Merkel, Sarkozy hold euro talks

Berlin (CNN) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a united front Sunday in the face of regional economic woes, but offered few details about how they would solve financial problems.

"We are on the same wavelength in making decisions," Sarkozy said, pledging along with his German counterpart to pursue a "recapitalization" of European banks.

"We will do this together with our German friends in full agreement. There is no prosperous economy if there are no stable, reliable banks," he said.

Sarkozy said detailed proposals were still in the works, but he stressed the importance of acting quickly -- before the upcoming G-20 meeting in Cannes, France.

"We need to contribute with a lasting and global solution. And this response is one that we (have) decided to respond to before the end of this month," Sarkozy said.

Merkel and Sarkozy -- the leaders of Europe's two largest economies -- met in Berlin amid fears that Greece will default on at least some of its debts, having warned it will run out of money this month.That will put pressure on the euro, the common currency used by Greece and 16 other European Union countries.

"We would like to reiterate the importance of the euro and the necessity to find the necessary answer for the involved countries," Merkel said Sunday.

"The decision of a joint government has been a very difficult one. It's visionary. But the decision of a joint currency is at the very foundation of that," she added.

The scarcity of details offered at Sunday's press conference may not be a coincidence, said Richard Quest, CNN's international business correspondent and host of "Quest Means Business."

"Anybody can agree on these banal generalities," he said. "This is a situation where the devil is in the details."

The unfolding situation is not merely an economic crisis, Quest said.

"It's an economic crisis leading to a political crisis of will to actually make the decisions and make them stick," he said.

"So far there's no serious plan on the table. If you listen to European officials, they talk about negotiating one. What the markets want is to actually see one," Quest said.

Merkel cheered European stock markets on Thursday, hinting that governments could inject cash into troubled banks.

Merkel said providing government money for European banks that are struggling with liquidity issues "is sensibly invested" if it's clear that such action is needed to prevent a broader financial crisis.

"We should not hesitate," she said, "because otherwise there will be far greater damage to our systems."

European banks have been struggling with fears about potential losses on government bonds issued by troubled European governments such as Greece. The threat of a so-called sovereign debt contagion has also led to a pullback in lending between banks.

The IMF recently estimated that European banks face an overall credit risk of up to 300 billion euros ($401 billion) stemming from bonds issued by Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

Analysts suggest the euro will survive, but that tense times lie ahead.

"The system will hold together but it will not be a stress-free exercise. The benefits of keeping Europe and the euro together outweigh the risks over the long-term," said James Rickards, senior managing director at Tangent Capital Partners. "What's going on in Europe is classic brinksmanship."

Dan Dorrow, senior vice president of research at Faros Trading, an independent currency broker-dealer, agreed.

"The risk of someone leaving the euro is a small tail risk probability," Dorrow said.

Merkel and Sarkozy's meeting Sunday comes ahead of a meeting of finance ministers of the Group of 20 nations in France on Friday and Saturday.

Also Sunday, governments of Belgium, France and Luxembourg said they had agreed on a solution for the troubled Franco-Belgian Dexia bank -- pushed to the brink of collapse by sovereign debt and funding pressures.

A joint statement released by the governments Sunday did not give details about the solution, which it said would be submitted to the bank's board of directors for approval.

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Some Dems praise, Republicans slam 'Occupy Wall Street'

Washington (CNN) -- Politicians fought Sunday to cast the ongoing Wall Street protests in a very different light, with two GOP presidential candidates calling them "class warfare" and prominent Democrats expressing support for the protesters' message.

As lawmakers took to the political talk shows, a crowd of about 100 people protested outside the White House, part of a wave of protests spreading nationwide inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The Secret Service said one person was arrested and will be charged with assault on a police officer after throwing a shoe at a uniformed officer.

Lisa Simeone, one of the protest organizers, said the man was trying to throw his shoe over the fence of the White House but missed.

Most of those taking part carried an anti-war message -- something that has happened in other cities as well. Several carried signs asking President Barack Obama to join them for a "beer summit."

Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, who visited a protest Saturday in Atlanta, told CNN Sunday that the protesters "want to be heard."

"And at the same time they want to speak to America, speak to people in power, to officials of the American government but also to the business community, especially Wall Street, to corporate America, to bankers. They're saying, in effect, that we bailed out Wall Street and now it's time for Wall Street and corporate America to help bail out the American people.

"People are hurting. They're in pain and they're looking for jobs. They want us to humanize the American government but also humanize corporate America."

Lewis said he visited the rally near his Atlanta office "to lend my support and to encourage the people because I support their efforts all across America." He was unable to speak to the crowd, he said, but not because he was refused. Lewis said the group told him he could speak after they finished their business, but that he had to leave.

The Occupy Wall Street protests, which have sprouted up in numerous cities, entered their 23rd day Sunday.

Open Story: See iReports from the protests.

The leaderless movement, which began with protests in New York, decries corporate greed and social inequality. But demonstrations have evolved to also include topics such as the war in Afghanistan and the environment.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has a petition on its website, asking people to support the protests and send a message to the "reckless Republican leadership in Congress."

Lewis drew comparisons to his experience in the civil rights movement. "When we marched on Washington 48 years ago we marched for jobs and freedom. But we spelled it out. We said we wanted a civil rights bill. We said we wanted that bill to contain a ban on discrimination and public accommodation and employment, and we got it a year later. But these individuals all across America are saying, in effect, that the banks and other businesses are holding millions and billions of dollars and they need to invest in the American people. They need to put people back to work."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she supports "the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen."

"We cannot continue in a way that ... is not relevant to their lives," Pelosi told ABC's "This Week." "People are angry."

The California Democrat was asked about a remark by her colleague across the aisle Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, that he was concerned about "growing mobs" who were "pitting ... Americans against Americans."

"I didn't hear him say anything when the tea party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol, and he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging them," Pelosi said.

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, meanwhile, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he believes the protests are aimed at drawing attention away from President Obama.

"The proof is quite simply the bankers and the people on Wall Street didn't write these failed policies of the Obama administration. They didn't spend a trillion dollars that didn't work. The administration and the Democrats spent a trillion dollars," Cain said. Citing the president's new jobs bill, Cain added that the "administration is proposing another $450 billion wrapped in different rhetoric. So it's a distraction, so many people won't focus on the failed policies of this administration."

Cain insisted that the protesters "were encouraged to get together." When asked by whom, he said, "We know that the unions and certain union-related organizations have been behind these protests that have gone on."

In New York, several unions endorsed the Occupy Wall Street movement last week.

Cain insisted the protests are "anti-American."

"The free market system and capitalism are two of the things that have allowed this nation and this economy to become the biggest in the world," he said. "Even though we have our challenges, I believe that the protests are more anti-capitalism and anti-free market than anything else."

Fellow GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich told CBS that he agrees with Cain that the protests are "a natural product of Obama's class warfare. ... We have had a strain of hostility to free enterprise. And frankly a strain of hostility to classic America starting in our academic institutions and spreading across this country. And I regard the Wall Street protest as a natural outcome of a bad education system, teaching them really dumb ideas."

Both Cain and Gingrich described the protests as "class warfare."

Pelosi rejected that. "When we said everyone should pay their fair share, the other side said that's class warfare," she said on ABC. "No, it's not. It's the most enduring American value: fairness. And it's about everyone paying their fair share. We all have a responsibility to grow our economy, reduce the deficit, keep us No. 1."

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, told NBC's "Meet the Press," "I don't disparage anybody who protests their government for better government. No matter what perspective they come from."

Republicans "want to lower the barriers against Americans who want to rise," he said. Ryan added that divisive rhetoric is "troubling. Sowing class envy and social unrest is not what we do in America."

Jesse LaGreca, a blogger for the liberal Daily Kos, told ABC, "I think the matter at hand is that the working-class people in America, you know, the 99% of Americans who aren't wealthy and aren't prospering in this economy, have been entirely ignored by the media. Our political leaders pander to us, but they don't take action. They stand in the way of change. They filibuster on behalf of the wealthiest 1%. They fold on behalf of the wealthiest 1%."

