Give "House of the Dragon" Some Time

"House of the Dragon" is two episodes into season 2 now. The first season was incredible, and my wife and I were both ready for this second season. So far, it has not disappointed us. The two episodes are a slow burn, but it is a wonderful slow burn. They are building towards a heavy duty war. You get that sense very early on. After the events that closed out season 1, a war was inevitable. This was coming.

The leadup to the fighting so far has been the most wonderful kind of tease. They are slowly building to what seems to be an epic battle. The things that have happened so far in season 2, including two primary-ish season 1 characters, spoiler alert, dying off in the last episode. That fight scene was awesome and tragic at the same time. It had a lot going for it at the time. I have grown to hate one of the guards now too. I didn't like him much in season 1, but after his exploits in the first two episodes, that dude can kick rocks for all I care. He is a coward and only looking out for himself. Most people on this show are out for themselves, so when I can grow to point out his exploits, that means this dude is a real piece of work. Matt Smith is even slimier than in season 1. He has some real issues and he cannot handle the fact that he may never be king. The two queens are clearly trying to keep their houses in order, but they have so many other things going on that it is nearly impossible for them to focus on one thing at a time. They have so much on their tables. The kids are getting much more involved in season 2. The king is a little prick. He is also so stupid. But, I found myself feeling bad for him at moments in the last episode. Rhaynera's kids are clearly working through the death of one of their brothers, and they are finding it very hard to move on. Daemon Targereyan was almost assassinated, but found refuge in a brothel. That dude is a bad, bad person, but he is also clearly gearing up to go to war, and he may be the best fighter on his side. The hand is out of a job and looking to move on, but he is going to need his daughter's help. She is too focused on hooking up with the punkass guard, so I really have no idea where they are going to go with his story. And, for a very bad guy, I felt awful for him at the conclusion of the last episode. I actually found myself rooting for him to beat up the king. And the dragons are creeping up here and there in the first two episodes. We've seen them flying a bit. They are coming out of their dungeons and looking to breathe some fire. They are mean and ready for war as well. I also saw some dragon eggs in a trailer for an upcoming episode, and if we get even more dragons, that would be a thing of beauty.

"House of the Dragon" took a long time off, but the work is showing in the series so far. I am so amped to see where it goes from here. And the battle that is incoming is going to be brutal, bloody and amazing to watch. Sunday's cannot come fast enough. I am itching to see more and more of this show. It is one of the best on tv right now. 

Ty

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

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Roy Wood Jr Live is a Must See

This past Friday I had the great pleasure of seeing Roy Wood Jr on his current tour, which ended a night or two afterward. Let’s discuss.

I have been a fan of Wood Jr's for quite some time now. The first place I saw him was "The Daily Show", and I was hooked. I like the way he delivered his segments on "The Daily Show". He had a calm energy, but he could get frenetic from time to time. That stuff always makes me laugh. When you can go from one level to the next effortlessly, I'm going to be all in for that person. From there on, Wood Jr has popped up in things I watch on tv. He was in an episode of "Only Murders in the Building". He had a very big role in "Confess, Fletch". He was a guest on an episode of "CBB". He was on "The Last OG". He even popped up in one episode of "Better Call Saul". It feels like he only does stuff that I enjoy. So, the opportunity to see him on tour was all I needed to see his standup. The fact that it was on the tailend of his tour made me even happier. This meant, to me, that his hour was going to be as tight as it could.

It was a tremendous hour. He had a few local openers, who were pretty funny. I always enjoy local humor that speaks to the crowd. I'm into that. But we were all waiting for Roy Wood Jr. He came on stage and proceeded to crush for the next hour. He would jump from bit to bit with the ease of a pro. He had that same calm/frenetic energy on stage. If anything, he was even more animated doing his show. He made tons of gestures and seemed to walk back and forth on stage the entire time. At one point some random fan started to walk up to the stage, claiming he knew someone from Wood Jr's family. Sure enough he did. But, Wood Jr used this to his favor, taking the crowd on a hilarious ride with this fan and how they knew one another. I like how he explained that he had to get closer to the city to get the fans he wants for his show. The stuff about The Funny Bone was dynamite. When he got into talking about police in a small town, that was some good stuff. He could've made it political and went down a rabbit hole, but he didn't. That was cool, although I would have enjoyed him dragging the police force. His bit about protests was hilarious.

But it was all in his last two long form jokes. He told two great, hilarious and interesting stories to close out his show. The first was about making friends with some old school porn stars and them inviting him to a sex party. From the initial meeting, to the blossoming friendship, to the crowd showing our age, to the brochure and all that followed, it was amazing. When he acted like the private chef I could not stop laughing. When he eventually explained himself and why he did what he did, I was fully on board with this entire crazy story. But, the closer of the night was tremendous. You could tell why this was his closer. He went into this story, which I could have listened to for hours, you realized early on that it was all about soulmates and his feelings on soulmates. It was truly amazing. It was poignant and hilarious. It was beautifully heartbreaking. He jumped from bit to bit within the story and closed it out with an all time banger of a button on a joke.

This show was awesome. I was so happy with the hour and I could have listened to him talk for another hour with ease. Roy Wood Jr is a pro, and this show lets you know that tenfold. Go see him if you get a chance. It is more than worth your time. I am so glad I did and I enjoyed his show so much. It was a great, great time. 

Ty

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

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Comedy Bang! Bang! Live Delivers Again

For the second time in two years I got to see "Comedy Bang! Bang!" live. The show started its tour about a week ago, and Saint Louis was one of the earlier stops.

As you all know, I adore this podcast. It is the one that I have hung onto the longest. I've been a listener now for over seven years, and that is only half of the time that the show has been running. "CBB" was my introduction, for all intents and purposes, to improv comedy. I have become a fan of a bunch of actors and comedians by hearing them on this show first. I did not know anything about Scott Aukerman until I first listened to "CBB". It is my favorite podcast. So, the opportunity to see the show live, I'm going to find a way to see it. When I went in 2022 I was still pretty leary of COVID. I was, and still am, vaccinated, but it was one of the first times I was indoors with people I didn't know. Some had masks, others didn't. Before the show started, I was nervous. Then they did the show and I was able to enjoy myself. It was awesome. That was my first time seeing "CBB" live. I got to see Aukerman, Paul F Tompkins, Carl Tart and Dan Lippert. It was great and seeing a live show for the first time in two years was amazing.

Going into the show last night, I had a whole different vibe. I have been to many live shows since 2022. I am comfortable not wearing a mask indoors with people I don't know. I love sitting in the balcony now. I invited my buddy Kirk to the show, knowing he doesn't really listen to the show. I wanted to introduce him to what I listen to most of the time. I'm in a totally different place in my life and I went to this show expecting and hoping for a good time. And I had a very, very good time. I don't know if Kirk finds it as funny as I do, but I definitely heard him laughing here and there, and that made me smile.

Aukerman came out at 7:45 last night and the show instantly started rolling. He did his catchphrase submission. He did the balcony report. He made a few jokes and it was right to the interviews. PFT, who always tours with him, was the first guest. He was an Irish priest who has only been on Andy Daly's podcast. I enjoyed this character quite a bit. PFT and Aukerman have such great chemistry and they are lifelong friends. It shows when they are on stage together. Their rapport is excellent and they perform with ease. To me it truly feels like they are the only people there and they are having a good time. After PFT's segment Lily Sullivan came on as Bicky from the Gym. This is a classic "CBB" character. She plays an "Australian", but she is really from Ohio, she just studied abroad for one month. She also plays an actress named Lily Sullivan, but she is nothing like herself. Everything is bigger and better. Sullivan is a great improviser and she has really grown to be one of my favorite guests on "CBB". The highlight of the night was the next guest, Conor Ratliff. He was Maurice the Missourah Mule, and boy oh boy was he hilarious. The back and forth with Aukerman was amazing. He had a good time with both Sullivan and PFT. When he went to confession, that was one of the funnier bits of the night. Ratliff has become a fast favorite for me and I laugh harder and harder each time he is on. He hit an absolute home run last night. His performance was great. Carl Tart returned to STL again and played the Pine Sol Lady. I like this character a lot. He always mentions the power of pinesol and it gets bigger and bigger each time. As the Pine Sol lady, Tart likes to talk about her love for porn and crime. He also got up and did 20 push ups during his time last night . I was impressed by that. I also really liked his "monologue" from "The Wizard of Oz". And his take on Imo's pizza was not far off. The show concluded with Will Hines playing the Galactic Boogie Boarder. Before he even got on stage he had a big laugh. He was trying to "skate" onto the stage, but he fell. He also had three pizza boxes in his hands at the time. He was okay, and when everyone was settled, Hines was able to successfully skate onto the stage. From there on out it was business as usual when Hines is on "CBB". He played a rather boring character, and the panel on stage proceeded to mess with him. It was tremendous.

