Hi everyone,

How are you?  Weekend going okay so far?  Yesterday's shoveling went pretty smoothly.  We got about six inches of the heavy stuff, which is always a workout.  However, I was able to clear out the driveway before it turned to ice, so that was good.  I was a little tired by the end, but nothing too bad.  BDH and Little Buddha said it's a good thing I feel that way, because the next round is coming tonight.  That's a shame.  However, it is January after all, and we were overdue for this sort of thing. 

Now, let's check out the headlines.  The guys made coffee, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Sunday Clutter.

Director Doug Liman has a new documentary about the sexual misconduct allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and how poorly the FBI investigated those claims.  Many people believe the agency helped cover up this scandal for Kavanaugh, and questions remain about whether or not he perjured himself during his confirmation hearings in 2018.  If it can be proven that Kavanaugh did so, he should be removed from the bench.  Liman, who is best known for films like Swingers and The Bourne Identity seems like a surprising choice for someone to take on this project.  However, we'll be eager to watch Justice if/when it finds a distributor.

The FBI's investigation of Justice Kavanaugh was a sham.  (pic via abcnews.go.com)

Today is the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  It's also the first anniversary since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision, thus freeing states to immediately escalate their war on women.  With abortion access restrictions continuing to spread nationwide, the fight to treat women as equal citizens in this country is nowhere near over.  For now, we applaud everyone who has been part of this battle over the last half-century, including providers, patients, and advocates. 

SNL returned from their winter break last night with a take on uber-fraud Rep. George Santos:

President Biden has no interest in negotiating with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about the debt limit, and there's no reason he should.  The United States has a fundamental obligation to pay its bills, and the cost of not doing so would be disastrous.  It's not Biden's fault that McCarthy caved on this issue in order to get the speaker's gavel.  Republicans weren't given a mandate on this, or any other, issue last November.  There's one party to blame for this crisis, and it's the GOP.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain is expected to leave in the coming weeks.  Klain has been in that role since the start of the Biden administration.  It's not that unusual for someone to leave after two years, and President Biden has seen a pretty low turnover rate to this point.  However, it would still be helpful for someone to report why exactly Klain is exiting.

Elon Musk announced an ad-free version of Twitter for Twitter Blue subscribers yesterday.  Musk is desperate to recover the reported 40% annual revenue he's lost by driving advertisers away with his abysmal management of the platform, so this is the latest offering.  We're not giving him any cash anyway, but Twitter ads aren't a particularly big annoyance for us.  We're put off much more by the default algorithm-driven newsfeed that we continually have to exit, and the right-wing trolls who are spreading like a virus since Musk bought Twitter. 

Eggs continue to be one of the most expensive items in the grocery store, rising 60% last month compared to a year ago.  Avian flu is said to be the reason why they're so costly, although it feels like the government should be investigating if that's actually the case.  Regardless, the price has gotten so out of control, some people are reportedly smuggling eggs from Mexico, where they are much cheaper.   Have to say, we're sort of wondering if this an early April Fool's Day joke.  It's crazy that anyone would risk the associated fines if they get caught, just so they can make cheaper egg salad.

Some good news on the national health front:  Emergency room visits for the flu, Covid-19 and RSV are down to their lowest level in three months.  There are significant concerns about under-counting cases, but experts say this is a useful measure for getting a sense of the big picture.  Still, wear your masks in crowded places to avoid the ER, friends. 

We predicted the home teams would win yesterday's NFL divisional round games, and we went 2-for-2:

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20.  The game was much closer than expected, because Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered what is being reported as a high ankle sprain late in the first quarter.  Mahomes stayed in the game immediately after the injury, but he could barely hand off the football.  He was eventually sent to the locker room for treatment, while backup QB Chad Henne led Kansas City on a 98-yard TD drive.  Mahomes returned in the second half, his right foot heavily taped.  He understandably had none of the mobility he'd shown at the start of the game, but he was still able to handle the offense well enough.

