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Evidence suggests Patriots deliberately deflated footballs
Boston Globe ^ | 1/21/15 | Ben Volin

Posted on 01/21/2015 7:44:52 PM PST by randita

The Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl has turned into an episode of “Law & Order.” And three days into Deflategate, it is becoming increasingly clear that the “law” was broken.

Now the tricky part: Figuring out the appropriate punishment.

The NFL’s investigation into the Patriots using under-inflated footballs in Sunday night’s AFC Championship is still ongoing. The league has said very little about the investigation or the timetable for its conclusion. The NFL sent a letter to the Patriots on Monday informing them that the league concluded that under-inflated footballs were used on Sunday. The investigation is now centered on how this could have happened.

We don’t need official word from the NFL to know it’s not looking good for the Patriots right now.

We know the Patriots’ footballs weren’t fully inflated when tested by officials at halftime. We know it wasn’t cold enough (51 degrees at kickoff) for the balls to deflate by almost 20 percent on their own. Pro Football Talk reported Tuesday that the officials tested the balls properly before the game. WEEI reported that the officials removed the faulty footballs at halftime and replaced them with properly inflated backup footballs. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that the Colts noticed the under-inflation in the teams’ Nov. 16 matchup and alerted the officials to it before Sunday’s game.

(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: colts; deflategate; patriots
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To: Tupelo

“There is no way on God’s green earth that I could possibly care any less about this stupid bowl game. Or any footsball game for that matter.
The world is very close to exploding and we get this as the news story of the week?
God Help Us.”

Yes! On an earlier thread on this subject I offered the same thought and pi$$ed off some couch potato. The world is on fire and this is important? Take this crap over to Sports Illustrated. “Professional Sports” is most likely more dishonest than the government if that’s possible. Roger Goodell= Barak Obola.


41 posted on 01/21/2015 8:26:09 PM PST by vette6387
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To: P-Marlowe

In those games each team uses their own footballs. That way they feel comfortable that no one has done anything to them.

The under inflated ball is easier to grip in the rain...and in general. If one team can throw and catch the passes easier, it does provide an unfair advantage.

A friend of mine who works in DII college athletics got a group of balls, inflated them and then deflated them really couldn’t tell the difference. I told him that’s why he is in D2 college athletics and not the NFL.


42 posted on 01/21/2015 8:26:26 PM PST by Vermont Lt (Ebola: Death is a lagging indicator.)
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To: ez
'By halftime 11 of 12 were underinflated. Somebody was letting air out of the Patriots’ footballs. All the Colts balls were checked and were regulation.'

Which makes the whole story even more absurd. The refs didn't at the start of the 2nd half penalize the Pats or attempt to equalize the 'advantage'. And now we have this. Some problems should be immediately fixed and corrected.

NFL...making 'private' enterprise similar to .gov.

43 posted on 01/21/2015 8:26:27 PM PST by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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To: Pikachu_Dad

Weather forecast says 45 during game.


44 posted on 01/21/2015 8:28:40 PM PST by Pikachu_Dad (Impeach Sen Quinn)
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To: PAR35

LOL! Good one! B^)

(I would still run the movie but award the Super Bowl by default to The Mighty Ducks of Oregon! It would help cheer them up after the drubbing they took at the hands of The Ohio State Buckeyes!)


45 posted on 01/21/2015 8:30:00 PM PST by smoothsailing
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Comment #46 Removed by Moderator

To: CrazyIvan

Deflation’s not good, either.


47 posted on 01/21/2015 8:33:11 PM PST by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
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To: randita

.....and signals stolen.


48 posted on 01/21/2015 8:34:23 PM PST by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
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To: tumblindice

No......boar hogs are bigger.


49 posted on 01/21/2015 8:37:06 PM PST by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
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To: randita

The Pats are cheaters. They should lose their NFL franchise license for twelve months for the first offense, and twenty four months for the second offense (which this is), and 48 months for the third offense, and so on.

