The federal judge handling Patriots QB Tom Brady's appeal of his four-game suspension on Friday ordered Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to "appear in court twice in mid-August," according to ESPN.com. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman on Friday told the two sides that he had scheduled conferences Aug. 12 and 19 "with your principles (including, without limitation, Mr. Goodell and Mr. Brady," also requesting the parties "engage in comprehensive, good-faith settlement discussions prior to the conference on August 12" (ESPN.com, 7/31). CSNNE.com's Tom Curran wrote Berman's leadership on expediting the proceedings "is palpable in his letter." It is "exactly the kind of leadership the NFL could have used" from Goodell if he were "truly independent and not entangled so deeply with the actions of his lieutenants in the NFL Operations department" (CSNNE.com, 8/1). In Boston, Ben Volin wrote Brady's lawsuit, filed Friday afternoon in the Southern District of New York, is "one of the more unusual lawsuits in sports history and is nearly impossible to handicap, even for the sharpest legal minds." Opinions about the merits of the case are "generally mixed" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/2).
LET'S MAKE A DEAL: On Long Island, Bob Glauber wrote Goodell and Brady must "meet somewhere in the middle, reach a settlement and move on from one of the most divisive and venomous debates this league has known." Berman is now "the adult in the room" (NEWSDAY, 8/2). The GLOBE's Volin wrote he would "put money on" the NFL and NFLPA "reaching a settlement before the lawsuit plays out in court." It is "curious that [Patriots Owner Robert] Kraft didn’t bargain harder behind the scenes for a 'global settlement,' which is common in white-collar cases with criminal and civil components, similar to Deflategate" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/2). USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell writes Berman's warning that he would "have difficulty approving any sealed documents" should "inspire a settlement." Bell: "Maybe that's the threat to carry the day" (USA TODAY, 8/3). THE MMQB's Peter King reports smart and influential execs are "fed up with this story, and fed up that it has bled" into the '15 season, and "fed up that the league bungled some of the very basic elements." One team exec said, "Why are we fighting this fight now? We should be getting ready for a new season, but we’ve got our biggest star firing bombs at the league" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/3). The AP's Arnie Stapleton wrote the NFL's "endless aggravation raged through an off-season marked by more crime and punishment, rules violations by owners and the never-ending 'Deflategate' saga." Brady’s suspension is the "enduring footprint of an off-season in which the shield was sullied on a seemingly daily basis" (AP, 8/1).
ROGER THAT: In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote Deflategate has reached the point where Goodell, "whatever his intentions, is hurting the image of his sport and his league as much -- and even more" -- than Brady has. The NFL has officially "taken a misdemeanor and turned it into Biogenesis" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/2). Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom said that Goodell is preoccupied with the wrong issue, and that he should be focused instead on taking a tougher stance on domestic violence. Albom: "Goodell finds himself in this moment where everybody is questioning, ‘Well, what kind of authority, really, are you?’ So he decides rather than put his foot down on the cases that he should’ve, ‘I'm going to put my foot down on the case about air in footballs'" ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 8/2). But in San Diego, Nick Canepa wrote under the header, "Sticking To Guns Right Thing For Goodell" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/2). In Cleveland, Bud Shaw asked of Goodell, "How smart is it to drag this out from January to August under the guise of protecting the integrity of a game that was never compromised in any egregious way to begin with?" No right-thinking person "believes the Patriots won because of PSI readings." Yet the beat "goes on, with the league either leaking or failing to correct false information and, by doing so, providing reason to distrust" Goodell's handling of the case. The one who "looks worse for wear in all this is Goodell, who seems more obsessed with winning a power struggle and protecting his authority than he does protecting the game" (CLEVELAND.com, 8/1).
MISDIRECTION PLAY? In DC, Thom Loverro writes there are "so many levels of 'Deflategate' that lack any logic." Loverro wonders what the upside is "of Goodell going to war" with the Patriots. This is about "years’ worth of transgressions and sins accumulated behind the scenes" by Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The only thing that makes sense is that this is "all about Belichick, and air in footballs was the NFL’s version of going after Al Capone for tax evasion." Loverro: "This is about Belichick, and a sense of justice, however unfair or misdirected it may be, that the chickens have come home to roost" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 8/3).
