I am the locker room guy.

[mother earth]

Now, if only we paid such scrutiny to real issues.

Go Pats!

[Unknown Beatle]

1. Cheating is not a real issue? Go figure.

If you get caught once, there's doubts. If you get caught twice...

[mother earth]

2. Has cheating been established? Accusations have been made, if the footballs psi is vital to

the game then why aren't NFL measures taken to ensure regulation psi is met? (Oh wait, they followed the routine standard protocol for this process as they have always done…)

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots_nfl/new_england_patriots/2015/01/nfl_says_no_log_kept_on_football_psi_levels

— The NFL’s investigative team might have a difficult time finding hard evidence to fault the Patriots for using under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game.

Vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said yesterday the referees do not log the PSI level of the footballs when they are gauged before or during a game.

So basically, the investigative team is taking referee Walt Anderson at his word about the pregame and halftime checks, but the PSI levels were not documented when the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts to advance to Super Bowl XLIX.

That’s the standard protocol for this process.

“They’re not logged, and that’s certainly something that can be a thought (for the competition committee),” Blandino said in Phoenix. “They’re tested. They make sure they’re in that acceptable range, and then they basically mark the football to say this is an acceptable football. It met the proper specifications.”

That means Anderson measured the footballs and either approved them or disapproved them before the game. Blandino said the Patriots and Colts both had their footballs measured at halftime because of an incident. The league announced the Patriots used backup footballs in the second half.

“Walt gauged the footballs himself,” Blandino said. “It’s something he has done throughout his career.”

Multiple reports suggested the Patriots’ footballs were either 1 or 2 PSI below the limit (12.5-13.5). Without proper documentation, the question now is: How could that be proven?

(continued at link above)

[asiliveandbreathe]

4. and all this noise for what -

So we don't find a bunch of hawks splat all over the road - we are the PATS - and they are not!

Thanks for posting info- let's go pluck a few feathers.....

[Unknown Beatle]

5. Yeah I'm sure it was just

a coincidence that the Pats had eleven underinflated footballs while the Colts had none.

Look, I'm not suggesting that the game would have turned if not for the footballs, the Colts would have still lost regardless. But if you don't think it suspicious that the Pats had underinflated balls and the Colts had none, and you can't see this with an open mind, then it's no use to discuss this further.

Multiple reports suggested the Patriots’ footballs were either 1 or 2 PSI below the limit (12.5-13.5). Without proper documentation, the question now is: How could that be proven?

During and after the game an official became concerned because the balls on the Pats side felt underinflated. After the game they checked the PSI of the Pats and Colts footballs and found that eleven were underinflated on the Pats side and none on the Colts side. They also have video of someone that works for the Pats taking footballs into the bathroom in the locker room. Why? Why would someone take footballs into a bathroom? Doesn't make sense unless it was for nefarious reasons.

If the balls were regular weight and PSI, all this would be a non-issue. But as it is...

[asiliveandbreathe]

3. They hate us 'cause they ain't us..

peanut butter and jealousy....GO PATS!

[Unknown Beatle]

7. Yeah, that's it.

We hate the Pats because they're going to the SB. SMH

Facts don't matter, we're just a bunch of haters.

[barbtries]

6. ok i'm gonna ask a stupid question.

don't both teams use the same balls, and if not, why not? it seems as if the balls were deflated and both teams were using the same ball, there would be no advantage. i gather that's not the case but don't get why?
thank you.

[Unknown Beatle]

8. Each team is allocated 12 footballs.

Eleven of those footballs were underinflated on the Pats side and none on the Colts side.

[mother earth]

9. How is it a "proven" they were under inflated on the Pats side? And isn't it more of an advantage

for the ball to be over-inflated?

Just seems to me a non-issue because none of this has been proven, nor proven to be a cheating tactic, and if it becomes something that is changed and made into a new rule, then so be it, but right now it is a non-issue, which is probably why it is something they handle as they do.

Also, is it a proven fact the footballs were taken into the bathroom? I can't help but laugh, seriously, "I am the locker room guy, I did it".

Right now, all of this is like hearsay in a court of law, a lot of hot (or cold) air is blowing.

Aside from how funny this whole thing is becoming, the NFL does have the power to establish rules and protocols, let's wait til they complete their investigation. As Costas has said, they could've been playing with bricks in that game, the outcome would still be the same.

[Unknown Beatle]

10. If you're still asking those questions.

Under NFL rules, no alteration of the footballs is allowed once they are approved. If a person is found breaking league rules and tampering with the footballs, that person could face up to a $25,000 fine and potentially more discipline. That is the rule that has been in effect for decades.

Underinflated footballs are easier to throw and catch.

It was proven because a ref felt something was wrong with the footballs on the Pats side and then the said footballs were tested.

Let's leave it alone. It's my fault for trying.

[mother earth]

11. Yes, leave it alone, absolutely nothing has been established or ruled on. It's all talk right now.

But you wasted no time to establish it as "cheating", that's not your "fault for trying", that's you saying something that just ain't so at this juncture, a non-issue.

(And Aaron Rodgers might disagree on what's easier to throw and catch, and he WAS actually fined.)

[barbtries]

12. thank you.

i have to wonder why they do it like that. seems like the league should supply all the balls.

[DeSwiss]

13. Finally.

Investigative reporting at its best.

- It's the media's best too.

K&R

[mother earth]

14. It appears the air is starting to come out of "deflate gate"...

It sounds like the air is starting to come out of DeflateGate. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Sunday had the most recent update on the controversy surrounding the Patriots’ alleged use of underinflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game. Perhaps the most important tidbit contradicted one of the initial DeflataGate reports. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported the day after the AFC Championship that 11 of 12 footballs used by the Patriots were found to be underinflated. According to Mortensen, the balls were roughly two pounds under the legal level. However, Rapoport’s report indicates all but one of those 11 footballs were either roughly a pound or “just a few ticks” under the the 12.5 PSI minimum. Rapoport also confirmed a report that a Patriots gameday employee — described as “elderly” by Rapoport — took two bags of footballs into a bathroom for 98 seconds prior to the game. The league got video of the attendant going into the bathroom after the Patriots turned the video over to the NFL.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/02/report-many-of-patriots-deflategate-footballs-were-just-few-ticks-under-level/

[mother earth]

15. the Outakes from Jimmy Kimmel Live...