Good evening,
Allow me to spin a little banter about the weekend.  Extra bits from the previous blog and a little look back at very exciting, competitive and slightly controversial(not in my eyes) Super Bowl that capped off my birthday last night.   It's a new dawn, a new year and a new day for this mad writer from South City, so let's get to the goods.  The idea this time will be a list of things.  10 things about the Super Bowl.  5 things about the Blues.  3 things about the movies.   Something of that nature.  Stay tuned, and we are off.
Super Bowl bits-10 Things

The Joe Flacco exodus from average quarterback city is complete.  Last night, the dull looking and admittedly dull QB fired 287 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception.  He was rightfully the MVP of the Super Bowl and owned the same distinction for the playoffs.  This guy turned my head and I must tip my cap.  He was David in a land of several Goliath's. The perfect postseason against the best of the best.   He outgunned Andrew Luck, the hot rookie.   He outplayed Peyton Manning, the comeback player of the year.  He upset Tom Brady in his own yard.  He took down Colin Kaepernick, the new kid on the block in last night's close and heavily contested matchup.  Flacco can rest easy now.  This is the same situation as Eli Manning discovered in 2007.  He beat Brett Favre in Lambeau in his comeback season and struck a huge hole in the Brady Machine in the biggest upset of the last ten years, or since Adam Vinateri pierced the Rams hearts with that kick in The Superdome, which was the stage last night.  Every minute of his series' last night, I was waiting for the Flacco hiccup.  The interception.  Deer in the headlights mistake.  Fumble.  Drop.  Wince.  It never happened.  He owned the moment and took what the 49ers depleted defense gave him.  He, like I said, can rest easy.  He must have been happy the Steelers didn't make the playoffs.  

Ray Lewis wins and can now go away. Thank you. I have had enough of his drama, crying, emotional speeches, and overall mystique.  Go home Ray with your two Super Bowls, tattoos, Deer Antler spray, bloody past and newfound faith and future.  He is a great player and sure fire HOF member but he took over the week in an annoying Brett Favre manner and its time for it to be over.  Now that he has won, he can retire with honor and get on the analyst desk and scare the shit out of Terry, Howie and Jay Glazer with a pre-Fox loud speech.   "Put your fucking game face on BRADSHAW".  It will happen.  Ray Lewis is crazy, inspirational, talented, tainted, dirty, faith capped, and a storm of power.   He is anything you want him to be.  Now he is gone. 

Kaepernick played with shackles on his ankles for two quarters of football. The 49ers restricted him and finally let him go. Once that happened SF nearly erases the biggest deficit in Super Bowl history. Why restrict a guy who has taken you to the doorstep of the promised land. Colin wasn't perfect but he was deadly and will be deadly for years to come. He learned painful yet valuable lessons.  He decided to throw at the 5 yard line in the third quarter instead of running the ball in and made other gun shy mistakes.  He opened up the scoring for his team with his versatile array of skills but also was held in check by his own coaches and a furiously resilient Ravens front seven.  This kid CAN PLAY.  Rams fans won't soon forget this guy's name.  He will be a freak of nature for a long time.   Go ahead and pack Alex Smith's bags for either KC or Arizona.

John and Jim Harbaugh battled like brothers and let it all hang out. Jim lost his mind in the end. Anybody who labels that whining doesn't understand a sibling rivalry. I grew up with a big brother and ALWAYS wanted to win. It's in your DNA. You love him but also want to put a pillow over his face in every sport. Those two coaches may not seem like class acts but they are great coaches. 

My take on "the play". The controversial 4th down play with Crabtree wasn't a bad call. Why? While he was held by the corner, Crabtree pushed off the defender's helmet himself thus committing his own foul. They cancel each other out and the pass was incomplete so that is that.  Enough.   This is where tough fans go to town.   ONE PLAY that signifies the entire four quarters of football.   The same people who are Blues fans telling me the only reason the Blues lost to Detroit on Thursday was because David Backes was given a major penalty and the Red Wings got away with it.   While true in some partial way, it never completes the picture for me.   The 49ers were slightly outplayed by a fierce Baltimore team.   SF started late, nearly made a comeback but Joe Flacco didn't make a mistake and the Ravens defense made a big stop at the end.   That leads me to my next point.

