The Raptors are a Frustrating, and Predictable, Playoff Team

I feeling embarrassed that I had faith in the Raptors going into the playoffs this year. They had a great regular season, got the one seed in the East, changed their style of play to be more modern and just looked like a real threat. And even though Washington took 2 games from them, I was impressed by how they closed out that series. They were matched up with Cleveland, who was coming off a rough 7 game series with Indiana, and I figured they had a chance. I know I picked the Cavs, but I thought it would go 6 or 7 games.

Once the games started, and the Raptors reverted to being the Raptors. It was tough to watch. They stopped doing what was so successful all year long, and they let LeBron get in their head. They haven’t been able to beat him, and that has stuck. LeBron was amazing in this series. He had one “bad” outing, game one, but other than that, he was incredible. The Raptors had zero answer for him. They had a rookie on him, OG Anounoby, but he’s a solid defender. What was so frustrating though, they gave him zero help. He was one on one with the best player in the game right now, a rookie, and the Raptors never adjusted. I’ll never understand that as long as I live. And LeBron carried that team for those first three games. He did any and everything that was asked of him. He scored at will. He made amazing buzzer beaters. He got to the rim with ease. He was amazing.

Then, last night in game 4, he got the help he’s been waiting for. Everyone, be it JR Smith, Kevin Love or George Hill, they all contributed last night. What helped them was how poorly the Raptors came out and played last night. They were an embarrassment. They phoned it in. They gave up. They bought into the fact that LeBron owns them. Kyle Lowry was horrendous all series, and he was horrible last night. DeMar DeRozan decides it would be better to watch from the locker room and got himself ejected in the second quarter. Jonas Valenciunas was unplayable in this whole series. Same for Jakob Poertle. Serge Ibaka was a no show. Hell, the only guys who seemed to be trying where Anounoby and Fred Van Vleet. That shouldn’t be the case in a potential season ending game. They needed their best players, and none of them showed up. In fact, they all gave up. That’s sad. To lose that game, by that much, that’s pathetic.

I don’t know where the Raptors go from here. They can’t run it back because it will be fools gold again. But they also can’t really trade anyone because they won’t get a good return. I wouldn’t fire Dewayne Casey because he’s a good coach, but man does he choke in the playoffs. The Raptors are the 21st century’s version of the Sonics, but even they made a Finals appearance. This team needs to really look within and find out what they can do to compete at a higher level. After last night, they need to do a deep soul search.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Avengers: Infinity War"

There are minor spoilers for "Avengers: Infinity War" in this piece. You have been warned.

My wife and I saw "Avengers: Infinity War" on Saturday, and I have some thoughts.

First off, I thought the movie was pretty good. A little long, but other than some nit picks here and there, I found myself enjoying what I saw. Also, someone brought a 10 month old to this movie and nonsense like that needs to stop. If you cannot get a babysitter, go another night, or wait until it comes out on video. My wife and I were very perplexed by the fact that someone brought their child to this 2 and a half hour movie. What the hell. Anyway, I want to get the nit picks out of the way first, then explain why I liked this movie. Also, I am going to try and be as spoiler free as I can be, but come on, if you like comic book movies, you have most likely already seen "A:IW", and I'm sure you've already made up your own minds about it.

So, my problems. As I said at the top, this is a long, long movie. At first I didn't really notice because it was just one fight scene after another. The first hour seemed to breeze by. Then, we started to get some back stories on some of the characters, and that was when the movie really started to grind to a halt. It was nice to see how Thanos ended up with Gamora, but I didn't need a 5 minute scene explaining it. Also, kind of cool to see what Thanos was like before, and that he had a shred of dignity, but I could have done without the flashback stuff. Also, it took almost too long for Wakanda and Black Panther to show up. My wife and I both kept saying, "when is Black Panther coming", "when are they going to Wakanda", and so on and so forth. Oh, and why did Scarlet Witch's accent come and go. I swear she was speaking with her regular voice, remembered she was supposed to be Russian, and slipped back into the accent and the directors were like, no big deal. And Paul Bettany, who plays Vision, is way, way too old for Elizabeth Olsen. But, that is Hollywood for you.

Other than those minor issue, I had no real problem with the movie. Even though it was long, I thought it flowed pretty smoothly. I liked the different groups of superheroes that teamed up. I liked the scenery. I enjoyed the banter. I LOVED the battle scenes. I thought it was a cool movie. My favorite pairing in the movie was Thor and the Guardians. They do split in the middle, and when it is Thor, Groot and Rocket, that was my favorite pairing of all. I love what Marvel has done with Thor, making him funnier and, just in general, more fun. Rocket was one of my favorite superheroes already, and I adore Groot. This was the perfect group. When Ironman, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, Mantis, Drax and Starlord teamed up, I was fine with it, but I wanted more Rocket and Thor.

I will say, for those hating on Starlord now for what he did, when they could have defeated Thanos, stop it. This is a comic book movie. This isn't real life. And, if I were in Peter Quill's situation, after finding out what he found out, I would do the exact same thing. Love makes you nuts, and Peter Quill is a selfish person. All that was established in both "Guardians" movies.

Teaming up Cap, Black Widow, Vison, Falcon and Scarlet Witch was pretty cool. When Cap was revealed, I did get goosebumps, and I am not a Captain America guy. When he, Black Widow and Falcon help out Vision and Scarlet Witch, I really enjoyed that scene. When the 6 of them head to Wakanda and team up with Winter Soldier and Black Panther's crew, I thought that was very cool. It just took too long. But, when they did get together, I loved it. I loved that they were in Wakanda fighting too. It was a bummer to see Wakanda, the most beautiful place that has, possibly, ever existed in movies, get destroyed the way it did. But, that fight scene, where Thanos' lackeys bring on millions of those alien/dog hybrid things to fight, that was cool. When Black Panther had them open the shield protecting Wakanda, I was disappointed, but also understood, and it led to an amazing battle scene. When Thor, Groot and Rocket show up, the scene went from an 8 to a 10 for me. That final scene too, with Thanos showing up to Wakanda, it had a bit of everything. It was dark, sad, kick ass and brutal. To see all these heroes fighting the most badass villain ever, I thought it was pretty cool.

I know people have different ideas about what happened at the very end of that movie. I am in the camp that thinks they wouldn't get rid of that many people, especially newer people, but I still don't know. Another part of me thinks that the people at Marvel would kill that amount of people off because they have a seemingly endless supply of other heroes that they can make movies out of. I do believe my wife when she says that she thinks Loki, Gamora and Vision are for sure dead. But, she doesn't think pretty much any of the other people that looked to have died are actually dead. She doesn't think Marvel would do that. Three days later and I still don't know. I knew they were going to go dark, and they did, but I just cannot sully commit to that many heroes being gone.

All in all I would give "A:IW" a solid B. I have seen 3 Marvel movies so far this year, "Black Panther", "Thor; Ragnarok" and now "A:IW", and I liked "Thor" and "Black Panther" much more. But, I did think "A:IW" was a good movie. If you haven't seen it yet, please do, if you like Marvel But also know, you have to be pretty well versed to get everything they are talking about in this new movie. I am very curious to see where they take the franchise from here. But, for now, I will just be left trying to figure out who is still here, and who isn't. Only one more year until we all find out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has not been this anxious for action since he saw the first "Itchy and Scratchy, and Poochie Show" When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?

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The Knicks Make a Surprisingly Smart Move by Hiring Good Coach David Fizdale

There were some other things that I was going to talk about today, but finally, mercifully and thankfully, the New York Knicks made a right, and proper, decision.

The announcement of the hiring of David Fizdale as their new head coach might be the best news Knicks fans have heard since they found out they were going to be able to draft Patrick Ewing. This is a big deal. This is a great hire. This is the exact guy that the Knicks need to make them relevant again. Fizdale is a great NBA coach. He has proved that at every stop. How he got fired in Memphis was a raw deal. He didn't deserve that. He did more with that team than anyone, myself included, thought. He had them deep in a series with a very good Spurs team. He made Zach Randolph better. He got Marc Gasol to fully buy in. Mike Conley became a should be All Star under him. He took marginal players, like Tony Allen, and turned them into quality players. He was also a bench coach for the Heat when they had their big three, and he did wonders with them. He and Spoelstra really figured out how to work with those three guys, and I give Fizdale a ton of the credit. He convinced Dwayne Wade that it was LeBron's team. He got LeBron to be highly efficient. He had Chris Bosh do all the little things that the Heat needed at the time. These guys listened to him because he is a players coach. He makes himself available and works with their strengths.

Now, what the Knicks have in Fizdale is a great coach that can squeeze the best out of his players. Now, they have to get more guys around him. Fizdale will do wonders with Kristaps Porzingis when he returns to full health. Porzingis is already great, but Fizdale will tweak his game ever so slightly, and he will be that much better. Frank Nkilitina will become an even better defender, at which he is already very good, and his offensive game will grow. Nkilitina is also super young, so he has a ton of room to grow. Those are the 2 guys I feel like Fizdale should build around. And, until they get some big name guys, he will squeeze the best out of the players currently on that team. Tim Hardaway Jr will become much more efficient. Fizdale will get him to stop taking so many dumb threes, and he will become a better passer. Trey Burke, who was lighting it up at the end of the year, should thrive under Fizdale. He will never be lottery pick good, but he will become a capable NBA backup, which is his best case scenario. Kyle O'Quinn can become a very poor man's Zach Randolph. He has a similar game, he just isn't as good offensively. That could change. Courtney Lee is going to be a dynamite shooter and defender under Fizdale.

The Knicks will be much better, and have a much better record in Fizdale's first season. I know that may sound crazy, because this team was awful, but they were also in tank mode at the end. They were playing guys that had no right to be on an NBA floor. Fizdale won't go for that, and he will get guys that can play. If you get a starting five out there for him that consists of Porzingis, Ntilikina, Hardaway Jr, O'Quinn and either Burke or Emmaunel Mudiay, I wouldn't be shocked at all if they are fighting for a playoff spot, especially in the East. I'd go so far as to say they could even push for a 6 or 7 seed. I could see Fizdale getting 40 plus wins out of that group.

Then, in year 2 or three, watch out. As I mentioned before, guys, stars, want to play for someone like David Fizdale. He has a very tight bond with LeBron James. Now that Fizdale is in New York, I wouldn't be shocked if they become a possible destination for him. He likely wouldn't join the Knicks, but they are now a factor after hiring Fizdale. Say LeBron chooses to stay or go elsewhere, that doesn't mean the cupboard of stars that would want to play for him would be bare. I wouldn't be surprised if Marc Gasol would go there to reunite with him. I see the Knicks as a spot for Kawhi now. I feel like he'd love to play for Fizdale. I could see a young guy that has all the tools, just needs the coaching, Julius Randle, joining to learn under a great head coach. The possibilities are endless.

