#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[Leather]

In 72 offensive plays in Super Bowl XLIX, New England did not fumble.
 

 
Ball must've been deflated!

 

[GlucoDoc]

...or there was some sticky stuff on it!!!

 

[ColonelMustard]

So, after 3 weeks of this shit-storm, and the glorious 4th Lombardi that was just won, I've gone through all the stages of outrage/triumph, and arrived here:
 
  I'm completely bemused, and somewhat appalled, at how much the NFL has become like a kindergarten playground. They cheated!!   They're cheaters!!   No fair, they're big cheating meanies!!        Fuck off and die, everyone who is beating that drum. Stop deluding yourselves that you somehow have been, for decades,  watching, covering, playing in, something akin to Pop Warner Football or the Boy scouts of America. This is ferociously competitive, win at all costs, big-boy sports/business.  I no longer give 2 shits whether the Pats are guilty of anything here. I assume they're all pushing every envelope, trying to get every edge they can. I'm glad our team does it better than most.  
 
 
  I no longer give a fuck about what the rest of the world thinks of the New England Patriots. Seriously, who gives a fuck?   Does it effect my enjoyment of watching them play every week in the fall, or how great this epic run of the last 15 years has been?   No, it does not. So fuck "legacy", fuck media trolls, fuck bitter, moronic opposing fans on the internet, fuck hypocritical former players who can't stand the thought of someone else surpassing their accomplishments. Fuck. Them.  All.   
 
  Finally, my only remaining interest is in hoping that the incompetent, over-compensating, weakling of a commissioner doesn't impose some completely arbitrary, over the top penalty(draft picks, suspensions) that hurts the Patriots on the field next year and beyond. I think that is looking less likely, but with him, who knows?  Either way, as soon as the verdict comes in on this, I'm done. And will then turn my attention to the overall quest for No. 5, and the inevitable ritual-killing that awaits the Colts some Sunday Night during November sweeps next fall.     

 
Thank you for this.  My consumption of sports media has decreased significantly and any consumption is filtered by SOSH (thank you to all of you).  The idiocy of football coverage in particular is frankly remarkable, consisting of talking heads screaming louder and louder - talking to make attention grabbing headlines.  Other than SOSH Central, Reiss and a few others, there is no analysis.
 
Regarding Bill and Tom's legacy.  Legacy is not driven my today's narrative.  Today's harsh spotlight mellows into a warm radiance.  See George W. Bush.  See Bill Clinton (Monica Lewinsky - shake head, chuckles, oh Bill).  See Lawrence Taylor.  See Don Shula.  Everyone hates you when you're on top.  In fact, even my personal hatred of Peyton Manning has abated.  I was almost sad that he could potentially retire and I'd be foolish to even suggest that he isn't (wasn't) one of the all time greats in history.
 
They can never take away the Lombardi's.  Just win baby.

 

[Reverend]

Here's how I handicap the outcome:
40% insufficient evidence to find a violation. Pats are not punished, but are not exonerated.
25% No evidence of intentional misconduct, but Pats receive a slap on the wrist for not having their footballs up to code.
15% Pats are railroaded on the basis of inconclusive evidence, commissioner cites previous statements about low standard of proof for determining culpability. Inconclusive as to who was responsible. Lose a 1st round pick and are hit with a major fine.
15% investigation turns up an actual or purported smoking gun. Brady and/or Belichick are suspended, picks are forfeited, and Kraft goes ballistic.
4% Pats are exonerated. Wells finds the witnesses credible and the scientific evidence compelling. Goodell never apologizes because he was just doing his job, etc.
1% Pats are exonerated because Colts ball boy admits to further deflating the ball Jackson intercepted. Grigson gets shitcanned.

 
Based upon what "code" would this slap on the wrist be based? The team literally only has to make balls "available."
 
I'd love to see them submit nearly completely deflated balls all next season.

 

[Kevin Youkulele]

He could probably claim the commissioner acted well outside his designated powers, and was possibly behind a fraudulent sting operation with deliberately manufactured evidence.  He could probably shine enough of a spotlight to damage the NFL's credibility further.  
 
I think the chances of this happening are remote (1%), and occur only if Goodell is stupid enough to attempt a suspension and docking the team a first rounder.  

