The New England Patriots clearly do not give a good gotdamn any more.
The New England Patriots have officially fired back at Ted Wells’s Ballghazi report, in the form of an impenetrable WordPress page that might as well be titled Loose Balls: The Truth About PSI. The site contains an attempt by one of the Patriots’ lawyers to fisk Wells’s report, and although it’s an exhausting read, there are some genuinely funny attempts at explaining away the painfully obvious scheme.
The most damning parts of the Wells report are text messages exchanged between Jim McNally and John Jastremski, two Pats employees who worked in the locker room and talked a lot about Tom Brady and deflating footballs. McNally even referred to himself as “The Deflator” in one of the messages. However! The Pats have a perfectly reasonable explanation for that:
Mr. Jastremski would sometimes work out and bulk up — he is a slender guy and his goal was to get to 200 pounds. Mr. McNally is a big fellow and had the opposite goal: to lose weight. “Deflate” was a term they used to refer to losing weight. One can specifically see this use of the term in a Nov. 30, 2014 text from Mr. McNally to Mr. Jastremski: “deflate and give somebody that jacket.” (p. 87). This banter, and Mr. McNally’s goal of losing weight, meant Mr. McNally was the “deflator.” There was nothing complicated or sinister about it. If there was any doubt about the jocular nature of the May 9, 2014 texts, a review of all the texts between these two men that day would dispel it.
Good God, how do I get a job as an NFL team counsel where I can earn six figures lying to the entire planet about the role of “The Deflator” in your Super Bowl win. I’m in the wrong business.
Hell these guys need to be working for Congress.
marduk
The pats response absolutely annihilated the Wells report. The section on the ball inflation is crushing. Looks like they’re planning on suing the league. Get your popcorn.
Yatsuno
So now one of the defences I saw is that the text messages in question didn’t occur during the championship game but at different times. Which is probably not the defence they think it is.
gene108
I thought the NFL handled the balls at the Superbowl, because of the allegations of tampering, prior to it.
Brady’s performance may have been helped in the play-offs, especially against Baltimore, to get to the Superbowl, but the one thing Brady has going for him is the balls in the Superbowl were not doctored and he had a monster game.
Arclite
It would have sounded more real if they talked about his ED:
“After every game there were invariably groupies waiting to hook up with the players. To get to the players they first had to hook up with Mr. McNally or Mr. Jastremski. Often when he took one of the groupies to the equipment room for a romp he would get hard for about 30 seconds before going soft. He very quickly gained the nickname ‘The Deflator.'”
raven
Man, I think they gave me conscious sedation for my nerve surgery but I’ve been asleep all afternoon!
c u n d gulag
The smoking gun?
That dead guy?
THIS GUN!?!?!?!?!?!
THE ONE IN MY HAND?
I just picked it up after someone else dropped it!
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh….
Brutusettu
Not only would he sometimes work out to try to lose weight, he’d juice up to gain muscle mass, to make it easier to lose weight.
Hence, he would make sure to put the ‘roids in with a needle, so that his muscles would look like watermelons.
Grumpy Code Monkey
$DIETY bless Deadspin for coining the term “Ballghazi”.
Yatsuno
@Grumpy Code Monkey:
I am sooooo stealing that…
JPL
If Goodell were concerned about the integrity of the game, the outcome would be for the NFL to control the footballs. He doesn’t want to upset the other teams though, and why is that?
@Grumpy Code Monkey: I blame Hillary.
Arclite
Never mind.
Amber
Yeah. Let’s take the Wells report as real. Afterall, Chevron had a “scientific report” that proved smoking didn’t cause cancer. BP had a “scientific report” that showed the oil spill was not a biggy for the environment. All these proud institutions went to the same firm to ensure they got the report they wanted.
Belafon
I sure am glad football is this important to the well being of our country.
Betty Cracker
@marduk: Yes, you assured us just last week that no one who read the text messages could possibly think they looked bad, so clearly we can trust your assessment of how “crushing” the rebuttal is. You’re no homer, no, not you.
Doug R
@marduk: might be crushing the Pats balls but I think the league’s balls are at the proper inflation
Elie
@gene108:
This did not happen at the Super Bowl but during the AFC Championship game.
