When Ben Volin makes you look foolish…

I don’t know how many times I can say this: It’s astounding that Roger Goodell can evade, duck and flat out lie and suffer absolutely zero consequences while preaching INTEGRITY.

Volin of course, is the mental giant who, this morning on WEEI, claimed this whole deflategate scandal has been an effort by the NFL to protect and cover up wrongdoing by Bill Belichick.

Seriously.

He also admits he’d rather cover this deflategate mess than actual football.

BUT…the fact that Goodell steps in front of the microphone, even though he is telling lies and not answering questions, makes him better than Tom Brady according to some.

Oh. My. God.

That’s your Boston Herald sports editor right there.

What is he thinking? It’s better to get up in front of reporters and lie, evade and be condescending than to keep quiet over legal proceedings? What is the “at least” indicating? Bravery? Integrity? Trustworthiness? He’s flat out lying to us but at least he’s talking to us – unlike that Tom Brady snake!

This morning, as this is posted, the NFL and Tom Brady are meeting with Judge Berman in New York.  Some, even around here, are somehow thinking that Brady needs to cut some sort of deal, even if it means he has to sit out a game or two.

Time for Brady to think hard about making a deal – Tom E Curran is among them. I could not disagree more. If Brady believes he is innocent, why in the world would he take anything? The notion that he needs to do it “for the good of the team” just makes zero sense. How is it good for the team to lose him for any games? In terms of distractions, is there any coach in the NFL better at eliminating distractions for team than Bill Belichick?

As Brady-NFL settlement talks begin, unsettling picture continues to emerge on league’s conduct – Dan Wetzel says that Brady should not settle. As he says – Here’s hoping he takes a hard line, takes it to the wall, takes it to federal court and then a civil one via a defamation charge, because no matter where you stand on guilt or innocence, after all these months, we’re finally getting to the real stuff.

We’ll perhaps know a little more today, but don’t hold your breath for a settlement.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

91 thoughts on “Roger Dodger”

  1. Personally, I would never, ever, ever advise Brady to settle for anything other than a nominal fine paid directly to a charity of the NFL’s choice (and NOT to the NFL as a fine). And I can’t for the life of me understand why the NFL’s attorneys aren’t actively angling for a settlement along those lines, that would let them (the NFL) tromp around saying “HRRM HRMM the process is sound but we want to move on from this”, even though anyone with half a brain would see that they were abandoning the hill they had no hope of defending.

    Because if they DON’T, this gets overturned. And that doesn’t end the process. If the NFL appeals and loses, the ultimate impact would be….. it goes back for arbitration, but with a different, unbiased arbiter. And a different unbiased arbiter might not pull punches in quite the way that Paul Tagliabue did. If you’re the NFL, do you REALLY want to take the chance that a year or two down the road you have a neutral, unimpeachible arbiter saying “this is the biggest pile of excrement I’ve ever seen”? Because, NFL…. that’s what’s going to happen. Anyone who doesn’t suckle at your teat is going to see that.

    And if you and your attorneys are too cocksure and blind to see that…. you all deserve to lose your jobs.

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  4. Even if Brady was of a mind to eat a punishment he feels he doesn’t deserve for the betterment of all, how could he possibly trust the current media climate to react in any way but “*hotsportztake*HE’SADMITTEDGIULT!!!”?

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  7. This is just my third-hand, slightly educated opinion…. but it sure looked like Judge Berman’s questions boiled down to “Give me a good reason to think you’re not full of $hit” to the NFL and “Give me a good reason to let your guy off” to the NFLPA.

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    2. Stuff said on ESPN (TV) but relayed via Twitter (h/t Mike Loyko):

      @SalPal_ESPN “Judge Berman basically just said Roger Goodell, you’re on the clock”

      @SalPal “It is clear based on his questioning (Berman) that the Wells Report is on trial. This is the last thing the NFL wants”

      @AdamSchefter and Sall said “Berman told the NFL that they better come to grips that a settlement in favor of the NFLPA is very possible”

