Author: D. Buffa

A regular guy who feels a journalistic hunger to tell the news. I blog because its wired into my brain to write what I think in print. I offer an opinion. A solo tour here. Take regular stories and offer my spin on them. Sports, film, television, music, fatherhood, culture, food, and so on. Commentary on everything. A St. Louis native and Little Rock resident who wants to write just to keep the hands fresh and ready.

Weighing the Gun Reform issues

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In North St. Louis, a 21 month old toddler picked up a loaded gun and accidentally shot himself. Carter Epps was taken to an area hospital, but it was too late. The bullet round ripped through his chest and it was over. This will set off the “let’s get rid of guns” crowd and the gun rightsholders will rally against them, no matter how hard the news is. Each side has a point, but it all comes back to one thing and that’s this. GUN SAFETY. Being responsible with a weapon.

Whoever left a loaded weapon out for a kid to find and the safety was off or easily triggered needs to be punished. NOT ALL GUN OWNERS. Weapons these days are made with several safety clicks and triggers that must be pushed or pulled in order for a weapon to fire. This is why before you buy a weapon there is a class and a waiting period. People want to/need to see if you are fit to hold a weapon and own it.

This is why there are safes that people can buy with thumb print locks so no one except for the owner can get into them. This keeps people safer than the weapon itself. The safes that house a weapon. Whoever left the gun out and available for a toddler to grab instead of his shaky toy or kids book needs to stripped of their license and sent to jail. A brutal lapse in judgement that will linger in the mind for the rest of their life.

I know several cops and often go shooting with my brother in law, Brian. The first thing we always go over when we shoot is gun safety. What kind of weapon is it and where are the safeties on it? When we fire, we say “gun is hot” and fire. Upon concluding the firing, we yell to each other “gun is safe”. This has to practiced. All the time. If a weapon is not treated with the utmost respect and care, it can be a ticking timebomb for tragedy. This goes for a family owning a weapon or a single person just keeping their home safe. Guns are dangerous and once that trigger is fired, no one runs faster than the bullets that explode out of that barrel. It’s all gone then. You must know what you are shooting at, how to stop it and you must control the weapon.

The biggest misconception is thinking a gun is as easy to fire as it looks in the movies. WRONG. As a 100% movie buff, I can tell you it’s different. Much more technical and complicated. The minute you pick up a weapon, you are a different person. A deadly one. Precautions must not be passed up just because Jason Statham made it look so easy. Keep in mind the people on movie sets are taking extra care when the actors are using fake guns. Yeah, extra care even if the gun is fake because it’s still a dangerous method to partake in. Real life is real life. No action. No cut. No do overs.

It’s sad but true. Every gun shot death can teach us something. About the person who was shot or the person who fired the weapon. The aftermath has to be used for a good cause. As people in St. Louis mourn the death of a 21 month old boy, it’s important to remember who the wrong party is here. That is this particular gun owner. Not all gun owners. When it comes to gun safety and its reach, it’s all relative.

I’ve said it many times but I’ll say it again. It comes down to who pulls the trigger. Not the weapon itself. In this case, it was who left the gun out to be picked up and used for a tragic cause. Don’t blame the guns or the millions of owners across the world. Examine the particular case and work from it.

This is where logical meets illogical. Both parties will come out today. Which side are you on?

BIG GAME is a huge Samuel L. Jackson mistake

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I need to speak with Sam L. Jackson’s agent. It won’t take long.  I am going to ask him why he passes on these dreadful scripts to his popular client. Jackson has done some drivel in recent years, but Big Game takes the cake. It’s a riff on Air Force One with Jackson’s President being stranded in the woods after his plane is blown out of the sky and it’s up to him and a young kid to survive and defeat the bad guys.

Jalmari Helander writes and directs a movie that may have been digestible in 1987, because back then trash dialogue and kindergarten special effects weren’t frowned upon yet swallowed whole like a McDonald’s double cheeseburger at 11 o’ clock at night.

Hey, there’s cool bad guy Ray Stevenson(Rome and Dexter) slumming it as a man who wants a piece of the Executive Chief. There’s highly respected actor Jim Broadbent, the man back home in the Pentagon who knows what is going on and chews on an apple for the entire film. Felicity Huffman and Victor Garber show up as well. Onni Tommila is the Finnish kid who helps our guy but he can’t even work a bow and arrow. How did so many good actors find their way into this film? Was it code named “Marvel spinoff” and they got duped?

