Ty Reads "Movies (And Other Things)"

Today has been one of the rougher mornings for me during this pandemic. I am frustrated, I feel like there is no end in sight, Kirk Herbstreit is saying he would be "shocked" if there was any football, college or pro, played this fall and "home schooling" was tough. But, to get rid of the blues I was having, I decided to finish "Movie And Other Things", Shea Serrano's newest book, and it instantly put me in a better mood.

I am a big time Shea Serrano fan. "The Rap Yearbook", I believe his first published book, is incredible, and every fan of rap music needs to read it. Then we have "Basketball And Other Things", and that is a masterpiece. I love basketball, I adore Serrano's writing, and Arturo Torres is an amazing artist. Put those three things together, and it will be awesome every time. "BAOT" is an all time great book, one I will read multiple times, and I highly suggest any true basketball fan read it. Well, I also like movies, and I have stated how much I enjoy Serrano and Torres. So when I heard they had a second, "And Other Things" book coming out, I was pumped. Then when I found out it was movies, I was even more excited.

I got the book for Christmas this past year, and finally finished it this morning. I read books in order of how I have them stacked in my closet and "MAOT" came up about two months ago. I was kind of lagging, but since we are all self isolating, I have picked up my reading big time. It helps me escape, and that is exactly what "MAOT" helped me do. I devoured the book over the past week. I wasn't even halfway through until Monday, and I finished it this morning, as I said.

What I like so much about this book, and all of Serrano's writing for that matter, is that it is relatable, funny and, for me, easy to read fast. The questions he ponders during the book are great. They are things I have thought about many times while watching movies, and Serrano even adds stuff that I never thought about before, but now I want to revisit some movies because of the things he touched on in "MAOT". Stuff he talks about that I have thought about in the book include, "who would be a better tough guy dog owner?". He mentions Tom Hardy from a lesser known role, and Keanu Reeves from the "John Wick" series. He breaks it down great too. I loved, and found myself agreeing with a lot of the questions he asks about the MCU. The movie death as an adult that hurt you most really got me thinking. As did the chapter about Michael B Jordan breaking your heart. And I also loved the chapter, LOVED IT, when he compared "Get Out" and "The Social Network". He talked about which was more important, and therefore better, and it is perfect. Some stuff he wrote about that I never thought about, that I will now revisit since we all have the time, I want to watch "Selena" again. I remember seeing it as a kid, kind of liking it, but not really getting how important it was. I want to see it with adult eyes now. I am curious as to which scene was Diane Keaton most charming in in the movie "Something's Gotta Give". I need to see "Booksmart" for so many reasons, and Serrano's chapter about it being an all time great movie only further hammered that home. And now I have to see if "Finding Nemo" or "Face/Off" had the intense opening.

But the best chapter for me, the one that resonated the most, was when he wrote about the movie "Friday". This was a perfect essay on the importance and influence of that movie on so many people. Serrano is not that much older than me, and I connected with everything he wrote about that movie. I can quote all the lines, as can my friends. Seems to be the same with Serrano. I also could not agree more with how great his description of how wonderful and profound Chris Tucker is as Smokey in that movie. It is an all time role, and Tucker crushes it, and Serrano give him his much due praise.

Look, times are hard right now, and it looks like we are just at the beginning. But, take this time to spend time with your family. Go on walks, listen to music, and when you have some free time, and you want to read, I highly recommend "Movie And Other Things" by Shea Serrano. It will let you escape, and it will make you laugh and it will put your mind at ease for awhile. This book is great.

Ty

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

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Thank God for New Music from Run the Jewels

The past two days have brought us two new Run the Jewels songs. They are both great. They both hit like I would expect them to hit. They both go hard as I expect them to go hard. El-P and Killer Mike crush each verse they have as I expect them to. They, as the younger generation likes to say, both "slap".

The first one released, on Tuesday, is called "Yankee and the Brave Ep.4". I mean, this song is killer. It has a fantastic, bass thumping beat. It comes at you like a ton of bricks. When Killer Mike starts the opening verse, it makes me so happy because he crushes it, and it is the first signal that they do have a new record coming out, hopefully soon. Then EL-P comes in and does his thing. He is such a great rapper, and as RTJ has grown, so has he. I am, and always will be a Killer Mike guy, but EL-P is starting to get to his level as an emcee. That is up front on "Yankee and the Brave Ep. 4". My only critique, the song is only two and a half minutes long. I could have done with another two and a half minutes easily. I know that I have said I enjoy shorter songs, but when it comes to RTJ, I don't care how long the songs are because they are always so god damn good.

Then last night they released another new track, "Ooh LA LA". Again, this song rules. The beginning is wonderful, with the featured guests singing the chorus, and then the beat hits. Again, it is great. If RTJ is going to be remembered for only one thing, which they will definitely not because they are so awesome, it will be their beats. Every song seems to have the perfect beat attached, and these two new tracks are no different. After the beginning if "Ooh LA LA", both guys once again destroy their verses, and it is amazing, like it always is.

I have listened to these two songs at least a half a dozen times each already, and I will listen more the rest of the day, week, month, year, however long until they put out the full new album. Which brings me to my teeny tiny little gripe today.

I love, love, love these two new songs. I cannot stop playing them. I had my wife listen to them with me, since we are all at home right now, and even she likes them, and she isn't a huge fan. I have seen on Spotify that the songs are being played at a very high clip. I have texted friends and family members to check them out. So, my gripe you ask? I want the full album now. I know that EL-P has been going on social media and imploring the fans that they aren't finished yet, but they will be soon. And I get that. But, since we all should be in our homes, or if we are outside exercising or simply just stretching our legs, but also practicing social distancing, I would love it if the whole record came out soon. I know this is a very small problem in the grand scheme of things, especially now, but I think now would be a near perfect time to try and help keep people's minds off the waking nightmare, and give them something to vibe out to, and just forget for awhile. Donald Glove did that with "3.15.20". Sports stations are playing classic games which helps. Musicians are doing live shows in their homes and putting them on the internet. So, I would be so very thrilled if RTJ released the  full album ASAP. I understand that lots and lots of things go into an album release, and a ton of work and hours are put into it. I get that, and I want them to make it the very best that they can. I get all that, I just want the full album. Until then though, we have these two fantastic new songs to listen to whenever we want, and three other transcendent albums.

