First off....this is nothing more than a war between the media and Goodell. The media wants his scalp and he wants to show the WORLD how STRONG he is. The media is manipulating all the facts to get the most out of THEIR agenda, which is to keep the story, (Whatever it might be this week) alive.
THEY, the media, are the ones who created the story in the first place. THAT'S RIGHT...to remind you, it started when a Brady pass was intercepted, in the AFC championship game as the first half ended. As the player ran off the field he gave the ball to his coach and said, "Hold this for me I want to keep it as a souvenir." Some enterprising reporter got the idea of writing a story that the player had said to his coach, "There's something wrong with this ball, it's under inflated." THAT was the "BIG LIE" that is used so often by the media to create a HEADLINE that will become "VIRAL." (Run "forever" until it reaches some conclusion). Immediately all the reporters focused their stories on THAT. After the game the player was asked about it and HE SAID, "I NEVER SAID THAT, I just asked the coach to save the ball for me as a souvenir. I didn't notice anything wrong with the ball."
BUT NOOO...following the old newsman's credo, "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story,' They chose to ignore that and go after the "angle" that spawned what has become to be known as..."DEFLATEGATE." Sure sells newspapers and air space doesn't it. That's why you never hear about THAT in all the ensuing articles. Why kill the golden goose.
Now for Roger Goodell, who has been under constant attack by the media. HE saw this as a perfect chance to show the world how tough (and impartial?) a commissioner he really is by going after his "friend" Bob Kraft. He really lowered the boom on Kraft by fining the team a million dollars AND taking away a 1st and 4th round draft pick. ALSO, he decided, very stupidly, that he would suspend Tom Brady FOUR GAMES. (***NOTE...I'll get back to these two points later).
ANOTHER FACT:---A major college came out and said that it was not only entirely possible, but very probable that the ball, at game time could have been fine and then lost enough pressure to go below the league minimum during the game. Goodell ignored it and the media shouted from the hilltops, "ENOUGH of these "scientific reports," The ball was illegally under inflated!! (Facts be damned.) Of course the media let the story die.
ANOTHER FACT:---The manufacturer also said the ball could have lost a pound or two during the game bringing the pressure below minimum. (NOTE: The game ball was not noticeably under inflated by the referees or anyone else in the game. Remember, after a ref threw the ball in to Brady, to start the second half, the game ref threw it back to him asking for another ball. NEITHER of them saw an appreciable drop in ball pressure.
Here's the other fact you never hear about because it would cast a cloud on Goodell's private agenda. ALSO, the media doesn't want THIS FACT to cloud it's own little goldmine of a story gone viral and focus on something other than "INFLATEGATE." (How I hate that word). THAT little fact is.....in the rule book that states tampering with the pressure of the football is against the rules, the stated fine for such an infraction is.....$25,000. WHAT??? Is Goodell guilty of a little OVERKILL here?
It's as plain as the nose on your face---Goodell is just trying to flex his muscles and show the media and the world just how tough he is.
Now back to the meat of the whole affair.....Goodell ordered the "IMPARTIAL" Wells report and then told him HE (Goodell) would edit the report before it was made public?? Is this sounding more and more like a conspiracy and GOODELL was going to make sure HE came out the winner???
MORE---the report said that Brady was "possibly" guilty?? There is NO PROOF that Brady told these guys to let out some air on the balls. Is Goodell crazy?? HE is in charge of promoting the NFL and yet he diminishes the integrity of its top attraction---possibly the greatest quarterback in NFL history and a sure future (first ballot) hall of famer. GET HIM TO A PSYCHIATRIST, QUICK!!
Tom Brady comes from a very strong Catholic upbringing. The youngest of four kids, with three older sisters His father was almost a priest. The mother JUST as religious minded, they made sure that EVERY Sunday they all went to mass together. I believe that Brady is most upset about being called a liar. That's why he's ready to fight this all the way to COMPLETE exoneration. Wouldn't you?
MY TAKE:---Goodell realizes he messed up and can't find a way out without looking like the clown who's painted himself in to a corner. When he headed Brady's appeal hearing his only chance was to uphold the four game suspension and then let the court settle the issue. Then, like Pontius Pilate, he could wash his hands of the whole thing no matter what the verdict. Can you imagine that---the commissioner of the NFL messing up so badly he had to resort to such a tactic?
***NOW, to talk about the note(s) above----LOST in this whole shuffle, as well as many others in the past----WHAT ABOUT THE FANS?? When a team has draft picks taken away from it that's not a punishment for the team---THE FANS are being punished!!! Same thing when a player is punished by suspending him from playing the game that fans pay hundreds of millions of dollars to see. It's the FANS that are being punished. Some day the FANS will wake up...and then what, ROGER??
THE SOLUTION is very simple. THE WALLET...hit the team, or the player, where it really hurts and levy a fine so heavy they won't ever forget it. THAT'S what punishment is supposed to be...something
that will keep the "crime" or infraction from being committed again. And the fans will never again be stuck watching a game they paid good money to see and it's played under par.
Example that you never heard about----Several years ago a family reunion in Boston, with relatives who lived in Milwaukee, was scheduled months in advance to see the Bucks play the Celtics and Larry Bird here in the old Boston garden. A few minutes into the game the referee called a totally ridiculous foul on Larry Bird. In the heat of the game Larry threw up his arms and shouted at the referee and was quickly THROWN OUT of the game. The crowd went wild, especially the family from Milwaukee who had planned for months AND spent a lot of money to go see LARRY BIRD play against THEIR hometown team. I immediately saw all the beat reporters jump to their typewriters and write their stories about the FANS being robbed of seeing Larry and the Celtics play the game.
This was going to be a major headline and would have prompted several sidebar stories about how the fans were robbed by the officials. The NBA was headed for a big embarrassment.
Then something happened that changed everything...the announcement came over our TV monitors in the press row that President Bush (the elder) had just attacked Iraq and set into motion Operation DESERT Storm. Immediately all the reporters pulled the paper from their typewriters and started on the REAL story saving the NBA from having to apologize to the FANS and perhaps a lot more. By the way, as the game ended, more than one person asked---"Who won?" I think the Celtics lost by a point or two but, who cared about the game played without LARRY BIRD?
Wake up all you sports leagues and start remembering the FANS.
Everyone knows that the media gets more readers and listeners by creating controversies. Give both sides of an argument then let everyone fight it out. The sad part is that while all the space(s) are filled with this garbage there is no sports talk. Reporters don't have to know much about their sport, all they have to do is "bull____" their way through and the REAL sports stuff is set aside. AND, the FANS, once again, are ignored. Does anybody know that the winningest pitcher on the Red Sox 1975 world series team didn't even start one game in that series? So much for ACE of the staff. BUT, HE was the winning pitcher (in relief) in the famous Carlton Fisk home run game six of the 1975 series. WHO was he? Look it up and get the sports education the media won't give you.
BOTTOM LINE----Brady is innocent and there is no evidence to prove otherwise. 'Nuf said.....