For me, the show last night delivered everything I want from an episode of "CBB". I laughed a ton. I got to hear some of my favorites. I met a new character. And it was longer than a regular episode. I was very pleased with pretty much everything last night. You should see "CBB" live if you can. It is one of the funnier shows out there now, and they seem to be in a groove. They can do no wrong in my opinion. Last night was a total blast. 

Ty

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

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Is Clipse Coming Out with a New Record?

If someone sat me down and asked me my favorite genre of music at this point in my life, I'd have to say hip hop. That is the one genre that has stuck around through all of my musical flings. I used to love jam music, I still dig dingy blues rock, I went through my alternative rock stage and hung on to some of those artists and I have even found myself enjoying pop music since having kids. The one constant has always been hip hop.

From a young age my older brothers turned me onto groups like Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Del the Funky Homosapien, Biz Markie, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, pretty much any cool hip hop that came out in the early to mid 90's. As I got older I started to listen to my own picks. I was early with Missy Elliot. I bought the Timbaland and Magoo album. I found Biggie on my own. I gravitated to an artist like Fabolous with ease. NERD was my introduction to Pharrell Williams. It was during this time that I came across a group called Clipse.

Back in 2002 I had no idea who Clipse was. But, it turns out that their record "Lord Willin" was produced by the Neptunes, so I was in. The Neptunes were Pharrell's production group at the time. And in 2002 that was all I needed to check an artist out. If Pharrell was attached, I was in because I loved NERD. So I went to the local Best Buy and scooped up "Lord Willin".

What I then heard kind of changed my mind on hip hop. This was different. This, to me, was futuristic. Clipse were great. They had this excellent back and forth that I had not been able to find in other duos. Pharrell's beats and production was top notch. Go back and listen to their massive hit "Grindin". You can understand why it was such a monsterous song. I listened to the record the other day, and while it is all good, "Grindin" is on a whole other planet.

After hearing "Lord Willin", I was fully bought in. I bought the other Clipse records that were out at the time. I listened to them over and over. After four records, they stopped, but I still followed up. I didn't check out any of Malice's stuff, I don't know if he did any solo work, but I kept up with, and still listen to, Pusha T. He is one of my current favorite artists. He still sounds to me like he did back in 2002, and that is an accomplishment all its own. I remember being super bummed out when he had to cancel a show in STL because I had purchased advanced tickets. I am a Pusha T fan through and through.

When I started to see things pop up on music sites I follow that Clipse was possibly going to make a new record, I got a little hype. Then I started seeing more and more people bringing it up. I was still a little skeptical because I hadn't heard anything from Malice or Pusha T. But then they showed up at a fashion show in Paris the other night together, and it seemed legit. I let myself get excited. This seemed like the real deal. To hammer that feeling home even further, Pharrell came out and said he was going to be producing the next Clipse record. This meant it was true. I would hope he wouldn't put that out in the world if he didn't want to get fans' hopes up. So I am all in now. This definitely looks to be true. With Pharrell on board and both Malice and Pusha T hanging out, I am fully expecting and will be patiently waiting for a new Clipse record. They haven't put out any new music since 2009, so I am fully expecting this to be amazing. When these two dudes get together, with Pharrell producing, great things seem to happen. I don't know when a new record will come out, but you better damn well believe that I will be streaming the hell out of it on day one.

I cannot wait. I am overly excited about this. This is some good news on the music front. So far, just the fact that they have announced possible new music, I have found my way back to their old stuff and getting thrilled at the idea of what's to come. The new record can't come soon enough. And when it does, you better believe I will be singing its praises on this very website. 

Ty

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

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R.I.P. Willie Mays

Another legendary athlete just passed away. Last night, after returning home from some child related activity, I read the news that Wille Mays had passed.

This one hurts even more than Bill Walton or Jerry West. Willie Mays was the first person, obviously on videotape, that I saw make the game of baseball fun. Mays was an all around athlete who happened to excel most at baseball. He also had this unbridled joy with which he played the game. Mays, on the videos I used to watch obsessively as a kid, always had a smile on his face. He would walk up to bat grinning ear to ear. He would swing the bat and smile as he ran the bases. He would track down fly balls and make incredible over the shoulder catches, and that smile never left. He would hurl in some of the most incredible throws I had seen, and after the out was recorded, he would laugh and that smile was ever present. Mays loved what he did, he seemed to understand it was a game and he looked thrilled to be on the baseball field doing some of the most unthinkable things at that time in the MLB.

Mays also happened to be very, very good at the game of baseball. He is a hall of famer, obviously. He hit .301 for his career. He tallied over 3,200 hits during his time. He hit 660 home runs. He drove in almost 2,000 runs and, to top it all off, he stole 339 bases. Willie Mays was Barry Bonds before Barry Bonds. Mays had this combination of speed and power. But, he could also hit for average. He was a threat anytime he came up to hit a homerun. And, if he didn't hit one out, he was going to get on base, and then he'd turn a single into a double or triple by swiping a few bases when the next hitter came up. He was the first player that I knew of who could do all of these things. Mays was this threat to every pitcher and opponent the moment he stepped into the batter's box. Not to be outdone, Mays also happened to be one of the best outfielders to ever lace them up. His speed gave him the ability to track down long fly balls. The plays that ended up on "Sportscenter" when I was a kid, had that show been around when Mays played, he would have had his own personal top 10 plays. He had to be an influence on other outfielders like Jim Edmonds and Ken Griffey Jr. He also had a rocket for an arm. He would track these long flys down, and then not to be outdone, he would rifle the ball back into the infield, trying to double someone up if possible. He was, more than assured, an influence on a player like Vlad Guerrero, who is one of my all time favorites. The skills were so great that he was acknowledged time and again with accolades. He has a ring. He was a 24 time all star. He was a two time MVP and a 12 time Gold Glove winner. He was the NL home run leader four times. He was a one time batting champ. His number 24 is retired by both the Mets and Giants. And he was on the MLB All Century team and the MLB all time team. Mays is, rightfully so, considered one of the best to ever play baseball.

Mays was beloved by many because he was such a nice guy. He would play stickball with kids anytime he visited Harlem. He never seemed to ruffle any feathers. And most players have nothing but nice things to say about him. Mays stuck around and was a hitting coach a bit after he retired from the game. He then went on to meet with several presidents, culminating in Barack Obama, the greatest president ever, given him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. The MLB would later rename the World Series MVP trophy the Willie Mays World Series trophy in 2017. Mays showed up in movies and tv shows periodically. He was married a few times and has some kids. He is also Barry Bonds' godfather. Mays is an icon when it comes to baseball. He showed up ready to play and ready to dazzle the fans. This is as big a deal to baseball as Walton and West are to the NBA. Hell, this is a bigger deal. Mays was a much bigger star and more important to the game.

Rest In Peace Willie Mays. Grab an over the shoulder fly ball wherever you may be right now. 

Ty

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

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Thoughts on the Celtics 18th NBA Title

The Celtics won their 18th championship last night. They did it relatively easily, disposing of the Mavericks in five games. Jaylen Brown was the rightful Finals MVP, Al Horford got his first ring and local guy Jayson Tatum shut his doubters up in the process, delivering a pretty great close out game. Let’s discuss.

I know the media will want to try and place this team in the annals of history today, and find excuses for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and start moving on to next season. I want to look back at these finals and give my impression.