I love you Killer Mike and EL-P, and I will be so very pleased when RTJ 4 comes out. For now though, thank you for these 2 new tracks. I can't wait to hear the rest.

Ty

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

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Ty Listens to Childish Gambino's "3.15.20"

Donald Glover, AKA Childish Gambino, released a surprise new record last week. I, was dealing with some stress, as most of us are right now, so I forgot to stream it on his website. But, the other night I was blowing off some steam, riding the recumbent bike in my basement, and I remembered that he had put out a new record. And, much to my pleasure, he released it on all streaming platforms, so I hit up my Spotify and immediately downloaded it and listened while I exercised the stress and anxiety away.

On first listen, and believe me when I say that I will be listening a bunch more, I enjoyed, for the most part, what I heard. First off, I need to, as everyone else should, not compare it to "Awaken My Love". That record is a masterpiece, and it will go down as one of the best records of the 21st century, hands down. I don't think anyone can deny that. I haven't met a person that doesn't enjoy some part of that album. It's exquisite. But, I did expect something akin to "Awaken My Love". I assumed that he was going to stay in the R&B/soul/funk genre of music. I love his rapping. I think he is a very good emcee. I like the way he flows. But the stuff he showed on "Awaken My Love" blew me, and everyone else, away, so I just figured that he was that type of singer/musician now. And there are definitely elements of that on "3.15.20". The songs all have dates as their titles, and some of the songs have the same feel as stuff off of "AML".

The opener is very funky, with some electronic sounds mixed in. It is all instrumental as well. But as the album goes in, it is almost like Glover decided he was going to take pieces from "AML" and "Because the Internet", his second record. I like both of these, and to hear them blended together, it works. I have said multiple times that Glover is in a space right now where he can, pretty much, do no wrong. I am going to like whatever he puts out there, be it music, a new TV show or a role in a movie. Hell, he was, by a wide margin, the best part of "Solo". "Atlanta" is one of the best shows on TV right now. And now with "3.15.20". he has just furthered my belief in him. The album has some solid, funky tones to it. There are some songs that go as long as seven minutes, something I am not a huge fan of, but they work because they are so groovy, and Glover throws in some rapping, or singing, and it just works.

Glover is a very solid rapper, like I said before, and ever since "AML", he has shown how great of a singer he really is. Hell, he even showed that in the new "Lion King" movie. He sings as well as Beyoncé. Yeah, I said it. And his singing shows up tenfold in "3.15.20". He hits those crazy high notes, Teddy Pendergrass style is some of the songs. It takes me back to the older funk music that I listen to regularly. I know he gets compared to Parliament Funkadelic a lot now, and that is a very apt comparison. It is perfect actually. But what makes him stand out as Childish Gambino is his ability to shift from singing super high notes on one song, to becoming a full fledged rapper on the next. His rapping on this record is very good, and like I stated before, it reminds me of his stuff off "Because the Internet". That record is a bit more of a slow burn, but with each extra listen, the more I grew to love it. I feel like that will be the same with "3.15.20", except I may grow to love to sooner because of the mixing of genres.

"3.15.20" is a very good record. It is also nice that he put it out now because, we should all be self isolating, and anytime there is some new music, it is a nice way to break up the monotony of the day. I enjoyed hearing it while I worked out, but when my kids have a break in their home schooling, I will listen. When my wife is on teleconference meeting in her downstairs office, I will listen. And when my wife and I have free time together at night, when the kids are in bed, I will play it for her so she can hear.

I hope more artists follow Glover's lead and release their new material while we are all self isolating. But, as usual, Glover is the first to do it because he is a leader, and because he knows his stuff is for almost everyone. This record is good, and it will continue to be played in my home for the foreseeable future.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Season 10 Finale

This past Sunday "Curb Your Enthusiasm" had its tenth season finale, and it was tremendous. This whole season was fantastic for that matter. They went above and beyond and just went super silly with it all in the tenth season.

When it started with Larry and Leon walking and talking, and Larry breaking some tourists selfie stick, I knew we were in for some good old fashioned "Curb". From there on out, it was pretty wild and pretty hilarious. From Larry getting back together with Cheryl for a moment, until he forced a allergic reaction due to talcum powder, to him not giving Clive Owen the praise he felt he deserved, to his interactions at Timothy Olyphant's wedding in Mexico with everyone, to the painting he commissioned for Susie, to the "ugly versus good looking" section at a lunch spot, to pretty much everything else. But, the major plotting point of this season was the "spite store".

Larry had a ton of run ins, but the major one was with Mocha Joe. We first met Mocha Joe early in the season, but he was a thru character the whole time. They started off okay, but when Larry criticized his scone, then his wobbly tables and then the temperature of his coffee, they were in a battle. Larry tried to prove that his coffee wasn't hot enough by sticking his nose in it, a bit revisited later by Jon Hamm, which was hilariously pulled off. After his first run in with Mocha Joe, Larry realized that store space next to Mocha Joe's was open. He, of course bought it, and decided he was going to open a spite coffee shop. He then got really into it, and started to so some odd things, but things that Larry David would definitely do. He installed bathrooms, but only for number 1's. He got self heating cups to keep the coffee hot. He made his own scones. He had coat racks at each table. He made sure his tables were secure to the ground. He took it very seriously. He was so serious, that all the way to the finale, there was a news story talking about all these other people opening spite stores. Jonah Hill had a spite deli. Sean Penn, a spite bird shop. Even Mila Kunis opened a spite jewelry shop. All of this was so perfect, so funny and so Larry David.