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  8. Whenever pressed about what evidence there is that Brady is guilty, all the anti-Patriots people have one thing, and one thing only to fall back on: “I just can’t get over ‘the deflator texts,’ (Mike!)” however, today it was made clear by Judge Berman that the only thing the Wells Report actually investigated was the AFC Championship game, and for Brady to have any bit of culpability, there needs to be evidence for that specific game. By going back to May, and bringing up “the deflator” text, its a huge jump to conclusion to say that they were doing that 8 months later. I know the text may not come off as a good look for Brady in terms of optics, but the deflator text should have no real relevance to Brady being guilty of this “scheme” in the AFCG

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    1. This is the angle the Patriots should have used rather than the silly weight loss explanation. Even if it’s true – and it must be because they would be colossally dumb to invent it – no one believes it and it is still brought up constantly, including today by Volin in a piece that was critical of Goodell. Why not say: it was an irrelevant remark made five months before an actual game was played.

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      1. I don’t think it’s that dumb. I worked for a software company that would process something called “Seed Replacements” for customers who lost their files. You can imagine how the term became a euphemism in our daily banter. If you’re in an environment where you’re inflating/deflating balls all day, a play on words like that is not out of the ordinary.

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        1. It was dumb for the Patriots to publicly use the guy’s weight loss to explain “The Deflator” nickname – even if it’s true, which it probably is. From a PR standpoint, just because something is true doesn’t mean you should use it. Doing so empowered the media to make jokes/feign indignation about the assertion and undermine the overall rebuttal.

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          1. Here is the question for the Brady-is-guilty-crowd:
            If McNally called himself ‘the deflator’ last May (as a complete non sequitur in that conversation, btw) and that means he deflates balls…
            Then how come after the balls were way over-inflated against the Jets in October, in the conversations, emails and texts after the game… none of which they’d ever dream would become public… they NEVER talk about the scheme?
            Instead, they talk about making sure the refs blow them up bigger, the refs effed them, f-Tom, etc… AND Brady is GUILTY of instructing them to do something about the balls: he tells them to bring a page from the rule book to the refs and tell the ref he likes them at 12.5.
            The actions of a guilty man??

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    1. I used to just not like Tanger but over the last month or so that’s ratcheted up to hate. I hate Gary Tanguay. He instantly makes me change a channel or radio station. Instantly.

      He can go poop in a hat and pull it over his ears, as far as I’m concerned and I hope Minihane keeps ethering him.

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      1. I have a nice XM trial right now. He’s on national shows (Mad Dog Radio I believe) saying how he thinks Brady is guilty. More probable than not he’s mentally challenged.

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    1. I honestly dont know why people even give this guy the time of day to tweet at him. Its blatantly obvious trolling…he’s literally begging people to have a negative reaction to him, just to get his name out there, and get a few radio hits. He’s the poor-mans Greg Doyel

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    2. He even went after Steph Stradley today. Again, reeks of professionalism.

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      2. Real smart of him trying to argue the “but he destroyed his cell phone” b.s. with, you know, an actual attorney who understands process. I’m sure he’d willingly argue with a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who pointed out Ideal Gas Law to him, too. Because, you know, he’s a Jets fan, and they’re just not that bright (by the way, whatever happened to the people who cover the team not rooting for them or being fans? I guess that goes out the window when you cover the J-E-T-S, because their fan base is among the most troglodytic and ignorant in sports, and they demand the media covering the team act the same way)

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  11. So only Mike Felger can come away from the reports of the court room testimony and say “after hearing everything I am more convinced McNally did something to the balls…Kessler all but admitted it”.

    I have no idea how he came to that conclusion…unless he can’t read.

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  12. Just listening to the murder’s row of truthers today between the markets.. we predicted this here but the narrative is already being laid: the league screwed up on the legal and Brady/BB/Patriots got off on a technicality.

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    1. Yeah…..the technicality of being 100% innocent from Day 1; or how about the technicality of the entire Keystone Kops gang in the NFL offices not even having the first damned clue that footballs can deflate on their own in cold and wet weather, and going ahead and running the sting operation, primarily due to their complete ignorance of Ideal Gas Law (even they wouldn’t be dumb enough to conduct the sting if any of them had known about the science involved beforehand, right?) Some technicalities those are!

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    2. That’s been a foregone conclusion since the beginning of this ridiculousness.