"We should ask our government to represent the will of the people," he added. "And if the will of the people are demanding action, then they should follow suit."

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Verlander's aura fading, more thoughts

It took just one game, but the Tigers learned how they must win the ALCS: They must put up early runs against the Texas left-handed starting pitchers. Texas manager Ron Washington showed off his bullpen weapons in Saturday night's Game 1, using five relievers to pick up 13 outs without giving up a run. And the X Factor is Alexi Ogando, the reliever-turned-starter-turned reliever who is pumping 97 mph bullets past a right-hand-dominant Detroit lineup.

The Tigers' lineup is diminished, especially against right-handed pitching. They are missing injured Delmon Young, their No. 3 hitter. One of their key left-handed bats against right-handers, Alex Avila, looks as lost at the plate as his 1-for-20 postseason would suggest. And another key left-handed bat, Wilson Betemit, is even worse -- so overmatched that he may no longer be an option at all.

Washington's formula is to set the game up with a left-handed starter -- Derek Holland goes today -- and then pound Detroit's right-handed lineup with Ogando. Right now Ogando on the Tigers lineup is a two-inning mismatch, a game shortener.

Ogando already beat Detroit three times this year as a starter. Asked how Ogando looked in Game 1, Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera laughed and said, "The same. Very strong arm."

That's why the biggest play of Game 1 might have occurred in the first inning. Detroit had Texas starter C.J. Wilson on the ropes: bases loaded, one out, and Magglio Ordonez at the plate. Ordonez grounded into a double play. Even with a short start by Wilson, reduced by rain and a high pitch count, Washington then had the game in good hands with his bullpen.

Psst, here's a little secret: Justin Verlander is losing a bit of his aura. Deep into a season of 4,168 pitches, the Detroit ace, while still maintaining velocity, doesn't have quite the same command he had throughout most of his magical 24-5 season.

Of course, he needs something of a hall pass because of the nuttiness of having two postseason starts abbreviated by rain. A pitcher's routine is held sacred, and Verlander has been thrown off of his comfort level.

But still, even before rain became an issue in ALCS Game 1, as Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, "I thought tonight his control was not very good. He didn't really have his curveball going for strikes. He had a tough time with it."

Over his past four starts, Verlander has pitched to a 5.85 ERA and allowed 27 baserunners in 20 innings. His career postseason ERA is now 5.71 in 34 2/3 innings, a reflection of his intensity in big spots. As Leyland said, Verlander was guilty of overthrowing last night.

Verlander is still the best pitcher in this series, and Leyland will figure out on Sunday what to do with him for the rest of the series; he has the option of bringing him back for Game 4 and having him as an option for Game 7 out of the bullpen, or possibly as a starter if he gets through Game 4 without much stress.

But understand this, too: the Tigers ace is not the same force he was throughout the season. There was a scene in the Rangers clubhouse that underscored his reduced aura. One of the Rangers, while fiddling on a cell phone, and tired of the media's questions about the importance of beating Verlander, said in a mocking tone under his breath, "Verlander, Verlander . . . geez."

But Verlander is a big story of this postseason. He dominated the regular season so much that defeating him does inflict a wound a bit more painful than against any other pitcher. The next time he takes the ball -- regardless of whether on short rest or not -- look for Verlander to start regaining that aura.

The Tigers struck out 14 times on Saturday night. Only once in their 88-game franchise postseason history did they ever punch out more often -- and that was when Bob Gibson of the Cardinals whiffed 17 Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.

In fact, the Tigers' 14 whiffs was a record for Game 1 of any ALCS, surpassing the 13 punchouts by the 2000 Mariners against the Yankees.

What's significant about the strikeouts is that they may not be an anomaly. The combination of Texas' power arms and Detroit's aggressive, long swingers -- Austin Jackson, Jhonny Peralta, Brandon Inge and Betemit come to mind -- could result in bucketloads of strikeouts in this series.

