#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[Bleedred]

 
Florio:
 

 

 

What an unbelievable cluster fuck.  So in essence, there's no convincing proof of any wrongdoing as to the charge.  But because Goodell has other consituencies that would frown on him vacating the suspension, he will uphold it.   #Integrity

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

People lie like crazy in labor arbitration hearings. The significance of Brady being under oath is overblown. No one is charging him with perjury.

 

[BannedbyNYYFans.com]

We don't know the source, but Schefter is the League's #1 mouthpiece, esp after the NFL left in tatters any credibility that Mort once had.
 
It is not in the League's interest to allow this "strong case" characterization to linger if it's going to rubber stamp 4 games.  I predicted no reduction, but if that is the way it comes out, it will now be surprising  and RG will look like an a-hole.
 
More simply put, if Schefter came out with this and the NFL viewed the situation differently, somebody would probably be out with a "not-so-fast" statement.

 
And right on cue....
 
 

Per a league source, Brady simply reiterated his denial regarding any involvement in or knowledge of whatever it was that John Jastremski and Jim McNally may have been doing with the team’s footballs. When pressed on certain facts relating to Brady’s potential knowledge or involvement, the answers were regarded by some in the room (i.e., some who aren’t paid to exonerate Brady) as not entirely credible.
 
 

 

[ivanvamp]

The reports by espn guy do have me a little optimistic but then I think back to the beginning if this nonsense and it goes away.
Particularly this point

Not only did they not correct it publicly but held the information from the Patriots. Brady and Belichick held their press conferences based on inaccurate information.

Not only that but they also sent a letter to te Pats with the wrong information!

 

[tims4wins]

 
 
And right on cue....
 
 
 

 
Yup, for anyone who had their hopes up (and this includes me, to some extent), this should bring us back to reality: Rog ain't budging.

 

[joe dokes]

 
 
Sorry, he won't literally have to answer a million questions.
 
But I think it will cause a lot of the media to focus on all the other things that have been largely ignored. And aside from that, there will be a large contingent of angry people who just had their red meat taken away who will also have a lot of questions.
 
I suppose he can ignore all of that, but it likely won't leave him in a good place.

 
 
Literally no one thought you meant it literally (I hope).
 
The next time anything more than a small speck of media focuses on ignored things (instead of profit-driving things) will be the first time.  The large contingent of angry people? Who? Stiller fans?
Roger Goodell is not good at a lot of things.  He is good at ignoring questions so as not to add oxygen to any of the fires he lights.

 

[MuppetAsteriskTalk]

Usually when someone denies any involvement with something, and there is no proof to the contrary, that denial is not considered a lack of cooperation.
 
But not in the NFL. If you don't fully confess to whatever happened, even when science says it likely didn't happen, you are obstructing justice!  

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

But on a bigger issue:

If Roger called the owners and said 'looki have even more evidence now that Brady is guilty, BUT I've become convinced that further pursuit of this will damage our negotiations and possibly cause a federal issue regarding our monopoly protections, so I'm vacating the whole thing.' Would the other owners say 'fuck it I want my revenge' or would they say 'bury it and keep the $$$ coming'. ?

 
It's not a bigger issue. It's one you created in your mind. And you're giving Rog way too much credit. He isn't burying any evidence that proves Brady is guilty. Anyone with a brain and willing to look at this objectively knows the Wells Report is b.s. and that's the whole basis for the penalty. Now you're saying he's got the smoking gun but he's going to bury it? All because this brilliant commish foresees a potential federal issue with their monopoly protections? Nothing about this guy makes me think he's got that in him. 

 

[I12XU]

The vast majority of the other owners believe that the Pats are guilty.  Do you think they will "fade away?"  Hell, they'll call for Goodell's head.
 
It's simply not happening.

I don't really see the vast majority of the owners as bloodthirsty Patriots haters, more they are willing to tow the line to avoid the shitburger. It cannot be lost on the owners that Goodell, right or wrong, forced Kraft to eat the biggest shitburger in the history of their organization and they all realize that Kraft has zero recourse. If any did not tow the line or spoke publicly against the authority of the commissioner they could be next. Motivated by fear and greed.

