Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Holy crap is it hot outside.  I know, that makes me the master of the obvious, but I think I spent more time outside this morning than I did all week, and I seem to have lost about 10 lbs in the process.  I still have a few more errands to run, but they can wait until later in the day.  For now, grab a seat in front of the A/C, help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Saturday Clutter.

I don't know how it's possible that yesterday was my first trip to Fenway Park this season, but I certainly picked a great game to go to, as the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 4-2, thanks in large part to home runs by Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonny Gomes, as well as 6 1/3 strong innings from Boston starting pitcher Felix Doubront.  David Ortiz went 2-4 with two doubles, which the Big Papi News Desk always enjoys, and Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner was thrown out in the 5th inning after having a tantrum about striking out, and seriously, nothing does the heart good like watching a Yankee get tossed from a game.  It was a great start to the second half of the season, and here's hoping that John Lackey can continue the momentum when he takes the mound this afternoon. 

The "Curse of Papelbon" strikes again, as closer Andrew Bailey heads to the DL with "significant damage" to his right shoulder, that will probably keep him on the shelf for a year if he has surgery.

In more positive news, the team is reportedly looking at signing second baseman Dustin Pedroia to a $100 million contract extension.  I don't think you could find a single Sox fan who would argue with that.  Pedey plays every inning like his life depends on it, and none delivers in the field or at-bat like he does.  Get this thing done, fellahs.

Pay the man his money! (pic via boston.com)

Condolences to the family and friends of legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas, who died today at age 92.

Oops, another GOP official gets caught admitting that the whole point of restrictive voter ID laws is to hurt Democrats, and it has nothing to do with anything resembling the supposed "voter fraud" that Republicans always claim to be so worried about.

Nate Silver is going back to his roots as a sports statistician by leaving The New York Times to take a job with ESPN.  Now who's going to tell me who will win the 2016 presidential election down to the last electoral vote?

 The first trailer for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is out.  What do you think?

Matt Smith shared some of his thoughts about leaving Doctor Who.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  It's been a while since we've had an appearance from comedian Lewis Black around these parts, and that's just unacceptable.  Black recently made an appearance on The Daily Show with a segment that had a little bit of everything.  You've got an angry/sputtering Black and you've got attacks on Texas and its idiotic governor Rick Perry.  Add them together, and you've got today's, "Clip of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.   Stay hydrated, and hang in there.  I understand that we're supposed to be getting some serious storms later this afternoon, which should make things a little more tolerable, which is good, 'cause it's just nasty around here.  However, it means I should go finish today's errands first, so intil next time, that's today's Clutter, and we are outta here.