An email, from Glen, suggested the New England Patriots adopt a new mascot.
The New England Cheetahs.
No sooner had the latest NFL Draft ended, but before the sad story of LSU offensive lineman La'el Collins going undrafted was at full speed, a nation that can never get enough football news was consumed with the NFL's findings of "deflate-gate."
Collins is the talented former Tigers left tackle who was projected as a top 10 pick in the draft until his name became associated with a murder. His ex-girlfriend, who was pregnant but not with his child, had been murdered and the police wanted to question Collins. He was never a suspect.
Apparently every NFL team decided Collins was a risk until he was proven innocent. He ended up signing as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys for $1.65 million over three years, which could make this the biggest draft coup in the history of the NFL.
Jerry Jones got where he is, billionaire owner of the Dallas Cowboys who grew up in Rose City, by being smart.
Anyway, before that was resolved, the NFL handed down its findings about the football that had less than 12.5 pounds of air the Patriots used in a playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts, a 45-7 victory in that AFC Championship Game.
Just for the record, the Patriots scored four touchdowns in the second half using a properly pressured football.
However, columnists from all over the country -- OK, mostly in cities that have NFL teams not named the Patriots -- were crying for a severe penalty for Brady, even though the wording in the investigation summary was cautious.
It said Brady was probably aware the balls were underinflated.
Of course he knew. Every quarterback has quirks about the footballs they want to use.
They squeeze them. Toss them. Reject some. Keep others. It is their tool of the trade and no one knows a football better than the quarterback.
Brady was guilty enough the NFL announced Monday afternoon it was suspending him for the first four games of next season. The team was also fined $1 million and lost a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-round selection in 2017.
There is no punishment harsh enough if you hate the Patriots in general, or just Brady and his charmed life, short of lynching him, or at least chaining him to the bumper of a pickup and dragging him through the streets of New York for a few blocks.
But Brady, who has gone from being the 199th player taken in the 2000 draft to rising into the argument of being the best NFL quarterback ever, got hit hard.
In a league where all types of abuses are reported, including spousal abuse (and one is too many), playing 30 minutes with less air in a ball than is required seems mild, but apparently the NFL was very upset Brady initially claimed no knowledge about a deflated ball.
However, NFL czar Roger Goodell, who earns more than $40 million a year to run the NFL, has been under great criticism for the way he handled some of those spousal abuse cases, and he wanted to prove he's more than the guy who is front and center at the NFL Draft.
The four-game suspension should cost Brady about $2 million. For some it won't be enough and for others it is too much. Of course, there are some who couldn't care less.
The real tough-luck story in this offseason is how an innocent young man was treated as if he were guilty and went undrafted. In financial terms, he lost a likely $7 million signing bonus, a four-year contract worth more than $12 million and ended up with a $1.65 million, three-year deal. Seems like some of Brady's and the Patriots' lost money should go to La'el Collins.
Sports on 05/12/2015