 

[dcmissle]

Schefter on DC radio now. Two different sources. Brady "in total command of that room." Very genuine. On a scale of 1 to 10, a 10. A+ performance. Everything during earlier meeting went right over Wells' head; he did not think Wells got the nuance.

Agreed non-cooperation is sticking point. Expects suspension to be cut in half and for Brady to go to federal court.

 

[TheoShmeo]

Here's a throw up in your mouth thought:
 
A friend used to work for a hedge fund executive who, in turn, now works for one of the NFL teams.  That person's reaction to what he heard about yesterday's hearing was utter outrage, and he predicts that Goodell will EXTEND the suspension.  He thinks it should be for a full year.
 
I have no idea what the basis is for that view.  I e-mailed back and have not gotten a response.
 
I have no idea if the former hedge fund guy is unhinged or wildly wishcasting.  I only know that my friend -- a Pats fan -- is honestly re-telling the conversation with his former boss. 

 

[dcmissle]

That in my view is complete bullshit. Dude needs to go back to hedge funds.

Was he the source of 8 game suspension prediction?

 

[snowmanny]

I thought the suspension couldn't be extended.

Edit: in which case he should study the rule book.

 

[dcmissle]

I thought the suspension couldn't be extended.

It cannot consistently with NFL's position that Goodell is properly acting as reviewing judge. This is nonsense.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Brunell just called Brady not accepting a reduced sentence "selfish" because it's a distraction to the team. Love him.

 

[Average Reds]

I don't really see the vast majority of the owners as bloodthirsty Patriots haters, more they are willing to tow the line to avoid the shitburger. It cannot be lost on the owners that Goodell, right or wrong, forced Kraft to eat the biggest shitburger in the history of their organization and they all realize that Kraft has zero recourse. If any did not tow the line or spoke publicly against the authority of the commissioner they could be next. Motivated by fear and greed.

 
I guess you didn't read the Florio article upthread, where he points to the fact that Goodell almost lost his job for being too lenient with Ray Rice last year and strongly implies that this is one of the main reasons he won't exonerate Brady - he dosesn't want blowback from the other owners.
 
This idea that the owners aren't invested in a finding that something happened here is pure wish casting.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Isn't there a key difference that Florio is missing here, namely that Brady isn't on video punching a woman in the face and knocking her out? He got in trouble for not punishing that act enough. This is...different.

 

[TheoShmeo]

He was not the source of anything previously.
 
I actually came across the guy when he was at his hedge fund years ago and had not heard that he left and was working in the NFL.
 
I don't disagree that he's wrong about Brady getting more games.
 
I do think it's interesting in that it's a counterpoint to the emerging positive consensus regarding Brady's performance.  It's possible that some on the NFL side are reflecting back to the other owners a less glowing view of Tom's testimony and that might portend what Goodell will do.
 
My friend said that the guy was totally enraged.
 
FWIW, which may be nothing.

 

[allstonite]

Brunell just called Brady not accepting a reduced sentence "selfish" because it's a distraction to the team. Love him.

 
You know what's really distracting? Running a route and turning to catch a pass and seeing Jimmy Garoppolo instead of Tom Brady throwing you the ball

 

[ifmanis5]

Brunell just called Brady not accepting a reduced sentence "selfish" because it's a distraction to the team. Love him.

The distraction argument is the biggest Strawman in the history of sports.
Wasn't Ballghazi a distraction during the Super Bowl? Who won that game, Brunell?
Isn't LeBron James a distraction to the Cavs since he gets so much attention? Maybe Cleveland should trade him away to avoid the distraction. Etc. Brunell is a fool.

 

[Ralphwiggum]

That latest Florio piece encapsulates my thinking on the subject.  There is no logic or rational thinking going on in the NFL front office, and there hasn't been since this whole thing started, which is why the suspension is not getting reduced or vacated.  This is about Roger re-establishing his bona-fides as a hard ass after blowing the Rice thing, and disabusing the public and 31 other owners of the notion that he's Bob Kraft's puppet.