      There is a chance, though, that if this case does go to a judgment, the judge will lace the opinion with tons of dicta relating to the lack of factual support for the underlying charge. It wouldn’t have legal impact (the underlying facts are not being determined/adjudicated here), but it would be a roadmap to an appeals court as to why he reached the legal conclusion that he did. Or not; it depends on what he rules and how solid a ground he thinks the ruling stands on from an appellate standpoint.

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  13. I think the biggest ESPN ass clown around this issue just may be Roger Cossack, and that’s saying something. In the bag much, Rog?

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    1. To quote “Goldeneye”, the best Pierce Brosnan Bond film (IMO): What do you expect from a Cossack?

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      1. Dammit, now when I post “All this power isn’t meant to be in the hands of one person!” into a Goodell thread people will think I’m stealing your bit. Dr. Lawrence Angelo >> Remington Steele >> James Bond

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    2. Munson’s worse, I think, as he speaks in absolutes. “Tom Brady cannot win this lawsuit.” That’s factually untrue. If Tom Brady couldn’t win the lawsuit, it would have been immediately dismissed. There’s a question of fact that needs to be resolved, and therefore both sides can win the lawsuit. That’s an egregious misstatement for an attorney to make in print.

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        1. He’s not disbarred. He was suspended per his Illinois record — for client fund comingling. Which, honestly, isn’t that unusual.

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  14. Another from the murders row of truthers, Bob Kravitz today:

    Conclusion One: Judge Berman isn’t exactly Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I say this because he made the point that in the second half of the AFC Title Game against the Colts, Tom Brady had more success with the properly inflated footballs than he did in the first half with the under-inflated footballs.Tell me, how is that in any way germane to the discussion here over whether Brady and the Patriots cheated and whether Brady received due process from the National Football League? That sounds like something a New England fan named TB12IsGod might tweet to me. It is completely and utterly immaterial to the issue at hand.

    Do I believe the Patriots purposely deflated some of those footballs?
    Yes, I do. And I think the Exponent people did a tremendous job making
    the scientific case while pointing out the flaws in the case made by
    Brady’s experts and AEI, among other folks

    Has some backing up in it but another Russo-style that you know something happened.

    http://www.wthr.com/story/29771840/kravitz-nfl-needs-to-step-back-and-settle-with-brady-now

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    1. Still waiting for one of the Kravitz-like morons to explain to me exactly why Brady hatched a scheme to remove a whopping 0.3 PSI from the balls, given that even when viewed in a light most hostile to NE that’s the only pressure increment that their sainted Exponent was unable to explain.

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      1. Lol. Also would like to know the timeline to see what Exponent discovered between the Walt Coleman interviews.

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    2. He’s the idiot who first “broke” this story — and he said he chose not to ignore it “because Belichick and the Patriots don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt” (because…Spygate, I guess); so, it makes perfect sense that he’d choose to go down with the ship here, rather than admit that there never was anything to this (other than the NFL’s obvious malfeasance). Most mediots, especially regional hacks like Kravitz, who have their largest group of followers among a certain fan base (could be any fan base….Colts, Jets, Steelers, Ravens, etc.), are loathe to admit when they’re wrong.

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    3. “Judge Berman isn’t exactly Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” From a guy who I 10,000% guarantee would absolutely JUMP down the throat of a non-sportswriter who dared criticize him as someone living in their parents’ basement who knew nothing about sports or the NFL.

      I hope he owes IK $600.

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  15. Interesting. Unsurprising.

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    1. That is 10 kinds of awesome. I’m old enough to remember seeing that video when it was in heavy rotation on the channel that used to be legitimately called “Music” Television (now it’s just a name, since they took away the music part years ago). The graphics were something we’d never seen before up to that point (and it’s a catchy tune, let’s face it — it wasn’t my favorite type of music, but it WAS catchy). Hilarious.

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      1. Yeah, the Brady sketch has yielded some great photoshops.

        Yeah, the younger kids have no clue they used to play music videos all the time and some are rather famous. MTV is now EmptyV.

        For those who want to know the origin of this one-hit wonder but famous song you’ll hear in any location with Muzak, google “A-ha – Take On Me”

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        1. They parlayed that hit into being hired to write and record the theme song for the Bond film, “The Living Daylights”. They sort of fell off the face of the earth after that, though word has it they’re still drawing crowds in Europe.

