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Belichick Adamant Patriots Played By Rules; Is Kraft-Goodell Relationship Too Close?

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, in an "unscheduled, 23-minute press conference Saturday afternoon, reiterated his belief that the team is not to blame for the underinflated footballs it used" in the AFC Championship, according to Michael Whitmer of the BOSTON GLOBE. Belichick said that the team "performed a simulation in recent days that led him to believe 'atmospheric conditions' affect the air pressure in a football." Belichick: "I believe now, 100 percent, that I personally, and we as an organization, have absolutely followed every rule to the letter. ... At no time was there any intent whatsoever to try to compromise the integrity of the game or to gain an advantage" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/25). In Boston, Christopher Gasper wrote Belichick made an "impassioned, entirely plausible and convincing case for why Deflategate is just a bunch of hot air." Gasper: "Your move, NFL. Belichick just blinded you with science" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/25). In Newark, Steve Politi wrote, "This was Darth Belichick at his finest -- a defiant, defensive, science-teaching, pop-culture-referencing machine" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/25). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote this was "straight Original Gangster stuff by Belichick, a full-on punch to the face of the league office he has long despised and believes turns nearly every molehill into a mountain either because of general football incompetence or to drive television ratings" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/24). THE MMQB's Peter King writes Belichick's presser was "passionate and moving and very human," and it "showed a side of Belichick we rarely get to see -- the loyal and earnest and fiery and educational Belichick, all at once." But King added, "I'm not sure it changed very much" (MMQB.SI.com, 1/26). In N.Y., Steve Serby wrote Belichick's explanation was an "impassioned and defiant defense of the Patriots’ Weigh, but no matter how hard he tries now he’s guilty until proven innocent" because he cannot deflate Spygate's "lasting stain on his credibility." He "sounded like a desperate man whistling in the wind" (N.Y. POST, 1/25). USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero wrote Belichick's presser was "about defending everything he has ever accomplished" (USATODAY.com, 1/24). In Boston, Bob Ryan wrote the public outside New England "hates the Patriots, and it’s not just because they are successful." Ninety-nine percent "of the reason" is Belichick (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/25). In Detroit, Drew Sharp writes the NFL "couldn't ask for a better bad guy than Belichick" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/26).

ACCORDING TO JIM: In Indianapolis, Scott Horner notes Colts Owner Jim Irsay last night on Twitter "addressed -- vaguely -- the controversy." Irsay tweeted, "We are confident the NFL and Commissioner will address the concerns that [arose] from our Champ Game. The integrity of the game is critical" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 1/26). ESPN BOSTON's Mike Reiss wrote it was "strange timing" for Irsay's tweets. It "almost seemed like Irsay felt the need to publicly counter" Belichick's news conference (ESPNBOSTON.com, 1/25). SI.com's Michael McCann analyzed the legal ramifications of Belichick's comments and wrote while Belichick "convincingly explained the tests and shifted the focus of Deflategate from human wrongdoing to scientific inquiry, his explanation will warrant scrutiny from NFL officials" (SI.com, 1/24).

An NFL exec describes Kraft (r) as the "assistant
commissioner" in the GQ article
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT? Seahawks CB Richard Sherman yesterday said, "Will they be punished? Probably not. Not as long as [Patriots Owner] Robert Kraft and [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell are still taking pictures at their respective homes." But in N.Y., Gary Myers writes, "I don’t think Goodell is going to take it easy on the Patriots just because he and Kraft are good friends, especially now that Goodell is under so much scrutiny" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/26). In Boston, Ben Volin notes Kraft and Goodell are "so close that in an upcoming GQ profile of Goodell, an NFL executive calls Kraft 'assistant commissioner.'" Kraft "can’t be too happy that the NFL allowed his team’s reputation to be obliterated last week, but if anyone can smooth it over, it’s Goodell and Kraft" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/26). ESPN's Andrew Brandt said "everyone knows of the close relationship" between Goodell and Kraft. There is a "perception that they play right to the edge and with the relationship of Goodell and Kraft there's not enough done about it" ("OTL," ESPN, 1/25). 