There was a few other plot lines in the finale as well. There was one with Chaz Bono, playing a Funkhouser, who had transitioned from female to male, and may have made his "member", a bit too big. Or, there could be Larry's run in with the fireman, and their sirens. Or Larry bringing up a ridiculous question to a couple friend of Jeff and Susie. Or even the stuff involving the "Big Johnson" club with Leon. It was all played so well, so perfect and so true to what makes this show so very wonderful.

I don't know when, or even if, we will see "Curb Your Enthusiasm" again. I hope we do because it is one of the best on TV. But, if this is it, they went out with a total bang. This is a finale, a whole season for that matter, that I will never forget. It was one for the memory books, and it was one of the greatest seasons of TV in history. What a spectacle.

Ty

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

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Cam Newton and Washington Makes Tons of Sense

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Love is Blind"

I, like I hope most Americans are doing right now, am quarantining myself(I don’t have CoronaVirus), social distancing and only leaving the house to run, go to the store as needed and to take a little drive to clear my head. So, I need things to watch and do when I have down time and don’t want to go nuts thinking about this pandemic.

Welp, my wife said some friends of her said we should watch the Netflix dating show “Love is Blind”. We watched it all in a weekend, and it was as trashy, ridiculous, dumb, wild and fun as I hoped it would be. I was on the fence because I’m not a huge fan of dating shows. I think they’re all a little pointless. I know we live in a society where online dating is the best way to meet someone, or if you can’t do that, go on a reality TV show. Most of them follow the cliched format, and so does “Love is Blind”. But only for a minute.

The show starts out like most dating shows. They interview people, they have them all live in a house that’s filled with alcohol and no internet or TV and they film it all. The difference with “Love is Blind”, during the “dates”, the people cannot see one another. They sit in a room that is cut in half by what I think is a mirror and they just talk. They get to really know one another. They find out things about each other that would have never been done if they could look at each other. That is the brilliance of this show. It’s not like any other dating show I’ve seen. It’s not “Married at First Sight” or “The Swan” or “Joe Millionaire”. Those shows were almost a parody of dating shows. And while “Love is Blind” is a ridiculous dating show, at least they, for a few episodes, show how open people can be when they can’t see one another.

Then the premise, or the conceit if you will, of the show goes off the rails. When two people feel that they’ve really connected, they can’t just say they want to date or get to know the person, they have to get engaged. Then, if that’s not enough, when they finally do meet one another, after they’re engaged, they get to go on a trip to Mexico. It’s all honeymoon phase right off the top. They don’t see any foibles or anything truly intimate. Sure, some insecurities start to come out, and you can see some of the people truly regretting their decisions. But still, with one exception, the couples are all happy and living in this great moment. But then they come home and they’re all housed in the same apartment complex. This is when it gets real. This is when the fights, all the insecurities, the stupid pointless little tiffs start to rear their ugly heads. These couples get into ridiculous, pointless fights. Oh, they’re also given their phones back, and they get back to “real life” when they move into the apartments. This, of course, causes even more senseless drama. They then have to meet families, which is awkward and hilarious. Then, in the season finale, this is when they have to decide if they’re going to get married or not. Mind you, they’ve only been together for right around a month. They’ve only lived together for two weeks. They’ve only had one interaction with their soon to be spouse’s family. None of that is not nearly enough time to truly get to know someone, especially someone you’re about to spend the rest of your life with.

Of the five couples, only two went through with it. But, it was so very, very awkward to see the couples, who they had get tuxedos and wedding gowns, invite friends and family and have a ceremony, not go through with it. There was a reunion special, but it wasn’t much to write home about.

In the end, “Love is Blind” starts off super strong, gets better, then gets uncomfortable, then just kind of fades. I definitely recommend it, especially in our current situation. It’s a nice departure, and a good way to escape, even if it’s just for an hour per episode. I think you should check it out, especially if you are looking for something to distract you.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Black Monday" Season Two Premier

On Sunday Showtime had a two episode season two premiere of “Black Monday”, and it was great.

I was intrigued by this show last year when I heard David Caspe, creator of “Happy Endings”, one of the best and most underrated rated shows of all time, had created it. I then saw the cast, people like Regina Hall, Andrew Rannels, Don Cheadle, Casey Wilson, Paul Scheer, Yassir Lester and Horatio Sanz, and it made me even more pumped. Season one did not disappoint. “Black Monday” is one of those rare shows that perfectly straddles their line of comedy and drama. The show is definitely more comedic, especially darkly comedic, but they nailed the dramatic scenes. All the stuff that came out during the first season was handled very, very well. I don’t want to spoil anything, especially since we all should be social distancing and self isolating. Go binge watch the first season while we are all supposed to be indoors.

Season two picked up seemingly a few months, maybe five or six, right after the first season wrapped up. Regina Hall is now in charge, along with Rannels. She runs the firm that Cheadle was running, and Rannels, who is in DC trying to expand his political career, is looked at as a wunderkind. He is plastered all over magazine covers, and is a household name. Hall, on the other hand, is handling business back in NYC. She is the boss, and she acts like it and she deserves it. She has worked too hard to not be in this position. But, she does have some demons that she needs exorcise. Lester and Sanz still work at the firm, but they’re the only dudes. Their couple of scenes were great, and fitting for their character arcs to this date. Meanwhile, and again, I’m going to try to not spoil much, Scheer and Cheadle are living in Miami. They’re living a separate life from what they did in NYC. And while Scheer seems to enjoy his life, Cheadle looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. The scene that introduces us to Scheer in season 2 is amazing. The music, the clothes, the mustache and the rollerblading, it was just so perfect. Cheadle meanwhile, he has quit cocaine, a big part of season one, and is playing in a hotel band. Also, speaking of looks, his hairdo is amazing. I love it.

