#DFG: Canceling the Noise

Is there any level of suspension that you would advise Tom to accept?


  • Total voters
    208

koufax32

He'll cry if he wants to...
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2006
9,092
Duval
BigSoxFan said:
So, what's the next leak? That Kraft secretly funds ISIS? This story is captivating me way more than it should. I can't get enough.
Good to see I'm not alone. Each new plot twist brings this closer to a Count of Monte Cristo ending. I so desperately want little baby I Am An Idiot to live I a world where Jets fans in league offices and Colts FO personnel have been exposed for trying to take down the Patriots.
 

geoduck no quahog

not particularly consistent
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Nov 8, 2002
13,024
Seattle, WA
So, if these reports turn out to be accurate - that sets up the following:
 
- Officials fucked up by not properly measuring balls before game (i.e., "gauging" them versus inserting a gauge). This is probably SOP for any game, regardless.
- Kensil fucked up by handling the balls at halftime, specifically against league rules
- An NFL official fucked up by getting caught stealing footballs and then trying to re-introduce an illegitimate football to cover his ass
- In all 3 examples, the NFL has its ass hanging out for possible impropriety 
 
 
Conclusion: Patriots are Cheaters
 

Shelterdog

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 19, 2002
15,375
New York City
geoduck no quahog said:
So, if these reports turn out to be accurate - that sets up the following:
 
- Officials fucked up by not properly measuring balls before game (i.e., "gauging" them versus inserting a gauge). This is probably SOP for any game, regardless.
- Kensil fucked up by handling the balls at halftime, specifically against league rules
- An NFL official fucked up by getting caught stealing footballs and then trying to re-introduce an illegitimate football to cover his ass
- In all 3 examples, the NFL has its ass hanging out for possible impropriety 
 
 
Conclusion: Patriots are Cheaters
 The Kensil thing doesn't bother me.  He's the NFL's head of gameday operations--it's totally reasonable for him to step in if there's an issue.  It's the exaltation of form over substance if a senior league official can't fix issues when they arise just because they aren't listed in the rule book.
 

lostjumper

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 27, 2009
1,277
Concord, NH
So what this all boils down to is the league is the most incompetent organization in sports, and has attempted to destroy one of it's best franchises to shift the attention away from that. I can't imagine Goodell will be employed much longer.
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,335
DennyDoyle'sBoil said:
So, this OTL reporter shows up at a guy's home and chases him up the driveway, and the worldwide leader takes a still shot from the game and blows it up to show the guy, and calls him out by name, and all he's guilty of is handing a ball to an official that was given to him by a felon who happened also to be a league official?  
 
Fucking shameful.
 
Also, does anyone else think it's a coincidence that the picture ESPN ran with of McNally had Brady in it?  They probably spent the entire fucking night trying to find a picture of him that also had Brady in it.  
 
I've been cracking up for the last hour thinking about this. I mean, we've all been there--working on a school project and you need the PERFECT Encarta photo to put in the middle of your tri-fold posterboard, or like scouring Moby Dick to find the right quote to cap off your theory that it's all about the impact of anti-feminist lesbians in the coastal workforce.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,299
AZ
Sad part is that ESPN will probably claim victory for uncovering the NFL guy who was selling the balls designated for charity.  They still have their OTL story up, even though the implications of it seem to be imploding, but you can tell what the narrative will be now.  
 
"All we said was that McNally tried to put the unapproved balls into play.  We didn't say why, and we never made any claims who gave him the balls.  We were right and we were first on this story.  If everyone read into it that we were suggesting that Patriots did something nefarious, it's not our job to say how our stories should be interpreted.  We just report the facts and the facts we reported were true."
 

Ed Hillel

Wants to be startin somethin
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2007
43,597
Here
Around the Horn just discussed this story and ESPN has yet to edit its article. I guess the plan is to just pretend Schefter never said anything?
 

Leather

given himself a skunk spot
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
28,451
Ed Hillel said:
Around the Horn just discussed this story and ESPN has yet to edit its article. I guess the plan is to just pretend Schefter never said anything?
 
They get two days of play out of it if they do the "Pats Cheated" angle today, and "Ref Stole Ball" angle tomorrow.
 
People need to stop thinking that ESPN gives a rat's ass about reporting the "truth".  How much more proof do you need?
 

PayrodsFirstClutchHit

Bob Kraft's Season Ticket Robin Hoodie
SoSH Member
Jun 29, 2006
8,319
Winterport, ME
Ed Hillel said:
Around the Horn just discussed this story and ESPN has yet to edit its article. I guess the plan is to just pretend Schefter never said anything?
 
Just about to post this. They may tape this before 3:00 PM.  We will see what they have to say on PTI.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,429
You guys are a fucking riot.

