In 1967, Bill Bradley was in the Air Force Reserve for six months.\u00a0 During that time he showed up at one of the base gyms to shoot some hoops.\u00a0 He took about three shots and then announced that the basketball rim was \u00bc inch too low.\u00a0 The maintenance crew got out a ladder and a tape measure and sure enough the rim was \u00bc inch too low.\u00a0 They adjusted the hoop to the right height and Bradley resumed shooting baskets.\u00a0 That was when I learned that professional athletes are nothing like the rest of us. I am pretty sure hundreds, if not thousands, of people used that gym and no one noticed that \u00bc inch. But to Bill Bradley, this was really obvious.<\/p>\n
This is why I do not believe Tom Brady.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe him when he says he didn\u2019t notice any difference in the footballs during the second half. Brady described picking out footballs five hours before the game.\u00a0 He explained that because footballs are made out of leather, each one is unique.\u00a0 He carefully picked out the ones that felt just right to him. I think that Brady knew that the balls were underinflated and that it was exactly what he wanted.<\/p>\n
This was a really important game and the Patriots equipment staff was focused on Tom Brady and how he was throwing the football.\u00a0 Brady wouldn\u2019t even have to say anything. All that was necessary was to have one ball slip out of his hand during a throw and the equipment staff would know what to do.<\/p>\n
None of the footballs used by the Baltimore Colts were underinflated, so you can\u2019t blame this on the weather.\u00a0 Someone deliberately deflated those footballs. Regardless of whether or not it affects the final outcome, it is against the rules and it is cheating. The NFL is caught between a rock and a hard place.\u00a0 They don\u2019t have enough evidence to suspend anyone before the Superbowl. I\u2019m pretty sure they don\u2019t want to have enough evidence between now and the Superbowl. They will assign this to some committee that will investigate later. \u00a0There will be outrage and someone will be fined. \u00a0Next year, there will be a change in the rules designed to prevent this from happening again.<\/p>\n
The Patriots are playing well and they just may win the Superbowl, but they will still be losers in my book.\u00a0 What a shame. There is a clear pattern here.\u00a0 This is not exactly the first time the Patriots got caught cheating. They didn\u2019t need to cheat, but they did. Character counts! Go Seahawks.<\/p>\n
TDM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 1967, Bill Bradley was in the Air Force Reserve for six months.\u00a0 During that time he showed up at one of the base gyms to shoot some hoops.\u00a0 He took about three shots and then announced that the basketball … Continue reading