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          1. YES…I remember V66 very well! And I think 1985 was pretty much the only year it lasted (maybe into 1986, but I’m not sure). Good times.

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    1. D&C&M have been AWESOME lately. Just destroying these Brady Truthers and trolls. Then watching these pathetic losers whine and cry about it on twitter afterwards is hilarious.

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      1. It’s honestly refreshing to hear when people actually ask questions and have dialog–on anything. Too much in the mainstream is just bending over.

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      1. Well if Ben Volin is the best reporter we have then I am digging the fallout shelter, stocking up on canned food, guns, bullets and bottled water so that I can hunker down for the coming Apocalypse. I wonder if FIOS will work during the Apocalypse? I can’t imagine 30 years without Naked and Afraid.

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      2. Volin? Who thinks the league is killing Brady to save BB? Worse than Tanguay and that aint easy.

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      3. You have to be a special kind of stupid to tweet out what Chase tweeted about Volin being the “best” reporter in this town. Yes sir, a special kind of stupid. And is that his real hair in that Twitter avatar? Doesn’t he realize the Achy-Breaky Heart craze has been over for more than 20 years? Is he Miley’s long lost half-brother or something? Billy Ray’s spawn from a one night’er on the Achy-Breaky Heart tour? I could go on…..but I’ve made my point, whatever it is.

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    4. It’s amazing how these guys who make careers off of asking questions and giving opinions react when the shoe is on the other foot.

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      1. Arrogant egomaniacs….a great many of them are, and that goes triple for those journalists who cover “serious” issues, not sports. They’re ten times more insufferable. I can’t really blame them, however, because these days, this is what they teach in J-schools: you people are special; your job is perhaps the most important job in the world, etc. It’s hard not to be arrogant when you have that bull-plop pumped into your brain from your college years and beyond. Too bad they’re not actually taught to do that important job correctly. Basically, they’re told to read the NY Times every morning to figure out what stories should be covered, and how they should be covered (at least that’s what my profs told me to do back in the day). They’re not taught to think for themselves. It’s the definition of a herd mentality in that profession. Naturally, sports journalism is a little different in that they’re not taking their cues from the NY Times (maybe ESPN? I can’t decide which is worse). Still, those sports guys (and women) attended the same J-school classes as the “hard news” and political reporters, and so they were still fed the same line of b.s. about how important they are to society. How do I know this? That diploma stuck in the back of my closet says “B.A., Journalism” on it– I chose not to follow that career path, however, and I’m glad I didn’t.

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    5. Hey Chris Chase — remember that time you raped an 8-year-old girl? Just because there’s no proof of something, does it mean it didn’t happen?

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      1. You should be familiar with this one:Hey Dave, did you stop beating your wife?

        I know hitting send is easy but you can think for a bit before responding, unlike a live interview.

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    6. Ambush Party? Maybe you shouldn’t publish entirely speculative, damaging material then cry about having to defend it in front of people who are armed with facts.

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  19. Kravitz is on now…..not exactly walking away from the troll bridge he cowers under. Not as psychotic as Mazz, Volin, Chris Chase, Mad Dog, etc, but he’s far from leaving Roger Goodell’s side.

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    1. Chris Chase.. LMAO.. that kid is classic. Not sure how these lightweight millenials get these gigs.

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      1. I’m not a fan but I used the adjective “smart” because it seems like simulcasts work in this market. Robocams with one guy producing (intern) in a remote studio = cheap, simple produce. The math must work out for CSNNE.

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        1. What does it say if a simulcast of an entertainment show (not a sports show) has more potential to the network than anything they can produce in house or license nationally? Seems to me it is bad enough CSSNE simulcasts F&M…to add T&R means there are 6 hours of programming daily they can’t fill. To be honest if I were Comcast or NBC suits I would be looking long and hard at the PD at CSSNE. I am not sure he is competent.

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  21. Does anyone actually like these?

    I get they have to pump up their national station but every host/station here mocks the snot out of them. Maybe the station’s manager should reconsider these.

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  22. Tomase was on “Whack a Troll” this morning. No real quibble with anything he said except for the fact he wouldn’t own up to calling Brady a liar despite the fact that Kirk and Dino pointed out a half dozen instances of him using “lied, lying, liar” attached to Brady’s name in his columns.