Most jurisdictions restrict the extent to which liability can be precluded/waived in advance for intentional torts (including fraud; defamation I'm not sure about).  So, an NFL plaintiff against Goodell (or maybe unnamed NFL employees who leaked bad garbage about the Pats) would probably need to frame the wrongdoing as an intentional tort.  It might be doable.  But I agree in general that the chances are remote.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

 
Based upon what "code" would this slap on the wrist be based? The team literally only has to make balls "available."
 
I'd love to see them submit nearly completely deflated balls all next season.

Forget it. I was wrong about the rule.

 

[Doctor G]

The Game Operations Manual, which sets the minimum $25k penalty implies that rule is violated when a team merely uses a non-conforming football in a game. I cannot find a copy of the manual online, but I've seen that provision referenced in several reports:

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=nflnation&id=159490&src=desktop

It actually says non-approved which would be a ball not approved by the officials prior to the game. In the article you linked there is no reference to a nonconforming ball. These are two totally different circumstances.

 

[simplyeric]

It actually says non-approved which would be a ball not approved by the officials prior to the game. In the article you linked there is no reference to a nonconforming ball. These are two totally different circumstances.

A ball not approved prior to the game.
Or a ball modified after approval.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

It actually says non-approved which would be a ball not approved by the officials prior to the game. In the article you linked there is no reference to a nonconforming ball. These are two totally different circumstances.

You're right. I was reading it based on my previous, incorrect understanding of the rule.

However, I would certainly not put it past Goodell to punish the Pats for using an underinflated football without any evidence of intentional wrongdoing.

 

[Adrian's Dome]

You're right. I was reading it based on my previous, incorrect understanding of the rule.

However, I would certainly not put it past Goodell to punish the Pats for using an underinflated football without any evidence of intentional wrongdoing.

 
In which case Kraft will go nuclear.

 

[snowmanny]

FYI Cris Carter never used Stickum on his hands, so none of his Super Bowl wins are tainted:
 
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/09/cris-carter-says-he-never-used-stickum/

 

[djbayko]

FYI Cris Carter never used Stickum on his hands, so none of his Super Bowl wins are tainted:
 
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/09/cris-carter-says-he-never-used-stickum/

 
Cris didn't use stickum.  He just organized bounty programs before it was cool.
 
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Cris-Carter-Bill-Romanowski-NFL-bounty-New-Orleans-Saints-050912
 
Seriously, every ex player outside of Tim Tebow needs to get off his high horse and STFU.

 

[Hoya81]

 
Cris didn't use stickum.  He just organized bounty programs before it was cool.
 
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Cris-Carter-Bill-Romanowski-NFL-bounty-New-Orleans-Saints-050912
 
Seriously, every ex player outside of Tim Tebow needs to get off his high horse and STFU.

Sort of surprised Tebow hasn't been drawn into this, given that he would be familiar with the NE ball prep process.

 

[crystalline]

 
It's basically: "execute, don't get greedy, be patient and be glad to take what's there". Seems like a simple enough message, but it takes a lot of preparation and mental toughness to believe that gameplan and keep at it while down 10 in the fourth quarter.

It also explains why Bill went all in with his defense with 1 min left. Driving from the 20 to FG range with no timeouts and less than 60 seconds would have required throwing long which they did not do all game.

 

[soxfan121]

Sort of surprised Tebow hasn't been drawn into this, given that he would be familiar with the NE ball prep process.

Here I come to save the day...
 
EDIT: 12,278 posts. I cannot believe it took 12,278 posts.

 

[ifmanis5]

Refuses Special Teams duties, would not bang.

 

[simplyeric]

Refuses Special Teams duties to bang before marriage, would not bang.

 

[Hoya81]

http://www.wthr.com/story/28071580/kravitz-a-sort-of-mea-culpa-on-deflategate

Kravitz walking back a lot of his rhetoric from after the story broke.


"In ensuing tweets and a column or two, I wrote that if owner Robert Kraft had an ounce of integrity, Belichick would be bounced immediately, draft picks should be forfeited and the Pats should be fined. What I failed to do was make it abundantly clear, “IF the Patriots are found guilty of having tampered with the footballs…'' I failed to understand, at least at the time, that each tweet, taken by itself, is an independent organism, not a part of a continuing narrative."

