After a long week of work, stress, a lack of sleep and overall zombie like activity, here are the things to talk about.   If I sound quick, cocky, and a bit rash, it’s because I just polished off my second straight 60 hour week of warehouse duty and carry a weary arrogance about my free time.  There comes a time when you cut all the bullshit away and start being bare boned honest.   Here we go.  Feel free to cover your eyes to avoid being struck with white hot Italian grease.

1.)Albert Pujols really needs to shut up and play baseball.  When I met my wife in 2002 at MU, I must have said “I just want to play baseball” at least 15 times on our first few dates.   I was nervous, and didn’t know how to start conversation with a woman who gave me the creeps of being the one lady who could stand me for the bulk of our lives.   I just kept saying it.   I want to play baseball.  Like Dustin Hoffman from Rain Man.   Sean Penn from I Am Sam.   Baseball, baseball, me, baby, that’s all I want to do.   Eventually I stopped and we made out, but I almost blew it.     Once again, I did that because I was nervous.  I think Albert Pujols is extremely nervous on the West Coast.  Speaking to his love buddy USA Today sports writer Bob Nightengale about his new team, the Angels, Albert couldn’t escape a paragraph without tossing a grenade over his shoulder into St. Louis.   He whined about the Cardinals making a less than substantial offer and wished they would have ponied up and “wanted” him more.  Wanted, as in giving him 35 more million dollars to align themselves with a franchise in LA that was about to blow up a new TV deal that scored the team millions of dollars in cash revenue.   Albert wanted more from the Cards, and still cries about it.   Look, let me get this out there first before I pick that grenade back up and fling it back towards Albert.  I don’t harbor any real resentment towards Albert Pujols. He did a lot of good in STL. 3 MVP, 2 rings, lots of “moments”. He made a decision and left town. No need for hate. Cardinals baseball is larger than one man. Wait and see.  However, the man won’t move on.  The Cardinals have packed up the Pujols Nostalgia Shop and prepared for 2012 and beyond.   You don’t hear John Mozelaik drowning himself in his lattes or reading self help books.   He is getting his team set for another run at the title.   As he should be, but Albert can’t avoid a chance to fire a bullet at his team.   He doesn’t want his number to be retired.  He doesn’t want his World Series ring to show up anytime soon.  He could have compared his feelings for his old town to his feelings for a used piece of toilet paper for all we know.   Here’s what I said in December.   Albert didn’t make this decision solely on money.   He did this because Bill DeWitt Jr. and John Mozelaik didn’t swaddle him up in a blanket and feed him a bottle of future fortune like Arte Moreno and Jerry Dipoto did in Angels land.   However, that is how the incident is perceived by the St. Louis residential area, that Albert simply chased more money.  I think he made a rash self promoting decision that at this moment, still harbors a fair amount of regret for.   Think of it as the new girl who walks into the room and you go crazy for her.   You flirt, plead, go back extra, and go all in for this new thing.   When you finally win her over, you realize the tale isn’t as sweet as the cover.   You regret what you once had.  Albert Pujols regrets his decision folks.   He is a rich man, will put together monster seasons in LA, rule the world(less than Kobe though), but he wishes he were back in St. Louis.  Just listen to him talk.   Look at the tape from his press conference.   He looks a bit lost.   This isn’t a fan who can’t cut and let go.  I have taken the high road and go on with the Cardinals obsession.   Albert Pujols needs to realize business is a tough game to play and one that he isn’t quite as good at as he is at baseball.   He should have known that when he left town, the feelings weren’t going to be as kind and friendly as they were before.  The new attitudes were going to be shocked and sad.   Full of regret and a loss of trust.   That’s life, Jose Alberto Pujols.   I can almost picture the Pujols household the night he made the decision.   He sits there, distraught and pissed at the Cards embarrassing(haha) offer of 9 years and 215 million dollars and gets up and shouts, “Fuck it, Im going to LA!”   Didi Pujols responds with, “Do it Albert.  Show them what kind of Latin American God you are.”   The Pujols family made this decision and at least person in the party still isn’t settled with it.   Albert is wondering if he made the right move.   He still can’t shut up, show some respect to the Cardinals who paid him 116 million to play baseball, turned him into a hero, gave him a chance when no team would and also funded all his offseason trips to the Dominican Republic.   Tip your cap, Alberto.  What’s done is done.  Get on with it and we will see you in the series.

2.)The little franchise from St. Louis wins their season opener with good pitching, timely hitting and a real closer.  The Cardinals kicked the tires on 2012 by beating the Miami Marlins in their own house, 4-1.  A commanding performance by Kyle Lohse(7IP, 2 H, 3K), another clutch David Freese moment and a Motte door slam locked down the first win in Marlins Stadium history and the Cardinals new season.  Baseball is back baby, and it’s not waiting for seconds.   Lohse is once again being called on to be more than he has to be in 2012, and cover up the hole left by Chris Carpenter. Lohse is a 3rd-4th starter in most rotations but this year he climbs back into the top 2-3 in Carp’s absence.   Lohse did lead the team in wins and ERA last season.   He took a no hitter into the 6th inning on Wednesday.  He looked commanding on opening night and we can only hope it continues.   David Freese, the eternal game face hitter, cranked another 2 strike, 2 out pitch to left field for 2 runs in the first inning.   Freese appears to have lost weight, and has healthy legs for the first time in 3 years.   He can take the ball to all fields and stands as a guy fit to drive in 100 runs easily in 2012 if he stays on the field.   The man can produce in big moments.   Similiar to a porn star in bomb shelled Baghdad.   Jason Motte rose to the occasion in the 9th inning, allowing a hit but striking out 2 to finish the game.  Since his landing in St. Louis as a closer turned strikeout pitcher turned strikeout closer, Motte has developed a second pitch.   He showcased it last night. He has the propane fastball at 99 mph.  He has the cutter/slider at 89 mph.   Now he seems to have a changeup that fooled Mike Stanton to end the game.  The more fine and refined the secondary pitch gets, the more lethal Motte can be.   Unlike the 2011 season opener(where Ryan Franklin blew the game), Motte closed this one down and kept the good times going from the end of 2011 to the start of 2012.

3.)People are hypocrites.   Take the Saints bounty hunting accusations for example.  A tape of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams giving deadly instructions to his players was released today and people freaked out.  Oh, it’s so terrible.   Please, never let him back into football!   Come on people, lighten the fuck up.  Football is a bone crunching violent sport and every player needs to know the fine balance between RISK and REWARD.   A cop knows when he starts his shift that he could die, even after his captain tells him to get out there and catch some bad guys.   A race car driver knows the dangers of going that fast on a circle track.   A hockey player knows the boards don’t give that much and physicality and unfortunate yet deadly hits are a way of life out there.    Read between the lines people.  Gregg Williams isn’t an evil man.  He was telling his players to hurt other players just like several other coaches do in the NFL.   This isn’t a criminal act.  A team paying its players extra if they lay out the opponent.   Dick Butkiss once said that the quarterback walked off the field, his job wasn’t finished.   Mike Singletaire hit guys so hard their brains jiggled.   Jack Lambert destroyed players’ lives out there.  What else do you expect Williams to say?   Boys, hit them, but don’t hurt them.   That is the way football players are wired.  They are wired to find, destroy and hit as hard as they can.   There isn’t anything dirty about it because the sport is covered in it.  Fine or suspend Williams and you better take a look around.  Once again, I know why Roger Goodell did this.  I simply don’t agree with it.  Why does he act now?  Why react instead of being proactive?   Make better helmets, warn about bigger fines and possible suspensions for excessive hits or lay down new ground rules.   Do something before the big thing happens and you HAVE to do something.   Here’s the reason why we are hypocrites.   When we see a big hit, we jump up, go “OHHHH”, and pump out chests.  We watch it twice.  We tweet about it.   We have others watch it.  We talk about it like it’s a requirement of football.    Kurt Warner was knocked out cold by a Saints player in 2009 at the end of his career.    He got blind sided by a Saints player after an interception, a play many know is dangerous for quarterbacks to participate in.   The Warner hit on Youtube has collected 62, 000 views.   Willing to bet me how many times people watched it twice.   We crave it, love it and wait for it.  The big hit.   The extra special slam.   However, when a report comes out that head hunting happened, we grow our hypocritical horns and stand against it.   This is where the weakness in our culture really shows itself.   The fact that we don’t have a back bone as a country.   There was nothing wrong with Williams behavior.  He was motivating his players to be the best.   Players want to hear that.   They know the game they are playing is a violent risk taking endeavor.   If the player doesn’t do that, he gets benched or released.   He loses his job.  Remember, this is a business.   There are far worse crimes in sports than bounty hunting programs.   Cheating is a bigger crime.   Knowing a team cheated in a Super Bowl and only taking away draft picks and fining them is kind of shitty.   Suspending two coaches for the entire season for a bounty hunting program is laughable.  What’s the biggest crime?  A boring game.  A fan comes to the game looking for blood.   Whenever a brutal truth slips out, the ethics are presented as if a fan stood for them the entire time.   A clean game without injury isn’t practical when men put on pads and helmets to brutally collide with other men on a field.   Kurt Warner was clobbered because he tried to get involved in a play.   Did Gregg Williams tell his players to go after and hurt Warner?  Sure he did, and he had every reason to.   Football fans are being overly sensitive here to a reality check.   Football is a painful living.   Roger Goodell pulled the trigger too late for my interest to convince us he really cares about player safety.   It’s just a game.   A painful one.

4.)The Blues have lost 3 games in a row and watched their stranglehold over the NHL points total slip away.   In a week, the Blues dropped from 1st to 4th and aren’t playing a particularly strong brand of hockey.   They lost in shootouts to Chicago and Detroit and got their asses handed to them by the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.   Three division opponents and three losses…in a row.   This isn’t how you want to enter playoff hockey.  Remember the Cards in 2009 when they sleepwalked through the final month, nearly lost their spot and ended up getting swept by the Dodgers.   The Blues have to clean up their act against the Phoenix Coyotes this weekend.   Head Coach Ken Hitchcock is the coach of the year but it won’t matter much if his team loses control now.   The injury bug can’t be blamed because the team is completely healthy.  Alex Steen, Matt D’Agostini, Andy McDonald, David Perron, and Roman Polak are all back.   Is that the problem?  Do the Blues fail to realize how healthy teams work?  Without any adversity and underdog status to wear on their shoulder, the Blues are dysfunctional.   They need to remember the chip on their shoulder hasn’t disappeared.   This team hasn’t won a playoff game in 8 years and really needs to immerse themselves back in playoff activity.   Reaching the playoffs is one thing.  Doing something upon your entrance is another level.   Please observe.  The Blues need a Cardinals 2011 type run where they didn’t stop winning and every facet of their game clicked at once.   I also don’t think you need to carry one main goaltender in the playoffs.   Why change what has worked for you the past 5 months?   Keep Halak and Elliot in rotation unless one of of them looks unstoppable.   Halak and Elliot both rank in the top 5 in goals against average and save percentage and while Halak has been unbeatable in regulation in 2012 Brian Elliot didn’t allow a goal for 240 minutes before last night’s loss to Detroit.   The Red Wings shootout win did reveal one thing.  Until the Blues can handily defeat the Wings and Hawks, they will be the little guy in this fight.

5.)Justified Season Finale is delivered on Tuesday.   The third season has been absolutely riveting and brilliantly done.   The Raylan Givens saga chronicling the criminal and deadly dealings in Harlan, Kentucky hit a high notch this season, mixing in Detroit gangster Robert Quarles(the Emmy award deserving Neal Mcdonough),  Holler showrunner Limehouse(Mykelti Williamson) to go with Walter Goggins’ Boyd Crowder.  Quarles arriving in Harlan wanting to continue the business that was cut away from him in Detroit right here in the country.   Limehouse being the internal source of criminal activity while also working his own angle on every player.   Crowder’s usual double dealing nature, working with Raylan ex and Harlan known tough goddess Eva(Joelle Carter) and Givens’ dad Arlo(Raymond Barry).   The juice in this show comes in the acting, directing, pacing but mostly, the scripts containing the best dialogue on television.  The standoffs between Givens and the many bad man he must contain while also keeping a stranglehold on his own daily devil dances within his own world.   Timothy Olyphant is the rock of the show, the pivotal piece being stretched and kicked in every direction.   His performance anchors the series and supplies the supporting cast with every bit of a chance to shine.  After a wonderfully slow developing spider web plot this season, the characters collide in Tuesday’s powerful hour.   Television shows run a usual course of danger that leads straight into a predictable finale every viewer sees coming.  Graham Yost, creator and head writer on the show, keeps his audience off balance with unexpected thrills, brilliantly staged standoffs and plotting that lights a match from miles away set to blow up only in the final hour.   Tuesday’s finale is what great television is all about.   A quick paced season coming to a blunt end.   Everything works on this show and proves the strengthened theory that FX is the go to network for smart engaging entertainment.

6.)Signs that Mike Matheny knows what he is doing.   Letting Kyle Lohse start the 8th inning while knowing his best stuff was behind him.   Lohse was well under 100 pitches, but one of the many pet peeves with Tony La Russa was watching him pull a pitcher before he was ready.  Lohse didn’t finish the 8th inning but he was effective and while the project failed in him not finishing the inning, I like Matheny’s mindset here.   Let the starter earn it and don’t pull him too quick.   Mike Matheny is new but he is fresh with ideas.   A rookie is dangerous because they carry zero history to reference their decisions to.  Matheny can do things and come right at teams without sprinkling hints of his direction.   His inexperience is a symbol of the team’s new found freedom without Pujols on the team.    It’s a brand new game in St. Louis and Matheny’s faith in his starters, the running game and taking gambles is something I like a lot.

7.)The Cardinals are pounding Milwaukee 8-2 as I write.   This team is hitting early and doing it off of good pitching.   Josh Johnson, the Marlins young phenom, is one of the best pitchers in the NL and the Cards ripped him for 4 runs on Wednesday in route to a 4-1 win.  Today, they rip Yovani Gallardo once again for 4 home runs and 6 runs in 3.2 innings, backing Jaime Garcia’s 6 solid innings.   David Freese has 2 more RBI, giving him 5 on the season.   Yadi Molina, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Freese all hit home runs.   Beltran gets on base three times.   As the 7th inning unfolds, this team is hurting the Brewers, struggling themselves without Prince Fielder in the lineup and an old Richie Weeks holding serve at second base.   The Milwaukee bunch was bruised severely when the left for dead Cards stormed back and made the playoffs in 2011.   After taking down Roy Halladay in his own house, the Cards surprised the Brewers in the NLCS and took them down in 6 games.   The aftershock appears to be living today during this Redbird killing.   The Cardinals are taking the crowd out of the game early with their early inning assaults.   Before the third inning started, it was 5-2 Cards.   The Cards are premature road warriors.   I have no idea if this will continue but I like what I see.

8.)This Will Destroy You is the kind of band that fights its way into your soul with their guitar driven instrumental music that inspires you to get out and do something with your life.  Seriously, the music lights a small fire under your ass and pushes you in more ways than one.   This is a type of music that you either laugh off or bring inside.   Look them up and get connected.   Music doesn’t require words to reach you.   In contrast to their loud sound, This will Destroy You has a way of recharging your batteries.

9.)I hate Floyd Mayweather Jr. and all his antics.    Listen, the guy is a great fighter, undefeated, and will go down as one of the best.   However, he bugs me to my inner core with his childish antics, criminal activity, bogus intent for clean boxing and his outlandish attitude.   The man makes a lot of money but I don’t need to hear about it.   Stop taking money from the sport Floyd and instead give some back.   Start with shutting your mouth.   During a sitdown with Miguel Cotto, a proud Puerto Rican champion who Floyd will probably beat, the undefeated bastard wouldn’t be serious.   He checked his Ipad for NCAA scores and kept interrupting Max Kellerman and Cotto.   Sure, this is Mayweather’s strategy and the way he conducts himself in pre fight hype.  He does this to enrage people like me and I say fuck him.   He is great in record, but someone I hope gets pounded soon and deep into the ground.   When Floyd takes a very tough fight with either Pacquiao or a young gunner like Canelo Alvarez and puts himself in real danger, we may see an ass kicking.  Floyd puts out a front that he wants clean boxing so he requests Olympic style drug testing, even though no previous boxer has done this nor was it needed.  Can we check your gloves and the gloves of others, Floyd?   Forget the blood testing.  This man likes to get into trouble with the law, beating up his girlfriends and shoving security guards.   Floyd thinks he is bigger than life.   I don’t care about his charity givings.  The man outweighs any good deeds with his shitty attitude.  Its hard to watch him without feeling like punching him in his face.  Here’s to Miguel, a family man and owner of a solid record including tough fights, finding an inch and landing a few punches on the quick footed and defensively gifted loud mouth Floyd.   I’ve hoped for it every fight, but I won’t get it until he takes on Manny or a young power puncher.   For now, I’ll settle for Floyd catching a beating.