I love this hire. I haven't said much good about the Knicks since this website started, because they haven't done much right, but this hiring of Fizdale is an absolute homerun. I can finally, without hesitation say, good job Knicks front office. You finally did something right, and you will reap the benefits much sooner than expected. What a solid move.

Ty

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

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Happy Retirement to Ichiro, the True Hit King

Ichiro Suzuki retired from professional baseball today.

I love Ichiro Suzuki. The guy was pure class, poise and one hell of a baseball player. I vaguely remember when he came into the majors how big a deal he was. He was this great hitter and had a laser arm. Right off the bat he proved that both of those things were true. The guy might be the best base hitter since Tony Gwynn, my all time favorite baseball player. He would stand at the plate, take pitches until he got one that he liked, and he'd smack it into the outfield. He was never a homerun hitter either. This guy was all about getting on base and letting his teammates knock him in. Not only was he a great hitter, he was a smart hitter. He knew what to do, when to do it and how to do it. His running hits were amazing. By this I mean, he would start to run as the pitch came in, smack it to the opposite field and almost always reach base. It was a thing of beauty.

As far as his laser arm, that was proven true immediately. I vividly remember one of his first games seeing him throw out a guy that was on second, from deep right field, with ease while that player thought he could walk to third base. The throw was an absolute dart, and the base runner was out by a mile. I was astonished. I had never seen anything like that before. It was amazing. I'm sure he used to throw guys out at first too, slower guys, who would hit liners to him in right, and he would throw another dart to the first baseman for an easy out. It has been said about pro baseball that they put some of their best, and hardest throwing players in right field, and Ichiro proved this tenfold. He was amazing to watch play defense, and that is saying something when talking about baseball. To be excited by an outfielder making a throw means that player is transcendent. That was Ichiro.

I remember when he was on that Mariners team that won something around 115 games, then getting beat in the first round of the playoffs by the Yankees. It wasn't his fault. He did everything he could to get that team as far as they could, but he is only one guy. That was the problem in Seattle, he never really got the help that he needed. He was a great leadoff guy, but that can only take a team so far. The Mariners never helped him out. Sure, they would bring in guys here and there, but it was never a guy or guys that could help. They were all at the end, or never really had it.

When Ichiro left Seattle, and I didn't know what to make of his career from there. I still loved him as a baseball player, but I thought he may have been done. But, in true Ichiro fashion, he goes to Miami, at around 40 years old, and still was banging out hits and making great throws. He, along with Giancarlo Stanton, were the only reasons to watch that Marlins team. Sure, they had other guys, but Stanton was the long ball guy, and Ichiro was the old vet on his last run. And they both had the Marlins in the playoff race for a long time during last season. Much longer than they should have been in it.

When Derek Jeter and company came in and started to dismantle the team, I didn't know what Ichiro would do. In fact, I was more interested where he would go as opposed to where Stanton would go. When he decided to return to Seattle, I was stoked. It was so fitting. It made too much sense. I loved that he was going back where it all started in America for him. Now, the Mariners aren't world beaters, not by a long shot, but it was awesome to see Ichiro in that uniform one more time.

I assumed he was going to finish this whole season out, but with him retiring effective immediately, it gave me conflicted feelings. I'm sure he is toast, but I wanted to see of he could get 100 plus hits again. I wanted to see him throw darts. I don't like MLB, but I should have watched him a bit more this first quarter of the year, had I known he was going to walk away during the year.

Ichiro Suzuki is a great, Hall of Fame player. He is the hit king. He was a classy pro baseball player. He let his game do his talking. He was never over the top or acted like he was bigger than the game. He never was a problem on any team he was on. Ichiro was a good dude. He will go into the Hall of Fame right away, deservedly so, and I think hard core baseball fans will miss him. Hell, I'm not even a hard core fan and I miss him. Ichiro was one of a kind. Enjoy your retirement.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ichiro joins a list of great Mariners who never reached the World Series. Welcome to the club that includes Ken Griffey Jr and Edgar Martinez, two of the best ever.

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"Rick and Morty" is Ok. Not Great, Just Ok

I have a pretty hot take today. I’m a little nervous for the possible backlash, especially from RD himself, but I want to get it off my chest.

Are you ready?

Last chance.

I have watched the first 7 episodes of season one of “Rick and Morty”, and I don’t think it’s as great as I was led to believe. That’s not to say it’s bad, I think it is a fine TV show. I just don’t think it’s as good as I was told. It’s fine, but not amazing. The show definitely has its moments, for example when the dogs becoming sentient was phenomenal. But, I find myself daydreaming more often than I should when I watch the show. Things can change, and I may write something in another couple weeks where I talk about how wrong I am right now. But, where I’m at right now, I think it’s just an okay TV show.

I suppose my main problem is Dan Harmon. He is so holier than thou. He shits on things people love on “Rick and Morty”, things like “Inception” and “Game of Thrones”, but it comes off as arrogant and jealous. People are going to like things that Harmon doesn’t, and he has a right to gripe, but don’t demean what others enjoy. It comes off as hackey and sad. His other hit show, “Community”, which I did like, he did the same stuff. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism, but it’s tired.

With that being said, I do think the show is fine, and definitely has room to grow. But, I look at it the same way I looked at the movie “Bridesmaids”. It was a fine movie, but it didn’t change my life. I didn’t walk around quoting it. I didn’t demean others who hadn’t seen it yet. I watched it, said my peace and forgot about it. That’s kind of how I feel about “Rick and Morty” right now. It’s okay, but forgettable. I usually watch while I lounge and goof around on my phone or computer. The show gets about 75 percent of my attention.

“Rick and Morty” is nowhere near as good, right now, in my opinion, as shows like “The Simpsons” or “Bob’s Burgers”. Or, if I’m just going off Adult Swim shows, give me “Space Ghost”, “Home Movies”, “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” or “The Eric Andre Show” before I want to watch “Rick and Morty”. That’s 6 shows, off the top of my head, that I think are much better than “Rick and Morty”. I’ll say it again, it’s a fine show, and I’m sure it will get better, but right now, I just don’t either see or get it. I’m going to watch it all because I really want it to be as great as I was told. I’m kind of invested now. I’ve put in a little time, so I might as well catch up. But, if it doesn’t get any better than how I feel right now, the third season will be my last.

I will say also, watching it right now, 7 episodes in, these insane fanboys need to chill the hell out. This is not a once in a generation show. It is comical and interesting, but it could be much, much better. I don’t know, that’s just how I personally feel right now. Like I said, I’m sure the very same fanboys I just mentioned will come at me hard, but I’m entitled to my opinion. Again, it’s a fine show, it’s just not as great as I was told, in my opinion. I hope it gets better.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is a much bigger fan of a show like "Bushworld Adventures". When is the next season of that awesomeness? 

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Happy May Day, Best Known as the Birth of SeedSing

And so it began.

May 1st will always be a special day around our virtual offices, because May 1st represents the launch of SeedSing. I wanted to use the internationally recognized Workers Holiday as the marking point for what we are trying to accomplish here at the website. Festivals dating back to the Roman Republic era have also used the 1st day of this fifth glorious month to celebrate the rebirth of spring. SeedSing exists to give voice to those who may not have a place at society’s table, and we exist to celebrate the blossoming of new ideas. We are happy to celebrate this May Day with you, and we want to celebrate where we have been and where we are going.

So what is the purpose of SeedSing? We live in a world where ideas are being monopolized by the wealthy and connected elite. Ideas are not commodities, they are the only thing we collectively share. Here at SeedSing we want to let the people take back their rights to having thoughts. We want to give you a voice. The global community is in trouble. The people at the top of the global economic system are only concerned with self-preservation, and they have used the media and government to solidify their power. SeedSing is the people's fortress where we can speak freely, and start to fix the world being destroyed by the top 1%. That is the purpose of SeedSing.

Having spent the last few years working on SeedSing, I have evolved quite a bit. What began as a way for local candidates to easily reach their voters has turned into a blog and podcast focusing on politics and pop culture. That makes Seedsing one of the billion plus blogs out there talking about these topics, but I feel like we have something more to offer. Most websites and podcasts disappear in less than one year. SeedSing continues because of the raw and unfiltered ideas that come from people who felt like their opinions were being ignored. The writers of SeedSing have taken on some of the biggest issues facing society. We correctly predicted that the Apple HomePod was an idiotic idea. The important discussion about what is a better burger, Whataburger, In N Out, or Shake Shack was vigorously debated. On more serious matters, we came to terms with a hero of ours being another pervy creep, and emotionally discussed the horror of terrorism in our country. SeedSing would not exist without these important ideas, and I cannot thank all the writers enough for everything they have contributed to this project. The guest contributors, some known and some unknown, have also been an incredibly valuable addition to the conversation we are having. With three years of growth behind us, we are excited to keep the ball rolling.

Fixing the world through our ideas does not have to be done in dark room with gloomy music playing in the background. The joy of our culture and entertainment is where our voices can be strongest. The writing here at SeedSing concerning pop culture, led by the awesomeness of Ty, has been our most popular content, because it is fun and unique. A semi-serious, half joking, look at the insanity around a children's television show has become far and away our most read, and talked about article. We do not discuss the same old baby boomer culture that seems to always overshadow whatever new and exciting thing is happening. This is where SeedSing is leading the way to reclaim pop culture from the constant coverage of fifty plus year old standards. Add your voice and let our culture flourish, not decay under the old ways.

The X Millennial Man Podcast has been our most successful avenue where our seeds have been allowed to sing. We welcomed in Ty's young son to teach us what the best toys are. The answers to who are the best video game characters and what are the best television shows of the 21st century were answered on the podcast. We also kept up the politics part of our mission by discussing what one year of the Trump Presidency has done to our psyche. These are the stories we do not hear in the regular media. Podcasting has been the common persons greatest weapon against a professional media who exists to solidify the status quo. SeedSing and the X Millennial Man will continue to be the voice of people, whatever they have to say.

Where do we go in our fourth year?  We continue our forward momentum. SeedSing is growing, but we need your help. This is a project funded by the money and efforts of a very small group of people. Your help is always appreciated. How can you help? We want your voice. Tell us your thoughts. If you want to write, we want to publish your ideas. If you have an idea, but are not comfortable with writing, tell us your thoughts and one of our regular contributors will put together a piece. We will get better at responding to people this year, because we need your voice. If you are not a writer, but still want to support SeedSing,  financial support is always a nice thing. Other ways to help us out is to follow SeedSing on twitter, @seedsingrdk, and to like us on Facebook. We are thrilled to think about the years ahead of us, and we are even more excited about your continued support of SeedSing.

