Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Come on in, have a seat.  How are you?  We're all a little tired around here, thanks to last night's New England Patriots game, but somehow it's not as late of an evening when they win the game.  However, we still need coffee, and BDH and Little Buddha have come through once again.  They've got a fresh pot ready to go, so help yourself to a nice medium DD, and let's clear out some Monday Clutter.

The New England Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 in a rematch of Super Bowl LI last night.  This was New England's best performance so far this season, as they were much more cohesive in every aspect of the game.  (At least as far as we could see, which was increasingly hard to to on TV as a heavy fog rolled into Gillette Stadium.)  Tom Brady was 21-49 for 249 and two touchdowns,  and the offensive line protected him well.  The team stuck with the running game all night (for a total of 162 yards), which was good to see.  The New England defense was lights-out for three quarters before finally surrendering the Atlanta TD in the 4th.  Johnson Bademosi had another good came at cornerback, and we expect Boston sports radio callers to spend the week arguing that he should permanently replace the injured Stephon Gilmore. 

Things are moving in the right direction for the Patriots.  (pic via masslive.com)

Atlanta?  The Falcons looked like they were battling the ghost of the Super Bowl all night.  That led to decisions like going for it on a 4th and 6 with two minutes left in the first half.  The Falcons couldn't convert, and Brady marched the Patriots right down the field for a quick TD.  Who in their right mind on the Falcons coaching staff thought that was a good gamble?   You have to wonder if losing the Super Bowl like they did has had the same impact on Atlanta as it did on the Seattle Seahawks two years ago.  In any case, the Patriots improve to 5-2, and next up, it's the Los Angeles Chargers.

It's official:  Alex Cora will be the next Boston Red Sox manager.  As we've mentioned before, this feels like a good choice for the Sox.  The biggest skill they needed from their next skipper was the ability to connect with younger players, and Cora excels at that.  Now, let's see who his coaches are, and we can also move on to speculating about player moves.

Oh, hold on, the new Doctor Who cast was just announced.  Looks like 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker is getting three companions.  Interesting.  That seemed to make for a crowded TARDIS when they did it during the show's "classic" era, but we'll see how this plays out.  Wait, wait, wait.  There are only 10 episodes next season? (That's down from 12 this year.)  Come on now.  Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here.  We've still got two months to go before Peter Capaldi's final episode in the Christmas Special. 

John McCain mocked Donald Trump for having "bone spurs" as an excuse for his military deferments during the Vietnam War.  McCain will forever be responsible for Sarah Palin, but we'll take his side in this fight every time.

The headlines seemed like it might be clickbait-ish, but Burger King really has produced a moving anti-bullying ad.

Congratulations to David Letterman for receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  It's a well-deserved honor for the former late night TV talk show host, and can we just say, his beard still looks tremendous.  The ceremony will be broadcast on PBS on November 20.

David Letterman is still in fine form.  (pic via pbs.org)

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Eddie Vedder covered Warren Zevon's, "Keep Me In Your Heart," at the David Letterman ceremony in honor of the fact that the late singer and Letterman were longtime friends.  The original is a beautiful tune, so let's have Zevon close things out with today's, "Song of the Day."

Hey, look at that, the sun just came out.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, be good, and we'll meet up again for more fun soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.