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As a Colts fan, I'm terrified of Brady coming off suspension and us being the first team he plays. I'd love to stomp him into the ground, but when that guy has something to prove, he's almost unstoppable.

We'll see what happens. Pats fans will (and are) defending him to no end, but at least there is a punishment, and I think that there will be a strong message when the Super Bowl MVP has to sit out of the season opener.

I know it would probably cause even more hell if they stripped the titles, but I would have liked to at least see a mention of that. The worst part about this whole ordeal is that the reigning league champs (or at least a key player of that team) were caught cheating. It's like finding out Lance Armstrong was juicing when he won the Tour de France. You really can't get rid of that star next in "Four time Super Bowl Champion*".

The '-gate' thing needs to die. It was old and stupid the very first time it was used after Watergate.

Did you like "Ballghazi" better?

Captain Ned wrote:

The two yahoos who actually did the job cannot be part of football until and unless the NFL agrees.

Doubt they'll much mind. I suspect they were paid VERY well for their continued silence...

superjawes wrote:

We'll see what happens. Pats fans will (and are) defending him to no end, but at least there is a punishment, and I think that there will be a strong message when the Super Bowl MVP has to sit out of the season opener.

I know it would probably cause even more hell if they stripped the titles, but I would have liked to at least see a mention of that. The worst part about this whole ordeal is that the reigning league champs (or at least a key player of that team) were caught cheating. It's like finding out Lance Armstrong was juicing when he won the Tour de France. You really can't get rid of that star next in "Four time Super Bowl Champion*".

If you didn't know Armstrong was juicing years before his admittance were your denying the obvious. Not sure how else to put it. And what makes Armstrong case heinous isn't the cheating. It's the dozens of lives he ruined, both in the media and through the legal system. He cheated in a sport where the vast majority do "cheat." Could not care less. But ruin people's lives and names to cover that up? That I care about.

Likewise with Brady/Pats. I honestly think these type of practices are common place in competitive sports. All my world experiences points to that. Deflating the balls in the amount they did is likely statistically insignificant. It probably did more mentally for Brady than anything. Therefore I just don't care. It's a minor rules infraction that I think had next to no bearing on the outcome of games.

I can see someone not "liking" Brady now, and think the leagues punishment is reasonable (for Brady, docking the Pats picks I think will not hold up, though the entire "investigation" was poorly handled), but to equate it to Armstrong is ridiculous in my opinion. There's a massive gap between what they did.

As much as I dislike the Patriots, I think taking a 1st round pick was waaaaaaaaaaay way too harsh. Regardless of how long it went on, there's no evidence that anyone outside Brady and the ball boys knew anything about it. The disciplinary action against the Patriots should only go so far as to put it in their best interests to make sure it never happens again. Since further suspending Brady probably hurts the Patriots more than him, I think the punishment should have been something more along the lines of:

• 4th Round Pick (2016)
• 4th Round Pick (2017)
• Suspend Brady 4 Games
• Fine Brady $5-10 Million

The Egg wrote:

something more along the lines of ...

The Pats always finish at the top of their division, so a first round pick is not worth quite as much to them as it would be to a last place team. But, overall, my guess is that by the time the litigation is over, the punishment will be nearly cut in half.

Suspending Brady for four games saves the Cheatriots $1.8 million in salary. After they pay the measly $1 million fine, they're still ahead by $0.8 million.

MarkG509 wrote:

The Egg wrote:

something more along the lines of ...

The Pats always finish at the top of their division, so a first round pick is not worth quite as much to them as it would be to a last place team.

What a load of bull. Go brush your teeth.

The Patriots should not be punished more severely simply because they've had more recent success. Further, their success doesn't mean that a pick is worth any less to them going forward. "Success" isn't something a team can put in the bank and use later.

MarkG509 wrote:

But, overall, my guess is that by the time the litigation is over, the punishment will be nearly cut in half.

I'm not knowledgeable of all the NFL's procedures, but I do know that the team is not represented by the Player's Union, as is Tom Brady. I don't think the team has any recourse for its punishment.

Who honestly cares.

US professional sports are kind of a joke anyway. They are is a ton of behind the scenes "cheating" and "bending the rules". The owners don't care as long as franchises pour in millions. Nobody is going to blink an eye unless it is their favorite/most hated team got caught red-handed.

The Egg wrote:

What a load of bull. Go brush your teeth.

That wasn't just my opinion, but Boomer Esaison and Carton on WFAN's morning show made a convincing argument that was true (mostly Boomer, who's not quite as much of a blow-hard as Carton). But, as usual, I'll be brushing my teeth shortly

I'm a football "fan", and I don't care about 'DeflateGate'. Oh my goodness, someone cheated in a sport that's more about money than the sport itself... Zzzzzz.

It just comes down to whether the punishment was enough to deter future incidents. Lets not forget it's obvious the people involved thought it was worthwhile to continue the practice the first time they were caught and warned back at the start of the season.

I'm not a football fan so I have no idea how strong a punishment this was, but for example it'd be a simple matter to play against nobody teams for the first four games during his suspension. And the fines were pocket change to those players. If they decide it's worth pulling the same stunt next season to win major games to secure a spot at the biggest game then they will do it again, but most likely the threat of a much more severe punishment would be the actual, real deterrent here.

Indeed. I would argue that the League sent the message of, "If you cheat, we'll suspend you for four games, but you get your keep your championship status!" What player and/or team wouldn't take that deal?

The suspension does virtually nothing. Maybe it will hurt the Patriots in the short run, but they're still opening the season as champions.

MarkG509 wrote:

The Egg wrote:

What a load of bull. Go brush your teeth.

That wasn't just my opinion, but Boomer Esaison and Carton on WFAN's morning show made a convincing argument that was true (mostly Boomer, who's not quite as much of a blow-hard as Carton). But, as usual, I'll be brushing my teeth shortly

To be more precise a first round pick for the Patriots is probably worth less than a first round pick from a team like the Browns or Jaguars, not that it was less valuable to the Patriots... (Draft board value)

CBS News just reported that the NFL upheld Tom Brady's 4 game suspension. As (mostly) a Jets/Giants fan, I'm

MarkG509 wrote:

CBS News just reported that the NFL upheld Tom Brady's 4 game suspension. As (mostly) a Jets/Giants fan, I'm

This just moves it from Goodell's office to whatever Federal District Court the NFLPA cherry-picks.

Captain Ned wrote:

This just moves it from Goodell's office to whatever Federal District Court the NFLPA cherry-picks.

Your predictions about cherry picking came true. The Player's Association tried to file in Minnesota (where Peterson found success), but the NFL had already beat them to it by filing in the SDNY.

I hope everybody has seen this courtroom sketch.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/sport ... gizes.html

People are making a fuss over a silly sketch?

Krogoth wrote:

People are making a fuss over a silly sketch?

Oh, c'mon... the Photoshopped ones down at the bottom are pretty funny!

Brady wins.

After Ballghazi, the score stands at:
NFLPA: 5
Roger Goodell: 0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/re ... rss_sports

Read the decision closely. The Federal judge stated that he had no basis to overturn the factual findings of the arbitrator (IOW, this decision does not absolve Brady from the original complaint). The decision to revoke the suspension has nothing to do with whatever might have happened back then and has everything to do with the sheer idiocy and incompetence of Goodell's legal "team".

UPDATE: Suspenion Reinstated