10.)The Cards rip the Brewers 11-5 only because worthless reliever Kyle McClellan gives up a late three run home run in the ninth inning.  McClellan is the kind of pitcher who has been ruined by the Cardinals and likes to hang breaking balls.   He has went from a reliever to a starter candidate to a reliever and back to a starter in 2011 and quickly back to a reliever in late 2011.   He doesn’t know what he will be doing, makes mistakes and is worn down.   His 2 million dollar contract is a laughing stock and needs to be axed.   Solid win by the Cards.  Two commanding wins by a team expected to contend in their division yet look weaker without Pujols.   So far, the team is doing what I said.   Thriving with their versatile offense, strong pitching and score first nature.   If the health can stay relatively intact, watch out.   If the injuries start piling up, cover your eyes.   General views this early in the season.

Final Bits

*While the Rams prepare for a draft that needs to be effective, please know that Stan Kroneke isn’t moving the team anywhere.   He has invested years and money in this city and if improvements are made to the Dome, Rams football will stay here beyond 2014.   Kroneke didn’t get the Dodgers and LA has shipped out the Rams twice so why would they go back there a third time?   The Rams need to get a pulse on the field and that starts with a good draft.

*The MU Tigers and Blues share a similar trait and that’s choking on the big stage.   I love the Blues but they need to get their act together tonight against Phoenix or else a chokefest is in their future.  For all the Blues  know it all diehards to ward off every other fan, that’s a legit shot at this team.   Check the history books and come back to the table.  The biggest problem with the Blues right now is their defense showing signs of breaking down.   What was once a strength 2 weeks ago has shown a leak the last 3 games and so far tonight against Phoenix.   Shot flurries and pressure from opposing teams is bringing to light scary reminders of the past 2 years.   This has to stop or bad things will keep happening.   If the Blues don’t win at least 1 of their final 2 games, they carry zero chance of finishing ahead of Vancouver and securing home ice advantage in the playoffs.

*David Perron is a special talent finally coming into his own.  The Frenchman can make plays, destroy defenders, carries game changing speed and can score 30 plus goals with a full season of play.   Out of the Blues young core group of forwards(Oshie, Berglund, Perron), DP is the player capable of taking over a game.   It’s great to see him recover from his concussion last season.   Kid’s future is full of bright light.

*I just like the way David Backes plays the game.  That’s all.  Overall effectiveness makes him a great captain and player.

On tap for the weekend.  Sleep.  For the first time in a long time, I am sharing the house without the wife and kid and its weird.   Coming home to a home with no wife and kid waiting to greet me is something I don’t want to get used to.  Rachel and Vinny are visiting her sister in Kentucky, so its me and Irish this weekend before I start a new shift at work on Sunday.  A slow moving weekend will include some good food, beer, parents visit, music, sleep, and some shopping.   Also good times with Irish McHugh.   Here’s to the longest 48 hours of all time.   After this pay period, my bank likes the result but my body is worn out.

It’s time to release this one into the wild.  Have fun this weekend and thanks for reading.

Goodnight and good luck,

Dan L. Buffa

Hello,

Here’s a quick highly random blast of material that may seem familiar but is actually completely original and bleeding authenticity.  I don’t get to pull 2 hours of my time away writing about current events when I am banging out 12-14 hour shifts at work this month.   My company is wrapped up in its busiest month of activity and there isn’t a lot of time to clean the head.  What I do manage to put out is genuine blunt opinion.   I am the guy who walks up to you and smashes you over the head with information and walks away without giving you a towel to clean yourself up.  I swing in, hit you hard and let you decide what is worth remembering.   If you are a member of the St. Louis Blues, avoid this blog because it may cause a concussion.

Tebow mania.   A quick blast on the man they call Tim Tebow.  I started writing this before he was traded from Denver to the New York Jets last week and finished it the day the trade was completed, which was Thursday.    Let’s drop a grenade.

Tim Tebow deserves a chance to be a starting QB in the NFL.  At least for another season.  He is raw but helped turn a franchise around in 2011.   He took a 1-4 team and turned them into a 9-7 playoff team.   His defense played well at times but they also got smoked by the Vikings, Lions, Patriots and Steelers.   Every QB would like Matt Praters foot as their insurance ticket, but every kicker needs a player to get the team into his range.  Tebow deserves a shot at QB.   Sure, he could be a tight end or fullback in his sleep, but the kid loves a challenge.  Whether its Jacksonville or Miami, Tebow will get his shot.  He made terrible passes in 2011, but he also made unbelievable ones as well.   The Pittsburgh game in the playoffs will never be forgotten.   No one can discount or ignore what Tebow accomplished last season, and that includes his haters and doubters.   Skeptics hate this guy but his talent is legit.   He’ll rise somewhere else.  You’d label me a Tebow loyalist and you wouldn’t be wrong.   I like the kid, always have supported him(while recognizing his flaws) and find his style of football to be exciting.   He will reinvigorate a city once known as a football town from the bench.   Tebow isn’t just a football player.   He’s an event.  He loves his baby Jesus but craves winning more.  Before he retires to a church in India, he’ll leave a mark on this game.   Yes, I wrote this while kneeling in traffic.

This is what he is to a team.  An asset.  He gives you the three sprinkles of greatness.   Business, athletics and personality.   It’s hard to really dislike Tebow.  You can doubt his football ability until the end of the day but hate the man is a wrong deed.   How can you?  He really really likes him some Jesus.   So what?  I am not an atheist but I don’t believe in bringing the big GOD down to earth’s proceedings.   Tebow does it every minute.  Right now, he is sucking down some Jesus prayer.   Disliking Tebow for his religion wouldn’t be a smart route.   What if he turned around and hated me for my beliefs?  I would find a steel pipe, dip it in holy water and hit him over the head with it.   I will disagree with Tebow on his religious endeavors but praise every other aspect of him.   He does charity work whenever he isn’t sucking down some Jesus.   He goes around the country and throughout the world for charity work.  If someone needed to be cloned, Tebow would be the first candidate.  He does good all over the map.   He means what he says and has backed up the talk with some walk.   Sometimes athletes tell the truth.   Arriving in New York City as the most celebrated backup QB of all time, this will be Tebow’s “Albert Pujols” moment.   Is he really about the team and not himself?  Will he take a job as a backup for a second time after taking over Denver and sending them to 8 wins and a playoff berth and win?   If he does, I am a firm believer in goodwill.  This is his moment.  I’ll make a solid bet that Mr. Tebow will be a starting QB in the NFL again.

Okay, so did the Jets make a good move?  Yes and no.  In a way, this is Jets GM Mike Tannenbum showing zero faith in Mark Sanchez, and who can blame him.  Coupled with the enormously unsettling Rex Ryan heights, Sanchez has gone 27-20 in the regular season and 4-2 in the postseason but has generally sunk.  He gets his stats due to a adept defense and solid running game.   Sanchez shows few signs of becoming a breakout solo talent and Ryan and his coaches poked their front office suits for a Tebow boost.   They go it and for only 1.1 million this season.  However, Tebow’s salary could jump to 6 million in 2013 and Sanchez is making 12 million a season.   Next year, the Jets could be the laughing stock of the NFL in paying two quarterbacks a combined 19 million to produce a 9 win season.   One scenario.   We will see.  My best guess is Tebow gets more involved each week, which puts so much pressure on Sanchez that his arm snaps in half and he submits to the Tebow power.  The Jets didn’t bring Tebow there to be a bench warming faith nut.   They brought him there for a franchise adrenaline shot.

The Carpenter Trails Begin.  Carpenter has been rebuilt by surgeries all over his upper body throughout his rigorous career and he is a true soldier on the grinding way down.  However, the low fan will pout here, bitch about Carpenter’s tendency to get hurt and take too long to make the right call.   The right call now is to point out that a deal needs to be made.  Carpenter takes very good care of his body and HATES being sidelined, so if he misses a couple months, gets healthy, its all good.   Look at the bottom line.  He is out indefinitely and this news must send general manager John Mozelaik to the phone looking for Roy Oswalt’s number.   Give the vet a chance because there is no choice. At this point, the Cards need protection.   Pay Oswalt his 10 million dollars because you have to be smart and not hold out and extend solid reliever Lance Lynn past his athletic ability and talent level.   This isn’t the time to be stubborn.  Mozelaik must pull the quick Jew move here and pull the trigger on Roy, who desperately wants to be a Cardinal.

Story goes that Roy Oswalt wants to pitch at midseason.   I would inquire Mozelaik to call him and persuade him with Benjamin Franklin and his family of clones.  Any man can be bought.   The Cards need protection and Lance Lynn isn’t the answer.   Unless Shelby Miller is ready for a two month audition, call Roy.  Lynn is a solid reliever but an average starter.   There’s no need to turn him into McClellan 2.0 and push him back and forth between the rotation and bullpen.

Skip Schumacher  goes down with an oblique injury, which opens up competition for a platoon between Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso.   Tyler really needs to impress me because he can steal bases and play defense but he really can’t hit major league pitching.  Descalso is a strong defender at multiple positions and has a better bat.  Edge goes to DD here.

A sad note. Sunday night, Henry Rollins came to town and I didn’t go see him.  Part of this is blamed on the fact I waited forever to get a ticket.   The other blame specs fall on bank account tightness(houdini check tricks) and drained memory muscles.   Henry is a ranting maniac and I had been looking forward to a 2.5 hour display of one man standing in place telling stories, shrugging off stress and clearing the head.  I missed it and I’m pissed.  I’m not “out of coffee” mad but closer to “no bacon bits for my salad” sad.   You know me and Henry.  We’re from the same breed of “blunt informers”.

Also, listen to Hanni El Khatib, a new Blues artist who isn’t a terrorist or Osama’s sixth cousin but a gritty cool musician with a unique sound.  Think Black Keys mixed with Jack White.  Look up “You Rascal You” or “Wait, Wait, Wait” and tell me what you think.  I heard him on Californication and downloaded an entire album.

Sergio Martinez VS. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr..  Time to give the kid a beating.   Sergio is the guy to break Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s cherry.  Boxing got this right for a change.  Martinez is the savvy talented veteran who has earned the right to deal Chavez Jr., a pretender with 45 plus wins and no real challenges, a firm beating.  The middleweight division ruled that these two men meet in the ring right as Chavez Jr. was setting up another fight with a bum he could beat one handed.   Martinez stopped Paul Williams and owns a belt and a career full of challenges and 50 plus wins.  He will serve the kid a beating and blood will spill for a good reason this summer.

The Blues take a few hits but keep on rolling.   Please, harsh loyal Blues fans, appreciate what this team is doing.   I am every game.  They lost 4-3 and 1-0 to the Ducks and Kings last week, but didn’t go down without a fight and stole a point in LA before beating Phoenix 4-0 on Sunday.   At this point, the Blues need to finish strong, get as many points in their account but keep their heads up.  Don’t let the confidence level dip now.  Straight ahead this team shall go.   I hate fans who shove all the casual and halfway in fans out the door at this point.   What happens to the Blues?  Sink or swim?  It’s how they deal with losses like Thursday that will define how their season ends.

The Blues need to continue to collect points, play well and are playing some home games this week to pad their lead.  Everything changes when the playoffs begin.   We know that from a certain incident with Sharks over 10 years ago.  The next 2 games are very important.  The Blues stranglehold over the top spot is slipping a bit(4 points), so it would be primitive to take down the Preds at home and Hawks on the road this week.  The Blues finished their second grueling road trip on Sunday and now have to confront two teams that have handed the Blues more losses in 2012 than any team.  If we get 3 points at least, the home ice advantage becomes very realistic.  For the Blues, Scottrade traffic in the playoffs is everything. Most nights, this team can compete with any team(the team has been blown out only twice in Hitchcock’s tenure) but the home ice is pivotal for this team.

The Rogues in Blue are battling the Preds as I type and enjoy a glass of Devil’s Cut Jim Bean whiskey.   A deliciously smooth blend of alcohol engineered here to release the stress of one day and the incoming pressure of another.   The middle man drink.   On Saturday night with friends, I pulled out a 7 year old JUG of Jack Daniels.  I poured a glass, added a little water and downed it in less than 15 minutes.   I poured another.  I am starting to enjoy a glass of whiskey over a beer.    I harbor 12 bottles of Guinness Black Lager in my fridge at the moment but right now they are the Angelina Jolie same old familiar tasting brew to the divine digesting Christina Hendricks “man drink” in this Devil’s Cut.  Blame it on the Mad Men addiction or the need for something more, but I’m drinking whiskey with regularity these days.   Can you dig it?

Saints pay the bounty instead of rewarding it with dollars.   Saints Head Coach Sean Payton was suspended for the 2012 season and former Saints defensive coordinator and current Rams coach Gregg Williams is out indefinitely for employing a bounty system on the team from 2009-2011.    The coaches paid players extra money for laying deadly hits on quarterbacks and random players on the field.   This is a bigger slap on the wrist than Bill Belicheck’s Patriots getting fined and losing draft picks for Spygate.   The Saints shakedown is Commissioner Roger Goodell pounding in the nail of player safety.   The man is going to make an example out of these old school physical maulers by putting the coach out of business and the ex-defensive ringleader out for even longer.  I won’t say I agree with it because physicality is a part of this game and if we are going to start handing out slaps for excessive hitting, the line will get long very quickly and the time given will be extreme.   I understand Goodell’s stance here, saying that players can’t go headhunting and quarterback safety has to be enforced.   I just think it’s soft and pushing the game in an uncomfortable direction.   When do players not go head hunting or try to lay on an extra punishing hit for good measure?   James Harrison leads with his head all the time and I don’t care.  I am a fan of gore.   Carnage is what makes football the most popular sport in America.   Baseball is nostalgic but football is wonderfully violent.  What is it if the boss keeps chipping away for player safety and makes this game an edgy version of two hand touch?   Bad deeds my friends.   Let the blood stand.   Keep the hits coming.   Payton didn’t deserve a year.   Williams deserved 6 games but no one deserved a full season.   Its cold and brutal but it’s my take.   Someone get me my violin.

Rams deal with Gregg Williams blow in stride and sign wide receiver Steve Smith, a former New York Giant who specializes as a slot receiver and accumulated 1022 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2009.   The man can play and will serve as an Amendola like third down option for Sam Bradford.   If Amendola returns, the wide receiver core only gets stronger.  However, the Rams still need to draft Justin Blackmon to give them some size on the outside and an obvious size advantage.   Imagine Amendola and Smith on the inside with Danario Alexander and Blackmon as your deep threats.     Head coach Jeff Fisher will hire assistant coach Dave McGinnis as his defensive coordinator and the Rams will move ahead.   The offense adds an element with Smith in place but needs the magic man in Blackmon.

Web Site Hype-Expectations lean on your shoulder in this situation.  With the website more than a month away and prep to be done, its a surreal feeling knowing your work will get global.   Writing underneath the covers is cool and productive, but unleashing it on the world is quite another.  I can tell you this website is a lot more than a hobby fill in.   We have plans for this site that reach beyond a free time plug and farther into an occupational duty and need.   Stay tuned my friends.

Justified Moment of the Week.  As the series’ weekly hour of greatness begins to unfold tonight, let me allow you a look back at last week’s episode.   An hour of television I deemed the best I’ve seen in years.  A bad guy’s dilemma with our hero Raylan.  Underestimating the crafty double dealing US Marshall.    Every season, the good guy encounters a new breed of villain.   The baddies learn of the Marshall’s strengths and make an attempt to attack his weakness.   The lawman persists in his pursuit as if he doesn’t care what happens as long as the bad men fall.   This season, a Detroit mobster fled to Harlan named Robert Quarles(played by the great ad-libbing Neal McDonaugh) and he wants to take over the town.  He left Detroit for specific reasons that slowly unfold but we immediately know Quarles is a methodical perfectionist who is a bit crazy.   He tries to seek out the criminals in Harlan and slowly twist them until they fit his wrinkled plan.   Quarles runs into a brick wall in Givens.  He can’t be bought, reasoned with or dealt with easily.  He takes work.  In an episode aptly named “A Guy Walks Into A Bar”, Quarles walks into a bar and threatens Raylan after his plea to control the sheriff crumbles in a slight of hand move by Givens foe/friend Boyd Crowder(the brilliant Walter Goggins).   Raylan responds by pulling out his gun, clearing the bar and firing a hole into the ceiling.   He tells Quarles, “Why wait(to get the fight on)” and the two share a delicious stare down.   Justified is the best scripted show on television.  Best dialogue in the house.  I know you’ve heard it all before but this will only continue as this series wraps up its third season in April.  Here’s a taste of the scene I was talking about.