Credit the Ravens D with that goal line stop. After San Francisco sprinted down the field the balty defense laid concrete on the goal line and held them out. Even if Crabtree isn't held there's no way he catches Kaepernick's desperation heave to the corner. 

All in all a pretty good game. With no real horse and only a side picked(hint my team lost) I enjoyed the action on my birthday. 
Non Football Recap-
*Beyonce sucked.  Look, I am not a fan(AT ALL) and found her halftime performance to be mildly entertaining but nauseating at the same time.   Women are half naked so my attention is there but the music and dancing do nothing for me.  I just don't get into this shit.   I am not saying the woman isn't talented.  She clearly is and has a monstrous fan base.  However, like Madonna and The Black Eyed Peas, their music doesn't connect with me and I could think of at least 3 other rousing options for a halftime that don't begin and end with one woman dancing in a similar manner and lip syncing her tunes.  Boring show.  The power could have went out there.
*Yes the power went out in the second half.   Big deal.  I found the sideline reporters to be hilarious in their breakdown of what happened.   Let's go down to Solomon on the sidelines.  What do you got buddy?  "Well, it appears the power is out over there."  Thanks!  Got it.  The power went out and Brady and Belicheck were cleared of all charges.  The game went on.  No big deal.  Roger apologized for the 4,698th time this season and the action continued.
*The commercials were alright.  The Paul Harvey farmer spot was powerful, direct and blunt.   I am not a GOD person or farmer, but I got the message and approve.  It was the sequel to Clint Eastwood's well timed spot last year.  The Car spot commercial with the baby wolf was good, as was the Rock Milk spot.  The Oreo commercial was decent, but the Bud Light Stevie Wonder voodoo takes were absolutely horrible and not funny.  NO commercials made me laugh out loud.  Seriously.  It's been a long time since a commercial made me fall out of my chair.  I was disappointed the direct TV couple(the most convincing TV commercial couple of all time by the way) weren't included.  The guy from Minnesota with the Marley accent was funny but faded quick.  The Budweiser spots were alright while the horse one predictably went for the tissues.  All in all, the movie spots(especially the Fast and Furious Six and Star Trek previews) were my favorite, and that is no surprise.  
5 Things About the Blues-
*I can't say I am a fan of these gaps between the games.  After 8 games in 12 days, I want this pace to keep up.   Instead, we have had two lapses of 2 days between games.  This is a useless charge from a devoted hockey fan who loved the adrenaline of back to back games during the week.   This kind of slow down to the mad pacing is expected but I would be lying if I said this team didn't deserve National attention.   They are very good.
*Our only two losses have come on the second night of back to back nights on the road against the Hawks and Wings.   That's acceptable.  
*Our defense is stout but gives up quick 2 goal bursts far too often.  Our penalty kill isn't as strong as last year.   David Backes, Roman Polak and Vladimir Sobotka still flatten people on the ice.  
*Tarasenko was easily the player of the week.   The kid has 5 goals and nine points.  He is throwing every defense off their game and making great goalies look very ordinary.  Aren't you glad he is ours for a long time.  Something to remember. 
*Jaroslav Halak going down is as predictable as Steven Jackson going down.  It's bound to happen.  At some point, these guys pull a muscle.   This time, Halak pulled his groin.  Elliot will take over and Jake Allen will get called up.   This is where the Blues depth comes into play.  It's our biggest strength in this shortened campaign.
My One Thought on the Arbitration Decision with STL and the Rams-