Happy May Day, International Workers Day, and happy birthday SeedSing. Come on in and join us. Allow your seed to sing and take root. You only have your ideas to set free.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast

If Kawhi Leaves San Antonio, the Spurs Will Be OK Because They are the Spurs

ESPN dropped what they consider to be a "big" story about Kawhi Leonard's relationship with the Spurs as being "fractured".

First off, this isn't a "big" story, everyone that watches basketball knew this all year long. We all saw the signs of discourse throughout the entire season. The fact that he wouldn't play more than 9 games, that he had a run in with Jordan Brand, that Greg Poppovich kept talking about his "people around him", the fact that he wouldn't talk about any of the problems that he was having with his knees and feet, we all saw this all year. That he is now upset and displeased with the Spurs is not a "big" story. This is just more of ESPN trying to stay relevant when they are going by the wayside. This is a non story that they are putting on the front of their website. They are trotting the writers out on podcasts and TV shows to talk about this. It is pathetic. ESPN is a joke. They did a ton of research and interviewing for a story that even a novice NBA fan knew already.

But, there is a problem in San Antonio, and maybe this is the end of the Spurs dynasty as I have known it since they drafted Tim Duncan. This is an old team. Besides Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, every other key player, for the most part, has been in the league for double digit years. Pau Gasol is done. Rudy Gay is hurt far too often. Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker have given all they can to this franchise, won 5 titles, but they are both very, very old in NBA terms. And the young guys they have, the Dejonte Murray's and Brynn Forbes, are unproven. None of us knows how good they can/will be.

The fact that the Spurs have Kawhi is what has kept them in the conversation the past couple years. He is one of the 5 best players currently in the league, when healthy. He was single handily crushing the Warriors in game one of the West Finals last year until Zaza Pachhulia undercut him on a jump shot and screwed up his ankle even further. He was the guy that was going to lead this team into their next phase of dominance. But now, I don't know what is going to happen. I figured he was the perfect Spurs player, but maybe he really does want more. Maybe he really wants to go to a big market and be the star in LA or New York. Maybe he is tired of being quiet and wants to start being a noticeable athlete. Maybe he wants all these things and more.  I just don't see Kawhi as that kind of guy. He has always gone about his business quietly. That is the main reason why I like him so much. He lets his game do his talking, and his game is amazing. Even when he won Finals MVP, and completely shut down LeBron 4 years ago, he did it all very quietly. I just assumed he was going to step into that David Robinson/Tim Duncan role. He was going to be the face of the Spurs. He was going to be the reason that Poppovich would stick around for another 4 or 5 season.

Now, Poppovich has had a terrible, horrific tragedy happen, with his wife passing away and maybe that will be more than enough for him to step away from the game. But, I think a guy like Kawhi might make him think twice. Now, with Kawhi seemingly all but gone, I wouldn't be shocked at all if Poppovich calls it quits. He has done anything and everything you could ever want from a head coach. I think he is the greatest NBA coach of all time.

However, losing a player like Kawhi could be why he steps away. If that happens, what do the Spurs look like next year, and the next and the next? Will they be a tanking team or a free agent destination? Will they be a middling West playoff team or a non factor. Ever since I have watched professional basketball, the Spurs have been a good team. I just can't see them all of the sudden being a bad team. Say they lose Kawhi, they still have Aldridge. Now, before you scoff at me, he was the focal point of a perennial playoff team in Portland. The dude can play. And maybe Murray and Forbes and whatever guys they have stashed on their bench will turn out to be quality Spurs players, which equals 50 wins every year. And if Poppovich retires, that bench is filled with guys ready to take over.

I don't want to see Kawhi leave the Spurs, and if I were a betting man, I would bet a ton of money that he will be on a different team next year. But, I feel like this team will be okay if he does bolt. They have pieces. They still have one of the best GM's in sports. They still draft excellently. They still groom talent really well. They are the Patriots and Yankees of the NBA, except no one really hates them. I know Spurs fans are freaking out right now, but I'd tell them to be patient. You have a great infrastructure, and you will be just fine. You may have a season or two that isn't as good as you want, or have come to expect, but you will be just fine. While Kawhi leaving may hurt, it won't hurt as much as you think right now. The Spurs will be just fine.

Ty

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

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

Let's Talk About the Future of the Disappointing OKC Thunder

With the Thunder officially out of the playoffs, and their season done, I want to reflect on what happened.

I was extremely high on this team coming into this season. I thought that they were finally giving in and teaming up stars and paying money to put out one of the best teams in the league. They lost KD and James Harden because they were too frugal, but Sam Presti finally decided that enough was enough. He traded, shockingly, for Paul George and went out and got Carmelo Anthony. They lost what they, and me, considered dead weight in players like Victor Oladipo, Damontas Sabonis and Enes Kanter. They finally addressed what was so glaring last season, and they got 2 bona fide super stars to team up with Russell Westbrook. How could this go wrong? I fully bought in, and so did many other people.

Then the season started. The Thunder came out of the gates sluggish. I figured, it takes time to get these 3 stars acclimated to playing with one another, and they would steady the ship. Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo was playing the best basketball of his life in Indiana, Enes Kanter was putting up solid number with the Knicks and Sabonis was contributing to a surprisingly good Pacers team. But, like I said, I figured it would all even out soon. But, the Thunder still struggled and the 3 "dead weight" players I mentioned continued to play well, especially Oladipo. There were occasional runs by the Thunder. They would go on 4 or 5 game win streaks, but those would be immediately followed by losses to teams like the Magic and Suns. The Thunder played great against the best teams, the Thunder and Rockets, but terrible against the bad ones. It was frustrating to watch because this team had so much talent, but they just weren't figuring it out.

Eventually the Thunder got enough wins to push themselves into a decent playoff spot, but, by all accounts, the regular season was a big time disappointment. And no, I do not blame this all on Westbrook. I feel like he tried and tried to change his game to fit with Carmelo and George, it just never worked. When they were entrenched in that 4 seed, I assumed that this was their time to shine. I picked them to beat the Jazz and to give the Thunder a tough series. And after game one, I looked right. Paul George was locked in. Westbrook was playing great, and Carmelo had been relegated to his proper role as a floor spacer and three point shooter. Then games 2-6 happened. The Thunder lost any kind of rhythm they had in game one so fast, I felt like I got whiplash watching them play. It was a sloppy mess. They just couldn't figure it out, and that was what plagued them all season. And letting Donovan Mitchell go off like he did was so unlike the Thunder. Mitchell is great, I have written as much, but the Thunder should have been able to, at the very least, slow down a rookie. Game 6 was an absolute nightmare scenario for the Thunder. Carmelo Anthony looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, and he only took 7 shots all game. Paul George scored 7 total points on 2-16 shooting. And while Westbrook had 46 points, he needed 43 shots to do it. He turned into the Westbrook from last season, and that was not what the Thunder needed in an elimination game. I know he has taken the brunt of the heat from the media, but I say again, I don't singularly blame him. Game 6 was tough to watch, but he was pretty good for the rest of the series. I know he got roasted one game by Ricky Rubio, but that was a flash in the pan. He was solid and he was a good distributor until game 6. Paul George had that magical game one, but after that, he turned into the playoff Paul George we have all come to know. He was inconsistent on offense and didn't play his normal hard nosed defense. He was one of the guys that let Mitchell go nuts. And Anthony, my god was he just dreadful all around. This might be the worst that I have seen him ever play basketball. He was so, so, so bad.

Now that the season is done, the questions have become, what will this team look like next year? Westbrook will be there. He signed a massive extension, and he will, most likely, be a Thunder for his entire professional career. He is the guy there, and they will build around him. They will get their best defender back next year, Andre Roberson, but how good will he be coming of a torn ACL? He is also a horrid offensive player. Steven Adams will look incredibly dominant at times, then disappear or get hurt. He has the potential to be one of the better centers in the league, he just has to fully commit. Then there are the younger guys and the role players that no one knows what they will do for the rest of their careers.

And then we have Carmelo and Paul George. Carmelo Anthony is done. He is not even a viable bench option, even if he thinks he isn't a bench player. He has fallen, and he has fallen hard. If I were a team, a contending team, and I needed shooting, Anthony wouldn't even be on my list. He wasn't just awful in the playoffs, he was terrible all year. He seems to have lost it on offense, and he was never a defensive player. I used to love watching him, especially when he was in Denver, but man has he gotten bad, and what makes it even worse, he doesn't seem to realize it. He is destined, if he thinks he is only a starter level player in the NBA, to be on very bad teams that just need to sell tickets. I'm talking about teams like the Nets, Mavericks and the Magic. He is just not good anymore.

What about Paul George? 

Paul George is awesome. Paul George can play really well at both ends. Paul George has moments. But, I feel like he isn't a guy you can build around. He will never be a "best player on a title contending team". They tried it in Indiana and they couldn't get any further than the East Finals. Then, he was teamed up with Westbrook this year, and he deflected more often than take over. He has the ability to be a star, I just don't think he has the instinct. He is so much more suited as a Robin to someone else's Batman. Unfortunately, Westbrook wants to be Robin, Batman, the Joker and the Butler. That is what I love about Westbrook. So, you look at some places he is mentioned to go, and I only see it if he teams up with a true star player. Say he goes to the Lakers, he better hope they get LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard. I've seen the 76ers mentioned. I hope that doesn't happen for 2 reasons, I like what the 76ers are doing now, and he would be the best player by ability and seniority, and that won't work. Besides those 2 teams, I don't know where he could go to be second fiddle to another star. Maybe he and LaMarcus Aldridge could team up, but they both are playoff chokers. Maybe teaming him up with Damian Lillard would work, but probably not. That would make the Blazers exactly what they are now, a middling Western Conference playoff team. Maybe put him with Giannis in Milwaukee, but I think he would think he is better than Giannis, and the Bucks should be his team. I honestly don't know what George will do, and it kind of bothers me. He has all the tools to be a star, but where is that killer instinct I mentioned before? It comes and goes far too often.

When I look back at this particular Thunder team, I will always see what I considered the biggest disappointment of the 2017-18 NBA season. They were so much better than a mid 40 win team and a first round playoff out. They had 2 of the 15 best players in the league on their team, and they never figured it out. Billy Donovan proved he is a bad NBA coach. Sam Presti made an awful decision to trade for Carmelo. The Thunder took a big swing, a homerun swing, and they whiffed big time. This was the worst case for this team, and next year, they will look totally different. At least they still have Westbrook. He will always keep them in the conversation.