There’s one cool shot of a man diving out of a plane and as he falls to the ground missiles fly past him up into the sky. That’s it. Everything else is bad music, lazy editing, laughable dialogue, corny action and slow motion amateur hour. I’m getting tired of the President in duress plots as well. It’s been done, overcooked, deep fried and saturated in muddy cinematic waters. Let’s can it.

Is there any delight here to be had? Sure. If you ever wanted to watch a movie while typing away on your phone or while cooking dinner in the other room, this is the one for you. It’s only 90 minutes and doesn’t stay on your mind long afterwards. All you will think about as this film concludes is why all these fine actors partake in this mischief. What was the catch? It didn’t cost much to make but it reined in some big names. Did it get lost in the editing room? Did the Cliffhanger/Air Force One aspect get lost quickly? I am not sure.

I can tell you this. Big Game is a big waste of your time.

Jaime Garcia: A great yet breakable investment

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By now, Cardinals fans know the drill. When Jaime Garcia is on, he’s as good of a lefthander as you will find in this league. He makes MLB hitters swing awkwardly and ugly at several of his pitches. He doesn’t need a ton of pitches to get through 7 innings of work and he seems to have conquered the maturation on the mound aspect as he nears the ripe age of 30. However, the biggest problem with Garcia has little to do with pitching and everything to do with health. Can he stay healthy and for how long? Should the Cards invest in that going forward?

Garcia will be making his 10th start in Milwaukee tonight and his 2015 season has been impressive, albeit incomplete. While he doesn’t have the win total due to a lack of run support(19 runs in 9 starts), Garcia hasn’t been reached for more than 3 earned runs in his 9 starts, and he’s only needed more than 100 pitches once. He has a 3 to 1 strikeouts to walks ratio and doesn’t allow a lot of clean contact. His WHIP is a rude 0.92 and hitters have only scraped a .199 average against him. How is he doing it? Every Garcia pitch has movement, whether it’s is 91 mph four seam fastball or his devastating sinker and slider. He doesn’t get a ton of swings and misses but he does induce plenty of groundballs.

Garcia is a wicked bowl of talent that seems to slip off the counter far too often. It’s hard to get excited about Garcia because when you do, it seems to be a flicker of greatness. The southpaw is nearing the end of another season where he won’t make more than 20 starts for the fourth consecutive season. Garcia has an 11.5 million dollar option for 2016 and a 12 million dollar option for 2017, both carrying 500k buyouts. With Marco Gonzales coming up fast and ready to assume a role in this rotation, does Garcia return next year? Do the Cards take that gamble with his health? Let’s answer that question.

If he finishes the season(which is like saying if you finish that 1 pound hamburger inside 5 minutes), The Cardinals should bring back Garcia, as long as it’s just the one year. Until he establishes an ability to stay healthy, the team shouldn’t extend him beyond a year. At the same time, they can’t cut loose a guy who has honestly figured something out. He hasn’t been this sharp in years and whether it’s brief and not long lasting to this point, Garcia is a riddle for Major League hitters. In his weakest outings, his first against the Mets and last against Colorado, he still managed to keep the Cards in the game and pitch well. He hasn’t been beat up once this season and that can’t be discounted.

For now, enjoy the lefty while you can. He’s that traveling rock n’ roll band who may flame out at any moment, cursed by its internal structure and wiring. Garcia is easily one of the best pitchers in the National League…when he’s actually pitching. While a decision on 2016 will loom soon enough, Cardinals fans need to hope, not bet, on Garcia staying healthy the rest of the way.

Someone please put a sock in Donald Trump’s mouth

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If you know me at all, you know I couldn’t give two shits about politics, don’t fully believe in God on earth and think of religious wars as futile excuses to blow shit up and put a name on it.

So I’m sorry if I couldn’t be more tired of hearing about Donald Trump’s latest speech, hair piece adjustment or stupid statement. When does a politician NOT make a stupid statement? When does a politician, elected or not, say something they will regret or not be able to back up later on? It’s an ongoing robotic robust pile of bullshit being handed to the hard working people of America for decades now. Does it matter who gets elected? Will they be anything resembling the person they were when the campaign started? NO.

Image result for Donald Trump 2015

Screw Hilary Clinton too. She’s full of it. If she wins, it will be more about the first woman President than anything she will actually change. Do we really think she will reform health care, help schools or create more jobs with her personal touch? Go see crazy somewhere else. The table is full here.