Keith P.
@Brutusettu: Must be where all the needle talk came from. “We weren’t deflating balls, honest. We were just injecting winstrol into our buttcheeks.”
David Koch
BALLGHAZI!
jl
If Brady’s deflated balls were a hit with the ladies, and he ends up in jail over this, and breaks out to use them to impress his true love, or something, a person could make an opera out of this mess.
JPL
I thought this was a good article about teams trying to gain an advantage. It’s a NY Times article.
@Elie: True plus Brady had an awesome second half, when using properly inflated balls. Brady might like his balls under deflated but properly inflated footballs does not hurt his performance.
marduk
@Betty Cracker: As the pats response demonstrates, the text messages are clearly not indicative of any wrongdoing. It requires utterly strained and motivated reasoning, while ignoring the timeline of the messages and taking them out of context, to even think they imply something nefarious. The Wells report is an obvious joke and now it’s all going to come out.
marduk
http://drewfustin.com/deflategate/
ribber
There are some Pat fans that are crying “Sting! Set-up!” and frankly I’d be perfectly happy if the league had run a competent sting on them. But instead they ran a wholly ineffective sting.The one thing that sticks is that officials were told in advance to be watching out for the Pats doing something wrong, and yet they do a piss-poor job trying to catch anything. They couldn’t be bothered to WRITE DOWN the measurement. They couldn’t be bothered to consistently use the same gauge. Seven refs looking out for this, and they let a guy just walk out the door with the balls and they don’t bother to follow him. If they suspected someone was deflating the balls after the inspection, grab the guy the minute he comes out of the bathroom and you have him dead-to-rights, but no, they couldn’t do that.
Betty Cracker
@marduk: Comedy gold!
kindness
Am I alone in thinking the deflategate thing is boring?
Was it legal? Probably not but I’m not all that bothered by it.
Is it ethical? Well again, not bothered by it.
Am I an unhinged compass who shouldn’t be judging others ethics? Probably.
David Koch
@marduk: Video of Ted Wells questioning the equipment managers has emerged. It’s dynamite.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@marduk: Serious question. For what?
weaselone
So there is a text that states that the equipment manager deflated the balls to below the allowable limit for use in an actual game?
Richard mayhew
@marduk: yep, the physics say the logo gauge measurements show nothing odd and the ref was pretty sure he used the logo gauge. If pretty sure is more than 50% probability, Wells loses majority of evidence.
As a side note the NFL has made it personal to two people. #1 has $4 billion in the bank and #2 has 500 million plus to play with, so they can drag this out instead of being spent into the ground to settle.
Mike J
@kindness:
At least it has something to do with football. I can understand the league handing down punishment for it.
Many people are upset that the NFL doesn’t supersede the justice system and hand down harsh punishments for things that should land one in prison.
David Koch
@JPL: It’s not about Brady. As in Watergate, it’s not about a break-in, its about everything beneath the surface. In this case, it’s about how the Pats used deflated balls to systematically cut down turnovers.
marduk
@Betty Cracker: Why don’t you try actually reading the texts?
Richard mayhew
@ribber: yep, no chain of evidence for the refs and NFL security including a guy who had read the colts emailed concerns doing jackshit as the ball boy walked out of the ref room.
trollhattan
@jl:
Linking two unlinkable sports–Chicks dig the deflataball!
Goblue72
@Betty Cracker: Your team cheats – http://yourteamcheats.com
They all do. If you think slightly under-inflated balls are why the Pats are so dominant while your team sucks, then I have swampland in Florida to sell you.
The Bucs 2-14 record ain’t cuz of some deflated balls.
Richard mayhew
@David Koch: that study is very questionable. Why does sharp remove all dome teams. If just removing dome games, Pats not an outlier. #2 problem fumble mix composition… Rb v receiver v strip sack.
marduk
@CONGRATULATIONS!: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/12/patriots-could-pursue-an-appeal-of-their-own/
Gin & Tonic
@raven: “Conscious sedation” doesn’t mean you won’t be sleepy afterward, it means that they can communicate with you while you’re “under” but you’ll have no memory of any sensation. Pretty cool, actually.
marduk
@David Koch: Oh Jeebus, the Zombie Sharp fumble analysis again.