*I like the Rams winning this one.   It means football will be improved and staying in St. Louis.   If the city wins, they get the leverage and may vote to not make any changes to the dome or build a new stadium, which puts the future state of this team in severe flux.  This way, the lease can go into a year to year status after 2014, but changes will be made to the dome or a new stadium will be built.  Two locations are the Bottle District or the old Chrysler Plant.  The idea of an outdoor football stadium is something to get excited for and with the renewed interest in this team and their improved state, I will pay my tax dollars towards it.  I like the way this team is moving and that plays into my decision and several other fans.   If the team is worth the dollars, then something will get done.  Two years ago, this would have been a different situation.  With Fisher, Bradford, Lauranitis and others in the fold and our record and play improving, the Rams winning the arbitration agreement is a good thing and means the state of football will improve one way or another.   I am no businessman and don't dare offer you the knowledge of the inner workings of this deal but the end game is, the city has to put up or shut up.   Kroneke wants to keep the team here.  Roger Goodell wants the Rams to stay.   If LA gets a team, it won't be the Rams, who have already set up shop and departed the west coast.  If LA gets a team, it will be an expansion team.   The team isn't going to London.  There's no guarantee the NFL can make that work or the money would be as good.   The Rams are staying put in STL and the decision on Thursday only strengthened that ideal.  
5 Thoughts on The Movies-
*Bullet To The Head bombed at the box office, gaining 4.5 million.   Stallone's latest couldn't muster shit and may need a hit with The Tomb(co-starring Arnold) to regain his mojo before Expendables 3 is greenlit.  I liked the film, but can't say I am surprised by the numbers.  The film was a B action movie blood fest with no real good guys and a bunch of mindless action.  I dug it.  Few others did.  
*Win Win is a very underrated film and deserves a watch on cable.   Paul Giamatti and Bobby Canavale are very good in this wrestling drama about a coach who finds a great talent and must come to terms with his own issues in life.  Tough potent little film.  
*End of Watch and Looper were added to my collection of film over my birthday weekend and they are certifiable golden movie goods.  Rent and watch if you want to see something original.   
*A Good Day To Die Hard is another John McClane story with Bruce Willis blowing shit up but this one is different.   It is the first script that was specifically written for Willis' character and not adapted, like the previous 4 films.   The first die hard was originally a Frank Sinatra detective story sequel.   The last three were scripts written for other stories that were given John McClane's protagonist and adapted.  This one will be good old fashioned action fun and it's set in Russia.  There is a contest on my site for STL moviegoers to win free passes.  Go there to the Daily Dose and get your chance.
*Film to look forward to.   A Place Beyond The Pines.  Bradley Cooper.  Ryan Gosling.  Eva Mendes.  Rose Byrne.  Ray Liotta.   A stunt biker takes heists to make money for his family yet runs into a cop and both their lives change forever.  Film spans 15 years and will be as power packed as it gets.  Fathers. Sons.  Choices.  Epic consequences. Count me in. Here is the trailer.
"If you ride like lightning...you're gonna crash like thunder."
http://youtu.be/G07pSbHLXgg
Final Words-
Don't be a Fake in life.  Please understand that.   If something in your life doesn't work, change it and don't look back.   Take care of yourself and just keep moving forward.   Sooner or later, you will make a choice and stick to it until the very end but first you need to get there.  Too many good people that I know stay locked to a situation and waste portions of their life.  It's not worth it.  The worst thing in life isn't a waste of talent.  There's nothing worse than faking it through life because it's easier.  Stand up.  Change things.  Get better.  
I am a happy man at 31.  I have a great wife and a wonderful young ambitious kid.  Every night I get with them or him I feel like the luckiest guy in town.   I am good.  You need to get there if you are lost.  Trust me.  Get busy living or get busy dying.  Just don't take all fucking day.
That's it.  Really.  I'm cooking bacon for the wife when she gets home.  We are making Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches with havarti cheese and bacon strips.  Adding some salad and wine to it.  That's a night at the Buffa House.  
The Following and Banshee.  Bed.  Wake up.  Do it again.  
Goodnight,
D. Buffa