DEFLATEGATE

Oh, those crafty New England Patriots. Or maybe, since they are owned by Robert Kraft, we should call them the Krafty Patriots. They not only let the air out of the Indianapolis Colts’ Super Bowl hopes but apparently the footballs as well.

The Patriots, whose surreptitious and improper videotaping of opponents’ sideline signals earned them major penalties in 2007, now face the accusation of cheating once again.

An ESPN report late on Tuesday night indicated that 11 of the 12 footballs the Patriots supplied in the AFC championship game were inflated to less than proper standards. (Yes, the think-of-everything NFL dictates how many footballs, how much air, what they should weigh, and who should look after them).

 
A softer ball – that is, one with less air in it — is easier to grip on rainy days, like the one on which the Patriots manhandled the Colts 45-7. The NFL has been looking into this accusation of deflated pigskins since Monday.

Eleven of 12? What can the Patriots say? That they only used the ball that was properly inflated? That their tire gauge broke? The air pump was out of order so they mugged the balloon sellers and used their helium? And what happened to the many protocols in place to make sure that once the officials verify before the game that the footballs are where they need to be – 12.5 to 13.5 pounds per square inch of pressure – that no one tampers?

The videotaping escapade, dubbed Spygate, cost the Patriots $250,000 in NFL fines and a No. 1 draft pick. Coach Bill Belichick had to cough up $500,000.

The NFL has announced no finding yet, so we should all restrain ourselves a little from the usual rush to judgment, except the rush to judgment is fun. But what will the NFL do if the Patriots are deemed repeat offenders in damaging the league’s reputation just before the Super Bowl in which the Pats will play. Deflategate has only just begun.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .