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.

The Cardinals bring the big sticks to Miller Park

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For the past few years, the St. Louis Cardinals lack of power is well known. They rank near the bottom of the National League in home runs. However, if there is one place the Birds love to carry the big sticks to play, it’s Miller Park against the Milwaukee Brewers. At the start of Sunday’s action, the Cards have won 4 of 6 games there this season, scoring 24 runs and cranking 7 home runs. However, let’s look at the last two seasons of play at Miller Park.

While their average at Miller Park since the start of the 2013 season may be decent at best(.282), the manner in which the Cardinals score their runs differs from every other road park they play in. The Cardinals have scored 143 in 27 games, an average of 5.3 runs per game. In those 27 games, the Cards have amassed 412 total bases and 42 doubles.

In 2014, the Cards cranked 14 home runs, more than doubling their total from Wrigley Field and Great American Ballpark. In 2013, they smashed 19 doubles and 15 home runs at Miller Park, slugging .500. Om 2015, the Cardinals have amassed 12 doubles in just 5 games.

There are certain Cardinals who love hitting at Miller, including Jhonny Peralta. In his 15 games there, Peralta is 23-58(.396) with 4 home runs and 13 RBI. There’s a reason Mike Matheny doesn’t rest the guy there. Jhonny likes to rake. The injured Jon Jay found success at Miller Park, collecting 4 hits in 10 at bats in April. Overall, in the last three seasons, Jay has a .353 batting average. Matt Holliday doesn’t find the average but he has hit 6 home runs in his 20 games played. Other Cardinals like Matt Adams and Yadier Molina have also hit well there. Ex-Cards and former RBI machine Allen Craig hit .393 there in 2013. As a team, the Cards have slugged .460 at the park since 2013.

Their lack of power overall may be hard to deny, but when the Birds fly into Milwaukee, the big bats ride with them. It’s a place they have found plenty of comfort the past few years. In 27 games, the Cardinals have amassed a record of 19-8, dominating an opponent that challenged them for the division title just last year. The rivalry between these teams from the red hot battles of 2011 may have died off over the past few seasons, but the ability of the Cards to handle the Brewers in their own house is apparent.

When people think of 2015 and Miller Park, they will probably think about losing Adam Wainwright there on April 25th. They can find some peace in the Birds record and ability to hit for power in Milwaukee.

Vincent Buffa: The Four Year Old Beast of Burden

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100_0267What a face!

My son Vincent just pissed on the carpet and his expression was priceless. “Hey dad, just had an accident but I wasn’t going to alert you or anything. At least not until this stain was pretty established.”

This is parenthood. Today, Vinny turned four years old. Or young. Or strong. Whatever the new way of age description is. He got here through a hail of cheez-it’s, juice boxes, bacon, shit stains, smiles, cries, fake outs and lots of pee. He’s taught me more things than any other human being could possibly aspire to. He’s made me rethink many decisions. Vin has personally given me headaches and added a gorilla sized boulder of stress to my existence. Kids are the ultimate test. Have one and find out.

I’m sorry if I haven’t dipped this post in sappy melodrama yet. Sorry if I haven’t released the obvious fact that he is the best thing that ever happened to me and blah blah blah. You know, where ladies will gets the feels and the men will salute me while thinking, “Fuck that idea”.

Four years ago, my wife Rachel and I were at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Passing the 30 hour mark of labor, blood, sweat and tears, it was time. Our doctor finally listened to my wife’s demands. The baby was coming. Forget the forecast for a later arrival. This plane was fucking landing right now. She came into the room, gave it look and with a few holy shit looks on her face, snapped into action. Like Peyton Manning coming to the line of scrimmage in the red zone, our doctor walked up to my wife’s spread open legs and then took a few steps back. It was like she was calling an audible. More people please, this bitch ain’t lying. I was escorted out of the room and back in. The moment of truth came upon me, and I had no idea what to do with my hands and my feet were losing feeling.

I think I shifted to the side of the room where there weren’t six nurses and other people whose faces I could only see half of. After a few grunts, shouts and come on’s, Vinny flew out like a rushed snap into the doctor’s arms. He was rushed over to the table to be wiped, checked, poked, slapped and examined in every way possible. I guess everybody in the room had seen Aliens and were just being cautious. I mean, my wife and I are Italian so anything is possible.

I looked at Vinny but went over to my wife to check her out. I mean, she had just given birth to a human. I think in a few looks, I gave her a telepathic “atta girl” and went back to the table to see about my son. He was pissed. After all, he was pulled out of a warm, cozy, temperature controlled human oven. So nice and easy. Now he was out and about. Weird smells, air, people and sights. What the fuck!? He looked at me and screamed. He looked at everybody else and screamed. He was pissed. And naked. I think I cut something and then Vin was taken over to Rachel.

