New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick's news conference Saturday on the team's explanation for "Deflategate" didn't sit well with Bill Nye.
Nye, who hosted the TV show Bill Nye The Science Guy and was once a mechanical engineer at Boeing, didn't believe Belichick, whose team is being investigated by the NFL for underinflated footballs. Eleven of 12 balls used by the Patriots in the first half of their 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18 were underinflated.
"I'm not too worried about Coach Belichick competing with me. What he said didn't make any sense," Nye told ABC's Good Morning America on Sunday. "Rubbing the football, I don't think you can change the pressure. To really change the pressure, you need one of these -- the inflation needle."
Belichick said Saturday the Patriots asked the referees to inflate the balls to 12.5 PSI before the game and said the change in weather conditions was one of the reasons for the pressure dropping a full two PSI.
New England will play the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
He said it
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Bob McGinn on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose team blew a 19-7 lead in last Sunday's NFC Championship Game at Seattle and lost 28-22 in overtime:
"The Packers consider [Aaron] Rodgers to be the best quarterback in the business. He's considered a shoo-in for his second most valuable player award, and for good reason.
"He had a great season. More than any other person, he's the reason the Packers were playing in the NFC Championship Game.
"Rodgers, however, probably played as poorly in Seattle as he has in any of his 11 playoff games. You can come up with any number of excuses why that was the case, but the fact remains it was one of his three or four worst performances of the season and his team couldn't overcome it.
"The Packers built their big lead because of turnovers, defense, run game and, yes, special teams (Mason Crosby's five field goals, Brad Jones' forced fumble on a kickoff return, Micah Hyde's 29-yard punt return).
"Their passing game, on the other hand, was all but null and void.
"Great players need to make great plays in big games like this, and Rodgers really didn't make any at all."
Honoring Mr. Cub
The statue of Ernie Banks, which is outside Wrigley Field in Chicago, will be placed in Daley Plaza for four days this week to honor the legendary Chicago Cubs player who died Friday at the age of 83.
Banks' statue will be relocated to Daley Plaza on Wednesday and will be moved back to Wrigley Field Saturday. The statue is being restored while the ballpark is undergoing a renovation.
In 2008, Banks was the first player in Cubs history to be honored with a statue.
"Ernie Banks' legacy extends far beyond his Hall of Fame stats. He was beloved by generations of people for the way he played on the field and -- more importantly -- for the kind and warm person he was off the field," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Sunday.
"We are bringing Ernie's statue to Daley Plaza to honor not just one of the best ballplayers of all time, but a great man who made our city proud from the day we first met him in 1953."
Banks was a 14-time All-Star and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
SPORTS QUIZ
How many seasons did Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll coach the New England Patriots?
ANSWER
Three (1997-1999).
Sports on 01/26/2015