In fact, Texas closer Neftali Feliz looked so dominant blowing the ball past Detroit hitters, that you wonder if Leyland had to do it all over again if he would have played for a tie on the road and ordered a sacrifice after Ramon Santiago began the inning with a bunt single. There was no hope of stringing three hits together against Feliz to score a run, so on a wet field the better play may have been to put the ball on the ground and see what happens. The Rangers already had used their best relievers, so a tie game -- normally not advantageous on the road -- might have been a more attractive scenario.

How dominant was Feliz? The Tigers, excluding Santiago's bunt, swung at nine of his pitches. They missed seven times.

The Phillies' loss to the Cardinals was made possible by the Phillies playing so hard against the Braves in the final series of the season, with the Philadelphia extra-innning win in Game 162 helping to knock out Atlanta and send St. Louis in. The lesson is to beware the hot (and healthy) team down the stretch.

In terms of win differential, the Cardinals (90 wins) pulled off the third greatest knockout in Division Series history by taking out Philadelphia (102 wins). Overall, the team with the better record wins 54 percent of the time in Division Series (35-30).

What St. Louis did was reprove that baseball, like other sports, has become much more of a tournament sport than ever before. Baseball used to be about the best team in each league deciding which one is better. That was a long time ago. Now because of expansion, television money and the ways fans and advertisers get invested in "event" appointments that get consumed in real time and not time-shifted (Oscars, Emmys, Super Bowl, playoff games, etc.), baseball championships are decided by negotiating a short tournament. It's nothing like the true World Series era (1903-1968) that now is a legacy without relevance to how championships are won today.

You would think that the postseason, for instance, would be all about pitching. But with Philadelphia ousted, no team that has led the majors in ERA has won the World Series since the first year of the Division Series era (1995 Braves). And this is really odd: In every Division Series, the teams that gave up the most runs won the series. The losers outscored the winners in all four series, and by the combined score of 95-75. It makes sense only when you understand that the postseason does not make sense. The old rules don't apply.

Here's one look at how the mighty have fallen in Division Series play -- the greatest series defeats measured by win differential:

Mark Teixeira had another awful postseason series for the Yankees. The guy is an accomplished hitter. So it must be written off as Teixeira being "unlucky," or meaningless because of the whims of the "small sample size" defense, right? Knock yourself out by telling yourself that, but that just means you haven't been paying attention to how Teixeira has been devolving as a hitter.

I wrote back in January about how Teixeira, coming off a .256 season, is so mechanically unsound that he is going to continue to decline. Teixeira collapses on his back side and swings up on the ball. I wrote then, "The style means Teixeira must catch the ball out in front of him and leaves him prone to lifting the ball rather than driving through it. As he ages, Teixeira becomes an even more extreme fly ball hitter and pull hitter, trends that mean he will continue to lose points off his batting average."

Teixeira, who came to the Yankees as a .290 career hitter, followed that .256 season with another decline, to .248. Put him in a postseason environment, with better pitching and home runs tougher come to come by, and Teixeira's rally-killing style is going to be more pronounced. He has hit .167 over his last 108 postseason at-bats.

His troubles are particularly acute from the left side. Teixeira batted .224 from the left side this year while getting only four hits all year to the opposite field.

His batting average on balls in play has dropped every year with the Yankees: .302, .268, .239. That's not unlucky. It's symptomatic of his hitting style. His fly ball rate has increased every year as a Yankee (37 in 2008, followed by 44, 46, 47). His infield pop-ups, which are no different than strikeouts, and were as low as 14 in 2008, have grown to 21, 30 and 27 as a Yankee.

Teixeira's swing simply is not built to make him a consistent clutch hitter. After coming to the Yankees with a .308 average with runners in scoring position in 2008, he hasn't come close to that kind of reliability with New York (.264, .273, .268) -- especially in the postseason environment.

Teixeira turns 32 years old next season. The Yankees already have age-related issues with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. You can put Teixeira in that category, not because of health, but because his pull-happy, fly ball swing is the kind that doesn't age well, sort of like those of J.D. Drew and Adam Dunn.