Ty

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

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The Cleveland Browns Choked in the 2018 NFL Draft

The Browns somehow managed to mangle any good thing they did this offseason last night with their 2 picks in the top 4 of the draft. The Browns are the Browns. Should we have expected competency?

Now, I did say in my mock draft yesterday that I thought the Browns had made some solid decisions, what with all the movement they had, and they would do better come the fourth overall pick. I assumed, much like everyone else, that they would take Baker Mayfield number one. No disrespect to Mayfield, in fact, I love that he walked on to two major college football teams, won the Heisman and then became the number one overall pick, but this kid is not going to be the savior Cleveland thinks he's going to be. He is too short, he is a system QB, he cannot make deep throws, he is accurate, but so is Sam Bradford. I just see him as a less volatile Johnny Manziel. He will miss open guys, he will get battered in the backfield and he will succumb to the mediocrity that has over taken all of the Browns QB's since they became an NFL team again. I just do not get why they thought he was the best overall player and QB in the draft. Also, and RD pointed this out to me, they could've taken Barkley number one overall, I feel like he is the best player in this draft, and Mayfield still would have been there at 4. They still could've gotten him, but they jumped the gun. Do the Browns really think the Giants or Jets were going to take him? They couldn't have truly thought that. That would have been insane. But, we are talking about the Browns after all. And maybe they do truly believe that Mayfield is bulletproof, that he is the next Russell Wilson or Drew Brees and that he will lead them back to the playoffs. I don't. I think he is, at best, the fourth best QB in this draft. I had Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson ahead of him. He was right there, at least to me, with that Allen kid from Wyoming, and I think that kid is terrible.

Side note, the Bills trading up to draft Allen was utterly stupid. That was Cleveland Browns stupid. But hey, maybe Baker Mayfield will be better than I think, but he will not turn around that franchise.

Just when I thought that the Browns couldn't be any dumber, they passed up on Bradley Chubb for Denzel Ward at number 4 overall. Now, I think Ward will be a fine corner, but Chubb was right there, sitting and waiting to be picked. He and Garrett, as I said yesterday, would have made for a ferocious defensive end combo. They would have been a younger, healthier version of JJ Watt and Jadaveon Clowney. They would have wrecked so many backfields. I know that I bag on the Browns offense, and deservedly so, but their defense is okay and it could've gotten so much better last night. Had they taken Chubb that would have vaulted their defensive line into one of the best in the league. And in one season, a defensive line that is good could reap enormous rewards, just ask Jacksonville. They went out and spent money on defense last year, some of it on the D line, and they were one of the best D line's in football. They caused so much pressure and havoc last year. They called themselves "Sacksonville", and for a guy that doesn't like when teams or players give themselves nicknames, that one is pretty solid. The Browns could have had something similar had they taken Chubb. But no, they decided they needed help in their secondary?!

What the hell.

Didn't they take Jabrill Peppers last year and cut Joe Haden to clear room for the guys they already had in their secondary waiting? I mean, I thought that's what they were doing. But, they took Denzel Ward. And again, I'm not knocking this kid, I do think he will be an okay player, but Chubb is going to be an absolute star. The Browns passed up as sure a thing as there was in this draft to take a chance on a corner back. I will never understand that pick. And Chubb is got to be thrilled because now he gets to play with Von Miller and Shane Ray up in Denver. What a dumb and costly mistake the Browns made. Just when I was starting to buy into, just a little bit, what they were doing, they go and pull these shenanigans last night. I just it shouldn't surprise me, but it does.

These were some awful mistakes, and if the Browns go winless again, it wouldn't surprise me. Enjoy Johnny Manziel 2.0 and a corner that may or may not be good. You could've gotten a great running back and the best player in the draft, but you are the Browns and you did exactly what we have all come to expect from the Browns. What an odd and stupid first round from them. It is really puzzling. The Browns will always be the Browns.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He looks forward to watching the Browns spend the number one pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on another overhyped quarterback. Cleveland sure has consistency with their football program.

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The SeedSing 2018 Mock NFL Draft

As I did last year, today I bring you my first round mock NFL draft for the draft that starts tonight. And, just like last year, it is all a total guess, just like every other person that puts out a mock draft. I'm not going to do any trades or any of that. I'm just going with the original draft order, picking a player and writing a sentence or two as to why I think this player is going to that team. Okay, here goes.

1. Browns- Baker Mayfield. The Browns want a QB and apparently they are down to Mayfield and Josh Allen. I don't think either is going to be a good pro, but I think the Browns will go with Mayfield because he is the "hot" prospect right now. They will regret this pick

2. Giants- Saquaon Barkley. The Giants are going to stick with Eli for another year or two, they get OBJ back, they have an okay defense, but they don't have a solid running back. They will pick the best running back in the draft, and possibly the best player. I think Barkley will be good, but he won't ail what hurts the Giants(cough, cough...Eli)

3. Jets- Josh Rosen. I personally think Rosen is the best QB in the draft, and I think he will fit in just fine in New York. The Jets, despite my claim last year, were solid, but they had to run out Josh McCown as their QB most of last season. Rosen is a major upgrade over McCown.

4. Browns- Bradley Chubb. I have heard that the Browns are thinking about 2 QB's, but even they aren't dumb enough to take 2 in the top 4 picks. This pick they will get right with Chubb. Chubb and Myles Garrett will make for a ferocious defensive end combo, and the Browns defense is the only thing going in the right direction for them right now.

5. Broncos- Josh Allen. Denver should go defense, or trade down, but John Elway is arrogant, and he will take who he considers the best QB in this draft. I think Allen will be the biggest bust of any player in this draft, and the calls for Elway's job will start coming from the Broncos faithful after Allen proves to be a disaster. This kid is not that good

6. Colts- Derwin James. The Colts need just about everything, except a QB, but I feel like they will address defense in this draft. James is an excellent, hard hitting safety that will bring some much needed toughness to that defense. They can get other players, offensive players, later in the draft. They need to address defense early on. Derwin James is going to be good.

7. Bucs- Roquan Smith. The Bucs have, on paper, a good team. They stumbled last year, mainly due to inconsistent offense and poor defense. Smith is the best linebacker in the draft and he will immediately become an elite level tackler at the next level. He really showed out in the title game, and that will continue in the NFL.

8. Bears- Quenton Nelson. The Bears have a few running backs, a QB they "believe in" and young wideouts. They also have a solid defense. They need guys to protect Trubisky, and they will go with who many consider the best lineman in the draft. I don't really know what the Bears are doing, but picking an offensive lineman is always a safe bet

9. 49ers- Denzel Ward. The 49ers will be everyone's "cinderella" team next year, and what they need is defensive backs. They will take Ward, and that kid can be a lockdown corner. He will be a solid addition to a defense that is only getting better

10. Raiders- Mike McGlintchey. The Raiders have a QB, good receivers, a solid run game and a young, yet inconsistent defense. They need offensive line help, and they will take this monster out of South Bend. The kid is big and looks like he will be able to protect David Carr for the next couple seasons.

11. Dolphins- Sam Darnold. The Dolphins are in a tail spin, but they will try to get out of it by taking the player who will slip the farthest. Darnold looks like an NFL QB, knows the heat of California, so Miami won't affect him, and I think this will motivate him to play well. The Dolphins will still be terrible, but they will get their QB of the future

12. Bills- Lamar Jackson. This may seem high to some, but I think it is too low. Jackson is a much better, and taller, version of Tyrod Taylor, and the Bills made the playoffs with him last year. I see Jackson being this draft's Aaron Rodgers. He is going to be a very good pro

13. Washington- Vita Vea. Washington needs a new QB and some receivers, but Vea is too good a D line prospect to pass up in this draft. He will make their defense better, and he will be a guy they can plug in and play right away. This is a steal of a pick

14. Packers- Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Packers need help on defense and they need it bad. They already have Clinton-Dix in their secondary, and they will add Fitzpatrick, and this will be their first step towards having a solid defense with a Rodgers led team. I love Fitzpatrick and I hope he lasts until this pick

15. Cardinals- Mason Rudolph. The Cardinals need a QB, and with all the top guys being picked already, they will reach, and reach hard. Rudolph is an okay QB, but he is not first round talent. He may end up doing well, but he will be pressed into duty too early, and that will hinder his growth

16. Ravens- Tremaine Edmunds. The Ravens will have struck out on a QB and a running back, so they will go defense, trying to get back to what made them so great. Edmunds is a solid linebacker that will have a solid, and long, NFL career. I like this kid

17. Chargers- Da'Ron Payne. The Chargers will find their replacement for Rivers in later rounds, and in the first round, they will choose to bolster their already stellar D line. Payne is big, played at Alabama and is ready for the pros. He may not make headlines, but he will be a good player for a long time

18. Seahawks- Courtland Sutton. The Seahawks have made a choice of what they want to do now, and that is be a high scoring team, so they will go out and get the best receiver in this draft. Sutton is big, has strong hands and runs good routes. He will instantly be their best deep threat, and probably, their best receiver the moment he gets to camp

19. Cowboys- Jaire Alexander. With their running back and QB in place, and some solid receivers, the Cowboys need to address their defense, and mainly their secondary. Alexander is explosively fast and can cover fairly well. It make take a few seasons, but this kid will be a solid corner

20. Lions- Marcus Davenport. I love this kid. He is an awesome edge rusher, explodes when he hits someone and is always ready to play. This will be one of the Lions best picks ever and this kid will be a star. I look at him as a little lesser version of Jadaveon Clowney, and I mean that in the best way possible. Davenport is a beast

21. Bengals- Isiah Wynn. The Bengals need offensive line help, and Wynn will provide it. They really need a new QB and coach, but those are issues for another day. Wynn may not be flashy, but he is a player that a team like the Bengals needs, and they should take him if he is still available at 21

22. Bills- Harold Landry. After hitting a homerun with Jackson at 12, the Bills will take the second best defensive end in the draft. This is actually turning out to be a decent draft for them. Landry was great in college, coachable and fun to watch. All that translate to the next level. He will replace Mario Williams with relative ease

23. Patriots- Frank Ragnow. The Patriots may have lost some running backs and receivers this offseason, but losing some lineman was the biggest blow. They need a flexible, young and talented O lineman to help out Brady, and Ragnow is all those things. This is a very Patriots-esque pick but what else would you expect.