Before the series started I picked the Celtics to win in six games, only a game off, and said I would not be watching much of it at all, I logged about two and a half quarters worth of tv time on these finals. I made it no secret that I do not like either of these teams. I have never been a Celtics fan and the mere presence of Luka Doncic's face makes me annoyed and angry. But, the basketball I did watch, I gained some respect for this version of the Celtics. They have two bonafide superstars currently on their roster. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are legit. They are both in the top 20, maybe 15, of the league right now. Brown was an absolute beast this whole series. He was consistent on both ends of the floor. He wanted this ring more than anybody, or that was how I saw it. He put in the necessary work, stayed healthy and became the best overall player on the Celtics when they needed him most. Tatum showed the viewing public another side of his game. He couldn't score as easily as he does, so he decided to become a ferocious driver and made the right pass time after time. Tatum knew what would work against the Mavs defense and he did it over and over and over again. The Mavs had no answer for this version of Tatum and he used that to his team's advantage. Derrick White was a hound on defense and he made big shots seemingly all the time. Al Horford stepped up and played a great role on both ends of the floor. And Jrue Holiday more than proved his worth each and every night. He may be the most underrated player in the entire NBA. The dude just wins. The Celtics bench stepped up when they needed them to. They rebounded well. They made the right play on offense. They survived their mental lapses. And they played suffocating defense. Their defense in this series was a thing of beauty. They were everywhere. They switched everything. They didn't care who had the ball, they were guarding one on one. It was a breath of fresh air for me to watch. They shoot way too many threes for my taste, but their defensive prowess more than made up for their offense to me.

As for the Mavs, they were overmatched from the jump. Doncic moaned and groaned all the way to fouling out during a crucial moment in game three. He spent too much time focusing on the refs. He got exposed on defense. Anyone that called him the "best player" in this series should be eating their words this morning. Sure, he scored, but he was bad in these finals, very bad. Kyrie Irving was worse. He never made an impact on either end. He had one game where he scored okay, but it didn't matter. He did not bring the same energy on defense that he had in the previous series. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He struggled mightily. The bigs the Mavs had couldn't do much of anything. Derrick Lively Jr started slow, but did finish strong. He is also a young rookie, so hiccups were expected. Daniel Gafford was played off the floor. PJ Washington was irrelevant. Maxi Kleber was bad. Tim Hardaway Jr never got consistent minutes. The Mavericks bought into the media hype and they were exposed. And Jason Kidd got wildly outcoached by Joe Mazzula. Mazzula had a plan, it worked and he wavered only when he had to. Kidd's plan was to let Luka Doncic do whatever he wanted to do and hope for the best. Jason Kidd is incredibly knowledgeable on the game of basketball, but I do think he is wildly overrated as an NBA head coach. A 35 year old treated him like he was the young guy trying to figure it out in the finals. Joe Mazzula was masterful.

All in all, this was not a very good finals. But, the better team won. The Celtics are just that too, a team. They don't need the 1 star surrounded by role players. Brown and Tatum are upper echelon talents, but they understand the importance of playing team basketball on offense and defense. The Mavericks are not at that level, and I fear they may not get there with this roster and coaching staff. Congrats to the Celtics. They are in sole possession of the most titles in NBA history, and this could be the start of more to come. Time will tell. 

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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"Semi-Pro"" is a Movie Worth Revisiting

I enjoy most sports movies. When the movies focus on sports I watch and play, that makes it an even better viewing experience for me. Over the weekend I revisited one such sports movie from the recent past that I like quite a bit. Let’s discuss.

After I run on Sunday mornings, and get cleaned up, I usually take a rest on the couch. Sometimes I doze off, other times I just want to chill and watch something on the tv. So, yesterday I searched on Max for something to pass the time. Eventually I came across the ABA movie, "Semi-Pro". This movie stars Will Ferrell, and it is about a fictional ABA team, the Flint Tropics. This was when Will Ferrell had a ton of heat on him. He had a blank check and he could do whatever he wanted. I feel like he was given this because of fans like me. I enjoy pretty much every Will Ferrell movie. Even in the adjectively bad movies, I find something to cling to and find myself laughing and laughing. Now, "Semi-Pro" is not a bad movie, far from it. I think it is very funny, the actors totally buy in and they all seem to be having a good time. They also get to cast all of their friends, the basketball is not that bad and the wardrobe is second to none.

For those that may not know, the ABA was a small rival to the NBA. The ABA was more fun, there were more fights, they introduced the 3 point line and dunk contest and the league was full of dysfunction and a form of thievery. "Semi-Pro" has it all, but they imagine a world where it wasn't a foregone conclusion that the Nets, Pacers, Nuggets and Spurs were always going to be the teams that the NBA inherited. In "Semi-Pro", the Kentucky Colonels, Spirits of Saint Louis and the Flint Tropics have a shot to be chosen by the NBA. All they have to do is finish in the top four of the league. This is the baseline story of the movie, but all the while there are jokes flying, solid basketball being played, silly arguments, dope funk music and Will Ferrell and his buddies having a great time on set.

First off, Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, the coach, owner and starting forward of the Tropics. He has a humongous curly afro and has "written" a hit song. He is hilarious. Patti LaBelle plays his mom too. It was so funny when she showed up in the movie. Alongside Ferrell, we have Andre 3000, Woody Harrellson and some other comedy buddies, all having the time of their lives. The point guard for the team has some of the best, most understated jokes in the whole movie. Andy Daly and Will Arnett are the announcers. Their back and forth is tremendous. Andy Ricther and Tim Meadows work with Ferrell and for the Tropics. The whole "jive turkey" scene is one of the most nonsensical and hilarious scenes in movie history for me. Kristen Wiig plays an animal tamer. Paul Rust and Jason Sudeikis are lifetime fans of the Tropics. Jackie Earl Haley, coming off an Oscar nomination, plays a hippy who happens to also be a fan. Rob Cordry is married to Maura Tierney, and he happens to be obsessed with Woody Harrellson's character. David Koechner is the commissioner of the NBA. Matt Walsh is a priest who moonlights as an ABA ref. I mean, the list of comedic names in this movie is truly staggering and makes it all the more funny. For that reason alone, this movie is worth the watch. But, as I said before, the basketball is very well filmed in this movie. Andre 3000 has some skills. When they show them figuring out how to do an alley oop, not only is it funny, but it also looks great. Harrellson obviously has skills due to his time in "White Men Can't Jump". It is no secret that Will Ferrell enjoys basketball. The actors in this movie have enough skills to make it look realistic. Finally, for me, the music in the movie is rad. It is all 70's funk, which I adore. The bass is thumping, the guitars are groovy and the singing makes me yearn to listen to more Parliament. When Ferrell is driving to the club after the first scene in the movie, he is listening to an old school funk song and I find myself singing along with every rewatch of this movie.

"Semi-Pro" is an underrated gem from the late 2000's. It is much better than the critics gave it credit for, and better than you probably remember it being if you have only seen it once. Yesterday was probably the 5th or 6th time I have seen it, and I cannot wait to watch it again. "Semi-Pro" has a special place for me. It is pretty wonderful. 

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 "Clipped"

I started to watch the hulu miniseries "Clipped" the other day. I have been looking forward to this since I listened to the podcast miniseries, "The Sterling Affairs", that it is based on. I followed along with the casting, the writers they hired and when it would be released. Then I went on vacation and forgot about it. That is until my cousin messaged me to ask if I had seen any of it yet. That jogged my memory and I fired it up the other day.

Now I truly cannot decide if I like it or not. This is a wild, widl story. For people who may not know, "Clipped" is centered around Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Clippers, and his relationship with his assistant V Stiviano. He said some horribly deplorable things about other races, Stiviano taped it all, and when she felt like she was being pushed out of his life, she released the tapes for all to hear. I have never listened to the tapes, but from what I have read about them, they are abhorrent. Sterling is a racist through and through. He also seems like a real crummy person to be around. He is an awful person who deserves all the hate he is rightfully getting right now. Ed O'Neil plays him in this show, and I have to give him credit because he is creepy as ever. Everytime he is onscreen portraying this monster my skin crawls. I cannot stand this person and O'Neil hammers that feeling home for me. Stiviano is played by Cleopatra Coleman, and she does a very good job of portraying someone that is just out to be famous. She doesn't seem to care how she gathers said fame, she just wants to be famous. Jacki Weaver plays Shelly Sterling, and she is delivering as she always does. The final main character of this story is Doc Rivers, played by Laurence Fishburne. He is, far and away, the best actor in this whole thing. He has totally embodied Rivers. He sounds, moves and reacts just like Rivers. It is uncanny.