 

[8slim]

http://www.wthr.com/story/28071580/kravitz-a-sort-of-mea-culpa-on-deflategate

Kravitz walking back a lot of his rhetoric from after the story broke.


"In ensuing tweets and a column or two, I wrote that if owner Robert Kraft had an ounce of integrity, Belichick would be bounced immediately, draft picks should be forfeited and the Pats should be fined. What I failed to do was make it abundantly clear, “IF the Patriots are found guilty of having tampered with the footballs…'' I failed to understand, at least at the time, that each tweet, taken by itself, is an independent organism, not a part of a continuing narrative."

 
What a load of crap. He's (kinda) apologizing for not writing "IF" enough because he doesn't understand Twitter.  Or something.
 
I also loved this re: the Colts deflating a football, "I'm sure there are conspiracy theorists out there".  Yes, Bob, there are.  Like the ones who believe there was a conspiracy by the entire Patriots organization, from it's head coach, to it's starting QB, to it's game day attendants, to purposefully, and consistently, deflate footballs to gain a competitive advantage.  Both are conspiracies, and both are theories.  And neither have any evidence presented as of yet to support them.
 
Dope.

 

[Granite Sox]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised he did this.  I never had a problem with him breaking the report on the investigation (my issue is with Irsay/Grigson)... it was the knee-jerk judgment and howling for heads that took his work completely off the rails.  To admit that he didn't adequately differentiate facts from speculation and emotion is unusual for print/electronic media members.  Many in the media covering the Pats have blurred the lines between reporting and opining, especially on social media.  Subsequently, the value of the information for this story degraded almost instantaneously.
 
P.S. He's still a dope.  I drove past him crossing the street pulling his roller bag as he was on his way to Banker's Life Fieldhouse to cover Pacers-Spurs last night.  Angry thoughts went through my head...

 

[E5 Yaz]

There's absolutely no motivation for Kravitz to write something along these lines ... unless he's been tipped off to something. Who's he writing this for ... Colts fans? The majority of his regular audience likely at some level believes the Patriots are at fault; so he's not gaining any ground with them by doing it. Why should he give a crap what New England fans think? Heck he took delight in mocking Patriots fans in earlier pieces.
 
Notice, also, how he sets himself up to be shocked ... shocked! ... if it turns out the Colts were somehow involved with this. That position himself away from the impetus of the story, so that he can, in his words, come down on the Colts if that "conspiracy theory" comes to fruition.
 
Columnists like Kravitz don't write (even slight) mea culpas ... unless they've learned something new, and walking it back a bit allows them leverage for the future.

 

[ifmanis5]

Oh please, Kravitz kept pushing all the typical garbage talking points like those below even after they were debunked.
His apology after burning the witch doesn't count after the witch is dead. He was part of the problem in a big way.

If this truly was due to some kind of atmospheric issues, why were all the Colts footballs within the league's parameters?

Was it colder on one side of the stadium than it was on the other? Do the Patriots prepare the footballs in such a unique way that it loses air more quickly than the Colts footballs?

http://www.wthr.com/story/27932510/kravitz-belichick-the-science-guy-tries-to-explain-away-deflategate

 

[millionthcustomer]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised he did this.  I never had a problem with him breaking the report on the investigation (my issue is with Irsay/Grigson)... it was the knee-jerk judgment and howling for heads that took his work completely off the rails.  To admit that he didn't adequately differentiate facts from speculation and emotion is unusual for print/electronic media members.  Many in the media covering the Pats have blurred the lines between reporting and opining, especially on social media.  Subsequently, the value of the information for this story degraded almost instantaneously.
 
P.S. He's still a dope.  I drove past him crossing the street pulling his roller bag as he was on his way to Banker's Life Fieldhouse to cover Pacers-Spurs last night.  Angry thoughts went through my head...