Black Keys Song of the Week-Black Door from Magic Potion

Update on the Blues-They take down Pekka Rinne and the Predators at Scottrade by the score of 3-0.   A legit dominating win that truly sets the Blues up for a decent run towards the end of the season.   Rinne is the thorn in this team’s side for the past 2 seasons and after outlasting him in Nashville in a shootout win in February, the Blues beat him straight up tonight.   The shutout was the 15th of the season for the Blues and a record setting 30th win at home this season.   Jamie Langenbrunner, David Perron and TJ Oshie scored for the Blues but the real star was Brian Elliot.   The low hanging fruit sign hasn’t allowed a goal in 187 minutes and has 3 shutouts in a row, the last 2 bringing wins.  The Blues strength is versatility in 2011-2012 but the heart and soul is great goaltending from Halak and Elliot.   This team continues to surprise even the most cynical fans in this city sickened by past defeats.   The road ahead is interesting indeed.

The Discovery Channel fired Bear Grylls and cancelled his show, Man VS. Wild, last week and I kind of hate it.   Grylls was fun to watch every Wednesday for 12 weeks a year, watching him survive in the worst conditions.  A former British soldier turned survivalist turned teacher, Grylls taught us genuinely helpful tricks for keeping a pulse when you are stranded and made it entertaining.  Sure, it wasn’t as dangerous as it looked, but the thrill was there along with the danger he faced.    Grylls was fun to watch because he ran at serious danger and not away from it.  In 2010, he had his crew bury him alive in tons of snow to experience what being trapped by an avalanche felt like.  His carbon dioxide levels dropped down to drastic measures and he held out longer than most would to prove a point.     He brought viewers to the Discovery Channel and opened the door for current shows Deadliest Catch and Sons of Guns.  The reason had to be cost and production schedule and fierce demands from Grylls and his fearless crew, but something tells me a deal could have been worked out.

Random Fire-10 Things

• Tiger Woods winning a tournament doesn’t prove he is back.   He is simply alive again and a threat to all the average “not as good as Tiger” golfers who thought the king was finally dead.   Woods win this week makes him a contender.   Don’t get too worked up.
• I have a desire to see The Hunger Games but won’t spill blood over a seat.  I will be the smart person taking this movie in at cinemas three weeks after its release, when the boner has died down and the diehards are reading the second book.
• Wrath of the Titans could be a smelly pile of dog shit when it hits theaters, but Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes dueling inside the legends of Zeus and the Gods tales sounds like a guilty pleasure to me.
• To watch The Walking Dead 18 hours straight next weekend or not to watch it and wait for the second season to finish?   Decisions are everything.
• Mad Men finally returned on Sunday and delivered a 2 hour premiere that proved to be revealing, powerful, informative and utterly exhausting.   This is one of the best shows on television because it’s an extension on existentialism and the idea that individuals want to mean something.   Jon Hamm’s Don Draper is a twin brother of Tony Soprano in the fact that his biggest threat is his own disbelief in his existence and appeal.  One man protects himself with two cast iron shields.  A great show but one that takes plenty of time and patience.   The 2 hour premiere felt like 6 hours in a 1960s advertising firm.   Good and bad.
• Looking down at your kid and reminding yourself you helped make this person never gets old.   It happens at least 5 times a day.
• Overtime and extremely tiring work schedules mean something when the paycheck arrives but not much at all the rest of the time.  When you get paid, the check runs away to bills and all you are left with is the feeling your life is slipping away pretty quick.   Hence the need to do something more useful with your time.
• Once again, complaining about gas prices is like screaming at the sky for raining on your picnic.   Get a hobby.   Start walking, live closer or make a friend.   Just don’t complain.  You’re better than that.
• Ryan Reaves is a mad man on the ice.   A perfect 4th line grinder who knows how to fight and skate with the puck.   Reaves isn’t just a goon or enforcer.  He is a hockey player and one who knows his job.  He gets out there, lays clean body checks and feels the need to throw a shoulder into anyone.    An exciting young talent.
• Most underrated Blues player.  Alex Pietrangelo.   Secret front runner for the Norris Trophy.   He accumulates minutes, logs tough shifts, collects assists and is a real leader and the finest of the young breed of gunners on the Blues.

That’s all folks.  The tank is empty, the mind needs rest and the body is in need of a refuel.   Work starts soon here at the stroke of midnight(hint hint, I am not at home writing this).    Things need to be done and there aren’t many people to do it.   Thanks for reading and if you cared to looked twice, I appreciate the time given.  A writer is only as good as his readers.

Good morning,

DLB

Let’s slip into a little topical discussion in the Quick Hits Variety as the night falls and another 24/7 bull rush settles in.  I don’t get a lot of time these days to blog because of the 50 hour work weeks at Senoret and the life of being a dad and struggling to have one, but here I am with a need to be unleashed.   Let me unplug and load the guns and hit a few things before I shut things down for the night.

Rams Trade 2nd overall draft pick to Redskins-A solid move for a few reasons.   The Rams came away with 3 first round draft picks from Washington the next 3 years.  They also acquired their 2nd round pick this year.   The Rams moved from 2nd to 6th for 4 additional picks and very good good ones at that.   Let’s examine this.

*I like the Cortland Finnegan signing, even at the hefty price of 5 years and 50 million, but this team has more needs.   A legit backup running back and a wide receiver to start.  An offensive lineman or guard to add onto the load.   Paying big for Finnegan, the Nyjer Morgan of the NFL but a very good defender who gets inside receivers’ heads, was expected because it’s the first week of free agency and Jeff Fisher coached him in Tennessee.

*I don’t like the lack of a wide receiver signing on this team.   Watching young track junkies Mario Manningham and Pierre Garcon run off elsewhere and the market for WR start to plummet without a Rams sign is bad news for this offense. If Sam Bradford doesn’t receive a target to hit downfield in 2012, the results won’t change much.   Sure, the offensive line needs to keep him upright, but when he does stand tall in the pocket, he needs a toy to play with and Manningham was almost the guy.   He was talking dollars and years on Sunday night but the Rams lost him to San Francisco.   The main problem on offense is the lack of a wide receiver downfield threat to stretch the defense.    Fail to fix this area and the consequences will be firm.

*Giving defensive end Kendall Langford 4 years and 24 million is a bit of a stretch.  A man who recorded 3 sacks in every game for Miami last season gets 6 million dollars to chase the QB here.   Hopefully he can stop the run or serve another area because giving him valuable cash is something I can’t wrap my head around.  The Rams cut a few players to fix the salary cap room, but bringing in Langford for so much cash is risky business.  Stan Kroneke needs to open the wallet and get a receiver on this team who can outwork a defensive back and make plays.

*A deal in the works for Justin Blackmon in the draft ends all this tribulation.   Blackmon is young, talented, fast and was a stud for Oklahoma State for 4 seasons.   Sign a free agent or find a way to get Blackmon.   Danny Amendola is a slot receiver and he is an unrestricted free agent.   Who is playing wide receiver for this team?   Brandon Gibson and Danario Alexander, a combo that could only fire up an arena football league fan base.

The Decision 2.0.   Peyton Manning chooses the Denver Broncos.   This choice works for all parties.   Manning gets to stay in the AFC, play for a contender, play for John Elway and give Tim Tebow a fresh start elsewhere.   Tebow doesn’t get the harder end of the boot here.   He is beloved in Denver and that could be a bad thing for a young QB like Tebow who needs to improve his passing ability.   Manning comes in, takes over, gives Tebow a chance to return to his hometown in Jacksonville and take over the hurting Jaguars.   Tebow needs to go to a place where he can rebuild a franchise with a willing head coach who can create an offensive scheme around TT football.   Raw arm or not, Tebow is a legit winner.  He took a 1-4 Broncos team in 2011 and turned them into a playoff team who took down the Steelers in Pittsburgh.   He needs to get better but is better than a backup QB in the NFL.   Eventually, he may succumb to a backup QB role but it isn’t happening anytime soon.  The man sells tickets and product.  Think about it.  Tebow took Denver to the playoffs with help but with a flair for winning. A raw arm but a skill set higher than Brady Quinn. He will get a healthy shot in Jacksonville because he will bring excitement and MONEY to a franchise. Playing in his hometown next to Gator town, Tebow will do more for Jaguar nation than Garrard or Gabbert. At least for the short term. Tebow turned a morbid Bronco nation into a winning football frantic frenzy and Elway owes Tebow that no matter what Peyton does. Tebow could throw 18 INT and still bring the fans in. And you know the ultimate rule in sports is the games are secondary to the business. Moneymakers like Tebow are rare. He’ll find work somewhere and it won’t be backing up anyone whose name doesn’t end with Brady. See for yourself.

As far as Manning is concerned, he takes over in Denver with a 3-4 year contract that provides stability to his career and insurance for the Broncos.  Manning will have to adjust to far different conditions in Denver than Indy.   Outdoor grass and colder weather for a man recovering from his 4th neck surgery will be a challenge.   Peyton landing in Denver was a sure thing once Elway got his radar directed at the Tennessee product.   Unless Tebow won a Super Bowl, he was never going to cut it in Denver because Elway wanted a classic pocket passer like Manning leading his team.   Once Manning was released, John went into bounty hunter mode and chased Peyton down like a piece of gold.  Whether or not it works out, the excitement will be hard to resist for a Manning lover or hater.  He stays next to Brady and will still face the Chargers, his nemesis.   He can only meet Eli in a Super Bowl just like in Indianapolis.   The situation changes slightly and Manning picked a solid team to land in.   San Francisco was credible because of the defense and legit all around talent.   Arizona had juice but lacked a structure and instant ability to contend.  Seattle and Miami were kicked out early for unknown reasons having to do with get a map and fuck off.   This will be interesting.

The Blues roll on into first place while taking a tough loss in Chicago, a shutout loss in Carolina while rebounding with a resounding win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Sometimes you have to lose to gain and if you are the Blues, the sweet and the bitter come hand in hand.   The Blues sit comfortably in first place in the NHL at the moment and whatever happens from here on out, take a seat and recognize what this team has become since November 8th when Ken Hitchcock took over as head coach.   We all know the last time  the Blues won the Presidents trophy they choked big time against San Jose in the first round back in 2000.   Something tells me, crazy as it is and will stay the following month, this team is different.   The most amazing thing about the Blues this season is their record and play despite a rash of injuries that tromps previous seasons.    David Perron, Andy Mcdonald, Matt D”Agostini, and Alex Steen have missed significant time.   David Backes went down in Tampa after blocking a shot.   During their time on the ice, Perron and Mcdonald are game changing talents.  Without them for long periods of time, the Blues are staying strong.  That’s something.  What’s going on?  The depth of this roster is stronger than last season and Hitch is unleashing the talent in each player and not restricting it like Andy Murray and Davis Payne did.   Let em go is the motto these days.   Look at them attack teams, hurt teams, walk away wounded only to come back and steal big games.   When they lose, they don’t go down easy.  Take Chicago’s triumph over us last week.   Blowing a third lead in the United Center this season, Jaroslav Halak stole a point from the Hawks with a 37 save pure phenomenal performance.   Halak laid claim to the #1 goalie job on this team with his New Year rebirth and going 9-0-1 in his last 10 starts.   Halak is making big saves and giving his team a bump when they need it.  The goaltending is the strong point behind this squad.   Halak and Brian Elliot rank in the top 5 in the NHL in multiple categories.   Their goals against average is ridiculously stingy.   The depth is strong as well.  Jason Arnott has added 16 goals and much needed grit and leadership to the young team as well as Jamie Langenbrunner, who is determined to throw his body anywhere if it pushes the momentum in the Blues direction.   Ian Cole, newly signed Jaden Schwartz, Ryan Reaves, Chris Porter and young gun Alex Pietrangelo are quiet stars of this team.   Pietro leads the team in minutes and has a 20 game plus points streak.   Backes leads the team in goals and points.   At least 5 players have 15 goals.  This team lacks a Ovechkin or Giroux but contain a versatile group of energy plugs serving one purpose each night.   Win at all costs and don’t blow it all in the third period.   Watching the Blues is a good time right now.  For all the Blues homers who claim the packed houses contain tag along worshipers, think again.  This fan base deserves a real winner.  We have only waited since 1967 for another shot at Cup glory.  If we seem over anxious over our chances, write it off as stalled patient optimism boiling over.   I watch this team good or bad, follow them, lie dead with them and stand tall with them at the moment.  Real fans stick around for every game.   There are 3 weeks left before the playoffs start.   My hopes begin and end with a playoff win.   We haven’t had one of those in 7 years.   St. Louis deserves a hot blooded round of playoff hockey here.   Let’s leave the Stanley Cup drama alone for now.  Focus on finishing strong, getting home ice advantage and winning a playoff game or series.   With the Zig Zag rogues in dark blue, all you can hope for is a baby step.   This week the Blues are in Anaheim and Los Angeles to continue a 7 game road trip.   The Blues’ improved road record has been the high mark of a consistent second half of hockey.

Cardinals start to hit and pitch in camp.  Games are fake but pitches and action are real and clues lie everywhere.   Waino’s quality starts, Freese’s newfound power and early signs of health issues with our senior staff have already dropped obsessive poison into the 2012 championship defense.   Carpenter’s neck injury isn’t as bad but just how bad is it?   Furcal has a sore leg?  Beltran’s body isn’t game ready?  These are professionals, right?  Give me 10 million dollars and play right field with a wooden leg and a strap on for tripod support.  Come on.  Baseball blues are back.  Spring training isn’t my blue heaven for these Redbirds.  Mike Matheny was given a quality set of cards to play with but how long before a few of them bend and break?  How will he do?  Depends on who plays and who sits.   The roster consists of more than a few aging veterans hanging on the thread of past injuries.   Beltran, Berkman, Carpenter, and Furcal all take the field like ticking timebombs.   Matheny seems to know what he is doing and is taking a direct no bullshit approach, but it’s only spring training.   Wait until late May or early June.   Wait until a losing streak.   The real talent and worth of a new manager is how he handles adversity and a real shit stack of fate.   Matheny has respect, strength and a juicy roster.   However, as found on every MLB roster, landmines lie everywhere and one bad day can turn a season on its head.   That’s baseball.  That’s sports.  A daily gamble and headache.   A win only increases greed and need. A  loss calls into question everything a fan knows is right or wrong.   You don’t truly win anything in this game until you throw a cut fastball, watch it soar to medium depth in left field and fall in Allen Craig’s mitt to finish off  the most improbable World Championship run ever.   February and March bring reassessment, rebirth and expectations larger than moderation for a St. Louis Cardinals team still feeling the buzz of a triumph.   Anybody who tells you Game 6 has left their head is lying big time.   Through loss and key gain, the Cardinals are riding high again and won’t go down without a fight.   This roster is built to win without Pujols, but how far can it run on older legs?   Questions surround every corner.    It has only begun.

*Big season for Motte/closer role for Cards.   If Motte is great, a huge problem disappears and the Cards gain 10-12 more wins per season.  If Motte falls to earth and finds his fastball too straight, problems persist in the 9th inning again.  Motte was a big reason the Cards turned things around in 2011.  He took over the closer role in August and sealed a leak previously left for dead by Ryan Franklin, Mitchell Boggs, Eduardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas.   Motte developed a second pitch and turned into a dominant righthanded threat.    Will that continue?  Motte asked for 2.4 million in arbitration and got 1.8 million for 2012.   His performance affects the entire team, especially a rotation held together by duck tape.

Music of the Week-“Hometowns” By the Band of Skulls.  Slow, melodic, low key and perfect.   Suck this in and breathe easy.

Mumford and Sons’ second album is my most anticipated album of the year.   Their first collection, Sigh No More, took the country by storm and turned them into folk rock kings.   Their second effort is described by lead singer Marcus Mumford as “doom folk”, which means more of the same and that is just fine.   Keep the good tunes rolling with your second effort.   Mumford specializes in storytelling, crowd pleasing banjo blasts and hymm like blues tales.   Here is a track from their soon to be released second album.   It’s called Lover’s Eyes.

*The General’s Tunes-The lost and found Buffa Section.   James Blunt’s “All the Lost Souls” for 3 dollars at Shop N’ Save.  This former British soldier can croon the ballads and deliver with purpose.  A smoother yet just as dark male version of Adele.  Tunes like “Carry You Home” and “Same Mistake” reveal a mellow yet torn side of a talented ballad singer.   Blunt is just that with his music.   A crafty radio voice who seems too good to be true.   For 3 dollars, I’ll take it.

