel Jones is the guy. I thought they drafted him way too early, he has not been that good yet and he has weapons that should benefit him. I do not think much of him though, and that is why I have them so low on my list. They'd be lower if they weren't in such a bad division. Saquon Barkley is back, and that is awesome. I hope he stays healthy because he is a joy to watch. He is not only a great running back, but he is a good pass catcher, a solid and willing blocker and an electric return man. He just has to stay healthy. I like the Kenny Golladay pick up, Sterling Shepard is a fantasy stud and Evan Engram is a great modern tight end. The O line is also sufficient. Again, my only problem with the offense is Jones. I have zero faith in him. The Giants defense is quietly solid. Jabrill Peppers is decent. Leonard Williams is an upper tier D lineman. Logan Ryan is a nice secondary piece. Blake Martinez is an okay linebacker. They have guys that can play. The defense should be in the top fifteen of the league. This team could win their division or they could win five games. I like to split down the middle and say they will win six or seven games. I have that little trust in Daniel Jones. He is not good and that is why they will once again miss the playoffs.

That is it for today. Come back for the next four teams tomorrow.

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.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Better Luck Next Year Division

Welcome to day 2 of my NFL countdown. Let's get right to it.

At number 28 I have the New York Jets. This team has not seemed to figure it out yet. They continue to make bad decisions in the front office and at the draft. They let guys go or guys ask to leave. They do not want to stay there too long. I do like the hiring of Robert Saleh, and if given the time, I think he can turn it around. Just not this year. The issues at QB have not been addressed, even with them taking Zach Wilson second overall. I do like that they are going to let him play through the rough stuff, but there is going to be a lot of rough stuff this year. He is not ready, but he will get the playing time. Tevin Coleman was good about three years ago, but with the Jets, he is their best option at running back. They let their best receiver walk, and now they are left with guys that have not shown they can be consistent. The O line is very blah, but it will not matter much because this team doesn't have the skill guys to do much with the ball. I do think the defense will be better because that is Salah's calling card. They do not have many guys, but they do have CJ Mosley, Byrce Hall and Quinnen Williams. Those are solid building blocks at all three levels of the defense. The rest of the guys are so so, but Saleh will coach them the hell up. They will be better on that side of the ball than they have been in awhile. In the end, the Jets have no offense, but a defense that will help them hang around and maybe even win three or four games. Give Saleh time though and the Jets could be a playoff team in three years.

At number 27 I have the Chicago Bears. The Bears finally moved on from Trubisky, and I love the Justin Fields pick, they just do not have much else. The Bears have needed to rebuild for years now, and they look like they may be on their way to doing just that. Also, Fields should be the starter. This whole Nick Foles and Andy Dalton dance is the dumbest thing I have seen. They need to give the keys to Fields and let him ride. He is the future at QB. Running back is not great with Tarik Cohen being hurt and having David Montgomery as their starter. He's fine, he ran for 1,000 yards last season, but I do not see a repeat of that this year. They were able to re-sign Allen Robinson, which will help Fields, but the rest of the receivers are not great. They also need better tight ends, especially if they are going to be a play action team. The O line is fine, but not great. The defense is not what it was two years ago, but they do still have Khalil Mack. That dude is awesome. He is probably the best linebacker in the NFL. He just doesn't have much help. Danny Trevathan is always hurt. Akiem Hicks hasn't really panned out. Roquan Smith needs to stay healthy. Tashaun Gipson is not great. They just are not at that elite level anymore. They seem to have fallen off a bit. The Bears are not the playoff contender they were two and three years ago, but they have done the right thing moving on from Trubisky. Now they have to let Fields run the damn thing. It won't equate to many wins, but it would be a step in the right direction.

At number 26 I have the Denver Broncos. This is another team that had an elite defense, a Super Bowl winning defense, but the offense is really, really bad. They should be starting Teddy Bridgewater. He more than deserves that role. He has come back from a gruesome injury and seems to be as good as he looked at times with Minnesota. Starting Drew Lock would be a major mistake. They need to move on from him now. He is not the answer, clearly. They let Phillip Lindsay walk and they are going with Melvin Gordon. Gordon was great at times with the Chargers, but he has not been the same with Denver. He bet on himself, which I have mad respect for, but it has not paid off. I like Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler as a wideout duo, but Hamler has yet to put it together and Jeudy is a rookie. Courtland Sutton seems to be a one season wonder too. The O line is fine, but again, not elite. They should let Bridgewater start, but we will see where they go from here. The defense is solid, but as we saw last season, when they spend all game on the field, it is rough for them. Von Miller is awesome, an all timer, a hall of fame player. He is legit. I also really like Bradley Chubb. He has more than lived up to the hype. Kyle Fuller is a solid defensive back. And Ronald Darby can play. But they spend way, way too much time on the field. They cannot win many games that way. I saw that with Michigan football two of the past four seasons. It is not a recipe for success. The Broncos could win five or six games with Bridgewater, but if they go with Drew Lock, it is more like three or four wins.

The final team for today, coming in at number 25, I have the Atlanta Falcons. First things first, my hat goes off to the Falcons for being the first team to be 100 percent vaccinated. That rules. I think that is great. They did the right thing as an organization, and they will reap the rewards. This is a big win for them. For the on field play, that is going to suffer. Matt Ryan is still the QB. He was good, an MVP a few years back, but he has been on a downward trajectory for the past three seasons. He just hasn't found the magic from his MVP year. I thought they were going to draft a QB, but they didn't, and now they have Ryan, AJ Mccarron and Feliepe Franks. That is not great. Todd Gurley did not have a great year, and they let him walk. That bums me out. I thought he could turn it around. They now have Mike Davis, and while he is a great fantasy player because he bowls guys over the TD's on the goal line, I do not know if he has the ability to be a full time starter. He is good though. They traded Julio Jones and that is a big blow to their offense. He was that guy that could go and make something out of nothing. Calvin Ridley is fast, and that is it. Their other receivers, I have never heard of. They drafted Kyle Pitts number six overall, and if you go back to my draft preview, I think he was very overhyped. He is very tall and physical, but he is also a rookie. There will be a big time learning curve. The O line is fine. The Falcons have struggled mightily on defense ever since their Super Bowl run. There is no one that stands out. Maybe Dante Fowler will find his groove, but he hasn't yet. Maybe he is what he is as an NFL player already. The secondary is filled with questions, the linebackers are blah and the D line looks like it will give up tons of big running plays. The Falcons had the chance to be a perennial playoff power, but since blowing that lead to the Patriots, they have never recovered. The team is past its prime. Again, I love love love that they are all fully vaccinated, and they should be rewarded for that. But this team will not win more than five games this season.

Come back tomorrow for the next four teams. We are getting to the better teams soon.

Ty

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

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Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - "With the first pick in the 2022 Draft..." Division

With football season coming down the hatch I'm going to be doing my countdown of the NFL teams and a college preview. It should take about ten days to do it all, so strap in for football talk. Last year was different because of the pandemic, and while it is ongoing, both the NFL and college football look like they are plowing ahead. I did write about the NFL's new policies regarding vaccines, and how much I love what they are doing, so we know they are going to get a season in. I think college will be the same. With all that, for my NFL countdown I will do four teams a day, going from worst to best, in my opinion. Take this with a grain of salt because my watching of the NFL has gone way down since AT&T took away the Red Zone network from my TV. I still know what is going on, but college football is still my main squeeze. I will do predictions as I always do every preseason as well. Anyway, let's get to this countdown.