"Shameful."

"Embarassing."

"Ridiculous."

Wrong. This is none of those things.

"Delicious."

"Amazing."

"Scrumtrulescent."
 

Tito's Pullover

Lol boo ALS
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Sep 12, 2007
1,634
Anytown, USA
J.McG said:
 
https://twitter.com/sharksofvegas/status/559404286988533760
link to tweet

No idea who runs this account, but they've been well ahead of the curve on Deflategate and far more accurate than 99% of the hacks from ESPN, Fox, PFT, et al.
 
 
Have they been accurate, or is it just that nothing they've said has been DISproven and it all happens to favor the Patriots? I've yet to see any of their reports corroborated by anyone else, although I may have missed some.
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
Not sure if this has been posted yet, but it speaks to the level of horseshit that ESPN has engaged in for a full decade.


 
Graphic by Michael Hurley. Original ESPN articles here and here. But please, don't give these fucktwats any clicks that they don't deserve.
 

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
Ed Hillel said:
Around the Horn just discussed this story and ESPN has yet to edit its article. I guess the plan is to just pretend Schefter never said anything?
You know what this is, right? It's become one of those things that kills everyone who touches it.

Relax and enjoy.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,279
mabrowndog said:
Not sure if this has been posted yet, but it speaks to the level of horseshit that ESPN has engaged in for a full decade.


 
Graphic by Michael Hurley. Original ESPN articles here and here. But please, don't give these fucktwats any clicks that they don't deserve.
SHOCKING
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
CoffeeNerdness said:
So much for Kelly Naqi's three weeks of reporting.
nattysez said:
Undone by less than 24 hours of reporting by Schefter.  Heckuva job, Kelly.
 
And she was on WEEI earlier today defending the mountain of work, time and effort she put into her story.

This whole thing is priceless.

 
 

Kull

wannabe merloni
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2005
1,689
El Paso, TX
Shelterdog said:
 The Kensil thing doesn't bother me.  He's the NFL's head of gameday operations--it's totally reasonable for him to step in if there's an issue.  It's the exaltation of form over substance if a senior league official can't fix issues when they arise just because they aren't listed in the rule book.
 
Except they ARE listed in the rule book:
 
2) In the event a home team ball does not conform to specifications, or its supply is exhausted, the Referee shall secure a proper ball from the visitors and, failing that, use the best available ball.
 
So the first step is to "secure a proper ball from the visitors". The Colts supplied 24 balls, so there were 12 available to choose from. Why not use those? Also, "failing that" is a clause which clearly implies that the Referee is expected to make an effort to obtain visitor balls, not just leap straight into "reinflation". And even there, how does reinflation qualify as choosing the "best available ball" when the home team also has 12 unused, alternate balls available?
 
The whole sequence shows that even though rules do cover this situation, the NFL simply ignored them.
 

Shelterdog

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 19, 2002
15,375
New York City
Kull said:
 
Except they ARE listed in the rule book:
 
2) In the event a home team ball does not conform to specifications, or its supply is exhausted, the Referee shall secure a proper ball from the visitors and, failing that, use the best available ball.
 
So the first step is to "secure a proper ball from the visitors". The Colts supplied 24 balls, so there were 12 available to choose from. Why not use those? Also, "failing that" is a clause which clearly implies that the Referee is expected to make an effort to obtain visitor balls, not just leap straight into "reinflation". And even there, how does reinflation qualify as choosing the "best available ball" when the home team also has 12 unused, alternate balls available?
 
The whole sequence shows that even though rules do cover this situation, the NFL simply ignored them.
 
I meant just because the head of game day operations isn't listed as a Referee in the rule book. I just don't think it's a big deal if someone very senior in the league--much more senior than the ref--decides to fix a technical problem in a common sense way rather than follow the listed rules. 
 

pappymojo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 28, 2010
6,668
Shelterdog said:
 
I meant just because the head of game day operations isn't listed as a Referee in the rule book. I just don't think it's a big deal if someone very senior in the league--much more senior than the ref--decides to fix a technical problem in a common sense way rather than follow the listed rules. 
Is re-inflation a common sense solution? What if the balls had been compromised or were defective?
 

Average Reds

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 24, 2007
35,330
Southwestern CT
Shelterdog said:
 
I meant just because the head of game day operations isn't listed as a Referee in the rule book. I just don't think it's a big deal if someone very senior in the league--much more senior than the ref--decides to fix a technical problem in a common sense way rather than follow the listed rules. 
 
:rolling:
 

Kull

wannabe merloni
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2005
1,689
El Paso, TX
Shelterdog said:
 
I meant just because the head of game day operations isn't listed as a Referee in the rule book. 
 