 

[simplyeric]

 
It's not a bigger issue. It's one you created in your mind. And you're giving Rog way too much credit. He isn't burying any evidence that proves Brady is guilty. Anyone with a brain and willing to look at this objectively knows the Wells Report is b.s. and that's the whole basis for the penalty. Now you're saying he's got the smoking gun but he's going to bury it? All because this brilliant commish foresees a potential federal issue with their monopoly protections? Nothing about this guy makes me think he's got that in him. 

Oh man. Ok let me clarify: I don't believe that my hypothetical is actualy the case. All im saying is, everyone is hating on how the other owners want the pound of flesh from the Pats, so Roger can't drop the whole thing. But peope are talking a lot about the court case and the union issue. If Roger's advisors (surely smarter than him) thought that it was more beneficial ($) to drop the penalties than to pursue them, do you think the owners would be satisfied. I drew up an extreme hypothetical

Note: basically, could Roger convince the other owners of basically the same thing he convince Kraft of: there's no use fighting it any further, won't make the NFL owners any money, and might do financial damage down the road.

 

[dcmissle]

He was not the source of anything previously.
 
I actually came across the guy when he was at his hedge fund years ago and had not heard that he left and was working in the NFL.
 
I don't disagree that he's wrong about Brady getting more games.
 
I do think it's interesting in that it's a counterpoint to the emerging positive consensus regarding Brady's performance.  It's possible that some on the NFL side are reflecting back to the other owners a less glowing view of Tom's testimony and that might portend what Goodell will do.
 
My friend said that the guy was totally enraged.
 
FWIW, which may be nothing.

Well Florio is now reflecting some push back against Tom was A+. So contra leaking may have begun. Would not be surprised is there is tug of war within NFL Offuce about what to do.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

Well Florio is now reflecting some push back against Tom was A+. So contra leaking may have begun. Would not be surprised is there is tug of war within NFL Offuce about what to do.

I imagine Vincent is not super keen on the suspension being overturned.

 

[ifmanis5]

That latest Florio piece encapsulates my thinking on the subject.  There is no logic or rational thinking going on in the NFL front office, and there hasn't been since this whole thing started, which is why the suspension is not getting reduced or vacated.  This is about Roger re-establishing his bona-fides as a hard ass after blowing the Rice thing, and disabusing the public and 31 other owners of the notion that he's Bob Kraft's puppet.

Agreed. Roger is going to stand firm and show everyone he's a tough guy. If he loses in court (again), so be it.

 

[GregHarris]

Wouldn't the best thing for the league be to drop the entire thing, perception be damned?  Do they really want another federal case?

 

[MuppetAsteriskTalk]

Well Florio is now reflecting some push back against Tom was A+. So contra leaking may have begun. Would not be surprised is there is tug of war within NFL Offuce about what to do.

 
Isn't the "tug-of-war" most likely just the difference between the Brady side leaks vs. the NFL leaks?

 

[KenTremendous]

 
Yup, for anyone who had their hopes up (and this includes me, to some extent), this should bring us back to reality: Rog ain't budging.

He'll reduce the sentence to 2 games, but no, he isn't just going to say: we were wrong, sorry guys.
 
This is the essential problem with the way Goodell runs the Justice Thunder Fist of the NFL Front Office. He wants the league to be the military, with strict codes and punishments and Serious Things Taken Seriously. But it's not. It's a big sloppy sports league. Most on-field stuff should be dealt with by saying "knock it off," but he never says "knock it off," he only says "How dare you!"
 
And when you deal with every tiny thing by saying "How dare you?!" you end up stepping in it, all the time. You commit a massive amount of resources and money and PR capital to determine whether two guys might have done something that no one has ever cared about, and that investigation completely misreads (willfully or accidentally) the science behind what happened -- which, again, no one knew about, because no one had ever cared about the gameplay issue it affected. But by turning over $5 million worth of legal rocks you discovered some grubby behavior. So you yell "How dare you!" the loudest you've ever yelled it -- because maybe recently some people have pointed out that you didn't really yell "How dare you!" to a couple guys who deserved to be yelled at, and you looked stupid. So you yell, you yell a lot, you yell so loudly that no one will ever be able to accuse you of not yelling!
 