Coming in at number 32, my last ranked team is the Houston Texans. Man oh man do they have problems on and off the field. We all know what is going on with Deshaun Watson. And even though he is at camp and practicing, who knows how many games he will play, and if all of them are with Houston. If he leaves or misses time, this team is even more boned than previously thought. They have seemingly gotten rid of every good player they have had and are now in a rebuild, even if the front office guys won't admit it. They have the ghost of Mark Ingram and one season wonder Phillip Lindsay in the backfield. The O line is a mess. The receivers are very blah, except for Nico Collins. I watched him at Michigan, and I think he is going to be a good pro. Outside Whitney Mercilus, who may be past his prime, this defense is not good. It is filled with has been and never was players. They are going to get shredded. The Texans should be getting prepared to pick first overall in the next draft. They may only win two or three games all year.

At 31 I have the Washington Football Team. They need to get a name already. I'm glad they got rid of their racist name last season, but the time has come to pick a team name. I also really like Ron Rivera. I think he is a solid head coach. That is the only like I have. This team has the lowest vaccination rate, a terrible roster, an old roster and not a very good team. Ryan Fitzpatrick is their starting QB. When will his whole gimmick be thrown away? He is not that great a QB. His record as a starter is well below .500. I'm over him. Running backs are very boring. Receivers, outside Terry Mclaurin, are injury prone or not that good, and I don't think Fitzpatrick will hit them in stride regularly. Logan Thomas is so bland at tight end and the O line just let their best player walk for almost nothing. The defense is better, but not by much. Chase Young and Montez Sweat are a formidable d line duo. They are both young and good and this team should build around those two if they want future success. Then it gets a bit scary. Landon Collins was past his prime two years ago. The corners are not great. Linebacker is so suspect. They just do not have the guys. I would have loved it if they went hard after Cam Newton, but that did not happen, and here we are. Washington is better than Houston, but by a tiny, tiny sliver. They will have the same amount of wins, but Washington will look more competitive because of Young and Sweat.

At number 30 I have RD's Bengals. They would be higher if Joe Burrow wasn't coming off a shredded knee, and if all those stories of bad practices were coming out. If he can get out of his own head, and back to looking like he did before he got hurt last season, this team will be good in about two years. This season is a wash though. I do like some of the offensive talent. Burrow, if he can recover, is a good QB. Joe Mixon is an abuser, so forget him. But Samaje Perine was great at Oklahoma and Chris Evans has been turning heads in preseason. They have a good stable of young backs. I really like their wideouts too. Tyler Boyd is coming along slowly. I love Tee Higgins, and was stoked when they picked Ja'Marr Chase this year to reunite him with Burrow. The O line needs work, which always seems to happen with the Bengals, but man do they have some good, young talent at the skill positions. The defense is a mess, and why they are so low on my rankings. The starters are so mediocre for NFL players. They got Trae Waynes from Minnesota, but when was the last time he was a difference maker? I haven't heard of six or seven guys listed as starters. The D line is not great. They are going to get destroyed on that side of the ball. Opposing offenses are going to feast on them. They should have high scoring games, but they will not win many of them. This is a five win ceiling for this team, but they will probably win three or four games. I hope Burrow gets out of this funk too.

The final team for today, at 29, I have the Jacksonville Jaguars. Look, it is no secret how much I despise Urban Meyer, and their preseason game the other night looked like the Washington football team when Steve Spurrier was the head coach, but after everyone figured them out. But Meyer has made a TON of questionable decisions so far, and he looks a little over his head in the NFL. It was a no brainer for them to take Trevor Lawrence, and he has the tools to be great. I am flabbergasted that they haven't named him the starter yet though. Is Gardner Minshew really pushing him right now? I cannot imagine he is, and I would be stunned if Lawrence isn't starting week one. I also think they need to let Carlos Hyde and James Robinson know that they are moving ahead with Travis Etienne. He was Lawrence's teammate in college, he is younger than both players ahead of him on the depth chart and they need to stop with this nonsense of him at receiver. Let him be the guy and go through the growing pains with Lawrence. The whole Tim Tebow experiment needs to end. He is not good and should not make this team. I like Laviska Shenault Jr out of Colorado at wideout, but DJ Chark is oft injured and Marvin Jones is well past any prime he may have had. The O line is bad and they will have Lawrence running for his life a ton. The defense is not much better. They overpaid Shaquill Griffin. K'Lavon Chaisson had a very up and down rookie year. Myles Jack has been a bust. Josh Allen is misplaced at linebacker. They just do not have the guys to put together consistent stops. This team has too many holes and a head coach who seems to be out of his element. Lawrence and Etienne will push them to three or four wins, but that is it. I wonder how soon until Urban Meyer starts to have "medical issues" in his first season. That seems to be his MO.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 4. It will get better everyday.

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 2020 Olympics

With the Olympics all wrapped up I want to talk about my experience watching this year.

I never pay too much attention to the Olympics if I am being honest with myself. I watch basketball in the summer games, I like gymnastics because the people are so athletic and more recently I have gotten into track and field, pretty much since I became a runner. It is the same with the winter Olympics. I watch very few sports with snowboarding and skiing being the lone exceptions. But this year I found myself super into the Olympics.

I turned it on from day one and it was on pretty much everyday until the games wrapped up. I found myself really into swimming early on. Then I was devouring skateboarding, which was rad. I watched fencing and table tennis on a different day. I got super into highboard and synchronized diving. I was watching water polo. I followed the men's and women's gymnastics teams. I watched more volleyball than I have ever seen. I watched basketball, more on that later, because I love it so much. I'd say I tuned in to about 85-90 percent of the competitions. I do not know why either. It wasn't the lack of fans because I saw that in the NBA bubble and most pro sports last year. I seemed to latch on early this year and that seemed to be the key.

I think another reason why this resonated so much was because I did not think it was going to happen. I thought that the organizers were going to pull the plug at the last minute because of rising COVID cases all over the world. But when they started, I watched and watched and watched. I think it hit me so well this year because of the lack of sports in summer. I like baseball, but not MLB. I'm not a soccer fan. And there are only so many articles I can read on college football teams opening their fall camps. So these Olympics hit me at the exact right time. We also got some really interesting and neat personal athlete stories. I followed Simone Biles every step. I side with her and I am so happy that she took care of mental state over everything else. The super young skateboarders were so cool and seemed so thrilled to be in the Olympics. The diver from Britain that also knits was one of my favorite people in the games. There was the Cambodia gentleman who was adopted by an American man who was a diver and that story was so heartwarming. Seeing Katie Ledecky do what she does and then laugh at reporters when they asked if she was going to retire was stupendous. Watching Team USA baseball and softball come so close to gold was pretty amazing. Table tennis has some wild competitors and they are as focused as any other athlete I have ever seen. There was that crazy last second wrestling move that won gold. The marathon was astounding to watch. Seeing Alyson Felix become the most decorated female track runner was super impressive. Seeing all the field events and being blown away by what the athletes did will always stay with me. I was hooked.

With all these sports it should be no surprise that basketball was my big time winner. The women's team dominated like they do. They are so much further ahead than any other country in basketball. The viral picture of Diana Taurasi holding the ball up high and laughing in the gold medal game is so pure and so cool. Seeing Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe embrace after Bird won her fourth gold medal was joyous. The women's basketball team rules. And so does the men's team. I was hard on them after France beat them in league play. I was worried. I did not think they had it in them to turn it around. I was getting annoyed at the complaints. Then they found their groove. When they came out and demolished Iran they looked like a different team. They were more confident and better coached. They started to coalesce. KD turned it on and became unstoppable. Bam Adebayp became a defensive force. Draymond Green looked more like himself. Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard started to hit big shots. Jrue Holiday was the backcourt stopper they needed. Devin Booker and Khris Middleton were knockdown shooters. It all started to groove. They still had moments of concern, mainly letting teams stay in games a bit too long, but in the end they always pulled away. After dismantling Iran they beat the Czech and cruised by Spain. I was nervous for Australia, but they made easy work of them. Then it was France again for gold. The game was tighter than I wanted it to be, but in the end they won. KD became the men's all time leading scorer and Team USA won gold for the fourth straight time. I was wrong to doubt them and I'm glad they got the gold.