You know the interviews with hockey players RIGHT after they leave the ice. Reporters asking them questions and they just left the ice. This is what that was like. Rachel being handed the baby while family members walked in and doctors asked her questions. She had no idea what to say. She just wanted to hold her baby.

The first few months were surreal and full of panic and obstacles. Then Vinny went into the hospital with SVT which was caused by Wolff-Parkinson White syndrome. It causes an extra electrical(no my son is not an Avenger) pathway between his heart’s upper chambers and lower chambers, thus speeding up the heart rate from a normal 115-120 to a crazy 290. He was in the hospital for little bit. He got out. And then he went back in for a stomach condition, caused by a more common and less “holy shit” problem called pyloric stenosis, which turns your digestive hole from a required dime sized entry way into a pencil tip. He got out of the hospital afterwards and has been healthy ever since, save for the common cold and fever here and there. That and occasionally being an asshole.

What can I say? Parenthood kicks your ass six ways from Sunday. In the four years since Vin arrived, my family has experienced a lot of things. My grandma died. I lost my job twice. My wife got a great job. We moved. Money problems have beaten us up. We aren’t in St. Louis anymore and I had a crisis of conscious over the winter that nearly wrecked everything. Since, the ship has been righted and things are better.

Still, my son is pissing on carpets, a symptom he has collected from being in between schools and right at the edge of being potty trained. He hasn’t taken a huge dump on my face so there is that. However, piss doesn’t come out of carpets so well so pardon me if this got a supporting actor credit in this post. For portions of Vinny’s life due to travel, moving or shit schools, he has been home with me. Two wild peas in a pod. Vin and I are a married couple in ourselves. We shout at each other, hug and kiss each other, and hang out. All inside five minutes. After seeing me five minutes before, Vin tells me he misses me a lot. It’s the age of anything goes.

I’ll tell you this. Parenthood is hard work but worth it in the end. As much as it seems incomprehensible at this moment, I am going to miss this age when I am teaching him how to throw a baseball, to shave, and how to drive me to get coffee. I am going to miss the days where all we had to think about was what pair of pants needed to be worn and which Transformers movie we were going to watch(Fuck you Michael Bay). These days of 1, 2, 3 and 4 years old are going to be gone the minute he starts to truly think for himself.

He won’t be small forever so I must enjoy these days. Everybody tells me that. Be thankful you get these moments. As much as I want to shove my piss smelling hands in their faces and show them the knot inside my forehead which creates headaches, they are right. Most parents don’t get this. They see their kids for 2-3 hours tops. Some parents are in the armed forces, overseas or just away. I am lucky yet fried at the same time. It’s great really. No, really!

One day, as far off as it seems now, Vin will want to craft his escape from the Buffa household and start a life and family of his own. I will be sad then. My wife and I will be alone. No more madness. I try to remember this when we are looking at each other in a grocery store parking lot like two clueless defensive coordinators trying to stop the Vin attack. I try to tell myself I better soak this shit up because one day, Vin will be on his own.

On September 14th, around 4:50 in the afternoon, Vincent Daniel Buffa was born. Four years later, he is a beast of burden that makes this guy proud.

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*Sorry I said fuck so much for the people who love God and shit.

Jason Statham: Furious 7 Game Changer

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Jason Statham is the epitome of badass. The Fast and Furious film franchise is the epicenter of ridiculously thrilling action. It’s about time these unstoppable forces met.

In case you have been stuck in an art house film gallery for the past 13 years, The F&F films have taken Hollywood and its audience by storm, turning improbable stunts into a viciously kinetic artform. People try writing them off as childish, hollow and pointless, and they miss all the fun in the game. These are action showcases and if you don’t mind a little family values with your hot rod cars and testosterone packed punches, you may be “furious” enough for Dominic Toretto(Vin Diesel) and his adventures. Jason Statham walking into this pleasure town of chaos is icing on the cake and could make Furious 7 the best in the series.

The 47 year old action star made a blood thirsty cameo appearance at the tail end of Fast & Furious 6 as Deckard Shaw, the revenge seeking older bro of Luke Evans’ crippled baddie Owen Shaw. I don’t know about you but the moment Owen spouted off to Dom about “my brother said you live by a code”, I immediately thought of Statham and his Transporter films. That was the cookie crumble hint being dropped at your feet.

Statham’s cameo also tied the franchise together, placing the Tokyo events in their proper spot and lighting a match on the seventh edition, which takes matters back to Los Angeles before jumpstarting the engine to luxurious places like Abu Dhabi. Director James Wan,taking over for Justin Lin after four films, walked into a treasures chest of action heroes. A buffet of kickass lethal enough to challenge the Persian army(minus the skirts, add tank tops). Why Statham? Well, why the hell do you drink coffee every morning? A dose of Statham is perfect for this world.

Let’s look at the prerequisites to enter the Furious world:

*Bald.