The first two episodes of season two have me very excited to see where things go from here. This show is so well made. It’s well written, directed and acted. They have pros all across the board on this show, and it shows. The ending of the second episode has me fired up for the rest of the season as well. Seriously people, especially if you’re looking for a new show to binge in our current state, I cannot recommend “Black Monday” highly enough. This show rules.

Ty

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

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What is Tom Brady Thinking?

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty

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

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What a Dumb Trade by the Houston Texans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty

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

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It is Time to Take the Coronavirus Seriously

I've tried everybody. Believe me when I say that I tried very, very hard to not be a downer. But, with all the craziness that is happening in the world right now, I am going to be bleak and upsetting today. I think, scratch that, I know it is because I am upset and scared and don't really know what to do, or how to handle this pandemic going on all over the world right now.

This is unlike anything that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime to this point. I remember SARS, MRSA, Zika, Anthrax, all of that stuff, but I don't think it ever got to this level. I wasn't really aware, maybe not even alive yet, when HIV and AIDS became a pandemic that we still haven't figured out, and still hold a stigma over. But this, this COVID-19 thing seems to be pretty scary, and doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

Usually with stuff like this, the news gets a little better each day. This time around, it has been all bad. I first remember hearing about it in February, and thinking that it would get contained quickly. That didn't happen. I even remember when I heard that it made its way to the US, I had the same thought. I assumed it would get figured out quickly. It hasn't. But, and I know this is going to sound bad, but it really hit hard for me last night when the NBA suspended the season. Then today the NHL, MLB, MLS and all the major men's college basketball conference tournaments canceled, or suspended play. I am sure that March Madness is the next to be postponed or canceled (ed note: This was written before the NCAA cancelled the Men’s and Women’s tournaments). The same stuff is happening in my hometown of Saint Louis right now. They postponed all Saint Patrick's day festivities this weekend, my son and I were both participants in the biggest race weekend in Saint Louis, Go!, and that was canceled today. I know some concerts and other places with large gatherings are being postponed or canceled as well.

As much as this hurts, I do understand that it is the right thing to do. I understand, to mitigate this, to slow it down, large groups of people do not need to be hanging out for awhile. But what gets me is, I don't know how long this will continue. I've heard people say two weeks, I've hear ten days, I've heard months. I simply don't know what is going to happen. I don't know if we will be quarantined like Italy. I don't know if we will have zones quarantined. I don't know if my kids school will be postponed or canceled. I don't know if my wife will be working from home for awhile, or if her office building will stay open. That is what gets to me, the unknowing.

This is why I also want the people in charge, not the "government", but the scientists and doctors and epidemiologists, the people who know what to do in these situations, to hammer the hell down and figure this out. I think it is insane that we don't have a test, or tests for this. I am baffled that there isn't a vaccine, or trials for a vaccine. I mean, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson had to be in Australia to get tested. Just think if they were here, and they didn't get tested what could've happen. It is almost a good thing that they were in a different country where they could easily be tested.

But, going back to the sports stuff, the cancellations and postponements are upsetting. When there is bad news out there, like all the stuff I mentioned up top, or the 2016 election or all the school shootings, I always had sports to turn to to try and keep my mind off all the bad news. Now, that is all gone. It is all dark. I was all for the teams playing with no fans, but I understand the stoppage because human lives are at stake, and safety is the number one priority. I get it, but I am upset, and I think it is okay to be upset. There will be no NBA, for the minimum, for 30 days. There will be, at least, a two week delay to opening day in baseball. Who knows how long the NHL will suspend play. And, more than likely, there will be no March Madness. I hope they do eventually play it, especially for the seniors in college basketball, but it doesn't seem likely at this point. There is still so much unknown, and until the powers that be figure something out, the best way to quell this is to limit large gatherings.

As for me, I will find things to watch. There are a million streaming options, old movies and TV shows to catch up on. I also have a tremendous wife and two kids that I can play with and do fun things with. And I will continue to be vigilant in washing hands, cleaning counters, cleaning the house, staying away from large crowds. I am not going to self quarantine unless necessary. I need to live my life. I still will run. I need to do these things to stay sane. But, this Coronavirus is real, it is scary and it should have us all on alert. We should all be taking the necessary precautions. We should all be doing the things the CDC and WHO tell us to do. And I need to realize that, if I have a tickle in my throat, or if I sneeze, or if I cough for a second, it doesn't mean I have the virus. I recently went to my personal physician because I had a lingering sore throat, and was informed that it was my allergies getting worse the older I get. They actually said that I was, other than the allergies, and I quote, "a very healthy person".

This sucks, this is bad, but, hopefully, we will figure this thing out, and we will prevail. Hopefully we will get back to some kind of normalcy in this world. I envision this NBA season, which has been tremendous, will eventually come back, and they will have a championship. I hope March Madness turns into April or May Madness. The MLB will have an opening day, it will, most likely, be in late April. I'm scared, but I know what to do, and I will not let this virus, this pandemic take me over. I will follow the guidelines, and eventually, things will be somewhat normal again. At least I hope.

Ty 

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

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Michigan State Football is Again Making the Wrong Kind of News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not at all.

Ty

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

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Tales From a Man With a Low Resting Heart Rate

Being that we currently live in a nightmarish hellscape, be it the “government”, CoronaVirus, global warming, stock market plummeting, just all types of bad stuff, I’m trying to be more upbeat lately. It’s hard, and all of this is a real problem, but if I sit here and dwell on it, I’ll go crazy. I have enough anxiety as it is. So, in the meantime I’m not going on any planes, no cruises, not going out of the country and I’m cleaning more now than I usually do, and I clean a lot. My wife, my folks and RD can back me up on this. What I’m also trying to do is make my blogs either sports related, or just a little lighter. I’m trying to ease readers minds. Also, I’m not a scientist, I don’t work for the WHO or the CDC. I’m just trying to follow their guidelines to get through this tough time.