ROGER'S RULES: The N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Myers wrote Goodell is "going to have a tough call" if Ted Wells' investigation into the matter "turns up nothing." Football fans are "starved for Belichick and the Pats, the Evil Empire, to be punished." But the punishment "certainly won't come this week and overshadow the game more than" it already has (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/25). In Boston, Steve Buckley wrote, "Hasn’t Goodell learned, in the aftermath of his botched handling of the Ray Rice case, that football fans are demanding transparency?" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/25). Also in Boston, Peter Gelzinis wrote Goodell "could have spared all of us this whacky soap opera and spared himself and the NFL another week of horrendous publicity, if he had just fined the Pats and been done with it" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/25). In Dallas, Kevin Sherrington writes when the Super Bowl is over, and should the commissioner "wake up from this nightmare of a season," Goodell should "do something to prove he’s got a conscience, if not a pulse." Sherrington: "The media no longer seem willing to buy into a storyline advancing the NFL agenda" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/26). NBC's Chuck Todd said, "Ultimately, for all fans and probably especially Patriots fans, this is taking the fun out of the game and that's what's sad about this whole episode" ("Meet The Press," NBC, 1/25).

START TO FINISH: In DC, Mark Maske wrote the NFL season "is ending, just as it began, in turmoil." NFLPA President Eric Winston said, "I think the way things have been handled has turned off the public, turned off the fans. I see it on Twitter. I hear it from people just walking around. It’s too bad. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s not only the league office. It’s the owners. When are they going to step in and do something to make sure things are handled in the right way? It’s easy to look at the bottom line and say everything is fine. But you never see the iceberg until you hit it, right?" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/25). On Long Island, Bob Glauber wrote it is a "bizarre and troubling time in the NFL, a league that has been racked by controversy that has very real human consequences related to domestic violence and now is involved in a non-stop national debate over two pounds per square inch of -- air" (NEWSDAY, 1/25). In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw wrote Deflategate is "just the latest shoe to drop as it feels like a full rack from some upper shelf of the closet has been dumped on our heads" this season. It is a "sad prelude to the season's final game" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/24).

THE OLD COLLEGE TRY: In Phoenix, Dan Bickley asks, "Has a revolution begun?" Arizona State VP/Athletics Ray Anderson said, "I think the NFL should be on notice, that the college game is looking to take you down." Bickley noted the NFL is "coming off the worst season imaginable and the most profitable on record." But Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said, "I believe our trajectory is positive." Anderson added, "As I was sitting in that national championship venue, you could see the genuine passion that the Oregon folks had for the Ducks and the Ohio folks had for the Bucks (Buckeyes). There was an energy where you look up and say, 'There's something more pure about the energy here.'" Anderson: "The ratings apparently were the highest for any cable television show ever, which would include some NFL playoff games, by the way. So it's not unreasonable to say or to think that college football could surpass the NFL at some point" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/25). In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote Deflategate will make Patriots-Seahawks the "highest-rated Super Bowl in the history of the event." Raissman: "If we didn’t know better, we would think commissioner Roger Goodell allowed this investigation to drag out because he knows it’s terrific for business." The "longer the controversy percolates the more the league and NBC benefit" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/24).

NO BIG GAME DISTRACTION: Brady yesterday during halftime of the Pro Bowl said that the Deflategate investigators, led by Wells and NFL Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash, "haven’t spoken to him yet." Brady: “I believe they’re going to do that after the season, so we’ll deal with it after this game" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/26). Patriots WR and union rep Matthew Slater on Saturday said that the NFLPA "has advised players not to speak on the NFL's ongoing investigation" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 1/24).

STINGING SENSATION: YAHOO SPORTS' Wetzel writes, "Did the NFL run a sting operation on the Patriots? And if so, shouldn't the Indianapolis Colts, and the rest of the league, be more upset about the league's investigative tactics than anything New England has been accused of doing?" If the NFL was willing to let the Patriots "use a deflated football" to their advantage for the "first half of a game with the Super Bowl on the line, rather than stop the contest immediately and check, or even just warn the Patriots of their concerns prior to kickoff to make sure everything was fair and square for all 60 minutes." Wetzel: "This would be ... astounding" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/26). 

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