*Badass.

*Muscle bound.

*Good in a fight.

*Cool voice full of one liners.

*Looks good in a suit and tank top

*Very Bald.

Statham passes all tests with flying colors and adds something else. An authentic action star. With no offense to the Rock and Diesel, Statham does this shit for a living and can throw a kick with a smile as fast as he hosts Saturday Night Live or growls for the fans. Statham is the guy who works out with stunt crews in an LA gym and has a framed bullseye in his kitchen. Statham is working out while you are thinking about working out. He is working out while you eat donuts and while you gobble up fast food. He is working on his martial arts when you are thinking about enrolling for a green belt at the local karate class. He lives, breathes and shits action hero bravado. His head is the shape of a bullet and his voice is charming yet sinister.

The juiciest part of his dive here into the fast cars zone is he has never played a villain before. His characters have been far from gracious good souls, but he’s always fought the good fight on film….until now. Statham steps into the action in a big way here. Judging from the eye watering trailers, he gets to tangle with Dwayne Johnson in an office and Diesel on a roof with steel car parts. He also gets to walk into a party in a high rise building and fire a gun into the air ala The Joker in The Dark Knight. Statham is a show stopping presence on film. When I left a Statham film last year and had to use the restroom, I ran into an older film fan as I washed my hands. I asked him about the action banger we just watched in the same auditorium and regarding the British actor, the man simply said “He is something else”. You’re damn right he is. Statham is a special member of the No Bueno Crew.

Furious 7 is special for many reasons, many of them surrounding the late star, Paul Walker. “Pablo”, as Diesel calls his deceased friend, has starred in all seven films. Losing him was the equivalent of a heart losing a fair amount of blood. The engines running dry without as much oil and the transmission failing a few times on a Nissan Skyline. Walker wasn’t the guy you left the movies talking about, but he was also something the films couldn’t live without. The innocent action hero at the center of chaos who also happened to be a great guy in the real world. This film will be a celebration of his work on the film and his life in general. It will also be a celebration of glorious action hero nostalgia, with Statham walking around kicking over trash cans of lighter fluid and lighting the streets with mayhem.

The specialty of the franchise is getting bigger with each film. This stunt crew goes big or stays home. The Fast Five entered Johnson’s hulking agent, Hobbs. Statham was teased in the following film and makes a grand entrance in Friday’s clash. When fanboys talk about wet dreams and cinematic collisions, Jason Statham and Fast/Furious franchise ranks near the top of the list. This is the thing that rolls off the tongue at 130 in the morning as you finish an order of tacos and blurt to your friend, “Bro, it would be mad sick if that Statham did one of these movies.” The Furious team is fearless and turns dreamy scenarios into realities.

Show some self respect and check out Furious 7 this week on Blu Ray or DVD. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen the previous six films. This about true action appreciation. If you want realism, turn on the Sundance Channel. If you want balls out visually wasted cinema, buy a ticket for this movie. This is a stand alone adventure and will be given the proper tasting when Toretto answers that phone on his porch and hears a familiar British voice.

“Dominic Toretto. You don’t know me..but you’re about to.”

Jason Statham has arrived, ladies and gentlemen. He was born fast and is furious when he sleeps. Jason Statham. Those two words alone should get your ass in a seat.

Edward Burns’ “Public Morals” is a kick

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38664Edward Burns has been trying to make this story for years. A long time. The writer/director/star of TNT’s Public Morals told the tale in his book, Independent Ed. He’d been wanting(needing is more like it) to make this cop show that he could dedicate to his dad, a law enforcer when Ed was a kid. The Irish American cop/gangster film that the audiences hadn’t gotten a taste of yet. He tried with three different scripts. Stoolie, On the Job, and No Sleep Til Brooklyn. The money and studio never came around and the creative control didn’t arrive until Steven Spielberg met Burns and they became friends. TNT came calling and gave Burns full control. Here’s your canvas and brushes, go ahead and paint your dream show. Burns took the tools and ran. The result didn’t disappoint.

Public Morals is an old school kick in the head. An ode to hard drinking wise guys, cops and the women of the late 1960’s who tried to make them slow down on a night here and there. Burns is Terry Muldoon, the leader of a group of cops that act “as landlord” to keep the local hoods, rackets, gaming, and all low level activity on an even keel. They are the ones who bend but don’t break when it comes to their own moral code. The group includes seasoned actors like Michael Rapaport(back where he belongs after that Justified debacle), Austin Stowell, Wass Stevens(who looks cut directly from that era), and Patrick Murney’s Petey Mac. Their territory and jobs are threatened when Rusty Patton(Neal McDonough) comes back onto the scene, murders a gangster and sets off a turf war.