With all that preamble, I come to you today with a rather odd tidbit of news from my life. I’m an Apple person. I had an iPod, still do, just don’t use it anymore. I own an iPhone, of which you can hear me on when we record the pod. And I have an Apple Watch. I think Apple makes a great product, so I will continue to buy their stuff until I find something I like more.

With that being said, there’s been this wild phenomenon with my watch lately that has struck me. I use my watch simply as a watch and an exercise tracker. I don’t call or text or check my email or scores on it. It’s just for those two things. Recently I set up my watch to let me know when my heart rate is too high when I am running. I love to trail run, and sometimes those hills can be a bear, and that makes my heart rate jump. I have it set up so if my heartbeat gets about 170 a minute, it beeps, letting me know to slow down until I get it back in the 150-160 range, which is comfortable for me on hills. It works great for this. The phenomenon though, that’s been happening at night. I had to pick a rate that was “too low”. I do need to let you all know that I have an unusually low resting heart rate. My resting beat is about 45 beats a minute. I think it’s good, my wife and even doctor are always seemingly baffled by this. Even when I visit my doctor, when all your vitals are supposed to be high, it never gets over 50-55 beats a minute. I have attributed this to running, but it could be from any number of things. I mean, I am a pretty laid back guy, don’t get too worked up, unless it’s a crisis, and always try to keep a level head. But when I was setting up the “too high and too low” beats, I figured that less than 40 beats a minute was good. I never, ever thought it would get to that, even when I am sleeping.

Well, for the past 2 weeks, I have been awaken by my watch making weird buzzing noises at me, and reading the face telling me that my heart rate dropped below 40 beats a minute for a certain amount of time at 2,3 and 4 am. I am stunned by this. I don’t understand why this is happening. I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing. I’m sure it’s fine, but still, under 40 beats a minute for 10 plus minutes every night for nearly 2 weeks seems wild to me. I’m going to go with the good, that I do have a runners heart rate, because I’m trying to be positive, but I still think this is a weird thing. Oh well. I do think it’s cool that my watch has been showing me these things, and it shows how far we’ve grown in the technology field.

Still though, I have an unusually low heart rate. That much is sure.

Ty

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

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Who is to Blame for the Coaching Mess With the Nets?

I, much like many other people, was stunned to see Kenny Atkinson lose his job, near the end of the season, with a Nets team that is going to make the playoffs again. I thought he was one guy that was safe. After what he oversaw at first, all the losing and no first round draft picks forever, to what they did last year, and I know they weren't great, but they had a winning record, won a game in the playoffs and looked like a fun team. And then they signed KD and Kyrie Irving this offseason. I assumed Kenny Atkinson was set in stone. I didn't, not even once, expected this to happen.

Sure, this season has been different. They traded away guys that clicked last year to clear the space for two stars. The cohesion hasn't always been there this year. They have suffered a rash of injuries to starters and key bench guys. Kyrie, when he was playing, was saying dumb shit again, to reporters in the locker room so everyone could hear him. He also wasn't playing all that well. They have tried to play DeAndre Jordan far too much. Jarrett Allen is younger and much better. KD hasn't stepped on the floor at all this year, which was expected. But still, when the news flashed on Saturday, I was shocked.

Then stories started to trickle out that neither KD nor Kyrie wanted him to be the coach, that Atkinson didn't want to coach them, that Deandre Jordan was upset that he wasn't playing as much as he would like, you know, the typical stuff when this happens. My first thought was, well it's true, Kyrie is a coach killer. But, as I sat back and thought about it, Brad Stevens is still in Boston, and Ty Lue was still the coach after Kyrie left, and LeBron was gone anyway, so why would he want to leave.

Look, I know all the stuff that is out there about Kyrie, and I agree with most of it. He is a cancer to the locker room. He isn't as great as he would like us to think, or he thinks. He has never won anything without LeBron. Yes, he hit a humongous shot in the Finals, one of the biggest shots ever, but a lot of stuff that didn't involve him led to that moment. Teams do seem to play better when he is out, or injured. Again, it's all true. But, Kyrie is a magician with the ball, and when he is on the floor, he is great. He can score, he can handle, he is an average defender. But, if I look at all the top point guards in the league right now, he is right up there. I don't know if I would want him on my team, but I don't necessarily think this was all on him.

I feel the same with the KD noise. First off, KD is a much better teammate, more coachable and is a better player than Kyrie. I know he has this new, wannabe "bad boy" image to the media, but I have never once thought he was a coach killer. He played for Scott Brooks, Billy Donovan and Steve Kerr, and none of them have said a bad word about him. He has also been out all year, so why would his words hold any bearing over this season. Next year, when he is back, sure, but this year, no way. So I don't blame this on KD either.

Deandre Jordan's opinion holds absolutely zero bearing on anything of importance. He is well past his prime, the Nets have better and younger guys at the same spot and he is a total non factor. If his anger at playing time had anything to do with this that is absurd.

I don't think it is Kenny Atkinson's fault either. I think Atkinson is a good coach, who can get the very best out of guys that were castoffs, or rookies. D'Angelo Russell was a pariah when he came to Brooklyn, and Atkinson helped turn him into an All Star and a max player. Caris Levert was oft injured at Michigan and skinny coming into the league. Now he is a key cog to this team. Spencer Dinwiddie has bounced around the NBA, and now he has found a spot that has helped him get to where he is today. Joe Harris was your typical white shooter when he came to the league, now, while he can still shoot, he can play defense, drive to the rim and handle a little bit. Most of the praise goes to the individual player for working on stuff, but I also give some praise to Atkinson. He has to believe in the player, and harbor their want to get better. I just think that Atkinson doesn't want to coach super stars. Not everybody can be Phil Jackson or Steve Kerr or even Mike D'Antoni. Look at a guy like Greg Poppovich. Yes, he had Tim Duncan, but Duncan is the most understated star the league has ever seen. While Atkinson is no Pop, far from it, Pop has won with, for the most part, guys willing to play roles. Billy Donovan is doing that in OKC right now, and I know they have Chris Paul, but he is a billion years old. Kenny Atkinson has way more Rick Carlisle than Doc Rivers in him, if you ask me.

