Hi everyone,

Welcome back!  Come on in, have a seat.  How are you?  Everyone here is exhausted.  We were up way past our bedtime last night, and we're dragging today, but it's all worth it, because the New England Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl!  More on that in a bit, but we're so excited about it, we're not even paying attention to the fact that the wind is howling outside, and we have a wind chill factor of, wait, let me look...-23 degrees at the moment.  On the positive side, it's supposed to warm up to -16 later today. 

I did multiple rounds of shoveling yesterday, and I imagine whatever snow is left now feels like concrete.  We'll deal with all of that another time.  BDH and Little Buddha say they'll be making coffee all day (because they are the best), and the first pot is ready.  Grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Monday Clutter.

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. today, conservatives will again try to claim that he would support their policies because they claim to be color-blind.  No one should fall for that nonsense.  Doctor King was a fierce champion for racial equality and he also passionately fought against economic injustice, which is why conservatives for decades so fiercely opposed a day honoring him.  He would be outraged by the state of this country more than 50 years after his death.  We can do better, we must do better, and we will do better.

Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) recently wrote an op-ed saying "some Americans" think the GOP "condones racism." Representative Hurd seems to be a little confused.  Americans understand that racism is one of the fundamental components of the Republican Party, and acting like it's somehow a bug instead of the basic programming is a waste of everyone's time.

Donald Trump is threatening to increase deportations if he doesn't get his wall funding, because he's got no reality-based arguments to make at this point.  If the man actually wants to have a conversation about border security (which we know he's just using as a distraction from his many scandals), all he has to do is reopen the government.  The almighty deal-maker has been exposed as a fraud yet again.  The country shouldn't be held hostage over a tantrum.

Rudy Giuliani implied that Donald Trump spoke to Michael Cohen regarding Cohen's testimony before Congress about a Trump Tower in Russia.  A recent controversial Buzzfeed.com article said that Trump told Cohen to lie in that situation.  Rudy didn't confirm that part of the story, but there's at least a 40% chance that at some point this week he does confirm it and then tries to walk it back later that same day.  We once again have to ask whether it's possible that Giuliani is somehow secretly working for Robert Mueller.

Lord knows we love The West Wing, but if show creator Aaron Sorkin doesn't understand the changing political landscape, then perhaps he should just get out of the way. 

The FTC is reportedly considering hitting Facebook with a large fine over the company's atrocious privacy lapses. It's believed that the amount would be over $22 million.  However, will it be large enough to actually change Facebook's business practices, or will they just consider it the cost of doing business, the way, say, Wells Fargo seems to do every time the bank gets hit with yet another penalty?

We knew that the AFC Championship Game was likely to be a close one that would leave us anxious for most of the evening.  We've known that for a week, but nothing could prepare us for what happened last night.  The New England Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs 37-31 in overtime in what will go down as an all-time classic game.  The Patriots struck first with a surgical opening drive that was longer than the one that started last week's game against the Chargers and had the same result:  a touchdown.  Tom Brady and company were clearly not intimidated by their surroundings.  Experience helps, kids.   The Pats were up 14-0 at the half, and even 21-3 after three quarters.  That was terrific, but knowing that Kansas City could score in an instant, that lead didn't feel safe at all.  Then came the 4th quarter.

The Chiefs came back with a vengeance, outscoring the Patriots 24-14 for the quarter.  It was a no-holds-barred shootout.  The lead changed four times in the final eight minutes, as our blood pressure reached dangerous levels, and several friends checked in to see if we knew the warning signs of a stroke.  Thankfully, this wasn't Tom Brady's first rodeo, or his second, or third, or even 11th.  #12 led the Pats down the field for a scoring drive that gave New England a three-point lead with 39 seconds left in the game....and then Kansas City promptly went down the field and kicked a field goal that sent the game into overtime, as we stopped breathing.

However, the Patriots won the coin toss, and Brady and company decided enough was enough.  The Patriots had to keep likely NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes off the field in order to win the game.  They dominated time of possession during regulation more than 2 to 1, and it still wasn't enough.  There was only one thing left to do.  They went 75 yards in 13 plays that finished with Rex Burkhead running in from the 2-yard line for the win.  That's right, the New England Patriots are heading to their third straight Super Bowl. 

No joke, we were involuntarily laughing for a solid hour after this game.  What a night, what a season.  This team has heard from critics all year, and they've responded loudly and clearly.  While we personally never gave up on them, it seemed fair to ask if time was running out, given some of their major struggles this year, but it comes down to this:  As long as they still have Tom Brady, anything is possible, including their sixth Super Bowl championship.

Tom Brady and the Patriots put on yet another performance for the ages in the AFC Championship Game.  (pic via www.w3livenews.com)

Over in the NFC Championship Game, the Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints 26-23 on Sunday, thanks to a 57-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein in overtime.  Give the Rams credit, we thought they had little to no chance to top the Saints on the road.  That seemed to be a correct assumption when New Orleans jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead in the first quarter.  However, the Rams hung in there and fought their way back, albeit with some significant help from a blown pass interference call against cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman late in the fourth quarter.  He clearly drilled Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball arrived during a crucial drive, and there's no excuse for the call not being made.  It will take a long time for Sean Payton, the Saints, and their fans to move past that one, and rightfully so, because they were robbed.  Nevertheless, the Rams will see the Patriots in Atlanta on February 3.

We got an email from Ticketmaster shortly after the Patriots won, and after seeing the Super Bowl ticket prices, we once again look forward to watching the big game at Dad Clutter's house with the big guy and his cats.

There's been a decent amount of behind-the-scenes drama, but the first trailer for season two of American Gods is here, and it looks tremendous:

Check out who The Crown just cast to play Margaret Thatcher in season 4.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  In honor of the AFC champions, let's take something off the Gillette Stadium playlist and close things out with AC/DC's, "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" for today's, "Song of the Day."

The Patriots rocked last night, and they're going to do it again in two weeks.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.  It was a blast to hang out with you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, be sure to stay warm, and we'll catch up with you again for more fun soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.