Is Philly the Right Spot for Doc Rivers?

Doc Rivers wasn't unemployed very long. Last week he took the head coach opening in Philly, and will try and right the ship for the 76ers.

I am kind of on the fence about this hire. Rivers is an okay coach, a great person, and has won with a super star team. But, he couldn't get the job done in Orlando, he struggled in Boston until they acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and we all saw both meltdowns in LA while he was coaching the Clippers. He does have the one ring, and I fully agree with his political and emotional statements he has made recently, but he is, for the most part, when it comes to strictly basketball, an underachieving head coach. Orlando was not going to work for him. They never had guys that were going to lead that team any further than the first round of the playoffs. Boston was a mess until they got two stars. They were the first of the new era "super teams", and they only won one Finals, while going to two. Then he just could not get the Clippers over the edge. He has had some very talented rosters, except Orlando, but he only has one championship. Guys like Phil Jackson have had more star power, at least at the top, but never the bench players that Rivers had, and Jackson won two handfuls of rings. Greg Poppovich has built a culture in San Antonio, had stars, had role players and has coached them to five titles, while appearing in, I think, seven Finals. Erik Spoelstra is proving right now that he is a top tier head coach. He had the super team, with Wade, LeBron and Chris Bosh, and went to four Finals and won two. Now he has a team led by Jimmy Butler and a cast of dudes, old and young, and they have a chance to make this Finals a real series on Tuesday. Mike Brown was coach of the Cavs, and yes he had LeBron, but the rest of that team was very blah, and he led them to a Finals. Ty Lue had a super team, not as well rounded as what Rivers had in Boston, but he has as many rings as Rivers. Rivers is a solid manager of stars, and he will get you to the playoffs, and even make the team seem like a threat, but nothing more. His teams have, more often than not, stumbled in the playoffs.

Now Rivers is going to take over a 76ers team that has a load of talent at the top, but they have flamed out of the playoffs, especially being swept out of the first round this year. They also have two stars that, if you listen to reputable NBA journalists, don't like one another. They also have a great, great big man, who has modernized his game, but doesn't always seem to give one hundred percent. And their other star gets hurt far too often, and is terrified to shoot jumpers. I'm curious to see how Rivers handles these two guys, Embiid and Simmons, and how he deals with the rest of the roster. He has, alongside Embiid and Simmons, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Jason Richardson, Al Horford and some other dudes. So, Rivers does have stars, but not the level star that Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were, and are currently. He also has guys that should be good defenders, at least on paper. They are big and long and mean and stingy. But, will he get them to buy in? Will Embiid be the Kawhi or KG type that gets these guys to buy into playing defense? I don't know, and I don't know if Embiid truly wants to be a top tier defender, and I love Embiid. He just doesn't always give it his all. And as far as going East, it seems good, but that was until I watched the playoffs this year. The East isn't nearly as tough as the West, but the top is solid. If Milwaukee keeps Giannis, they will still be the top team. Boston has shown that they are up and coming and just about there. I think Toronto has one more year in them with this group, and I do think that Pascal Siakim can be the next star to lead a team. Miami is currently in the Finals, and outside Butler, that team is young and in sync. The East is getting better, and Philly looks a bit slow compared to the other teams.

I knew Rivers would get a job, and I assumed it would be during the off season. I am a little surprised he took the 76ers job, but maybe they gave him the best offer. I know Chicago already filled their vacancy, but I would have liked to see him there instead of Billy Donovan. I also think he could have fit in well in Houston. They have the offense, and he would have brought the defensive mentality that the team needs to get to the next level. Even New Orleans seemed like a better fit to me because he could have molded that roster in his image. But, in Philly all he has to do is coach. No front office stuff to deal with, no draft to deal with, just coach. But, he has to get this team to do some things their young stars have been reluctant to do, or have just decided they won't do it. I hope Rivers does well because I truly like him, but I feel like the 76ers were the toughest roster for him to work with. We will see it come next season. 

Ty

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

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Ty's Favorite Michigan Football Games: October 11th, 2003

I forgot to write about a personal classic Michigan football game last week, and realized way too late. To remedy that, I am going to write about one of my personal, all time favorite games that I saw live.

So far I have not written about a game that I was at in person. I go to one game a year usually. My dad and I have gone ever since I was in high school. We will not be doing that for obvious reasons this year. So this game is extra special for me. Not only did my dad and I go, but two of my uncles and my cousin that I am closest with came as well. And this game is also a historic one. This game involves the biggest comeback to date in Michigan football history. This is one of the older games I am going to talk about too.

The game in question took place on October 11th in 2003. I was only two years removed from high school. I was really starting to get into college football. I already had the love, but it was pushing its way to the front big time right around the date of this game. So, me, my dad and mom made a trip up to Minnesota to visit family, and we went for the game as well. The visit was the main reason, and the game was just an added bonus. Me, my dad, uncles and cousin climbed into my uncle's van and headed down to the Metrodome. That is how old this game is, the Metrodome was still up and running and still housing baseball and college football games. The University of Minnesota held their home games there. We got solid seats, and even though both teams were ranked, I remember the dome not being that full, maybe 75 percent capacity. That stuff never mattered to me, as long as I got to watch Michigan play. After we got to our seats, I noticed that one of my uncle's was putting on headphones. I was confused. I was sitting by my dad and I asked him what he was doing. I was informed that he was going to listen to the game on his headphones via a radio broadcast. I had never seen anything like this before, and it stunned me honestly. I thought, he was at the game, why would he have to listen to it, but this is what he did I was told. It makes more sense now, I see it much more. But to 20 year old me, this was wild.

After the whole headphone thing, the game was ready to kickoff. And this game started pretty awful for my Wolverines. Minnesota seemed out for blood from the get go. Michigan could not stop the run to save their lives. Marion Barber ran for nearly 200 yards total in the game, clocking in at 197. But he wasn't the only Golden Gopher to go off on the ground. Laurence Maroney, a Saint Louisian, only ran it 9 times, but he gained 81 yards. That is 9 yards a carry. Almost a first down every run. Their QB, Asad Abdul-Khaliq, went for 106 on 9 carries. Michigan was torched on the ground. Minnesota jumped out to a 14-0 lead, scoring a TD on long drives in the first 2 quarters. Michigan couldn't do much either. They couldn't run, and they sure as hell couldn't throw. They looked like they were going through the motions. They looked defeated. And that continued tenfold in the third quarter. Michigan looked like they may put up a fight at the start of the third. John Navarre connected with Steve Breaston for a 36 yard TD to cut the lead in half. I was stoked. Then Minnesota proceeded to score the next two TDS. Maroney had a 38 yard run and Thomas Tapeh followed with a 2 yard run after a long drive. Any momentum Michigan had at the start of the quarter was gone. They were down three touchdowns going into the fourth quarter. I was as defeated as my Wolverines looked the whole game, minus one long throw.

When the fourth quarter started, my cousin came and sat by me because she knew I was upset. We have always had a brother sister type relationship, and I think, even though she is 11 years younger than me, she wanted to help me feel better, to forget the game. Then stuff started to happen. Chris Perry, Michigan's running back, and one of my all time favorite Wolverines, caught a 10 yard pass for a TD 30 seconds into the fourth. I was happy, but Michigan was still down 14 points, and they hadn't looked ready to play all night. But, with the score, I told my cousin that she was going to sit next to me the rest of the game. I told her she was my good luck charm. Minnesota got the ball back and started their drive with about 14 minutes left. I assumed they would just run the ball. It worked all game for them, and their QB was more of a threat to run than pass. He only threw the ball 12 times, completing 8 for 71 yards. But, for some odd reason, he ran a play action pass, and it looked like he had an open receiver. Well, that was not the case. Michigan defensive back Jacob Stewart picked off the pass and returned it 34 yards for a TD. I was now pumped. Michigan was only down 7, they had all the momentum and they finally had Minnesota right where they wanted them. It looked like Minnesota was starting to over think the game. That all went away on the very next drive when Abdul-Khaliq did what he was best at and ran a designed QB run for 52 yards all the way to the house. I slumped down in my seat. My cousin told me it was going to be okay, that it was just a game. But I was bummed the hell out. Michigan, at least at the time I thought, had put all they had in the game, and now they would be too gassed to do anything else. Also, John Navarre wasn't playing all that well, and Michigan was going to have to throw to get back in this game. There were only 10 and a half minutes left, and they needed at least two scores to tie the game. But they actually mustered up enough energy to score quick on the very next drive. They went down the field in about a minute, capped off by a 52 yard TD pass from Navarre to Braylon Edwards. Michigan had life. They were only down 7, they had scored 21 points in the quarter and they had a decent amount of time left, if only they could stop Minnesota's run game. The defense finally started to do just that. Minnesota was going three and out regularly. But so was Michigan. With about seven minutes left Michigan trailed by 7. They got the ball, and this felt like their last best chance to score. They were able to put together a solid drive, and Chris Perry ran the ball in from 10 yards out to tie the game with 5 minutes left. They came all the way back. But Minnesota still had a few good shots left. Michigan's D kept making stops when they needed. But Minnesota was stopping Michigan too. A fourth quarter filled with scores looked like it was going to head to overtime. Michigan wouldn't have that though. They got the ball with about two and a half minutes left and started to drive. They chewed clock, they made throws when needed, they got first downs, and they were able to set up a go ahead field goal with 50 seconds left in the game. Garret Rivas came out and drilled a 33 yard field goal. Minnesota got the ball, but Michigan was able to stop them and complete the improbable comeback.

Me, my dad and uncles were stoked. My cousin was happy we were happy. Michigan scored 31 points in the fourth quarter and overcame two 14 point deficits and a 21 point deficit. The offense finally came alive in the fourth quarter. I remember telling my dad that if they played like that all game they would have scored 70 points easy. All told, this was not a defensive struggle. Minnesota had all those rush yards, a total of 424. Michigan only had 94 rush yards. But, Michigan had 389 passing yards to Minnesota's 71. Minnesota also had 2 turnovers, one of which Michigan scored a TD on. This was one of those games where I went through all the emotions, but the end emotion was pure joy. They won the game. They won it on the road. They scored 31 points in a quarter. They made their largest comeback ever. They made plays when they needed to. It was so memorable for so many reasons.

I still have the ticket, and my dad and I still talk about this game to this day. This was a classic, possibly the best game I have ever seen in person. 

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 "Fargo" Season Four Premier

I'm back after a day away. I had some personal stuff to deal with, some tough stuff, and I needed a day to just vent and cry with my wife and kids. But, it is all good now, and I am back. And I am back to talk about the new season of "Fargo".

We have made no secret, RD and I, how much we love the movie and love the show. It is one of the best portrayals, or continuation if you will, or a great movie turned television show. They took this classic movie, and have now made four seasons of some of the most watchable TV out there right now. I was particularly excited for this new season because I am a humongous Chris Rock fan, and I also really, really like Jason Schwartzman. When I saw that they were cast for this new installment, I was pumped. And they are wonderful on the show. This is the first, of four, that doesn't take place in North Dakota or Minnesota. This one is in Kansas City. There is a character from Minnesota in the new season, more on her in a minute, but this is all about the Midwest.