24. Panthers- Calvin Ridley. Cam Newton needs someone, anyone that can get space and catch deep balls, and Ridley is the guy for the job. He made Jalen Hurts look like a competent QB at times last year, so just imagine how good he will be with a real NFL QB. I love this fit and I hope this happens

25. Titans- DJ Moore. The Titans took a big swing taking Corey Davis 5th overall last year, and that didn't work out. This draft they will get another receiver, but I like Moore more than Davis. He is shiftier, faster and has that quick twitch that scouts love. He was also a punt returner in college too, so the kid can play. He will give Mariota a much needed threat at wideout

26. Falcons- Rashann Evans. The Falcons have a QB, they have a run game, and even with all this recent Julio Jones stuff, they have a good receiving corps. What they don't have is a great defense. They have a good one, but not great. Evans will be a step in the positive direction. He's another Alabama kid that is big, strong and smart. He is a born football player

27. Saints- Hayden Hurst. The Saints have pretty much everything on offense except for a solid tight end. Sure, Coby Fleener was fine last year, but nothing like when Jimmy Graham was there. Hurst can be the next Jimmy Graham for them I was going to go defense, but the Saints defense was okay last year. Hurst was just too juicy a prospect to pass up on at this spot

28. Steelers- Taven Bryant. The Steelers need help on defense, and even though Florida stunk last year, this kid was a bright spot on the defense. I remember seeing him early in the year against Michigan, and he was the only player that scared me going up against them. He is big and good and he will help the Steelers right away

29. Jags- Kolton Miller. The Jags have one of the best defenses in all of football. They have a great run game. They have solid receivers and they have Blake Borltes. Now, they need to get better on the O line. Miller will do that for them. He will step in and be a starter right away and he will pave lanes for Fournette to blast through. This is a good pick for the Jags.

30. Vikings- Will Hernandez. The Vikings seem to think they have it all now with Kirk Cousins, so why not go O line here? They'll have Cousins, they'll get Dalvin Cook back they have a good receiving corps and their defense is top notch. They need to go with the best player at a position they need, and Hernandez fits that mold. Easy pick

31. Patriots- Derius Guice. I said earlier that the Patriots lost some running backs, and if they don't trade this pick they will get a real solid back in Guice. He is explosive, can catch and can block. This would be an ideal situation for him

32. Eagles- Sony Michel. The Eagles are the champs, and they have it all. So, they will go out and take the best available player, plug him into Legarette Blount's vacancy and have that three headed monster at running back again. The Eagles have the luxury of just picking whoever they want, and that is precisely what they will do

Okay, that is my 2018 first round mock NFL draft. I'm sure I'll be wrong on about 90 percent of it, but it is still a fun exercise to try and put college players in good pro spots. I enjoy doing this very much.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. With the first pick in the SeedSing burger draft, Ty picks Whataburger. 

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Cloves and Fedoras: "The Habitat" is a Must Listen Podcast

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

I just recently finished a podcast that was recommended to me by my wife called "Habitat". It was amazing. I was so intrigued by this show.

The podcast is a true story about 6 people that are sent to live a habitat that is meant to simulate if/when we send astronauts to me Mars. The selection of the people, their life before the habitat, their time in the habitat, the explanation of the habitat, the fights, the romance, their life after the habitat, and what they are doing now, it was all so wonderfully done.

My wife just told me about it on Monday, and I finished it all today. Now, there are only 7 episodes, and none of them clock in any longer than 32 minutes. I love that about this podcast. They got their story in, and they got it in tight. I appreciate that stuff. The story was truly amazing. It was a story that I know find myself asking how I would react in their situation.

So, without spoiling much, "Habitat" is about 6 people that are selected to live in a room that is the size of half a tennis court to simulate what life would be like for astronauts if they ever go to Mars. The people picked are not astronauts, rather people who may have had dreams of being one. But, they are hyper athletic people and they are outgoing and very smart. While listening, you get that from the way they speak and interact. What I really liked about the show was how these people, who figured they would become best of friends throughout this experience, really showed their true colors even before they were put into the habitat. They go on a hike in the very first episode, and they are immediately bickering with each other and already taking sides. They are already forming cliques, and they haven't even stepped foot into the tiny space all 6 of them will share for the next year. I like that because that is so true. Taking 6 random people, who have their own interests and ways about going about their day, then jamming them in a room that is so tiny will cause tension. It is just the human way. Of course after getting into the habitat, the stuff from the hike continued to rear its ugly head. People paired off. People talked badly about other people. People passed judgement on one another. People did things that made other people annoyed and angry. In a way, it was kind of nice to see these hyper athletic, super smart people have the same problems that regular everyday people have.

I have been imagining myself in this scenario, as I said, and I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to make it the whole year. Give me 5 random strangers that I don't know, I am bound to find a problem I have with at least one of them and just focus on that for 365 days. An example, one of the people on "Habitat" bring their didgeridoo, calls it a "dige", and plays it loudly from time to time. That would drive me nuts. There is another person who is constantly playing his ukulele, and while it sounds nice on the podcast, I put myself in that room, and that would boil my blood after awhile. There is another guy that announces everything he does at every moment. Again, I would go bonkers. But that is one of the many reasons I loved the podcast. It was true and it was real. These were real people that had real problems.

Another thing I liked was how they were forced to live like astronauts. That meant that they had to eat, dress, use the restroom, clean and take exceptional care of themselves the whole time. They also had to do all the mundane stuff that astronauts have to do, like list the foods they ate, and what they do at every moment when they were able to go out in full space gear. That was cool too, getting to hear these people talk about, and complain about how bizarre and weird it was to wear these space suits. Most of the 6 involved had grand ideas about being an astronaut, but after living through "Habitat", they all seemed to come to the conclusion that it is a lonely and boring job. The episode where they focus strictly on the suits was tremendous.

I was fully into this show from start to finish. I loved every moment. I feel like it is a better version of the first season of "Serial", which I thought was great. The host, Lynn, has a great way of speaking on mic, and she seems like a great journalist. I highly recommend this show for everyone. I'm not much for science and space exploration, but "Habitat" is more of a human story than a space story. But, there is still a good amount of space talk, and I learned a ton of things I never knew before. Go listen to "Habitat". It is a very, very good podcast.

Find The Habitat here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was already to join the habitat, until they told him no Michigan football for a year. That is too much to give up.

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Ty Watches "Westworld" Season 1

I just finished the first season of “Westworld” yesterday. I know that RD has written his peace on this show, and today, I offer a counter to his argument.

I thought "Westworld" was absolutely amazing. The only reason I didn’t watch it at first was stupid. I told my wife, who loves the show, “I don’t like when science fiction and western genres blend”. What an asshole I was being. It shouldn’t matter when a show is this well written and well acted. I was into every single second of the show. I blew through the first season in less than a week. The more I watched, the more I craved the next episode. I wanted to know everything that was happening. I stayed away from spoilers, and I’m glad I did. This made my experience watching it that much better. Every twist and turn was brand new to me, and that’s a great feeling when watching a show.

I believe RD compared the show to an Apple Pencil, and to be honest, that analogy couldn’t be more off, in my opinion. This is a great, well done show. The Apple Pencil was doomed to fail from the beginning. It never had a chance. “Westworld” got great actors to be in their wonderful show. They had people that were ready to fully commit. They got established stars. People like Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton don’t sign on to stuff unless they know it’s good. They make the right choices. Evan Rachel Wood is a very good actress, and she likes to do different things like a “Westworld”. James Marsden usually picks proper projects that suit his skills. Even “lesser” known actors like Tessa Thompson and Paolo from “Lost”, starred on this show.

The stories on "Westworld", my god were they riveting. I’m not going to spoil anything, but with every twist and turn and the new information that came with each episode, it blew me away. The scenery was also extremely beautiful. I read they shot most of the stuff in "Westworld" in Moab, Utah, and seeing what I saw on my TV, I’d like to visit Moab now. Oh, and the music was so great. They took contemporary songs and made them old time western tunes, and it was amazing. They used multiple Radiohead songs, and I loved every version. Their rendition of “Black Hole Sun” was moving. When they played “Paint it Black” during a shootout scene, it couldn’t have worked out better. I was very happy when I found out that there is a “Westworld” playlist on Spotify.

I really, really love this show. I’m very excited to see where they go with season 2. I know it started a few days ago, and I’m chomping at the bit to watch. I have to respectfully disagree with RD. I think “Westworld” is an amazing show. Everyone should watch it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is considering giving "Westworld" another chance based on Ty's recommendation. RD will not give up his complaint about the music, it was a bad choice.

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The Portland Trailblazers Cannot Win it All with Both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum

The Pelicans swept the Trailblazers out of the playoffs on Saturday night. Now, I picked the Pelicans to win, but not in the way they did. They absolutely owned the Blazers. No game was close except the first. Anthony Davis did whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted. Jrue Holiday was dominant on both ends of the floor. Nikola Mirotic was raining threes and even playing a little defense. Hell, even their bench was solid. The Pelicans dominated.

And, as someone who picked them, I am still a little shocked at how badly the Blazers got beat. I like both these teams, but I expected more of a fight from Portland. I’m a big time fan of Damian Lillard’s, but he was so bad in this series. I’ve come around on CJ McCollum, but he was nowhere to be found. Jusuf Nurkic looked like he could be there third guy, but Davis abused him in the series. In fact, the only guy that did anything for Portland was Mo Harkless, and no disrespect to him, but you aren’t going to win any playoff games when he’s your best guy. Also, imagine if Boogie Cousins was healthy and in this series. It would’ve been an even bigger blowout. It would have gotten even uglier.

Since the sweep, I’ve heard a lot of grumblings about player development, poor coaching and needing a deeper bench. But, the one thing I keep hearing, thinking about and agreeing with, I think the Blazers have done all they can with a backcourt of McCollum and Lillard. I like both these guys as individual players, but they each have flaws, and when teamed up, those flaws are glaring. Neither is very good at defense, and it showed in this series. Holiday cooked them. E’twaun Moore smoked them. Pretty much any guard the Pelicans put out there, they succeeded offensively. Also, Lillard is “the guy” in Portland, but I don’t think CJ McCollum has bought into that yet. He’s a great scorer, but Lillard is better. Lillard can beat you multiple ways, but he’s not getting his full shot because McCollum needs looks too. And, when McCollum isn’t hitting shots, that puts the onus on Lillard to do so much more than he should have to be.

