Here are five things to know this weekend, straight from my desk in Princeton Heights in South City. These items may not qualify for breaking news or trending topics, but it's my space and my head, so here we go.
5.) Rest in Peace, Harry Dean Stanton. First, Frank Vincent passes, and now Stanton. Characters actors in Hollywood are taking a hit this week. You couldn't forget Stanton's face. Repo Men. Big Love. Twin Peaks. Red Dawn. Paris, Texas. Stanton appeared in 199 films/television shows and brought something good to each and every one of them. If he was in it, the movie was better for it. The first role I remembered upon hearing about his death: The Avengers. He gave The Hulk a pair of pants. For over 60 years, Stanton gave Hollywood a layer of authenticity.
4.) Get Ray Landford in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. This week, Tommy Pham became the sixth Cardinal to collect 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season. Well, Lankford did it five times as a Cardinal. He was a bright light in a mostly dismal 1990's period of Cardinals baseball. When Darren Daulton died this summer, I thought of Ray's brutal collision with Daulton in 1993 first.
3.) "I consider myself a movie doctor here at KSDK, so let me guide you during your weekend DVD quest. Skip the laughable Tom Cruise flick, The Mummy. Pretend that Alien: Covenant never existed. The TV movie-like Megan Leavey isn't worth your time, nor is the Diane Lane softball, Paris Can Wait. Watch the underrated boxing flick, Chuck. If you adore the story of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, you should know the man behind it. That's Chuck Wepner, the Bleeder of Bayonne who went toe to toe with Muhammad Ali. Brilliantly captured by Liev Schreiber, we see Chuck's rise and fall in a hopeful yet realistic story of regular Joe bravado. Naomi Watts is wonderful as the woman who picked Wepner up out of the gutter and Ron Perlman is particularly good as his trainer. This is one of those painfully overlooked gems that didn't get the right distribution plan in theaters, but is perfect for home viewing. Give it a chance."
2.) The NFL is dead to me. This past Sunday, a full set of games occurred and I didn't watch a single snap, down, quarter, or game. If you truly want to rebel against something, stop watching it and feeding it cash. Roger Goodell and the NFL doesn't care about fans, so don't return the favor. Slowly yet surely, families aren't letting their kids participate in a sport that dumps its players like cheap dates at a bad restaurant.
*I absolutely loved seeing a half-empty crowd watch Stan Kroenke's Rams blow out the Indianapolis Colts.
1.) Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are going to shine a bright light on the world of boxing Saturday night. This is going to be an action packed fight with zero vanity or pretentiousness to lessen the entertainment. Two great boxers going head to head for the top seat in the sport. Two guys who will walk forward and throw heavy punches with intent to bruise. Forget Mayweather-Pacquaio. Forget Mayweather-McGregor. If any boxing fight is worth your 60-75 dollars, it's Canelo-GGG. There will be no decision or judges required. This will end by knockout. Two boxers with 67 combined career knockouts waging war in a squared ring tonight. Fans have waited years for this fight. Casual fans should pay attention. September 16 is a special night in boxing.
My prediction: Canelo by knockout in the tenth round.
That's all I got. Thanks for reading. Stay safe wherever you are. Everybody's last birthday meet the next.