So, with this main cast being a bunch of homerun hitters, and this story being juicy as hell, that should make for an easy 1-2 punch to make this whole show sing. But, it seems very different and odd at times while watching. I told my wife that I don't know if these people are really this shallow, or that was the direction the actors were given. At times the show seems very much like a melodramatic soap opera that "Talk Soup" would have made fun of in its heyday. Other times they try to be very serious, but it feels like they go over the top with it. When I was watching the second episode the other day it felt very much like a Spanish telenovela. I don't know if that is the vibe this show is going for, but that was the feeling I took away the other day. And the casting team did no favors to the actors they got to play the players. None of these actors resemble any former Clipper. During a basketball scene when they are playing the Warriors, the guy they got to play Steph Curry is the bottom of the bargain barrel version of Curry. But, with all these criticisms I may have, I find myself going back for more. It is like a trainwreck that I simply cannot look away from. I will laugh hysterically at something that I have to assume they were going for drama and not comedy. There are other times that I will exclaim, to no one in the room, "WHAT!!!!????!!!". I cringe consistently at some of the basketball stuff they do. There is a scene where they do the roll call song, and it made me squirm on my couch.

All in all, this show is inconsistent, and at times very dumb. But, I want more. I think because I was so interested and I devoured the podcast miniseries, I will finish this. But, I'd be wrong if I said it was actually good. It is a soap opera and that is how I will watch it going forward. 

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 "Iron Claw"

I had a free afternoon yesterday and I used it to watch "The Iron Claw". This is a movie I have wanted to see for a while now. I had tried to see it in the theaters with my dad, but the timing was never any good. Too many things going on with my kids. But, he and my mom had seen it recently, and my dad told me that I should watch. He wanted to get my thoughts on the movie. So I sat down and tuned in.

Right off the bat, this is a very, very well made movie. The wrestling looks real and looks amazing. The look of the movie transported me back to being a kid in the late 80's. The writing was never cliche or over the top. A lot of sports movies get cliche and easy to predict. This movie did not go that route and it is better for it. The direction is very well done. And the acting is top of the line. I enjoy Zach Efron as a person. He seems like a good enough dude and I appreciate that he is trying to get out from the Disney kid shadow. But I have not really considered him to be the best actor out there. Well, my mind has been changed. He absolutely nails it here. He does a fantastic job playing the oldest surviving brother of the family. And he completely transformed his body. He is shredded. The first image we see of him is him waking up and the dude is cut. Good for him. The other brothers in the movie do an excellent job as well. Jeremy Allen White gets to do what he does best. He is dramatic and doesn't have to say much. Harris Dickinson plays the brother who is kind of thrust into the limelight. He does great work with the whole trash talk thing that they do in professional wrestling. And the fourth brother, there are five in real life but they left one out which I was fine with, Stanley Simons, also nailed it. He was the outcast. He wanted to play music and not be a wrestler. He was kind of thrust into that world, and this actor's portrayal of that pain was done very well. And the mom and dad, Maura Tierney and Holt McCallany, play super serious, super intense enablers. They were both wonderful in their roles, especially McCallany. He was mean and bitter and tough and I grew to loathe him by the end of the movie. That is a sign of a well acted role. The back and forth between him and Efron was stunning to watch for many reasons. It was great acting, it was tough, I bought that this was a real relationship and I ended up feeling bad for both of them.

The first hour of this movie is a thrill. There are a bunch of wrestling things, both behind the scenes and in the ring that were an absolute blast to watch. Seeing the brothers interact and work off one another was cool. Seeing Kevin, Efron, find a person who loved him and see them grow and get married was great. Then, about an hour in, this movie turns very sad and it is relentless. This is where all the death and destruction of the family begins. I guess it is no surprise to people who know of the family that this movie is based on, but it felt like one tragedy after the next. Each kid, with Efron being the lone exception, dies in a tragic, awful way. And they show us. We see the bad things that happen. And it is brutal. Watching this movie, I got similar vibes to the first time I saw "Full Metal Jacket". Each movie starts all fast and moves quickly. But then it takes a dramatic turn and turns into something totally different. And both movies are really damn good.

I liked this movie. But, it is very tough to watch. You need to understand that going in. This movie is sad and it does not let up in the second half. But, I recommend watching. Hell, I'd say watch it for Efron's performance alone. He is wonderful, but so is this movie. 

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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R.I.P. Jerry West

I returned home from a run this morning and read that Jerry West had passed away at 86 years old.

This is a true bummer. West is an all timer. He was nicknamed "The Logo" because that is him in the logo for the NBA. Everytime we see that image, it is Jerry West. That is as high an honor as most in professional sports. When I look at other logos, MLB, NFL, College Football, none of those have a silhouette. The NBA does and it is of an actual player. That is truly mind blowing to me.

I vividly remember when I found this information out as a kid. That put me on a path to figuring out as much as I could about Jerry West when he was a player. He was damn good as a player. He is the only player to win Finals MVP for a team that did not win the finals. He went to many finals, but only won one. He was incredible in every finals appearance. He was the type of player who literally left it all on the floor. He was a 14 time all star. He was the 1969 MVP. He was the second overall pick in the 1960 draft. He played his college basketball at West Virginia, where he was a two time All American, two time SoCon POTY, the Final Four MOP in 1959 and had his number retired. To go along with his ring and MVP, he was on the All NBA First Team 10 times, the all defensive team 6 times, the scoring champ in 1970, the assists leader in 1972 and had his number retired by the Lakers. He is a hall of fame player who left the league scoring over 25,000 points, grabbing over 5,300 rebounds and dishing out over 6,200 assists. He was also on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He did it all as a player.

West also happened to be a top notch executive. He is an 8 time champ as an exec, and he won executive of the year twice. Some notable moves he made as an exec include, trading for Kobe Bryant, signing Shaquille O'Neal, drafting Paul Gasol in Memphis and hiring Hubie Brown, drafting Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State and bringing in Kevin Durant. He was also the driving force that brought Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers. The dude not only knew how to play, but he could build some damn good teams, especially in the modern NBA. He did coach for a bit, but realized he was much more suited to doing the work behind the scenes. That speaks volumes to me. I know that he wasn't a fan of his depiction on "Winning Time", but I do think he had to be a little crazy to accomplish all he did. Most super intelligent people are a little nuts. And when it comes to basketball, Jerry West was a genius.

What I think I latched onto most with West was his personality. He seemed to be, by all accounts, an introvert and dealt with anxiety. I too have the same things going on in my life. I'd rather blend into a crowd or just go home to my people. I feel like Jerry West was the same. And the older he got, the more open he was with his personal issues. I appreciate that. He came out and said it and I like to think that a lot of others found the courage to do the same after West.

All in all, West was one of the best the NBA has ever given the fans. He was a relentless player and executive when he was in the league. He drove himself to be great. He dealt with things that could not have been easy back in the 60's and 70's, but he came out of it a better and stronger person. He is beloved by players old and new. The outpouring has been amazing to watch. The first two people I saw say something were LeBron and Michael Jordan. The two greatest to ever do it, and they instantly show their love and support. That is a beautiful thing.

Rest in Peace Jerry West. Go get some buckets wherever you may be now. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches "Madame Web"

Yesterday I wrote about a movie I loved, "Godzilla Minus 1". Today I am writing about another movie. Unfortunately for me, this movie was not nearly as good. Hell, it wasn't even enjoyable. The movie is "Madam Web".

Now, before I get into it, I had heard all of the bad things about this movie. I read reviews. I saw videos of people mocking it. I saw the stars of the movie bemoaning it publicly. Still, I wanted to watch it. I have also heard a few podcasts talk about it, and while they acknowledged how bad of a movie it is, the majority of the pods seemed to think it was still enjoyable to watch. I started to get feelings that it may be akin to "The Room". That is one of the worst movies ever, but I think it is endlessly watchable. There is a difference. Some movies are just bad. Others are bad, but in a fun way. "Madam Web", at least for me, is just bad. Part of the push to watch this was my wife. She loves superhero stuff. I never really was into superheroes until I met her. She has definitely made me a fan of some of the MCU, namely X-Man stuff. So, she wanted to see the movie, I had heard that it could be fun bad and it is now streaming on Netflix. All of these things came together one night that was free, so we sat back and watched the movie.

