Nitpick: Boston Herald.
And Rams fan have not gotten the memo that the allegation proved untrue. I have to explain this more or less every time the Patriots come up around here.
Sorry, dude. The joke’s been made.
(I’m an opera singer with opera singer friends. “Deflator Mouse” has graced my Facebook wall for the last week and a half.)
Can we all at least gather together and agree that the NFL’s handling of all this has been singularly strange, though? How is it that it’s almost two weeks after the event and 80 hours until the Super Bowl and we still don’t have definitive confirmation regarding whether the footballs were quantitatively tested prior to the game? It would seem that, whether it’s yes or no, the answer should be easy to provide.
There’s the rapist quarterback thing too, yeah, but there’s only one team that can’t be forgiven.
Didn’t work for me, so I went and searched for Fleming and ESPN and Steelers…
Was this the link you were looking for?
I’m sure that was the article you were trying to link to.
It’s funny,… because it’s true
Because if the answer is no - and I believe it is - they then have to explain why the officials didn’t do their job before one of the biggest games of the year. Protect the shield and all of that.
Here, let me help you.
Skeletons hiding in Steelers’ closet: Jan 27, 2011.
"The Pittsburgh Steelers are the greatest franchise in sports.
But you know what I’ve learned while covering this team, extensively, during the past 15 years?
They also might be one of the dirtiest. . . .
To be sure, this isn’t ticky-tack stuff like parking tickets and training camp curfew violations. These are reports, allegations or documented instances of shooting at cops, assaults against women, drugs, deadly high-speed car chases and suicides – as well as repeated questions about performance-enhancing drugs. . . .
A 2009 investigation by ESPN into the Steelers’ history with performance-enhancing drugs found an alarming number of former players suffering from heart ailments. “Even if there is no pattern or clue linking the deaths to steroids,” wrote the article’s author, Mike Fish, “since 2000, 17 former Steelers have died before they reached the age of 59.”
Seventeen men. Dead."
Hey, accused rapist quarterback…
The thing is though, most quarterbacks are content to take what is given by the defense. Not Roethlisberger. he will force himself on the weaker ones to get what he wants.
A fresh bit of non-information from the NFL VP of Officiating - from twitter, link below
"Blandino said the referee does not log the PSI during the pregame ball check. They’re either approved or disapproved.
https://twitter.com/jeffphowe/status/560903328268169216
So the investigation is simply taking the word of Walt Anderson that all balls were properly checked in pregame. No other way to do it."
Aw, crap. I thought I was the first.
That might make it politically difficult for the NFL to levy any real penalty even if they become convinced of wrongdoing, in the absence of actual forensic evidence (like a confession or video). The Patriots could pretty well argue that there is no conclusive evidence that the balls were ever at an appropriate psi, which may not convince the league but could well convince an independent arbitrator.
That doesn’t necessarily exonerate them; they could, for instance, knowing that the refs don’t log the initial psi, go ahead and deflate the balls in the bathroom routinely, counting on that very argument.
Of course, I’m sure from now on the refs will very carefully log everything.
I still don’t think they even tested them. But, lacking any baseline my guess is now the NFL hems and haws for a few more weeks and sometime before the draft announces something like, “there is no evidence of tampering by the Patriots, however they were found to be playing with non regulation balls, therefore we will be fining them $25,000.”
Of course if the NFL really cares about this, not only will the refs log the PSI, but the testing should be done on the field and not in climate controlled conditions.
My guess is that we’ll see some off-season rule change on how the balls are handled pre-game. Probably make them similar to how the K-balls are handled.
I can certainly agree to that and its been a huge distraction which may end up giving the Patriots a motivational edge. Of course, it could turn out that Brady’s passes flutter and the Patriots RBs fumble four times which would be awkward for us Patriot fans.
“Logged” and “tested” are different things. If Anderson asserts that he gauge tested, that will be a sufficient baseline for the league.
If he didn’t gauge test, that should have been the end of any investigation.
I’m sure it will for the league, but it might not for an independent arbitrator. I doubt the league wants to find themselves in a situation where they hand down discipline, which is overturned on appeal because the evidence is just not strong enough.
I just think that they would want to avoid any more embarrassment over discipline.
Of course, I could be completely wrong about that.
I don’t think the coaches and teams get to appeal to an independent arbiter the way the players do, though. The appeals process for players is spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement, but coaches are considered management, and they’re stuck with whatever Goodell decides to do.
Look at the punishments for bountygate - Saints players had their suspensions reduced, but Payton and Williams sat out the full year without recourse.
The league’s announcement that the investigation will take several more weeks is obviously so the whole foolish mess will be forgotten in the wake of the crowning of the new champion.
That may very well be (I’m certainly not an expert on the ins and outs of league discipline), but I still think the league has a PR problem if there is no conclusive evidence that the balls were ever fully inflated.