I voted for Barack Obama twice and instead of seeing the valiant fiery speaker I watched for months up until the election back in 2008, I see a robot these days. One that has been twisted, turned, bent over backwards and reformulated into something else entirely. Presidents aren’t human until they make a speech following a school shooting or bombing. Then they talk to us like people for just a brief moment. Everything else is star spangled banners and baloney.

I wish I could be more heroic here and tell you that voting next year will make a different. Letting your voice be heard will only work if you vote for someone with a chance of winning. Somebody who has money.

Trump may have a shred of a chance because he is loaded and is colorful and has several parties interest. He’s a fantastic businessman, shrewd, Republican and can draw crowds with ease. I still don’t think he will win but hear about him every day.

The election is a year away and I have to hear every single update on these candidates. It’s annoying. Politics is something I know I can’t control so therefore I don’t donate much time to it. I’m sorry. You can get up in front of small crowds, make speeches and you are still as full of shit as the rest of us.

You want to know who I think makes differences and gets zero attention. City Alderman’s. Select mayors. A few dedicated suits at City Hall. People who don’t have a team of 50 following them around. The one’s who have to crawl around, scratch, sweat and reach for every nickle they use in their campaign. I can find some dignity in that. Presidential elections are a joke and always will be until an elected official proves me wrong.

Who are you voting for? You only have over 400 days to figure that out.

Rant over.

David Ortiz: A true hitting machine

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boston_red_sox_david_ortiz_criticizes_pace_of_play_rulesAs he nears the age of 40, David Ortiz just keeps hitting for the Boston Red Sox. As play opens today across the Major Leagues, the savvy charismatic basher from the left side sits at 491 home runs in his career; not bad for a man who was released by the Minnesota Twins back in 2002 and picked up by the Red Sox after his friend Pedro Martinez put a call in. What has he done since?

A little bit. Some work perhaps. Ortiz has helped the Red Sox win three World Series titles, make more than a few All Star games, and become the face of Boston. If Tom Brady has any challenge for supremacy in Boston, it’s Big Papi. Ask anyone in Boston, baseball fan or not, and they know who he is. After all, it was right after the Boston Marathon bombing that he took the microphone in the middle of Fenway Park and proclaimed, “This is our fucking city”. Take the bat out this man’s hands and he has the power of a rock star mixed with a President.

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St. Louis Cardinals’ Hall of Fame grows by four

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Before the St. Louis Cardinals battled the Miami Marlins Saturday night, there was some history to take care of during the afternoon. The Cards were inducting four new members into their Hall of Fame. This year’s inductee’s included Ted Simmons, Curt Flood, Bob Forsch and George Kissell. Each person had a unique effect on the organization and each got a spotlight this weekend. They may never be able to join the greats in Cooperstown, but the four will always be remembered in St. Louis. Through sheer tenacity and dedication, the team has created their own baseball heaven here, making the official Hall of Fame a little less cool.

Simmons addressed this in his speech, poking fun at a famous golfer, saying Phil Mickelson(owner of the green jacket from the Masters) will never get to put on the sleek shiny red jacket the inductees got. Simmons is one of the most popular HOF snubs, hitting 172 home runs in his 13 years in St. Louis, including six All Star game selections and four seasons of 20+ home runs. He could slice a triple or crank a home run. His 248 career home runs, 2472 hits and .285 average along with the teams he played for makes a strong case for Cooperstown, but he will always be remembered for his offensive firepower behind home plate in St. Louis. He started his career with Bob Gibson as a teammate and ended it on Atlanta over 20 years later. His ability to hit home runs from each side of the plate marks his sweet spot as a Cardinal.

Forsch was one of the legendary pitchers to ever climb the hill for the Birds, a righthander who broke into the league in 1974 and fired 5 complete games in his first season, winning 7 games. When it came to Bob and pitching, durability was his strong suit. Forsch threw a pair of no hitters for the Cards in his 15 years but he also compiled 8 different seasons where he threw at least 5 complete games. He won 15 games for the 1982 World Series team and never depended on the strikeout during his career. Forsch passed away at the age of 61 right after throwing out the first pitch at a Cardinals-Rangers World Series game in 2011. He is still missed by ex-Cards like Ricky Horton, who remembered the pitcher fondly in the Fox Sports Midwest booth this week.