That’s all you need to know about the plot. Bullets are fired. Punches are thrown. Tons of threats are made and a ridiculous amount of booze is consumed. The Public Morals cast make Mad Men look like early evening hustlers when it comes to whiskey, beer and every other fluid that can be set on fire. Come for the dialogue, which hops out of this actor’s mouth like a jazz number and always lands smooth.

Authenticity is what Burns gets right with Morals. Everything is done right. The cars, bow hats, suits, walks, talks, weapons, and the overall swagger. Nothing is phony or done halfway. With a period piece to work in these modern superhero powered entertainment times, the little shows like Public Morals have to either transport us, thrill us or present some once in a lifetime acting. While the acting is solid and the story is familiar yet ripe for the senses, the authenticity of the dialogue and the look of the show elevate the proceedings.

You can tell Burns has been wanting to make this show for a long time. The tale came right from the man’s bones. It’s apparent from the first shot that this is no cash and grab job. Burns has never done that in his career so why start with his own show. He works when he feels there is a story to tell and because the man loves to direct movies. Morals feels like a small screen film being diced up into ten chapters and dealt out weekly.

It never hurts to have seasoned performers like Brian Dennehy, Robert Knepper, and Timothy Hutton sharing a piece of this gritty cake. Public Morals also employs a great selection of tunes to either lighten the mood or grind it to a halt when the action takes over. Burns doesn’t waste a single minute of his weekly dose of 51 minutes of crime here. Every moment feels thought out and invested. Take a look for yourself.

When you are caught up with all four episodes on demand, check out Burns’ book where he breaks down the backstory and buildup to Public Morals. It’s a special read from a special brand of storyteller. Burns is a renegade and always has been. Public Morals is his baby and it always leave me wanting a bigger taste of the action.

Cardinals: Sky isn’t falling but it’s ugly

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Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Important note to start out with. It’s not giving up on a team to call a recent string of play ugly.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of a bad stretch of baseball, their worst in 2015. Their September record is 3-8. Their lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central Division of 6.5 games a week ago is now 3 games before the Pirates begin play tonight against Milwaukee. There is only so much kool-aid a man can drink before he recognizes what he is seeing is bad for business.

A slump is one thing, but the timing of this particular slump and the opponents beating the Cardinals make this one hard to digest. After dominating the Central all year, the Cards lost series at home to Chicago and Pittsburgh and one on the road this weekend to Cincinnati. Take away the miraculous come from behind win Wednesday and this streak is very ugly.

It doesn’t help when the Cardinals are losing to average rookie pitchers and bad teams. For example, with the three wins in a row this week against St. Louis, the Reds have moved to 27.5 games behind the first place Birds.

This weekend, the following Reds rookie starting pitchers have shut the Cards down. John Lamb, Michael Lorenzen, and Anthony Desclafani. These kinds of pitchers and teams are the lowly scrubs that the Cards need to dismiss and destroy in order to keep a stranglehold on the division. At the most important time of the season, the Birds are playing their worst baseball.

Was a slump like this to be expected from a team clinging to great pitching and dealing with the worst slate of injuries in the league? Yes, but that doesn’t make the results digestible. While the pitching has come back to earth the past 10 games, the hitting is still what’s plaguing this team.

A look at a few hitters and their performances these past 7 games. 

Mark Reynolds 0-11 with 7 strikeouts

Brandon Moss-0-21 with 11 strikeouts

Jon Jay 3-17 with 7 strikeouts

Jhonny Peralta 2-19 with 5 strikeouts

The rest of the lineup won’t get a pass but these are the prime suspects. Jay clearly hasn’t improved since his return from a persisting wrist injury and Moss’ supposed hot streak has burned off. Peralta’s second half slump continues. Reynolds’ bat has slowed down.

Matt Holliday can’t return fast enough. Matt Adams and Randal Grichuk have returned from the disabled list but are not 100%. That needs to change. The lineup needs something. With Holliday’s return, Stephen Piscotty moves to first base and pushes cold bats like Reynolds and Moss to the bench and Grichuk’s return won’t give Mike Matheny the opportunity to use Jon Jay as much.

Other bad news. Tommy Pham’s once hot bat can’t find the starting lineup and Tony Cruz needs at bats to get ready for his undeserved playoff roster appearance. There’s no refuge in sight save for Greg Garcia’s surprising presence at shortstop and second base and Kolten Wong’s return this weekend. To say there is a light at the end of the tunnel is a tough sell, even for a team that has endured all kinds of setbacks and obstacles this season.

17 of the final 20 games this season are against N.L. Central opponents. The Cards finish the road trip against the Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and Cubs before coming home to deal with the Reds and Brewers and finish with the Pirates and Atlanta Braves. It’s a weak schedule on paper, but any opponent looms as a threat right now, especially inside the division.