The Sharp study was junk.
Pure, embarassing junk.
Tree With Water
Lionel Hutz lives. Like dictators who stick around too long instead of retiring to southern France while they still can, I don’t understand why Brady has yet to pack it in. Here he’s gambled with his own future- with quality of life issues the stakes- playing this game at an incredible level throughout a storied career, only to suffer in reputation as a result of the insulting posturing of football ciphers, friend and foe alike.
And I do consider Goodell and the cabal of ownership groups he fronts as football ciphers, albeit ones who have developed a taste for golden goose and mean to appease it.
Betty Cracker
@marduk: I have, but it’s more amusing to watch the homers furiously spin it.
@Goblue72: Did I ever say otherwise? I’m just laughing at the red-white-and-blue tinted glasses on display. For the record, I don’t hate the Patriots, and I think Brady is a terrific quarterback.They didn’t need to cheat, but it sure looks like they did.
jl
@trollhattan: What really bothers me about this is that… what about duh Raiduhs? They ain’t even the top most persecuted team by the NFL anymore. I feel bereft and abandoned and utterly alone. Or, I would if I were still a Raiduhs fan.
Even though I dislike the Pats and Brady, looks like the NFL is trying to blame someone else for their sloppy and incompetent oversight of their own rules for game balls. Which squares with John Madden’s statements several months ago that the NFL basically does not care about the game balls, except for PR and money.
Edit: Though, just because the NFL management sucks, the Pats could have still cheated. You’ll pry my grudge out of my cold dead hands.
marduk
@Betty Cracker: Based on what? What, specifically, do you think indicates that the patriots cheated?
SiubhanDuinne
New Detroit-Windsor Bridge (opening 2020) will be named after Gordie Howe. That is cool. Hope he’s still alive then (he’ll be 92) so he can cut the ribbon.
David Koch
@Richard mayhew: New England Patriots Fumble More Often When Playing for Other Teams
it’s just a coincidence. Just like it’s just a coincidence that 8 people working for Christie shut down the GW bridge without his knowledge.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@marduk: That’s referring to overturning the appeal.
You mentioned a lawsuit. The article you link to mentions no grounds for one.
I’m not seeing one, either. So, again, on what legal grounds would the Patriots pursue a lawsuit?
Brachiator
@Zandar:
If an intentional play on the Strauss opera, bravo!
Grumpy Code Monkey
@Goblue72:
As long as winning matters, teams and players will cheat. In all sports, at all levels. Coaches, players, trainers, pit crews, equipment managers, everybody is doing everything they can to gain that edge, especially when their paycheck is tied to winning. Juicing, doctoring equipment, deflating balls or tires when someone isn’t watching, everything is fair game. If there’s a rule, it will be flouted. If there’s a standard, it will be violated.
The only game that is structurally immune from cheating is Calvinball.
Your team cheats (winners and losers). Some do it better than others. Some do it so well that they get away with it for years before anyone notices.
Betty Cracker
@marduk: This exact same discussion played out in the previous Deflategate thread, and I’m really not interested in rehashing the same points. My opinion hasn’t changed, and neither has yours, I suspect, so we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
weaselone
@David Koch: just out of curiosity, do you honestly believe that a less than 1 psi change in ball pressure would result in a 60% decrease in fumbles?
The Dangerman
@Arclite:
You and I are thinking alike; I would have attributed it to emergency medical care for a 4 hour erection, the Deflator, needed to rub out the balls, so to speak.
ETA: I’ve never understood the 4 hour erection thing; maybe I haven’t lived, but I’m thinking I’m freaking out WELL inside of 4 hours.
trollhattan
@SiubhanDuinne:
He should get in a fight with it, then high-stick it open. (Keed; I keed, hockey fans.)
JPL
@marduk: The Fox news analysis?
trollhattan
@Brachiator:
Pretty high-falutin’ for us mooks but yeah, serious quatloos for the header.
jl
@Grumpy Code Monkey: So, all sports should be Calvinball? There should be no sanctions for cheaters who are caught? And sports leagues have no obligation to try, with competence and good faith, to enforce the rules?