The way the show started off, there were two new episodes, almost three hours of material, and it was tremendous. We got a back story from a young African American student, expertly played by Emyri Crutchfield, about how mob families have come through Kansas City since the early 1900's. It was interesting and cool to see how it was run by one family, a Jewish family, and they made a deal with an Irish family. Then the Irish family takes over and makes a deal with an Italian family. In each one of these deals, a child is traded from family to family too, making it seem that much more ruthless and wild, that people were willing to give up kids to have control over a town and city. After the Italian family takes over, this is where we get the African American crew, led by Rock, coming in to form an alliance with them. When they make the trade off, this is where the show totally takes off. The stakes rise so very much because Rock and his crew are, not only well formed and ready to fight, they are smart too, smarter than any other mob family that has come through. After the trade of children, things get pretty wild. The Italian family loses their leader, mini spoiler alert, when an errant pellet hits an artery in his throat. This pushes Schwartzman to the front of the line. He becomes the leader. He seems ready, but he is also a bit hot headed and hostile. He seems like a bomb that is ready to explode. When he is in the hospital, watching over his father, we meet this crazy nurse who relocated to KC from Minnesota. Jessie Buckley plays the nurse, Nurse Mayflower, and she is crazy. She has been getting compared to Nurse Rathcet, but I think she may be more crazy, and also smarter. She is an evil genius essentially. Her arc over these two episodes was wild, and I am completely in for her journey. As for Schwartzman, he was good, like he always is, and I want to see where he goes from here. He had some great scenes in the first two episodes. Rock and crew were my absolute favorite part so far. Rock is the poised leader of the new mob that comes to town. He is pointed and careful and smart and knows what he is doing and how to do it. It is so cool to see him in a role like this. This is like the stuff he did early on in his career, like his role in "New Jack City", or more in tune with what he did on his own with a movie like "Top 5". Chris Rock is a good, adaptable actor, and roles like he has in "Fargo", and the aforementioned movies before prove that. His crew is also pretty great. Again, they follow his direction, and Doctor Senator, played by Glynn Turman, is a great second in line. Again, he is calm, but he also seems like he has a very, very dark side.

I have enjoyed every iteration that Noah Hawley and crew have done with the "Fargo" TV series, but this one feels different. This one feels like it could be a classic. This feels like this could be the season where everyone is talking about it years and years from now. It has the potential to be that good. I was enthralled, didn't look at my phone and watched with intense focus the whole time. That doesn't happen much anymore, but this fourth installment has my undivided attention. I cannot wait to see where they go from here. 

Ty

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

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Ty's MLB Playoff Preview

Much to my surprise, and I think a few other people, I was made aware that the MLB playoffs start today. I was looking at a sports story on my phone, and I saw an ad that exclaimed, "WE HAVE PLAYOFF BASEBALL ON ALL DAY!".

I was taken aback. I was, as I said, surprised. I was even more surprised that the Cardinals made it in this postseason. I see they have 16 teams total playing,  but I didn't even think the Cardinals would be able to play the whole 60 games, and here they are, in the playoffs again. After doing some research, I see this playoff is totally different, and they are going about it different, but it starts today, and I just feel like I should do a prediction style blog. I always say that RD is the baseball guy on this site, so take my picks with a grain of salt. I didn't know that Tampa is the best AL team. I cannot name one player on their team. I also see that the NL Central not only has the Cardinals in, but the Cubs, Reds and Brewers are in as well. That is every team except Pittsburgh. This is wild, but I will do my best. I will go bracket style, and I will start with the AL. The first round is a best of three, then they go five, then seven. This is crazy, but I do have to admit, it is kind of neat too.

In the AL the 1-8 matchup features the Rays and Blue Jays. Again, I know no one on the Rays, and I only know of Vlad Guerrero Jr on the Blue Jays. And if the Rays are good enough to leapfrog the Yankees for the top spot in their league and division, I believe they will beat the Blue Jays in two games. The 2-7 matchup is the A's and White Sox. Again, two teams where I cannot name a single guy off the top of my head. I will go with the White Sox to pull off the "upset", based only on the fact that the A's always, always choke in the playoffs. That is their 21st century calling card. The 3-6 features the Twins and Astros. I know that I spoke highly of the Twins in my season preview, and I despise what the Astros did, and I feel like they need to be stripped of any title they have won. With that being said, the Twins will win this round because they are better in every phase of the game, and they don't have to cheat to be better. The 4-5 gives us the Indians and Yankees. I have put my faith in the Indians far too many times to be burned by them again. The Yankees will outhit them and out score them. That is that.

This would put us in the next round with matchups of Tampa and the Yankees and the Twins and White Sox. I think the Yankees will beat the Rays because they have the bats. They can win games 10-7, and not worry about it. Maybe the Rays have some solid pitchers, but I am going with a classic here. I think the Twins will destroy the White Sox. They seem to be stacked everywhere, and they can hit, even better than the Yankees. Which means I am also going with the Twins to win the AL. They are a better all around team, they are healthy and, in this weird season, why not the Twins. This is what I would rather see too, if I watched MLB.

Now to the NL. The 1-8 is Milwaukee and the Dodgers. Milwaukee used to be a threat to teams like the Dodgers, but the Dodgers are stacked and they are angry. They have been screwed out of a few titles, and they will be out for blood. The Dodgers are going to smoke the Brewers. The 2-7 features the Braves and Reds. RD said the Reds would be a decent team, and he was right. They were right around .500, and now they got a spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately for them they have to face a very good, and very talented Braves team. RD was right about them too. He was on their bandwagon before anyone else. And because they have playoff experience, I believe they will beat the Reds with relative ease. The 3-6 gives us Cubs and the Marlins. How on Earth are the Marlins here? Are they good? Is it because of the shortened season? A bit of both? I'm serious. Did the Marlins just become good all of the sudden like they seem to do every decade since their existence? Anyway, the Cubs are a better team, and they should win. They won the division, and they seem to be like the team back when they made, and won, the World Series. The Cubs will win this round. And the 4-5 is the Cardinals and Padres. Sorry to all my STL friends and fans, and myself, but I want, hope and think the Padres will win this round. They are young and fun and they are one of the very few teams that I will actually watch play a game. They have a good time out there, they hit dingers and they just play a fun brand of baseball. I'm going Padres here. The Cardinals are too old, had to deal with a COVID outbreak and are probably tired from all of the double headers they had to play to catch up.

That leaves us, in the second round, with the Dodgers and Padres, and the Cubs and Braves. Again, I love what the Padres are doing, but they are going up against a juggernaut. The Dodgers want nothing more than to steamroll teams on their way to a World Series, and I just do not think the Padres have enough to keep up. They will make it fun, maybe even a tiny bit interesting, but the Dodgers will win with relative ease. The Cubs and Braves should be a solid series. These two teams, at least on paper, seem kind of similar. They both have solid pitching, they have big hitters and guys who hit for average, and they are both well coached. From what I have gathered though, the Braves bullpen is far superior, and that always makes a difference in playoff baseball. That gives the edge to the Braves. So that leaves us with the Braves and Dodgers. How many more times do I have to say that the Dodgers are legit, they are mad and they want revenge? They are going to cruise here too. They are too loaded not to.

That means that I have the Twins and Dodgers playing in this weird and wild World Series, and I believe the Dodgers will sweep their way to a title, and they deserve it. I shouldn't even like a team like the Dodgers. They have every advantage, they are stacked, they can pay gobs of money to the best players and lure them away in their prime, but they have been cheated the past couple years, and I feel like they will finally get the title they should have gotten a few years back. This is their year to win, and I wouldn't be shocked if they cruise, possibly undefeated, throughout the playoffs.

The Dodgers will be your 2020 World Series champs. 

RD’s Prediction

The LA Dodgers will win the World Series. That is all.

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's NBA Finals Preview

It wasn't the NBA Finals I expected.

I also don't think a good amount of other people had this match up. I am sure a good amount of people picked the Lakers, although the Clippers were the heavy favorite when the season started, and then restarted, but they had yet another epic collapse. But I do not think many people had the Heat in the Finals. I know I didn't. I know big time websites and companies like ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report didn't. In fact, the only person/people who I have heard on a recording say the Heat would be in the title are the ladies that host the podcast "Dunktown", which is a great pod by the way. Most everyone else had Milwaukee or Boston or even Toronto. But the Heat have dominated almost, almost as much as the Lakers have on their way to the Finals. Let’s talk about this match-up.

The Lakers got to the Finals with relative ease, and with a few exceptions, they have steam rolled in every game. LeBron has been keyed in defensively, and it looks like he has now found his offensive groove, which is frightening. He also has the refs in his pocket after griping about lack of foul shooting. In the past two games, he alone has twenty-two free throw attempts. The Nuggets had forty-nine total in those games, as a team. LeBron had almost half that himself. It was a smart move from him to get in the refs head. Guys like him can do that, and he knows it, and he is using it. While it bogs the game down, makes it slow and there is nothing but glaring and complaining at officials, it has worked. LeBron and the Lakers own the refs.

The Heat have also done almost exactly the same thing, and they haven't needed to get in the refs heads. They cruised in the first round over Indiana, locking down Victor Oladipo and TJ Warren. Then they completely obliterated the Bucks. Even in the one win Milwaukee had, it wasn't because of anything they did spectacularly, Miami just had an off game. The fact that they made Giannis a non factor is testament enough to how well they communicate and play team defense. And while the Celtics series was closer, Miami won when it mattered. They closed them out in resounding fashion, and while I am sure most people wanted the "sexy" LA-Boston classic match up, Miami could have cared less about that. Boston is coming, but Miami is just a better team right now.

In all honesty, I think, of the four teams that made it to the conference finals, these are the two best, and these are the two most deserving teams, and I think they will give us the best series, at least I hope. I feel like they match up evenly almost everywhere, and this could be a very good, very close series. LeBron is currently the best player in the league. He isn't MJ, but he is close. Real quick, this is also his tenth finals appearance. That is monumental. He has been to the finals more than twenty-seven other franchises in their team history have. That is crazy. Also, on the Heat side, Andre Iguodala has now been to six straight NBA Finals. I know it has to do with the teams he has been on, but hey, six straight Finals appearances is nothing to sniff at. He may not be LeBron, but Iguodala is going to the Finals at a clip close to him. I just wanted to throw that out there for everyone. Anyway, LeBron is great, and seems to be finding his groove. Anthony Davis has been really, really good in the playoffs too. He does look like he may be wearing down a bit, he is playing a TON of minutes, but he is still one of the best, most versatile bigs in the league. And the rest of the Lakers are doing their jobs. Rondo is being playoff Rondo, and that is the best Rondo. Danny Green finally knocked down some jumpers and is playing passable defense. Dwight Howard has totally changed his game, and he has been a beast on the boards and a jump off the bench. The whole Alex Caruso cult isn't as loud, but that guy has LeBron's trust because he is closing out games. And Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is hitting threes and hustling on defense.

Yet Miami has guys capable of matching up, doing what the Lakers are doing, and they are much, much younger. I have many differing opinions on Jimmy Butler, but when the guy is locked in, he is one of my favorite players to watch. He is a star, but he doesn't have to be the scoring star or the defense guy or the locker room guy. Butler is a do it all type star. If he isn't scoring, he makes up for it on defense. If he is tired on defense, he is making shots or getting to the line. When he likes his teammates, and feels like he can trust them, which he totally has this season, he is the best dude to have on your team. And I feel like he can guard LeBron, or at least harass him enough to make him shoot jumpers. He will make LeBron work. Bam Adebayo has had a total breakout year. He is a star. He is one of the best all around bigs. He shut down Giannis. He is a beast in the low post. He had one of the best blocks I have ever seen when he stopped Jayson Tatum's dunk in game one of the conference finals to seal the win. And he is a big that is a dependable shooter. Then we have Iguodala. He isn't the guy he was a few years back, but he brings veteran leadership and a willingness to sacrifice numbers to play defense, and play it well. Goran Dragic may not be the best defender, but he has been the one player on the Heat, besides Adebayo, that has been consistent on offense in these playoffs. And Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro are nearly automatic from deep. The Heat can match up. I am so stoked to watch Butler play LeBron and Adebayo to play Davis. I feel like Butler-LeBron will be a wash, those guys will cancel one another out. But Adebayo-Davis can make or break this series. Adebayo will try his best to bully Davis, and that has proven to be the best way to slow him down. He doesn't want to bang bodies that much. He'd much rather play finesse. But, if Davis can hit jumpers, make some threes, he could become lethal. He might not have to worry about being bullied in the post because he could drag Adebayo out of the lane. This is the player match up I am most excited to watch. It will be the deciding factor. As I said, LeBron and Butler will play equal, and the rest is a mishmash. I'm sure Herro and Robinson will have a solid game, but so will Danny Green and Rondo and Kyle Kuzma. The determining factor, what will decide this series, at least for me, is who wins out in the Adebayo-Davis match up.