Optimism lies in the belief that the pitching will right the ship and the returning veterans can add some firepower. The Cardinals can use any sort of offense at the moment. After seeing their division lead shrink, the Cards have walked into Cincinnati and scored just 3 runs in 27 innings. That’s pathetic for a team with the best record in baseball. When your rivals aren’t quitting, there’s no room for a slip.

Is the sky falling in St. Louis? No. Is it apparent that something is wrong and there’s a malfunction in the system and a fix is required? Yes. The Cardinals need a boost. Who will give it to them? Stay tuned. September just got interesting. Have the Cards ever made it easy on their fans?

What’s wrong with Jhonny Peralta?

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Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

There’s nothing like a baseball season and its effect on a player. 162 games. Seven months. Lots of travel. Day to day action. Little rest mentally. St. Louis Cardinals’ shortstop Jhonny Peralta has been a steady player since he arrived in St. Louis in November of 2013. He played in 157 games last season and has played in 138 games of a possible 142 games this season. That’s serious work and something that must be taken into account when trying to locate the demise in Peralta’s production since the All Star break. The big picture outlook has Peralta’s production slowly slipping since the end of May. Let’s look at it from April to September.

April-.316 batting average, .825 OPS(slugging plus on base percentage)

May-.306 BA, .941 OPS

June-.274 BA, .720 OPS

July-.262 BA, .737 OPS

August-.242 BA, .612 OPS

That’s the thing about stats. The simplest ones can draw a picture big enough for any fan to see. Since the end of May, after a great start to the season, Peralta has delivered big hits but not as consistent as before. Is this wear and tear? It’s hard to avoid pointing how the Cards don’t have a reliable backup for Peralta at shortstop, or at least one they believe in. Peralta has played in more games this season than any Cardinal starter. The drop in Peralta’s slugging percentage is particularly telling.

April-.468

May-.556

June-.400

July-.421

August-.303

Peralta’s reputation isn’t hitting 30 home runs and driving in 100 but he is depended on in this lineup hitting 3rd or 4th to produce runs. Jhonny Peralta hasn’t hit a home run since August 1st and his OPS since the All Star break is .626 with just three home runs. The Cards don’t have huge depth on the ML roster that exists as exciting at the position. How much can you lean on a player before he crumbles? Outside of Yadier Molina, no player on the team has been leaned on more than Peralta.

What’s wrong with Peralta? Wear and tear. He’s played in 298 games out of a possible 304 since arriving in St. Louis. I’m sorry folks but that’s where the Tulo comparisons hit a halt. JP is in a massive slump but there’s nothing physically wrong with him. His stats are right in line with his career rate, especially when it comes to average, on base and slugging. 2015’s season hasn’t been as power packed as 2014 but overall his WAR of 1.7 won’t reach his 2014 rate of 5.7(baseball reference).

With 20 games to go, Peralta can pick things up and finish better but a little rest wouldn’t hurt. Rest helps players more often than not. While it’s not common to sit everyday players in a stretch run, Peralta looks burnt. There’s room there to let Jhonny find a little mental clarity.

How does Peralta get rest? Play Greg Garcia. The kid comes up with big game changing hits and hasn’t gotten a real shot. While Peralta will more than likely keep on grinding, turning Garcia loose wouldn’t hurt and you can see what the kid has in store for the future as Peralta’s age and contract start to climb.

Jhonny Peralta’s value to this club is underrated and will never be appreciated as much as it should. He needs to get right. The Cards need to address this sooner rather than later. Plug in Garcia. Find some rest for Peralta, especially as some missing bats filter back into the lineup. In the end, it will benefit both player and club.

Chris Evans’ Before We Go is a blissful departure

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“There will always be a struggle. You just have to choose who you are going to struggle with.”

When the summer winds start to deaden and all the superheroes go back to their sheds located galaxies far far away, that means it’s about time for lighter more sophisticated fare.

With no offense to the metal suit bodied big hammer swinging angry poster boy crowd, I like a little wistful light fairy tale romance with a few shades of real life bold mixed in as Labor Day approaches. Captain America himself, Chris Evans. took a holiday with Before We Go. Evans went behind the camera for the first time and directed a sweet little gem about a man and woman who run into each other by accident at Grand Central Station and embark on a one night adventure as past, present and future ties that bind are discussed.

Evans pulls double duty as Nick, a soulful if saddened trumpet player who sees a woman in distress miss a train. Brooke(played by the just right for the part here Alice Eve) gets a little help from Nick and New York City becomes their playground as time is killed, parties are hit, and the dark night seems to evolve into infinite possibilities. The real time aspect of the plot(which was penned by four different writers) helps the quick 88 minute film keep steppin’ and allows the actors to stay on their toes. The dialogue feels like it’s improvised and that’s a good thing.