Flood won seven consecutive gold gloves in center field, won a pair of World Series titles and hit .293 in his 12 years as a Cardinal. His effect also lies off the field, where he paved the way for free agency by rejecting a trade from the Cardinals to the Phillies. Before that, players had little to no control in where they played, and Flood changed that. Players today who choose to sign a monstrous contract for over a hundred million dollars can thank Curt Flood for that. He put choice and control into the players hands when the games were over.

Kissell’s effect didn’t come with a bat in his hands wearing the birds on the bat, but across the field and in the dugout in a number of ways. “The Cardinal Way” stemmed from George’s visceral knowledge of the game and his ability to transport it into young players minds as they dealt with the rigors of the game. I’m pretty sure Kissell wasn’t a Twitter guy. He taught many baseball players what was expected of them outside of what we find on a baseball card. Jose Oquendo gives a lot of credit to Kissell for making him want to become a coach and learning how to push the right buttons.

Every Cardinal that goes into their Hall of Fame had their own special impact on the game. One guy may have hit a lot of home runs while another could do it from multiple sides of the plate. Another may have changed the game off the field while another taught rookies how to bear it. What makes the Cardinals organization special is that they never ever forget where they came from.

What are your special memories and thoughts on this year’s inductees?

Meet Alex Reyes: The Next Cardinals phenom

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There’s something cool, eventful and promising about a hard throwing young pitcher. It’s like hearing about a fireworks show about 30 minutes away. Do you turn the car around to go look or just keep driving hoping to catch one in front of you? The St. Louis Cardinals next phenom is named Alex Reyes, and he is ripping through the minor leagues as we speak. He’s 20 years old(turns 21 on August 29th), throws a fastball that reaches triple digits as easily as you rip open a bag of sugar to pour in your coffee and he’s only going to get better.

Reyes started this season in High A Palm Beach, where he struck out 96 batters in 63.2 innings, compiling an ERA of 2.26 and a WHIP of 1.26. He made the jump to Springfield last month, where he has 39 strikeouts to 12 walks in just six starts(24.1 innings pitched). Going into his August 24th start, Reyes has allowed a single home run yet this season. In his entire minor league career, Reyes has only allowed 8 home runs in over 258.2 innings covering 53 starts. That’s an impressive number. Opponents hit just .216 off him in Palm Beach and AA bats only .176 thus far. The only man who seems capable of beating Reyes at all is his own raw talent. It hasn’t even been fully unleashed yet.

In order to really get to know a talent, you must get a view from the seats. A face to face rendering. For that perspective, I reached out to Springfield Cardinals beat writer Derek Shore(who writes for Scout.com) for his thoughts on the talented young righthander.(You can find Derek on Twitter here).

Shore has seen three of Reyes’ starts with Springfield, including his last two, which were his shortest. “Reyes has often drawn Carlos Martinez comps and for good reasons given both have Dominican roots and signed to a comparable bonuses. I’ve talked to a scout who said Reyes’s arsenal isn’t quite as deep as Martinez’s, but his one-two punch are better than Martinez’s at the same age of 20 years old,” Shore said of the well known comparison between the two fiery young arms in the Cardinals organization.

What exactly does Reyes fire at hitters that makes him so special? Shore had this to say about the kid’s weapons of lumber destruction. “To go with that electric heater(clocking regularly at 101 mph across the league), Reyes has flashed a two-seam fastball in the lower 90’s with a 12-6 hammer. Along with the development of his command and all-important third pitch the changeup, a pitch that the Cardinals seem to have advised for him to throw more will determine his ceiling as a big-league starter.”

Why isn’t this kid already in the Major’s, outside the fact that the Cardinals don’t need him just yet? Shore attaches the slow build to the regular growing pains of a young thrower learning how to pitch. “His struggles at Double-A this season have been tied to overthrowing and working into deep counts a problem that’s hinder his efficiency at times and also a sign of a lack of command because he has a tendency to overdo his pitches. Stuff has been a non-issue, Reyes probably has the biggest right-handed stuff in the minors outside of the Nationals Lucas Giolito.”

Will we see this kid in September when rosters expand? I doubt it, for the simple fact that the Cards bullpen is stacked and that Reyes’ shoulder(which has barked a bit at times this season) may need the rest. If there is a sudden need, this viper whipping phenom will be waiting.

