Hello, it's Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Globally, the number of COVID-19 infections is closing in on 100 million documented cases. In more than 2.1 million of them, the virus has been fatal. Meanwhile, in the United States, where more than 419,000 of those deaths have taken place, a date has now been set for Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.
In the world of sports, Americans lost a baseball immortal Friday: The great Henry Louis Aaron passed away peacefully in his sleep. In football, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will be playing in his 10th Super Bowl. Although Brady has won six of the nine championship games he's played in -- all with the New England Patriots -- earning a seventh ring won't be easy. The Bucs' opponent is the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, a team led by young Patrick Mahomes, the best living football player on the planet.
But with all due deference to Joe Namath, who confidently predicted his New York Jets team would win a huge upset in the 1969 Super Bowl ("We'll win," said Broadway Joe. "I guarantee it"), actually there are no guarantees in life. We learned that in 2020 -- and 2021 is picking up right where that trying year left off.
Carl M. Cannon is the Washington bureau chief for RealClearPolitics. Reach him on Twitter @CarlCannon.