There’s nothing heavy happening here. Brooke is a married woman dealing with a crisis and Nick has a past that’s set to hit him in the face that very night. It’s an old school romantic walk between two people picking up the shattered pieces of their heart and looking for the puzzle board they belonged to. The whole film has the feel of a play and that’s what Evans had in mind when he made it. For a guy who spends way too much time in a tight suit fighting invisible creatures on green screens, the chance to put on a coat and venture out into the mysterious cold NYC night with a beautiful woman must have seemed like a day at the beach to the actor. It all moves smooth and easy.

Evans shows a simplistic if assured hand with the camera here, allowing the actors and locale to do the most lifting. He isn’t trying to be Spielberg here. I picture this movie as the kind Edward Burns could have made for a nickel and shot in 11 days back in the 1990’s. Like I said, old school.

The leads are easy on the eyes. The story is familiar if wistful and when you choose New York City as your third wheel, little can go wrong. Well done, Mr. Evans. I can only hope the actor takes a similar adventure between Civil War and Infinity Wars. If you don’t know what those titles mean, that’s because you probably favor sweet little tales like Before You Go.

Check it out on Itunes and On Demand this weekend.

Mayweather Jr./Berto match isn’t worth your money

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Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Spare yourself the 65 dollars tonight’s boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Berto will cost you. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth anybody’s cash or time. Call it a snoozefest and something you can merely read about later on during your morning coffee on Sunday or gently forget about.

For his “supposed” last fight, Floyd is picking a fighter who used to be good but has lost 3 of his last 6 fights. Not a pretender but definitely not a contender to take away Mayweather’s flawless record. Berto is simply no match for Floyd, a superior defensive fighter and a man known for aggravating and picking apart offensive punchers like Berto. In order to obtain his 49th win, Floyd bypassed Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman so he could sleepwalk over Berto. It’s disgusting and laughable.

It doesn’t help that a report was released this week showing Mayweather Jr. took an illegal IV injection before the Manny Pacquiao fight, a match that the Filipino champion also wasn’t completely healthy for. It’s a swipe of dirt on Mayweather Jr. that will only anger his detractors even more and promise few people care or watch this fight. It was a mix of saline and vitamins but it may as well have been salt and pepper because the amount he took was over the limit and it was before a big fight. If the claims that it was used for dehydration are the raft Floyd and company are floating on, I am not buying it. It’s sketchy, crap and suggests that Mr. Clean Mayweather Jr. may be anything but. It doesn’t matter what the USADA says either. The amount of fluids Mayweather Jr. took was against what WADA(the rules that which the USADA follows) allows before a fight.

This is greedy dealings. If Floyd wanted to give back to boxing or help the sport, he could have made this fight a non Pay Per View fight. He’s made more money than any man can possibly spend and could have made his exit a true fan favorite event. The opponent he picked isn’t exciting enough to make a sleepy styled fighter like Floyd interesting enough to pay big money for. After the disappointment that came with the Pacquiao fight, handing over cash for a Mayweather-Berto match is pointless. Save the money and take your husband or wife out for a wonderful steak dinner. Boxing doesn’t deserve your attention tonight.

Cardinals recap: 5 Things We Learned 

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 Final score-Reds 11, Cardinals 0

Five things. 

1. Perspective. With the loss, the Cardinals now only lead Cincinnati by 29.5 games in the NL Central division. Spoiler territory has its dangers but in the end this was an ugly loss that only cost the team a single game. 

2. Lack of execution. The Cards had their chances against John Lamb, who walked 6 in his five innings but also struck out 6 batters. He matched his salt with pepper and kept the Cards at bay long enough for his team to pile on big innings. 

3.  Attention Mike Matheny. Don’t ever bat three strikeout prone batters in a row. Mark Reynolds, Brandon Moss and Peter Bourjos came in with a combined 30% K rate, and the result Thursday night was 5 strikeouts in 9 at bats. No hits. A walk. Bad idea. Don’t do it again. 

4. Where is Tommy Pham? The rookie couldn’t find the starting lineup again. With Bourjos and Jon Jay not hitting and Randal Grichuk incapable of throwing, the time to play Pham is now. He has some pop, can play defense and has speed. 

5.  No ground was lost to Pittsburg. The Pirates can’t beat the Milwaukee Brewers. In the 12th inning, the Brewers got RBI singles from Logan Schafer and Luis Sardinas to sink the Bucs. Kyle Lohse got the save. 

Extra innings analysis-Jaime Garcia is human. The Cards lost another game, continuing a rough week of play but the good thing is tonight is another opportunity to chop the magic number down. The loss was bad but the damage was minimal. The Pirates and Cubs are playing catch up and can’t afford to mess up this month. 

Tonight John Lackey goes for win #12. Tune in afterwards for the five things learned. 

Ivana Milicevic: My first Banshee interview

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Back in the day before Cinemax’s Banshee wasn’t white hot gold and only a glimmer in a Manshee’s eye, I had the chance to speak with its queen, Ivana Milicevic. As I go back through the seasons, I am going to revisit and repost the interviews. This chat with Milicevic was done after Season 2. Check it out and don’t blush too much.

