Quote for the day…

No individual should take the blame for a loss, because no individual should get the credit for a victory. – John Wooden

Today’s independent commentary deals with these issues:

• NFL Conference Championships
• Trump’s Promises
• Reading Assignments

NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

It was a tough day for my Kansas City Chiefs. They built a first-half 21-3 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals but then decided to not play Chiefs’ football in the second half. The Chiefs lost 27-24 in overtime. Congratulations to the Bengals. (Box Score)

In the last four years, the Chiefs have played for the AFC Championship and made it to the Super Bowl twice. Many teams would love to have that record, so I can’t be too disappointed. It does sting a little to see the highlights, so I will probably stay away from the sports shows for a few days.

As for the NFC Championship, the LA Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 despite their coach wasting timeouts and challenges. It looked like the Niners had the game in hand as they were up by 10 in the second half. (Box Score)

The Rams traded a lot of draft picks to get to this point. I think their next first-round draft pick will be in 2024. One of the biggest trades was to bring in Matthew Stafford from the Lions. They traded Jared Goff to the Lions for Stafford. One thing for Rams fans to remember is that Goff took the Rams to the Super Bowl a few years back and lost. Will they treat Stafford the same way if he loses the big game? We’ll see.

Next Monday I will post a Super Bowl poll. The Super Bowl will be played on February 13. It starts at 4:30 Montana time and it’s on NBC. (NFL.com)

By the way, the Pro Bowl will be played next Sunday (February 6), if you care. It starts at 1:00 p.m. Montana time. It’s on ESPN. (NFL.com)

TRUMP’S PROMISES:

The New York Times and several other sources are reporting that former President Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that if elected to a new term as president, he would consider pardoning those prosecuted for attacking the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 last year.

That is absurd.

The Times says that the promise to consider pardons is the furthest Mr. Trump has gone in expressing support for the Jan. 6 defendants.

It was also reported that Trump called on his supporters to mount large protests in Atlanta and New York if prosecutors in those cities, who are investigating him and his businesses, took action against him.

I can understand why some people voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton. With so many decent choices on the GOP side for 2024, several possible candidates would make better candidates than Trump.

We’ll see how much power Trump has in the coming year. It’s time for the GOP to cast him aside and rebuild.

Read the complete article from the New York Times HERE.

READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Here are some articles you should read…

St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Editorial: Whether Republicans like it or not, companies aren’t obliged to spread lies
Daines is mentioned in the editorial…

Daily Montanan – Lobbyist, lawyers file for sanctions in suit involving Sidney pastor
Somebody may be going to jail…

## BE A PATRIOT – WEAR A MASK INDOORS IN PUBLIC PLACES ##