This was a good Olympics. I liked the stuff I watched and was floored by how much of it I was into and willing to watch. My hat is off to the people who put it all together . This could have been a disaster, and it is not without its bad moments, but they were able to get it done and accomplish a major feat.

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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I'm Worried About Joe Burrow

NFL training camps are full go right now and everyone is reporting on them. One day has a great throw, the next a brawl, the next a contract dispute, the next a trade demand and as always, injuries. The most recent injury update I saw was on Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow.

Burrow came out of the gates like a QB on fire last season for the Bengals. After a historic run to a title at LSU and winning the Heisman, Burrow was the number one pick by the Bengals in the 2020 draft. He was the surefire, can't miss prospect. He was the new Andrew Luck, but with more speed. He has all the tools to be great. And he was showing flashes during his rookie year. He was making deep throws, stepping up in the pocket to avoid pass rushers, pulling it down and running for 10 plus yards, he looked like the real deal.

Then he tore his ACL.

It looked bad at the time, but after his surgery all the reports were how well he was healing, and how fast he was healing. Things seemed to be good. But yesterday I saw a story from a reporter who said that Burrow has not looked good in camp. He is short-arming throws. Passes are being easily broken up or picked off. And the worst thing this reporter said was that he is "sticking his leg out to avoid getting even touched". I guess it seems like he may be scared of reinjuring his knee.

I get it, I would be hesitant too. But I am not an NFL quarterback. This can all be worked out, especially given Burrow's age, but this could also just be another in a long line of Cincinnati Bengals that end up having their careers cut short, or dampened by injury. Burrow is not the first Bengal that this would/could have happened to. There are too many to count in fact. When I was reading about this training camp experience the first name that came to mind for me was Carson Palmer. He got his knee absolutely exploded, illegally I might add, in a playoff game against the Steelers. The Bengals actually looked like a real contender that year, but when Palmer went down, their chance to win the Super Bowl was gone. Palmer came back the next year, but he wasn't the same. Even when he looked like he had rebounded with the Cardinals, you could still see the effects of that hit. He was still timid. His long ball wasn't going as far as it used to. He had much less pocket presence. He seemed to bail quicker on plays. I also thought of Ki Jana Carter. He was the next great running back in his draft class. He was an amazing college football player. He had all the tools. He was going to usher in the next era of great NFL running backs. Then his knee got destroyed. His ACL tear was bad too. It looked bad in real time and even worse in slow motion. He never returned after that. He was done. He was out of the league within five years. He had no comeback from that injury. It was brutal too. I may not have liked him, he went to Penn State, but the dude was incredible to watch in college. Then he tore his knee up and was never the same. We could also talk about AJ Green. He had a few great years with the Bengals. He was their Calvin Johnson. Then he got hurt, missed a ton of time and is now gone to a new team but isn't expected to do much because of past injuries sustained with the Bengals. The same thing happened to Ickey Woods after his lone great season in the NFL. Everyone knows him from the "Ickey Shuffle", his touchdown dance, but he was a key to their run in the playoffs. Then he gets hurt a year later and then is out of the league a few years after that. Anthony Munoz is a hall of fame offensive lineman but his career was cut short due to injury. He was as dominate as an offensive lineman could be, but he had shoulder issues and knee problems and concussions and had to walk away before he may have wanted to.

Look, I am not a Bengals fan. I don't actively root against them but I also do not watch their games. But this team seems to have horrible luck with draft picks and injuries. I feel like it is a bit unfair to their fanbase, of which is rabid. Those fans are aching for a perennially good team and things have looked like they could get there with recent picks. Then the injury bug strikes and that sets everything another couple years. It is a bummer. From Munoz to Green to Palmer to Carter to Woods and now Burrow, it just feels like the Bengals are not allowed to draft guys with humongous potential and see them live up to said potential.

I hope Burrow is okay, I hope he gets over the yips he may have right now. But if history has told us anything, when it comes to injured Bengals, do not count on 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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The Good and the Bad of NBA Free Agency

Yesterday was all about how curious I am to watch the Lakers this upcoming season. Today I want to talk about some of the free agent signings I am high on and some I'm not so crazy about.

Let's get the "bad" out of the way first.

I am not a fan at all of what the Pelicans are doing. They let Lonzo Ball go in a sign and trade and only got Toma Satoransky and, I think, Thad Young in return. They then went out and got Davante Graham, who I like, but he does nothing to help them defensively which is what they lack the most. These moves all seem very parallel. It all started when they traded the 10th pick, Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams to the Grizzlies for the 17th pick, Jonas Valnciunas and someone else who barely played for the Grizzlies. Steven Adams to Valanciunas is not much of an upgrade. And the pick swap was of no significance. Maybe the Pelicans have something else up their sleeve that no one knows about, but right now these moves would worry me if I were Zion, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart.

I also am not crazy about what the Spurs are doing. I really like the young guys they have on the team and I want them to run it with those guys. They decided to go out and sign Doug McDermott, Brynn Fobes and Zach Collins. McDermott is no more than a three point shooter and so is Forbes except not as consistent. Zach Collins simply cannot stay healthy. He is so injury prone that I am kind of surprised he is still in the league. I did like their draft, but these free agent signings are odd. But they are the Spurs, and they know way more than I do.

Finally, I kind of loathe what the 76ers are doing with Simmons. I know he isn't a free agent, but the asking price in a trade has kind of handcuffed them as far as who they could have tried to get. They also missed out on Kyle Lowry and he would have been a perfect fit for them. The lack of anything, and the asking price for Simmons would have me worried if I were a 76ers fan.

Now for the good stuff.

Speaking of Kyle Lowry, I absolutely love what the Heat have done this offseason. They added Lowry and PJ Tucker and retained Duncan Robinson. Sure they had to trade Goran Dragic to get Lowry, but I'd do that trade ten times out of ten. The Heat are going to be grueling to play against. Their defense, with Butler, Adebayo and now Lowry and Tucker is going to get under opponents skin. They will grind the hell out of other teams. And on offense they have added a great floor general, kept their best three point shooter and re-signed Butler, who can create baskets out of absolutely nothing. While not on Brooklyn or Milwaukee's level, I think the Heat have pushed their way into the third spot in the East.

I also like what Atlanta has done. They have only brought in Delon Wright, but they also kept this team who went to the East Finals together after they gave Trae and John Collins big contracts. The Hawks are going to be a perennial playoff team, they have this young core intact which will keep them good for the next four or five years and they may become more attractive to future free agents if they keep winning like I expect them to. Sometimes less is more in the NBA.

Finally on the good side, my favorite offseason moves come from the Chicago Bulls. They are all in on making a push to, at the very least, the play in next season. They got Lonzo, they brought in Alex Caruso and they have now surrounded Zach Lavine with the playmakers that will further push him into the upper tier of an all star. This team is young, exciting, explosive, better defensively and should be so much fun to watch. Ball has gotten better and better every year and I think he will thrive playing next to Lavine. Caruso, for all the unnecessary love he gets, is a solid role player and will fit in just fine. Nikola Vucevic is a very skilled offensive player and he now knows the system. Coby White is so much fun to watch and he had a very good second season. Patrick Williams looks like the real deal. And Lavine is coming off an all star season and he has looked decent in the Olympics. The Bulls need to start winning and the moves they made this offseason should help them make a playoff push. I have been super impressed with their offseason.