There’s badass females in the land of make believe, and then there is Ivana Milicevic. She is one of the many faces of Banshee, and to me an integral part of the muscular action and story growth on the show. She’s a force to reckon with and that idea doesn’t fade once you talk to her over the phone. She’s strong, proud of her work and ready for more. If Antony Starr is the rock behind the show, Ivana is the heart attached to it. After years of comedies and supporting roles in film, Milicevic broke through with the wildly popular Cinemax series. Last week, I had a chance to talk to her about the success behind the show, what lies ahead and the challenges of making viewers see the story beyond the visual pleasure.

Buffa-Was it hard losing three series regulars in the Season 2 finale?

Ivana-We were really bummed about that. We won’t like to lose any of ours. I literally cried when I watched the finale. The writer’s always said that no one is going to be happy. We have a lot of characters on our show. It’s hard to service them all as deeply we would like. We got to see more of Brock, Rebecca, and Siobhan this season. People don’t realize the amount of time actors put into this process. Everything has an intention behind it. We have a million ideas on how a season will go but there isn’t enough time to shoot it.

Now that the Rabbit is gone, what is Carrie’s biggest issue in Season 3?

I don’t know how I am going to play it because I haven’t ready that much yet. I do know that if you have been running for so long and looking over your shoulder, I am not sure if that just goes away. It could be very different depending on what they write for me, but I wouldn’t say Carrie is all of a sudden calm. If it isn’t post-traumatic stress disorder, then where is the post-traumatic stress? If you have lived in fear for so long, I am not sure you shed it that quickly. At the end of season 2, there’s no point in hiding it anymore.

Greg and Jonathan hand you a laptop and tell you to write first three pages of Season 3. What is Carrie doing?

She’s shopping with Deva and having some kind of a talk with her. Getting to know each other for who they really are and Deva is discovering things about her mother that both disgust and intrigue her. Yet, she still loves her and realizes how interested she is in the similarities she shares with her mother.

My favorite episode of Season 2 was The Truth About Unicorns because it represented a departure from the usual frenzy of the show.

Fans were split down the middle on that one. It was definitely a change of pace. It gave the fans the moment they wanted to see with these two characters. And it was so sad when they pulled up to the house. I think I did one take where Carrie gets out of the truck and just bursts into tears. The idea that he had done this and it happened was so heartbreaking.  However, the truth about unicorns is that they don’t exist so it was very sad. That episode also lifted us critically and brought the show respect.

What is your take on Carrie and her decision making process?

Carrie will do whatever she has to do in that moment to protect her kid. She doesn’t worry about herself. Every choice she makes is a lose-lose. Carrie is not a calculating person overall, but she is not made to be untrusted. She is making those calls on the fly in order to save her family.

You work with Antony[Starr] a ton on the show. What can you tell us about him as an actor?

I remember the first time I saw Antony. It was during the first episode we shot, which was Episode 4 of Season 1. I watched the scene and went up to him after and said, “You are TMT. You are dynamite.” It’s really Antony’s choice. He chooses to play the character all vulnerable. He wanted the character to have more depth. The show really rests on his shoulders and he does such a good job for us. I really love acting with him.”

There are a lot of nude scenes on the shows. How do you get comfortable as an actor in those sequences?

I feel like going to the doctor is worst. We are all on the same boat. We work together on it. Does it cross over to developing actually feelings for each other? No.  We get comfortable. We giggle through it and do the job. I’m European, so I don’t have any hang-ups on nudity but every character is well rounded on Banshee and they are all fearless. We put the same amount of care we would into a monologue into the sex scenes. The positions we get into and the focus on our face. There is a thing going on in our heads about what is happening and why it is happening. It’s not just throwing it against the wall. If I was going to do the sex scenes, it had to be natural. They aren’t meant to turn you on. They weren’t looking for girls with giant boobs. They weren’t designed to turn you on. Look at Rebecca’s sex scenes with Jason Hood. There is a neurosis and psychological drama that is going on with her that is making her do that. It’s not designed to be sexy. It’s dramatic and traumatic.

While there is a lot of it, I feel like every fight scene has a purpose on the show as well.

A lot goes into the fight scenes as far as what is going on and why this is happening. In episode 2 of Season 2, Carrie snaps and she lost control. She saw red. She could have killed that girl. The fight with Olek was much more emotional. The Olek fight is him telling her she doesn’t deserve to have a family. She has to use her last dying breath to stop him from hurting her family. The prison scene was not her acting on her motherly instinct.  She was trying to be cool and then she snapped and went crazy.

Okay, time for a stupid question. Let’s say you sit down in a chair in the middle of these two actors. Who wins between Rus Blackwell and Antony in real life?