I will be rooting for the Heat because of Adebayo, and because I like this version of Jimmy Butler, just full disclosure. But, I do think the Lakers will win in seven games. This will be a good, hard fought series. Sometimes it will look like a slog, the games will be slow, and there will be plenty of free throws. But I just think LeBron knows this is probably his last best chance, especially with Davis, to win another, possibly final, NBA title. The NBA will be so much more competitive and different next season, and LeBron has put in the work to get this team where they are now. I want the Heat to win, but I am pretty sure the Lakers will find a way. Let's get to it. 

Ty

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

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.  

An Update on The Adventure of Online Learning During the Pandemic

It has been one month since virtual learning has started here in Saint Louis. I said I wanted to pop in periodically to let you all know how things were going on in my neck of the woods. I figured a month was a good amount of time to get a real, true look at how things are going.

Concerning stay at home online learning, there have definitely been ups and definitely been downs. This is also very, very exhausting. I am finding myself falling asleep on the couch about once or twice a week from about 4pm to 5pm. Just a little nod off, but I don't ever, ever nap unless I am over exhausted or sick. This is definitely exhaustion. And it is not that this is physically demanding, helping my kids out with their virtual school, but it is mentally draining, and sure, it can be physical too. We use recess to walk the dogs, or run around out back before it gets too cold, or shoot baskets. We try to cram in as much as we can during my son's one hour window that consists of recess and lunch.

My daughter is actually returning to in-person learning on Wednesday the 30th, and that was a whole other level of stress trying to figure out what to do. The school district we are in is doing a phase in return. They are having pre-k, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade all returning on the 30th. And while the kindergarteners and first and second graders have a choice of returning to in person, pre k does not. We had to decide, in a week, if we wanted our daughter to go back to her four days a week, or just skip a whole year of school. After much thought, communication with her teacher, and finding out there were only six kids in her class, we decided to let her return to in person. She will be masked, as will the other students, staff and anyone else in the building. Her teacher has also informed us that the first week of school will be all about washing hands and sanitizing and social distancing, and we really like her, and trust her. It will be quite the adjustment, but we came to a decision, and we will see what happens. I have also been drilling into her head the importance of masks and hand washing and all of that. She is over prepared, which is good.

My son is still home. He started third grade this year, so he has to wait. He's upset, but he understands. He is pretty optimistic that he will be going back at the end of next month, and if we keep doing well in the county, I'd say he will be back to in person learning too. But I am starting to notice that he is getting a combination of bored and stir crazy. He is a smart kid, but he doesn't want to challenge himself. He will do the necessary work, he usually gets solid to good grades and he likes when he is on Zoom. He likes seeing his friends and he likes to have work. It keeps him busy. But lately his morning Zoom meetings have been ending early. The schedule says that he has math from 8:45-10:00am. I know that doesn't mean he will be on Zoom the whole time, but the other day, at 9am, he told me he was done already. I did not believe him. I triple checked his work, made him take a quiz a second time, and all that only took about 15 minutes. He was totally done, everything was correct, and he still had over 40 minutes before his next meeting. I did not like this, and neither did he. He retreated to his room and read for about 20 minutes, but then he joined my daughter and I for her story time Zoom. He kept complaining that he was bored and needed work to do, so I told him to go ahead in his math workbook. He said he couldn't, so he just hung out until it was time for his meeting.

This was the one thing, outside of technical problems, that I was worried about happening. As I said, my son is very smart, but he will not do extra work if he doesn't feel like it. Basically, if it isn't a video game, my son will not put in the extra effort. But I don't fault him. He is eight. What eight year old wants to do extra work in school if they don't have to? I know I didn't. This has been the hardest and most exhausting part, trying to keep him engaged. We are finding new ways to occupy his extra free time, and with my daughter going back it should be easier to fully focus on him and his work. But still, he has a ton of free time, and I wasn't expecting that. I am sure his teacher, and other teachers as well, weren't expecting this either. 8:45 to 3:30 is a long day to be on a computer, even with the built in time away from his screen. But I did not expect this much free time. The mornings go faster because I have both kids to deal with, but the afternoons are tough.

I do still applaud our district for doing what they have done, and continue to do. The whole district had a big time Zoom meltdown this morning, but they were back online by 10. That is impressive. But this is much more exhausting than I thought. I am a very attentive father, at least I like to think I am, but there are times where I feel lost, and helpless trying to find things for both kids, but mainly my son, to do. The virtual learning is okay, I still support the decision, but my kid needs more work to do. I know that is up to me, and I will come up with something. But, I do want the Zoom's to last longer and I would like my kid to be able to move ahead if he feels he can and needs to.

All in all this is fine, I am still opining for the days when he was in a building, but this is okay. I am just emotionally, mentally and physically tired, and we still have a month to go. 

Ty

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

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Things Are Not Good Right Now

I don't know what to do anymore.

You think it may not get worse, that something positive may happen, that things may turn a corner, but we, the United States that is, just continue to take steps backwards. We are drowning in so many different ways as a country. COVID has become not only one of the deadliest viruses in the world, but somehow political. People fight over simple tasks, simple asks and suggestions by scientists and doctors, such as social distancing, staying home if sick, not gathering in big crowds and wearing a mask. These are easy and effective, and seemingly, at least at the moment, the only way to slow down the spread of this virus. But what may be even worse, scratch that, is worse, is the systemic, never ending racism and murder by police that seems to happen daily now in America.

I knew that Breonna Taylor wouldn't get just due. She lost her life over nothing more than the color of her skin. She should still be with us today. So should Philado Castille, Tamir Rice, George Floyd and so many, many more. But the police, and the current majority of the "government" are allowing these people to be murdered with no consequence. I was crushed yesterday when I saw that only one of the three police officers, all white middle aged men, was indicted for their actions. What made this news even worse, he was only charged, essentially, with property damage. No charges for entering without a warrant, for attacking a defenseless person and for murder of a defenseless person. I was crushed, but not surprised, and that is the problem. I had a sliver of hope that some kind of justice would be served, but of course, since 2016, nothing happened to an over eager, egotistical, power and gun hungry police officer who got away with murdering another black person.

This is happening way, way, way too much, and the fact that nothing is being done is horrifying. It is wrong. It is racist. It is systemic. There needs to be change. Something big needs to happen. And I know that some will say, "you cannot blame a few bad apples". Well, it seems like the mass majority of police officers are the "bad apples" that people are referring to. There are far less "good apples". I am a 37 year old white man that lives in the suburbs of Saint Louis, but I get the jitters now more than ever when I am on a night time jog with my dog. When we walk by the police, when my kids and I go for my daily walk, I make them walk briskly. It has become a point where I am more afraid of what a police officer may do to me or my kids. I don't feel protected by them anymore, especially when I have on a BLM shirt or a RTJ shirt or a shirt with a basketball player on it. They have the opposite effect now. I don't trust the police. And as I said, I am a 37 year old white suburban dad. I cannot even imagine how any person of color deals with the police, or talking about the police to their kids. It has to be awful.

These conversations shouldn't be needed, but they are now more than ever. The police have become the villain, except this is real life. It is no wonder that athletes and people of power that are African American, or just not white, are speaking out. People will listen to them. Kids will listen to LeBron James when he speaks about police brutality in post game interviews. And I love that James, and so many other athletes are doing this now, when it is more important than ever. But we still need to change so many things. The US is a total dumpster fire. I am not proud to be an American. I am embarrassed and disgusted to be an American. This is all so messed up, and I want to leave you today with this, please, please, please vote. Vote like your life, and the future of our country depends on it, because it does. We can get people into power who will enforce change. We need to get the monsters in office out now, because if we don't, our future is dire, at least for four more years. I can't deal with that, and I would like to think that most normal, smart people feel the same way. There are far, far too many problems plaguing our country, but we can change that. Vote, defund the police and let's find some kind of justice for, not only Breonna Taylor, but every other person of color that has been shot and killed, or shot and hurt, or beaten and brutally hurt by racist police.

The time is now. Let's make changes. Vote. 

Ty

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

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The Comedic Genius of Fred Willard

I mentioned last week how my wife and I have been on a Christopher Guest kick for our quarantine date movies. We have watched three the last three weeks. We watched "This is Spinal Tap", "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show". They all still hold up, they are all still very funny and they all make me want to watch his other movies.

On these re-watches, I noticed that it is Fred Willard usually being, or having one of the best parts or moments in the movie. He is only in "Spinal Tap" for one scene, but it has still stuck with me. He is the naval base guy when they play a veterans show, and he greets them. He calls them Spinal Tarp, he throws in some solid dry dad jokes and I was sitting there watching it and just laughing and laughing. It is supposed to be a forgettable role, but Willard made it great. And then in "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show", he steals each movie, at least for me. He is absolutely wonderful in both of these movies. He is, by far, in a cast filled with great humorists and comedians and improv people, the very best. In "A Mighty Wind" he is the manager of the New Main Street Singers, the cheesy Branson esque folk band, with a past in TV. He appeared on a TV show called, "Wha Happened", which according to the newspaper in the movie was "canceled due to total lack of interest". But Willard's performance makes it seem like he was a star. He was so funny, doing the "wha happened" line over and over again. And when he is talking about doing stand up and bombing, but throwing in lines that he thought worked, it was tremendous. He was a sad sack of a comedian and actor, but he had this happiness that he let wash over him all the time. He also had bleached blonde hair that he gelled up for this role, adding even more humor. I don't know if Guest asked him to do this, but I like to think it was his idea, he told no one and showed up to set the first day and rolled with it. He is so good in that movie.

Fred Willard, and I am not kidding, is Oscar worthy great in "Best in Show". He is a bumbling broadcaster for the dog show, who knows nothing about dogs. He goes off on these tangents and soliloquies, that are total nonsense, but coming from Willard, they are delivered to perfection. He is so funny. He is so memorable. He is the best thing about what I consider to be the best Christopher Guest movie. When he is talking about the dogs, then goes into questioning the co broadcaster how much he thinks he could bench in his prime, that is classic. When he calls Jane Lynch "one happy fellow", and is told that she is, in fact, a woman, hilarious. When he tells the proctologist joke, and the other broadcaster calls him out for using that last year, and he just moves on, it is majestic. Every single thing Willard does in "Best in Show" not only works, it is perfect. His portrayal of this buffoon is just perfect.

This got me thinking about some other things I have seen Willard in, and how he is pretty damn good in everything he did in his lifetime. Most recently he was on "Modern Family", and even though we stopped watching that show, I did see Willard, as Phil's dad, and he was great. He was in a sketch in one of my favorite shows from last year, "I Think You Should Leave", as an organist at a funeral, and his performance is riotous. He's the TV show manager at the news station in "Anchorman", and his cut away lines, when he is talking to the school about his kid, or his one interaction with Christina Applegate, those are some of my favorite quotable lines from that gem of a movie. He was in three episodes of "Space Force" as Steve Carrell's father who is clearly suffering from dementia, and he makes that funny. I will never, ever forget him in "Review". He was amazing as Jessica St Clair's dad, who Forrest tries to reconcile with, takes him to space, and he meets a very unfortunate and untimely death, again, played to humongous laughs.