*Black Keys Song of the Week-Leavin Trunk, from the album, The Big Come Up.  Telling you this band is awesome has lost its muster after the 19th mention.   I can only tell you this two man band is one of the best musical revelations in the past 20 years.   Their music is timeless, consistent, full of juicy blues funk and is a mood boost.

*New Artist of the week.  Hanni El Khatib.   This blues garage punk artist combines wicked Keys like guitar hooks with a well worn and worked voice meant for a dive bar located deep in the love dungeon.   Spotted on Showtime’s Californication, Khatib’s new album released in September is very good and deserves a listen.  Here is a taste.

Coffee Drink of the Week-Dark roast, Sumatra blend, kick in 2 shots of espresso.   Ladies and gents, I give you a Black Eye at Starbucks.  Gorillas could bathe in this liquid. Strong as an ox and very tasty.   This coffee could claim an aisle at a paint thinner shop, walk itself to your hand and build you a bench.  Its bold.  Starbucks has a new size drink and its called the Trenti.  A 30 ounce blast of iced coffee for 3.45 that will last a solid needy soul at least 35 minutes.   Starbucks is unrolling new food selections, but keeping the family core wrapped around the almighty coffee bean.   They know what they are and what they do best.  Make strong erotically alarming coffee.    Without coffee, the crime rate would go through the roof.

MU loses in first round.  No madness here my friends.  Just quiet death.  You hear that….its the sound of a choking sensation. Classic Tigers collapse. Another great season dies an early death. SEC bound.  I am a bandwagon rider here and watch them sparingly, but overlooking their choking trend is hard to hold your tongue on.  Being a former MU student also gives me room to slap this team.   They must be reading from the Tony Romo big game playbook.   Losing to Norfolk in the first round while SLU beat Memphis and ran MSU to the buzzer is completely embarrassing.    Another season up in smoke.

Random Hits-

Jeremy Lin, anyone?   The sound of a deflating boner can be heard around the NYC skyline.

While the Caps resemble a trainwreck, Ovechkin is still the most exciting player in the league. The Russian Entertainer scored 2 more goals tonight in Detroit to give him 32 in a season disguising a slow death in Washington.

21 Jump Street was a letdown yet not a disappointment.   I went in with low expectations.  The remake garnered solid reviews, looked decently funny and seemed like a logical choice to hit a theater but I was left unsatisfied.   The problem here was overachieving.   The directors, writers, and stars all tried REALLY hard to make a funny retro remake that called on all buddy comedies and scored with young audiences.   Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are fine, but the overall product here adds up to a hollow slice of Hollywood fluff sent out to confuse audiences into thinking what they are watching is inventive and original.    Just another retread.   You can stop now Hollywood.

Tweet of the Week-From Dwayne Johnson

“Rise and grind – the paycheck aint earnin’ itself. 24/7”

Dan McClaughlin has returned to Fox Sports Midwest after quitting the Jack Clark/Josh Hancock diet.  He left the twins at rehab and is back in the saddle again, for better or worse.  Let’s run back a little bit real quick.  McClaughlin burned out in October, getting his 2nd DWI of the year as the Cards ran towards the title.   He was nearly fired and would have been if Bill DeWitt Jr. had the final say.   He was sent into aggressive rehab, stopped kicking it old school and lost over 40 pounds or one ass cheek from a Kardashian.   Good for him and FSN, which requires mildly annoying news commentators with quirky natures and recycled senses of humor.   Danny Mac is back and without a small chinese boy in his stomach.  The gang is back in the FSN booth.

Sergio Martinez, a lightweight champion, needed 11 rounds to dismantle Irish contender Matthew Macklind on Saturday, but aligns himself for a quality fight that may include Manny Pacquaio or Floyd Mayweather Jr. if they decide to not fight each other again.  Since all parties are afraid of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and his sledgehammer fists, Martinez will look to land a big fight and he deserves it.  He is undefeated in the past 5 years and has slowly climbed to the top of his division.  A quick counter puncher with power, Martinez is an aging lion like Bernard Hopkins, but carries plenty of ability and hunger to be the best.  If Floyd and Pac Man don’t want to share a ring, they should invite Sergio into the ring.

By the way, one can hope that proud immensely likeable Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto lasts the entire fight against Floyd and lives to take the challenge against young gunner Alvarez, the Mexican champion who is 21 years old, packs C4 on his fists and needs a challenge.   Alvarez will end Shane Mosley”s career(chasing one last paycheck) on the undercard to the Mayweather Jr.-Cotto fight card and need someone to fight.  Hopefully, Cotto takes that chance.   Boxing needs to get exciting again because plenty of players exist in the game today.   Leave the business out of it and get in the ring with a man who could take you down.

You learn a lot of things in life.   How to drive.  How to love.  How to cook.   How to survive.   The one thing you don’t learn is how to deal with death.   It shocks, befalls, rips and shakes us in so many ways there isn’t a chance to win.   They tell us to celebrate a life.  When we do that, we get so close to what made them wonderful that it hurts too much.    Every time I think about Meme, I want to talk to her, tell her how I’m doing, listen to her tell me what I should do and go see her.  The biggest obstacle with death is that its impossible to ever truly communicate with them again.   Life sucks at times.   Death sucks every time you let it in your life.

Kids are powerful.   They can change your mood in a second and require you to focus in.   Vinny goes down to sleep at 8pm and I have to go into his room a couple times to rebink him and make him pass out.   Sometimes, I lay him in the middle of the bed, put the bink in his mouth and leave and other times I hang out there and stare at my kid.  He looks up at you like the man standing over him is a million dollars worth of cool and it can cure a rough day.   Honestly, Vinny is my little prince and I am his soldier.  All day, I run around work, making money, doing my job and I come home to my prince and my queen.   Each day includes a decent array of duties and moments, but nothing beats looking down at something you helped create.   Kids are powerful little beings.

Goon may be the best hockey film since Slapshot.   A movie about enforcers beating the shit out of each other for a living has to pay serious homage to the 1970s Philadelphia Flyers cheek crunching teams that lived by the rule of “If They Couldn’t Beat You, They Could Beat the Shit Out of You”.   Sean William Scott plays the lead character, a walk on fighter with a special ability to pound faces into mashed paper but the juicy role here lies in Liev Schrieber’s part as an aging fighter trying to take down the peoples champ in Scott’s new player.   Schrieber played the role as a tribute to old tough guys like Bob Probert and Dave Schultz, the latter being a Philly Flyer who was nicknamed the Hammer.   Schrieber is the reason to see Goon, a must see for any hockey fan.

And I am done here.   Closing up shop and getting some sleep before the grind begins again in a few hours.  Take care and thanks for reading.

Goodnight and good luck,

DLB

With hardcore blues music on my mind, allow me to polish off a few topics as we turn over the night into the new morning.  Midnight means one thing for me.  Get things off my chest.  Here we go.  

Peyton Manning Revisited

This afternoon and evening I had a well played battle with a good friend over The Manning effect.   There wasn’t a ton of fighting over the Colts decision.  The majority was spent jostling over the idea of Manning’s absence playing a decent part in the Colts 2-14 dud of a season in 2011.  This was a good time and always will be.  Standing by your point and defending it with vigor and passion. That’s freedom.   How does a team go from a playoff contender to holding the top draft pick inside one season when losing only one key player?   The Peyton effect everyone.   I am a Manning fan, but this can be seen from miles away.   Let’s review a few things and hit this one more time.

1.)The Colts put themselves in this position by giving Manning the 5 year/90 million dollar contract after a major neck surgery.  Any surgery with the neck is major.  Why give him 5 years at that kind of cash when his status was in question?  Manning couldn’t have asked for that deal or firmly requested it.  I agree that the 28 million dollar bonus and long term contract had to go.  However, why not create a new 2-3 year deal?  Trust me.   Quarterback wasn’t your problem, as seen in the difference in 2011 from 2010 and the 12 seasons before it.  Manning has gas left in the tank, something to prove and another ring to attain before he quits.  Why let him do it elsewhere?  I can understand the decision by Colts owner Jim Isray.  I just don’t like it and more importantly, I don’t agree with it.

2.)The Colts also didn’t bother to draft/trade for a resemblance of a backup quarterback or successor to Peyton until running into Andrew Luck.   Drafting Luck is smart.  Dropping Peyton and throwing Luck to the wolves right away isn’t the right move.   This is a QB driven league.  Manning is a hall of fame quarterback and arguably the best technically sound mind behind center of all time.  He has plenty to teach a kid.  Why not groom Luck and build around Manning’s last hurrah and get set for Luck ball?   Your problems lie on defense and your offensive line, so why make the big change at QB so soon?  Questions is all I have.  The decision was understandable but didn’t make much sense.  Money isn’t a problem because you can restructure.

3.)Manning was a difference maker in his time as the leader and face of the team.   I have been told there is no logic to my statement that Manning’s absence had a lot to do with the Colts downfall in 2011.   I can see it from a distance.   Manning leads Colts to 9 playoff appearances, 2 Super Bowl appearances, gets 4 MVPs, a Super Bowl MVP, and gives the team an annual chance to crack the playoffs and he goes down and the team record falls to 2-14.  There are variables involved all around the team but the biggest one is Manning missing.   He is a special kind of quarterback.   Why else would Pierre Garcon, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark all have off years?(trust me,  I know, I had all three on my fantasy team).   Manning made them great and without him, they faltered as well.  The team performance was due to a few things, but the offensive collapse points directly to the missing presence of the man who called all the plays himself, designed the playbook, paid the offensive coordinator’s check and orchestrated the action.  Peyton did all of that on a weekly basis.   How is that not the biggest effect from a team that averaged 12 wins from 2002 to 2010 and went 2-14 in 2011?  The Colts won 13 games in 2007, 12 games in 2008, 14 wins in 2009, and 10 in 2010.  The Colts won the Super Bowl in 2006 and returned in 2009, beating the Ravens and Jets to get there before losing to Drew Brees and the Saints.   They lost to the Jets last year in the Wild Card round.  Why release a player who has brought all that success to your franchise as recent as 2010?  That is my problem.   Peyton Manning wasn’t your problem, so why release him?    There is logic here.   Mostly, it’s just an opinion.   This isn’t like the Rams playing horrible football and deciding to start a rebuild by drafting Sam Bradford.  The Rams have been bad since 2005 and need more than a quarterback.  They had no quarterback.  How many GM”s or Owners would let Peyton Manning walk?     The move will have an effect on the league.  Manning has stated he will make his choice in the coming week and I think it will be Seattle.  They are willing to pay for the Manning-Reggie Wayne free agent combo and need a quarterback desperately.  Pete Carroll will cream his pants and love the last piece of the puzzle.  The NFC West is a weak place and Peyton can easily win here.  He doesn’t want to play for Washington and play Eli twice a season.  He can meet him in the playoffs instead and settle a score.  Denver is a wild card selection but they have Tebow Nation.  Seattle is Manning’s destination.    Jim Isray can only hope he made the right move.   He’s letting over 110 wins, 54000 passing yards, 399 touchdowns, 4 MVPs and a Super Bowl winner walk away with gas left in the tank?

Blues Continue to Rock at Home/Take Over NHL Lead

After a 6-1 road trip, the Blues come home and embarrass the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 before beating the Anaheim Ducks Thursday night 3-1.   David Backes becomes the team’s first 20 goal scorer and Andy McDonald adds another nifty no look pass to his resume.   The Blues move into first place overall in the NHL with a Rangers loss.   For one night, the Blues are in first place.  It is March 9th.  That’s the most impressive thing.  The Blues have enjoyed great success under Ken Hitchcock even with a tough wrath of injuries.   David Perron and McDonald missed a portion of the season early on with concussions.   Matt D’Dgostini, Alex Steen and Kris Russell are out with concussions right now.  Steen has missed over 30 games.   Jamie Langenbrunner is out with a broken foot.  Kent Huskins is nursing a sprained hand.  The Blues have been hurting all season and still managing to consistently stay in the hunt for the top 3 spots in the entire league.  Blues fans, this team may be for real.  It’s still a surreal feeling to watch this team play so well, so dominant and manage to win big games.  They have won 28 games at home and are getting close to 100 points.  Exciting.

Ryan Braun Isn’t Innocent

Let’s get something straight.  Ryan Braun isn’t innocent and never was ruled innocent.  Anyone who has paid attention to any legal system understands its many flaws.   Ryan Braun was found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs and given a 50 game suspension.  He appealed and the arbitrator found that the MLB policy was violated by the testing party.  After obtaining the sample, the tester left it in his office over the weekend instead of sending it out right away.   Therefore, Braun’s lawyers found a loophole in the policy, stated the sitting sample over a period of days as a violation and used it as a means to get the player away clean.   In a more severe case, this would be like lawyers getting a man off for robbery.   The lawyers stated that the sample could have been tampered with during the period it was on the desk in the office.   Braun isn’t innocent and was never found innocent.   A bad part of my wording last week was stating Braun was proven innocent.  The reality is he never got away clean.  He simply got off and will slip back into baseball.  The Brewers need him for star power and MLB gets the message and won’t push the case.  As anything in life, it all is about money and Braun means too much.      MLB only chases down ex-stars so he is safe.  He just isn’t considered clean anymore.

Matt Adams Hype Needs to Slow Down

Sure, the kid has cranked 2 hits this first week of spring training action.   Let’s not jump to ridiculous conclusions.   Adams has power and will see plenty of action in the minors in 2012 but that will be all.   Every time some young player starts cranking long balls and there is a spot open on the roster in two years, fans go nuts.   Adams is a big kid and has talent, so lets see how it all plays out.  His defense isn’t good, so he will play first base.   He may come up big in 2013 or 2014.  Pitt him against Memphis pitching and see how he fares.   I love a load of hype as much as the next guy but this is way premature.   Just because Albert is gone doesn’t mean we have to start sucking a minor league power bat’s dick just yet.

Speaking of Albert Pujols, we will see a lot of him in red this season on ESPN and FOX.   He stayed out of the NL but he couldn’t stay away from the color red.  It just doesn’t look right.   This transition will probably take awhile.

While the Oscars sucked and few films made my balls tingle in 2011, The Town still ranks as one of the best films in recent memory.   Ben Affleck’s ode to his hometown in bank robber central Charlestown, Ma was so authentic, well done, action packed, and contained stellar acting and pacing.   It was a cops/robbers classic.  Affleck was great as Doug McRay, the criminal seeking a different life and the supporting cast was genuinely excellent, especially Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, and Rebecca Hall.   The Town was old school cool and a modern classic at the same time.  Affleck knows how to make Boston crime drams and this was genuine.   On Tuesday, a special collector’s edition was released and it features a new documentary, 34 extra minutes of film, storybooks, FBI files on the crew and other goodies.   I am a sucker for behind the scenes porn and finding out how a film got from point A to Z.   This will be in my collection.

Archer is a underrated classic on FX.  A dry hilarious James Bond spoof masquerading as a  regular comedy scores high because of its crude subjects matters and the lead character’s complete disdain for authority.     Think of James Bond in comedy mode.   Archer is a funny series and the key is Jon Benjamin’s great work in the lead role.   Voice work is tricky and he nails it cold.

While Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao find ways to not fight each other, there are fights out there.   Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto climb back into the ring in a month to settle a close first fight that Ortiz won by decision.   Sergio Martinez is fighting a bum on HBO on Sunday.  Canelo Alvarez, the young Mexican fighter with gun barrels for firsts, is going to promptly end Shane Mosley’s career before The Mayweather Jr./Cotto fight.   Pacquaio deals with the undefeatred yet beatable Timothy Bradley.   I am up for a good fight anytime.

As I sign off here, I crank up the Black Keys early heavy blues album, The Big Come Up.   These guys are a apecial brand of musician and show it in the studio and on stage.   When I see them at Chaifetz Arena on April 27th, I will be looking for them to put a little gold on the ceiling.  You can slowly fall asleep to this music not because it puts you to sleep but gives you the knowledge that you are listening to greatness.   Here’s a track off the Big Come Up called “Leavin Trunk”.  Listen for the nasty good hard guitar entrance the song throws at you.

That’s it.  I must go now because I am tired as hell and need sleep, as in my eyes are closing and the hands are flat lining.   Thanks for reading and don’t forget about the new website my friends and I are starting, http://www.film-addict.com.   Go there, enter your email and start getting newsletters and movie updates on May 4th.   2012 could be an exciting year.

Goodnight,

DLB

Here’s a quick dose of meds from my head.  45 minutes to write and then set to launch.  