After watching most of those games, I agree that they need to pick one guy. They need to pick Lillard. He’s been there longer and he’s actually won playoff series. He’s made big shots. He seems to genuinely enjoy Portland. McCollum is a great offensive player, but I don’t think he’s ready to be “the guy”. He’s so much better as a second option. He’s much more lethal in that situation. I don’t think you can win a title with McCollum as your number one guy. I do think you can win with Lillard as the number one option.

The question that follows, what can the Blazers get for McCollum, and also would help right now? I’m sure they can get a high draft pick, but is that what they want? I’m sure a team like Dallas or Memphis or maybe even the Knicks would give up their pick for him, but there’s nothing much that they could add that would sweeten the pot. Sure, the Grizzlies could offer a pick and maybe Marc Gasol, but I’d rather have Nurkic right now. The Knicks have nothing of real value except Porzingis or Frank Ntilikina, and I don’t see them giving up either of them for McCollum. Dallas makes the most sense, but is Harrison Barnes really an upgrade? I don’t think so. They will have a high pick, but they offer nothing else of real value in a veteran player. The best fits and trade partners would be an already established team.

I’d love to see McCollum go to a team like the Spurs. Trade him straight up for Kawhi Leonard, and I think both teams benefit. Or, what about a team like Minnesota? They’ll have a mid teen pick, then add Andrew Wiggins, I think that would be great. Another option could be the team that just throttled them, the Pelicans. I’d trade anyone and their pick to get McCollum, with three exceptions. Those three, Davis, Holiday and Cousins. Everyone else I would make available. Put McCollum back there with Holiday and a front court of Cousins and Davis, they would be one hell of a team.

This first round series showed me that the Blazers need to trade one of these guys if they want to achieve any real success, and I think that person should be CJ McCollum. He’s had a good run, but Lillard needs to be the focal point once again. That is how the Blazers will get back to being real threats.

Ty

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

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Ty Finally Listens to the Music of Weird Al

Recently I was given some gift cards to iTunes and I decided that it was time I finally started to really dive into Weird Al's music catalog. Now, before I get raked over the coals by the music snobs, I bought 2 "Best Of" albums and "Mandatory Fun". I wanted to hear all his hits, and the newer stuff he has put out. I always liked what I heard from Weird Al as a kid, but I never owned one of his CD's or tapes or anything. I either saw him on MTV, heard him through friends and family, or heard him on the radio.

For years I tried to distance myself from Weird Al, especially when I was, myself, a very big music snob. I am still snobby, but about 10 years ago, I was ruthless. I didn't listen to anyone that didn't write their own music or play their own instruments, so Weird Al was out of the question. But, as I got older, the snobbery started to go away. I have allowed myself to like things that are considered "popular" by society now. Hell, I just saw Lorde and the Run the Jewels on tour, and Lorde is one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now, rightfully so. So, as I was looking thought the iTunes store the other day, I decided that now was as good a time as ever to start listening to Weird Al. I was also talking with a friend of mine about him the other day, and he was singing his praises, which only furthered my want for his music.

With the 30 bucks I had, I bought the three albums I already listed. And, they are wonderful. He is extremely talented. The way he takes famous songs and turns them on their heads is amazing. I know this may be old news for some, but for me, this is all fairly new and wonderful. I chose "Mandatory Fun" to start with, and the parody songs he does on that record are amazing. A song like "Tacky", which is a parody of "Happy" is so much better than the hit song he parodies. I would so much rather listen to "Tacky". He does a parody of Lorde's "Royals" called "Foil", about conspiracy theorists, and it cracks me up every time I listen. "Handy" is another great parody. Taking on that Australian lady's mega hit rap song and turning it into a song about fixing up homes works so much better than I thought it would. "Word Crimes", which is his cover of "Blurred Lines", is one thousand times better than any song that Robin Thicke has had written for him. "Mandatory Fun" is a really, really good record.

The "Best Of" records I got are so much better though. The songs on these records are just one hit after another. Songs that litter these records include, "Gump", his parody of "Lump", "Canadian Idiot"("American Idiot"), "Eat It"("Beat It), "Yoda"(Lola), "Fat"(Bad), "Smells Like Nirvana"(Smells Like Teen Spirit), "Amish Paradise"(Gangsters Paradise), "It's All About the Pentiums"(It's All About the Benjamin's), "Ebay"(I Want it That Way) and "White and Nerdy"(Ridin Dirty). That is an amazing list of his best songs. The records also include some originals, but honestly, if I'm going to listen to Weird Al, I want to hear his parody songs. "Eat It" and "Fat" brought me back to being a kid and hearing him for the first time. And, those are such well written parody songs. He makes them almost more fun than the originals. When I was a kid I used to like the band Presidents of the United States of America, and one of their hit songs was "Lump". Well, "Gump", listening with adults ears, is a much, much better song. "Amish Paradise" might be the best parody song ever written. The song actually made Coolio so upset, that when he won a Grammy for "Gangster's Paradise", someone asked him about Weird Al's version, and he angrily polished the Grammy while saying he didn't care for it. It is a wonderful video to watch. I was big into the whole Puff Daddy, Mase and Biggie stuff as a kid, so to hear him parody one of their biggest hits, "It's All About the Benjamin's", was an absolute delight. My wife and I both love, and think "White and Nerdy" is one of the funniest songs ever written. The music video rules too. "Yoda" is great because he covers one of the greatest bands of the 60's, The Kinks, but he doesn't make fun of them. He just wrote a funny tune using their music. "Ebay" is a great song for people from my generation because of how big the Backstreet Boys were. To hear someone make fun of one of their songs was awesome. I mean, he even did a proper job of making a Nirvana song a parody. That is , in and of itself, a major accomplishment.

I'm so glad that I have opened my mind to music like Weird Al's now. He is truly a genius, and his song writing skill, even if he is a parody song writer, is second to none. He is funny, and he has made quite a career for himself doing this. I know he is on tour now, but he isn't doing the parody songs. He is doing something totally different, and I respect the hell out of that. I'm not going to see this tour, but if he goes on another world tour and does what he is famous for doing, you best believe I am going to see him.

Weird Al is a genius, and I love that I have endless hours of his music to listen to now. What a gem.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He forgot to mention modern classics like "Hamilton Polka", and the incredible "Trapped in the Drive Thru". Truly a gem

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The Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell Does Not Look Like a Rookie

I know that I have talked about my 2 favorite football teams the past 2 days, but today I'm going to talk basketball. And no, I am not going to talk about a team, I'm going to talk about a player.

What Donovan Mitchell has done in his first 2 NBA playoff games is beyond impressive. I was already a fan of this kid, but man has he won me aboard with his last 2 games. He has, pretty much all season, been the Jazz only hope on offense. For a team to give the keys over to a rookie, and trust him like they have is very impressive. And, the way Mitchell has responded is incredible.

Mitchell will not win Rookie of the Year, Ben Simmons sewed that up, but he has been, by far, the best rookie in the first 2 playoff games, and his year end stretch is second to none, literally. With his 28 point performance last night, he officially surpassed Michael Jordan, the GOAT, for most points in a player's first 2 playoff games ever. He single handily won that game last night. Hell, if not for Paul George going bonkers in game one, and if he didn't hurt his foot, Mitchell could have won game one too. He did put up 27 in that game. He is doing it all on offense for the Jazz, and he is doing it at as high a level as anyone playing right now, with LeBron being the lone exception.

Along with Mitchell, the Jazz have a very, very good defense. Rudy Gobert is awesome. Ricky Rubio is a thorn in opponent point guards side. Derrick Favors can do some stuff. Jae Crowder, while not as good as he once was, can still pressure players. But, their offense would be dreadful if not for Mitchell. I love Gobert, but he is an old school center. His 2 main objectives when he is on the floor is to block shots and rebound. Every now and then he will throw down an alley oop or get a put back dunk, but he is most known for defense. Ricky Rubio may be shooting more this year, but he has never been an offensive threat his entire career. He may be trying to get better, but he is what he is, a wonderful passer and a headache. Joe Ingles can shoot the three, but that is it. He is not great for pretty much anything else. Derrick Favors was, at one time, a good offensive player, but he is getting older and his game is not what it once was.

This all means that the Jazz have to lean on Mitchell, and he is answering the bell. He is being guarded by all of the Thunder's best defensive players, except Andre Roberson since he is hurt, and he is doing things that a 9 year All Star does, not a rookie. He is making shots. He is getting to the rim. He is getting to the foul line. He is making life miserable for the Thunder, and he is a rookie. That is insane. I don't think people realize that what he is doing is truly impressive. The Thunder have the 2 best guys on the floor at any time in this series, Russ and PG, but Mitchell is outplaying them both right now if you ask me. He is also being talked about much more than either of those guys too. If George didn't have that 36 point game in game 1, the story would have all been all about Mitchell. He crushed it in game 1, then came out and played even better in game 2.

I looked around at the other rookies in the playoffs, and the only one that even comes close is Simmons. Jayson Tatum has been fine for the Celtics, but he is just doing what he has to do for them. That is what has made him so good in his rookie campaign. Simmons is going off, almost getting a triple double in their game one win, but he was kind of neutralized in game 2. Then as you go down the line, the rookies getting real time gets real thin. Semi Ojeley is doing some things for Boston, but nothing to write home about. OG Anounoby has been good, but much like Tatum, he is doing what is asked of him, nothing more. Jordan Bell, who was playing a ton early in the season, has seen his minutes drop in the playoffs.

When you really break it down, Mitchell is outplaying all of his rookie peers, and dare I say, he may be the second best player in all of the playoffs right now, behind only LeBron James. He is killing it out on the floor. He is the reason the Jazz were picked by many to win this series, and he is living up to the hype. I'm sure the awards have already been decided, but he is doing some things that would have made it more difficult to pick between him and Simmons.

The Jazz go as Donovan Mitchell goes, and right now, that is a good thing. Right now, they don't miss Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood or George Hill because they have Mitchell to lean on. I'm so excited to watch this kid play, and I cannot wait to see him rise to superstardom very soon. He is going to be a multiple All Star, and I wouldn't be shocked if he starts getting mentioned as the future of the NBA right along with Joel Embiid, Lonzo Ball and Ben Simmons.

Donovan Mitchell is awesome, and he makes me excited for the future of the NBA. This kid is amazing. Watch him if you haven't yet. It is so worth 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 all the internet.

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Aaron Rodgers Should be Upset with the Packers

Recently some news came out saying Aaron Rodgers was upset at some of the Packers off-season moves. He has since denied these reports, but it begs the question, should athletes have a say over who their teammates are, and what the GM’s do?