From the start of it I just could not find anything I enjoyed about the movie. Dakota Johnson's performance felt so phoned in. It seemed like she was forced to do this movie. I asked my wife if the people who made the movie had some incriminating evidence, and if she didn't do the movie they would let it out. Her performance was boring and hollow. And she is the main character. Adam Scott was fine, but I'm a fan of his. He did the best with what he was given. I can say the same thing about Emma Roberts. I have not seen much of her stuff, but here, much like Adam Scott, she did the best she could with the lines she was given. Mike Epps, who I enjoy quite a bit, was barely in it, and they killed him off pretty early on. The three girls that Dakota Johnson takes under her wings are as cliche as they get. They have the "bad girl", the "nerdy girl" and the "lonely girl". And they all want to do their own thing until they can't anymore. And to cast Sydney Sweeney as the quiet dork is some of the worst casting in movie history. I hate to be the typical hetero male here, but she is far too attractive for that type of role. It is impossible to buy. The villain in this movie was horrendous. I feel like the majority of his lines are ADR. Paul Scheer even said as much in the live recording of "How Did This Get Made" when they talked about this movie. Anytime he has to give extra lines of dialogue, they cut from his face and shoot him from the back. And his voice was incredibly grating and awkward. The scene at the beginning, with Johnson's mom, was awful and proves that the actor was almost all ADR. That whole scene too was a total mess. They don't explain anything that is going on, some wild stuff happens, and then we are transported to modern day. This movie also felt like a COVID movie. A bunch of scenes were outdoors. When they were inside, there seemed to be no more than a few people on screen, with the exception being the baby shower. That scene is a mess all its own. It is truly bad. The action sequences were bad. We only get to see the superheroes in their costumes in two very short dream sequences. The writing is very bad. The actors seemed disengaged and bored with what they were doing. No one seemed to buy into the whole world they tried to create in this movie. There is no post credit scene, which I am fine with but my wife was mad about. She likes that type of thing in her superhero movies.

"Madam Web" is a big miss, and I didn't even find it fun bad. It was just bad bad. I do not recommend this movie. It is just a hair under two hours, but man did it feel a whole lot longer. Skip this and watch "Godzilla Minus 1" instead. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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

Ty Watches "Godzilla Minus One"

Hello all. I'm back from a relaxing vacation and I have things to talk about. I see RD wrote some excellent pieces while I was gone. I'd like to give him a big thanks for that. One article struck me the most. It was his love for "Godzilla Minus 1".

He has been talking about this movie since it was in the theaters here in the US. He has always been a Godzilla fan too, so him gassing this movie up so much was not surprising. Me, I am pretty indifferent when it comes to Godzilla. I like some of the movies, haven't seen others and some are pretty bad. But, the way RD wrote about "Godzilla Minus 1" intrigued me. So, the night we got back my wife and I wanted to veg out and watch a movie. It was my turn to pick and I picked "Godzilla Minus 1". I also made sure to mute my phone and put it somewhere that wouldn't tempt me to look at it while the movie was playing. I'm glad I did that.

From the moment this movie started, I was all in. That first sequence, where they have the mechanics and the kamikaze pilot being attacked by the Godzilla in this movie was amazing. It was at night, but you could fully see Godzilla. We got a very good look at this monster that we would follow throughout the movie. But we also got some backstory on the people being attacked. The kamikaze pilot did not go through with his mission. He cowardly fled when he was supposed to complete his mission. The only mechanic that survived the attack was rightfully pissed at the pilot. They got on a ship to go home, the war was over, and the mechanic let the pilot know how mad he was with him. He gave him photos of the deceased families that they left behind. The pilot arrived at a ravaged home. His city was decimated by the war. The bombs took almost everything out. The pilot returned to no family. Only one person he knew was left, and she was unhappy with him. I think all of this made this movie all the more better.

Sure, there was a Godzilla monster that the humans had to fight, but we also got a story about people. We got to know the characters. This wasn't just random people fighting a monster. We got to see the aftermath. We saw PTSD. We saw the town get rebuilt, only to be destroyed by Godzilla again. That scene, when Godzilla comes on land and crushes the city, was marvelous. Godzilla had grown radioactive spikes at this point. Godzilla had fire breath. Godzilla was there to cause chaos, and chaos abounded. Buildings were reduced to rubble. Houses were gone. Many, many people lost their lives. And when we get to the climactic battle, the big boss match up, it was a thing of beauty. I kept saying to my wife how I couldn't believe that it wasn't real. They made the waves and the water and the monster all look so real. The whole fleet of Navy ships and the tugboats that accompany them was a thrill to watch. And Godzilla was so damn cool to look at while watching this movie. The way they made the spikes and the radiation come to the forefront of the monster was the best I'v ever seen in a Godzilla movie.

As I stated above, the story and the acting is wonderful. These actors made it seem like so much more than a monster movie. I rooted for and against people. The four main guys we get for the majority of the movie have some excellent moments between them and solo stuff that is awesome to see. And the fact that they made Godzilla simply a destructive force, doing what Godzilla does because it wants to, that is the best way to show this monster on screen.

RD was right. This is an incredible achievement. There is no other movie that has come out this year, maybe "Furiosa", that reaches the levels this movie gets to along the way. "Dune: Part 2" may be close as well. But, for the moment, "Godzilla Minus 1" is the best movie I have seen in 2024. I for sure recommend watching this movie. I have no notes and no real criticisms. "Godzilla Minus 1" is as close to a masterpiece as we have gotten in a long, long time. 

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 SeedSing NHL Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

Welcome to the first ever, and probably last, SeedSing NHL Stanley Cup Finals prediction. We here at the website are not big hockey fans, but I thought with Ty out of town I would give the sports prediction blog a try.

Let me start with what I know about the two teams playing for the Stanley Cup. I know that the Florida Panthers play in Miami. This is their third straight trip to the finals (they lost last year to Vegas). The Panthers have a player by the name of Matthew Tkachuk, who is the son of Keith Tkachuk who played for the St. Louis Blues the last time I really paid attention to hockey.

As for the Edmonton Oilers I know they were really good when I was a kid. Edmonton is in Canada and a team from our friendly neighbors to the north have not won a cup in a really long time. That’s all I know.

With all my knowledge and borrowing the sports predicting skills from Ty I am going to say the Florida Panthers will win their first cup in a nice six game series. Why I am picking the Panthers you ask? They are from the United States and Edmonton is in Canada, and like I said a Canadian team has not won the Stanley Cup in forever. USA, USA, USA.

In all seriousness enjoy the Stanley Cup hockey fans. The NHL has the coolest trophy in all of sports and hockey is a pretty cool sport to watch. My fourteen year old is getting more into hockey and has been watching the playoffs and he’s been playing NHL 24 for the last month. He is the one that told me Florida would win. When I asked why he told me that Florida has more recent playoff experience, they won more games, and a team from Canada has not won in forever.

RD

RD Kulik is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing.com

Support us on patreon.

SeedSing Classic: The Definitive Top 10 Little Debbie's Snacks

This article originally premiered on June 7th 2019

Growing up in the 1980’s and 90’s meant that your house probable had a few different boxes of Little Debbie treats. We would get one after playing outside, have a box handy when we played games with our friends, and definitely had one in our school lunches as our nutritionally mandated dessert. My lunches always consisted of a sandwich with mustard and one piece of Carl Budding ham, a baggie of chips, some form of fruit, a Mendota Springs, and a Little Debbie. That overtly sweet snack cake was the highlight of my entire school day.

Today I am feeling a bit nostalgic and thought it was high time we gave a definitive ranking of what are the ten best Little Debbie treats from my youth. I know there are some new treats in the collection of Little Debbies, but I did not have those in my lunches. If it came out after 1993, I did not eat it. Also there will be no “rolled” cakes on here. The rolled cakes suck, as do the Banana Twins and any marshmallow pie. Take my advice and skip those boxes.