It depends on the day. Rus has some rage in him. Antony does too but you can’t look at what you’ve seen on the screen. You get Rus on a good day and it might be a draw. They are both very passionate men.

Rus, who plays Gordon, killed it in Season 2, right? He was underrated this season.

He’s such a good actor. He’s my rock on the show. That’s the kind of thing that would happen with a character like Gordon where it spirals out of control. Of course this being Banshee, we had to add alcohol, drugs and strippers. Everybody has darkness on this show and Rus was so good this season. Look at Emmett in Episode 7. His monologue and his scenes. He absolutely killed it.

When I first started talking to you on twitter, you mentioned how it was the indie show of television?

It’s our little movie. Greg said that we are basically making a one hour movie every week. We don’t waste time. Some episodes this year were less than an hour and that was just the creators tightening things up. They don’t want it to be an hour long if it isn’t super tight.

The social media connection with Banshee is enormous and unprecedented.

We are so lucky to have fans like you. I talk about it all the time. A genre show like this wouldn’t survive without passionate fans. The people who watch it a lot of times really get the nuances. There are deeper layers to it. Some watch the show subconsciously and don’t get all the little things.”

For the cast and crew, it was just a part of the story though, right?

We were just trying to tell the story. Sometimes people love the show and sometimes they hate it. It’s so easy to write us off as simply action and sex.  The show is not for everyone. We aren’t a procedural or a documentary. It’s a pulpy noir comic book. It’s fun. The best thing about our show is that its wish fulfillment. Look at what Emmett did this season. It’s what you wish you would do with a group of Neo Nazi’s.

Banshee has transformed you into this sexually charged female badass. What has that been like?

I used to the comedy girl. Now I’ve done nothing but action for three years. There are times these days where I miss comedy. I bruise a lot but I like the physicality of our show. I wouldn’t have gone so far sexually with the scenes if I didn’t get the action as well. Meaning if I didn’t get to be such a badass and also go to these emotional depths, I wouldn’t have done it. All of it goes hand in hand.

Could you defend yourself on a street?

We learned some fight skills as well. First of all, I am 5 foot 9 and a half so if anybody ever tried anything, one look back from me would take care of that. I could definitely fight for someone I love and hurt them. I felt that before I had any fight training. I mean, I couldn’t fight Ronda Rousey or anything. I couldn’t fight a real fighter. I could defend myself if need be. The way I hold myself is enough. If someone is looking to hurt a woman, they aren’t looking for me. I’m a big sister and I have little brothers, so I already have been there before. Being ferocious probably got me this job but in real life I am pretty calm, cool and collected.

You and the cast seem like a family just from watching the show. Is that true in real life?

Trieste, Lili, Odette, Ryann and I are like sisters. We all want each other to be as beautiful as we can be all the time. We bring that to the show. As a complete cast, we are a family, especially when we are away on location. It’s perfect for the show that we are all together in Charlotte because of the things we have to do. I love everybody on the show. Hoon Lee, Matty Rauch and the rest of the gang. Everybody on our show is really great. We got hired based on who was right for the role and not this name thing or some other agenda. People got to be hired for their talent which relates to our show.

That makes sense because there is a ton of passion on this show and it shows.

You can’t be a makeup artists on the show without having the same amount of passion as the cast. The crew is amazing. During the first season we were doing everything handheld. When we were running, they were running with us with cameras on their backs. I don’t know of another show that is this tiring. I tweeted a picture from the set of me sleeping in between takes. We don’t have the time to do many takes. We have a couple cameras. There’s no sitting around on this show. I spend no time in my trailer. I have a trailer but I don’t see it that much.

Are Lucas and Carrie done now after Season 2 saw Carrie return to her family?

To me, they were always done romantically as far as, they aren’t going to date. They are not going to all of a sudden be together.  I will say yes they are done but they still know each other better than anyone else. They have a daughter together. Carrie has never stopped loving him. I think that is too intense due to the bond they have for them to simply go apart. The “will or won’t they” has to be over but you never know with this show. It depends on how it’s played. They write stuff and we fill the rest in. Sure, they may be done, but it’s not like all of that never happened.

In the past week I’ve had the honor of talking to three different members of the Banshee cast and they have all ranged from amazing to spectacular. It’s invigorating to a guy like me, part writer/part hardcore fan of the show, to behold and become a part of promoting. I couldn’t recommend the show any stronger than I could recommend a dose of fresh air from the nearby window. It’s cool, fresh, fun, sexy, badass and most of all, it’s worth your time and then some. Ivana Milicevic is a huge reason the show works. In the beginning, she told me to write about this show. She called it “the indie of TV” and I dug both my feet in and ran with it. She is a wonderful woman who is confident about her craft. Spread this interview around. Talk about the show. Digest the 20 episodes. Become a part of something truly special and that’s Cinemax’s Banshee.