I agree that no one should be faulting Kravitz for breaking the story.  I'm pretty sure that I would have run with it as well, if he had it verified by the "great sources" he says he had.  My problem with the media was the absolute lack of independent thought on the part of many many highly visible sports reporters (including many Boston sports writers).  They took the one fossilized bone that Kravitz dug up and Jurassic Park-ed that sucker into a Velociraptor, when it could just as easily have been some kid's dead pet rabbit.  
 
Kravitz can take his "ifs" and shove them where the moon don't shine.  The rest of the media should be ashamed as well.  The lack of journalistic discretion--or any semblance of perspective--on this story should be taught in journalism schools; right after they teach "don't use Reddit as a crowed-sourced confirmation of a terrorist's identity."

 

[Gambler7]

Please, what a joke. For a reminder, all you have to do is go back and look at his tweets for a week after the investigation started. He makes it out to be as if he didn't do anything to further the story, only reported the facts and forgot to include an "if". In actuality he called Brady a liar, called for Belichick to be suspended for the Super bowl and for Kraft to fire him, among many other things. 

 

[Dogman]

Oh please, Kravitz kept pushing all the typical garbage talking points like those below even after they were debunked.
His apology after burning the witch doesn't count after the witch is dead. He was part of the problem in a big way.
 
http://www.wthr.com/story/27932510/kravitz-belichick-the-science-guy-tries-to-explain-away-deflategate

 
 
It's worse than that. Kravitz wrote at least twice at the start of all this that the Patriots don't deserve the benefit of the doubt because they were caught taping opposing teams practices from 2002-2007 and that's why they were fined and docked the first rounder.
 
Irsay/Grigson and Kravitz are the fucking problem.  Credibility is not a tenet of these fuckheads.

 

[ifmanis5]

Agreed with all of the above. If Kravitz wants to impress me he can start digging around in Irsay's closet. Failing that, he can take his trophies and shove it.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Reiss in his mailbag today:
 

I'm of the thinking that the damage has already been done. It's sort of like a correction in a newspaper. Sure, it's nice, but most everyone remembers the original headline more. One of the things I am curious about with the Wells report and potential league discipline is if Colts owner Jim Irsay is held accountable for fanning the flames with what I felt was piling on publicly.

 

[Comfortably Lomb]

http://www.wthr.com/story/28071580/kravitz-a-sort-of-mea-culpa-on-deflategate

Kravitz walking back a lot of his rhetoric from after the story broke.


"In ensuing tweets and a column or two, I wrote that if owner Robert Kraft had an ounce of integrity, Belichick would be bounced immediately, draft picks should be forfeited and the Pats should be fined. What I failed to do was make it abundantly clear, “IF the Patriots are found guilty of having tampered with the footballs…'' I failed to understand, at least at the time, that each tweet, taken by itself, is an independent organism, not a part of a continuing narrative."

 
The man makes a living on the meaning of words. He knew what he meant. He's a hack.

 

[ifmanis5]

I'm of the thinking that the damage has already been done. It's sort of like a correction in a newspaper. Sure, it's nice, but most everyone remembers the original headline more. One of the things I am curious about with the Wells report and potential league discipline is if Colts owner Jim Irsay is held accountable for fanning the flames with what I felt was piling on publicly.

And we know this is true after everything we went through with the Rams tape crap. I'm not expecting the general sports fan's opinion to change on the Ballghazi issue no matter what happens in the next few months. They don't like the Pats and they'll stick with that feeling until the bitter end no matter what Wells has to say.
 
And the guy who helped make our lives a living hell for two weeks wants to make sure we know he was saying IF all the time? Eff that guy.

 

[8slim]

IF (see what I did there) there is a shocking development when Wells releases his report, as in it turns out it was the Colts who deflated a football to frame the Pats, then I do think that it'd be a major story and people would rethink their Hotsportztakez on the matter.
 
But, absent that, I expect that the findings will be inconclusive and most people will believe the Pats "cheated".
 
Annoying, but what can you do?

 

[The Social Chair]

 
And the guy who helped make our lives a living hell for two weeks wants to make sure we know he was saying IF all the time? 

 
You're being a little hyperbolic. Kraviz is hack, but the 2 weeks worth of anti-semitic slurs and death threats he got were probably more unpleasant than your 2 weeks.