I suspect the Pats cheat, but I have to admit to myself that my intense dislike for them makes me biased, and I really do not know.
Pretty clear the NFL, has its head up its ass, yet again. And Goodell too, yet again.
Anyway, if we go your way, maybe tackling will make baseball more popular.
raven
@kindness: Yes, it’s bullshit and gives people that don’t like football something to yammer on and on about.
Roger Moore
@Richard mayhew:
I think they had the same people managing their attempt to catch the Pats as they normally have looking for PED use; the goal there is sufficient incompetence that only a real loser would get caught.
Patrick
@marduk:
Welcome to America. Anybody can sue anybody whether they have a case or not…
burnspbesq
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
All you need to institute litigation is a word processor and a credit card to pay the filing fee online. A case is nice, but unnecessary.
JPL
@raven: You are obviously feeling better. Will you be able to go fishing on your vacation?
trollhattan
@jl:
Somewhere, I presume Al Davis’ jumpsuit-clad corpse is rotting and ready to receive a recycled beer salute. I’d participate.
JPL
The NFL created a system that allows teams to manipulate balls. Gosh, Eli has certain specifications about how he wants the football made. If the NFL were really concerned, they would fix this.
raven
@JPL: Here’s part of what I told Betty back yonder”
Well, we’ve paid for the house and we are going. wo fingers are still really numb and they gave me a nice bottle of painkillers and they made it sound like reattaching the nerve was going to be painful but it ain’t bad right now. The real answer is that “everyone must believe in something, I believe I’ll go fishing”!
Eric U.
I should hate the Pats, but ever since they got close to the perfect season I can’t stop rooting for that to happen. And I think that they are the team to do it. I hate it when the old drunk Dolphins get on TV celebrating the last undefeated team losing.
I think the NFL screwed this up. The inflation of the ball is just not all that important to play. They should have announced the results of the investigation on the Friday before a big holiday and given them a minor penalty
That being said, I love this controversy for some reason and hope it drags on forever
CONGRATULATIONS!
@burnspbesq: Jesus, trust me, if there’s one thing I know after the last few years it is precisely that.
Marduk seemed to think that the Pats have grounds to sue someone for cause and the huge amount of punishment moneys that would generate. All I’m asking him/her is what the cause, the cause that will force the cruel NFL to quake in terror, is.
Cacti
A liar, a cheat, and a murderer walk into a bar.
Bartender looks up and says, “I didn’t know the Patriots were in town this weekend”.
Bill
@Grumpy Code Monkey:
All of this is true, and none of it is an excuse when you’re the one that gets caught.
When a cop pulls me over for doing 77 in a 65 it’s not a defense to say: “But there was a guy a few miles back doing 80!”
Arclite
Man, I hope Obama’s support for the TPP is 11th dimensional chess to push the Overton window, elevate populist Dems like Warren & Brown, and shed light on income inequality. Because he’s really going to the mattresses. If he really does support it, WTF?
Betty Cracker
@Eric U.: Ha! I’m the opposite — I want the old drunk Dolphins to hold that record forever! I was so happy when the Pats’ perfect season crashed, even though I don’t particularly hate them.
David Koch
@weaselone: This reminds me of when Manziel was drafted and I said he would be an immediate bust and only someone as stoopid as the Browns would draft him. And people replied, do you really think a one percent difference in height would make that big of difference.
Tree With Water
@CONGRATULATIONS!: Barry Bonds has filed a law suit and is claiming that collusion among owners cost him a job in MLB. Now that lawsuit will be entertaining. I’m a Giants fan, and one of the funniest radio reports I’ve ever heard began with a local sportscaster sputtering in rage as he began his report railing at Bond’s rude behavior towards him (towards him, and everyone else at one point or another, or so it seems). I recall he used the phrase, “never speak again to that rude jerk”- or words to that hilarious effect. Bonds was a real charmer back in the day.
raven
Here, talk about this:
Former UN ambassador John Bolton will not enter Republican presidential race
David Koch
@raven:
It was always a grift. Someone with theses skeletons could never run.
raven
@David Koch: @David Koch:That ‘s more interesting than whining about air pressure.