I think, given the player, absolutely they should have a say. LeBron James has made a career for himself by picking and choosing his teammates and coach. And, he must be doing something right because he’s been to 7 straight NBA finals and won 3 of them. When you look at other athletes, I’m sure they have a say in these matters. Kobe Bryant famously didn’t want Shaq on his team, and within a year, Shaq was gone. KD wanted out of OKC and Russell Westbrook, and he was free to sign with whoever he wanted. Michael Jordan, while he may not have gotten along with Scottie Pippen, he knew he needed him on his team to achieve the greatness he did. This is not a new thing, old school players in the NBA knew they needed help, and they took it whenever they could. Hakeem Olajuwon wanted Clyde Drexler. Magic needed Kareem. Isiah Thomas needed Bill Laimbeer and Joe Dumars. I could go on and on with pro basketball stars that picked and chose their teammates.

But, the NBA is the only pro league where it happens regularly. That’s kind of messed up. I know this past off season Giancarlo Stanton picked the Yankees, but I don’t think it was to team up with Aaron Judge. I just think he wanted to play in the biggest market. Ken Griffey Jr only went to Cincinnati because he wanted to go home, and that experiment didn’t work out. Ichiro Suzuki is back in Seattle, but this is the twilight of his career. It usually doesn’t work to team up stars in baseball, unless they’re young. Just ask Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and the Angels. And football, that is a whole other level of coaches and GM’s controlling everything. Players are let go without a second thought. If you stick around for even 5 solid seasons, if you stink in year 6, the team gets rid of you. Just look at Dez Bryant. Even a guy like Tom Brady, possibly the best QB ever, is in a rift with his coach and GM, and every talking head is siding with the coach and GM. That’s crazy talk.

So, I don’t think it’s wrong for Rodgers to be upset. The team got rid of his security blanket receiver when they let Jordy Nelson go. They’ve had no running game since he’s been there. Their defense is subpar at best. I know they signed Jimmy Graham, but aren’t his best days behind him? If you sit down and think about it, the best thing the Packers have done since Rodgers took over is signing Charles Woodson. He helped win them a Super Bowl, but he was a defensive player, the best of all time if you ask me. The Packers have never really given him the threats he needs. Don’t get me wrong, Davante Adams is turning into a great player and Randall Cobb is sufficient. But, outside those 2 guys, who have the Packers brought in to help Rodgers. Also, they have kept Mike McCarthy around far too long. The fact he’s only gone to one Super Bowl with one of the best QB’s in the game right now is appalling.

If Rodgers is upset, let him be upset. He’s earned that right. And for the “journalists” that are bashing him right now, think about all the stuff I just said. I’m a Packers fan and I have no problem with Rodgers letting his frustrations known, if he did. He deserves some help on that roster.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He talked about Michigan football yesterday, and the Packers today. What favorite thing of Ty's will he write about tomorrow? Brussels Sprouts?

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Ty Watches "All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines"

I just recently finished the Amazon series, “All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines”.

Of course, I loved it.

The 8 episode documentary series was all about the 2017 season, which was a rough one for Michigan. What I liked about the show was how honest everything was. The footage they show is what they used. I’m sure they edited it, every show does, but what they used was real and true. I really appreciated that. The show showed the few ups, and the many downs of the 2017 season. I relieved all 13 games from last year, and I felt all the feels. I went through the same ups and downs when I watched the games in real time. I was thrilled seeing them best Florida in the season opener. I was happy, yet worried about their inability to put away teams early in the year. The Cincinnati and Air Force games were prime examples. Then we had the Michigan State disaster. Then the Penn State blow out. Then I got to see John O'Korn struggle again, which was tough. I saw the Wilton Speight injury again. I watched Brandon Peters play okay, but realized he wasn’t fully ready. I watched the defense play exceptional, but also get tired from being relied on so much. I mean, Mike McCray, Mo Hurst, Chase Winovich, Khaleke Hudson and Rashan Gary, among many others, play their hearts out all year, and veil that offense out more often than not.

Aside from the football, it was nice to get to know these kids as people. I was explaining to a friend that I always looked at these kids as football robots. Well, this show made me realize that they’re kids first, football players second. These kids have to go to class. These kids have kids of their own. These kids bleed for this program, but they also have lives outside of football. These kids have other aspirations outside of the NFL. These kids get homesick. It made me realize that they have feelings. I know that sounds weird, but it was eye opening.

Another eye opening thing I got from this series was how delusional Speight and O'Korn are. Wilton Speight is a jackass. That kid blamed everyone but himself, and he came off as arrogant. John O'Korn was better, but not by much. He took blame one time, but other than that, he was “trying his best”. He rarely took the fall for his poor play. Karan Higdon is an amazing young man. He is raising his daughter and kicking ass on the field. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black have me excited for the future of the receiver position.

The show also made me respect Jim Harbaugh even more. He may be grating, but that guy loves football, and he loves to coach. Same with Don Brown. He’s a wild dude, but he gets the best out of his players. The show also made me see Greg Mattison and Pep Hamilton in a whole new light, in a good way.

Look, I was going to love this series no matter what. I’m a dyed in the wool Michigan fan. They are my favorite team of any team that has ever existed. Don’t watch this if you’re not a Michigan fan, it wasn’t made for you. Watch it if you are a Michigan fan, it was obviously made for us. But I’d also recommend it to fans of college football and high school coaches. It is a wonderful, insightful show. I’m glad they did this and I’m glad I watched it. It now has me excited for the 2018 season.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to pitch a new show to Amazon about Michigan football fans watching an entire season. Way more people can relate to the stars of this show.

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Baseball Season Means Taking the Family to the Game, and then Leaving Early

This morning my wife contacted me and asked if our son wanted to go to a Cardinals game in June with his baseball team. I told him he’d get to run the bases with his teammates, then we would go to our seats and watch some of the game. He was totally in. He wants to go, he’s excited to run the bases and see his friends and eat at the ballpark. He also told me he wants me, my wife and his sister all to go with him. I let her know what he said and she told me she’d get the tickets. I responded by saying great, and also, this would be my one Cardinals game I go to this year.

That really hit me. That statement spoke volumes to what sports I used to love, and which ones I love now as an adult. When I was a kid, the idea of going to a Cardinals game was such a big deal. It was so important and crucial that I went to as many home games as I could. It is a Saint Louis thing, going to Cardinals games. Everyone I know loves going to games. Former coworkers, my wife’s current coworkers, our friends and family, they love going to home games. But, where I am in life now, I will only go to a game with my family, and it has to involve my son’s baseball team.

I have no desire to go to Cardinals games anymore. They’re too long, food is too expensive, the games start too late and I’d rather watch football or basketball, especially live. Baseball just doesn’t do it for me anymore. That’s not to say I don’t like watching my son play. I LOVE watching him play. I live for that. I am his assistant coach. Little league involving my son is baseball worth watching. But, going to Busch Stadium to watch a mediocre pro team is not worth watching.

Like I said, I’d rather go to a college football game or an NBA game if I’m going in person. My dad and I make it a point to find the nearest Michigan football game to us, and we go to one every year. I very much look forward to that. The Wolverines are far and away my favorite sports team. And, I love seeing them live. Even if they get beat, win ugly or blow their opponent out, I enjoy the almost 4 hour live experience every time. Going to at least one Michigan football game every year is something I will do for the rest of my life. The same cannot be said about Cardinals games.

As far as the NBA goes, I love everything about the live viewing of a game. It is fast, NBA players are the best athletes in pro sports, the games are, at their absolute longest, 2 and a half hours, and it’s relatively cheap compared to other live sporting events. The only problem, I have to travel to Memphis or Chicago for a game. Those are the 2 closest NBA cities to me. But, the trip is all part of the fun of going to an NBA game. I have a great time watching professional basketball. It is so much fun, and I love seeing tremendous athletes live. That doesn’t happen at pro baseball games.

I don’t really know why this change has happened, but it has. Baseball, while I loved playing it as a kid and watching it too, I just can’t do it anymore. I haven’t stayed for an entire game in over a decade now. Even when I get free tickets, I leave early. In fact, I don’t know anyone that stays for full games anymore. Maybe it is just age, but give me college football or the NBA any day over baseball.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have a blast when we all go in June, but after that, if I don’t go to another game all year, I won’t be surprised or upset. I do still like baseball, I would much rather play or coach it though as opposed to watching it, especially live.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor was seething while editing Ty's article. The Cardinals are a mediocre team? Try living in Cincinnati where the Reds are trying to beat the record of 20 wins in an entire season. Mediocre my ass.

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Ty Predicts the 2018 NBA Award Winners

As I promised yesterday, today I will be giving out my 2017-18 NBA regular season awards.

Now, for starters I am not going to do All NBA, All Rookie and All Defensive teams. That would be too much, and to be quite frank, I don't care about those teams. I know the players do, because of contract stuff, but I honestly could care less about it.

Also, I need to give a quick congratulations to Russell Westbrook for doing the unthinkable again. The fact that he went out and averaged a triple double for a second straight season is truly amazing. I know people call him a stat chaser and what not, but come on, 2 seasons averaging a triple double is something that will never, ever happen again. He is an otherworldly athlete and basketball player, and instead of always shitting on this guy, people need to start respecting what he is doing. He is an amazing talent that we are taking for granted right now. He will be so much more appreciated when he retires, but right now, respect what this man has done because it is wonderful. I only say this because he won't be winning any of my awards, but I had to shout him out because he is awesome. All kinds of props to Russell Westbrook. He is great.

Okay, now to the awards for the regular season. I'll start with the "lower" level awards and work my way up to MVP. So, the first award that I will be giving away is Sixth Man of the Year. There are not too many candidates for this award this year. Guys I thought about at first were Eric Gordon and Cavalier Rodney Hood. But, Gordon isn't doing what he did last year this year, and Hood has started more games than coming off the bench. I also tried to find a way to get Manu Ginobli in the conversation, but he just doesn't put up the numbers like he used to. When I actually thought about it though, the Sixth Man of the Year is Lou Williams. This dude is instant offense off the bench and every team he has been on, he does good things on offense when he comes in. Lou Williams is a shooter and nothing more, but the dude can fill it up. He is easily the winner of this award for the year. Hopefully next year he is on a team that he can help in the playoffs.

Lets move to Defensive Player of the Year next. When the season was at the midway point, I might have picked Kevin Durant. He was playing out of his mind on that end, but he got hurt and he was out of the race. Draymond Green was another possibility, what with him still being able to guard all 5 positions, and guard them well, but he also missed a myriad of games, thus pulling him out of the race for me. Anthony Davis was another possibility, but he has had to take some plays off on defense because he has done so much on offense since Boogie went out. No, when I actually got down to it, Rudy Gobert is the Defensive Player of the Year. You may say, he missed games too, but not as much as KD and Draymond. Also, when Gobert is out there, he is, by far, the best rim protector in the game. He is the key to what the Jazz want to do, and he is awesome. Gobert wins this award by a mile. We have three awards left to give out.