As the night turns into the morning here in the southern section of St. Louis city, allow me to cast a small light on a few subjects.  The usual suspects, random bits of information and otherwise unheard of rounds of dialogue brought to the light here in this corner of cyber space.  The kids are in bed, the weary are departed into the dream world and all that are left are the mad men shouting in the night.  Loading the hands and unplugging the mind, here we go.

Things to Talk About

1.)Act of Valor is a highly intense and very well done film about the life of a Navy Seal and their dangerous jobs.   For 2 hours, we get to spend a mission with 7 Seals and an adrenaline rush is the result of this journey into the theater.  All I can offer you is fasten your seatbelts because this ride gets bumpy, messy and is ultimately filled with a blood soaked tribute few other action films can offer.  A thoroughly authentic movie.  The plot is your regular Seals hunt mad terrorist scheme, but the juice here lies in the details. A standard snatch and grab recovery mission goes red when a terrorist attack comes to the shores of our country.    That’s only the start of the chase and the rest is gravy.  I can’t go into further detail without ruining the gritty parts of the film.  This film examines the brotherhood behind the group.  7 real Seals were used in this film, and they controlled the play.  They performed the stunts, designed the story from real missions and the directors let them bring their own toys to the show.  Please don’t step into the theater looking for great acting or a complex story.   The reason to see this movie is to revel in the brutally honest action and life of a Seal.   An intense tribute to the patriots serving our country.  The decision to use real Seals is key to the action.   We’ve seen films with actors portraying bad ass heroes and playing Seals and soldiers.   We haven’t gotten a film showing us the real deal.   This is a fresh concept with the novelty and timeliness lacking in Hollywood lately in a sea of reboots, remakes, adaptations and sequels.   This is a shot in the arm to Hollywood and a worthy #1 hit at the box office.

2.)The Cardinals and Yadi Molina agree to a 5 year, 75 million dollar deal that keeps the coveted catcher in red until 2017.    Look, it’s a lot of money for a player like Molina, but you must look beyond the details to understand the need for this deal.   Molina’s value goes beyond paper stats and a Cardinal fan knows how much he means to the team.    With Dave Duncan out of the picture, Mike Matheny went to Cards GM John Mozelaik and told him he needs Molina to be his guide in his first season as manager of the team and more important, he has to have his #1 pitching database machine locked up for years to come.   Molina is vital to the pitching staff, the running game, the clutch hitting spots and overall fear among the opposing teams to allow him to test the market in October.   Give him one reason to walk away and this team is in serious trouble.  All you have to do is ask Adam Wainwright how much he is counting on Molina in coming back from Tommy John Surgery to fully get the extend of Molina’s worth.   He allows the fewest stolen base attempts in the league and has thrown out 41 percent in his career.   He also happens to be hit .300 and deliver the clutch hits.  He showed up to spring training slimmer and is looking to carry this pitching staff in a season that will rely heavily on solid starting pitching.   Without Albert Pujols, the offense will yield success to the arms of the pitching staff and this is where Molina is so important.  He is the Zen Master to the rotation and the rock behind the young bullpen.   He is the most important person on this team right now.  Pay him his money, no matter the dollar sign, and keep moving.  Close friends have expected this reaction from me and believe me, I don’t like throwing away money.   Giving Kyle McClellan 2.5 million is still ridiculous.   However, for a player of Molina’s worth, 15 million per season is worth it.  Keep in mind in the coming years, when his arm wears down or he needs rest, Molina can also play first.   Just an extra slice of gravy to this pressure yielding agreement.

3.)Devon Alexander scored the biggest win of his boxing career last Saturday in a stunning domination of Marcos Maidana at Scottrade Center.  The featherweight crown was up for grabs on Alexander’s home turf, and unlike previous decisions, this one wasn’t connected to a hometown result.  Alexander earned this victory with a great performance.   He outboxed, out punched and simply beat up on the power punching Maidana for 10 rounds.    Devon needed this win badly.   After losing to Timothy Bradley and barely escaping two fights against Andrei Kotelik and Lucas Matthasye,  Alexander was on the verge of being one of those mid-career casualties.   An exciting fighter who hits a wall, can’t win the big fight and gets stranded in no man’s land.  Alexander delivered a show and stamped it with conviction.  He moved up to 147 pounds for the fight and threw harder punches,  boxed relentlessly and showed the world he is a genuine threat.   Good for him and the city of St. Louis.  Our champ is still in the game.

4.)The Rams will indeed think about trading their 2nd overall draft pick and are smart for doing so.  After Robert Griffith III’s performance at the Scouting Combine last weekend, the 2nd pick stock went way up.  Teams want the kid and will hand over plenty of lock down his rights.   Andrew Luck is going first to the Colts and RG3 will go 2nd now for sure.   The only question is who and how much they will hand the Rams to reserve the right to select him.  The Rams need a playmaker themselves so they will be thinking real hard about who they deal with.  You don’t want to drop too many spots so the Browns(#3) and Redskins(#6) are the prime matches for a trade.   At least 2 first round picks, 2 second round picks and money compensation will be handed to the Rams in this deal.   Their main obstacle is seeing where Peyton Manning ends up with.   If he stays in Indy and the Colts take Luck, the Rams will trade with the Redskins, who badly need a QB and if they can’t take Manning will go after RG3.   If Peyton departs to Washington or Miami, the Rams will look elsewhere, like the Browns(who could trade with Miami) and do their work there.  My only concern is the Rams dropping too far and losing out on a chance to draft Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.   The Rams have improved their coaching staff, found a new GM but they must improve their roster and it starts with Blackmon.  Treat this like Christmas and get Sam Bradford a toy.   Trading the pick is fine.  As long as you allow yourself to find the player you want and need.   Blackmon is a possible freak and could give the offense the explosive playmaker they need.   Trade the pick or not, if the Rams have any sense in the world in April, they will select Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State and give Mr. Charter Communications a healthy new toy to play with.  Blackmon is everything the Rams need on offense.   Burst of speed, height and an ability to adapt and learn.  Unless a reliable dance partner comes forth with a trade that is sure to bring the Rams equal value, don’t pull the trigger and stay put and take this kid.  He is a freak.  Calvin Johnson meets Andre Johnson.  Get it done and save me the explanation for building new pillars.  Blackmon will put gold on the ceiling.  The Rams need to get an impact player no matter what they decide to do.   Maybe you draft RG3 and The Browns draft Blackmon and you do a trade.   Either way, get Blackmon or a running back.   SJ39 is on his way down so he needs help.

5.)Ryan Braun got away from the blame, but that doesn’t make him an honest fella.  The Braun party used the rule book and policy details against MLB to allow him to get away with cheating.    Get a grip, put down the kool aide and get real.   Was he cleared of the charge and moved aside from the 50 game suspension?  Yes.  Is he cleared of all doubt and suspicion?  Fuck NO.   Ryan Braun’s case is a wickedly peculiar one.   The urine sample was left on a desk for a few days unguarded and the arbitrator has ruled the specimen was tampered with or wasn’t enough to convict the Brewers 2011 MVP player.   The serial number and tags weren’t messed with, so where’s the real proof the sample was tampered with at all?   It’s a murky case and a darker shade of grey on a puzzling subject known as performance enhancing drugs in sports.   Braun is cleared but still under the watchful eye of the baseball republic.   His coming season will be monitored closely.  By the way, fuck Braun.   He is the showy bitch who cheated, used a technicality to get away with it and in any honest fan’s eyes, won’t escape conviction.  The fact it happened to a rival star player only sweetens the gravy pot here.  The only better outcome would be Brandon Phillips coming down with steroid juice in his throat.

Maybe the theory is true.  They all could be dirty.

6.)The Blues lost 2-0 to Vancouver tonight in their 3rd game in 4 nights, but they are still 4-1 on a tough 6 game road trip that concludes Saturday night in San Jose.   The Blues lost to the Western Conference leading champs, but they played a hard physical game and didn’t fall by much against a game Roberto Luongo and relentless Canucks attack.   The Blues have turned a scary road trip into a real success with shootout wins in Nashville and Winnipeg and easy victories in Calgary and Edmonton.   After losing to the Bruins at home, the Blues are thriving as road warriors and installing a brutal physical defensive style of play that teams are having a hard time contending.  Brian Elliot and Jaroslav Halak rank in the top 5 spots in the NHL in goal against average and the offense is spread out among 4 players with 15 goals.   This is happening as the team deals with injuries.  Alex Steen, Matt D’ Agostini and Kris Russell are all out with concussions and Jamie Langenbrunner is sidelined with a broken foot.   Doug Armstrong stood pat at the trading deadline and I support the move.  The Blues don’t badly need a new player and will only get stronger when they get healthier.  Their game is strong at the moment and its great to see them play like this.   They finish the trip out west in San Jose and come home to host the Blackhawks next.   The Blues are handling the feared road trip quite nicely and setting themselves up for a April playoff shootout.

7.)Justified, the brilliant modern western on FX, gathers its greatness from a few things, namely Timothy Olyphant’s performance at the lead character, Raylan Givens.   The supporting cast is brilliant and the writing is strong, but its a show centered on one man.   Givens and his struggle with a lethal brand of justice that involves bullet holes from time to time.   The key to this show is Givens staying a love torn, beaten up soul and generally pissed off crime fighter.   If he gets too happy or settles down, the guard falls and the show becomes uninteresting.  Similar to David Duchovny’s Hank Moody on Californication, Olyphant’s U.S. Marshall has to be in a stressful revved up state of mind in order for the show to really work well.  Nobody is tuning in to see Givens happy with his on/off again flame Winona(The shedevil, Natalie Zea) and quitting the Marshall business.   We want him cold blooded, full of piss and vinegar and mad at the world.   Running around Harlan, Kentucky mad as hell.   That’s what makes this show great.  An unhappy justice seeking leading man.

8.)Things that bother me.   Drivers who weave into your lane without a blinker on no matter the distance they have to spare.   Drivers who fail to recognize the idea of a four way stop.  Old people who continue to think the mindset of a 60 year old is far greater than a 30 year old.   Old people who don’t listen, work slow and think that since they haven’t died yet, we move on their time.  Bad parents piss me off.   The kind of parents who fail to recognize the fact that their “troubled” teenager is harboring a need to kill.   A high school boy in Ohio walked into a cafeteria and opened fire on innocent people because he wasn’t loved enough, hated people or felt the need to impose his will on unmatched people.  Three teens died as a result.  Listening to the parents of a lost kid, you get enraged at the parents of the killer.  I hate it when they say they had no idea.  Sure you didn’t.  The kid seemed aces until last week, right?   Bullshit.  Parents who don’t act and get their kid in the right place aren’t doing their job.  I am not calling people mind readers but I will say somebody fucked up along the way.   High school shootings are too frequent.

9.)  Cardinals Note.   They enter spring training with championship expectations in camp but also with the silent 10 count from around the corridors of baseball.  Without Pujols, baseball pundits aren’t expecting much from the Cards and that’s fine by me.  On August 25th last season, we were counted out as well.   The rest is history.   Expect the unexpected in sports all the time my friends.  You never know….

10.)Music recommendation of the week comes with a special treat.  I present to you a song by Mumford and Sons that has made plenty of appearances before but this time I give it to you with the added benefit of the lyrics.   I love songs that tell stories.  The songwriter painting an entire world or situation with one song and pulling us into it with his lyrics.  Marcus Mumford wrote “Dust Bowl Dance” from the debut album, Sigh No More, and here are the lyrics and the link to the song.

First comes the blast.  Then come the bullets.   I present to you the brief opinionated banter session.  The Buffa Bullet round starts now….1,000 words inside 30 minutes.

• Drive Angry was exactly what I needed on a Monday night.  A blood drunk hard boiled action film that knew exactly what it had to give. Full throttled action packed excitement with an originality rarely seen in Hollywood these days. The plot doesn’t really matter, but it pertains to the grim reaper, revenge and a sinner getting his final wish. Cage and William Fichtner excel and Drive Angry exists purely as guilty pleasure fun.   This is what I wanted from Ghost Rider and instead I find my joy on a lonely Blockbuster wall.  Drive Angry is the kind of film critics pan because they can’t understand how to enjoy it without doing their job.   Cage is a ex-con who comes back from the dead to avenge the death of his daughter and save his granddaughter from a Satan nut job.   The grim reaper(Fichtner) gets in his way but Cage is assisted by Paige(the sweet fox Amber Heard) and the film is the quickest 105 minutes on a screen or television.   Everyone fits their roles here.   Cage as the boiling anti-hero.  Heard as the femme fatale.   Billy Burke as the baddie.  Fichtner as the Accountant.   David Morse as the old wise friend.  This film doesn’t require you to think, reason or wonder about what’s possible.   You sit there and enjoy it.  The gravy comes in the form of American muscle cars, including a 1969 Dodge Charger and Chevy Chevelle.  I really enjoyed this movie.  Give it a look on DVD.
• The Blues have to beat a team in the Central Division to gain some confidence along with the idea of being able to conquer a team that will most likely follow you into the playoffs.  The last win against a divisional opponent came on December 3rd against Columbus.   Pathetic.  Lost inside a thrilling season is the missing ingredient required to beat the best who share a house with you in the Western Conference.  Until the Blues beat the Wings, Hawks, Preds or Blue Jackets, they won’t have a life.  Also, they need to win period so they can hold onto home ice advantage.   They are the most dominant home team in the NHL.  Locking down that advantage is at the top of the list.
• Manny Rameriz is back in baseball.   Some guys simply can’t find a life outside of baseball.   Manny is the ultimate moron.  He cheated not once, not twice but three times.  He serves a 50 game suspension before joining the A’s.   Somebody must of slipped Billy Beane’s coffee a pill.
• Act of Valor carries the unique chance to see real Navy Seals work inside a fictional plot.   The film deals with a make believe terrorist plot, but many parts of the film were assembled from real war stories.   The Seals in the film won’t be named for security reasons but they were given the script by the directors and had full rein to dictate the plot and story.   The result is a once in a lifetime chance to see a film starring the real deal heroes that help keep this part of the rock safe.  The film took three years to film in order to accommodate the men, and this weekend the film touches down in theaters.   The film sells itself.  There is no need to watch this film and wonder who is doing the stunts and how real it is.    The film contains scenes where live ammunition is used.   That’s real enough.
• Justified rolls into my Tuesday evening tomorrow.   The highlight of my week on TV.   Folks, watch this show.  It’s worth every minute.
• It’s wild to think what one man can get done in a day.  Sent off my blog right before the crack of midnight.   Slept for 4 hours.   Got up for work at 4am.  Went into work at 455am.   Clocked out at 330pm.   Got home, hung out with the kid, acquired new music, and fed the kid.   Made it to the gym.  Watched a flick.  Writing another blog and will clean up the head in a few minutes before calling it a night.   Put your mind to it and anything is possible.
• I can’t tell you if I am ready for the 24/7 baseball madness with the Cardinals.   The offseason flew by thanks in part to Pujols mania and now spring training is on the doorstep.   Whether I like it or not, the obsession will begin.   Pain meds in the mail.
• I have already explained it to you but I like our chances this season.
• NBA action is hard to enjoy when so many players take games off with lazy play, stupid fouls and a ridiculous lack of intelligence.  You don’t see this in the NHL or the NFL, the other high contact/energy sports.    That’s why players like Kevin Durant are easy to appreciate.  He plays it the right way and does things the right way.   Blake Griffin is overrated.  Durant is not.
• Watching your kid get sick and suffer at the hands of a cold can’t be cured by any medicine known to man.   Vinny can’t breathe clearly and the little guy only finds a bit of solace in sleep.   Poor guy sounds like Tony Soprano in a marathon right now.  A father can only sympathize and associate this with growing pain toughness.
• A Taste of the Band of Skulls new album for your listening pleasure.   “Bruises”.  Hardcore blues rock doesn’t get any better than this.  There’s something about a pale yet hot female artist blaring the blues from her lips that goes down the tubes easy and smooth.

• NBC’s new drama AWAKE with Jason Issacs looks promising.   A show about a cop being unable to associate which life is real after a horrible car wreck tears his family apart.  The one where he wakes up with his son alive or the other where his wife is still breathing.  Fascinating enough to follow.

I’m running out of words here so I am pulling this brief stream of consciousness to a close.  Thanks for reading and stay thirsty for news while I reload the hands for next time.

Goodnight and good luck,

Dan L. Buffa

1,043 words and counting so sue me….