JPL
@David Koch: Wow! His balls must have been over inflated.
The Pale Scot
@Gin & Tonic:
That pretty much covers my life in the 70’s and 80’s
Calouste
@raven: That would be:
former never-confirmed UN ambassador John Bolton or former temporary UN ambassador John Bolton.
Tree With Water
@David Koch:
“Hagen”?
“Hello, Ambassador Bolton. Don’t worry, it will be as if the girl was never born. Just tell anyone who might ask that you spent the night as a guest of Michael and Kay Corleone”.
kc
I don’t follow football, so maybe someone else can explain this to me: If the ball inflation is such a big effing deal, why in the name of the FSM does the NFL leave it up to the teams?
I mean . . . duh.
Cacti
@Tree With Water:
I think Bonds has the makings of a pretty strong case. In his last season, he still led MLB in on base percentage and walks, and hit 28 HR with a .276 batting average, but couldn’t even get an offer for the league minimum from any club.
kc
@kindness:
Nope.
kc
@Mike J:
Shit, if the NFL can’t even manage the level of ball inflation in its own freakin’ games, it can’t be expected to police its players domestic relations.
BillinGlendaleCA
@kindness:
Nope.
scav
There’s also a tidy little brave little police officer in Alton using pepper spray in a heroic effort to, well something under undoubtedly personally dangerous conditions faced every day.
Yup, that’s me with the bolding.And that is the police chief being threatened with job loss, the actually officer is just not working at the jail anymore. The incident (Jan 26) “in under investigation” — they finally learned about it in March and it took two months for a written report to hit the desk. Lord, how long would it take if they actually had to walk across the street to a crime scene?
Tree With Water
@Cacti: I am a 60 year old baseball fan and say without hesitation that Bond’s is the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen at the plate, and that includes having grown up watching his godfather play. Which makes the steroid use all the more of a shame. It was all ego. He took one look at the attention that Sosa and McGwire were getting as a result of the drugs, and he couldn’t stand it, knowing as he did that he was the far best hitter of the three.
Aleta
@raven: Did they tell you to keep ahead of the pain? Cause that advice worked for me. When the surgery drugs wear off, it got harsh. But I ‘m sure you know how to handle it. After awhile, ice/heat worked great in the general area too.
MCA1
@JPL: And someone who engages in insider trading based on what turns out to be false information isn’t actually insider trading? Whether or not the deflation actually had an impact is utterly irrelevant.
Aleta
@scav:
WTF? Now he’s concerned about protecting juveniles.
JPL
@MCA1: Then the NFL has to control the footballs.
Ajabu
@The Dangerman:
Some wag added re: “Seek medical attention for an erection lasting more than four hours”
preferably from an attractive nurse…
raven
@Aleta: You know I wonder about that. It’s been over 6 hours so I guess the stuff from the surgery has worn off. My fingers are tingling but I don’t consider it pain. The bottle says “as needed” so I don’t know?
Ajabu
@kindness:
Personally, I don’t do oblong ball.
If it’s not NBA, I go away.
MCA1
@Goblue72: Please tell us who’s actually made the argument that this had more than a negligible effect on on-field success. No one’s ever trotted that straw man out. All these Pats fans keep intimating everyone thinks the Colts would have won or something.
Re: the “every team cheats” last defense of scoundrels you keep pulling out: there’s driving 60 in a 55, and there’s driving 60 in a 55, refusing to pull over for the trooper, denying you did it, and then threatening to sue the cops after you publish a report quoting a fucking Nobel winning scientist talking about how unreliable speed guns are. One is generally accepted in society, the other is not and makes you seem like a condescending, bitter end insufferable ass, not to mention a psychopath.
MCA1
@JPL: No question. The entire concept of letting teams supply their own footballs is ridiculous. It’s the central piece of equipment for the entire game, and is used by all skill players.