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Best digital cameras for travel

(Travel + Leisure) -- You're out for drinks at a tango hall in Buenos Aires, with your bulky digital SLR camera back in the hotel room. As the dancers pause in a dramatic embrace, you reach for your smartphone. But it's too dim, and by the time the built-in camera focuses, the moment has passed.

Travel + Leisure: Best travel gadgets 2011

Welcome to one of today's biggest travel photography conundrums. Five-or-more-megapixel smartphones give us a false sense of being covered, photo-wise. But all too often, they fall short, and we're left with blurry, even discolored vacation photos. The truth is that dedicated digital cameras are just as important as ever.

Fortunately, the digital SLR -- with its super-fast shutter speeds, big image sensors, and interchangeable lenses -- is no longer the only option for top-notch photos. By ditching the internal reflective mirror that gives the SLR its what-you-see-is-what-you-get viewfinder, a new generation of interchangeable lens cameras provides the same versatility, image quality and performance at about two-thirds of the size and weight. You'll really appreciate the difference after a day of sightseeing.

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Going on an extended vacation that combines hiking, city tours, midnight walks and wakeboarding? The mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is up to the challenge: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, for example, has 11 different lenses, among them, wide-angle, telephoto and zoom, that can handle any situation.

If you prefer something smaller, it's worth upgrading to the latest generation of pocket-ready point-and-shoot cameras, which offer many advantages over camera phones. New features include built-in GPS, which automatically geo-tags images with their location -- allowing you to share and map vacation routes later online via services such as Google Panoramio. The Pentax Optio WG-1's built-in GPS can even tell you which Cayman Islands coral reef you photographed, since it's waterproof up to 33 feet.

Travel + Leisure: Vote for the best new landmarks

One advantage you do get with a smartphone is the ability to instantly share your pictures online. But some cameras now offer workarounds: the Kodak Playfull has a special function that lets you tag photos for sharing, then automatically uploads them the next time you connect to your computer. Similarly, an add-on for the Olympus PEN E-PL2 will send your pictures wirelessly to your cell phone via Bluetooth, allowing you to upload on the fly. Check out the gallery above for some of the best travel camera options.

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Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh dead at 40

(CNN) -- Painter Mikey Welsh, most famously known as the bassist for the rock band Weezer, died Saturday, according to the band. He was 40.

The cause of death was not immediately available.

According to Welsh's official website, he was a painter before he made the the shift to music at 19. A decade later, he had achieved fame as the bassist for the band Weezer, replacing the band's long-time bassist Matt Sharp.

Welsh was part of the band's 2001 "Green Album" release, which featured "Hash Pipe." The single became one of the band's biggest hits, peaking at No. 2 on Billboard's Alternative songs chart.

Welsh left the band shortly after, saying he had suffered a nervous breakdown.

The band remembered Welsh as vital chapter to their history and one to never "shy away from the absurd, dangerous or strange," according to the statement on the Weezer's website

Weezer plans to play as scheduled Sunday during Chicago's RIOTfest.

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Five easy road trips

(Travel + Leisure) -- These under-the-radar destinations make for an easy road trip-and each is close to a big city.

A Culinary Retreat: Columbia County, New York (2 1/2 hours from New York City)

Everyone knows the Catskills, but neighboring Columbia County is the latest Green Acres idyll: Think picture-perfect hamlets and a decidedly citified food scene.

Stay: On 1,200 acres of rolling pasture outside the bucolic town of Ghent, Kinderhook Farm (1958 Co. Rte. 21; 505/603-1815; barn sleeps four, from $284) recently converted one of its red barns into a cozy guesthouse.

Eat: Start your morning at the Old Chatham Country Store & Caf (639 Albany Tpk.; Old Chatham; 518/794-6227; breakfast for two $25), where the pecan sticky buns are house-made. In Pine Plains, the new Agriturismo Restaurant (2938 Church St.; 518/398-1000; dinner for two $89), owned by Fred's at Barneys New York executive chef Mark Strausman, draws crowds for dinner (try the Coach Farms goat-ricotta gnocchi with zucchini blossoms).