The list for Willard goes on and on and on. IMDB has him as a credited actor in over 300 things. That is astounding. The fact that he isn't more appreciated, he barely ever comes up when people talk about all time great comedic and improv actors, is criminal. Willard is one of, if not, the best. He is always reliable. He was always funny. He never really had any outside problems, minus the being caught in an adult movie theater, but he found a way to make a joke out of that because he is a master. Fred Willard was a tremendous talent, and rewatching some of his older stuff, I have found myself missing him, and wishing I could see him in more. Willard was great, and I suggest people go and check out his work. It is a plethora of comedy classics, and he usually steals the show.

The fact is that Fred Willard was one of the all time greats. 

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.  

The College Football Season is Starting to Look Like a Disaster

I swear I am going to stop bashing football in the next few days. I love the sport, I am still hopeful the Big Ten season happens, I am following my fantasy team marginally and I have a pretty solid Fred Willard piece I have been marinating in my brain for the past couple days. But, there was yet another cancellation of a college game this weekend, but this time it is a big time, storied college football team. Yesterday I talked about how injuries, due to lack of proper training, was a subset of why the football season was going to be hard to finish fully, and that COVID is still very much a threat. Well, Notre Dame had to cancel their game this Saturday against Wake Forest due to seven players/staff testing positive for COVID this week.

This is just going to continue to happen. And while it has happened already to a good number of D-1 teams, most notably Memphis and Baylor recently, this is Notre Dame. This is not only a historic school, but a school that has money and can afford to do things to prevent this better than other D-1 schools. They have some of the best facilities in America. I am sure they have alumni that would be willing, or know, or are, doctors that can provide and help with testing and following proper protocols. They do not have many students on campus, I think, so social distancing shouldn't be a problem. This, according to the people who were really pushing for college football, was not what they wanted to happen, especially the week before the SEC starts.

This is also a rough look, at least in my eyes, for the Big Ten. A lot of the reasoning, at least from what I read, was, fans of the Big Ten, alumni, people at the schools, players and coaches all saw that Notre Dame was playing, who's campus is located in the Midwest, in the heart of Big Ten country, and were angered that they couldn't be out there. It was assumed that if Notre Dame could play, why couldn't the University of Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Indiana or Michigan play? If they didn't have any positives, and could field a competent team, why couldn't they? Well now they have positives, and enough positives to postpone a game.

This is no good. This is what I feared would halt the college football year more than anything else. I saw what the MLB did, didn't like their plan, and have seen it blow up in their face a few times already. Games have been postponed. Not all teams have played the same amount of games. The Cardinals missed nearly a month because of an outbreak within the team, and they are playing double headers all the time just to catch up, and not make the playoffs I might add. I think the same thing is going to happen, at the very least, to college football. I am sure the NFL will run into this problem soon, but it is happening weekly in college football now. And what will pollsters and voters and players do if a school like Notre Dame only ends up playing six games? Or say the Big Ten starts, they picked late October because that kept them in the conversation for the playoff, but they have to postpone and stop a few times. How many games will all fourteen Big Ten teams actually play? Eight if we are lucky, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends at five or six games. The SEC is COVID central right now, and they are just getting started. Who is to say they get their full ten games in. Again, I don't think they will. I would be stunned if they got eight full games in from all their teams. As I said up top, it is not a humongous deal, no disrespect, when Memphis, or even Baylor misses a game. No one is bummed out that Air Force only has two games scheduled. Who honestly cares, outside of former players and alumni, that Houston hasn't started their season yet? But when this happens to Notre Dame, it is a big deal. The fact that they have to push a game already, that is a problem. People aren't happy already. How are people, players, fans and coaches and AD's alike, going to react when this happens to Clemson? Or Alabama? Or the University of Ohio State and Michigan? The really big time, prominent, important programs, like Notre Dame.

This is the last thing the NCAA and the college football community wanted. Other, smaller schools postponing was fine, but when it is a school like Notre Dame, that is scary. And unfortunately this is just the start, in my opinion. It won't be too long before Clemson and Alabama have to postpone as well due to COVID outbreaks. This is going to be a weird, stunted college football season. Be prepared fans. That is all I am saying. 

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.  

The NFL Season is Already a Disaster

Look, I get that the world is on fire. We are deep in this pandemic with no end in sight, Ruth Bader Ginsburg just died, the people that call themselves "Republicans" at the moment are corrupt, racist, homophobic, misogynistic and any other thing you can think to call them. Kids are still learning remotely, sports are being canceled or postponed on the daily. It's a real mess.

With that being said, I have found solace in basketball and reading sports stories. Also music and movies and TV shows have been a great way to escape for a while. Believe me, I am doing all that I can to get people to vote, to make sure my kids and wife are safe, to defund the police, signing all the petitions I believe in, anything remotely I can do to make change, I am trying. But, sports are my safe place. The NBA has been awesome, and I am sure I will write a piece on the conference finals at some point this week. And while I haven't watched much football, I'm sure that will change if/when Michigan plays, I have been keeping up with scores and stories due to fantasy football. I saw that Kirk Cousins was awful yesterday, that the Packers won, that the Rams may not be as bad as I thought and that the Cowboys needed a miracle comeback to beat the Falcons, which if I were a Cowboys fan, that would make me even more nervous for their season.

The one big thing that I noticed, and seemingly all the other players and writers, there were a rash of injuries, sidelining some really good, young talent the NFL has right now. The 49ers apparently lost a good chunk of their core. I saw that Jimmy Garroppolo is out now for a month or so. I am not a fan of his, I think he is overrated, but he is their starter at QB. They were in the Super Bowl last year. Maybe he is like Rex Grossman, but still, he is the starter, and that hurts most teams when the number one guy goes down. I don't know who their backup is, but I am sure he isn't that good if he is backing up Garroppolo. They also lost two D line starters, one of the idiotic Bosa brothers and Solomon Thomas. The Bosa kid, who is a dipshit, right wing conservative nutjob who constantly puts his foot in his mouth, tore his ACL. Honestly I think it is hilarious, and it has nothing to do with my Michigan fandom. It is just karmic to see someone who is a privileged white kid, that happens to be hyper conservative, like scary conservative, get some comeuppance. I know that may be mean, but he has said and done so much worse, so I could care less. Soloman Thomas was finally starting to come on strong last year, I actually like him, so it is a bummer that he most likely tore his ACL. He's had to put in work to get to where he is, and this is crummy for him. Then I saw that Christian McCaffery hurt himself. I think he is out a month or so with a leg thing. That's a bummer for Carolina because the offense is totally ran through him. Teddy Bridgewater is a good QB, but he doesn't have any other weapons now. The full tank may be on. Then I heard about Saquon Barkley. It was confirmed that he fully tore his ACL this morning. This stinks. I was not a fan of his in college because he used to abuse Michigan, but I have grown to like him in the NFL. He seems to work hard, he seems nice and he seems like a great teammate. He is also an explosive athlete. But a torn ACL for a young running back, that usually spells doom. This stinks. He was literally all the Giants had going for them. Then Davante Adams exited the Lions-Packers game early yesterday, Tyrod Taylor left his game early, Breshad Perriman hurt his ankle, Malik Hooker left with an Achilles thing and Drew Lock and Courtland Sutton both exited the Denver game early. It seemed to be a rough day.

This, along with COVID, was another reason why I felt this NFL season was going to be a problem. These guys had little to no time to train. They had no real practice. They didn't really hit one another. They didn't have a good amount of time to get prepared like they would in a "normal" year. These guys are world class athletes, but they are going up against other world class athletes. The lack of proper training for the sport they play was going to be a problem that we knew, the NFL knew and players knew would rear its ugly head. And while some of these guys aren't "super stars", a few are. As much as I dislike Bosa, he was ROY. Solomon Thomas was becoming a pro bowler. CMC is a true MVP candidate. And Saquon Barkley was the perfect modern day running back. He is a literal do it all back. He can run, catch and block. He can also return kicks. This is, unfortunately one of the things, outside of COVID outbreaks, that will most certainly still happen, that made me stop and think about the season going ahead without acting like there was a pandemic going on. The NFL acted like this would all go away, and while it was going on, these players would train normally. COVID didn't go away, and these players had about two weeks to get ready for full on football games. This stinks for the product on and off the field.

Fact is, this is going to be a rough football year, at every level. And not just because of COVID. I think there is going to be many more injuries to prominent players, and that is why we will end up with one or two not so great teams in the Super Bowl. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's Favorite Michigan Football Games: October 30th, 2004

Did you all think that I was going to stop talking about my favorite Michigan football games just because the Big Ten reinstated their season? No way. I am still pessimistic about the return, I am still conflicted, and there is still over a full month until the Big Ten is even supposed to start their "fall season". I am going to continue using my Friday's to write about games from the past that I still vividly remember to this day.

I have done this twice already, two recent games, one against Rutgers and the other against MSU. I'm going to talk about another MSU-Michigan game, but this game happened sixteen years ago. This is one of the older games I will write about, but this game has left an indelible impression on me for so many reasons. There are players in this game that I grew to love. There are players in this game that were in their freshman year, and they left Michigan with records. And this was a game that made me so euphoric when it ended, I almost fainted, legitimately.

The game was in October, on the 30th in 2004. An unseasonably warm day in Ann Arbor for a later kickoff, the 2:30pm in my timezone game, and it lasted until about 7pm that night. It was a very long game with many ups and downs, and my emotions ran the gamut. I went through every stage imaginable as a football fan. I am a Michigan fanatic after all. Michigan should not have won this game. They had no reason winning this game. They got torched on the ground. MSU ran for well over 300 yards, 368 in fact. MSU didn't throw for many yards, but they didn't have to. Michigan was pretty quiet in the first half and most of the third quarter. They didn't do much, they couldn't do much, and they looked like they were going to blow a home game against an inferior rival. MSU was 4-3 going into this game, and Michigan was 7-1 and the 12th ranked team in the nation. MSU played like the better team for the majority of this game.

Then the fourth quarter happened.