 

[Jimbodandy]

 
You're being a little hyperbolic. Kraviz is hack, but the 2 weeks worth of anti-semitic slurs and death threats he got were probably more unpleasant than your 2 weeks.

 
Anti-semitic slurs are deplorable and totally out of bounds.  I have no problem with the death threats.

 

[snowmanny]

I think with Kravitz, he's struggling to just portray himself as a journalist who is being vilified for reporting that there was an investigation being initiated.  The problem with that  is that he ventured into unfounded speculation, convicting the Patriots and specifically Belichick and proposing harsh punishments including the firing of the coach.  He knows he screwed up.

 

[E5 Yaz]

I think with Kravitz, he's struggling to just portray himself as a journalist who is being vilified for reporting that there was an investigation being initiated.  The problem with that  is that he ventured into unfounded speculation, convicting the Patriots and specifically Belichick and proposing harsh punishments including the firing of the coach.  He knows he screwed up.

 
He also knows that, even if he did go too far, no one in his regular audience would give a crap ... and once whatever findings come out of this are announced, the story moved to another phase. Columnists call for personnel and coaching changes all the time. There's no professional reason apparent or necessary for him to do a mea culpa, primarily intended for an audience in another geographical region.

 

[( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)]

His original tweet mentioned a potential loss of draft picks.  Reporting the story wasn't a crime.  Suggesting a loss of draft picks when the rule books state this starts at a measly $25K fine was wrong.  That little bit about draft picks immediately set the agenda.  

 

[notfar]

What a tool, at least don't lie about it. Just say nothing instead of lying. He said this:
 
'"If Mort's report is on target, and I'm sure it is, Belichick should be suspended from the Super Bowl. My opinion," Kravitz tweeted late Tuesday. "This is an integrity of the game issue and it's Belichick's second offense.
"If (Patriots owner) Bob Kraft is a true man of integrity, he will take it out of the league's hands and fire Belichick. Not holding my breath."'
 
That means, I'm sure the Patriots did this and I think these things should happen.
 
Maybe he made an honest misphrasing, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. If that's true, how does he explain this:
'Pats fans: give up the fantasy. Your brilliant head coach is also a cheat. 11 of 12 balls deflated. Must be the ball boys fault right?'

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

 
You're being a little hyperbolic. Kraviz is hack, but the 2 weeks worth of anti-semitic slurs and death threats he got were probably more unpleasant than your 2 weeks.

 
I have a 5 week old newborn at home, it's snowed 400 feet in the last few weeks, and I blew out my ACL&MCL while also breaking my tibia (requiring 2 plates put into my leg).
 
I'll take his two weeks.

 

[Hector Salamanca]

Hey, Robert Edwards, you going to leave us hanging on how you injured yourself?

Didn't you see last night's Better Call Saul?

 

[Ed Hillel]

Hey, Robert Edwards, you going to leave us hanging on how you injured yourself?

 
Check your facts, bro!
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/87678-just-tore-my-acl/

 

[DJnVa]

I think with Kravitz, he's struggling to just portray himself as a journalist who is being vilified for reporting that there was an investigation being initiated.  The problem with that  is that he ventured into unfounded speculation, convicting the Patriots and specifically Belichick and proposing harsh punishments including the firing of the coach.  He knows he screwed up.

 
 
His initial tweet should have been:
 
"NFL investigating report of deflated footballs in AFC title game" but instead he went with the "Patriots are being investigated for deflating balls". That was 100% on purpose.
 

 

 

[reggiecleveland]

Hey, Robert Edwards, you going to leave us hanging on how you injured yourself?

I remember Robert Edwards from the CFL. I did not know about his horrible injury in a stupid flag football game.

 

[Dogman]

 
 
His initial tweet should have been:
 
"NFL investigating report of deflated footballs in AFC title game" but instead he went with the "Patriots are being investigated for deflating balls". That was 100% on purpose.
 
 

 
Again, this was all premised by "they were caught taping practices from 2002-2007" bullshit that permeates any fan who is too lazy to look up what actually happened. 
 
Fuck Kravitz and the football team he rode out of the playoffs on. 