Remember this is the definitive list. We have performed super science to get the correct rankings. Don’t agree? Come at us.

10. Pecan Pie

The mini pecan pie in the tiny aluminum tin is hard to find these days, but it does still exist. Many people hate this extremely sweet and sticky creation. Those people are wrong. The pecan pie has it’s problems (the sticky and sweet parts) but it was always a treat to gulp down a whole round pie in two or three bites. Just make sure you have some Mendota Springs to wash all that sweetness down.

9. PB Crunch

The PB Crunch was like a lower grade peanut butter Twix. Cookie, peanut butter and chocolate, plus the Twix like shape could confuse anyone’s eyes. While the peanut butter Twix is super deliciousness, the PB Crunch had a little blandness. Yet, peanut butter and chocolate can never be a total disaster.

8. Caramel Cookie Bar

Another Twix clone but switch the peanut butter for caramel. Also the shape was flat and not long and slender like the PB Crunch. The caramel was mildly gooey, and could mess up your nice Izod shirt with the popped collar, but was still a decent end to a balanced meal.

7. Cosmic Brownies

Many people are more familiar with the Walnut version of Little Debbie brownies, but if you got the candy sprinkled top of the cosmic variation, you were in luck. The brownie itself is another love it or hate concoction. It was more of a fudge like consistency and a fairly mild chocolate taste. Add the thick frosting (usually half the damn thing) and the colorful candies, the Cosmic Brownie was a faux chocolate delight.

6. Fudge Rounds

Here is where you start getting into some of all time great Little Debbie treats. The Fudge Round had a great cake top and bottom, and an awesome low grade chocolate mousse in the middle. All parts of the Fudge Round tasted amazing, it just usually suffered from not enough of the middle part. Many times that filling only covered half the cake sandwich. Little Debbie needs to do better.

5. Zebra Cakes

The two square cakes that come in the plastic package have many different versions. There are fancy, chocolate, and a variety of seasonal offerings. The OG Zebra Cake has them all beat. You can actually taste the chocolate and vanilla together. When you sit and peel the cake apart, outstanding. Pulling pieces of frosting off and unwrapping the cake was like a zen ritual to get you through the rest of the school day.

4. Oatmeal Creme Pie

I am not that big of a fan of oatmeal as my cereal or my cookie, yet the Oatmeal Creme Pie is all kinds of awesome. The grittiness of the top and bottom cookie combined with the ample amount of creme in the center is a tactile and taste sensation your tongue will thank you for.

3. Cherry Cordial

For some reason the Cheery Cordial seems to be a seasonal offering (Valentines Day I think?). That is not right because this is hands down a culinary masterpiece. You have another cake sandwich with a creme like filling. This time it is a cherry filling, vanilla type cake, and the entire thing is encased in a chocolate shell. The edges always have a little more crunch than the center, and it is glorious. This needs to be a year round thing.

2. Nutty Buddy

Peanut butter and chocolate are almost perfect. Add a couple layers of wafer cookies, and Little Debbie achieved near perfection. The Nutty Buddy is better than most candy bars, that is how good this thing is. It is another one of Little Debbie’s offerings that ask you to take the treat apart. Peeling layer after layer of cookie, peanut butter, and chocolate is the near perfect end to any meal. There is almost no equal to this delight.

1. Star Crunch

The Star Crunch not only equals the Nutty Buddy, it surpasses it. The caramel is not overly gooey, the cookie is the perfect balance of crunchy and chewy, the crisp rice adds an extra pop to every bite, and the chocolate brings the whole package together in one of mankind’s finest creations. The Star Crunch is a perfect dessert for any occasion. There is no snack cake/treat equal to the Star Crunch. It is quite simply the greatest Little Debbie ever made.

There it is, the definitive rankings of the ten best Little Debbie treats of my school days. You can not go wrong with any of these ten delights. One’s day is made all the better when devouring these creations. Now it is time for us all to go out and revisit some of the sweetness of our youth. I may just go and house an entire box of Star Crunch’s when I’m done writing here.

RD

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

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

My Toys Are Too Expensive

Yo Joe

I need to start the conversation and say that I am a 49 year old man. I have a wife, a mortgage, and a teenage son. I go to work with adults, I drive my family to weekend outings, and I eat in restaurants where I get served. I am a typical middle aged American man. Same as it ever was. Having said all of that, I also need to spend less money on toys.

Now when I say I need to spend less on toys I am not talking about things for my fourteen year old. I am talking about my toys. And before you start to giggle because you think I am talking about “adult toys”, calm down pervert, I am talking about toys you find in the toy aisle of stores. I’m talking Hot Wheels, action figures, and Lego’s. These are my toys and they are to damn expensive.

When I was a kid Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures were my main jam. Anytime I went to the store with my parents, I would always ask to get a new figure. It did not always work, but I did amass a pretty good collection. Then a few years ago Hasbro announced a premium line of six inch G.I. Joe’s, the Classified Collection, Star Wars had had their premium line The Black Series for a while. I always thought the Star Wars Black Series figures were overpriced and never went to get any of them, but G.I. Joe I was interested. The Classified Series came out and was priced at $20 a figure, and then not long after the price jumped to $24. I had major sticker shock. I could afford a figure every now and then, but I kept asking myself should I pay that much, I mean I am in my late forties.

I did pay that much. Right out of gate I found a Cobra Commander and I had to have him. When the Shipwreck figure was announced, I pre-ordered it. Today I own thirteen G.I. Joe Classifieds. Thats over $300 on action figures. Again, I’m a grown man.

Also, I play with these figures. Many contemporaries I know are collectors and get these premium figures and keep them in the box. Not me. The moment I get my figure I tear open the box. My Cobras all sit on my office desk, my Joes take up various poses on a display shelf in my home studio. I switch gear, make new poses, and try on every accesory ever few days. While I work, I do sound editing, I will fiddle with a figure to kill some time. And I did not stop with G.I. Joe. In the last few years I have bought a He-Man, Skelator, and Fisto (gotta have a Fisto), I have collected special edition Hot Wheels of The Simpsons Car, the flying time machine from Back To The Future and multiple Batmobiles, and I have a few Transformers led by my Hot Rod with The Matrix of Leadership. I have even gone back to the Star Wars well to get figures of Ashoka Tano and Clone Wars Yoda. All in all I have probably spent well over $500 to hold and pose action figures I loved as a kid.

I know I am lucky that I can go out there and spend money on something frivolous like an action figure modeled to be like the one’s from my youth. I just know that the price tag on these indulgences has given me pause. I wanted the Serpentor Classified figure, but I cannot find it for less than $100. Not going to make that purchase, I do have limits. Yet I know that one of these days these toy companies will find that right nostalgia point in my brain and make me forget the cost. I hope to be strong, but you never know.

Did Hasbro just announce an Iron Grenadiers figure? Sorry I have to go a place a pre-order.

RD

RD Kulik is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing.com

Support us on patreon.

Is this the End of Sports?

Currently the French Open is on going, tomorrow night is the NBA Finals and then the Stanley Cup Finals begin on Thursday. Both leagues and international professional tennis did not get the most optimal matchups and the sports media will not shut up about it. “Ratings will be down” they say, “the gambling community is not happy” they cry. I personal believe the last point the sports media cries about, gambling, is why clean competitive sports is coming to an end. Let me explain.

In the NHL and NBA both playoffs saw a strong team from New York not make the finals, in the NBA the Knicks missed the conference finals when they were upset by the Indiana Pacers. The Dallas Mavericks did not have to play the defending champion Nuggets to advance, they got to face the young upstart Minnesota Timberwolves. In the NHL the defending champion Las Vegas Golden Knights were bounced in the first round by a big market Dallas Stars team, then Dallas was knocked out by the lower seeded Edmonton Oilers. Over in the east the little thought about Florida Panthers advanced to their second straight cup final over the massively loved New York Rangers. The biggest market to have their team playing for a championship is Dallas or Miami, and Dallas is a football town and most of you readers probably did not know the Florida Panthers played in Miami. For ratings and gambling, these matchups are not the best. Also the French Open, Novak Djokovic, the man everyone wants to watch, withdrew today with a knee injury. This is all not according to plan.