Now, let me set the personal tone for you all reading this. I was still living at home with my folks. I was yet to meet my wife. I was dating a girl I didn't like much. And I spent the majority of my day making sandwiches at a crummy sandwich shop, then coming home to watch movies or football in my basement room. This afternoon I told my then girlfriend that I was staying in because I didn't feel well, when I just wanted to stay home and watch Michigan play. So I hunkered down in my room and watched. The first half was awful. My dad would usually join me at the start of these games and watch from the chair I had in my room, but he had yard work to do. He missed the first half, and most of the third quarter. He came into my room near the end of the third, asked me how the game was going, and I told him, not great, Michigan looks bad. I also should say, he must have really wanted to watch this game because he didn't bother to shower after his yard work. He sat down all sweated up in my chair. But I didn't care because my team was getting their butts kicked. He was there to commiserate with me, which we still do to this day, and finish up what we thought was going to be a downer of a fourth quarter. Michigan trailed by 17, and they only had one true threat on offense at the time, Braylon Edwards. Unfortunately for my dad and I, we thought at the time that the freshman QB they had, Chad Henne, wouldn't be able to throw them back in the game. And they couldn't continue to ride Mike Hart, who is one of my all time favorite Wolverines, because they needed points, and fast. Hart was great to grind games out, but he wasn't a burner. So we were ready to watch the end of this game and deal with the heat from other people. But things started to happen in that fourth quarter. Chad Henne just started chucking the ball, and much to my and my dad's delight, Braylon Edwards was grabbing anything and everything thrown his way. I mentioned they couldn't lean on Hart anymore because he is a grinder, but I do have to say, he did his part in this game. He ran the ball 33 times for 224 yards and 1 TD. He did more than you expect from a running back. But the fourth, and the three overtimes, were all Henne and Edwards. Chad Henne went off in this game in the fourth and overtime. He threw the ball 35 times, completing 24 of them for 310 yards. He also had 4 TD passes and no picks. That is great for a vet. Henne was a true freshman, in a rivalry game, against a team that was playing the best they had all season. This was when I bought in on Henne. I grew to tolerate him, the best I can do for a Michigan QB, for the next four years. But this game belonged to Braylon. Of Henne's 24 completions, 11 went to Edwards. He also had 3 TD grabs. Jason Avant had 5 catches and the other TD, Hart had 5 catches as well, and Steve Breaston had 2 grabs. But this was Edwards' game. As I said, Henne would loft passes in the air, and Edwards seemed to come down with every single one of them. He would adjust perfectly, snag the ball out of mid air, get perfect position and do incredible things with the ball after he grabbed it. He was a man on fire. This was the game that won him the Biletnikoff award in 2004.  He earned the number 1 jersey, a number of honor in Michigan football history when given to a receiver. He was so amazing that night. Henne lofted a ball early in the fourth to Edwards that resulted in a TD to cut the lead to 10. Then the defense finally got a stop. They scored almost immediately after that. Then they recovered an onside kick, one of the few I have seen in my entire life, and Henne found Edwards on a deep pass to set up the game tying field goal. All 17 points came near the end of the fourth, and all of them, for the most part, had to do with Henne getting the ball to Edwards. Then we had our first overtime. Both teams scored quickly, and I was a little scared. Then each team had mini drives to tie it again in the second overtime. We then got to the third overtime, and in college football, that is when you have to go for 2. I was still worried, because I always am, and always will be. But, I was growing a bit more confident. MSU was starting to get frustrated. You could see the coach bumbling and trying to find an answer for Henne and Edwards. And the offense didn't look as comfortable as they had in the first half and third quarter. Then in the third overtime, Henne dropped back, I think it was the second or third play, and rifled a pss over the middle. Edwards was running a slant pattern, but I didn't notice that. I saw a few MSU defenders converging on the pass and I was sure it was going to get picked. But, like the magician he was that afternoon, Edwards snagged it and ran, untouched, into the endzone for a go ahead TD. Michigan then got the 2 point conversion. MSU came on the field and ran four plays, lost a bunch of yards and Michigan won. I jumped off my bed super excited. My dad high fived me. We couldn't believe what we just witnessed. We saw two freshmen, Henne and Hart, play great games personally, which made me optimistic for the near future. But, we saw a guy who dedicated his body and time to this team, Braylon Edwards, play like the star he was that year. He was simply amazing, and I will never, ever forget this game. This is a personal one because it is against MSU, who I loathe. But it was also a thrilling, high scoring, nail biting game.

I love this game, and it will always be the turning point for me in believing in Henne, falling more in love with Mike Hart and being as big a fan of Braylon Edwards as anyone in the country. This was a great, unexpected win. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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What the Hell Happened to the Clippers?

Now that I have gotten the Big Ten restart feelings off my chest, I am ready to talk about the Clippers blowing a 3-1 conference semifinals lead again.

This was stunning. I assumed they were front runners for the title. Steve Ballmer jeopardized the future of the team to bring in Kawhi and trade for Paul George. Kawhi was the prize free agent last year. He was just coming off a Finals MVP and helping Toronto win a title and he wanted to be in LA all along. I wasn't so sure if it was with the Lakers or Clippers, but I knew it was LA. He wanted to go there before he was traded to Toronto from San Antonio. To no one's real surprise he picked the Clippers, and everyone, myself included, lauded the choice, the Clippers for pulling it off and Kawhi for not choosing the Lakers. Then they added Paul George, and my head exploded. I did not see that one coming. He signed an extension with the Thunder a year before, and then in an instant he was gone. So due to the fact that the Clippers acquired Kawhi and PG, and did not really lose too much of importance, they seemed like the team to beat going into this season.

And they did just fine. Sure they looked disinterested at times, they nursed injuries longer than they might have needed to, they played to the level of their opponent, but still, they seemed like they could turn it on when needed. I kept saying that. I kept telling anyone that said they may not be a title contender that they were crazy. They have Kawhi, who is one of, if not, the best overall player currently in the NBA. They've got PG, who was fully healthy, is a scorer and can defend on the perimeter with the best of them. And they had the important guys from their core the year before returning. They looked primed to finally make the West Finals and Finals and win it all. Even when the season stopped, and then restarted, I was still fully in on them. Even when the media decided to only focus on Luka and the Mavs in round one, I kept saying that the Clippers were going to roll in games 5 and 6 to close it out. And when they got up 3-1, I was sure Denver was toast. The Clippers looked like they had finally flipped that switch and were going to roll.

Then the Clippers blew a 16 point second half lead in game 5. I thought, okay it was one game, basketball is a finicky sport filled with crazy runs and Denver will never play any better than they did in the second half of that game. Then it happened again. I watched all of game 6. I figured when they built their lead to almost 20 that they were going to close it out. They had the new guys they needed and they looked prime to win. Then they started to foul and foul Denver, giving them free points and slowing the game to a grind. Denver trimmed the lead to 2 to start the fourth quarter and the momentum they had gained from there pushed them to another improbable comeback to force a game 7.

This was when I thought they were in trouble, but hey, I wrote on Tuesday that I thought they were going to win, and win handily. I assumed that Kawhi would do what he did last year, and what he did with San Antonio in their championship runs. I figured he wouldn't let this team blow it. He is too dominant a player to let that happen. And through the first half, and the first 3 minutes of the third, it looked that way. The Clippers had a 7 point lead, Denver couldn't hit a shot and they had to call a timeout. It didn't matter that Lou Williams wasn't making shots, and that Kawhi and PG were bricking everything and that Morris couldn't hit the ocean, they looked like they were locked in and ready to take the game over. Then Denver went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead. All the things I thought the Clippers were going to do, they did the opposite. There were missed defensive assignments everywhere. PG was getting beat by guys like Gary Harris and Torrey Craig. Nikola Jokic was making precise passes to wide open cutters. Jamal Murray exploded, at one point in the fourth quarter throwing a prayer at the rim and getting all net. I mean, it was amazing to see the Nuggets just take the will out of the Clippers. When Murray hit that improbable three, the deficit was 13 with about 6 minutes left. Teams can come back from that, it isn't that big a lead, especially in the modern NBA. But that three put the Nuggets up 16, and the Clippers quit, plain and simple. PG was throwing bricks left and right. One of his threes, uncontested mind you, hit the side of the backboard. Kawhi looked tired and sluggish and slow. Lou Williams was missing layups. Hell, the only guy who came to play was Montrezl Harrell, and as much as I enjoy his passion and play, when he is your leading scorer, on a team with Lou Will and Kawhi and PG, that is a problem. The Nuggets didn't just win, they took the Clippers lunch money. They played free and loose, without a care in the world, and it showed. And it showed that the Clippers played tight, with everything to lose and they got taken to the woodshed in the process.

This was baffling. After the game, NBA Twitter was filled with bomb after bomb after bomb. I highly recommend going to see what CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard were tweeting about during the game. It is pretty amazing. Analysts and beat writers and TV personalities were foaming at the mouth. Nuggets fans were cool about it, and I expected that. But the worst of anyone were Lakers fans. Some of the stuff they were putting was downright nasty. I am a Michigan football fan through and through, and I see stuff like this every year when they inevitably get beaten by the University of Ohio State. But, that usually comes from former players and lifelong fans. These Lakers fans were going nuts, calling the Clippers out and doing some wild stuff, even for the internet. It was crazy. But, when you blow a 3-1 lead, and you have a player in Patrick Beverly, who I would love him if he were on the Grizzlies, talking all his trash, and PG playing like he did, and seems to do every playoffs now since dubbing himself "Playoff P", and then to have all the finger pointing and excuses afterward, maybe some of the talk and slander is deserved.

I don't know where this leaves the team going into the future. I know PG said something along the lines of "this wasn't a title or bust year for us". That is wrong. They should, at least, be in the conference finals. But, I do know that he and Harrell don't necessarily get along. They are obviously going to pick PG, so where does that leave Harrell? Is he going to take less money to compete, or will he opt for a big deal that he most definitely will get offered by some other team this offseason? Where does this leave Lou Will? He is the instant offense off the bench for them, but he never meshed with PG and Kawhi. What do they do with Zubac? He plays his role, but could they get someone a little older, and maybe better equipped to play with PG and Kawhi? I have seen the name Marc Gasol kicked around already. And what about their staff? Doc Rivers is back, and even though his playoff record is less than stellar, he has won a title, and I think he is good with super stars. He should stick around. But I am sure Ty Lue is going to be a head coach very soon. Sam Casell will get some interest. They are going to lose some important assistant coaches who definitely deserve their chance to be a head coach. This was a pretty awful outcome for this team as assembled right now, and they will be dealing with a good amount of changes both in staff and personnel. And the way they have acted since the end of game 7 has made this that much worse.

This was a mess, this was not the way it was supposed to end, but here we are. Now I am curious to see how they handle this offseason, and what they look like next year. Maybe I was wrong, and the "Clipper Curse" is real. They shouldn't have blown this series as badly as they did. Definitely not with this current roster. 

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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Some Cautious Optimism on the Potential Return of Big Ten Football

The Clippers collapse will have to wait until tomorrow. Something more personal, in the realm of sports, happened to me this morning, but it seems to have been in the works for some time now. And right before I really get into this, the "president" had nothing, I repeat loudly, NOTHING, to do with the Big Ten reinstating football for the fall of 2020. That dip shit in the White House may think he made this happen, and his dumbass, mouth breathing, racist, Nazi cult followers may think so too, but he had ZERO to do with this. The chancellors, presidents and the commissioner talked with doctors and scientists, and from what I read about it this morning, that was who helped them make a vote to unanimously restart. It was science and fact based, something the "president" either doesn't believe in, or understand, or both.

Me on the other hand, I am conflicted about this news. I even said last week that I had resigned myself to the fact that I would not be seeing Michigan football this calendar year. I had made my peace with it. That still may be true too. Who knows what is going to happen with this virus. Who knows how it will react with the upcoming flu season. Who knows what will happen when/if all kids start going back to school in the near future. All of this is still very fluid and there are still very possible situations that can halt the season before it even starts. I think the Big Ten is being smart, for the first time during this whole ordeal, in waiting until late October to start. I also think it is the right move to play eight or nine games all within an eight or nine week span. Try to cram it all in because that seems like the only way it could possibly work, outside of a bubble. But still I find myself questioning the revote. I am stoked that I, hopefully, get to see Michigan football in one month. I haven't watched very much college or NFL since the new season started. It feels wrong to watch. But maybe with Michigan back it will feel more "normal" to me. I was happy to talk to my dad about what players we may or may not see when I chatted with him this morning. This is something we do every season, and it was nice to have a normal football conversation with him. It will make the season, if completed, feel a little more legit with the Big Ten involved because they have a few teams that are serious contenders. And it will be nice to watch the conference that I have watched my entire college football viewing life.

Yet, there are so, so many question marks, at least for me. I have seen in the news that a good amount of games have already been postponed. Arkansas State had to push a game this weekend to next month because they had an entire position group whittled down to one guy due to COVID and injuries. Baylor and TCU had their opening game postponed due to outbreaks within the team. Memphis played a game, won, and now they have had to postpone one, and possibly a second game, because some of the players went on a party bus, and 20 kids tested positive for COVID, and another 20 are in quarantine for contact tracing. And even within the conference, Penn State has had a pretty big positive case number on campus, Iowa had to stop practicing for a few weeks, Maryland had to stop, Michigan State has moved to fully virtual, it is a mess basically. And that is all over the country at colleges right now too. In the SEC alone, Ed Orgeron, LSU's head coach, went on record and said that he assumes almost every player on his team has already "caught CoronaVirus". That is an awful statement, thought and he shouldn't have said that out loud. This is a college season that is very fragile. It has already been filled with stops and starts. There are tons of games being rescheduled already. But, the Big Ten gave me a moment, albeit fleeting this morning, because they are back. I have been vacillating between joy and fear. It is a very weird feeling, and very much how all of 2020 has been. I am still pessimistic about all of this. I will believe that the Big Ten is back when I see the Wolverines, and the rest of the conference for that matter, actually take the field. I know it can happen because I have watched snippets of real college games last weekend, but I am still a little leery of the Big Ten truly pulling it off. I hope they do. I hope I get to see these kids that I have grown to know and watch. But I am also scared for them. I do not know what the long term repercussions could be. None of us do.