Otherwise, I expect this “freak” to make his debut in St. Louis sometime in 2016. Reyes is the chip that General Manager John Mozeliak wasn’t putting on a table this past July during trade talks. Other teams know this man’s heat will only be leaving jet fuel stains on a jersey containing the birds on the bat. Sorry, NL Central. The St. Louis Cardianals talent well is churning out another cherry red mustang that will make your lineups crack IPad screens and exhaust DVD players for the next couple decades. I’d warn you, but that just wouldn’t cut it.

Whenever people try to put a name tag on the Cardinals’ brand of success, I laugh. Small market team gone big? Mid-market special? Who cares? In the end, Mozeliak and company are just better at their jobs than most front offices and slowly, people are coming to terms with the fact that the National League Pennant chase will roll through the Arch every fall.

Alex Reyes is that big juicy looking steak that the Cardinals haven’t completely cut into yet to see how well it’s been cooked. When they do, the rest of the National League will have nowhere to hide.

Photo credit-Milb.com

What is ailing Cardinals’ second baseman Kolten Wong?

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I wrote weeks ago about how I think Kolten Wong can be one of the best second baseman to ever wear the Birds on the bat. I still believe that but it seems like plenty of others around St. Louis do not. After Wong’s two error game in a Sunday against the Miami Marlins, the toll on Wong’s mental approach to the game was evident. After another couple of errors this week, Wong’s confidence in the field is fractured. Could it be that Wong just needs a day or two off to clear his head?

It’s no secret Wong has struggled lately. In his last 30 games, Wong is hitting just .197 with an on base percentage of .258 and a slugging percentage of .262. His signature brand of pop is missing in August, as he has zero extra base hits and only 10 singles(.156 average). It seems like a decade since his last home run and his average has plunged from near .290 to .263 in the past month. His 11 home runs, 48 RBI, and 114 hits are still respectable but his overall on base percentage and slugging percentage is dropping. Is he still hitting baseballs hard? While his overall line drive rate is 23.5%, his game to game rates in August have seen less sting on balls he hits. It’s not a great trend.

Maybe it could help if Mike Matheny found a comfy spot for Wong in the lineup. This season, Wong has taken swings in every lineup spot but cleanup. He has over 200 at bats in cleanup and 40+ in the #2, #7 and #8. He doesn’t know where he hits and it stems from the fact that when the kid is right, his bat can help in a number of ways. He can collect a double, crank a home run and has speed on the bases(14 steals included). He is the prototypical #2 hitter but his best stats come from the pressure free 8th spot. He has 20 hits in 60 at bats there, with a .391 OBP. One thing Matheny can do is shift him there to take some pressure off and get him to relax.

Another thing Matheny could is rest the kid. Wong has played in 37 straight games. That’s at bat in every one of those games and starting over 95% of them. While Jhonny Peralta gets a day off per week, Wong continues to play and his bat, body and mind could use a rest. Wong committed his 11th and 12th errors on Sunday and when the kid messes up, he takes himself to school mentally for the rest of the game. Part of being a highly talented soon to be 25 year old franchise type player. Wong has put together a lot of great moments over the past couple years and was handed the keys to second base last season. There will be setbacks.

A couple days off may hinder an ailing Cards offense, but it may dividends down the road when the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs continue to shove the Birds for their share of first place. The Central division isn’t softening up, with all three teams having great months of August, especially the Cubs. The time could be now to release some of the pressure from a kid who has hit .206 with four extra base hits since the All Star break. Rest him.

Kolten Wong may not like it, but a couple days off could relieve the pressure. If not that, bat him 8th and keep him there for a while. At this point, Wong needs normalcy or a small vacation. Do what is needed to get this kid right. He’s too important to run into the ground. A small rest could do wonders for Kolten Wong.

Man From U.N.C.L.E is cool summer jazz

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Writer/director Guy Ritchie’s abilities have ripened well with age. While Snatch remains his masterpiece, his latest adventure, the “adapted” Man From UNCLE, shows how consistent he has gotten and how finely he has crafted his movie making ways. The film lays into you like a cool jazz tune. You may not think it was made for you, but you will smile and enjoy it.

Before I tell you the particulars, let’s take a brief moment to discuss the plot. Napoleon Solo(Henry Cavill, sleek, suave and muscled) is the CIA’s best agent/spy and he must join forces with a stern Russian KGB tank(Armie Hammer, not sucking for once) in order to track down some hot dame’s uncle, who supposedly knows the wherabouts to some nuclear warheads. Enough with the dull stuff. What worked?

