Things will never be the same

A quick aside. Also, you get $1,000, and you get $1,000, and you get $1,000! Plus your kids just might be off school for the rest of the year. And 7 other things worth your time.

The incredible news keeps coming. Yesterday brought a shocking turn — something people were half-expecting, sure, but that they largely didn’t admit would never actually come to pass.

I’m talking of course, about the news that future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady will not be returning to the New England Patriots, after 20 years with the NFL team.

Things will never be the same: well, at least if you care about the NFL, or maybe more specifically if you’re a New England fan. (Later reports say Brady is likely signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)

A month ago this would have been the lead story everywhere—perhaps the biggest free agency story in sports history. And, I’m happy to be able to start today’s email with something other than the coronavirus.

But we must move on quickly, as yesterday this news had to compete with things like:

• A radical shift in political sentiment in the U.S. that would have been hard to predict even a week ago. Both the White House and members of Congress …