I guess I am just going to have this weird feeling for the rest of the year, and who knows how long after. But, maybe it will be a little different, a little better, when/if I do see Michigan playing in The Big House, even if it is only family there to watch the game in person. What a weird morning, and a weird saga the Big Ten has been on this year. Time to see if they can pull it off now. 

Ty

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

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The NBA Restart Has Given US Two Must Watch Games Tonight

Tonight we have two pretty big NBA games. Let’s talk about them.

The Heat and Celtics will kick off the Eastern Conference Finals. I did not expect this, I believe I picked Milwaukee and Toronto, but I am not surprised Miami made it. I am surprised at how easily they have made it, but not surprised they are here. They are a good team. They play team basketball. They have good to great defenders. Jimmy Butler is proving that he is totally worth the headache when he is happy. They have a great young, and modern big, in Bam Adebayo. And they have shooting all over the floor. They are really good, and have looked really good getting here. Will they be rusty or tired? Maybe. But, I expect Butler, and Erik Spoelstra, to erase that quick and get back to playing like they were a week ago.

The Celtics had a tough, well played and well fought series win over Toronto. Toronto gave them all they could handle. They played them hard, played them dirty, played them like you expect a champion to play, even after losing their best guy, but the Celtics still won. I thought they were a year away. I thought they were still too young. But the young dudes stepped up, and Kemba Walker looks like himself. The knee injury and whatever else was bothering him seems to be gone. But I want to talk about their young guys. Jayson Tatum is a star. I have been lukewarm on him since college, but that dude is a player. He was absolutely great in the Toronto series. He was a scoring machine. He was making open jumpers and getting to the basket. He is becoming what many others saw coming out of Duke. He is a legit guy who could be the face of the league in a few years. Jaylen Brown might be the new Kawhi, except I think he is more athletic, and a better shooter at a younger age. Kawhi is great, more on him in a few, but so is Jaylen Brown. Brown is hyper athletic. He is a dunking machine. He is making open shots. And he is one of the premiere defenders in the league. He is becoming one of those lock down guys, a Kawhi Leonard type. And he leaves it all on the floor. I do not like the Celtics, not at all, but I love watching Jaylen Brown play basketball. He is one of my favorite young players. They also gave a rookie from Tennessee, I cannot for the life of me remember his name, who was playing super important, late minutes in a crucial game seven, and he was great. He played very solid defense.

The Celtics and Heat series is going to be good. I think that the Heat will finally have a series go a bit longer, but I do think the they will win. I think they will win in six, but seven wouldn't shock me either.

The other game tonight is one that I did not see coming at all. The Nuggets have made it to another game seven, for seemingly the tenth time in a row. And they are doing this making humongous comebacks against the Clippers, my and almost everyone else's preseason and restart pick for Finals winner. The Clippers are supposed to be this dominant defensive force with guys that can score more than enough points to win most games. They have held big leads, close to 20 point leads, in the second half of the last two games, close out games, and they have been beaten in both of them. Does this mean the "Clippers Curse" is real? Is Paul George not a marquee guy? Does Kawhi have enough in the tank? Are Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams overrated? I don't think any of this is true. The "Clippers Curse" is bogus. They are a moribund franchise and they, just this season, I will never be a buyer of the "Lob City" Clippers as a real contender, got two real good guys. George is looking a little iffy, but he is still very good. And Kawhi may be the second best overall player in the league, behind only Giannis. I think Paul George is good, and he has rebounded just fine from his rough series against the Mavs. I think Harrell is still getting in "quality" shape, he didn't play in any seeding games, and he barely played in the Mavs series. He is also only 6'7, which is small for his position. And Lou Williams has been everything the Clippers have asked him to be. What is happening, at least to me is, the Nuggets are playing with house money, and they have guys hitting shots in crucial moments. Michael Porter Jr, while he says dumb things, has been solid on offense. Gary Harris has been out forever, but he is looking better. Morris is a great bench scorer. Nikola Jokic is having fun and getting every Clipper that guards him in foul trouble. And Jamal Murray is finding that rhythm he had in the Utah series. He is looking like that scoring machine that made me want to watch him play. This series has turned fun, and I don't think I have been this excited to watch a game seven that doesn't involve teams that I am a fan of. I could care less about these two teams, but I am definitely tuning in to watch tonight. I do think the Clippers will win, and I think they will win convincingly. But, the Nuggets have made it fun, they have made it a series, and if they pull off another 3-1 comeback, they may be one of those teams that is just destined to make a run this year.

I am pumped to watch some basketball tonight.

Ty

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

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The Genius of a Christopher Guest Movie

My wife and I have been watching "Schitt's Creek" the past couple weeks. We are taking it slower than other shows we have binged because we want to savor the show. We heard all the good reviews, my mother in law is a humongous fan, and we are in the midst of season three and the show is totally worth the hype, and more than lives up to it. It is an excellent show with tremendous acting and writing and likeable characters. It is truly a great TV show.

I am not here to review "Schitt's Creek" today. I will do that when we finish. In watching this show, my wife and I have been revisiting Christopher Guest's movies because Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are the stars of "Schitt's Creek", and they have been in all of Guest's movies. We plan on going through Guest's whole catalog in the next couple weeks. These movies have been our quarantine date night movies. Two weeks ago it was my pick, and I picked "This is Spinal Tap". Now, I know that Guest didn't direct this movie, Rob Reiner did, but "This is Spinal Tap" is where Michale McKean and Christopher Guest made their mark. They were writers and stars of this movie. Levy and O'Hara are not in this movie, but do our personal mission, we had to go to the beginning. And boy oh boy does "Spinal Tap" hold up. This is a perfect parody of an aging rock band. I watch this movie now, and all I see is the Metallica documentary, "Some Kind of Monster", but that was supposed to be a serious movie. "This is Spinal Tap" is a straight up comedy, and man does it hit a homerun. Guest, McKean and Shear play the main three guys in the band, and they are oblivious to their actual downfall. They think they are stars, even though they get poor reviews and shows get canceled at the drop of a hat. The on stage performance is just as ridiculous. "This is Spinal Tap" is the rock movie parody. I love a movie like "Walk Hard", but there would be no "Walk Hard" if not for "Spinal Tap".

This past Friday my wife had the pick, and she chose "A Mighty Wind". Two weeks, two musical parodies. "A Mighty Wind" is Guest at the top of his game. This one has all the people you have come to expect in one of his movies, and they are all tremendous. Guest, Shearer and McKean reunite, this time as the folk trio The Kingsman. They are so talented and so funny and so musical and it comes across great in both movies. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are in this movie, and they are the unequivocal stars. The movie hinges and rides on their story and relationship. It is crazy to watch this performance, then turn around and watch them on "Schitt's Creek". It is totally separate. But Levy is dynamite in "A Mighty Wind". He is Oscar worthy. He embodies the 60's folk singer, and where I would imagine one would have been in the early 2000's after going through what he did. O'Hara is almost equally as good. She loves him, but she has to move on. She needs to better herself. She needs to live a normal life. But she so desperately wants to be with him. It is opposite their dynamic in "Schitt's Creek". She is Levy's provider. He is lucky to be with her. It is not like that at all in "A Mighty Wind".

This all leads me to Christopher Guest. He is clearly a genius when it comes to making these "mockumentaries". He has a pitch perfect tone. The joke writing and improvising is perfect. The actors are professionals. Everyone seems to be having a great time making these movies. They are so much fun to watch. And that is why I think Guest is so great, but also underappreciated. He hasn't made a movie in awhile, with the last one being "Mascots" on Netflix I believe. I hope he decides to make more movies. I want to see these people work together again. It will be a bummer to not see Fred Willard in the movie, but Guest can still get most of the original crew back together at some point. I'm glad my wife and I started this new thing. I'm glad we added this to our date night. This week will be "Best in Show", and I am so stoked to revisit that one.

Bottom line, these movies are awesome, and Guest is a great actor, writer and director. He deserves all the accolades he has achieved and so much more. The dude is a genius. 

Ty

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

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Ty's Favorite Michigan Football Games: October 8th, 2016

We have reached Friday, and I am here to talk about Michigan football once again. I read that there may be a re-vote this weekend, that the University of Ohio State's head coach has sent a letter to the Big Ten, that a few schools have had to stop practicing due to outbreaks, that Michigan's president won't talk to Jim Harbuagh or Warde Manuel, basically the Big Ten is a total mess right now. I have no faith in there even being a vote, and I am completely resigned to there being no Michigan football this fall, or even this year. So, I am going to continue with some of my personal favorite games.

Last week I talked about when they housed MSU in East Lansing two years ago. That was a cleansing, emotional watch. That was the return of Michigan football to me. The game today is clearly vanity, and it was a game that I knew, well before it started, that Michigan was going to win. They strolled into New Jersey the night of October 8th in 2016 to play Rutgers. Michigan was the 4th ranked team in the country, Jabrill Peppers was a Heisman candidate and the offense was rolling. The defense was even better. They were shutting everyone down, and making life miserable for their opponents. Rutgers was 2-4, still hadn't won a Big Ten game in some time and were in the midst of being the punching bag they have become the past five years. This was a no brainer.

What makes this game so special, why I remember it so well, is something my dad said to me before the game kicked off. The game was at night, and October 8th just happens to be my father's birthday. So we were in the midst of celebrating his birthday, and my daughter had just turned one the day before. We actually had her birthday party on the 8th. We had it at our house with all of our friends and family over. I miss those days. The game was a night game, so we had all day to celebrate both my daughter and dad. It was a very fun day. My daughter's party was great, and then my wife took the kids home, and I was able to go watch the game at my folks house with my dad and oldest brother. He isn't as big a fan, he is more a Missouri fan, but he still likes to watch games with us. So the three of us gathered around the TV at the house, and that was when my dad said what makes this game so memorable to me. I was talking to him, we were talking about the day, and I said, "so was today a good birthday? Was it fun? What could make it better?". He responded, "it was great, but it would be even better if Michigan scored 70 points and shut out Rutgers". We both kind of laughed, Michigan never really blows teams out like that, and proceeded to watch the game.

What happened for the next three hours was an absolute massacre. Michigan blew the goddamn doors off Rutgers. It was an absolute clobbering. Michigan dominated every phase of the game from start to finish. It was so easy for Michigan that night. In the middle of the third quarter they were running simple dive plays that turned into 60 and 70 yard TD runs. Jabrill Peppers was goofing around on punt returns, which almost ended up as TD's. The defense was impenetrable. Michigan only threw the ball fifteen total times, two of which ended up as TD's. They rushed for nine TD's. Let me repeat that, NINE TD's!. That is insane. And if you are quick at math, not only did Michigan score the 70 my dad was asking for, they actually scored 78. As for shutting Rutgers out, boy did they ever. Like I said, this was the most dominant performance I have ever witnessed as a Michigan fan. When I looked back at the final stats this morning, I did a double take. I mean, I remember it being a blowout, but not the massacre on the stat sheet that I saw. Michigan had exactly 600 total offensive yards. Rutgers totaled 39. Michigan was 6-11 on third downs. Rutgers was 0-17. Michigan only threw for 119 yards. Rutgers, well, they totaled 5 passing yards. Five, singular, total passing yards. Michigan had two guys go for 100 plus rush yards, Chris Evans and Karan Higdon, and Ty Issac was close with 99. Michigan totaled 481 rush yards, which is insane. Rutgers got 34. Michigan averaged almost 9 yards a carry, and Rutgers was averaging 0.9 a carry. Not even a full yard. Of the nine total rushing TD's Michigan had that night, they spread the wealth. Higdon had two, so did Issac, as did Jabrill Peppers, getting some offensive snaps this game. A guy I don't even remember, his last name is Stevenson, you have to be very low on the depth chart for me to not know who you are, had a rushing TD. And Khalid Hill, the tight end turned goal line fullback under Harbaugh, had the other two rush TD's on two carries for two yards. Hill also had a receiving TD, as did Saint Louis' own Jehu Chesson. This was one of the rare games where I didn't bite my nails or sit on the edge of my seat or be ever the pessimist when watching Michigan football. This was as dominant as I have ever seen, and even though it was Rutgers, they are still a D-1 team with guys who were star players at their high school. This isn't like when they beat UMass a long time back 84-7. UMass was, at the time, a D-1AA school, and not a good one. Rutgers may not have been good, they may be going through a down time, but they are still a D-1 Big Ten team, and the game was at their home stadium. But, Michigan won in wonderous, and dominant fashion.