Mahomes is the heart and soul of the Kansas City Chiefs, and their chances of winning the Super Bowl took a big hit yesterday.  He's only got a week to figure out a game plan for dealing with this injury during the AFC Championship Game.  Whether it's against the Buffalo Bills or Cincinnati Bengals, the pressure just skyrocketed for the Kansas City defense.  As of right now, we tend to think Mahomes' season comes to an end next weekend.

Saturday's second game had no drama, as the Philadelphia Eagles crushed the New York Giants 38-7.   The 10-8-1 Giants did a nice job against the Minnesota Vikings last week, but they had no business being on the field with the 15-3 Eagles.  Philadelphia will now face the winner of today's San Francisco - Dallas game at home for the NFC championship next weekend.

That brings us to today's games:  First, the Cincinnati Bengals face the Buffalo Bills on the road this afternoon.  We were unimpressed with how Buffalo performed against the Miami Dolphins last week.  The Dolphins almost pulled off the upset with their third-string quarterback, and there were times where Buffalo's offense turned into a total mess.  The Bills can't afford to play like that again today against Joe Burrow and company, even though Cincinnati is missing a couple of their starting offensive linemen.  We're picking Cincinnati to finish what Miami started and send Buffalo home for the year.

After that, it's the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.   As we've said before, we will never pick the Cowboys to win anything, but they really won't be able to handle the 49ers on the road today.  49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy has shown he's unfazed by being in the playoffs, and San Francisco doesn't ask a lot from their QB's anyway.  It should be a fun game that sees Purdy (who we predict will be San Francisco's starting QB next season) and company packing their bags for Philadelphia next weekend.

The Boston Red Sox are having their first "Winter Weekend" event in a few years this weekend.  It's supposed to be a feel-good time, where fans can meet players and hear from the organization about the upcoming season.  However, the audience had something different in mind, loudly booing owner John Henry, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, and CEO Sam Kennedy.  Good for them - the Sox ownership has been taking their support for granted for a while, and the feeling is growing that the ownership is no longer prioritizing winning. (Of course, that's not stopping them from continuing to raise ticket prices.)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is saying all of the right things about needing to show people he can still deliver the goods, after years of injuries.  The lefty has pitched all of 48 1/3 innings over the last three seasons, so it seems foolish to expect him to make it through 2023 unscathed.  It will be a huge boost to the Sox if it turns out Sale can regain most of his dominant form, and stay in once piece until October.  However, we remain skeptical.

Goodness:  Jeremy Renner tweeted that he broke more than 30 bones in his snow plow accident on New Year's Day.  We wish the actor the best as he continues his recovery from home.

The new Eddie Murphy comedy, You People, arrives on Netflix this coming Friday, and the initial reviews look promising.  That's definitely on our schedule.

Aubrey Plaza hosted SNL this week.  That gave April Ludgate and Leslie Knope a chance to hang out on "Weekend Update," which was delightful on multiple fronts:

Sorry, Cobra Kai fans - the show's sixth season will be its last.  At least Netflix is giving it a chance to end its story on its own terms.  That's a privilege which seems to be increasingly rare these days:

NCIS: Los Angeles is also ending this year after 14 seasons.  We watched this show religiously for the first 11+ years, and now we can't remember exactly why we stopped.  Maybe it felt like it lost its focus at some point, or CBS moved it around too much on the schedule for us to stay with it.  In any case, it was entertaining for years, but nothing lasts forever.

The Journey legal drama continues:  Guitarist Neal Schon sued keyboardist Jonathan Cain for allegedly not giving him access to "critical records" linked to the band's credit card.  Now Cain is suing Schon, accusing him of "misusing" the card to the tune of over $1 million.  Journey is supposed to be starting its 50th anniversary tour in February.  These guys may both need to hit the road just to pay for their legal fees.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here is Bob Marley & The Wailers to close things out with, "Stir It Up" for today's, "Song of the Day."

That's how you ease into the second half of the weekend.

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