I love NBA free agency and this year has been especially fun. I cannot wait to watch all these guys on their new teams. The new season cannot start soon enough.

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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Making Sense of the Lakers Offseason

I will get to some of my favorite free agent signings so far at the start of NBA free agency, but today I want to talk about the Lakers yet again.

I talked about the Russ trade last week and how I do not like the fit. You can go back and see all my thoughts on why. And since then they have signed Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, Dwight Howard, Malik Monk and now Carmelo Anthony. They did lose out on the Alex Caruso sweepstakes, I think it is next to impossible for them to retain Dennis Schroeder and I would not be shocked if Talen Horton Tucker gets a better offer somewhere else. The Lakers are making moves, and they are making moves for former Lakers and former all stars.

At first glance of the new roster I thought this looks like a good roster for 2014-15. That is when all these guys were in their prime, with AD being the exception. Had this exact team been assembled back then they would have been better than the recent Warriors dynasty. It would have been a lock. Then, while on a run, I thought more about the roster. This team is old. Real old. Lebron will be 37 next season. Dwight, Carmelo, Russ, Trevor Ariza and, I believe Kent Bazemore will all be 30 plus at the start of next season. AD is young but never fully healthy. Marc Gasol is not really playable in crunch time anymore. And Malik Monk hasn't really hit since entering the NBA. I was less high after thinking about it while out this afternoon.

Then I thought more and more about it and came to an odd conclusion for me personally. I do not think this team is a title contender. I think they will be good. They will be really hard to rebound and score in the post against. They will be a playoff team. But I just do not think all these guys will coalesce and I think they will be worn out by the end of the season. But I am actually excited to watch this roster, this exact Lakers team, play basketball next season.

I am not a Lakers fan. Not at all. I do not like the Lakers or Yankees or Patriots or Alabama. I am not a front runner of a fan. Sure I love, love, love Michigan, but when was the last time they were relevant? Man that hurts my soul. And if someone asks who my favorite MLB team is I say the Cardinals, but I couldn't even tell you their record, and who besides Yadi is on the team right now. So for me to be excited to watch the Lakers, that is saying something. Maybe it is curiosity, or the fact that I want to see them stumble or that I genuinely like guys like Russ and Carmelo, but there is just something that is pulling me to want to watch. I really want to see how this all works. I'm curious who starts and who comes off the bench. If they retain Talen Horton Tucker, I want to see if he starts over Carmelo. I want to see if Dwight goes back to how he played for the Lakers in the bubble. I want to see who is taking the crucial shots. I want to see Russ' usage rate. I want to see if Malik Monk rediscovers his shot. I want to see if Ariza and Bazemore can bring the defense. There are so many intriguing things drawing me to this team. I also want to see how Lebron and AD make this work. They are the two holdovers. They also clearly put this team together, with some help from Rich Paul. These are the guys they wanted to get this offseason, and when CP3 was off the board, that opened up the Carmelo signing. I can genuinely say that I really want to see how all this works. Again, I do not think they are title contenders, but they will still be good. I think the Nuggets, Jazz, Clippers, Suns and maybe even the Mavericks are better and much younger. Those teams can run up and down the floor, and more importantly, do not necessarily need to drive to the hoop for points. They can shoot from distance. They all have younger and healthier stars too. There was clearly a shift in the most recent playoffs to younger stars, and the Lakers are going the total opposite direction.

Again, interested to watch, curious to see what happens, but do not think they are going to be the title contender that some other random fans may think. But it will be a blast to watch them play next season. That much I know.

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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Making Sense of the Lakers Trade for Russell Westbrook

I did my draft preview yesterday, and the draft went almost nearly as planned. Scottie Barnes going before Jalen Suggs was semi surprising, but Suggs was picked right after him. Josh Giddey at six seemed like a reach, but that kid has flown up draft boards. I do not know much about both Memphis picks, but that team is front loaded with talent. I think Charlotte got a steal with James Bouknight. He can fill it up. I love Kuminga and Moses Moody for the Warriors. Quentin Grimes will be fun as a Knick. Isaiah Livers got picked earlier in the second round than I thought, which ruled. Sharife Cooper in Atlanta makes sense to me. And Charles Bassey going to Philly looks sneaky good. The draft has tons of talent and I cannot wait to watch all of these guys play this upcoming season.

Yet the biggest news, at least for me, was the Russell Westbrook trade to the Lakers. I know Derrick Favors was traded to OKC, that Landry Shamet went to Phoenix, Ricky Rubio is now a Cav, Mason Plumlee is off to Charlotte, Aaron Holiday went to Washington and Charlotte traded up to get Kai Jones late in the first round. There are some solid trades there, but Russ going to the Lakers is the biggest.

I love Russell Westbrook. I am a fan. I have been a fan since OKC drafted him. I wasn't bummed when he asked to be traded when it looked like OKC was going full rebuild after trading Paul George. I thought he was going to be a better fit in Houston than he was, and I think he played pretty well in Washington alongside Bradley Beal.

This trade to the Lakers is a head scratcher for me though. I get the idea of teaming up three super stars. Teams will see Russ, LeBron and AD in the starting five, and that is scary. The Lakers will win a good amount of regular season games. They are going to be in the playoffs yet again. But what they gave up to get Russ, that is what baffles me. The trade was Russ and two future second round picks for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and two future second round picks. I do not think the Lakers have another first round pick for the next two or three seasons. But the picks are not what jumps out to me. It is the players the Lakers gave up to get Russ. Two of those three guys are/were their best three point shooters. With Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope gone they are left with Dennis Schroerder, who may not re-sign, Ben McLemore who has been a total bust, Markieff Morris who is fine but old and Wes Matthews who is often injured. They also have Talen Horton Tucker who has been fine in spurts, Marc Gasol who is too old and too slow and Alex Caruso, but I wouldn't be surprised if some irrelevant team gives him a ton of money this offseason. So when you look at this roster with the addition of Russ, I do not see much shooting.

With this trade I also see a ton of older guys and younger guys that get injured too much. AD has never played a full NBA season, and in the playoffs this year he looked very injured. LeBron's last two of three seasons have been interrupted by long injuries. Russ looks to have recovered from his torn ACL, but he is coming off COVID and shoulder stuff. And the bench is filled with injured dudes. I think they could've kept KCP or Kuzma. I do not think they had to put both in the deal. I'm sure when Washington saw both of them, plus Harrell, they jumped at the opportunity. I also think Brad Beal likes this deal. Washington didn't get better on defense, but he is now surrounded by dudes that can hit an open shot, which he will create many of with this team.

Again, the Lakers are going to be a very good team this year if healthy. But I do not think the addition of Russ, who again I adore and is one of my all time favorite players, makes them the favorite that Las Vegas has. I think the Bucks are better. I think if Philly can get some good shooters for Ben Simmons, they are better. I think the Suns are better. I think Utah can stop them from getting to the rim and force them to shoot outside. Denver is better with Jamal Murray coming back from injury.

I don't know, I just do not think this pushes the Lakers over the top. I could be proven wrong, and I wouldn't mind since I am such a big Russ fan, but this doesn't move the needle for me.

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's 2021 NBA Draft Preview

The NBA draft is tonight.

I'm pumped.

This class is really, really good. There are three dudes that all could be the number one overall pick. I watched a ton of college basketball last season because I missed the tournament when they rightfully canceled it last year at the start of this ongoing pandemic. I know a good amount of these players because I watched them all play last season. And I devoured the NCAA tournament, where a good amount of these guys made deep runs. I will do my preview like I do my other previews. I am not doing a mock draft. I like to talk about some prospects I like, some I'm not so high on and a few "sleepers". This was kind of tough because, as I said before, this draft has great top talent, solid middle ground players and some good sleepers that could go much later in this draft than they should. I do fully believe this class will have multiple all stars, guys will long NBA careers and, maybe, an MVP caliber player or two. Let's get to it.