So, while you have been reading this, I'm sure at this point you are asking me, who's fault is this then Ty? Well, I'll tell you now. I feel this is totally, and completely on the front office. They feel a ton of pressure now, and it will only get bigger next season. They want to appease their stars. They want to become the team in New York. Side note, that will never, ever happen, no matter how bad the Knicks are, or will be. They feel like they need to be much better than a 6 or 7 in the East. The front office panicked, listened to outside people talk and made a rash, and impulsive decision. I simply don't know who the Nets are going to get that will appease the stars. Maybe, maybe Ty Lue. After that though, most of the big name guys are set. Rivers isn't leaving the Clippers, Jason Kidd will soon be the Lakers head coach, Budenholzer will stay with the Bucks as long as Giannis is there, Carlisle and Donovan have a plethora of young talent they want to mold, Nick Nurse is beloved in Toronto, I mean, the Nets options are small and, maybe, bleak.

This was a puzzling move, and I am very curious to see what direction they go in. This is a wild story in what is usually a down time in the NBA.

Ty

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

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DoughBoys Latest Munch Madness is Shaping Up to Be the Best One Ever

Every March "Doughboys" does one of my favorite series of podcast episodes, which they name "Munch Madness". It is a March Madness style tournament, but it is with fast food. They have done it every season of the show, but this year, I think they have outdone themselves. They have decided to finally tackle McDonald's, in a bracket style tournament.

I feel like this is what all of the "Doughboys" fans have been waiting for. I know they have done a McDonald's episode already, with Sarah Silverman, and it was great, but they only covered their breakfast menu. It was fine, but I was itching for more. So, on the double this week, when they announced this decision, I was stoked. They then went on to tell the listeners all of the contenders, seeding and all, all four different brackets, the food, the seeds and that the tournament would officially start on Thursday's newest episode. They did do two play in things on the double, and that was cool, but it wasn't like this Thursday's episode.

First off, they finally started to get into real McDonald's menu items. Second, and most important, their first guest was Jon Gabrus. Any time he is on, I know it will be funny and wild and ridiculous and the best. The fact that they got him for this particular tournament opener was so, so cool. I also appreciated the fact that Gabrus said he didn't want to eat all this food, stating he was in better shape than he had been in awhile, but he also said that he would have been so pissed if they didn't ask him to do this. That is fantastic. Also, when they started to get into the actual bracket, breaking the matchups down, they had a clock that wouldn't let them ramble on too much. They also added a few extra rules, because if they didn't, this could have easily been a four to five hour long episode. Putting those rules in place at the very top was the right thing to do. Allowing them each two timeouts, giving technicals for berating one another and making them stop at three minutes, simply perfect. As the episode started, to hear them talk so fast about each item, trying to get in shots at one another, talking over each other, picking their winner of each matchup, it was one of the best podcast episodes I have ever heard.

I am so excited for the rest of this tournament because this first episode got me so hyped. The seeding seemed fair too. They had classics like the Egg McMuffin and Coke as one seeds. They had all the main breakfast items with some new ones put in there. They had all kinds of sweet treats, including the McFlurry and Shamrock Shake. This episode covered breakfast and sweets and sides by the way. It was awesome. I was stunned, stunned when the Egg McMuffin got beat in round one, but just like the NCAA tournament, these things can happen. To hear them each talk about how much they like McDonald's coffee, coffee that is mediocre at best in my opinion, was eye opening, and makes me want to try it again. They also talked about McDonald's orange juice, and I forgot how much I loved it until they brought it up again. To hear them squabble over the Sausage McMuffin, and the Sausage Biscuit, my wife and I debate about which is better all the time.

This "Munch Madness" is going to rule. I am on pins and needles waiting ti see how this whole thing turns out. I am so stoked when they get deeper and deeper into the tournament to see if the food I love from there makes it far. I am a humongous quarter pounder with cheese fan, especially the double, and I want it to go far. This is a great idea from one of the best podcasts out there right now. I'm stoked.

Listen to the podcast.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Dave" Season Premier

Last night FX premiered the first season of "Dave", and I am going to talk about the new show.

For those that may not know, Dave is better known by his rap name Lil Dicky. Lil Dicky was brought to my attention by a friend of mine about a year ago. I knew nothing of him, I was sent a video, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was absurd and funny, the beat was good and Lil Dicky can rap. His raps are also ridiculous and hilarious. His beats are rad too. But, I am relatively new to Lil Dicky. I then saw some trailers for this new show, and they were pretty damn funny. I decided I was going to watch the show, and I was prepped to watch the premiere last night.

Now, I have only seen the first episode. There were, without my knowledge, two episodes last night. I wanted to watch both, but I have a new puppy and a daughter with a cold and a bad cough, so I was exhausted and ready for bed at 9:45 last night. But man was that first episode phenomenal. It hit everything I was hoping for.

First off, Dave, AKA Lil Dicky, is funny and goofy and nerdy and perfect. I know he is playing himself, or maybe a heightened version of himself, but still, he is so god damn funny. I related to him so much. The stuff with him trying to get real rappers to respect him, it was so funny and relatable. To see him put in these wild situations, and his reactions, they were funny, but also seemed very, very real, especially the scene with YG at the end. When he is pushed to rap, so he can be on YG's Instagram story, the fear, but then crushing his verses, I loved every second of it. Also, this dude can rap. Like, for real. The verses he spits during this scene are legit. He is good at grooving and rhyming with the beat, he can go on and on for seemingly endless amounts of time, his lyrics are ridiculous, but they also work. Lil Dicky is a legit rapper. That much is proven true in this premiere episode.