I will always remember this game because of my dad's comment beforehand. He didn't expect the outcome that night, and neither did I. We expected a win, even a big win. But for my dad to say he wanted them to score 70 and shut them out, and then to watch them score 78 and shut them out, that is why this game will always have a special place in my heart. It is a great memory of a near perfect performance from Michigan football. 

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 "Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was"

It has been nine years, but Bright Eyes put out a new album a week or so ago. I had read news awhile back that they were working on some new material, but I had kind of forgotten about it. Then they released a music video which I watched and enjoyed. But again, that was in early summer. I had forgotten that they were working on music.

Then one afternoon when I was out, or doing homeschooling, I don't really know anymore, the days all blend, my buddy Kirk texted to ask if I had listened to the new record yet. I hadn't, so I remedied that right that moment. I didn't know what to expect. I am a fan. I first listened to Bright Eyes when I heard the record "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". At the time I liked slower acoustic stuff, and when they went heavy and angry, I liked it. I then devoured pretty much all of their stuff. The live record, "Motion Sickness" is a great live album. I wasn't so much into "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn". And I really, truly liked "Cassadaga" and "The People's Key". I then went back and listened to really early Bright Eyes. "Letting Off the Happiness", and mainly "Fevers and Mirrors" were revelatory for me. Then I dug into Conor Oberst' solo stuff and his work with other bands. I was, at least considered myself, a full fledged fan. I dig his writing. Yes it can be depressing, but so can so many other bands and singers and songwriters I listen to. Hell, I love the blues, and that is as sad as it gets. But as he has grown up, Oberst, he seems to have gotten a little less sad, a little less depressing. I could hear a tinge of it in "Cassadaga", I believe he wrote that record when he got clean. Then it was even more forward in "The People's Key". But coming into the new record, since it had been so long, I was intrigued. Would he go back to the anger and depression, focusing more on acoustic music? Or would he continue with his growth?

Well, "Down In the Weeds, Where the World Once Was", definitely reminds me of the more grown up Oberst. It has been nearly a decade, Oberst is now 40 years old, he has gone through a divorce, he has lost a brother, he has been accused of sexual assault, which was retracted by the accuser fairly quick after the accusation, he has been through a lot, and he has come out the other side. That is what I get from "DITWWTWOW". This is a grown up making good, accessible grown up music. It still has his touch, and that voice is so uniquely him. But still, this album has happier music, and not nearly as depressing lyrics. It can go there from time to time. "One and Done" is kind of on that track, but it still sounds happy when you get to the chorus. It is also a great closure song. It feels like he is getting all the bad stuff from past relationships off his chest. Then to follow that up with "Pan and Broom", which sounds like an 80's tune, but with Oberst's happier lyrics, I love it. I like the way the record starts too. "Dance and Sing" really gets it going. There is some nice guitar in the song. It brought me right back to 2010 when I listened to him the most. "Just Once in the World" has that acoustic sound, but it builds and builds to a great crescendo. So far "Mariana Trench" is my favorite track. It has my favorite music in it, and the chorus is catchy as hell, which shocked me coming from Oberst. I find myself humming this song a lot. I really dig "Persona Non Grata". It starts out with just Oberst and a piano, but when the drums kick in it has that classic sound. I find it comforting to hear this music and be taken back to where I was nearly 10 years ago. It also has some cool strings and horns attached, which is always a plus for me. "Tilt-A-Whirl" seems like an ode to his brother that he lost. He opens by saying that a "phantom brother came to me". The song is also sad, but sweet at the same time. It's a good one. "Forced Convalescence" is upbeat and fun, musically. Again, the lyrics can be a downer a bit, but the music works so well, and I find myself bobbing my head along when it plays.

This record is good all around. It is a cozy blanket. It is a reminder of why I started, and continued to listen to his music. Oberst is a great writer, and I think age has only made him better. He has been through and seen so much, I believe that helps him as a writer. I highly recommend this album. It is some great work. 

Ty

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

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Ty's 2020 NFL Preview

I have gotten some messages from various people online asking me about my NCAA and NFL previews for the upcoming year.

I stated last week that I was not going to do an NCAA football preview because this season is the most asterisk worthy season of all. There are two power 5 conferences, among many other D-1 conferences, that are postponing until winter or fall. There are a ton of major players, first round talent, that have opted out. Oklahoma's coach Lincoln Riley just stated yesterday that he will not divulge any more positive CoronaVirus cases within the team because it "poses a competitive disadvantage", which is wrong on so many levels. Two major programs, TCU and Baylor had games recently canceled for this Saturday due to positive COVID tests. This NCAA season is going to be a mess, and even though I am sure I will tune in from time to time, I will not feel good about it, and the product on the field is going to be messy. I am also certain there is going to be stops and starts, just like MLB, and as the season wears on, more guys, prominent guys, will opt out when they start seeing teammates getting sick. The NCAA is a mess, and this upcoming college football year is proof positive they have no control, and they don't care about the kids. That is my NCAA football preview. Whoever wins is not a real champion, there, I said it.

The NFL is just as bad, if not worse. They have done little to nothing to be prepared for the inevitability that is CoronaVirus wreaking havoc on this season. The NFL, and the higher ups in the NFL have just acted like they are immune to this pandemic. I'm sure they figured that things would be under some kind of control right now. Things are worse, the owners had no plan and now they are just steamrolling ahead with the season, starting this Sunday. There have been notable guys, like JJ Watt and Aaron Donald, who have said that they will not wear a mask while on the field. I checked into "Hard Knocks" on HBO the other night, and hardly anyone was wearing a mask. Well, players were not really wearing masks. Coaches had them on, but for the players it seemed like a suggestion not a rule. And there have been positive cases. As of yesterday there were five positives that were relayed to the media. Who knows how many positives there actually are, but the five they put out there were guys of no consequence. If it happens to a big name guy, things might be different right now. But, it hasn't happened to a "star" yet, so the NFL may think they are doing okay. Also, Roger Goodell was quoted yesterday saying that he wouldn't be surprised if they don't get a full 16 game season in. The NFL, like I said, had no plan, and now they are starting to hedge their bets, a few days before the season starts.

I also have very mixed feelings about the season. Sure it will be nice to see Green Bay play, but how long will they actually play? Which important player will get CoronaVirus first? How soon until half the team is on the COVID list, or they just opt out. You could insert any team into this spot too. I just picked Green Bay because they are my team. Look at the Patriots. They have something like nine guys that opted out way early on. One of the Chiefs starting O lineman opted out to go work on the frontlines in his hometown. They also had their star from the Super Bowl last year, running back Damien Williams opt out to be with his sick mother. More and more of that, I feel, is going to happen as the season wears on. How soon until someone like Patrick Maholmes or Aaron Rodgers or Lamar Jackson see guys around them getting the virus and just decide to sit? I don't think it will be that long. I think they want to play beyond just this season. We still know so little about this virus, and I feel like going out, banging and sweating and spitting and bleeding and yelling at one another on a football field is the easiest way to spread it, and start a massive second wave.

To make everything even crazier, some stadiums are thinking of allowing fans?! Are you kidding me?! That is so dumb. Anyone that goes to see a football game live this year should have to sign a waiver, spend gobs of money on the seats and be willing to deal with the repercussions. I love football. College football is my favorite sport to watch. I love doing fantasy football, I even did a draft which felt so weird and so unfulfilling compared to other years. I enjoy wasting fall weekends watching football. But this year is different. We have much bigger problems facing the country. We need new people in office. We need to find a way to quell this pandemic. We need to try and get out of this pandemic. We need to stop systemic racism. We need to defund the police. Watching football is about the one millionth most important thing right now. It needs to be way, way down the list.

If I had to guess, if someone said, tell me what will happen with the NFL this year, I would say it is going to be messy, perhaps messier than MLB. They will try and play, they have made that clear. But I feel by week four they will have to shut down for a while due to a rise in cases. Then they will come back in two weeks, play for two weeks, then have to shut down again. I think, at most, they will get all 32 teams to play twelve games at best. I think the playoffs will be weird, and not great. I think too many guys will opt out, get sick, get injured or say they are injured because this year is as risky as it gets. If I had to pick a Super Bowl, I really don't know. I would guess Kansas City from the AFC because they have the most talent and returning guys. From the NFC, hmmm, I guess I will go with, I don't know, how about the Saints. They have some solid guys, Drew Brees is still a sell out punk though.

I have zero faith in these picks at all people. It could very well be Miami and Carolina, or Washington and Denver, or even Detroit and Cincinnati in the Super Bowl simply based on how many players get sick or opt out. This season is going to be filled with problems, it will stop and start, guys will leave midway and it will just be sloppy. I hope I am proven wrong. I would love to come on this site and eat crow. But I would be terrified if I were an NFL player, especially a young guy, because this offseason has proven that the owners, GM's and the commissioner do not have a plan, nor do they truly care to have one. This is all messy, it stinks and I wish they would wait until there is some kind of slowing down before just running these guys out there.

That is my 2020 NFL preview. 

Ty

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

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Who Knew That Cold Brew Coffee and Orange Juice Would Be So Damn Good

Until I had kids I was never a coffee drinker. It was too strong without anything in it, or when I would get it all doctored up, say a frappuccino from a Starbucks like place, it was too sweet, even for me. When my wife had our son. I tried lots of things to stay awake, without going to coffee. I stuck with caffeine, but did it through diet soda, which isn't great for you. I tried Red Bull, and I still to this day think it is disgusting. I did the whole energy drink thing, and that made me too wiry, then I would inevitably crash.

Then my dad showed me how he would make coffee, for a person like me. I tend to like my hot drinks sweet, but not overly sweet. I also do not use real sugar because that sends me through the roof. He made me a brew one day, put about a tablespoon of heavy cream in it, and a packet of Splenda. I loved it. From that moment on, that was how I drank coffee for the first year of my son's life. I then decided I wanted to try different things, different drinks. I had cappuccinos, lattes, flat whites, mocha, I tried them all. I have liked most of them, there are a few that are not my favorites, but still, I consider myself a coffee drinker now. I have one cup every morning, then I usually have one in the afternoon when my wife is done with work. We have a cup and play cards. Yes I know, we are adorable.

Prior to the pandemic, my dad and I would go out once a week to new coffee places in town and try stuff out. We have found some really good places here in Saint Louis. Mokabes is great, so is Hartford. We also both really enjoy Stone Spiral and The Mud House. My dad's favorite spot so far has been Sump, and I really, really enjoy Shaw's. We just recently decided, maybe a few weeks ago, that we feel safe to go enjoy a cup of coffee together as long as the spot has an outside seating area, and we both mask up. We have had some good coffee too.