Then a bunch of reasonable people point out that the science that justified all that yelling might have actually been wrong. This isn't really your fault, necessarily -- because who the fuck ever cared about the Ideal Gas Law in football? Who even knew this was a thing? -- but it still might be wrong. And if the science was wrong, the whole thing is pointless. The $5 million of legal rocks you turned over might all be worthless. All of the Integrity of the Game speeches, all the We Care About Fair Play speeches, all the yelling and yelling and yelling and yelling might have been because the lawyer you paid $5 million never considered that if balls lose pressure in cold air they might gain pressure in warm air, and if the Colts' balls were measured later in the halftime than the Pats' balls they might have more air pressure, oopsie, sorry, but you can't have your $5 million back.
 
So now what do you do? Well, a normal person with a moderated sense of his self-worth and position in the universe might take a deep breath and say, "You know what? This whole thing was messy, and unfortunate, but at the end of the day, there are simply too many questions about what happened, or didn't happen, and too many issues with the measurements of the footballs -- because we had never, as a league, put in place an official policy to track football air pressure. And ultimately, it doesn't seem fair to levy a massive penalty here, because the process by which we investigated the issue was just too problematic."
 
That is not what he will do. He will thank Tom Brady for his testimony, and for his New Spirit of Cooperation he will reduce the penalty against him. But he will stand by Wells and the Wells Report. He will say that Wells's work is unimpeachable, his honesty and integrity unquestioned, and his investigation thorough and satisfactory. Because when you are a person who yells "How dare you!" over and over, year after year, you simply cannot all of a sudden take a measured or reasoned response to anything. It isn't possible. The person who yells "How dare you!" all the time just doesn't ever admit his own fallibility in any meaningful way. I would be utterly shocked if that happened.

 

[Bergs]

He'll reduce the sentence to 2 games, but no, he isn't just going to say: we were wrong, sorry guys.
 
This is the essential problem with the way Goodell runs the Justice Thunder Fist of the NFL Front Office. He wants the league to be the military, with strict codes and punishments and Serious Things Taken Seriously. But it's not. It's a big sloppy sports league. Most on-field stuff should be dealt with by saying "knock it off," but he never says "knock it off," he only says "How dare you!"
 
And when you deal with every tiny thing by saying "How dare you?!" you end up stepping in it, all the time. You commit a massive amount of resources and money and PR capital to determine whether two guys might have done something that no one has ever cared about, and that investigation completely misreads (willfully or accidentally) the science behind what happened -- which, again, no one knew about, because no one had ever cared about the gameplay issue it affected. But by turning over $5 million worth of legal rocks you discovered some grubby behavior. So you yell "How dare you!" the loudest you've ever yelled it -- because maybe recently some people have pointed out that you didn't really yell "How dare you!" to a couple guys who deserved to be yelled at, and you looked stupid. So you yell, you yell a lot, you yell so loudly that no one will ever be able to accuse you of not yelling!
 
Then a bunch of reasonable people point out that the science that justified all that yelling might have actually been wrong. This isn't really your fault, necessarily -- because who the fuck ever cared about the Ideal Gas Law in football? Who even knew this was a thing? -- but it still might be wrong. And if the science was wrong, the whole thing is pointless. The $5 million of legal rocks you turned over might all be worthless. All of the Integrity of the Game speeches, all the We Care About Fair Play speeches, all the yelling and yelling and yelling and yelling might have been because the lawyer you paid $5 million never considered that if balls lose pressure in cold air they might gain pressure in warm air, and if the Colts' balls were measured later in the halftime than the Pats' balls they might have more air pressure, oopsie, sorry, but you can't have your $5 million back.
 
