The deathless Deflategate is back as the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided not to rehear Tom Brady’s case, having already ruled against him.
Which means Tommy’ll have to stalk Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the rest of the Supremes or face the music of the four-game suspension for his alleged role in deflating footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship. And don’t think he won’t take this all the way to the Supreme Court. Guy’s got an ego the size of Texas.
In other Brady buzz, he won’t be a speaker at the Republican Convention for his good – and equally modest – friend Donald Trump. The lineup for the convention – which begins Monday in Cleveland – is hardly stellar, but one name stood out, Tim Tebow’s. ...
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Read MoreIt’s ba-ack.
Just when you thought it was safe to move on to baseball, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the NFL and against Tom Brady in Deflategate, upholding the league’s four-game suspension of the New England Patriots quarterback for his probable role in deflating footballs in the Pats’ AFC Championship win over the Indianapolis Colts. That blowout victory paved the way for the Pats’ Super Bowl championship last year.
Though the Court of Appeals’ decision reversed a lower court’s ruling that the league overreached in suspending Brady – in violation of the collective bargaining agreement – for me this has always been about what Brady knew and when he knew it. ...
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Read MoreIt’s been a great week for news – sporting and otherwise – of the games men play.
First, it’s ba-aaack – Deflategate that is. You will recall that last September, federal court Judge Richard M. Berman ruled that the NFL had overstepped its bounds in its arbitration of Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for allegedly masterminding the deflation of footballs in the New England Patriots’ 2015 A.F.C. Championship win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Now a three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, has said, Not so fast. Taking a view similar to my own from the start of this delicious story, the panel seems less interested in the NFL’s triple role as judge, enforcer of punishments and arbitrator of appeals – a strange trifecta that would automatically make the league vulnerable to the charge of overstepping by the Players’ Union – than it is in the cover-up that always trips you up. To wit: What of Brady’s destroyed cell phone that might’ve contained incriminating information about his altered balls? ...
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Read MoreIt’s that time of year when everyone does Top 10 lists so I thought, Why not join the fun? But if you’re a reader of this blog, then you know that I like to do things with a little twist. Here is my list of Top Five stories I covered in 2015, with a look at how they might develop in 2016:
1. American Pharoah’s Triple Crown win
To understand how big this story was, consider this: Before the Pharoah won the Crown, there were more men who had walked on the moon (12) than there were Triple Crown winners (11). In becoming the first horse to capture the elusive trifecta since my beloved Affirmed in 1978, AP galvanized a sport and a nation. And he did it with sweetness, charm and versatility – coming from behind at the Kentucky Derby, winning in the slop at the Preakness and going wire-to-wire commandingly at the Belmont Stakes. What’s next: Tours to see AP at Coolmore, where he’ll be standing stud, are already sold out – a sign that America’s love affair with its hero continues. ...
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Read MoreSunday, Oct. 18 was a great sports day as Novak Djokovic, Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers and the New York Mets all continued to roll and Colin Kaepernick’s San Francisco 49ers continued to improve on the comeback trail.
Nole in particular is having an amazing run as ESPN noted:
“He became one of three men to play in all four Grand Slam finals in a single season in the Open era, joining Roger Federer and Rod Laver. ...
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Read MoreA New York judge has overturned the NFL’s suspension of Tom Brady in effect on a technicality, saying the process that led to the suspension was flawed.
Is it any wonder? In the NFL, the process is almost always flawed, because commish Roger Goodell is no Alexander when it comes to leadership. ...
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