I will start with the players I like most in this draft. For starters, all of the G League Ignite guys I like. I am on board with what all of them did. I love that they skipped six months of college to get paid and play against former pros and guys still trying to make it in the league. They got real experience against players that are better than pretty much everyone in college.

I, like most other people, love Jalen Green and Johnathan Kuminga. Kuminga may need a bit more time to develop, but he did average double figures in the G League bubble, and given the right situation, maybe the Warriors, he could really thrive. Green has been ready to go from the jump. He was the first to join the G League, and he was just as advertised. He is a scorer, a play maker, a willing defender, a good passer and he will be a day one starter. He is one of the few that I think has the ability and talent to be a multi time all star and possibly an MVP.

As far as college players, I love Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Moses Moody and Usman Garuba. Mobley has the skills to be a more talented Dwight Howard. Howard was once great by the way, but Mobley has the jumping ability, the dunking, the rim protecting and he can shoot. He may be a little too thin right now, but when he puts on weight he is going to be a force. I think he may be the best player in this class.

Cade Cunningham is, quite possibly, the most NBA ready player at the moment. He dominated in college, was dominant in high school, seems humble and coachable and can score in bunches. He is really, really good. He should be the first pick. If Detroit passes on him that would be a big time mistake.

Moses Moody is a good scorer and he can be an instant offense off the bench guy right away. I see a lot of Immanuel Quickley in Moody. Whatever late lottery team gets him, maybe Memphis, is going to get instant bench scoring.

Usamn Garuba is going to go in the late teens to 20's, and whatever playoff level team gets him is getting the best defender in the league. He was playing professionally overseas, so like the Ignite guys, he has been facing top level talent for at least a year now. Garbua is going to be a very good late first round pick.

Now to the players I am not so crazy about. This first one pains me because you all know I love my Wolverines, but I do not get the lottery love for Franz Wagner. Wagner is a great defender, a willing defender, coachable and a very solid passer. But he does not have a very good shot. That can be worked on, but what if he ends up with the Kings? Or Pacers? Or Magic? He is going to be asked to do too much too fast. He needs time to develop a jump shot. He is going to play right away because of his defense, but he would be so much better off going to a team like the Spurs or Grizzlies or Warriors. He needs to find a team loaded on offense so he can focus on defense.

I watched Scottie Barnes completely disappear in a tournament game against Michigan. So the love for him, especially lately, baffles me. He is hyper athletic and has a non stop motor, but for him to be mocked as high as five, I don't get that at all. He is another guy that needs time. He needs the right team. He needs to go somewhere he can develop. He is about two to three years away.

Corey Kispert is Jimmer Fredette 2.0. He is no more than a shooter. He offers no defense, no passing, no ball handling. He is just a shooter. So for him being mocked in the 10-14 area, that is wild. I do not doubt he is going to be able to score, but his ceiling is JJ Redick, except Redick used to be a competent defender. Just look at some guys in the Kispert mold. We have Fredette and Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas. Those guys were not worth their draft position, and two of them are out of the league. And McDermott is a bench guy. That is Corey Kispert to me.

Jalen Johnson is a complete mystery to me. I get why he left Duke early last season, but I have not heard about him since. Is he as good as his recruiting ranking? Did he leave Duke to prepare for the draft? Do teams like him? Has he been promised a spot in the lottery? None of this is known to me and many other NBA fans that do not have access some other writers do. Any team that takes him will have a total project on their hands, and that doesn't always work out well.

As for my sleepers, I do have a few. First it is time to give love to my Wolverines. I think however Isaiah Livers gets into the league, he is going to be a beast of a bench player. Livers was the heart and soul of Michigan the past two years. He can shoot, rebound, defend and plays hard every night. He was the guy on Michigan that I was never nervous or worried about. He has this calming nature when he plays basketball. I also think that Ayo Dosunmu is going to be a great fit for whatever playoff team takes him late in the first round. He would be an excellent backup to Mike Conley in Utah. He would be a nice complement to James Harden in Brooklyn. The Lakers would kill to have him take over for Dennis Schroeder if he doesn't re-sign. Dosunmu is a very good player. I mentioned the G League Ignite team, and they have Isaiah Todd and Dashien Nix to go along with Kuminga and Green. Nix is going to be a solid rebounder and Todd, if he develops a decent shot, could be a solid player on a good team.

I am pumped to see where everyone lands tonight. I love the draft and I love seeing who picks who. The draft is great, and the NBA does it best. Let's go.

Ty

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

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The NFL is Doing Something Right

I like to bash the NFL a lot on this site. I do watch football, but college football is much more my speed. I know that isn't any better, but college football just speaks to me. I also think the NFL is corrupt, I despise Roger Goodell, I do not think that they care about their players and they act like they could give a shit about any of this. I think RD would agree with me on most of this. For a bit of a change of pace, I do want to give them some love today.

The NFL has been in the news recently with their updated COVID guidelines, and I absolutely love and totally agree with every new rule they have put in place. For those that may not know, the NFL recently put in new rules that if a non vaccinated player causes an outbreak and the team cannot play, they have to forfeit. They also said that any unvaccinated player that doesn't follow proper COVID protocols will be fined 14,650 dollars. They also put into place that vaccinated players can go about their business with other vaccinated players, but unvaccinated players have to follow proper social distancing and masking, and if they don't, they will be fined. I also saw a recent story where a team refused to sign a free agent because he refuses to get vaccinated.

I love, love, love all of this. This is what should be happening everywhere. Vaccinations are free, easy to get and totally, absolutely worth it. They are the only thing that is going to get us out of the hellscape we currently live in. And for a league like the NFL to come out with these steadfast, hardcore rules, I couldn't be happier. Yesterday most camps opened and I saw that ten teams have hit 80 percent vaccination rate. I saw that only Washington is lower than 50 percent. I have seen some players are starting to try and get their teammates that are hesitant to get vaxxed to get the shot so they don't get fined or have to forfeit a game. The voices of some certain morons of late are starting to die out. The Vikings and Patriots O line coaches have both quit because they don't want the shot, but all the message boards, for the most part, do not seem to care. They are going the other way in fact. They are bad mouthing these idiots for not getting the shot. Or they are saying how horrible of coaches they are, so the fans could care less that they are out. I saw Deandre Hopkins is contemplating retirement because he doesn't want the shot, and while that bums me out because I am a big fan of his, if he doesn't get the vaccine, good riddance. Some other receiver is just waiting to take his spot in Arizona. And for the few idiots that are griping about the new rules, the NFL is a privately run business. They can do whatever they choose. They make the rules. They do not have to follow anyone else's rules and they can make up rules as they go. They do not have to take religion or anything in consideration when making up new rules.

I have a good feeling about the new COVID rules they have in place. I think it will drive the vaccination rate up in the country. I also think it will make some fans who may be wary of getting the shot to go and get it. I do believe some stadiums are going to require proof of vaccine or a negative test for fans to even enter the stadium. This is a good thing coming from one of the worst run leagues in professional sports. They are taking the correct steps. They are making the right moves. The NFL skirts safety at every other level, but they are taking this seriously because they lost so much money last year. If that is what it takes, that is what it takes. I assume other professional leagues, if they haven't already, are going to adopt the same, or similar rules. The NBA has been doing this since vaccines were first made available.