Just so we’re clear, though: you’re not blaming the NFL for Tom Brady cheating, right? You’re just saying that when the dust settles, maybe they should revisit the policy that they perhaps naively put in place?
JPL
@raven: Take one before bed. That’s the time when you might feel it and sleep is a good thing.
raven
@Aleta: My bride urged me to eat one so I did. Thanks
JPL
@MCA1: If he cheated, his suspension might be a little much. The NFL slapped the teams who were shown to heat their footballs on the wrist. The NFL has never been consistent with their penalties.
Aleta
@ raven The print out they gave you when you left the hospital might have advice on that. I’ve been told to take the pain med before it starts, because it’s easier to control the pain that way. Depends on the Drs philosophy toward pain treatment, I guess. If you don’t expect addiction problems, personally I found it works better to not tough it out right after surgery. But it may be out of line of me to offer advice if your doctor didn’t. I think the post surgical meds last a good while. But in several cases my drs have said to start the first dose of pain med before the surgical ones wear off. Apologies if it’s not appropriate for me to offer input.
Betty Cracker
@MCA1: I like the cut of your jib! ;-)
MCA1
@JPL: Did those teams admit to doing so when caught, or did they deny it and demand a public apology? Did those teams have a history of past, more serious, transgressions and little remorse?
raven
@Aleta: I don’t sweat the addition part. I have a couple of bottles around from other catastrophes. Directions say “use as directed”. Bottle says “when needed”. They are Norco 5/325 (Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen).
And thanks for the input. I ain’t here for the football commentary.
FlipYrWhig
@JPL:
Like baby bottles?
C.S.
@MCA1:
Everyone who says (or intimated) that the Pats don’t fumble as much because of the deflation.
JPL
@FlipYrWhig: haha… and received a slap on the wrist..
hahah
JPL
@MCA1: You’re right. They didn’t accuse Fox sports or ESPN of doctoring the videos.
Origuy
@raven:
The key to pain management is staying ahead of the pain. When it starts to bother you, act immediately. If you wait until you can’t stand it, you’ve waited too long.
Bobby Thomson
@burnspbesq: rule 11.
Tree With Water
@MCA1: “One is generally accepted in society, the other is not and makes you seem like a condescending, bitter end insufferable ass, not to mention a psychopath”.
There’s no such thing as unacceptable behavior when rules and rulings are arbitrarily imposed. Roger Goodell should have the phrase RRAI emblazoned on his business cards.
Cacti
@Tree With Water:
+1
Not 60 years old, but I saw the entire career of Barry Bonds as it happened. If Bonds’ car had gone off a cliff following the 1999 season, he would have been a mortal lock for first ballot HOF induction. The writers never liked him, but couldn’t argue his talents. By cheating, he gave them the angle they needed to justify keeping him out of Cooperstown.
SiubhanDuinne
@kindness:
@kc:
Personally, I think it’s boring because I think football is boring. I can see why it would be an interesting story to people who follow the game, and I have no trouble with that.
What I don’t get is that this story has been so unceasingly covered in the mainstream news. A headline story, a short analytical feature, fine. But both CNN and MSNBC were doing show after show, “breaking news” after “breaking news,” panel discussion after panel discussion, expert analyst after expert analyst, nonstop.
Of course, that’s also how they cover missing planes, train derailments, Baltimore and Ferguson protests, and anything that might turn into an Obama or Clinton scandal. So, par for the course, I guess.
(Edited because my sentences were all out of order. Don’t know how that happened.)
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: No, it’s interesting to people who hate football and they get to whine and bitch about it.
raven
@Origuy: Thanks, I hit one but I just don’t think this is that bad. We’ll see.
Heliopause
It would be nice to know two things.
What material advantage, if any, does deflating the ball confer? I’ve seen a hundred opinions on this, but as far as I know there have only been very limited attempts to measure it.
Assuming the Patriots have been systematically deflating balls, how long has it been going on?
If the answer to the first question is “none,” or “vanishingly tiny,” or “impossible to measure” then maybe we can eventually put this thing to bed. The Pats got busted for breaking a rule and the punishment was modest by football standards so there we are.
If the answer to the first question is “measurable and it’s X” then things get more interesting and we need to proceed to question 2.
