Recent Comments

Real Name:Grant Sowder
TKP Username:Johnnyu19
ESPN Username: sowderg14
Email: sowder.grant@outlook.com
Scoring Preference: PPR
Draft Blackout Dates: N/A
Team Name from 2015: Gettin' Lucky At The Hilton

I thought the purpose of this website was to debate the virtues of cake vs. pie?

"It's not cheating if they don't make a rule against it." - Robert Kraft
"It's not really a rule if they don't enforce it." - Robert Kraft
"It's not really enforced if the punishment is so minor it can be seen as the cost of doing business." - Robert Kraft

"Tom Brady's suspension is unfathomable" - Robert Kraft

(pretty sure only the last one of these is an actual quote, but you get the idea)

I don't hate the patriots at all. But, what we have here is a conspiracy to cheat (regardless of how meaningless the cheating is or isn't). If a commissioner doesn't come down hard on this, then that precious precedent everybody is looking for works the other way around next time when the crime might actually be worse.

Also, I'm tired of the argument about whether the air pressure gives an advantage. If it doesn't, then why go under the required air pressure?

the Patriots paid a million dollar fine, lost draft picks, fired two employees, and had their QB suspended for a quarter of the season. The punishment did NOT fit the crime.

Seeing this all written out together only makes me feel even stronger that this whole situation is absurdly ridiculous and a stubborn continuation of a power move on the NFL's part.

Here's how I see it, as someone who (1) doesn't care at all about the Patriots either way and (2) barely cares about the NFL at all (I prefer NCAA football). The negotiated agreement gives Goodell a lot of power, probably too much. He used that power, the players association balked, and they lost because they had agreed to a bad deal from their perspective. The agreement is such that basically if there was a likelihood of misconduct, Goodell can punish the player. The whole situation was less about the balls themselves, but the perception and/or reality that Brady was uncooperative or hindering the investigation. The NFL administration has pretty wide latitude here, from what I understand. Again, as stated above, the players union agreed to something that was not in their favor, and you're now seeing what's come of it. This says nothing of fairness or legal standards of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (which don't apply here, yet some people expect them to). Expect a much bigger fight when the next agreement is negotiated.

The blind Patriots hatred on here is so strong. I wish you could look at yourselves objectively and see how ridiculous it is to suspend someone for a fourth of the season over a rule (that hardly anyone even knew existed or talked about) and because they may have "potentially" lied about it. Players get fined for hits that were being made intentionally to hurt another player, but we suspend a guy 4 games over some air pressure discrepencies? Ridiculous.

Unconditional Pats Hater - 99% of people who don't live in Massachusetts

Temperature and pressure are directly related to one another. By increasing the heat of the balls, they were increasing the air pressure in the balls. Panthers were just trying to make the game more fair...

My 13-year-old self would beam with pride

Couldn't help but think of this:

Nit-picking here, but the 5Q mark is on the metal bench, not on the concrete. The last step is marked 5P, because the seat for the second-to-last row is on the floor of the last row. As a long-time 5Q guy, there always seems to be a dispute with someone who's new to the nosebleeds thinking that I'm in their 5P seats. The row markings are painted where your butt goes, not where your feet go.