The cast is aces. Cavill proves here he is more than a superhero, putting the “S” in suave. From the moment we see this handsome devil in a suit walking towards customs with a “I’m cool and you are not” glare, this much is known. When Cavill retires the cape, he will have his hands full with work. Maybe play someone called 007. Who knows? His future is bright and Solo proves he has some range to play with.

This is the first time I liked Hammer in anything, who up until this flick was only suited to play a piece of cardboard that moved and talked. Lone Ranger? Vomit. J. Edgar? Lost. Here, playing a fighting machine yet vulnerable man with a few secrets of his own, Hammer gets to unleash a little personality and displays a pretty decent Russian tongue. He shouldn’t join a Moscow steam room anytime soon, but he acquits himself well here. In other words, he didn’t stink up the joint.

The beautiful woman who makes the men run in circles here is Alicia Vikander, and if you weren’t paying attention earlier this year, she was the sophisticated robot in Ex Machina. Here, she toys with Hammer’s Prom King sledge hammer and trades barbs with Cavill’s slick agent like she’s been playing in the British Embassy cool school for years. If you didn’t know her name before this film, you will now. She joins Rogue Nation’s Rebecca Ferguson in the “pay attention to me now” train of thought.

The soundtrack is money here, perfectly placing in blues, jazz and hipster knee rattling tracks that never let the action overwhelm or the pace slow down too fast. You may want to get a hold of Daniel Pemberton’s wise guy score that never stops beating your ears up with easy joy.

Ritchie and Lionel Wigram’s script has enough historical reference(Russians, Americans, Nuclear warheads, the 1960’s) to mix in with its wild banging martini of an action flick that clears credibility by a few nose hairs.

The action is ripped from a comic book but has just enough realism to keep you from rolling your eyes. If James Bond had a sense of humor, he’d live in this world. And yes, you are not mistaken…that is Hugh Grant acting again and doing it quite well here as the one of the top suits playing these men of action like he has a remote control in his hand.

Ritchie doesn’t break any new ground here, but he crafted a fine action adventure with a tongue in cheek attitude about it. It’s like he mixed a few spices together that hadn’t been put together before and most of it tasted good. If you don’t take it too seriously or expect to be blown away, Man from U.N.C.L.E. may just put a smile on your face.

I know I’ll be in line for a sequel if these make believe jokers work together again.

49ers’ Aldon Smith: A terrible waste of talent

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“There’s nothing more sad in life than a waste of talent.”-A Bronx Tale

San Francisco 49ers linebacker and University of Missouri, Columbia alum Aldon Smith is in trouble again and the storm is substantial this time. Smith was arrested in Santa Clara, California on charges involving a hit and run, DUI and vandalism. I call it the trifecta of off the field athlete stupidity. A waste of talent indeed.

Smith is one of the best defensive players in the NFL yet he continues to damage his career by getting into serious trouble with the law. Aldon, you can break tackles but you can’t break the law son.

His rap sheet of charges is nearly as long as his lateral reach. In 2011, he had three felony gun charges knocked down to misdemeanors. In 2013, he was arrested on charges of drunken driving and sentenced to 11 days of work release. Last season, he was suspended for the first nine games of the season due to personal conduct issues. His arrest today marks the third time he has been taken in for drunk driving. I don’t even want to know how many times he has driven under the influence and gotten away with it.

All this comes after a week where the 49ers expressed interest in resigning the troubled young man. After all, Smith is only 25 years old and entering his 5th season of action. Smith recorded 19.5 sacks in 2012 and has 44 sacks for his career in 50 games. Where his career goes from here is undecided but I can promise another suspension will be handed down and it may be worse than the last.

How much longer can San Francisco go along with this? Will the NFL intervene and hit Smith where it counts? All of this could have been avoided if the man asked for a driver. How many times will athletes get in trouble for not requesting a driver? How many lives would be saved if people didn’t drink and drive? If you want to have fun, do it but get it done in a safe manner. There are no excuses for Smith’s behavior. He deserves to be punished. He seems to have no regard for his career, well being or the well being of others.

You teach him by taking things away. It’s time for the NFL to take more things away from Aldon Smith. Send a message. Make an example. People will tie this to Mizzou and that’s inaccurate. This is a separate case that got started after Smith left MU. The tremble may have been noticeable on that campus from time to time, but clearly Smith has lost his way.

Time for the 49ers and NFL to help him find it. Smith was released by the 49ers after the incident. What a terrible waste of talent.