Outside Dave/Lil Dicky, the rest of the cast is really solid. Taylor Misiak plays his girlfriend, Ally. She is a kindergarten teacher, and she is the one person that can keep Dave grounded. She almost seems too good for him. Also, the whole tweet they talk about in the ep, it is played for great laughs between Dave and Ally. Also, his rap scene, when he mentions her, brilliant. Dave's best friend is played by Andrew Santino, and he is funny as the serious and un fun version of Dave. He has a miserable job, which he hates, and he lets everyone know about it. YG was really, really good in the premiere. He was funny, being himself and he crushed. Travis "Taco" Bennett as the studio sound engineer Elz, was so, so good. He is friends with Dave, but he also doesn't want Dave to make him seem like a square. Dave's parents, and their scene involving Dave taking out his Bar Mitzvah money, was priceless. It was like looking at my parents on screen if I were telling them what Dave told them. Also, in that scene, the little child who kept staring at him while he was on the phone, and that look that Dave gave him, hilarious. But the true star outside Dave/Lil Dicky was GaTa, as himself. He was so good, so funny, revealed a ton about his true character in the ep, and made me laugh the whole time. From when they meet at the beginning in the studio, to where they end up, I loved it. I cannot wait to see their friendship blossom throughout the series.

"Dave" is another top notch show from FX. I truly hope they give this show time to grow and find itself because I feel like this could be a humongous hit for them. I'm stoked to watch the second ep tonight, and the rest of the season for that matter. This is one of the better new shows on TV. Check it out for sure.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Who Should Draft Tua Tagovailoa?

The NFL draft is a little over a month away. Come April I will do my type of preview, where I pick players I like and dislike. But today I want to spend my time talking about Tua Tagovailoa.

First things first, Tua is a very, very, very good QB. He came in as a backup in a title game two years ago and won the game for Alabama. His pass in overtime was one of the most perfect throws I have ever seen. The fact that he took a sack earlier in that series, dusted himself off, and made that throw, that was when I knew he was a special football player.

Tua then comes back the next year, beats out Jalen Hurts as a starter and takes Alabama to another title game. This made his legend grow even further. But, the title game showed some flaws. Sure, it is not his fault that the Alabama defense gave up a million yards and tons of points. Still though, Tua got outplayed by a true freshman, and he looked a little overmatched when playing a defense that had pros on it.

He came back for this season, and he started like a house on fire. He was great. He looked like the Tua from two years ago. Then the minor injuries started. He missed a game here and there for knicks and bruises. He then suffered a pretty severe ankle sprain. Still, he came back, won a few important games and looked like he was going to be just fine.

Then Tua got brutally injured in an unimportant game during the regular season. I don't remember who Alabama was playing, or what game it was, but I remember after hearing about the injury I had two thoughts, uh oh, and why was he in there. Then I heard more and more about the injury, and the more news that came out, the worse it got for Tua. It appeared he had broken his hip. This is one of the worst injuries a football player can sustain. I immediately thought of Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson is one of my all time favorite athletes. He played two pro sports at All Star level. He was lightening in a bottle. He is a once in a generation talent. He is the type of player where the word "legend" is the only proper way to describe him. Tua suffered a very similar, if not the exact same injury. That injury ended Bo's career. He was never the same after that. Now, I know that Bo was a little older, and maybe more susceptible. But, no disrespect to Tua, Bo is a much, much, much better athlete than Tua could ever dream of being, and this injury did him in. I understand all the stories. The stuff about his injury is healing way better than expected, that he was crushing interviews at the combine, that he will be able to do drills starting March 9th, and he will have a pro day and that Washington, who is picking second, and took a QB in the first round last year, might draft him if he has a good pro day. I get all of that. I also have watched enough football to understand that these stories are leaked by people that will benefit from Tua being a high pick, and keeping his name in the news.

Again, Tua was, maybe still is, a great QB prospect. But, I would be so, so hesitant to take Tua anywhere in the first round. I spoke to my father earlier today and I told him that Tua needs to go to a team where he can sit, watch, practice and heal even more. I look at teams like New England or Indianapolis or even a spot like Tennessee. All these teams will provide him all the things I think he needs to be a starter level QB in the NFL. But, if a team like Miami or Washington or Cincinnati, a place where he will have to play immediately, it will doom him. I mean, this injury took out Bo Jackson. I cannot overstate enough how big a deal that is. Tua is great, but he is no Bo.

This injury is brutal, I feel for Tua that he has to deal with this, but if I were a GM, I would try to find any other player to take, especially in the first round, before I would take Tua. He has a long, long way to go before he is back to himself, if he ever gets back.

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

Ty Watches "Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One"

While scrolling through the comedy portion of Twitter and Facebook recently, I kept seeing people talking about Whitmer Thomas’, a comedian and actor, new HBO special, “The Golden One”. Full disclosure, I did not know who Whitmer Thomas was at the time. I looked into his IMDB to see if I knew him from anything, and while he’s been on some shows I’ve watched, I still came up empty. But, the way people were taking about this special, I kept going back, reading stuff and I decided I really wanted to see it. I guess to see if the hoopla was legit. It happened to be airing on HBO this past weekend, so I recorded it and watched it yesterday.

This special is amazing. It is unlike anything comedy special that I have ever watched. It straddles the line as a comedy special and a documentary. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I will get into bits and pieces.

The special opens with Whitmer looking at old photos with the director, and then he reads a note his mom wrote him when he moved to LA. He goes on to say something along the lines of, “she wrote that, and then I wrote a bunch of jokes about jacking off”. That was when I knew I was in for something good. The special then follows him back home to, I think either Gulf Shores or Floribama, if that’s a place. He filmed this special in his hometown. This is where the documentary portion comes into play. The special goes back and forth from his stand up to him talking to family and friends. He reconnects with people. He gets into deep conversations with people. All of this is spliced with him telling jokes on the topic, and singing songs. And his songs rule. I’m not a huge emo guy, but Whitmer Thomas’ renditions were so good. I also appreciated that he had a screen behind him with the words, almost like karaoke. Thomas can also play and sing, making the music that much better. The songs also help to explain his jokes even further, which I also really enjoyed.