I listen to a lot of sports radio and I follow these sports personalities on social media. I hear each and ever “expert” complain about the matchups and then do an ad read for a gambling website. The studio show for the French Open is sponsored by Fanduel, the hockey and basketball arenas are covered with gambling adverts and every other commercial is telling you to bet. It is annoying and it is getting a little scary because if gambling means this much to the leagues, then getting optimal matchups, with the most popular teams and players, it means more money.

Before I go on I want to make it clear that I am not calling for a ban on sports gambling. I do not gamble myself, but is not for addiction or moral reasons, I just don’t like to spend my money that way. What I am afraid of is that all of our sports leagues/governing bodies have prioritized revenue more than competition. That is why in the span of less than five years we have gone from zero gambling to non-stop advertisement. I have no faith that the NFL, NBA, MLB, ATP, the Grand Slams, NASCAR, the NCAA, the IOC, FIFA, MLS, LIV Golf, or any other letter salad sports organization would take an opportunity to fix an income to drive more revenue towards their sport. I have no proof, but I think it is already happening. (When I have proof I’ll write about it here).

I am ranting here today because the last few days has been non-stop complaining from the sports media on the state of competion in our current professional leagues. The sports media is their for the management of these leagues, so anything they say can be directly tied to management. Seeing how greedy billionaires have become, and it is billionaires that run these leagues, I have little faith that competion will be important in sports moving forward. Only money will matter and getting rid of competition so management can make another couple of million dollars will win out.

When the French Open ends, the NHL Stanley Cup is hoisted, and a new NBA champ is crowned, the media people will complain on behalf of the league and the gamblers. The narrative will be set. The owners will discuss how to increase revenue, and competitive sports will be killed. I hop I’m wrong, but I am truly afraid the process has already started.

RD

RD Kulik is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing.com

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Go Watch "Godzilla Minus One"

If you have a Netflix subscription in the United States then you can now watch the film “Godzilla Minus One”. If you have already seen “Godzilla Minus One” then you can watch it again. Either way what I am telling you to do is go watch “Godzilla Minus One” right now.

This is not going to be a review of “Godzilla Minus One”, I am going to save that for Ty when he gets back from vacation. What I am going to try and do is show my appreciation for a gem of a movie and hope to convince everyone, especially the people turned off by the pressence of Godzilla, to see this incredible movie.

“Godzilla Minus One” is one of the best movies I have ever seen that deals with survivors guilt. That guilt is not only felt by the main character, it is felt by the country of Japan post world war. All of the characters live with this guilt and deal with it in very different ways. Failed kamikazie pilot Shikishimi watches almost everyone around him die and he gets to live. Shikishimi’s fellow cremen on the mine hunting boat all have different war experiences. The kid is upset he was too young to fight. The Doc and Captain are bitter that the imperial Japanese government were so willing to throw away young mens lives for a losing cause. The engineer despises Shikishimi’s cowardice at first, but comes to realize that living is the greatest reward. Even Noriko tells Shikishimi that her parents told her to survive no matter what. She has lost everything but knows survival is the only thing left.

These stories sound depressing as hell. This is where “Godzilla Minus One” shines. The Doc’s speech after someone asks if his Godzilla killing plan is a “suicide mission” is amazing. The speech the Doc gives is poignant, heartfelt, and inspiring. He wants no one to die and he will not ask that of his men. The pleas of the kid to join the fight and the captain turning him down is heartbreaking and touching at the same time. The final moments of the Godzilla killing mission is equal parts horrifying, sad, and triumphant. You will experience all three of those feelings in the span of one minute. The last sequence and scene of this two hour movie is probably my favorite ending to a movie since “Babe”. The emotional payoffs in a movie like “Godzilla Minus One” do not come around very often is what I am saying.

I need to also talk about the big guy himself. I enjoy the recent American Godzilla movies. They are pure dumb enjoyment. The action is cool and the story is ridiculous. “Godzilla Minus One” is nothing like those movies. This Godzilla is a terrifying monster. The big lizard brings nothing but destruction and despair. The action sequences with Godzilla are loud, scary, and mesmerizing. The visual effects Oscar was very well deserved for “Godzilla Minus One”.

I hope I intrigued you enough to go out and experience not just the best movie of 2023, but honestly one of the best movies of the 21st century. I saw “Barbie”, “Oppenheimer”, and all the big films last year, none of them are as great as “Godzilla Minus One”. Do you think I’m just a fanboy and delusional? Well prove me wrong, go watch “Godzilla Minus One” and see the greatness for your self.

RD

RD Kulik is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing.com

Support us on patreon.

Ty Predicts the NBA FInals

The NBA Finals are set, and it is two teams that I openly loathe. If you read my piece yesterday, you know why I despise this current Mavericks team. As for the Celtics, I've never been a fan. Let’s discuss.

As a kid I loved the Supersonics. The Sonics and Celtics weren't rivals, but I still rooted against the Celtics. It was also easy to hate on the Celtics as a kid because they weren't very good when I was younger. They had Rick Pitino as head coach for a bit, and those teams were horrendous. They would roll out guys like Ron Mercer, old Dominique Wilkins, Xavier McDaniel, Dee Brown and Dino Radja, to name a few. These were bad teams and I rooted against them throughout my childhood. But now they are good. Their best player is from Saint Louis. Jaylen Brown is a ferocious defender and dunker and he can shoot the rock. Derrick White was a perfect trade for them. Al Horford is consistent as hell. Kristaps Porzingis, when healthy, provides what they need from the center position in the modern NBA. The Celtics are legit. The Mavs are good as well, but this feels like found money for them. They are on a real heater. They are getting more free throws than their opponents. They are getting away with fouls constantly. They are setting illegal screens and getting away with it. They are the darlings of the league and it makes me sick to my stomach. But we are now here.

The Mavs and Celtics are playing for a title. One of the brighter young stars, Luka Doncic or Jayson Tatum, will get their first ring. Mark Cuban will go out a champ, or Brad Stevens will prove his move to the front office was the correct choice. And I will hardly watch any of it. I am wildly disinterested in this matchup. I truly do not care who wins. I'd love to see the Celtics lockdown both Doncic and Irving, but I really don't think I'll tune in for more than a half an hour total in this series. I don't like these teams. I think I have made that abundantly clear. I despise the two stars on the Mavs. I only root for Tatum because he is from my hometown, and I don't root for him all that often. But, I know the readers of my sports stuff want me to break it down, so I'll give it a go.

The Mavs have a better backcourt on offense. Doncic and Irving are better than Derrick White and Jrue Holiday on that end. But the Celtics backcourt is far more superior on defense. Holiday is one of the best perimeter defenders currently in the NBA. White is a nuisance. They are going to make it really tough for Doncic and Irving. But those dudes will get theirs on offense. And Holiday has been a non factor on offense. White is fine, but streaky. The Mavs have the backcourt advantage, As for the frontcourt, the Celtics are light years ahead. Tatum is a bonafide star. All these people saying he is "having a rough playoffs" are clearly not paying attention. He is excellent, he just doesn't run his mouth. He is a boring superstar, and I applaud him for that. Jaylen Brown is a force. That dude can play the game of basketball. He is very good, very intense and understands this game maybe better than anyone playing right now. And be it Horford or Porzingis, they can both shoot and rebound the ball. Horford is a better defender, but they are both pretty interchangeable. I'd happily take those three over Daniel Gafford, Derrick Lively and Derrick Jones Jr. Tatum is way, way, way better than Jones Jr. Brown is far, far superior to any 4 or any 5 on the Mavs that may guard him. And while Lively is very good and hyper athletic, he is a rookie and this is, by far, the biggest stage he has ever played on in his life. That is a lot to ask of a rookie. The frontcourt is clearly in favor of the Celtics. Both of these teams' benches are very plain. The Mavs bring PJ Washington or Daniel Gafford off the bench. They also have Tim Hardaway Jr, Dante Exum, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber. No one truly stands out to me. As for the Celtics, they are bringing Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Oshae Brisset off their bench. Again, none are world beaters. Then we have the coaches. Jason Kidd has proven his worth. He is getting the most out of this team. He has made the defense better than I ever imagined they could be. Joe Mazzula has the better team, has a better defense and the Celtics were the best team in the NBA all season long. They have hiccups here and there that they need to clean up. For the most part though, this is about as solid a team as the NBA has seen in a long, long time.