Today we went out, my kids have the day off school, a teacher development day which makes no sense to me since they are virtually learning, but whatever, and found a place called Living Room Cafe and Diner in a smaller part of Maplewood here in Saint Louis. Neither of us had been, they mentioned how the outside is the only place to sit, masks are required and the menu looked interesting. We got there and ordered, and I ordered something I would have deemed garbage eight years ago. My dad got a really good tasting decaf cold brew, I opened his cup and took a drink, no mixing of germs. What I got was pretty strange though. They call it the "Sunrise". This was a cold brew, but the bottom half had orange juice in it. Now, I was hesitant, but what sold me was what it said on the menu under the drink. It was short, sweet and simple. It read, "trust us, it is good". I was still a little confused, and kind of regretting my order, but what the hell I figured. I took my first drink and told my dad all I could taste was the coffee, which was really great on its own. He told me to mix it up, that all the orange juice was in the middle and at the bottom. I grabbed myself a disposable knife, stirred it and tasted again. It was amazing! I kid you not. It was really, really good. My dad did not want to try because he is not a fan of sweet coffee at all, but man did I love it. The orange juice brought out a sweetness that I really liked, and it gave an added citrus flavor that I never knew I was missing in my coffee. I was in coffee heaven drinking this drink. I wanted to chug it, but I took sips here and there, to really savor it, all the while saying to me dad, "this shouldn't work, but damn if it isn't delicious".

I am so glad that I decided to get the drink. The coffee at this spot was already tasty, but adding the citrus, that took it over the top. I got home a little bit ago and told my wife that it was the best coffee drink I have ever had. I do not recommend drinking it hot. I cannot imagine what hot orange juice tastes like. But if you have some cold brew, or you go buy some at a real coffee shop, not Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, and add some orange juice and ice, I bet you will enjoy it as much as I did. I am usually not a "frankenfood" guy, but this was so very delicious. I will definitely go get this again, and I am going to try and make it at home. For not being an orange juice guy, I hardly ever drink it, this was revelatory for me.

The "Sunrise" is now my favorite coffee drink I have ever had. Seriously people, go try one out, it will change you. 

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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A Review of the First Broadcast Hour of MTV.

On August 8th, 1981 MTV was launched, thus began the dawn of a new age in cable television. Joining TBS, HBO, and ESPN, MTV would go on to become one of the most important, and polarizing, channels in cable music history.

Recently, the first four broadcast hours of MTV was downloaded to the Internet Archive (you can watch it here). The video is old, and it is missing a few moments. Still, most of the legendary early moments of MTV are intact. Some of those early moments are iconic, some are very forgetful. I decided I wanted to go back and rate those early videos and find out if they have stood the test of time. There are three criteria I will use to rate the MTVness of that first hour.

Is the video any good?

We are obviously using late seventies/early eighties technology, so I will grade on a curve.

Is the video memorable?

Obvious one here. Do we still think of this video almost forty years later.

Did the video kill the radio star?

The 1980’s saw a rise in one hit wonders, and many people think it is because an average band had a good video on MTV. I will ask did the video elevate the song.

One last side note. I loved MTV. I still bitch about the day “Remote Control” came on and doomed my beloved channel to not being the “nothing but videos” spot on my cable box. I also tell everyone I know that I stayed up to watch the launch of MTV. Since I was six years old in August of 1981, I highly doubt I did stay up, but the legend has become reality in my mind.

Alright, let’s get to it.

12:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time August 1st, 1981

Video and audio of the Space Shuttle getting ready to launch. A countdown. Shuttle engines start. The scene switches to the launch of an Apollo rocket. Neil Armstong on the Moon. And then the words “Ladies and Gentleman, Rock and Roll. The MTV flag next to the Moonman and the iconic guitar riff that will forever be associated with Music Television. Transition right into the first video in MTV’s history.

“Video Killed the Radio Star” The Buggles

We all know this was the first video ever. I always thought it was made for the launch of MTV. I was wrong.

Any good? Absolutely. It was a video, not just concert footage. It told a story. It looked cool. Everyone was wearing shiny silver. The backing vocals had on cool glasses. It ushered in the future.

Memorable? We all know this video. The answer is yes.

Did the video kill the radio star? Yes. The Buggles eventual joined the band Yes, but their song and video for “Video Killed the Radio Star” will always be a part of history.

The first commercial on MTV is an ad for…MTV

“You Better Run” Pat Benatar

For decades I have been telling people that the second video ever on MTV was Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield”. Two things. I was wrong, and I have never ever heard of this song.

Any good? The early days of MTV was all about selling an image. Pat Benatar was one of those early images. Tight leather pants, bold lipstick, short hair, I’ll beat your ass attitude, Benatar was a pioneer in this arena when MTV was in it’s early days.

The video for “You Better Run” is mostly just the band performing, but it focuses on Pat Benatar. That is what separates this video from many others we will see in the first hour.

Memorable: Pat Benatar made much better music, and music videos, after “You Better Run”. I already mentioned “Love is a Battlefield”. This should not be in Benatar’s highlight reel.

Did video kill the radio star? Not this video. Pat Benatar was just getting ready to blow up on MTV and on the radio dial.

Now we meet the VJs (video jockeys in case you did not know). We start with Alan Hunter, then Martha Quinn, followed by JJ Jackson, Next up is Nina Blackwood, and we end with Mark Goodman boldly proclaims that MTV will do for music videos what FM did for music.

In the ad break we see commercials for a three ring binder called The Bulk, a promo for the movie “Superman II”, and then some words from Dolby Laboratories.

“She Won’t Dance with Me” Rod Stewart

Another artist who would make a name for himself in the early days of MTV, and yet another video I have absolutely no memory of.

Memorable: Obviously not. I just said I have no memory of it.

Any Good: Another performance video, but this one does show off the style and antics of Rod Stewart. It is also shot in a black room with white polka dots.

Did video kill the radio star: We all know Rod Stewart for his music, not for his music videos. There is no way “She Won’t Dance With Me” was ever going to deter the incredible career of Rod Stewart.

In the ad break is when we first see the iconic guitar smashing into a tv MTV ad.

“You Better You Bet” The Who

Love em or hate em, The Who is one of rock’s biggest acts. “You Better You Bet” is when The Who were getting away from their “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia” days and just trying to sell some records.

Memorable: The song is popular. The video? Not so much

Any Good: A straight up performance video, but it is shot in classy black and white.

Did video kill the radio star: The Who were already a global success. If anything, the laziness of the video may show that the radio star was not ready for video.

In the break, VJ Mark Goodman explains how you can mail away for a sticker to place on your stereo’s FM dial so you know where you can watch MTV on your television, and listen to the music through your stereo. We are then treated to a Mountain Dew ad followed by a plea from the Interfaith Hunger Appeal. REO Speedwagon then appears and tells you when you watch their next concert live on MTV.

“Little Susie’s on the Up” PH.D.

I have never heard of PH.D., and after doing a little research I know nothing significant about the band.

Memorable: After seeing it, yeah it is memorable because it is all over the place yet still tells it’s story of a dance competition.

Any Good: Being memorable and being good do not go hand in hand. “Little Susie’s on the Up” is exhibit one. We have piano playing, a butcher shop, hairdressers, ironing, a dance competition, snotty dancing people, and a top prize of a jar filled with olives, I think.

Did video kill the radio star: The insanity of this video is much better than the terribleness of the song.

“We Don’t Talk Anymore” Cliff Richard

I was getting ready to say that this is a no name artist left over from the AM Gold era, and a terrible video, and then I researched who is Cliff Richard. Holy crap. This guy is one of the best selling and beloved artists in British music history, and he is a knight. Sorry Cliff.

Memorable: Nope, just a guy swaying and singing with a guitar superimposed every now and then.

Any Good: The dude may be a legit superstar, but I still think the song and the video sucks.

Did video kill the radio star: Obviously not. Cliff Richard was already big by the time this snooze fest came along.

“Brass in Pocket” The Pretenders

A Hall of Fame band with a Hall of Fame video. Absolutely legendary.

Memorable: Hell yeah it’s memorable. This video shaped the way I hear the song “Brass in Pocket”. Whenever Chrissie Hynde says “special”, and the band responds with “special”, I always picture one of the guys pointing to the word special on the menu. It is so cheesy and so awesome.

Any Good: This is the best video to be shown on MTV in these early hours. It has a story you can follow and the iconic use of the special on the menu.

Did video kill the radio star: This is a great video, and it introduced many people to the awesomeness of The Pretenders, but no the video did not overshadow the music.

“Time Heals” Todd Rundgren

Music legend, and not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for some reason, Todd Rundgren sings a song while he interacts with a bunch of surrealist paintings by Dali.

Any Good: It is different. If you like different, then it is good.

Memorable: I never saw it until I started this project. I will now never forget it.

Did video kill the radio star: Todd Rundgren has never been known for his videos. He is known for being one of the most influential people in rock history. Explain to me again why he is not in the Rock Hall.

“Take it on the Run” REO Speedwagon

Side note: The video I was watching cut this music video a few seconds after it started. I do however feel like I got the spirit of the music video by those few seconds.

Concert footage from REO Speedwagon singing one of their most popular tunes of the time.

Any Good: Bland concert footage from a bland band, so no.

Memorable: Maybe if you saw the Speedwagon at a county fair, this video could bring back some memories.

Did video kill the radio star: Not this video.

In the ad break, VJ Mark Goodman once again tells us where we can get the MTV dial position sticker. This is followed by an ad for Chewels gum.

“Rockin Paradise” Styx

Dennis DeYoung is alone on stage with a player piano. DeYoung is sporting an epic fro and killer mustache. He is singing a quiet melancholy tune. And then it gets real. The rest of the band join DeYoung and proceed to rock your world.

Any Good: Basic performance video with a crazy looking Dennis DeYoung

Memorable: Not really. Outside of DeYoung, standard rock performance.

Did video kill the radio star: If you love Styx, it is not because of this video. If you do not love Styx, this video will not convince you.

In the ad break we are told that Andron is the first pheromone based fragrance and the whole family, including the dog, enjoys playing Atari.

“When Things Go Wrong” Robin Lane and the Chartbusters

The biggest hit from a band I have never heard of. A video with a story. Lady goes to a colonial town, sings towards the sea as we follow a guy go on a big ship. The end.

Any Good: At least it is not a performance or concert footage video.

Memorable: Already forgotten.

Did video kill the radio star: I think video was supposed to launch the radio star. Did not happen.

VJ Mark Goodman introduces that MTV will cover the music business in all fifty states. Up first is a report by Bob McClain on the New York homecoming of The Ramones. We are then treated by an ad for The Movie Channel. We also get our first experience of the “Don’t watch that, watch this” MTV promo.

“History Never Repeats” Split Enz

A New Zealand band that never quite made it in the states. At least they had this video which is mostly the lead singer in bed while he sings the tune.

Any Good: Not that bad. They tried to make a visually interesting piece of art.

Memorable: They really did not succeed. Split Enz seems like an early version of the alternative artists that will take over MTV in a few years. They definitely had the eighties pop pretty boy look going.

Did video kill the radio star: Like Robin and the Chartbusters, I think this video was supposed to launch Split Enz. Alas, it did not work.

“Hold on Loosely” 38 Special

A famous band performing their famous song in concert.

Any Good: Do you like the song? Come watch the band play the song in front of people.

Memorable: Concert footage of a semi famous band. You do not need to watch to enjoy the song.

Did video kill the radio star. This is not a video. 38 Special did ok with out the visual aspect of their craft.

That is the first hour of MTV. Thirteen videos, along with introduction of the concept, and the VJs. This was what MTV launched as. A mix of new artists using the new medium, and a bunch of old artists showing you their concert footage. The good thing is after hour one, I am intrigued to see what is in store for hour two. How about you?

Overall review - I WANT MY MTV.

RD

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

Come and support us and the podcast on Patreon.

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