Hello again,

Let’s discuss the latest activity in the world of sports, film, general thought and opinion in addition to the random arena of topics.   There are certain men who preach, teach and  simply throw their opinion onto others backs.   I intend to unload my clotted mind onto this page in order for me to be able to keep moving and collect new material.   The head weighs 8 pounds and it can fill up quick and notify you that a clearing is in order.   The funny thing about writers is that we always have something to say or put down.  Time is all I need and for an hour, I can uncoil a little.   Let’s move…

The Blues rip apart the Islanders and Wild at home, 5-1 and 4-0 respectively, but are failing to beat their division rivals.  The Blues lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in excruciating fashion.  Carrying a 1-0 lead into the third period, the Blues collapsed offensively and gave up a couple heartbreak goals in route to their first loss of the season after leading going into the 3rd period.  A tough way to spend a day in the Windy City.   With the loss, the Blues are 0-6-1 against their own division.    They have lost twice to Detroit, and fell to Nashville and Columbus this year as well.   The Blues do have 36 wins and are 4th in the conference in points and only 5 behind the Red Wings, but you feel like they are getting knocked around by the divisional rivals.   This needs to change.  I could sit here and rant on and on about the recent prow of young studs like David Perron(6 goals in 9 games), Alex Pietrangelo(a point in 20 straight games) and the goaltenders(Halak and Elliot each have 6 shutouts, tied for the 1st spot in the league and most combined in the NHL).   The Blues have 26 wins at home this season, a strength that will be golden if we acquire the advantage in the playoffs.    David Backes continues to be a leader for the team, in the statistical columns and in persona as well.   Andy McDonald returned this week and has 2 goals and an assist.    Elliot notched his 6th shutout today and the Blues defense continues to keep teams off the scoreboard in the 3rd period.   That is the single biggest turnaround in the Blues this season.  Their defense doesn’t give the other team a lot of chances.   The past 2 seasons were plagued by late game breakdowns and 3rd period giveaways, but this season, the Blues are stout in the final frame and are controlling the middle of the ice, in what I like to call the exchange zone.  For now, the Blues are thriving.  When they lose, its by a goal or in a shootout and the margin for error is so small it doesn’t feel like a loss.   When they win, they are clobbering teams or outlasting the better ones with a tougher physical style of play.   A defenseman like Kent Huskins returned this week and the man isn’t as fast as others but he brings a physicality to his job few can match.   He hits guys, takes them down and moves them away from the play.   A special brand of player.  The skill players like Pietro, Perron, Oshie, Berglund and Backes are the soul of the team.   Huskins, Ryan Reaves, Barrett Jackman are the rough and tough heart.   One guy I am looking for something out of anytime soon is Chris Stewart.  The same player who slammed onto the scene last February to score 13 goals with the team has maintained a stiff cold streak all season and has been demoted to the third and fourth line.   Stewart is a free agent this offseason so his downfall carries an interesting twist.   Did he hit his ceiling and rolling down or does he not care enough?  Whatever the answer becomes, he needs to do more.  This team is rolling but they must be able to take down their division rivals or else come playoff time, the end will be too near.   The 2011-2012 Blues have provided fans with a whirlwind record and consistent style of play that leaves much to be desired and from here on out, a lot  of expectations.

The Rams Hired former Atlanta Falcons GM Les Snead to be their new general manager and team up with Jeff Fisher to pull this football team out of the gutter.  Les Snead will be Jeff Fisher’s “Doug” in Rams Land.   The Hangover reference is well placed here if you think about it.  Snead will be the answer to Fisher’s prayer because this team, this city and the future of Rams football needs REAL leadership and Stan Kroneke(heart in LA or not) is making as good of a play as he can.  How will the actions of Snead/Fisher affect the future of the Rams in St. Louis?  It’s hard to tell but the first thing that needs to happen is injecting life into this team.

The Cardinals are in Jupiter, Florida and prepping for a defense of their World Championship.   Their 11th title felt the best because of the manner of which they acquired it.   Going from a dead team on August 25th to a last second playoff team and surprising powerhouse teams like the Phillies, rival Brewers and the Rangers.    The only way they can top that is by doing it again and collecting their 12th championship.    The style can be less brutal and the deficit may stay away, but I expect this team to be back in the thick of the hunt for a few simple reasons.

1.)The division around them didn’t get better at all.   The Reds made some low key moves and upgraded the back end of their rotation.  The Pirates just acquired an overrated AJ Burnett and did little else.  The Brewers lost Prince Fielder to the Tigers in a mega deal and may lose Ryan Braun for 50 games due to steroid use.   The Astros are going to be horrible for at least 2 seasons.   The Cubs will always be a threat but their pitching staff/defense will never allow their light hitting to do any long term damage.   Theo Epstein has a lot of work to do there.   The Cardinals are easily the strongest team in the division.

2.)Adam Wainwright’s return to the rotation bolsters it and delivers instant credibility.   Kyle McClellan won’t make a start this season and Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook will anchor the end of the rotation instead of the middle.   Wainwright is a bulldog competitor and while his innings/pitch count load will be down early, I expect him to be in beast mode by June.   Chris Carpenter is back to his comfy #2 spot after carrying the rotation the last 3 months of the season and into the playoffs.   Everything is strong in the rotation, with or without Roy Oswalt.

3.)The lineup is solid.   Losing Albert Pujols will hurt, but the presence of Lance Berkman, a hungry Matt Holliday, David Freese, and newcomer Carlos Beltran cover the patch up just fine.   You can sit and cry about Pujols’ lacking presence and I see your point but refuse to linger on it.   He’s a 25 million dollar man now and his blood was too rich for the Cardinals’ dollar.   Move on and you have a well balanced machine made from on base percentage, power and speed.   Jon Jay and Allen Craig will plug holes in the outfield and bench.   Daniel Descalso and Tyler Greene will give the defense a plus on the infield.   Yadi Molina’s bat is always a plus in the 6th or 7th hole because he gets his bat on the ball and doesn’t strike out.   The lineup will do damage if the majority can stay healthy.

4.)Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan are gone but Derek Lilloquist and Jose Oquendo are here and the foundation isn’t gone.   Lilloquist took over for Duncan for the final two months of the season and handled the staff well.   This isn’t a young staff so the experienced Yoda with the pitching binder isn’t required for success.   La Russa being out of the hot box will be a visually awkward thing to witness for the mere fact he has been here for 16 seasons but Matheny will do fine.   Duncan leaving the team hurt but having an experienced player who has the respect of the entire team in Matheny fills two voids with one body.   MM is a hands on teacher and won’t hide behind the vets in his first season.  I expect Matheny to take control of this team.

5.)The Rest of the NL doesn’t look overpowering.   The Phillies got weaker with the loss of Ryan Howard, Oswalt, and Raul Ilanez and advanced age of Chase Utley and the rest of their roster.   The Marlins acquired Jose Reyes(hamstring pull guaranteed by start of May) and Heath Bell, but Ozzie Guillen will do little to instantly turn that team into a serious threat.  The Nationals are a sleeper and the NL East will be a shootout but I don’t expect the Braves to blow another big lead and there are 2 Wild Card spots now which includes a playoff.   The Giants, Rockies and Dodgers are all middle of the pack contenders depending on their moves.   There isn’t a single team in the National League that stands as a legit threat.  The Phillies have pitching but can’t score runs.  The Marlins’ pitching staff is still average.   The Brewers lost two sluggers.   The Giants can’t score runs.   The Braves’ pitching staff is strong but injury prone and we saw how their stability looked in September.  Their closer caved after a couple blown saves.  The Cardinals main need will be health in 2012.   If they can stay healthy, their chances are as good as any of the other top NL contenders.

Spring training officially begins in two weeks and the obsessive fever pitch is about to begin.  Can you feel it, Cardinal Nation?  I sure can.

The Other Things In Sports-

The Jeremy Lin Story-Suck it up now because it’s all downhill from here.   When teams start defending Lin, stepping up, cutting down his shooting space and pressure him, the real test begins.   If it wasn’t happening in New York, this wouldn’t be a story.  I was riding the Tebow train since college, so I had a good reason to stand behind and believe in that fight.  That happened in the far end of the NFL world in Denver.  In New York, in Knickerbocker land, Lin is becoming a sensation.

Lebron James wants to go back to Cleveland someday, but first he better win in Miami or he will have two cities calling for his head.   The man is making enemies very fast after spending the first 7 years of his career sitting in a throne.   My respect for him is decreasing because he is no longer that special player you HAVE to watch.

Local boxing talent Devon Alexander fights at Scottrade Center next weekend against tough competitor power puncher Marcos Maidana.   The featherweight East St. Louis brawler lost to Timothy Bradley in a headbutt/clinch filled 12 round decision that thrilled few and left Alexander with a huge welt on his head and career.   This fight stands to determine what kind of “boxing threat” Devon can be.  If he loses, his career starts to seriously crumble.   If he takes the dangerous Maidana down, his career picks up.  Huge fight for the little boxing kid.

While the Super Bowl provided the result I wanted, the commercials rather sucked.    The only one I truly loved was the Chrysler spot featuring Clint Eastwood.    The gruff, powerful seasoned tough guy compared a team’s halftime thought process to the recession and struggle faced in America and particularly in Detroit’s motor plants.   Eastwood made the spot stick because he has been around for so long and served in multiple facets of the American struggle.  He is an actor, director, Oscar winner, former politician and historian.  He is also a no bullshit conversationalist and the words that come out of his mouth feel like his own and not some nerdy TV writer.  The final few lines, “America can’t be knocked down with one punch.  We get back up again and when we do, they will hear the roar of our engines….yeah.”   Eastwood defines old school toughness and that commercial worked.

Movie Reviews-

Safe House Review-Predictable entertainment.   A good thriller with outrageously enjoyable action sequences, compelling “all in” performances and a quick pace.   Daniel Espinosa isn’t changing the way movies are made or reinventing the wheel of film here.  He is making a credible worthy action thrill ride with a destination we are familiar with but are game to follow through with anyway.   Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are the two headed star power monster of this story and they handle the cat and mouse plot points well, playing two men playing on opposite sides in the beginning but slowly meeting in the middle as twists and turns present themselves.  The result is a good movie and worth the ticket.  Anyone who calls this throwaway material isn’t getting the point.  This is an expectations film.  Walking in with the right mindset in what to expect is important here.  This isn’t a full feature silent film best picture nominee hopeful.  It’s a rock ‘em sock ‘em action picture.  Jump in or stay out.

The Vow is exactly what you expect from the poster and trailer.  A Valentines Day sappy love story served up well by its two leading stars, especially Channing Tatum as a man dealing with the obstacle of all obstacles.  Convincing your wife of 5 years to fall in love with you all over again after a horrific accident wipes out your memory.   That’s all there is here.  The result is effective if only for the execution from Tatum.   Rachel McAdams is the stunned reeling wife and she plays it straight and ordinary.  Tatum, in small gestures and dialogue deliveries and restraint, plays it better.   He makes this film better than it deserved to be.  A Nicholas Sparks contender that never steps out from its original gimmick.  Take your girlfriend to see it men but don’t be afraid to check the sports scores outside the theater during the slower movements of unqualified storytelling.

Ghost Rider 2-Please don’t judge me.  I saw this sequel drivel thinking I was going to get a guilty pleasure action packed ride and instead I got a stupid, empty hearted, rather boring rehash of the Johnny Blaze saga.  Nic Cage looks to riding on fumes in his acting and I don’t know why.   The man is immensely talented and has a resume to back it up. He is making horrible choices and needs to find a peach quickly.   He isn’t even going through the motions here as the Rider, a man who sold his soul to the devil and now is an eternal flaming badass who gets hot and bothered when evil steps up.   He is simply lost and smirking here.  The film is horrible.    Do not see it.

Star Wars, Episode 1 in 3D-The three dimensional value is tasteless and doesn’t make the film any better than years ago when the largely disappointing second chapter in George Lucas’ enterprise was released.   Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor star in this prequel to the original films, but the huge problem here is the dialogue.   It’s just plain bad.   There are annoying characters like Ja Ja Binks, a creature from a planet needing the Jedi’s help to survive.   Jake Lloyd does little to stand out as the kid version of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.  He is just a whiny kid with some powers.   My biggest issue here is the question of the re-release of the film.   Lucas is a greedy money whore who knew he ripped his Star Wars fanbase in half with the production and here he is reaching for more cash and it doesn’t look good.

Song of the Week-The Black Keys performing “Gold on the Ceiling”.  Pure Musical gold, and through this music video you get the entire Keys persona.  Their rise from low crooning blues rockers to lyrical giants of sold out stadiums.   The old beat up mini van makes an appearance and you see two regular gifted musicians thrust into a limelight that burns their eyes yet sets their careers on fire.

DVD of the Week-50/50

The cancer comedy starring Joseph Gordon Levitt as Adam, a young man dealing with the obstacle of all obstacles.   Cancer.   His performance is the special ingredient in this film, a production that wisely stays away from melodrama and instead deals a straight hand about the most deadly disease in the medical world.   Adam gets a rare form of cancer that attaches to his spine, and along with his friend(Seth Rogen) and a therapist(Anna Kendrick), he tries to keep a positive outlook amid his recovery.   The film is all about the little things in life when it seems to be ending.   Adam sitting all by himself at home listening to music.  A moment where he kicks Rogen out of the car and has a period of rage before calling his therapist to calm down.    His moments with Rogen, who created the idea with his real life friend, the director Will Asner.   Asner had cancer early in his life and Rogen convinced him to make it into a movie.  Levitt is a legit young talent and there’s a moment towards the end of the film that sets his acting skills apart from the rest.   50/50 is a good comedy drama about dealing with the beast of cancer and is worth a look.

Breaking Dawn in The Twilight Series isn’t worth a look unless you have already invested time in the franchise.  Just stay away from this teen melodrama that never ceases to unload average cinema upon our heads.   The battle of Jacob and Edward for Bella’s soul and the wolves/vamps quarrel continues here with the fourth chapter in a series thankfully nearing its end.   There really isn’t a script here.  Just a series of “you better not do that”, “Oh no you didn’t”, and “Don’t make me” challenges.   The film is one big anti-climactic subplot to the real story.  In other words, Bella gets pregnant and might die watch.   Help me.

In Time carried an ambitious theme but lacked the follow through required to make it stand up over 2 hours.   Andrew Niccol’s story about a futuristic society where time is actually money and the moment you hit the age of 25, your wrist includes a clock on your life.   Justin Timberlake is Will Salas, and he tries to take matters into his own hands once a mysterious loner named Henry(Matt Bomer) gives him a lottery load of years.   A Robin Hood theory that loses its weight in the end because the execution is lacking.   Let’s put it this way.  You are intrigued here but not enough to clearly call this a good film.  The result produced a shrug of the shoulders here and a quick withdrawal without any special features investigation.  I saw all I needed inside the running time and it wasn’t good.   Cillian Murphy and Amanda Seyfried also star here but the acting isn’t the problem.  The problem lies in the story and its finish.   Insufficient.

I need another great movie to cleanse myself of the crap harvesting in the theaters recently.

Oscar Watch Preview-5 things I am Thinking

1.)Billy Crystal is a prick and retired actor but he is a great host who knows how to blend energy and comedy into a broadcast.   He will do better than the sleep inducing combo of James Franco and Anne Hathaway from last year.

2.)I hope Brad Pitt wins Best Actor for a few reasons.   Pitt took the role of real life A’s general manager Billy Beane and put his own spin on it.   His virtuoso wise cracking and confident performance carried one of the best films of the year in Moneyball and he deserves to be rewarded for it.   Pitt is a superstar and disappearing into roles only gets harder so he must do more acting to get the job done.   He is also playing a still living person, a hard task taken lightly by few in Hollywood.   Pitt knocked the role out and deserves the Oscar over his buddy, Clooney, who was very good in Descendants but not as memorable as Pitt.

3.)Don’t worry about the running time folks.   People give so much of their time to stupid reality television all year and the Oscars happens once a year and they want to speed it up.   Let the speeches run wild and the event stay loose.   No one likes to be rushed when they just won an award.

4.)I have not seen the Artist yet and will probably not unless it does indeed win Best Picture.  I have never watched a silent film and find the task to be not so inviting.    When will the point come when you just scream at the TV….fucking SPEAK already???!!!

5.)I still hate the 9-10 Best Picture nominee idea.   Why double the list?  It takes away the credibility and pride of winning the award if more parties are allowed into the race.   There were 5 Best Picture nominees for decades and all of a sudden the Academy wants to expand the list just to appease the whines of Hollywood.   Ridiculous.  It makes the award weaker in my opinion.   I haven’t seen half the films nominated and that either makes me wish I found more gold, make better choices or plain not care as much.   It would be like adding an extra Cy Young award or an extra MVP in the MLB race in each league.   Players would love the opportunity to win but feel a little less inside knowing the path to winning was easier.  Keep it at 5 next year folks.

