The Tom Brady Chronicles

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Here we are, 193 days after the New England Patriots trounced Indianapolis, 45-7, in the AFC Championship game. Prior to the game, Colts management alerted the NFL that the Patriots liked to use under-inflated footballs. At halftime, the Patriots’ footballs … Continue reading → (http://www.solecismic.com/frontierblog/?p=81)

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[Maynard]

Good read!

[QuikSand]

Good stuff, Maynard.

[garion333]

Taste Roger Goodell's Wrath With Our NFL Punishment Generator (http://deadspin.com/taste-roger-goodells-wrath-with-our-nfl-punishment-gene-1720846778)

[aston217]

When the Patriots first responded to this in the media, they were responding to some seriously erroneous reports about how the balls were actually measured -- both via the leaked reports and even in official communique from the league office.

The officials at halftime conducted a hasty experiment on the effects of the Ideal Gas Law when it's clear that nobody at the time was aware that this was what they were testing. There might have been better (or any) protocol otherwise. Nonetheless, the Exponent guys accepted this as a legitimate experiment from which conclusions can be derived, in the absence of comparable data. And they took four Colts ball measurements as "control."

Even to take Exponent at their word, the implication is that Brady asked some New England equipment guys to sneak an extra half pound or so psi off the balls. It's possible, if incredible. There's no evidence that Brady wanted or needed this.

If Brady did hatch a convoluted plot to finagle that extra 5-8% of psi out of the balls, he'd be monumentally stupid -- as well as fully deserving of any punishment and ridicule that comes his way. In a way, the fervor of this scandal is good. If Brady did it, there's going to be a ridiculous and tearful "mea culpa" coming from him in the future.

However, it's unclear that anything happened with the balls at all, and to me, it's significantly more likely that a NFL that had no idea ball psi could change during a game, had no data to compare with or controls to use, got it wrong the first time they tried to take some measurements without procedure.

But it's no longer about what happened, or what is right. The only question left is whether the NFL's procedures were improper enough for arbitration approved by a pretty one-sided CBA deal should get overturned by a federal court. The NFL does not need to meet peer review, or be right, they just need to have made a defensible effort -- one that answers "integrity of the game" issues to the satisfaction of their owners and fans, whether or not the question was mistakenly posed in the first place.

Reports were that Brady was offered a reduction down to 2, or even 1 game if he would simply admit that he ordered those guys to do it. The NFL, at this point, wants badly for him to have done it. The alternative is a serious, serious "oops" on their part.

[Dutch]

Taste Roger Goodell's Wrath With Our NFL Punishment Generator (http://deadspin.com/taste-roger-goodells-wrath-with-our-nfl-punishment-gene-1720846778)

I got 10 games for having an over-inflated opinion of the NFL...

[Nemesis]

I got 10 games for having an over-inflated opinion of the NFL...
^
This statement left me deflated.

[Maynard]

Good stuff, Maynard.

I agree, but I did not write it, I believe Jim did! :)