So now what do you do? Well, a normal person with a moderated sense of his self-worth and position in the universe might take a deep breath and say, "You know what? This whole thing was messy, and unfortunate, but at the end of the day, there are simply too many questions about what happened, or didn't happen, and too many issues with the measurements of the footballs -- because we had never, as a league, put in place an official policy to track football air pressure. And ultimately, it doesn't seem fair to levy a massive penalty here, because the process by which we investigated the issue was just too problematic."
 
That is not what he will do. He will thank Tom Brady for his testimony, and for his New Spirit of Cooperation he will reduce the penalty against him. But he will stand by Wells and the Wells Report. He will say that Wells's work is unimpeachable, his honesty and integrity unquestioned, and his investigation thorough and satisfactory. Because when you are a person who yells "How dare you!" over and over, year after year, you simply cannot all of a sudden take a measured or reasoned response to anything. It isn't possible. The person who yells "How dare you!" all the time just doesn't ever admit his own fallibility in any meaningful way. I would be utterly shocked if that happened.

 
I want to fuck this post.

 

[dcmissle]

 
Isn't the "tug-of-war" most likely just the difference between the Brady side leaks vs. the NFL leaks?

Yes. If you believe Schefter's account was based solely on Brady people. I am not inclined to believe that.

 

[Average Reds]

 
I want to fuck this post.

 
We can run a train, or I can join you for a threesome.  Your choice.

 

[geoffm33]

He'll reduce the sentence to 2 games, but no, he isn't just going to say: we were wrong, sorry guys.
 
This is the essential problem with the way Goodell runs the Justice Thunder Fist of the NFL Front Office. He wants the league to be the military, with strict codes and punishments and Serious Things Taken Seriously. But it's not. It's a big sloppy sports league. Most on-field stuff should be dealt with by saying "knock it off," but he never says "knock it off," he only says "How dare you!"
 
And when you deal with every tiny thing by saying "How dare you?!" you end up stepping in it, all the time. You commit a massive amount of resources and money and PR capital to determine whether two guys might have done something that no one has ever cared about, and that investigation completely misreads (willfully or accidentally) the science behind what happened -- which, again, no one knew about, because no one had ever cared about the gameplay issue it affected. But by turning over $5 million worth of legal rocks you discovered some grubby behavior. So you yell "How dare you!" the loudest you've ever yelled it -- because maybe recently some people have pointed out that you didn't really yell "How dare you!" to a couple guys who deserved to be yelled at, and you looked stupid. So you yell, you yell a lot, you yell so loudly that no one will ever be able to accuse you of not yelling!
 
Then a bunch of reasonable people point out that the science that justified all that yelling might have actually been wrong. This isn't really your fault, necessarily -- because who the fuck ever cared about the Ideal Gas Law in football? Who even knew this was a thing? -- but it still might be wrong. And if the science was wrong, the whole thing is pointless. The $5 million of legal rocks you turned over might all be worthless. All of the Integrity of the Game speeches, all the We Care About Fair Play speeches, all the yelling and yelling and yelling and yelling might have been because the lawyer you paid $5 million never considered that if balls lose pressure in cold air they might gain pressure in warm air, and if the Colts' balls were measured later in the halftime than the Pats' balls they might have more air pressure, oopsie, sorry, but you can't have your $5 million back.
 
So now what do you do? Well, a normal person with a moderated sense of his self-worth and position in the universe might take a deep breath and say, "You know what? This whole thing was messy, and unfortunate, but at the end of the day, there are simply too many questions about what happened, or didn't happen, and too many issues with the measurements of the footballs -- because we had never, as a league, put in place an official policy to track football air pressure. And ultimately, it doesn't seem fair to levy a massive penalty here, because the process by which we investigated the issue was just too problematic."
 
That is not what he will do. He will thank Tom Brady for his testimony, and for his New Spirit of Cooperation he will reduce the penalty against him. But he will stand by Wells and the Wells Report. He will say that Wells's work is unimpeachable, his honesty and integrity unquestioned, and his investigation thorough and satisfactory. Because when you are a person who yells "How dare you!" over and over, year after year, you simply cannot all of a sudden take a measured or reasoned response to anything. It isn't possible. The person who yells "How dare you!" all the time just doesn't ever admit his own fallibility in any meaningful way. I would be utterly shocked if that happened.

