Buffa's Buffet: Ovechkin, Holliday, fiery Jets, and choosing TV shows wisely
Musings to think about while St. Louis Blues fans get over the first loss of the season. The buffet is open, so grab a plate and figure what part of my head you find entertaining.
Fun fact: I watched about six minutes of that Blues loss last night to Winnipeg. That was it. The Jets had just scored their second goal, and St. Louis was cycling the puck like I did back in high school when I played ice hockey for one season. In other words, they were cycling it like amateurs, getting buried in the Winnipeg zone repeatedly. The Jets scored two more times, and that was it. 3-1 record for the Blues. Today, I feel nothing about it. The detachment from sports anxiety has been glorious.
Actual fun fact: The trailer for "Ant-Man: Quantamania" was released yesterday, and I am as excited about this movie as I am any other Marvel film releasing in 2023. Why? Because it won't break my brain and will make me laugh. Led by Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, I think of this as the comfort food sector of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They don't ask for much in return, and provide a lot of entertainment. It's not a complex time travel plot or different multiverses; just a tiny hero, who is also a single dad, having to deal with another predicament. Comedy helps these movies go down nice. Thanks, Paul. I hope your Chiefs win their football game next weekend.
A few weeks after Albert Pujols notched HR #700, a mammoth producer in another sport starts to take aim at an illustrious mark. On the Cam and Strick Podcast today, where former Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was a guest, the boys talked about Alexander Ovechkin’s shot at becoming the #1 all-time goal scorer in the NHL. Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe stand in front of him at the moment, but “Ovie” isn’t a large amount behind. At the time of this writing, “The Great 8” has 783 goals, 18 behind Howe (801) and 111 behind the Great One. He scored 50 last season, and already has three less than three weeks into the 2022-23 season. If there’s one guy I dreamed of wearing white and blue, it was Ovechkin. Hockey boner alert.
The Cards may be looking from the outside in at this year’s World Series, but they can be proud to say one of their own has been promoted in a big way. St. Louis fan favorite and *former* bench coach, Skip Schumaker, will become the new manager of the Miami Marlins. After coaching in San Diego and St. Louis, the 2011 playoff hero gets the big. My wife will be sad to see that fine ass go, and Cardinal Nation loses a fine coach.
In the meantime, Matt Holliday could climb through the window. He’s a volunteer coach at Oklahoma State, and has done a few local radio hits talking about the team. He still knows a lot of the guys and individuals who run the Cardinals. Holliday is John Mozeliak’s first real gambit of a trade. The big fella put together a solid career in this city, and could serve Oliver Marmol’s staff well as a bench coach. Skip out, and a Holliday begins? Probably not, but you heard it here fifth.
Something that doesn't need further discussion: Car trouble. Why? It can sneak up and fuck your life up whenever it wants. This morning, after driving the car once earlier in the morning, the Buick refused to start when I left for work. A clicking noise was familiar; the car's internal screens staying on after the car remained off wasn't so familiar. All of it sucks, but my dad is on the case. Send good vibes that it's just a battery and not something I can't pronounce. **UPDATE** It was just a battery, but an expensive one. I long for the days when car batteries cost under $100. Yikes Town.
One more thing about Jordan Walker. Allow me to play devil’s advocate with the other half of me that would like to see MLB’s #6 prospect make a dent in St. Louis next year. The team could instead pursue one of the many free agent outfielders, and allow the young man to come up at his own rate. The last thing the Cardinals could do with Walker is rush him along, start him too fast, and lose a couple of years to retooling or a bump in the road. He’s not going anywhere, and the team wouldn’t move him for Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani. Letting him find the proper groove would be wise.
What shows have I watched, intend to finish watching, have hit pause on, or absolutely ditched?
I haven't watched enough "She-Hulk" to give a proper take on it, but I did enjoy the one episode I did watch and my family is enjoying the following episodes. There wasn't a strong urge in me to keep going there. Sometimes, or most times these days, I don't have time for shows that don't grab my attention. I'll rewatch a movie like "Role Models" instead (extra Rudd shoutout). That's where my head's at right now.
TV Shows I am watching/not watching. I have watched two episodes of "Andor," released on Disney Plus just like "She-Hulk." This "Star Wars" world-set series is an origin tale about one of the rebel fighters from "Rogue One," the one-off SW movie that goes down as my favorite one since Luke took Darth down back in the 80s. "Andor" gives Diego Luna, a good actor, extra screen time as Cassian Andor. We saw his most daring mission manifest in the movie, but the show delivers goods on all of his previous adventures. I'll be finishing this one.
Evidence that a good show also gets to wait: I have not continued "Welcome to Wrexham" after the first ten episodes. It's pretty good for the most part, but the lack of time makes it hard to keep going on 3-4 shows at once. My wife finished "House of the Dragon," and I bailed on that after two episodes. Again, time slows down for no one, and shows get left behind. Thankfully, they don't get deleted for a while.
Thanks for reading.
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