But even that. Was there a Referee available to perform those functions? Yes. Who actually is chartered by the league to determine inflation status of footballs and in fact does so in every single game from pre-season to playoffs? The Referee. Does the "head of game day operations" have as much experience as the Referee in the use of gauges and with inflation issues in general? Highly unlikely. And that's not a small detail. Go back and review the Peter King video and you'll see that even an experienced official had an "oops" moment in which he inadvertantly let air out of the ball while measuring it. And that was with a dry ball in a warm locker room. Kensil ignored the rules, and didn't even have a good reason for doing so.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,299
AZ
Tito's Pullover said:
 
Have they been accurate, or is it just that nothing they've said has been DISproven and it all happens to favor the Patriots? I've yet to see any of their reports corroborated by anyone else, although I may have missed some.
 
I think it's more in the "nothing has been disproven" camp.  But they do seem to be first with rumors that others are later second with, including some of the Kensil stuff.  They may just be Patriots fans wishcasting, but it's also possible that they do actually have some inside info, since, if they were publicly to get in front of a story and be proven wrong, one would think it would hurt their gambling tips business, which is premised on the notion that they have sources.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,279
ifmanis5 said:
6pm SportsCenter tease just rolled, no mention at all of their own story. They buried it in shame. Good job, good effort.
And this shocks you? ESPN is worse than TMZ
 

accidentalsuccess

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
310
NOW we understand why league officials were 'distraught'.....!
DrewDawg said:
The NFL had a league official that they were suspicious of BEFORE the AFC title game, then allowed him to work the AFC title game, then when ball irregularities came up, didn't stop the tsunami of leaks bashing the Patriots and *quietly* fired the league official.
 
Awesome.
 
Doesn't look shady at all.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,279
Buster Olney the Lonely said:
I love that this story is still going strong. It's like the best Road Runner and Wile E Coyote cartoon ever. Can't wait for what happens next.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
Omar's Wacky Neighbor said:
Is there a decent chance ESPN got played on this?  I dont know that anything would surprise me at this point.
 
Shefter breaking in to OTL brought back memories of Letterman's "Can a man in a bear costume get into a Times Square strip joint?"
What if Kraft released the initial story just so he could come back over the top with Schefter's follow up?

Chew on that.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,854
You think Kelly Naqi was watching that OTL today and then Schefter broke in and she was all: 
 
"Good God---that's Adam Schefter's music!!!" and she was all like "Fuckkkkkkkkkk"
 

nattysez

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 30, 2010
8,436
Omar's Wacky Neighbor said:
Is there a decent chance ESPN got played on this?  I dont know that anything would surprise me at this point.
 
 
I think this is the Glazer "guy went into a room" report all over again.  OTL got a scoop that there were additional shenanigans on the sideline, but they couldn't figure out anything more than that.  Then either the NFL or the Pats, realizing this was about to turn into a feeding frenzy, put out the real story via Schefter to kill the speculation based on OTL's nugget.  
 

Shelterdog

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Feb 19, 2002
15,375
New York City
Kull said:
 
But even that. Was there a Referee available to perform those functions? Yes. Who actually is chartered by the league to determine inflation status of footballs and in fact does so in every single game from pre-season to playoffs? The Referee. Does the "head of game day operations" have as much experience as the Referee in the use of gauges and with inflation issues in general? Highly unlikely. And that's not a small detail. Go back and review the Peter King video and you'll see that even an experienced official had an "oops" moment in which he inadvertantly let air out of the ball while measuring it. And that was with a dry ball in a warm locker room. Kensil ignored the rules, and didn't even have a good reason for doing so.
I'm apparently not making myself clear. Kensils actions were stupid but the fact that he(and not an official)did them is a big nothing.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,854
Shelterdog said:
I'm apparently not making myself clear. Kensils actions were stupid but the fact that he(and not an official)did them is a big nothing.
 
Well, since everyuone wants to keep talking about the letter of the rulebook, I'd think it's very important, but more in a "everyone chill out" kinda way.
 

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
So whoever just provided the news on ESPN radio at 6:00 rendered a perfect account of this, with perfect inflection and emphasis, disembowleling his own network.
 

RG33

Certain Class of Poster
SoSH Member
Nov 28, 2005
7,199
CA
This really is such an amazing story. Its total Harvard Business School thesis material on social media/mob mentality/21st century journalism etc. Un-freaking-real.

Commission Kraft has a really nice ring to it. Just have to figure out if Bob or Jonathan would be best.
 

triniSox

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 27, 2008
1,255
tims4wins said:
I don't think Reiss contributed a word to that story. It is simply ESPN's corrected version of the original OTL article.
Reiss had said on twitter he was working on it (updating the story).