If I am looking over everything and trying to pick a winner, I have to go back to defense. The Celtics are a much, much better defense, and I think they will find a way to make guys other than Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving beat them. They will try to make Derrick Jones Jr hit shots. They won't allow the Mavs guards to throw alley oops with ease. They will make life tough, and when it gets tough for Doncic, he decides to whine instead of just playing through it. For defense alone I'm going Celtics in 6. 

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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I am Not Looking Forward to the Luka Doncic Lovefest in the NBA Finals

While watching game 4 of the West Finals the other night, I found myself turning it off. It looked like the Timberwolves were going to get beat, thus ending the series, and I just couldn't watch the end of the game. Luckily, the Timberwolves won, forcing a game five tonight. But, in all likelihood, this series is all but over and we will have a Celtics-Mavericks finals.

This was the worst case scenario for me. These are the two teams in the entire NBA I like the least. I have never rooted for the Celtics, and since Luka Doncic has come into the league, my hatred for the Mavericks has reemerged and remained high. I do want to say, if this ends up being the finals matchup, I will be rooting hard for the Celitcs. I cannot believe I just wrote that, but it is very true. I want to see Saint Louis' own Jayson Tatum get a ring. But, I will also be pulling for the Celtics because I have a deep, deep hatred of Luka Doncic. That is why we are here today.

Right off the bat, if he wasn't a good enough basketball to root against, I wouldn't write anything about him. He would be an afterthought. But, he is good. At least on the offensive end. So he is easy to root for, or, in my case, truly despise. I have never really liked him since he joined the NBA. At first it wasn't his fault though. It was the writers over at ESPN, namely Zach Lowe. I have written about Lowe's eroticism towards Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic. Since Jokic won it all last season, Lowe had more than enough ammo to shout his love for him from the hills. Now that the Nuggets are out, Lowe has his other white European player to heap endless praise upon while dumping on other players he deems less worthy. This has been happening since day one. Lowe will never, ever say a bad thing about Luka Doncic. And since I listen to Lowe's podcast, I have had to hear about it for a long while now. I will say, the more recent episodes that have some kind of love letter to Luka Doncic in the description, I have been able to easily erase and never listen to. But, it wasn't just Lowe. I got sick of hearing talking heads on tv expunge on his so-called greatness. He is some kind of wizard passing the ball according to them. I'll take Magic Johnson over him all damn day. They give him endless praise for his ability to score in tight spaces and to create said space. I'll happily take Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan for that any day. And, he is less than zero on the defensive end, which none of these fanboys seem to even care about anymore. They will sit there and spout off statistics until the cows come home, and when pressed about his horrendous defensive play, they try to move the conversation back to saying how great of an offensive player he is. It has gotten so bad that these talking heads will find the smallest effort he gives on defense and talk about his "improvement" on that end. It is akin to getting a participation trophy the way they glaze his attempts to play defense. And lately these memes of him shit talking opponents, that these same talking heads will gripe about when Anthony Edwards does it, they all love. They talk about his competitive spirit. They praise him for ripping out his opponents' hearts. They want him to continue to talk and talk and talk because that gives them the ammo they think they need to somehow prove his greatness. These are the same people that chastised Randy Moss when he fake mooned the crowd at Lambeau.  Being a Packer fan, I found it hilarious. They don't like the way Jim Harbaugh pressed the NCAA, but they love what Nick Saban and Luka Doncic do.. They feel entitled to say that Anthony Edwards should not have waved at the crowd in Denver when the Wolves closed out the Nuggets. They called that classless. But when they can watch their white savior stare down Devin Booker or SGA or AE, they love it. They beam with pride. And that disgusts me.

I wish I could remember which one of my friends posted this on Facebook, but they said that Doncic is incredibly sports hateable, and not a truer statement has been made in a long time. I also heard Carl Tart, I'm a big fan, say that anyone outside of Dallas who roots for Luka Doncic was probably storming the capitol. I couldn't agree more. This whole love affair with Doncic is coded racism from the nerds who work at ESPN. They have been waiting and waiting for someone, anyone to come along that doesn't look like Jordan or Steph or LeBron, and they have it now in Jokic and Doncic. And that bums me the hell out.

So, I guess I will end this by saying, if the Mavs do advance to face the Celtics, I hope Tatum and Jaylen Brown and Derrick White make life miserable for that prick Luka Doncic. Nothing will excite me more than to see that punk get his ass whipped. That doesn't mean ESPN will stop fellating him. But, it will restore my faith in basketball and the NBA. 

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches "Furiosa"

My wife and I saw "Furiosa" over the weekend. Let’s discuss.

This was a movie I was going to the theater to see no matter what. I have been looking forward to it since it was announced. Look, "Fury Road" may be the greatest action movie ever made. I think it is. It is full throttle, non stop action, and that is what I love about it. And it is not a "Fast and Furious" movie. Those have their place, but the whole "Mad Max" series has created a sci-fi world that absolutely fascinates me. It is the type of dystopic future movie that I am inclined to watch over and over again. And I have. I've seen the other "Mad Max" movies multiple times, with "Fury Road" leading the way, with at least a dozen viewings. So, giving me the backstory of Furiosa, Charlize Theron's character in "Fury Road", is all I want in a summer action blockbuster. We went out the day after it opened, we were in a relatively empty theater, and we sat back and watched.

My wife was not into the movie. These movies aren't for her. She likes her action movies to be superhero driven. But, I appreciate her wanting to go out and watch a movie series with me that I adore.

I loved this movie. Now, it is not on "Fury Road" level. That is a masterpiece. If "Furiosa" got to the level of "Fury Road", I don't think I'd have to watch any other action movie ever. But "Furiosa" has a place in my heart. I knew going in that this movie was going to be more of a story. George Miller told us that much during his interviews. And he and his crew told a great story. I loved getting to see where Furiosa came from and how she ended up where she did. Seeing her home, The Green Place, at its height, was pretty cool. It was also brutal because those of us that have seen "Fury Road" know the demise of The Green Place. And even in a movie that is more of a slow burn, we get a pretty dope chase scene right after Furiosa is captured. And the action sequences continue throughout the movie. There is a non-stop 15 minute action scene on a war rig that is one of the best things I've ever watched on any medium. It is a damn work of art. I also liked that we got to see Immortan Joe before he takes everything over. He is still evil as hell. We get to see The Bullet Farm and Gas Town before it all gets blown to hell. We see how some alliances started, and how some broke apart. We get to see early versions of the War Boys. We see the wasteland that has been created in this world. And it is bleak.

The performances in this movie are incredible. They bring back some of the people from the original movies. The actor who played Immortan Joe originally has since passed away, but his replacement did a damn fine job. The mothers in The Green Place are protective and totally badass. The first driver of the war rig may be one of the few people I have rooted for in this series. And then we have Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth is endlessly watchable as the main villain. He has no redeeming qualities. He is evil through and through. And I couldn't get enough of his work here. He really went for it and he definitely nailed it. I want to see him do more roles like this because he was truly foul and truly amazing here. Anya Taylor Joy did more than just justice to Theron's work. Joy embodied Furiosa. I read that she had to do a bunch of acting with only her eyes, she does not have a bunch of lines in the movie, and she hit a damn homerun with her eye acting. I know her story, yet I was endlessly surprised by what I was seeing. The final scene between her and Hemsworth is one of the best things I've ever watched. Joy was magnificent.

I loved "Furiosa". While speaking with a family member who also saw the movie on opening weekend, he said that, while not on the level of "Fury Road", he gave it an 11/10, he gave "Furiosa" an 8/10. I think that is fair. I'd probably go 8.5 or 9/10, but that is me. "Furiosa" is an achievement. I recommend this movie wholeheartedly. It will be on my best of 2024 list. I can already tell. Go see it now. I plan on going a few more times to see it in the theaters. Maybe I'll see you there. 

Ty

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

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