    And he thinks Brady is guilty even though if HE were in Brady’s position HE would have done or been doing everything Tom has to this point. So that’s a “WTF” moment too.

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    1. Howard Eskin was teased to be on too. Had to step away from the radio for awhile so I don’t know how that played out. Waiting for the podcast to come online…

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    2. I liked their discussion on Tomasse and writing. It was fruitful.

      WEEI, or any media outlet her, Tomasse has every right to continue to write about sports, the Patriots, etc. Nobody denies that. Employ at your own will, however. we have the right to remind him and also not consume anything he says or listens, though. I don’t read and listen when he’s on anything, like many here and I’m sure in the area. If you want that, have at it. It’s not like he’s good or there is a shortage of writers, though. Just a thought.

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    3. I thought Tomase was actually pretty good…I disagree with him of course, but overall he was well prepared and didn’t really go over the top with anything. Surprisingly, he came across as reasonable

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  23. The Patriots starting Tom Brady in a preseason game was dumber than Deflategate

    Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the future generation of media.

    In another bit of defiance and hubris from the organization that has
    perfected those arts, the New England Patriots took the field Thursday
    night in their preseason opener with Tom Brady under center, in what was
    an obvious message to the NFL and the rest of the league — except it’s a
    message that’s hard to grasp, like much of the Pats’ decisions over the
    past seven months.

    Chris Chase, again.

    http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/tom-brady-start-preseason-suspension-jimmy-garoppolo-scouting-report-starting-brady-dumber-than-deflategate

    Bruce, it’d be nice if I could post badwords on comments. This guy deserves them.

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    1. I just…… I…. PLAYING YOUR STARTING QUARTERBACK IS “DEFIANCE AND HUBRIS”???????’

      /head explodes

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      1. As I said below, that guy is a special kind of stupid; even for the media, he pushes the stupidity envelope beyond its limits.

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      2. HOW DARE YOU SHOW UP TO WORK AND EXPECT A PAYCHECK?

        THE F*CKING AUDACITY AND ARROGANCE OF PEOPLE..

        WHERE DO YOU GET OFF THINKING THIS SH1T?

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    2. It’s probably a good idea that there is no comment section. If there was I’d say “What act did you have to perform to get this job and you must have been very good to still have it.”

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    1. Isn’t this a bit bigger?

      But there’s a connection between the team who made the complaint regarding deflated balls and the league office hiding in plain site at
      the team’s website. It’s a connection that is gratuitously touted in the
      biography of Colts Vice President of Football Operations Jimmy Raye
      III.

      Here’s the last line of the bio: “Raye’s father, Jimmy Raye II, played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1969 and is currently a senior advisor to Troy Vincent who is the executive vice president of football operations for the NFL.”

      Apart from the fact that it makes little sense to tout the
      credentials of Jimmy Raye III by pointing out that his father serves as a
      senior adviser to Troy Vincent, the fact remains that the father of the
      Colts Vice President of Football Operations serves as a senior adviser
      to the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations. It’s
      unknown whether the father of the Colts Vice President of Football
      Operations provided any actual advice to the NFL’s Executive Vice
      President of Football Operations regarding the #DeflateGate scandal, but
      it would make sense for Vincent, who hasn’t held the job for very long,
      to seek advice from someone regarding the best way to handle an
      unprecedented controversy regarding the inflation of footballs.

      Yup, call it another “THORTON NATION CARD-CARRYING MEMBER PATS FAN TOADIE CONSPIRACY” ..

      My dad, when teaching me life lessons, always pointed out about following the money. In my short time, this advise has been right.

      Could be something casual but isn’t it a bit unusual how many connections and leaks these two orgs, who are no fans of the Patriots, have to the league?

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      1. My current theory – this whole situation is a result of Colt’s Equip Man Sean Sullivan (much like Troy Vincent and the rest of Keystone Cops involved here) not understanding that inflated objects can change internal pressure due to changing atmospheric conditions. He’s never seen anything like it in Indianapolis. BECAUSE THEY PLAY THEIR GAMES IN A CLIMATE CONTROLLED DOME.

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