 
This should be submitted as an opinion piece for tomorrow's Globe/Herald/Your Newspaper of Choice. As written. It's perfect.

 

[lambeau]

Tremendous post, Ken.

 

[drbretto]

Tremendous post, Ken.

 
I get it!

 

[AB in DC]

The smart move here if evil is on your mind was always to take a big chunk out of the team because, as a practical matter, those penalties are bulletproof.  That's why I expected to lose a first round pick from this.

 
I've said from the beginning that Goodell wanted to go over-the-top harsh on the initial penalties (to show the world that he's learned from the Ray Rice situation) and that he fully expected to lower them upon appeal. 
 
I haven't seen anything that has made me change my mind.

 

[Harry Hooper]

He'll reduce the sentence to 2 games, but no, he isn't just going to say: we were wrong, sorry guys.
 
This is the essential problem with the way Goodell runs the Justice Thunder Fist of the NFL Front Office. He wants the league to be the military, with strict codes and punishments and Serious Things Taken Seriously. But it's not. It's a big sloppy sports league. Most on-field stuff should be dealt with by saying "knock it off," but he never says "knock it off," he only says "How dare you!"
 
And when you deal with every tiny thing by saying "How dare you?!" you end up stepping in it, all the time. You commit a massive amount of resources and money and PR capital to determine whether two guys might have done something that no one has ever cared about, and that investigation completely misreads (willfully or accidentally) the science behind what happened -- which, again, no one knew about, because no one had ever cared about the gameplay issue it affected. But by turning over $5 million worth of legal rocks you discovered some grubby behavior. So you yell "How dare you!" the loudest you've ever yelled it -- because maybe recently some people have pointed out that you didn't really yell "How dare you!" to a couple guys who deserved to be yelled at, and you looked stupid. So you yell, you yell a lot, you yell so loudly that no one will ever be able to accuse you of not yelling!
 
Then a bunch of reasonable people point out that the science that justified all that yelling might have actually been wrong. This isn't really your fault, necessarily -- because who the fuck ever cared about the Ideal Gas Law in football? Who even knew this was a thing? -- but it still might be wrong. And if the science was wrong, the whole thing is pointless. The $5 million of legal rocks you turned over might all be worthless. All of the Integrity of the Game speeches, all the We Care About Fair Play speeches, all the yelling and yelling and yelling and yelling might have been because the lawyer you paid $5 million never considered that if balls lose pressure in cold air they might gain pressure in warm air, and if the Colts' balls were measured later in the halftime than the Pats' balls they might have more air pressure, oopsie, sorry, but you can't have your $5 million back.
 
So now what do you do? Well, a normal person with a moderated sense of his self-worth and position in the universe might take a deep breath and say, "You know what? This whole thing was messy, and unfortunate, but at the end of the day, there are simply too many questions about what happened, or didn't happen, and too many issues with the measurements of the footballs -- because we had never, as a league, put in place an official policy to track football air pressure. And ultimately, it doesn't seem fair to levy a massive penalty here, because the process by which we investigated the issue was just too problematic."
 
That is not what he will do. He will thank Tom Brady for his testimony, and for his New Spirit of Cooperation he will reduce the penalty against him. But he will stand by Wells and the Wells Report. He will say that Wells's work is unimpeachable, his honesty and integrity unquestioned, and his investigation thorough and satisfactory. Because when you are a person who yells "How dare you!" over and over, year after year, you simply cannot all of a sudden take a measured or reasoned response to anything. It isn't possible. The person who yells "How dare you!" all the time just doesn't ever admit his own fallibility in any meaningful way. I would be utterly shocked if that happened.

 
 
Great work, though I'll be surprised if the suspension gets reduced at all.