So while I am not usually on board with the NFL, this I am not only on board, I am at the front of the boat ready to steer. This is a good thing and we should all be applauding it and trying to do the same. Good job NFL, for once in your life.

Ty

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

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It Does Not Look Good For Team USA Basketball

I think it is time to start worrying about Team USA winning any medal at the Olympics this year.

I got up early yesterday to watch Olympic basketball. I love basketball, and if it is on and I am up I will watch. I particularly like Olympic basketball because of the different rules. They play by FIBA rules and that means they can play a bit rougher, faster and pull rebounds off the rim, even if the ball looks like it is going in. I would love for the NBA and college basketball to adopt some of these rules. The best thing about Olympic basketball is the fact that the games are done within two hours. It is close to perfect.

So I got out of bed to watch Team USA. I saw the exhibition games and kind of shrugged off the losses to Nigeria and Australia. They rebounded nicely against Argentina and Spain, and I even went on the pod and said they should be a lock to win gold. Even without guys like LeBron and AD and Steph, they still have KD, Dame, Tatum, Draymond Green and Bam Adebayo, to name a few. Most of the twelve guys on the team are super stars and some of the best players in the world. I know that other countries are catching up, but still, the overall talent on Team USA's roster is chock full of upper tier NBA talent. Look at a team like Slovenia for example. They have Luka Doncic, and a bunch of dudes I have never heard of before. Spain has Ricky Rubio and the Gasol brothers, then a bunch of dudes that had a cup of coffee in the league. Nigeria has some young NBA talent, but no one that really even starts on an NBA team. Australia has a really good group of players, a lot of which are in the NBA still, but none of them are even close to being the best players on their teams. And France has some good dudes, namely Rudy Gobert, but again, Team USA, on paper, has way, way better talent.

I saved France for last because that is who beat Team USA yesterday. The USA came out strong, led by double figures at one point, and then totally melted down. They couldn't hit the ocean. They couldn't get a stop. They kept making stupid fouls. KD fouled out of the game, and only scored ten points. Team USA was an absolute mess in the second half, and France jumped all over them. Rudy Gobert was stifling them at the rim. Evan Fournier could not be stopped. All the other guys on France's roster did what they were told to do, and France came away with a fairly easy 83-76 win. After the game Evan Fournier said that Team USA is a great collection of talent, but they can be beaten as a team.

Therein lies the problem with USA basketball at the moment. We are entitled. We are egotistical. We think we can just walk on the floor and win because our jersey says USA across the front. That isn't the case anymore. Evan Fournier is right. This current USA team is not very good. They are constantly complaining to the refs which is causing them to get beat on defense. These guys are so used to getting minor calls that when it doesn't happen in the Olympics, they get flustered and instead of getting back, they gripe. That needs to stop. Another alarming thing I saw was Jrue Holiday was the leading scorer and about the only guy that played good defense. I love Jrue Holiday, but he just came off the Finals, had no practice with the team and he should not be the leading scorer on a team that has KD, Dame, Tatum and Devin Booker. Hell, his teammate Khris Middleton would be a better top scoring option on this team. Then, after Fournier's comments, Dame came out and said that these guys play differently when they are playing for their home country. That may be true, but I do not think it is a bad thing. They are playing pridefully and they want to represent their home country. That is what I want out of Team USA. Look at when Carmelo played for Team USA. He was instant offense off the bench. When LeBron did it he did what was asked of him. Same with Kobe. Michael Jordan played total shut down defense on the Dream Team. Those guys did what was needed because they realized the collection of talent they had around them. They didn't need to be the top scorer or rebounder or shoot a million free throws. They found a way to mesh.

And now some of the current players are complaining, anonymously, about having to run the Spurs offense. Greg Poppovich is Team USA's head coach, so he is going to instill the offense he has run for almost 3 decades now. And you know what, that offense works. Pop is the greatest NBA coach of all time. He knows how to utilize the talents of everyone on his teams. He has won so many rings. The Spurs are always in playoff contention. So why would running his offense be a problem? I think it has to do with ball movement. The Spurs are the best passing team of all time. I'm not saying that these players don't pass, but the offenses they run in the NBA are built around them. KD goes one on one most of the time with the Nets. Same with Tatum. Damian Lillard is the face of the Trailblazers offense. Draymond Green is, maybe, the only guy on this team that is a willing passer. That needs to change. They don't need to complain about the offense being run. That is an excuse.

The simple fact is Team USA is not playing good basketball right now, the world has caught up to them and they are finding ways to make it seem like it is not their fault. It is though. Something has to change. They need to get their act together. If they don't they could wind up not winning a medal at all. France, Nigeria and Australia all exposed this iteration of Team USA. The playbook is out on how to beat them and how to get in their heads. I hope they get it together soon. But if they don't this team is going to be coming home from Tokyo early and empty handed. I still have faith that they can right the ship, but that faith is a mere flicker. KD is my main hope for a turnaround, but that will only happen if he starts to make shots. I hope he does or this team is done.

Ty

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

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Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC Makes No Sense

The other day while looking at college football news I saw the big story that Texas and Oklahoma have inquired, or were at least thinking about, joining the SEC. At first I thought it was just a rumor. I took zero stock in the report. I did not think that the two most notable Big 12 teams would bolt to go play in the SEC. It didn't make sense at the time.

Why would these teams make the move? Texas hasn't been great as of late. They are a lot like Michigan right now. They get overhyped, fall on their face when they shouldn't and close out seasons at 7-5 or 8-4. It is eerie how similar Texas and Michigan have been the past ten to fifteen seasons. Oklahoma basically runs the Big 12. Ever since Lincoln Riley took over they seem to win it every season. They have multiple Heisman winning QB's. They have been to the playoff. They go out and torch other Big 12 teams. They are the university of Ohio State or Alabama of the Big 12. So I just thought it was odd that they would want to join the SEC. It doesn't make sense.

It still doesn't make sense to me a few days later. Apparently talks are ramping up on both teams leaving. I saw that neither will resign with TV companies that cover the Big 12 in 2025 when the contract is up. I saw that a few current SEC teams, and former Big 12 schools, Missouri and Texas A&M have come out and said they do not want Texas and Oklahoma to join. I wonder what other SEC teams think. I'm sure Alabama could care less. As long as Nick Saban is coaching they will be the pick to win the SEC every year. Georgia looks to be really good this upcoming season, and their recruiting is setting them up to always be good. Auburn is up and down, but they are entrenched as an SEC school. Florida is big time in the SEC. Even schools like Kentucky and South Carolina are way, way more SEC than Texas and Oklahoma could ever dream of being.

I also do not understand the want for Texas, and even more so, Oklahoma to leave the comfort of the Big 12. If they were to leave the Big 12 in three years both of their schedules get immediately tougher. There is no Kansas in the SEC. SEC teams usually play one really tough out of conference opponent. SEC teams do get that one cupcake team late in the season, but the Big 12 fills their out of conference schedule with cupcakes. For example, Oklahoma's three non conference games this year are Tulane, Western Carolina and Nebraska. Those are all very easy wins for them. Texas plays Louisiana Lafayette, Arkansas and Rice. Again, all very winnable games. Alabama on the other hand has a game with Miami. While they are not as good as they used to be, it is still Miami. They will still be a tough opponent in the ACC. They are better than all of the other teams I just mentioned. Auburn plays Penn State in week three. Ole Miss plays Louisville. In week one Georgia is facing Clemson. Mississippi State faces Memphis, who has been very solid the past few years, in week three. And Vanderbilt has Stanford. Those games are all much more difficult than anyone Texas and Oklahoma face in their first three weeks. Then we have the conference schedule. Texas and Oklahoma get to play West Virginia and Texas Tech and Baylor. They also face Kansas State and Kansas. And there is TCU. Iowa State is the only real threat to Oklahoma, but this is a team that just got good two years ago. The SEC has all those teams I mentioned above, plus teams like LSU, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri to name a few.

If I were Texas and Oklahoma I would think about this a bit more before deciding. I like that they want tougher competition, but they can schedule that out of conference. They can schedule two or three tough opponents, then run the gamut in the Big 12 and have a much better shot at the playoff. And if they are both to leave, it will not be too long until we go to three or four super conferences. The Big 12 would be done without these two schools. The rest of the conference would look elsewhere. The Big 10 could absorb some of the schools, but where would the other southern schools go? Would they also join the SEC? Would the ACC survive? How does this affect the Pac 12? There would be a TON of questions to answer if this comes to fruition. But right now, the way I see it, Texas and Oklahoma are better off staying put and wiping the floor with their current conference in Oklahoma's case. We will have to see what happens. But a change from these two schools would cause a seismic shift in the college football landscape.

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 NBA Finals

The Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA championship in 50 years last night. This series was a ton of fun for me to watch. I kept picking the Suns to win. First I had them in six, then that shifted to seven, but I was rooting for the Bucks the whole time. I am not necessarily a fan, but my dad has been one since their last title, when he was 21. He will be 71 in October. I wanted him to have a team he likes to win something big. We are both Michigan and Green Bay Packer fans. Neither has won anything of importance in about a decade. He is a Brewers fan, and while they are good right now, I do not know when they last won a World Series, if ever. So for a NBA team he likes, a team he has liked for years, wins a championship his happiness makes me happy.

From the jump though this series was very competitive and very well played. When the Suns burst out to a 2-0 lead it looked like they were going to sweep, or win in five. They looked really good those first two games, Chris Paul and Devin Booker were shooting lights out, Deandre Ayton was playing really well, the role players were clutch and Milwaukee looked gassed. Giannis was also coming off a hyperextended knee and I did not know if he was fully healthy. The Suns were on a magical run and they seemed destined to win it all. Giannis even put in 40 plus in game two and that wasn't enough. The Suns pulled away late and they were in the driver's seat.

Then the series shifted to Milwaukee. The Bucks wouldn't lose another game. They won game three by 20 plus. That was the only game that wasn't relatively close. They came out and blitzed the Suns and took the game with ease. I kind of expected this. This usually happens in a finals series. The team that is down goes home and gets that game. It happens a ton.

Game four was great. The game went back and forth. Devin Booker couldn't miss. Ayton grabbed 17 rebounds. CP3 wasn’t scoring, but he was being a pest. But Milwaukee kept coming. They made a push, due to Giannis and Khris Middleton, and they ended up winning that crucial game four. The block Giannis had on Ayton was one of the most athletic things I've ever seen. He came out to overhelp on Booker, who saw Ayton wide open for an alley oop, Booker threw the pass and Giannis somehow recovered to block the shot and pretty much seal the game for the Bucks. That block is right up there with Lebron's chase down block against the Warriors in 2016.

Game five was another delight. Booker, again, was on fire. He made tough shot after tough shot. He was pestered by Jrue Holiday, more on him in a moment, and PJ Tucker all night. But he just kept making really hard shots. The only problem, the rest of his team did not show up. Ayton had the most quiet 20 point 10 rebound game I have ever seen. CP3 was silent. Jae Crowder couldn't hit the ocean. They got nothing from their bench. Mikail Bridges was the only other dude they played well. The Bucks, on the other hand, got all three of their stars involved. Khris Middleton went for 40. Jrue Holiday scored 27 points, dished out 13 assists and played some of the best defense this side of Kawhi. He was so good on defense this whole series that any bad offensive night does not matter. He was absolutely worth every single pick and player they traded before the season started. The Bucks won that trade by a mile. And Giannis went for 30 plus and double digit rebounds and a great alley oop to seal the game. That play was amazing. The Suns had it with a chance to take the lead with less than 30 seconds left. Booker found a spot in the middle of the floor, tried to spin for a shot and Holiday was right there with the help defense to rip the ball away. Then he and Giannis ran the floor and instead of pulling the ball out and running clock and shooting free throws, Holiday threw a perfect pass and Giannis dunked all over CP3's head. He would miss the free throw, but that was a wrap on game five. Giannis had two great moments in two consecutive games.

Then we got his masterpiece last night. Game six was kind of a slog in the first half. It was 47-42 Suns at halftime. Then Giannis, who had 17 points in the first half, went for 20 in the third quarter. And he did it by plowing his way to the hoop, making a few jumpers and hitting his free throws. At one point he had something like 37 of the Bucks 65 points. He was their offense. He continued this in the fourth quarter. He "only" had 13 points in the quarter, but he simply could not be stopped. He was an absolute freight train. Deandre Ayton would slide out of the way or foul him. Jae Crowder was getting beat off the dribble consistently. Mikail Bridges is too skinny. Frank Kaminsky has no business being on the same floor as Giannis. Everything the Suns threw at Giannis he swatted away and scored with ease. He would not allow the Bucks to be beat last night. At the end of the night he had 50 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. He left it all on the floor and pretty much single handedly won this game. He had 50 of their 105 points. That is so impressive. And it wasn't just his offense. He hustled all night up and down the floor, made smart passes, pulled down boards, played great defense, he was awesome. It was an absolute joy to watch him play last night. It was one of those games that I was so happy I watched in real time. He was the Finals MVP, of course, and that game last night pushed him to the top three players in the league. Giannis is amazing.

All in all this was a super fun finals, it was close, it was exceptionally played and it had a great outcome. The NBA pulled this weird season off and it ended with the proper champ. Now go enjoy this title Milwaukee. You deserve 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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This Year's NBA Finals is Legendary

The Bucks tied the NBA Finals at two games last night. That was the best game of the series so far. Devin Booker went off. So did Khris Middleton. Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson hit big shots, but so did Pat Connaughton and Brook Lopez. Deandre Ayton has been a rebounding beast. And Giannis has been absolutely superb. Chris Paul has had a rough past couple of games, and Jrue Holiday has not found his shot yet, but both guys are doing other things very well right now.

I know the first three games looked like blowouts with the final score, but they were a lot closer. Last night's game was how I have felt this whole series has been so far. These two teams deserve to be where they are right now. I don't want to hear about injuries or the shortened season or any of that nonsense. The Bucks and the Suns are rightfully where they belong. And now with Milwaukee tying it up, this series has the chance to be one for the ages. This looks like it is going to go the full seven.

I think the rest of the games are going to be a ton of fun. I think both teams have each other figured out as much as they can and now it is going to be pure talent that wins out. The Bucks have the best player, but the Suns have a more complete team. The Suns have home court advantage, but the Bucks beat Brooklyn when they had the same advantage. Neither team is very deep, but I trust Phoenix's bench more. Both coaches are nearing that elite level, but Mike Budenholzer has been a head coach longer, although I do adore Monty Williams. I do not see any super clear advantage going forward. I do not know how to handicap the rest of the Finals. I truly do not know who is going to win. I picked Phoenix in six, and after the first two games I said on the pod that they may sweep. Then the Bucks did what they have done all playoffs and grinded their way to two important victories. I simply have no clue what is going to happen in the next two or three games. Ayton hasn't been scoring a ton, and I expect that to change. Jrue Holiday has been way off the mark, but he is due to bounce back very soon. Booker shot his way out of his slump last night, and he is liable to go for 40 any night. Giannis has been an absolute stud the whole Finals. He "only" scored 26 last night. He had been putting up 40 with regularity. Chris Paul is not going to turn the ball over like he has the past three games. But Khris Middleton now looks like he found his scoring touch once again. There are too many things happening right now that make the rest of this series hard to pick but super fun to watch.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game last night. It is so much fun not having any skin in the game and just watching for entertainment. And last night was a prime example of why I love the NBA so much. The game went back and forth all night. Big time players made big time plays. Incredibly difficult shots were going in with regularity. I fully expect the same for the final three games. And I am here for it. I cannot wait.