See and Do: Stop by Harvest Spirits Distillery (3074 U.S. Rte. 9, Valatie; 518/758-7683) to buy a bottle of dry pear brandy; find a repurposed wine rack to hold it in at 3FortySeven (347 Warren St., Hudson; 518/291-4780), housed in a onetime gas station.

Travel + Leisure: Vote for the best new landmarks

A Spa Getaway: Desert Hot Springs, California (2 hours from Los Angeles)

Restorative mineral pools and a boho attitude make this an inviting alternative to coiffed Palm Springs.

Stay: Designed by the legendary architect John Lautner, the redwood-and-stone Hotel Lautner (67710 San Antonio St.; 323/363-8697; doubles from $250) reopens in the fall with a plunge pool and cactus gardens.

Eat: Ironically, the food scene in this holistic town is suspended in rib-sticking 1950's style: locals congregate for killer barbecue at the kitschy Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace (53688 Pioneertown Rd.; 760/365-5956; dinner for two $40); Martha Stewart has stopped in at the Sidewinder (66121 Pierson Blvd.; 760/329-7929; lunch for two $22), known as much for its retro wood-paneled interior as its chicken-fried steak.

See and Do: Test the waters in the spa at Miracle Manor Retreat (treatments from $120), set atop geothermal springs. It's a worthy splurge after a day spent hiking the otherworldly landscape of nearby Joshua Tree National Park (760/367-5500).

Travel+ Leisure: America's Most Visited Tourist Attractions

A Wine-Tasting Trip: Culpeper, Virginia (1 1/2 hours from Washington, D.C.)

Set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Culpeper is the ideal home base for exploring the surrounding region's ripening vineyard scene.

Stay: Call before you arrive; the Suites at 249 (249 E. Davis St.; 540/827-1100; doubles from $160) will stock your mini fridge with local bubbly.

Eat: The owners of Foti's Restaurant (219 E. Davis St.; 540/829-8400; dinner for two $90) learned their chops behind the stoves of the Inn at Little Washington -- you'll find proof in the pan-seared quail on bacon-braised endives or toasted-walnut custard.

See and Do: Sip your way from a late-harvest Vidal Blanc at nearby Gray Ghost Vineyards (14706 Lee Hwy., Amissville; 540/937-4869) to a citrusy Petit Manseng at Paradise Springs Winery (13219 Yates Ford Rd., Clifton; 703/830-9463), 40 scenic minutes from town.

An Architectural Hotbed: Mason City, Iowa (2 1/4 hours from Minneapolis)

This small Iowa town (population: 29,000) lures cognoscenti with its design legacy.

Stay: The only remaining Frank Lloyd Wright hotel in the world, the Prairie-style Historic Park Inn Hotel (7 W. State St.; 800/659-2220; doubles from $100) is taking reservations for the first time in nearly 40 years, after an $18 million renovation that restored its stained-glass and terra-cotta exteriors.

Eat: In a striped, shoe-box-size diner, Susie Q Caf (14 Second St. N.W.; 641/423-5021; lunch for two $12) serves up Americana in the form of deep-fried pork-loin sandwiches.

See and Do: Pick up a map at the new Mason City Architectural Interpretive Center (520 First St. N.E.; 641/423-1923) and you'll get an overview of the town's treasures, including Wright's 1908 Stockman House and several private residences by stone master Walter Burley Griffin.

Travel + Leisure: World's ugliest buildings

A Cultural Find: Chattanooga, Tennessee (2 hours from Atlanta)

Appalachia goes urban along the Tennessee River, where bands and art galleries outnumber hiking trails.

Stay: With its terraced spa, fire pit, and views of Lookout Mountain, the Chattanoogan (1201 Broad St.; 800/619-0018; doubles from $149) has long been the city's hotel of choice. This year, the LEED-certified Crash Pad (29 Johnson St.; 423/648-8393; doubles from $70) came on the scene with significantly simpler offerings but a prime location on the developing Southside.

Eat: Musicians coming off a late night recharge at the Bluegrass Grill (55 E. Main St.; 423/752-4020; breakfast for two $18), known for its cilantro-lime hash browns.