If the answer to question two is “as far as we know it only happened in the AFCCG,” then maybe we can begin to put this thing to bed again. Most people think that the advantage, whatever it may be, had no effect on that lone game (that’s actually a misunderstanding of contingency but not something I care to get into right now) and so the argument would probably fade away fairly quickly.
If the answer to question two is “a long time” or even “since 2007” then things get more interesting still. Speculatively, let’s take the infamous fumble stats (pointing out, the status of Fumbleghazi is “proves nothing at this point unless further analysis comes along,” but we’re speculating here). If it could be shown that the Pats have been systematically deflating balls since exactly 2007, and if it could be shown that this confers a measurable advantage in terms of reducing fumbling, and that a good chunk of the Pats’ reduction in fumbling relative to league was due to using cheat balls, that would in fact be an enormous unfair advantage, in football terms.
But I don’t expect we’ll ever get close to that stage. Mainly because I’m skeptical the alleged advantage is even measurable, but also because I think only a few stats nerds are interested in going down that path and the vested interests would rather just leave it where it is. But who knows.
SFAW
“Deflator-Mess” is certainly an inspired pun or wordplay or whatever.
But it’s probably more appropriate for baseball. Well, except for the inflation part, but still.
SFAW
@Tree With Water:
As I understand it, he had his (not-unreasonable) reasons, as far as Teh Press was concerned.
Tree With Water
@SiubhanDuinne: A few years ago my Mom’s long time radio station switched format from “all talk, all the time” to mostly idiot-parrot newscasts. She listens in yet, however, although her world is now confined to a nursing home. She had always been one who enjoyed sports only for the enjoyment it brought others, but not any longer. She’s royally fed up with the wide worlds of sports, and would outlaw them all if she could. What’s funny is I can now ask her questions about breaking sports news, and she’ll know the answers, because it’s such a big part of the swill the station now shovels 27/7. It insults her intelligence and drives her crazy, even as the lights fades around her.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Well, I don’t hate football, I just don’t follow it. Don’t know enough about it to have an opinion.
dogwood
What confuses me is this. In the NFL is it more accurate to liken the football to a golf ball or a tennis ball?
Tree With Water
@SFAW: I would not have blamed Bonds a bit had he refused to deal at all with the Bay Area press after the front page coverage his divorce received right after he was traded here from the Pirates. It was his own damn business that had nothing to do with baseball, yet there it was- a running soap for morons. It was absolutely inexcusable behavior on the part of the press, and might well account for the bad blood.
Keith G
♬ Blame Canada ♬
Tree With Water
@Keith G: I say leave Canada alone, so long as they continue taking good care of our water and natural resources… which pretty well sums up my feelings about Arabs and our oil, too.
SFAW
@Tree With Water:
The story I heard had nothing to do with his divorce, and (if what I heard was accurate) predated any marriage.
To be clearer: what I heard was that his father was treated like shit by the press, and Barry, being a loving son, had a long memory regarding that mistreatment.
Disclaimer: I do not know if what I heard is/was reality, but it’s something I heard 20-plus years ago, before steroids became such a BFD in MLB.
fuckwit
You had me at “Loose Balls”.
It’s too hilarious a visual.
Goblue72
@MCA1: the Wells report ain’t a radar gun, asshat.
Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey
@jl: I never said there shouldn’t be any punishment. You get caught, you pay the price. I’m just saying we should never be surprised when our favorite team/athlete/whatever gets caught.
Morzer
@marduk:
I spy the classic confusion of vindicated with annihilated.
Tree With Water
@SFAW: I well remember Bobby Bonds as a player, and if he had problems with the press, I don’t recall a single instance. Granted, it was a long time ago. After he died 10 years or so ago, stories of alcoholism surfaced that indicated it curtailed his career. That said, whatever it is that makes Barry tick alienated a lot of different people over the course of his career, most of whom subsequently (surprise-surprise) don’t want anything to do with the man… and I don’t think he’ll prevail in his lawsuit because of that churlish reputation.
Joel
Wait, Pete Carroll is the Deflator? I knew it all along!