What really makes “The Golden One” stand out is the honesty. Whitmer Thomas is brutally honest in this, and I absolutely love that. “The Golden One” is the most honest, heart breaking, moving, funny, insightful, interesting and coolest stand up special I’ve seen in quite sometime. I’m bummed at myself for not knowing about him, or this special sooner.

Seriously people, go seek this out. It’s so unique and puts the stand up special on its head, in a good way. My hat is off to Whitmer Thomas. He’s a genius, and this special proves that tenfold. Go check it out.

Ty

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

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Better Late Than Never on "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part"

This past Friday my son's school had a movie night. We took him because a buddy of his was going, and they wanted to hang out. I didn't know what movie they were showing, but I figured it was going to be a kids movie. It was, and it was "The Lego Movie 2".

Early on I wanted to see this movie because I adore the original. I then kind of forgot about it, and I feel like the theaters did too. It seemed like the movie came out, then about two weeks later, it was gone. Since it left the theaters so quick, like I said, I had simply forgotten about it. Then my son was at my folks house about a month ago, and he was watching the end of it, and I thought, the little bit that I saw, was solid. So, when they announced at the school that they were going to show "The Lego Movie 2", I was pumped. I was finally going to see it, and I felt like I was seeing it with the correct crowd. Going to kids movies is so much fun when there are a ton of kids who really want to see the movie.

We took out seats, and for the next 90 or so minutes, I was really into the movie. Look, it isn't as good as the original, or even "The Lego Batman Movie", but I feel like it may be the third best of the LEGO movie franchise. I have seen the "Lego Ninjago" movie, I have seen a ton of offshoots on streaming devices, but "The Lego Movie 2" ranks right behind the original and "The Lego Batman Movie". In fact, I think "Lego Batman" is the best, and the two LEGO movies are next. This sequel though, I like the way they went about telling another new story. I loved the references to modern and older movies. The "Mad Max" apocalyptic landscape was wonderful. I loved the new "Jurassic Park" stuff. In fact, I liked what this movie did better than what the new "Jurassic Park" movies do. And it is always nice in kids movies when they put jokes in there for adults. I also, since I am a parent to a boy and a girl, loved the moral of this particular story. The mom, a wonderfully small role for the great Maya Rudolph, was fed up that the two siblings wouldn't play together, so she makes them pack up all their LEGO's. But, spoiler alert, the older son realizes that his sister likes the same type of stuff he does, and they end up playing with the LEGOS outside together at the end. It was sweet and nice and happy. I also enjoyed that pretty much everyone from the original were back. I loved the new voice additions, especially Richard Ayode and Tiffany Haddish. They were great. The music was just as catchy and fun as the original. I feel like the music in this sequel is so much better than the stuff in "Frozen 2". But, I like this style of music more. The animation is incredible considering the fact that they are animating LEGOS, building these humongous sets and doing, what I can only assume, is akin to stop motion. I also like when the LEGOS become real LEGOS in the movie, and they try to make them move and emote. It is quite funny.

"The LEGO Movie 2" was fun, maybe unnecessary, but all in all, an enjoyable movie. I feel like it may be a little under appreciated too. Like I said, it seems like it came and went without much fanfare, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. This movie is good, watch it with your family and you will not be disappointed. I really liked this movie, and I think it is awesome that my son's school showed it for a pretty big audience. This was a fun night with a solid movie.

Ty

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

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Ty Watches "Medical Police"

Yesterday I finished season one of "Medical Police" on Netflix. I used to watch "Children's Hospital", I loved it in fact, and when I heard they were going to do a spinoff show on Netflix, I was in. The thing that made "Children's Hospital" so great was how weird and off the wall it was. That was the calling of a great show on Adult Swim, and "Children's Hospital" nailed that. So does "Medical Police".

“Medical Police”is just bizarre and goofy and funny and wild and obscure and pokes fun at itself and, it just does all of that so damn well. This show focuses on two of the doctor's, Rob Huebel's and Erinn Hayes characters. And they get thrown into this wild scenario where they need to help stop a worldwide virus. And the show has all of the oddness of the original. Huebel and Hayes are so hilarious, and they nail the roles. The guest stars are also amazing on the show. The people they bring in, who have been on "Children's Hospital", are pretty big time. Ken Marino reprises his role. As does Lake Bell and Malik Akerman. So does Rob Corrdry. Jon Hamm shows up in one episode. Fred Melamed has a multiple episode arc. Jason Schwartzmann is hilarious as "The Goldfinch". Michael Cera is in one episode, and it is as a voice over speaker. Henry Winkler is there, playing the doctors office manager. It goes on and on from there. But the true stars are Huebel and Hayes. Huebel is his usual brash, yet not as cool as he thinks he is, type character. He is funny, he is charming, he is goofy, he does some cooling fighting stuff, he does it all. Rob Huebel is a very good, very underrated actor, and this show really lets him show off his chops. Hayes, to me, is the star of this show. She is funnier than Huebel. She is the funniest one on the show in fact. She also does some cooling fighting stuff. She takes the most comedic chances on this show. When she exposes her brains in the season finale, I was cracking up. The comedic timing she displays is wonderful. And she is, by far, the smartest person on the show. To see her go through all the comedic things she does on this show, just to get a laugh, makes me like her more and more. She is so god damn funny.

When I watched “Medical Police”, the show kept my attention because of how goofy and odd it was. The fight scenes were more funny than balletic. The back and forth between all the characters is wonderful. The writing and directing is too perfect. The people involved in this world know alternative and absurd comedy, and this show really shows that off. I hope Netflix lets them continue to make more and more seasons. This show definitely has an audience, especially people like me, and we will all continue to tune in whenever they put out a new season.

It is pretty obvious, especially if you enjoy this style of humor, that I recommend this show. It's 10 episodes, each is about 25 minutes long and it is hilarious. Go check it out. You will find yourself laughing quite a bit.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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