 

[AB in DC]

 
That is not what he will do. He will thank Tom Brady for his testimony, and for his New Spirit of Cooperation he will reduce the penalty against him. But he will stand by Wells and the Wells Report. He will say that Wells's work is unimpeachable, his honesty and integrity unquestioned, and his investigation thorough and satisfactory. Because when you are a person who yells "How dare you!" over and over, year after year, you simply cannot all of a sudden take a measured or reasoned response to anything. It isn't possible. The person who yells "How dare you!" all the time just doesn't ever admit his own fallibility in any meaningful way. I would be utterly shocked if that happened.

 
But it would be equally plausible for Goodell to say "Tom Brady presented new evidence that he's innocent, so we're dropping the penalty a bit, but shame on Brady for not being upfront with us from the very beginning and HOW DARE anyone think that stonewalling me would ever work." 

 

[Devizier]

God, I hope your next sitcom is about a bumbling sports commissioner. I hear Rowan Atkinson is still available.

 

[Bergs]

God, I hope your next sitcom is about a bumbling sports commissioner. I hear Rowan Atkinson is still available.

 
Oh, shit, I like this idea.

 

[Jettisoned]

Who's gonna pick it up, though?  Fox, NBC, CBS and HBO won't touch it with a 50 foot pole.

 

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

So what is actually happening now?  I assume that Roger's calendar was not cleared for deep Tom Brady thoughts time today.  But what do we think is the NFL's process here (giving them the benefit of the doubt that a process has been defined).  Are they reaching out to other owners to gather input?  Going to float a few things to the press to try to gauge the direction the wind is blowing?  More meetings with lawyers and strategists laying out all the potential paths?  hell, are they bringing in focus groups to measure the PR fall out of each decision?  
I doubt we will ever know, but I'm curious as hell to find out.

 

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

Who's gonna pick it up, though?  Fox, NBC, CBS and HBO won't touch it with a 50 foot pole.

 
Netflix

 

[Average Reds]

Who's gonna pick it up, though?  Fox, NBC, CBS and HBO won't touch it with a 50 foot pole.

 
 
AMC
 
Working title:  "Mister MaGoodell"

 

[JimBoSox9]

So what is actually happening now?  I assume that Roger's calendar was not cleared for deep Tom Brady thoughts time today. 

 
Actually, it might have been, since reports were they had reserved all of today in case it didn't end yesterday, IIRC.

 

[EL Jeffe]

The flipside to KT's (excellent) post is this: sometimes Goodell (or the league) does tell teams to "knock it off." Before SpyGate became a thing, there was a memo issued saying "knock it off." Belichick read the memo and essentially said "Screw you." It was a stupid and arrogant decision, and the league yelled "how dare you!" (very loudly).
 
Before DeflateGate became a thing, Carolina was caught on camera heating their footballs. The league said "knock it off." (Well at least the league said they'd remind teams to knock it off. As best as I can tell, no one has ever followed up and asked or researched if the league actually did remind teams to knock it off. I can't imagine the league just forgot to though.) When it appeared the Patriots disregarded another league reminder, the league yelled back "how dare you?" (very loudly, and very prematurely).
 
At the beginning of free agency, the league reminded teams to "knock it off" with the tampering. The Jets tampered, and the league yelled "how dare you!" (Except this was less of a yell, more of an eye roll.)
 
The punishment/yelling volume always seems directly proportional to how much the public cares about the optics of the particular infraction. 

 

[Harry Hooper]

 
Actually, it might have been, since reports were they had reserved all of today in case it didn't end yesterday, IIRC.

 
No, they had reserved Thursday if needed. What the Commish was busy with on Wednesday was never disclosed.

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

 
 
AMC
 
Working title:  "Mister MaGoodell"

 
The Artful Roger

 

[simplyeric]

God, I hope your next sitcom is about a bumbling sports commissioner. I hear Rowan Atkinson is still available.

Conan Obrien does a great "arrogant bumbling redhead" schtick.  

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

Wouldn't the best thing for the league be to drop the entire thing, perception be damned? 

For the league:  possibly/probably.
 
For the guy with his name on the letter head pulling in $44M/year: definitely not.

 

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

 
No, they had reserved Thursday if needed. What the Commish was busy with on Wednesday was never disclosed.