Bonus Ultimatum-If Whitney Houston gets an honoree moment, I will shoot someone.  She starred in 5 films and only one of them was any good.   This will be a sign of the downfall in America.   Houston had a great voice, was good in The Bodyguard but made a lot of mistakes and drowned her talent in drugs.   Stop holding court for Whitney Houston, people. She wrecked her own talent with drugs, booze and alcohol. Shovel was in her hand. I’m tired of hearing sympathy notes for her.

Moving on towards the finish line here…what else is there to talk about? Random fire time now.

Band of Skulls’ Sweet Sour and Heartless Bastards’ Arrow are the new purchases in my CD player right now.   Once in a while you have to get out there and buy an album and own the actual disc.   By the end of the weekend, I bought Mumford and Sons live and a few other songs on Itunes so I dipped my beak in both waters.   However, after giving a listen to the discs, I like my choices.   Band of Skulls is all punk rock soul, reaching for the heavens with its dirty and free rock spirit and cooling down with the smooth power punk slow tunes.   The Band of Skulls can speed things up with a hard moving song like Sweet Sour(Sour by the minute/sweeter by the hour) but cool things off with Bruises, an addictive track featuring a lovely female lead vocal.  There’s a lot to love here.  Heartless Bastards carry a very distinct hard to label folk rock pulse that’s easy to follow.  Their 10 song dish mixes up folk, rock, slow ballads and powerful finishes with a deadly strong female lead vocal and sweeping guitars and a light touch of the blues.   Both bands prove that the abstract brand and combination of music they use is legit and they do it very well.

The Cardinals and Yadi Molina calling off negotiations right before spring training carries deadly recall from the Pujols talks that led to his departure in December.  What are the Cards worried about with Yadi?   His relationship with Matheny was meant to be a deal sealer but apparently the two sides have distance.  It could be the Molina party.  How many years does he want?   My terms would be a 5 year deal worth 10 million.   His last contract was a bargain for the infinite talent Molina hands this team(4 years for 16 million).   He wants to get paid but for how much and how long?   He has to understand the team’s needs and goals.   I only wonder how far off the two sides are and why they can’t produce an extension.   After the loss of Duncan, Molina is too important to Matheny to depart.   A friend of mine has kidded for weeks that Molina will join Albert in LA but I don’t want to believe that.   Molina means a lot to the Cards but we all know no fates are sealed in professional sports.  Money comes into play sooner or later.   Will he stay or will he go?  He has stated the door isn’t closed until October.

Another powerful episode of Freddie Roach on HBO this weekend.   A look at the prep and drama surrounding the Pacquiao-Marquez fight in November is covered in the 5th episode.   The breakaway of this series is the inside access we get into Roach’s everyday life and dealings.  A meeting outside his gym with a former boxer/trainer and the missing payments and abuse of a female client.   The drama pertaining to Pacquaio and his personal trainer the night before the fight.   Roach’s medical needs for his Parkinson’s disease every day.   Injected into the massively alert proceedings are Roach’s insight into the history of his own life.   Talking about his early fighting days and personal losses comes close and brutally accurate to the emotional power of Peter Berg’s storytelling here.   He lets the subject and his tales dictate the camera and its path and that is the genius of this show.

Part of the skill of being a dad is knowing when to let your kid cry or choose to help him.   Fuck its hard!   For instance, during the middle of the night, when he all of a sudden lets out a powerful strings of cries that really deal a blow to your conscience.   Think of it as a poker player staring you down at a table after making a huge bet and begging you to match it.   Instead, a parent can call his bluff and let him cry it out, go back to sleep and continue on with their own few hours of freedom.   It’s an ongoing battle that never ends until they leave your house and even then, he will play on your emotions and see how far he can walk before you take away his crutches.   Its the game of life and its grand.   Vinny wakes up suddenly and wants to know if he can get attention and as my wife warns me, this is where the gritty get tough and the weak fall.   Its cute to sit outside his door and listen to the desperate screams and cries and its tough to let it go on.   A first time parent can think he or she is the coolest and cutest person in the world by rescuing the kid from temporary hell.  It’s not until the kid is older that you know the kid was playing you the entire time.   Parenting isn’t just about care, joy and happiness mixed with consistent torture.  It’s all just another game within a game.

Kevin Durant is the real deal.  Unlike Lebron, he can make the choice to stay in Oklahoma and bring a championship there.   Russell Westbrook will have to decide if he wants to be The Pippen to Durant’s Jordan, but KD can stick around and make it happen.   Durant dropped 51 points on the Nuggets in a comeback win for the Thunder and the kid constantly reminds you he is a special talent.   Durant sank a 3 pointer and drove the lane for another 2 to tie the game and finished off Denver in OT.   When he hit the 3 pointer, he sat next to his mom on the sideline and gave her a hug and kiss.   Durant has the skills to bring a city a championship and the partner in Westbrook to see it through IF he decides to stick around for a few years.   James stayed  in Cleveland until after his 7th season and he bolted and is running into a wall of hate so his falter will serve a lesson to players like Durant.   Stay in your rookie town and change the game by winning it all.   That’s legendary.

What if Lin is the real deal?  Adding a small dessert to my first section on the new found here comes after Lin drops 28 points and 14 rebounds on the champion Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling win in New York.   Teams are starting to know about Lin and his skill set, and the road only gets tougher for the guy.   He waited a long time for his opportunity and now he is doing everything he can to seize it.  It’s not like I don’t want him to succeed.  I love a comeback story out of nowhere as much as the next guy.  I also know how hard it is to overcome high expectations.   Lin has his work cut out for him.  Can he carve up the competition or not?

My personal prediction is that Albert Pujols will have another decent yet not a “Pujols type year” in 2012 in his first year with Angels before breaking out of the cage in 2013 and 2014.  There will be an adjustment period for the Machine once known as a Cardinal, but he will need time to get set in the AL.   The Angels will contend for a playoff spot and teams will be careful with Pujols and he will continue to hack away and reach at the outside breaking pitches many managers have labeled as his kryptonite.  However, by 2013, Albert will be locked in and ready to destroy the weaker AL pitching and do damage.  Prince Fielder will do well because he is 5 years younger than Albert but his challenge will be consistency as he approaches 30 years old, age, health and Comerica Park.   Albert Pujols will continue to do his thing.   I’m only stating the dominance won’t start until 2013.

Dereck Chisora and David Haye both have failed to beat either of the Klitschko brothers, but they must step into a ring to face each other.  The two Brits got seriously hot and heavy after Chisora’s loss to Vitali Klitschko on Saturday night, and the post fight conference brawl included punches, cuts and tempers that can only call for the two men to settle things inside a box.   Get it done.  Both have made headlines for their words and not their actions so far in their career.  Haye wanted to rip the heads off the Klitschko brothers before his loss to Wladamir.   Chisora spat in Vitali’s face and slapped him at the prefight weigh in this past week.   A lot of dirty play and words and far less punching going on.  The difference is Chisora gave the Russian champ a decent fight and Haye didn’t even make Wladamir break sweat.   After the public fight, there must be a real one.   Old school law calls for two boxers to settle their biggest quarrels in the ring of fire.

On Saturday, I took my wife out for an anniversary dinner.  We have been married for 7 years and on May 6th, together for 10 years.   It’s a promising milestone for any couple to cross those finish lines when they started young and still love each other years later.  We live in a cynical world and one where the divorce rate easily defeats the happily ever after rate.   It’s the world we live in and its something I still in believe in.    Everlasting love.  Strong tough love.  The kind that outlives fights, differences, rough patches and human emotion.   We’ve made it this far and I can tell you I am in for another 7 years.   The road is worth the occasional and sometimes everyday pain.   That’s marriage.  A choice to stay in the fight and see it to the very end because you love someone enough to make it work no matter what.

There are reasons I don’t believe in GOD.   It starts with logic and ends with personal opinion.   Mainly, I don’t believe in him because there is no real proof to his existence.   That helps the credibility factor.   I believe in things I have seen and know very well.    Cold air, the sun, bills, a baby’s smile, the smell of coffee, the taste of a woman’s lips and the aches and pains of the human body.   I believe in those things because they exist in real life and GOD does not.  Who wants to believe in a spooky, weird, flawed father figure who supposedly created this world and did a pretty poor job if you look around at the poverty, greed, death, and general animalistic look of our race?   I believe in people, actions, reactions and the next struggle.   I believe in what I can see and all I see in GOD is a crass, unfair and entirely fictional tale.

With that final take, here is an extra dose of belief talk from the legend himself, George Carlin.   Something to add on to the end of another furious rant.

That’s all for now.  My work here is done and it’s time to get some rest before another work week begins.

Thanks for reading,

D.L.B.

Hello again my friends,

With only 90 minutes to write here after a cold long epic draining 11 hour work shift at Senoret Chemical HQ leaves me with little time to mess around, allow me to throw a few spins on a random order of topics.   Pay attention, follow along and you may learn something or find a flavor that matches your own desire for fresh bold news.  Here we go.  The hands are loaded, the mind is engaged and the time is now to write.  Launched…

Super Bowl Recap-The Giants took down The Brady Machine again, 21-17.  I call it the Brady Machine and not the Patriots because he is the face, soul and main power source of the team.  He is a one man wrecking crew.  Stop him and you can easily beat the Patriots.   The Giants are more balanced and therefore a far more threatening team to face on a huge stage.   This wasn’t a shocking Super Bowl.  I told you it would happen because the first time in 2007 wasn’t a fluke.  The Giants beat the Patriots in the same fashion, with late heroics and gutsy plays.   A detective isn’t required to explain this, but here are a few reasons.

*Eli Manning simply outplayed Tom Brady.   Eli didn’t make mistakes and made the bigger clutch throws.   Brady threw a INT, tossed a pass into no man’s land for a safety, and overthrew Wes Welker late with the score close.   Manning didn’t throw a pick, saved his best throws for last and won the game with a steady diet of completions that included a memorable sideline toss to Mario Manningham that propelled the final drive.   Manning completed an exciting season that began with him declaring himself an elite quarterback like Brady and ended with him outplaying him and beating him for the second time in 4 years.  It’s a great story and something to admire.   Peyton is moving over now because Eli is carving a fine name for himself as a clutch quarterback that wins in the playoffs against anybody.   He has beaten Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady(twice) to win his 2 rings.  Fittingly, he won this won in Peyton’s current house.

*The Giants defense are Brady’s achilles heel.  His weakness that has flashed its nasty colors throughout his career.   There are two teams that wreck Brady and they are the Giants and Ravens.   How do they do this?   Mix up the blitz packages, play man to man coverage in the secondary and contain the quarterback.  Most of all, they have pass rushers who can break through on a four man rush.   Beasts like Jason Pierre Paul and Osi Umenyora.  The Giants only sacked Brady twice but for the better part of the game they kept him off balance and weary enough to hesitate before throwing.  Brady didn’t complete a pass over 20 yards because the G-Men rushers got to him fast enough to withhold him from unleashing a serious assault.   He pecked away for points but never did serious harm.  In the end, Brady was beaten and contained by the Giants.

*Good for Tom Coughlin, a coach who can’t escape the next firing rumor.   This offseason, he will get an extension and peace of mind.   He is cleared of the hot seat for once again outfoxing Bill Belechick.

*The Super Bowl was entertaining and well played.  Each team was in the contest for the haul and for the third year in a row, the game outplayed the commercials.   That’s all you can ask for when your team is out of the playoffs and you sit down for the big game.   Everybody loves a funny TV spot but a well played battle between the last two teams standing makes for a very healthy evening and experience.

Football is now over and the year that nearly saw a portion of the season get cancelled was completed like any other and efficient and compelling.

The Blues are Becoming Road Warriors

The key to any team’s long term success is being consistently impressive on the road.   Playing in other team’s houses and winning.   That is the key.   The Blues jumped on the road last Saturday, lost a close battle to Nashville but rebounded to win easily in Ottawa and outlast New Jersey in overtime last night.   The Blues are undefeated against the Eastern Conference in 2011-2012.  The Blues were down 3-2 last night in the third period, had their starting goalie(Jaro Halak) pulled early, and were looking at a sad end to a road trip.   Instead of falling, Patrik Berglund scored with 5 minutes left and TJ Oshie netted a shootout goal to seal the 4-3 victory against the talented and streaking Devils(winners of 5 in a row before Thursday).   I am very impressed with bounce back ability of the Blues.  They can take a rough punch and come back strong.   Losing to a division power in Nashville or Detroit stings our playoff standings and personal attitude, but every team has to move on and play the schedule.   These are big wins on the road.   The goaltending has been the structural core of the process.   Brian Elliot rescued Halak on Thursday and picked up the win with a few big saves that kept the Blues within striking distance.     Together, the Blues stoppers have 10 shutouts and rank in the top 10 in the NHL in many categories.   While the scoring is balanced and solid, the goaltending has been tremendous.   Halak and Elliot are performing at a high rate and that gives confidence to the skaters in front of them.   The Blues have to continue this road strong play if they are to get a decent playoff slot.   The Blues are a legit playoff team right now, so now the question only is where do they fall.  The main setback of this team is being unable to beat Detroit or Nashville who have beaten us a combined 4 times in a row.  If you are going to last in the playoffs or make it to the finish line in good shape, the Blues have to beat the teams in their division.

The Cardinals are weeks from spring training games and will defend their championship on April 4th in Miami against the powered up Marlins team led by Ozzie Guillen.   The Cardinals are different and bold yet ready.   The best thing about winning it all is you stay the champion for an entire year.   An ocean of new faces flood the dugout this season and no matter how it looks, I am excited about the new era.   Mike Matheny will have to find the fine line between leadership and control, the bats will have to live without the torrid hitting abilities of Mr. Pujols, and health will chase this team for the entire season.    Adam Wainwright’s ability hangs over the rotation.   Jason Motte’s effectiveness will shape the bullpen.   Matt Holliday is the highest paid player but not the face of the franchise.  This team became an ensemble the moment Albert went west and I like it that way.

Side Note.  Roy Oswalt would fit comfortably into the rotation but isn’t REQUIRED for this team to damage.  He is a seasoned pro and All Star arm but also a pitcher who nearly retired due to back pain in 2011, is chasing big money and getting few takers.   The Red Sox and Rangers balked and went elsewhere.  The Nationals signed Edwin Jackson for 10 million over Oswalt.   The Cardinals seem to hold interest but aren’t going to overextend themselves for an aging arm.   While I do want to see Kyle McClellan traded to make room in the bullpen, Oswalt will be tough to haul in if he wants 10 million plus.   He could be a steal like Berkman or a severe bust like Brad Penny.  Cards general manager John Mozelaik is playing this poker game perfectly.

The Rams Waiting on a General Manager

The hiring process is down to a list of 6 names and the pick has to come within the next 2 weeks.   How much longer can the Rams hold out and leave Jeff Fisher with no reach in the payroll and decision making on this team.  I won’t get into specifics but the idea of who this team wants in the drivers seat with Fisher has to become evident here soon.   The draft is less than 2 months away so time is ticking away right now, which isn’t good for a recovering franchise facing dismissal.

Movie Reviews-

Chronicle-This teenage superhero wasteland action thriller follows three high school types who acquire telekinetic powers after they climb down into a hole in a field made by devices they can’t explain.  This film is very good because it is the first film that deals with superhero activities by using realistic special and visual effects.    Everything is meant to look and feel analog and ordinary.    This isn’t a CGI heavy no brainer about bad deeds.  We get three well rounded characters who struggle with their new abilities.    Imagine being in the bathroom and getting a jolt of new energy and ability and get up in the middle of the night and feel different.   Chronicle was a highly original take on the superpowers genre. Three teens mysteriously acquire powers and it changes their lives for the good and bad. I liked this film because it asked the ultimate question. If you were given powers, would you use them for good or bad?  See this film for the unexpected thrills.   Halfway through the film, things get really bad but the story isn’t forced and the descent is convincing and shocking.   Powers don’t always bring pleasure.

