With Super Bowl XLIX less than two weeks away, one of its participants is being surrounded by controversy.
Late Tuesday, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that following an investigation, the NFL had found that 11 of the 12 football’s New England used in its victory over Indianapolis in the AFC championship game Sunday were underinflated.
The game balls used were inspected and approved by referee Walt Anderson two hours and 15 minutes before the contest, and then returned to each team. Each team uses a different set of balls for when its offense is on the field.
To help get some background on the Patriots' current reputation, The Washington Post writes how the Patriots became the league's least-trusted team, saying, “numerous coaches said they don’t trust how the Patriots go about their business — complaints that go back to the beginning of (Bill) Belichick’s tenure as head coach in 2000.”
Michael Rosenberg of SI.com writes, “The Patriots are suspected of cutting so many corners, their home field should be an oval,” and continues, “if any coach would try it, it’s Belichick. He has earned his reputation for doing anything to gain an advantage.”
But what kind of advantage does deflating the balls give?
Hall of famer and former BYU quarterback, Steve Young said on "SportsCenter" Tuesday night that deflating the balls allows quarterbacks to get a better grip on the ball, especially in cold weather.
Now the Patriots won the contest over the Colts 45-7, and even Indianapolis receiver Dwayne Allen admitted on Twitter the whole thing was, “not a story. They could have played with soap for balls and beat us. Simply the better team.”
But is this just an isolated incident?
According to the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Patriots defeated, 35-31, in the AFC Divisional round , it is not. CBSSports.com is reporting that some Ravens believe underinflated balls were used during their loss to the Patriots, citing the punt and kicking units “were not getting their normal depth and distance.”
The NFL hasn’t officially announced its findings and as such a penalty is not yet known.
Some people, like Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star, believe New England should forfeit the AFC Championship writing, “Cheating can't be tolerated. Simple as that. A team can't use an underinflated football, get caught, and then be allowed to play its next game — a game it reached by winning the one with the deflated football — as if nothing happened.”
New England has been punished before for something similar during the 2007 Spygate scandal. The Patriots were fined $250,000 and lost their 2008 first-round draft pick, while Belichick was fined $500,000 when the league caught New England videotaping opposing coaches' signals.
Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski had a fantastic reaction to the underinflated ball scandal, tweeting out a picture of him spiking the ball with the caption, “Warning: Gronking may cause deflation.”
MLB
- Pete Rose said he would vote for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for the hall of fame.
- MLB is trying to trim inning breaks with a new proposal.
College sports
- ICYMI: Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham was mentored by kicker Andy Phillips on the slopes.