 

[snowmanny]

 
He also knows that, even if he did go too far, no one in his regular audience would give a crap ... and once whatever findings come out of this are announced, the story moved to another phase. Columnists call for personnel and coaching changes all the time. There's no professional reason apparent or necessary for him to do a mea culpa, primarily intended for an audience in another geographical region.

 
I think you're basically right, except as he says, this is the biggest story he's ever broken and it garnered him national attention.  So now it's not just a little story written for the good folks of Indiana, it's the story that made him famous.  He should have just reported the story but instead he was speculative, confrontational and provokative in his interpretation of the story.  Consider this quote from his Globe interview:

Bob Kravitz: I think it would be fair to say the last week to week and a half has been the most insane period of my professional life. Radio shows, TV shows, everybody keeps calling for interviews. I can barely find time every day to read my hate tweets. Other writers keep jokingly coming up to me and saying, “This is all your fault,’’ but I’m quite sure this story would have gotten out whether I reported it or not. An NFL investigation into allegations of cheating is a big thing; surely, someone would have caught wind of it. As it happened, I’m the one who heard about it and confirmed it and reported it -- accurately, I might add.
 

Yeah, but are the "hate tweets" - and it sounds as if some of them were inexcusable no matter what he wrote - driven by his reporting the single fact of the investigation or by his making shit up in addition to the facts and for calling for Belichick's firing and the loss of draft picks?  I think he'd like to believe it's the former and portray himself a poor journalist being skewered for "accurately" telling the truth, but in fact in his big moment he basically screwed up and sensationalized the story for the behalf of his local audience. And he knows it.

 

[notfar]

He posted some inflammatory, incorrect, jumping to conclusions breaking story then trolled Patriots fans on twitter saying stuff like "'Pats fans: give up the fantasy. Your brilliant head coach is also a cheat. 11 of 12 balls deflated. Must be the ball boys fault right?" Now he wants us to feel bad for him that people laid into him on Twitter by doing a classic don't take responsibility I'm sorry you misinterpreted me non-apology. Boo hoo, fuckface.

 

[ifmanis5]

Next he'll say he misremembered being on a chopper in Iraq.

 

[ifmanis5]

You're being a little hyperbolic. Kraviz is hack, but the 2 weeks worth of anti-semitic slurs and death threats he got were probably more unpleasant than your 2 weeks.

No one deserves that crap except it was his horrible reporting that was responsible for it. 
 
Hey, the auto mechanic that screwed up your car for two weeks, cost you thousands of dollars and made you walk everywhere feels really bad about it. So what? It was his mistake to begin with that caused the problem.

 

[E5 Yaz]

No one deserves that crap except it was his horrible reporting that was responsible for it. 
 
Hey, the auto mechanic that screwed up your car for two weeks, cost you thousands of dollars and made you walk everywhere feels really bad about it. So what? It was his mistake to begin with that caused the problem.

 
Ummmm .... no.
 
Kravtiz's reporting and opinion columns were not responsible for anti-Semitism hurled his way ... in no way, shape or form.
 
Patriots fans can express their anger toward what he wrote without resorting to that garbage. There's a world of difference.

 

[nighthob]

Poor baby, two weeks of paid media appearances, national attention, and probably a raise. I wish my last two weeks had "sucked" like that. Instead I still have two fucking jobs and work 80 fucking hours a week.

EDIT: And please spare me the "people insulted him on twitter" nonsense. We're not in third fucking grade here.

 

[johnmd20]

Poor baby, two weeks of paid media appearances, national attention, and probably a raise. I wish my last two weeks had "sucked" like that. Instead I still have two fucking jobs and work 80 fucking hours a week.

EDIT: And please spare me the "people insulted him on twitter" nonsense. We're not in third fucking grade here.

 
Well, people could have ripped on him without resorting to the anti-semitism. I think that's a pretty easy thing to understand. 

 

[nighthob]

Who cares? To be brutally frank, he doesn't except insofar as it's allowed him to parlay a drunken text from Jimmy Irsay into a significant raise while still claiming to be the good guy

EDIT: And even he didn't claim to have been flooded with anti-semitic remarks, his actual claim was a torrent of vitriol (deserved given the trolling) and some anti-semitic remarks. So, all in all, pretty much every sports fan would take two weeks of national media attention and a healthy raise over their actual lives.