The TWELFTH BALL!..........
Posted on 01/22/2015 7:45:17 AM PST by Red Badger
So this adds (at least) one other wagering category for the Super Bowl – ± on the inflation pressure of the Patriots’ footballs...
Oh yeah, I think they are fine with pretty much any story as long as ‘NFL’ is included somewhere in it. Perhaps in depth stories or media focus on PEDs or brain injury might be exceptions. But maybe not.
Freegards
Brain injuries are definitely an exception, as shown by them making ESPN pull out of that story (which still scares me, just how much of an entertainment juggernaut is the NFL that they can boss around The Mouse?!). Given how well MLB has “blazed the trail” on PEDs they’re probably not to worried about that one because they know most folks don’t actually care and eventually it just blows over.
RE - one set of footballs. What I’ve heard/read is that each team has a supply of footballs with their own team logo on it - makes them much more valuable that way. Also they do not use brand new footballs on game day. They use footballs that they’ve used during practice which they are permitted to scuff up within reason. The balls don’t have to be new, they just have to pass the pre-game inspection.
Beautiful!
Persistence of Cheating!...............
I assume the balls were checked on the field...............
Yeah, you are right about the ESPN story. For sure PEDs will always be a bigger deal in baseball, that’s basically down to the nature of the beast. But I doubt the NFL really wants a national, in depth debate on the difference between the actual PED policy they have and the public perception of that policy and how it actually works. The NFL and NBA has never had a legit superstar get caught. And there are probably reasons for that.
Freegards
I keep hearing that. The footballs were inspected and pumped back up at halftime. Do you have a link to an official statement on that? Or is that just what you've heard or read in various comments online? And were the footballs inspected again, after the game?
“no one has said this. In fact Gronk didn’t spike any balls in that game”
Except for Rob Gronkowski.
http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/01/20/rob-gronkowski-patriots-deflated-footballs-tweet
And Tom Brady:
“When Gronk scores … he spikes the ball and he deflates the ball,” Brady said
Sure Gronk was ‘joking’...and Brady said this years ago...but make no mistake, this is what the Pats are hanging their hats on.
Good questions, the most I have heard was an ex-ref on some radio blabber show say he assumed they took care of it that way. Not to say there isn’t something out there that addresses those questions more definitely.
Freegards
They would take awhile to cool off...
Too close to the truth.
Bill Belichick vows “swift justice” for whoever failed to deflate 12th football
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said today that he is just as upset and angry as everyone else is over the latest news about his team, and will make sure there is “swift justice for those responsible.”
“I was very angry to hear that 11 of our 12 footballs in the AFC Championship Game were under-inflated,” said the coach, spitting out his words in an angry growl at a press conference today. “I gave explicit instructions that all of our footballs were to be deflated by exactly two pounds. I will find who failed to deflate the twelfth ball and they will be fired. I guarantee you that.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he has “complete confidence” in Belichick.
“This man cheats with integrity, and I won’t let anyone say otherwise,” said the owner. “His attention to duplicitous detail is unparalleled. I don’t know what exactly happened to cause one of our footballs to be legal, but Bill will get to the bottom of it and we will move forward as an organization to better and more comprehensive illegal activities.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he expecting a quick and thorough explanation from the team.
“The integrity of the league is at stake. Again,” said the commissioner. “I expect an excuse from the Patriots that is PR-driven and palatable to the majority of our fans by the end of the day.”
AND...
BREAKING: Patriots Banned from Super Bowl After NFL Determines They Didn’t Deflate Balls with NFL’s Official Brand of Air Pump
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that the New England Patriots will be banned from Super Bowl XLIX against the Seahawks after a league investigation determined the team deflated footballs in the AFC title game using a Spalding air pump. The NFL’s official air pump supplier is Wilson.
“We take our relationships with our brand partners very seriously,” said Goodell. “For the Patriots to just willfully ignore our friends at Wilson is not acceptable and they will pay the consequences.”
The penalty is even harsher than the one the Patriots received for SpyGate, when the NFL found they were they were filming opposing teams’ practices with cameras not supplied by the NFL’s official camera partner.
“This is now a pattern of not being allegiant to league brands,” said Goodell. “It seems that when it comes to not using NFL partners, the Patriots say: ‘Just do it.’ Which reminds me, the NFL is proud to be a partner with Nike. You can purchase their great products at Nike.com.”
The commissioner then opened the press conference to questions, but put on a pair of Bose headphones and ignored them all.
www.sportspickle.com
The TWELFTH BALL!..........
Personally, since all the balls are identical, teams should be able to inflate them to whatever pressure they prefer.......The only advantage any team will have is the “perceived” advantage they think they have with their own ball inflated to their choice.
Say they were inflated to 12.5 psi, the minimum allowed, at 75°F in the equipment room, then taken immediately to be inspected, they would test normal and pass inspection.
Then they are taken outside at 51°F and set for two hours.
If, as you say, 10°F drop = 1 psi pressure drop, then they would indeed be 2 psi low...............
Fromm now on, after this imbroglio, the balls should be supplied by the NFL, brand new, each game, and no team can ever complain....................
I’m not a Patriot’s lover or hater. I’m a Cowboys fan, so I have my own issues. But to all you people that say you will be rooting for Seattle because New England cheats - you need to remember that Pete Carroll cheated at USC. So you’re still rooting for a cheater.
Then it should be a very interesting game.
May the best cheater win!..................
Correct sir.
He ran such a corrupt program that USC had to forfeit their National title and an entire season. Carroll skipped town to the Seahawks before the NCAA could deal with him.
My only interest in the game will be that i was the Jr High football coach for one of the Seahawk’s linemen, hope he has a great game.
I have a feeling that under inflated footballs have been used since the first football game was played in the cold.........
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