Next, Coach of the Year. This category is stacked. There are so many candidates. Guys like Gregg Poppovich come to mind. He has the Spurs back in the playoffs, and Kawhi Leonard only played 9 games all year. Nate McMillan has done a wonderful job of turning the Pacers into a legit threat. Brad Stevens is quickly climbing up the ladder as one of the best minds in basketball, and boy have the Celtics suffered crucial injuries too. Dwayne Casey finally got his team into the modern game, and the Raptors are the number one seed in the East. Hell, even Erik Spoelstra, with a garbage roster, has his team in the playoffs. But, when I really pored over it, how does Quinn Snyder not win this award? He lost his best player, he lost George Hill, Gobert missed time and he turned the keys to the offense over to a rookie. And, the Jazz won 45 plus games and are the 5 seed in the West. Snyder has bypassed any expectations I had when he became an NBA coach, and he has done a wonderful job. He is my Coach of the Year.

Rookie of the Year was a contest until recently. It was really down to 2 guys, Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons. I know that Dennis Smith Jr had some highlight dunks, Jayson Tatum is a key cog for the Celtics, Frank Ntilikina has been amazing on defense and Lonzo Ball has really come into his own. But, Mitchell and Simmons are clearly better than all these guys by a mile. I was pulling hard for Mitchell because of all the things he has done all year with the Jazz, but Ben Simmons, in this 16 game win streak for the 76ers, has grabbed this award and he is not letting it go. He has been, not just the best rookie, but one of the ten best players in the league right now. And for all the people who say he isn't a rookie, stop. This is his first year playing pro basketball. Sure, he was drafted last year, but he played zero minutes. This is, for all intents and purposes, his rookie year, and he will walk away, easily I might add, with the Rookie of the Year award.

Finally, we have MVP. Much like Rookie of the Year, this is a 2 man race. There were times during the year that guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard and even Russ got some love. But, all that petered out due to various reasons. And for the people that want to float out Joel Embiid, or any Warrior player, nope. Embiid will be one of the best players soon, but he is not an MVP yet, and the Warriors guys have all missed too much time throughout the year. The MVP is between LeBron James and James Harden. And, James Harden will finally take home his first MVP award. He has been absolutely amazing this year. The things he is doing on offense are so wonderful. He has worked so well with Chris Paul. The pick and roll with him and Clint Capela is nearly unstoppable. Harden has had a great year and he will get his much deserved MVP. James has put in a hell of a season though. He has put up amazing numbers too. He played all 82 games, something he has never done. He has carried a bad team with a bad coach all year long. He has taken over games against better competition recently. But, what separates him and Harden is the fact that the Cavs are the 4 seed in the East and the Rockets are the 1 in the West, and number one overall seed in all of the NBA. That is due, mainly, to

Harden. There you have it, my 2017-18 NBA regular season award winners.

Ty

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

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The SeedSing 2018 NBA Playoff Preview

The NBA playoffs are set, and the games kick off on Saturday. I'm am here today for my annual playoff preview. I'll go through the East and the West, pick a winner for each series all the way down to the finals. I will give my finals matchup, the winner and the MVP of the series. Tomorrow I will do all my awards, but today is strictly for just the playoffs. Alright, here we go.

In the East the seeding is as follows, Toronto is 1, Celtics 2, 76ers 3, Cavs 4, Pacers 5, Heat 6, Bucks 7 and Wizards 8. So, that gives us first round series of Toronto-Washington, Boston-Milwaukee, Philadelphia-Miami and Cleveland-Indiana. Truth be told, these are some good series. In the Toronto-Washington matchup, I am going with Toronto, but it will be tough. I know Washington is dysfunctional, everyone on that team seems to dislike John Wall, they have limped to the playoffs, they don't play great defense, but they will make it tough on Toronto. They have always struggled with this team because Wall and Beal give Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan all they can handle on both ends. But, I think the mixture of Toronto's bench and the mess that is the Wizards right now will give the Raptors the series in 6 games. They will be 6 tough games though.

In the Boston-Milwaukee series, it would be so much easier to pick if Kyrie Irving was still healthy. I'm still going with Boston, but Milwaukee, mostly Giannis Antentekoumpo, will make it hard. Giannis is a beast. He is an upper echelon star now. And, with Irving out, he is, far and away, the best player in this series. He can single handily win 3 games. The fourth one will be the problem. Also, Boston has Brad Stevens as head coach, Al Horford is still out there, Jaylen Brown is playing good basketball and Jayson Tatum seems to have gotten past the rookie wall. Boston will win, but it will take 7 games.

I love the 3-6 matchup of Philly and Miami. Miami can matchup with Philadelphia everywhere. Miami can play any style of basketball needed to win. Miami has more playoff experience. Miami has the much, much better coach. And, Joel Embiid may not play in the first round. But, Ben Simmons is on a whole other level right now. He doesn't seem like he is going to be taken down by the moment. He might be forced to shoot jumpers, but the dude can get out of that by driving and kicking. And, the shooters around him are hitting shots at the right time. Again, this will be a long, hard fought series, but I have fully bought into the 76ers hype, and I have them in 7 games, 6 if Embiid plays at all in the series.

Finally in the East's first round we have Cleveland-Indiana. This series could go a number of different ways. Cleveland can steam roll them. Indiana can muddy it up and make it a slog. Cleveland could decide to not play defense. Cleveland is almost as dysfunctional as Washington. Indiana was not even supposed to be here. They are young. They have surprised everyone this year. Now, I like the Cavs simply because of playoff LeBron. He will not allow his team to lose in the first round. If they do, he is gone. But, he will not let that happen, and I have the Cavs in 5. LeBron is just too good and he is great in the playoffs.

The second round will pit Toronto against Cleveland and Boston against Philly. Toronto is stuck with another team that they struggle with. Cleveland owns Toronto, and I don't see that changing now. Again, LeBron will impose his will, and the Cavs will outscore Toronto on their way to a fourth straight Eastern Conference finals appearance.

In Philly-Boston, I have to say, I love the 76ers. Irving is out, as previously mentioned. Embiid will be back 100 percent. No one on Boston can guard Ben Simmons. Philadelphia's shooters will be open. The Celtics just don't have the guys to compete this year. I have Philly in 6 in this series.

So that would pit the 76ers against the Cavs in the East Finals. The 76ers are way ahead of schedule, but this is where all the hype ends. Cleveland has LeBron, and LeBron will not allow his team to get beat by such a young team. These 2 teams played a great regular season game a couple weeks ago, but it was regular season. The game didn't really matter. LeBron will once again be in the Finals. That would make it 8 straight.

Now, the West. The seeding in the West is as follows, Houston 1, Golden State 2, Portland 3, OKC 4, Utah 5, New Orleans 6, San Antonio 7 and Minnesota 8. The matchups are Houston-Minnesota, Golden State-San Antonio, Portland-New Orleans and OKC-Utah. Houston will beat Minnesota, but it will be tougher than expected. I guarantee they wanted Denver because of their lack of defense. While Minnesota isn't much better, they do at least try on that end. Also, Towns is much better than Clint Capela. Jimmy Butler can give James Harden fits. But, Chris Paul will be there to help out Harden, Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza will hit threes and the discrepancy in talent on the rosters is widely in Houston's favor. They are also having a "magical" year. The Rockets will win in 6 games, but it will be a bloodbath.

Golden State is going to blow the doors off the Spurs, and I love the Spurs. But, no Kawhi is going to kill them against he Warriors. And I know that Steph isn't playing in the first round, but KD, Klay and Draymond are all there. I also think the Warriors are playing possum right now, and I think they are going to come into the playoffs with their heads on fire. I have the Warriors in a sweep.

Portland-New Orleans is going to be a good series, with very high scoring games. The Pelicans have no one that can stop Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but who do the Trailblazers have that can stop Anthony Davis? No one. He is going to EXPLODE in the playoffs. I'm so excited to watch him play. I'm excited to see Lillard and McCollum too. This is going to be the best first round series in my opinion, and I think the Pelicans will win in 7 simply because Anthony Davis is playing on a whole other level right now.

OKC-Utah is the second best series. These 2 teams couldn't be more different, and it will make for a fun matchup. Russell Westbrook is playing pretty great right now. But, he will find it hard to get open looks at the rim with Rudy Gobert down low. Donovan Mitchell has had an amazing season, but he will have to beat Paul George on defense. Steven Adams can stop Gobert down low, but Gobert can do the same to him. Carmelo has been dreadful this year, but maybe he turns it on for the playoffs. He hasn't been in awhile too. This is going to be a fun series, and I have OKC grinding out a 7 game series victory. Westbrook is too good, and Paul George is one of the better defenders in the league. I love Mitchell and Gobert, but they aren't ready just yet.

That gives us a second round of Houston-OKC and Golden State-New Orleans. Houston-OKC will be fun. OKC gets up for the better teams in the league, and they just beat Houston in a game, but Houston trounced them in the playoffs last year, and the Rockets didn't have Chris Paul last year. Also, Adams is way too slow to keep up with Capela, and Carmelo will be torched on defense. Chris Paul will finally make his first trip to a conference final in his career, as the Rockets will win in 6.

Golden State is again, much like their first round matchup, going to squash the Pelicans. Sure, AD will go off, but who is going to stop KD, Klay and Steph, who will be back? Oh, and Draymond too. This series will be a wash. Golden State in a sweep once again.

These outcomes will give us the much anticipated Houston-Golden State West Finals. And we all know how poorly Harden, Paul and Mike D'Antoni play and coach in the most important series. The Rockets will choke. Everyone wants to pick them. Everyone says they are finally ready to take the throne from the Warriors. Everyone seems to think that D'Antoni is doing a better job than Kerr. Well, D'Antoni's recent remarks, the whole "winning a title does not define how good this season was" said all I needed to hear. He is already bracing himself for when his team gets beat. Golden State will take their first 2 playoff losses, but I have them winning the series in 6.

This gives us a fourth straight Cleveland-Golden State finals. And, much like last year, Golden State is going to smoke them. I think they will sweep them out this year, and it won't even be that close. Golden State is so much better, they play defense, they will care and they will crush the Cavs to win their third title in 4 years. As far as the Finals MVP, I will go with Steph. It is his turn.

There you have it, my 2018 NBA playoff preview. I love this time of year.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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