Drive(On Blu Ray)-Here is one of the best films of the past year.   A crowning achievement that sneaks up and floors you.   Drive is a visceral rush of a cinematic entertainment. This one has it all. Action, drama, romance and a little dark comedy along with the originality of a renegade filmmaker and writer. This is what the movies should be like. Watching Ryan Gosling’s lone wolf of a hero deliver poetic justice, you know you’re watching something great. One of the best films I’ve seen all year. See it in order to believe it.  Gosling plays a mysterious “driver” who is a stunt driver by day and a driver for hire by night.  He has nobody and walks around LA like a ghost.  People see him and a couple care for him but he notices little until he falls head over heels for his neighbor Irene(Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio.   With the new found affection comes problems, as Driver comes into contact with Irene’s husband Standard(fresh out of jail) and his criminal troubles.  Soon enough, Driver is on a collision course with bad men of all kinds and looking out for not only his own but his two new friends’ lives.   All of this serves up a fine twisting action thriller with equal parts drama and full born action gore.  Drive features the most gruesome kill scenes of any movie in recent memory and that’s a good thing.  This film oozes good vibrations and cool juice.   As the credits roll, you feel the need to ask for more.  That’s the mark of a great movie.  Leaving the lips thirsty.

Birthday Wish for a 30 year old man.   Keep breathing.   Trust me, the ability to stick around for another round of tortured joy is all I need to keep the body moving.   The only way age effects you is when gray hairs pop out of your goatee and your body alerts you that it is shutting down soon.   30 years felt weird for 48 hours but now feels all the same.  Just keep living.

Vinny Note of the Week.   The little man never ceases to be a captivating monster of true pride.   Working the 10-12 hour shifts ends with the reward of locking eyes with the little man before the bed calls for a visit.   Life’s pleasures are dealt out in small doses but the measures of a kid keeping his dad’s head up is limitless.  Right when the pressures of work stresses the mind over, Vincent comes in and clears out the noise.   Kids have that ability.  Chaos for sure but joy wrapping around the turns.

Boxing Bits-

*Manny Pacquiao taking a fight with Timothy Bradley is a sad sign for this era of boxing promotion.   Bradley is undefeated and talented, but he is a headbutting technical foul loser who will be crushed by the punching power of Pac Man.    The reason for him resisting a 4th fight with Marquez or taking on fresh power puncher Canelo Alvarex boggles the mind.   What happened to two men ending their troubles by climbing into a ring?   What happened to making a fight with the best happen and settling things inside the box and not via Twitter snipes?  Muhammed Ali needs to call Pacquaio and tell him to fire his promoter and get in the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr..  Floyd will beat Miguel Cotto(a boxer I love but know well can’t keep up with Floyd’s speed) and Pac Man will pound Bradley.   The world will move on and the boxing republic will sigh.   This is a black eye for boxing.  Promoters aren’t giving boxing fans what they want to see.   One guy in particular.  Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions who handles Pacquiao’s fights.  The fault is on him this time and not Money Mayweather.

Song of the Week-“Someday Baby” by RJ Burnside

An old school blues cool rocker that feels right after a long week.  Unwind with this slow building jam that knows exactly how cool it sounds.

Meme’s legacy has me thinking tattoo.   For the first time in my life, I am thinking about putting ink on my body in memory of my late grandmother.   She is worth it and may be featured across the top of my back if I find myself into a shop this spring.   I have never thought of tattoos as a requirement to express yourself but every once in a while the thought comes into my mind.

HBO’s Luck has me connected to watching a few more episodes.    Slow building like Treme and The Wire(early on), Luck is taking its time with showing its chips and revealing the players but for good reason.   The show is laying powerful roots of revenge and greed on our minds in small doses.  Horse track racing betting sagas leave few noble souls dry.  The addiction of gambling and doing something you are good at(no matter the law bending) is an interesting blend from Michael Mann and David Milch.

The NBA leaves little interest but Lebron James continues to fuel me with stories and thoughts.   What happened to the king?  His fallibility is akin to a boxer misjudging a punch.   A man forgetting the additional pressure of changing teams.   Unlike MJ and Kobe, James lost not only his crown when he left Cleveland but his bulldog desire to be the best and win a championship in his hometown.   Playing in the comfortable Miami heat, he looks laid back and bland.  Less hungry to kill his way to a championship.   If he leaves without a ring and splits his career in two cities, his legacy will go limp.   Yes there is no equal to Jordan but Kobe is far closer than Lebron.   Love or hate Bryant, you must respect his five rings.  He did something Lebron couldn’t do.   Win on his own.

That’s all I got tonight.   Time is up and the night must begin.  I am taking my wife out tonight for dinner and a movie.  Dinner on the Hill and a movie afterwards.   After a 52 hour workweek, it’s time to unwind and have some fun.  Sleep will be included later but for now, I must keep moving.   That’s always the goal in life.  Keep the chains moving and put one foot in front of the other.  I will be back with more later but for now the Buffa Blast Train is pulling into the station for a good long rest stop.

Thanks for reading and goodnight,

Dan L. Buffa

Good morning friends,

I begin this latest compulsive explosion with a little rant.   Lighting the fire…

I love good guy/bad guy standoffs in film and television.   The first scene between two men who know they are on a collision course that involves possible gunplay, violence, and death.   It’s an old school love.  Good and bad in the same room contemplating a move and a future of dead ends.  Everything starts fresh when we are born.   Everyone gets a clean slate at birth.  We are born good and decide to stay that way or go bad.   A scene in Justified between Raylan Givens(Timothy Olyphant) and a mobster from Detroit(Neal McDouragh) signifies this standoff perfectly.   Raylan is the proud noble yet deadly badge looking at a bad man threatening his way of life and town.   Both actors nail the scene and add in all the possible pathos, grit and realism.   Nothing is saved or shortened.  It reminded me of the classic scene in Heat between Al Pacino’s detective and Robert DeNiro’s thief.   Two men who know their paths in life have led them to this intersection of choice, purpose and a need to impose their will.   I love this shit.   It symbolizes everything we are and strive to be in this world.   Are we good or bad?  When do we make that decision?  Villains of the world exist in the small decisions as well.   Do we blast other people to hide our own imperfections or are we clearly diabolical with our intent?   Questions and answers surround us every day and no year other than the highly eventful 2011 taught me that lesson more.  All we have in life is what we are going after, and at this moment I am going directly towards finishing a rant before I get a few hours of sleep.   I turn 30 years old in a little over an hour.   Let’s get to work.

Super Bowl Preview/Hype/Semi-Prediction

The Giants have beat the Patriots two times in a row for many reasons, all involving a little luck, skilled play and fair weather odds.  A couple of those reasons are concrete.   Here they are.

1.)The Giants pass rush finds a way to break through and put legit pressure on Tom Brady.   During the Week 9 defeat of the Pats, the Giants generated such a fearful pass rush that at times, Brady was getting afraid of nothing.   With no players swarming him in the 3rd quarter, Brady ducked in the pocket and threw a ball into the ground.   Look, Tom Brady is a machine, and rarely makes a mistake or looks shaken in the passing zone.   He connects on throws that Tim Tebow works for weeks on to perfect.  So its very noticeable when a team shakes him up.  If you get to Brady, you can beat the beast.  Its as simple as that.  Forget the little things and look at the big picture here.  If the Giants put more pressure on Brady, their chances of winning go through the roof.   The Ravens and Giants are the two teams that manage to knock Mr. Perfect off his game.   This is a reason I think the Giants can win for the third time in a row.

2.)Eli Manning takes advantage of the turnovers that his defense gives him.  When the Giants intercepted Brady twice in Week 9, Manning turned those breaks into 10 points in a game that was decided by 4 points.   Manning doesn’t waste mistakes made by his counterpart.  His deer in the headlights expression withstanding,  Manning is a clutch playoff performer and an underrated quarterback.  During the NFL lockout last year, Manning called himself an elite QB and caused a shock wave throughout the sport.   A label usually reserved for guys like Brady, Peyton, Rodgers, Brees and Big Ben.   When I heard it, all I cautioned was for the younger brother to live up to it and earn the status.   Here we are, with Eli staring down Brady in the Super Bowl.  Win or lose here, he has lived up to it.   When you talk about Eli, its hard to not discuss Peyton.   The older brother took many seasons and playoff chances to take down Brady.   Peyton suffered so many Foxboro meltdowns before beating the Patriots in 2006 before defeating the Bears in the Super Bowl.   Other times, Peyton has come up short, most recently against Brees two years ago.   Eli Manning went up against the undefeated Patriots in 2007 and beat Brady and company straight up with a performance many nailed down as a fluke.  Until now.   What if Eli takes down Brady again?  He will become the better Manning, at least for the time being.   This isn’t taking anything away from Peyton, who I admire a lot.   Peyton Manning is coming off his third neck surgery and ran into a unbeatable machine himself in Brees and the Saints.   Peyton will go down as one of the greats no matter what and that is whether he finishes his career in a Colts jersey or different uniform(more on that later).   This weekend, though, Eli Manning gets a chance to make a name for himself.

3.)The Patriots have zero running game outside of a small Danny Woodhead attack.  Brady is great but if he can’t throw and get the necessary time to get set up, where do they go?  The Giants are ready to stuff their paltry running game and right there is when this game will be won.  When Bill Belicheck can’t adjust to a great defense, what will he do to save the game?  A great riddle that awaits this game.  Its very possible the Patriots come out and throw up some points but it won’t be easy.  The Giants have the better defense and the more efficient offense at the time.  They match up well with the Patriots and play them tough.   Brady fans, start to worry.

4.)The Head Coach battle.   The great Belicheck against the much maligned Tom Coughlin.   Different men, similiar pressure and a very deciding game.   You see, the Patriots win over the Ravens in the AFC championship game was their first over a team with a winning record in 2011.   It was the Patriots first playoff win since 2007.   That streak doesn’t fall on Brady alone.  His head coach has some demons to clear out of the box.  Shortly after the Patriots last Super Bowl win, claims and reports flooded the league of the Patriots stealing play calls and signals during playoff games.   The Patriots didn’t deny one charge and ended up losing draft picks and suffering big fines for their cheating ways.   Many stupid people claimed every team cheated, like the idiotic classmates telling the teacher its okay to steal answers on a test because the whole class was doing it.   It clouded all the Super Bowl wins and raised unbreakable doubt in the true ability of Belicheck’s team.   Winning Sunday means the demons would leave the box and peace could enter.  The Giants are playing for a chance to prove their 2007 win wasn’t a fluke and they really do know how to beat Brady.   The Patriots are trying to reclaim a sense of glory they lost after their 2007 defeat and the allegations and uncomfortably truths raised afterwards.   Every team plays for something other than to simply win.   Every Super Bowl carries juice.   This one carries plenty.  Coughlin plays in a city carrying the highest expectations and a fanbase that has wanted his head for years.   What else can Coughlin do if the Giants win their 2nd Super Bowl in 5 years?   Coughlin has never made an excuse or reached out for special interviews to explain his side.  He has gone about his business and done the right thing in coaching the way he was born to coach.  He didn’t change for the Giants front office or fanbase.  He stuck to his guns and landed in the biggest game on earth again.

5.)Semi-Prediction.   The Giants take down the Brady Machine again, winning in the final minutes based off the exact same reasons I stated above.   The Giants pass rush ability, Manning’s clutch play and ability to capitalize, Brady’s gun shy fear of the Giants and the 4-0 record and style of play shown by the Giants the past month make this game a matchup that falls in New York’s favor.   I won’t give numbers but I am betting on the Giants.  I picked them when few around did over the Packers and still think they will be champions once again.

“Once more into the frey, I live and die on this day…”

The Grey/ Movie Review

The Grey won’t leave my head.  Its a good thing.  As I drove to Kentucky last weekend,  I’m staring at rivers, trees with a survival instinct.  Look at myself.  What’s on my person?  Movies make you think differently.   The Grey is about a group of oil drillers on a plane who crash in the middle of Alaska.   Their security detail, Ottway(Liam Neeson) is in charge of protecting them from wolves, but their circumstances bring several other troubles once seven survivors start out on foot trying to make their way to help, water, fire and food.  Their main nemesis are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders and only want to protect their home.  Wolves have learned to evolve along with their conditions.   They survive naked, without weapons and hunt their own food and find their homes.  They aren’t evil.  Seeing the group of men hunted by wolves in this movie is riveting because of the realistic nature of the rival mindsets.  The humans want to live and the wolves want to protect and live as usual.   The Grey is great and highly entertaining because its more than just an action film.  There is real drama here and a genuine story.   Neeson’s Ottway is a torn man who longs for his wife and a sense of peace.  He is thrown into a leadership role once the plane goes down.   Neeson handles the part with his usual convincing tough guy skill.    He is the heart and soul of a film floating in a sea of fine supporting performances.   The torn soul of bravado and courage forming the glue.  The poetic subplot, realistic standards and execution were so great.  Haywire was a great movie for action and style with minimal plot.  The Grey was a solid journey into the isolated wilderness of the soul and the things and people we fill it with and lose when we die.  A thought provoking action film.  Neeson has been on fire since the passing of his wife and this is the first role where we see his pain, given the role of Ottway who is living in mourning the entire film.  The scene where he talks about his inability to believe in GOD and where he rips him for failing to help are true gravy moments.  Sometimes action films can become something more.    What a movie.  2 weeks in a row.

Californication Blunt Force Drama

David Duchovny’s show is a direct blunt shot to the most ugly areas of human affection.   There’s a scene in this week’s where sex is the main discussion at a dinner table with three different couples.  Duchovny plays renegade fuckup artist/freelance writer Hank Moody, and he is the center of attention at this table of dirty tales.  Every kind of erotic encounter is thrown on the table.  Anal sex, porn, circle jerks, toys, fantasies and torn past relationships.   Moody is jaded soul who has messed up a ton of lives with his imperfections and inability to be a good husband and father.  He can only be one at a time.  He never gets it all right.   DD plays the role like a seasoned pro and this scene, full of R rated banter and invigorating acting, puts the rugged heart of this show on full display.  Flawed men and women who can’t decide if they want to spend the rest of their lives together but they want to hang around and try to be good people while they make a run for it.   All the songs are well known tunes covered by new artists.  The acting is blunt.  This is a great show.

*I haven’t dipped into the new HBO horse racing gambling drama LUCK yet.   Michael Mann is a producer and directs the first episode and the cast, lined with Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, is first rate, but I haven’t been pulled in yet.   Something about the plot hasn’t yanked on my interest yet.

The Blues Resume The Hunt

After an All Star break that seemed to take a month, the Blues are back in action in their dogfight in the Central Division.   They lost in Detroit and scored a tie against the Penguins before the break 11 days ago and went in a single point behind conference leader Detroit.   They begin the second half against the Kings at home before starting a string of road action that will define the season.   Do the Blues need to make a trade?  I say no unless a willing suitor comes forth with a player who won’t shake the chemistry of the team and help their chances.   We can always use a legit goal scorer or front 4 defenseman.  However, with Andy Mcdonald and Alex Steen on the mend from concussion induced hell, the Blues are looking at getting 2 great players back in the lineup soon.  Why trade for a player when your injury list features a couple jewels?   This team needs to get sharper on the road and stay as stout as possible with a majority of the games in February and March coming away from Scottrade Center, where the Blues are a decent(no, awesome) 19-3-4.  The Red Wings, Blackhawks and Predators aren’t going away.   The Blues season turn around has been great to watch for any real fan, but it only means something if the winning ways can be sustained.  Looking forward to seeing David “Freight Train” Backes and the boys get back at it and go for the gold.  I don’t see this team going away.

*Sam Gagner scored 8 points against the Blackhawks on Thursday night, tying an Edmonton Oilers record with 4 goals and 4 assists.   In a day and age where individual accomplishment is becoming a rare feat, and Gagner scored himself a pretty successful night on the third night back from the break.   Worth mentioning.

Cardinals Make a Plea for Roy Oswalt and I say…

Why not?  Health issues pending or not, Oswalt is a plus pitcher with big time experience, success and an arm that instantly makes the Cardinals rotation that much better.   If the Cards were able to obtain him, either Jake Westbrook or Kyle Lohse would be traded and I have no problem with that.   Westbrook makes 9 million and Lohse makes 11.   Oswalt is commanding a one year deal worth 10 million.    Due to his record and status, he is worth that low liability cash.   There are legit reasons to be worried here.   Oswalt nearly retired in the middle of the 2011 season after the Cardinals roughed him up at Busch Stadium.   In the playoffs, Oswalt pitched very well against the Cards and only allowed 2 runs in 15 innings.  Oswalt has chronic back issues and that scares any team making an investment.   However, I like his upside and what he can do for this team.  He wants to pitch in St. Louis and if John Mozelaik can make it happen, the rotation becomes one of the best in baseball.

The 2012 Cardinals will rely heavily on healthy old players.  Players like Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Rafael Furcal and David Freese have missed significant time due to injury in their careers and their availability will write up the 2012 seasons.   The loss of vital parts like Pujols, La Russa, and Duncan can only be fixed if the returning parts can stay in the lineup.   The secured closer spot means more than anything to the pitching staff.