See and Do: When beloved alt-country singer M. Ward comes to town, he takes the stage at Track 29 (1400 Market St.; 423/266-4323), a skating rink turned club. Friday nights, the vibe is unmistakably old-school at the Mountain Opry (2501 Fairmount Pike, Signal Mountain), where fiddlers congregate under leafy oak trees.

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Actress finds personal inspiration for cancer film

(CNN) -- Jeanne Tripplehorn's movie is about women and breast cancer. And it's airing on Lifetime.

Uh oh, this could get weepy.

Tripplehorn, who has starred in cable show "Big Love," knows how preachy and awkward cancer movies can get.

"This was something different," she said, of the film ,which airs Monday at 9 p.m. "I spoke with Lifetime and they wanted it to be a new approach and a new way of looking at cancer."

The actress has seen the disease's toll.

"Like all women, I had been affected," she said. "Women in my family dealt with breast cancer. They all survived. It was important for me to do this on a lot of different levels. It wasn't just a paycheck."

The movie, "Five" tells stories of different women coping with breast cancer in five vignettes. Tripplehorn's character, an oncologist is the tie that binds the five stories together. Her character loses her mother to breast cancer as a young girl and becomes an oncologist.

The project has a bevy of star power. The executive producers are Jennifer Aniston, Marta Kauffman, co-creator of the series "Friends" and Kristin Hahn, who was the executive producer of "The Departed." Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keys each directed one of the vignettes. The ensemble cast includes Patricia Clarkson, Rosario Dawson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Holloway, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tony Shalhoub and Jeffrey Tambor.

Tripplehorn answered a few questions for CNN not long ago.

CNN: Did you work with an oncologist, or consult a doctor for your role?

Tripplehorn: I consulted an oncologist. I read a lot.

The thing that I found confusing and frustrating is once you have this diagnosis, there is this maze of doctors.

There wasn't one particular way of dealing with a diagnosis. I was just very confused to the journey that one takes after a diagnosis. You have your mammogram, your radiologist, your oncologist.

Jen [Aniston] and her producing partner Kristin [Hahn] toured a clinic that hopefully will become a model for clinics across the country. It's almost a one-stop shop with everything a woman needs - the doctors, radiologists. It's all under one roof. And hopefully that will simplify before we get a cure.

CNN: What resonated with you about the story?

Tripplehorn: Just the way they were telling the story -- the five short films dealing with different women with the diagnoses.

I thought it was an interesting way of telling stories. Five directors who are women, for me, personally, it was a great experience to work with each of these directors. Alicia Keys is a first time director. You would never know it when you see her film.

CNN: Did having family members who've had breast cancer influence you in taking part in this project?

Tripplehorn: I had two women on my mother's side of the family; both went through bouts of breast cancer. Both survived.

My grandmother was a two-time survivor of breast cancer. She passed away of something different 15 years after her last diagnosis.

It's close to my heart and experience.

CNN: Having family members who've had this disease, does it make you concerned about your risk?

Tripplehorn: It's a constant reminder. It's always in the news. It's always out there. So, it's just what you live with. It's what you face.

You try to watch your diet, you're constantly aware of it. Some people put their head in the sand and I'm not that kind of person. I'm very aware of it.

CNN: Your character in the movie gets genetic testing for breast cancer. Have you ever thought about it?

Tripplehorn: I think it's a personal thing. It's not something that I'm thinking of doing. It's very personal.

CNN: What's your message through this movie?

Tripplehorn: No woman should have to go through this. I've seen it up close and personal. The fact that we're airing this during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it's a small part that I could do -- if I could raise awareness, if women see this and get a mammogram.

When I started this project, it had been two years since I got a mammogram, because I was so busy. That's what happens with women. They are so busy taking care of other people, they don't put themselves first. You have to go out and do these small things. Getting a mammogram, doing your monthly self-exam, your diet, just taking care of yourself. If this film will remind women out there to do just that, that's a step in the right direction.

It's not every project that you can do this -- that can possibly directly impact somebody's life. And that was my hope.

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