Dallas-based football manufacturer Big Game USA has created a product with "an embedded mechanical sensor that gauges the pressure of the ball" called Vairify, according to Rainer Sabin of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. When the ball is "properly inflated to at least 12.5 pounds per square inch -- the minimum required amount at both the college and NFL levels -- a fluorescent green check mark will appear on the surface of the football." Big Game USA Founder & Owner Chris Calandro said that he "filed a patent for the invention 'many months ago,' long before the AFC Championship game that left the Patriots and their quarterback, Tom Brady, in the crosshairs of controversy." That episode "only pushed Calandro’s project into overdrive" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/22). Calandro said, "We haven't heard from the NCAA or any of the teams we supply footballs to that this is going to happen at the collegiate level. But we want to be prepared if it does." ESPN.com's Darren Rovell noted a spokesperson for Wilson, which "has the official ball deal with the NFL, could not immediately be reached to comment on whether the company is working on a similar idea" (ESPN.com, 5/20).