If I were forced to pick again, to make up my mind right at this moment, I still think I am going with the Suns. They have home court. Their bench is a bit better. CP3 will play better. Devin Booker is hitting shots again. And Deandre Ayton is going to start scoring. But Milwaukee is going to make it super duper tough. Giannis is playing on a whole other level right now. He is Shaq with a jumper. He is making free throws. He is unstoppable. Middelton is making shots. Jrue Holiday will play better on the offensive end, and has been fantastic on defense. Brook Lopez is doing all the little things asked of him. The Bucks just do not have the roster to hold up for two more wins, in my opinion. I'm rooting for Milwaukee, I want them to win, I love Giannis and I thought the Holiday trade was perfect. But Phoenix is having one of those special seasons and I think they will finish it off with a title. It will take seven, but I think they will do it.

I cannot wait to watch more of these games. They have been a blast and the rest will continue to be as much fun. At least I hope.

Ty

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

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The Suns Will Do It

The NBA Finals are set and they start tomorrow night. Today I have my preview and prediction for you. I feel like we got the two best teams this season in the Finals.

There were times when it looked like it may be the Lakers or Nets or 76ers or Jazz or Nuggets. But the Suns and Bucks earned their way. The Suns beat both LA teams and Denver. And before you talk to me about all the injuries, just go back to last week when I wrote about the Suns making it to the Finals. They did what they were supposed to do. The Bucks beat the presumptive favorite, the Nets, in round two and finally beat the Cinderella Hawks in the conference finals without Giannis. Middleton and Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopex really stepped up when Giannis went down. These two teams beat the teams in front of them, sometimes the better team on paper, and now they are here.

I like this matchup if Giannis is healthy. If Giannis is out, this is a sweep by the Suns, and it would not even be that close. Milwaukee will hopefully get good news this evening or tomorrow morning about Giannis' availability. I'm going to go ahead and assume that he will play.

I also like the fact that only one guy, Jae Crowder, has any experience in the Finals. He's been there the past two seasons, everyone else is a big fat zero. We finally have some new blood playing for the chip. In basketball it is usually very chalky. We know the three or four best teams. For the past decade plus it has been whatever team LeBron is on and any mixture of Golden State or San Antonio. The team that wins it this year will have their franchise's first title in my lifetime. That rules. I enjoy the fact that Giannis is there for the first time. Chris Paul, after 16 great seasons, is there for the first time. Devin Booker, who is going to be a scoring champ and MVP very soon, is there for the first time. Deandre Ayton and Mikail Bridges are getting their first taste. Brook Lopex has never been, Neither has Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton. It will be very nice to see new faces on the floor playing for their first ring. That is cool. It allows for more parity. It shows that the major markets do not need to always be in the spotlight. This is a good thing.

As for on the court, these teams match up nice. Jrue Holiday will not fall for Chris Paul's shenanigans. Mikail Bridges will make life hard on Khris Middleton. Brook Lopez will be facing a younger, bouncier athlete in Deandre Ayton. Jae Crowder will most likely get the Giannis draw, and if Giannis is healthy, watch out Jae Crowder. And Devin Booker will face a myriad of defenders, but will most likely score on them as he has scored on everyone else all season long. The benches each go about three or four guys deep, so that will be interesting to see who is on who when they play.

But this series is about the stars. This is all about Giannis and Middleton going up against Booker and CP3. I think, and again this depends on Giannis' health, this will be a 6 or 7 game series. I think no matter what though the Suns are going to win. They are having one of those magical seasons. They have beaten all the big guns on their way. They played a tougher regular and postseason schedule. They are the more tested team. This is their title. Milwaukee can make it interesting, but in the end I think the Suns are the better, and more healthy team. I also think Booker will play a better series, but Chris Paul will have a few good games and he will win Finals MVP. It is his first trip there and the powers that be want him to have that MVP. If they cannot get New York or LA in the Finals, they will make sure that CP3 gets that MVP.

Anyway, I think the Suns will win the title and it will take them six games to do it. I cannot wait to watch.

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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Long Live NIL

The NCAA was finally dealt a blow when the NIL bill was passed. For those that do not know, the NIL means that college athletes can now profit off of their Name, Image and Likeness. This is a big, big deal. As soon as it was passed, at midnight on Thursday, players already started to sign deals with random social media companies.

When I was younger I was of the belief that a scholarship was enough for student athletes. I figured getting your college paid for was more than enough. Then I got older and a little bit smarter. I remember my first breakaway from thinking a scholarship was enough was seeing how Chris Webber, and the rest of the Fab Five, were not even able to eat at a McDonald's, but other people, myself included, were wearing jerseys and shirts with their name, face and number on it. That didn't seem right to me. I was 12 and 13 years old at the time. The older I got the more I said that these kids deserved more than just a scholarship. I go to college football and basketball games and see these kids' faces everywhere. They are on the program, adults are wearing their jerseys, their faces are plastered on t-shirts, there are posters of them everywhere you look. Their faces are everywhere and the only people profiting are the coaches and the university. The schools and the NCAA are clearly taking advantage of the term "student athlete". They have looked away and hid their face in the mud for so long that this seemed like it was going to happen eventually. I'm glad it is happening now.

Just look at recent players who have been stripped of awards and games won. Reggie Bush was on Twitter instantly when this passed, and he is right. Give that man his Heisman back. He did nothing wrong at all. Or what about the University of Ohio State tattoo thing. I despise that school and their football team, but that whole "scandal" was ridiculous. Let these kids get a goddamn tattoo in exchange for some game worn stuff. Who cares? Even outside the "scandalous" stuff, just think about the money some of these colleges have made off these kids. Players I do not like, like Johnny Manziel or Tim Tebow, how much money do you think Texas A&M and Florida made off of their image and likeness? Millions of dollars? Maybe billions? I think so. Michigan put Denard Robinson on EVERYTHING when he was their QB, and they were not very good, save for one season. But I saw so many people with t-shirts with his face or wearing his number 16 jersey. Michigan made a ton off of his likeness. Alabama has made a fortune off of Mark Ingram, Devonta Smith, Tua and so many other NFL players that played their college football there. Clemson probably made money hand over fist the last three years just off of Trevor Lawrence's face. Even a smaller school like UCF probably made millions when Mackenzie Milton was their QB and they were going undefeated. It's the same in college basketball. Just think of the money that Duke, UNC, Kentucky and Michigan State have made off of their one and done guys. Hell, look no further than the Duke-UNC game a few years back that featured Zion. People were not paying 10,000 dollars a ticket to see Duke, they were paying that to see Zion. Former president, and one of my favorite people ever, Barack Obama was at that game, and I assure you he wasn't there because of the rivalry. He was there to see Zion. Zion deserves every penny he may or may not have gotten during his six months at Duke. As do every other college athlete that was not seeing a dime but the school was making a fortune during their time on campus.

This NIL rule is a great, great thing for college sports and college athletes. These kids deserve more than just a scholarship. It is about time they are able to make money off their likeness. This has been a long time coming, but I am glad it is finally here. I haven't understood since I was 13 why these athletes couldn't even get a job but every other student could. Now they have an outlet to make money so they can live a comfortable life on campus. This is a big deal and a big win for student athletes everywhere. Congrats.

Ty

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

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