I don’t really give a crap how many points the Pats won by. For all anyone knows, they’ve cheated all season, and wouldn’t have gotten to the playoffs had they played honestly.


50 posted on 01/21/2015 8:37:53 PM PST by Monitor ("The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-front for the urge to rule it." - H. L. Mencken)
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To: Sacajaweau

Because they don’t. The teams each bring their own


51 posted on 01/21/2015 8:41:59 PM PST by chae (The Lannisters send their regards--Game of Thrones)
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To: randita

“Figuring out the appropriate punishment.”

Death penalty. The Patriots should be suspended from the league for at least a few years. No Super Bowl, no games, no salaries. Belichek, if he’s implicated, should be thrown out of the game, prosecuted, ruined, destroyed.

In sports, cheating goes to the very core of the game. If it’s tolerated at this level, it’s difficult to tell it from professional wrestling.


52 posted on 01/21/2015 8:42:00 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: Vermont Lt

One thing that I’ve seen mentioned is the underinflated ball is also easier to grip in the running game. I also heard Blount has a history of fumbling. (I don’t know that to be true,

The one thing that hasn’t come out (that I have seen) is whether or not the balls were underinflated again after the game. If someone on the sidelines is deflating the balls, there will be consequences.


53 posted on 01/21/2015 8:43:16 PM PST by Gil4 (And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, ax and saw)
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To: vette6387
Yes! On an earlier thread on this subject I offered the same thought and pi$$ed off some couch potato. The world is on fire and this is important? Take this crap over to Sports Illustrated.

I came on this thread to make a similar point, but you beat me to it. It's shocking how much bread and circus crap gets posted here, and how emotionally involved these couch potatoes are when "their" team is involved.

54 posted on 01/21/2015 8:55:59 PM PST by American Guesser
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To: stubernx98

“Worse than knocking your wife out in the elevator??”

Full disclosure: Love Ray Rice.

But, not to defend him, but punching your wife in an elevator is not the same as CHEATING AT THE GAME.

Full disclosure: Hate the Patriots.


55 posted on 01/21/2015 8:59:11 PM PST by jocon307 (Tell it like it is.)
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To: Monitor

Agreed, they should forfeit the season. Wonder if it is too late to swap them out at the Super Bowl?


56 posted on 01/21/2015 8:59:29 PM PST by Reno89519 (For every illegal or H1B with a job, there's an American without one. Muslim = Nazi = Evil)
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To: randita

After the balls were corrected at half time, the Pats scored 28 points ... but they only scored 17 in the first half with the defective, deflated balls which the refs must have altered so that the game would be closer.

Obviously the NFL just wanted other teams to have a chance at winning. This was all for ratings. Now the Patriots will never lose another game so long as they use fully inflated balls.

I’m really proud of how my team, despite the NFL cheating against it, has still managed to dominate the league for so many years, and yet quietly lose on purpose to teams like the Giants, so that since Peyton can’t win 2 Super Bowls, at least his little brother could ... so the Mannings together, in a way, I guess are as good as Brady.

Belichick is truly such a giving person.


57 posted on 01/21/2015 9:01:42 PM PST by tinyowl (A equals A)
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To: stubernx98

What’s worse? The Seahawks coach is a 9/11 truther or the Patriots coach is a dirty cheater?


58 posted on 01/21/2015 9:03:27 PM PST by MediaMole
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To: Vermont Lt

“I told him that’s why he is in D2 college athletics and not the NFL.”

LOL, that sounds like something my dad would say! And my dad was something like the team manager of his college baseball team.


59 posted on 01/21/2015 9:03:36 PM PST by jocon307 (Tell it like it is.)
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To: Tupelo
There is no way on God’s green earth that I could possibly care any less about this stupid bowl game. Or any footsball game for that matter. The world is very close to exploding and we get this as the news story of the week? God Help Us.

How much did you lose on the Colts?

60 posted on 01/21/2015 9:03:51 PM PST by Ken H (What happens on the internet, stays on the internet.)
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