Tommy Cheat:

Unknown ManIt really is all about winning at all costs and that is why no matter what it takes to win he will do it. He is just a guy who hates to lose; well, it is really beyond that. Some people hate to lose but get over it after a bit; this guy doesn’t. He broods on a loss as much as he would on the loss of a loved one.

His antipathy toward losing is one factor that makes him into a winner. Three other things go into the winning equation: (1) he is exquisitely talented as if he was made by some designer to do the job that he does having grown to the requisite height towering over most mortals and having gained the appropriate strength to complete his mission; (2) next, he is in one of the rare positions where what he does can influence the outcome of a contest unlike most other in high pressure positions; and (3) finally, he works in conjunction with a man who is uniquely situated to make all the parts of the unit that he works with work like a smoothly operating and well-oiled machine giving him the opportunity to use (1) and (2) to achieve the win.

Outside of the arena where he operates he has a fervid faithful frenzied following favoring his every movement. He has involved himself with a renowned beauty with whom he has offspring in addition to offspring from another beauty with whom he was previously involved. He lives in a manner that mirrors the life style of the Russian tsars or other Eastern royalty. Both dashing and daring his every movement is covered and reported to the immense satisfaction of those who idolize him spending far more time concerned about his actions usually performed on the Lord’s Day than thoughts of the Lord Himself.

Like zealots under 20th and 21st Century dictators his supporters leap to his defense whenever the slightest hint is suggested that he may have done something other than honorable. They close their eyes to the reality of the situation and ingest and regurgitate inane explanations for his actions that amount to a blind acceptance that everything he does must be admired and praised. He is more than human to them edging on god-like, one who must be admired, protected and defended at all costs.

These loyalists tell us that this man with all his talent and skill who works with an implement to carry himself and his team to victory was unaware that the implement was not the way it should be when he used it. As he handled it and maneuvered it we are to believe he did not notice the difference in the way it felt when he gripped it even though he has used it almost on a daily basis for 20 years and handled it thousands of times a week and must have gained as much familiarity with it as any other person could possibly have acquired; it’s as if Leonardo DaVinci would not have known there was an alteration in his painting of the Mona Lisa or that Whitey Bulger believed he could murder people because an assistant U.S. attorney told him it was all right.

If perchance one or two will admit that he had to notice the difference they will say it does not matter since had the instrument of his success not been changed he would still have achieved the same result which begs the question why then did he use the instrument that was not up to the standard required of all others.

No question he is an immensely talented winner with an adoring fan base.

But to many he will always be known as Tommy Cheat.

8 Comments

  1. This is pulled from an article written by Peter King, a known Goodell loyalist:

    ” As Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston pointed out Sunday, there have been two recent violations regarding fair play with footballs. One happened last November, when TV cameras at the Minnesota-Carolina game in frigid Minneapolis caught footballs being warmed up by sideline heaters. That’s a rules violation, but the teams were simply warned not to do it again. In 2012, the Chargers were found to be using towels with stickum on the sidelines, presumably for players to be able to grip the footballs better. The team was fined $25,000. Is the presumption that Brady was using footballs about 1 pound per square inch under the minimum limit worth a multigame suspension compared to the other two violations? The other two violations were proven. This one is “more probable than not,” according to the Wells report.

    Officials used two gauges at halftime of the AFC Championship Game to measure the air pressure in 11 New England footballs and four Indianapolis footballs. On page 113 of the Wells report, after a description of the scientific Ideal Gas Law (eyes glaze over), Wells says the Patriots footballs should have measured between 11.32 psi and 11.52 psi. The average of one gauge for the 11 balls was 11.49 psi, on the upper range of what the balls should measure. The average of the other gauge was 11.11 psi, clearly lower than what the balls should have measured. Average all 22 readings, and you get 11.30 … two-one-hundredths lower what the Ideal Gas Law would have allowed for balls that started the day at 12.5 psi. You’re going to suspend someone—never mind a franchise quarterback, never mind without a smoking gun—for an air-pressure measurement of 11.30 when the allowable measurement would have been 11.32?”

    • Moreover Walt Anderson, the ref who measured them said to the best of his recollection, he used the pressure gauge that gave the highest reading. The NFL refused to acknowledge that and based their decision that it was more probable than not that Anderson used the gauge showing the lower PSI. They basically refuted Anderson’s testimony on this piece of the evidence, because if they did not, the Patriots footballs would have fallen within the prescribed PSI level to account for the loss of air pressure under the Ideal Gas Law. You call Brady Tommy Cheat when all you’ve got are two idiot ball boys calling themselves names. No smoking gun, no texts with Brady implicating himself, nothing. You can argue he refused to turn over his cell phone, but hey newsflash, if he texted the other ball boys about the issue, it would have been recovered on their phones! The Chargers put stickum on their towels, and refused to turn over the towels, that is much more deliberate and they were actually caught. What was their punishment? A FINE!!!! The idea that Brady might get 2-6 games is insanity!

      • Dave:

        The NFL didn’t have access to Brady’s texts; Brady did not cooperate fully. Why not? Nor did the ball boys. Why are the ball boys calling themselves those names. Why did Brady have three calls after this became public with the ball boy lasting up to an hour. The real bottom line is Brady is the most skilled quarterback in the NFL and he knows when the balls are inflated properly and when they are not. If you got nothing to hide you cooperate fully to show that.

        • When the NFL investigated themselves regarding their knowledge of the Ray Rice video only Goodell and company’s WORK cell phones were accessed, nothing private. Brady does not have a work cell phone, he only has a private cell phone. Nothing in the CBA dictates that players must turn over private correspondence to the league. The NFL does not have subpoena power over things such as text messages, cell phones, etc. The league, despite saying it would only access relevant information, leaked Jastremski’s text messages to his mother concerning souvenir footballs. The league tries to make it look like Brady bribed these guys with goods and souvenirs when it is well known he and other players in the league are pretty generous with this type of stuff, knowing these guys work low wage thankless jobs. The league has leaked almost everything to the media this entire fiasco. Tom Brady is arguably the most famous player in the league married to the most famous supermodel in the world. Regardless of the league’s assertions it would only access relevant information, and his attorney could screen them, why should Tom Brady trust the league after all of the leaks, lies, and misinformation they have spread? He should assist the league in reaching their pre-determined outcome? He is under no obligation to incriminate himself, only cooperate with the investigation. He spent an entire day answering questions dedicated his knowledge of the PSI in footballs. The league could read whatever he said to the ball boys through their text messages. Brady is a high level union official in the NFLPA, by succumbing to the league’s request, he would be setting a precedent for all other NFL investigations to follow. There is nothing in the report incriminating Brady whatsoever. He made some phone calls to a person and sent some messages asking if they were ok and that said to Jastremski that he didn’t do anything wrong. The league disregarded Walt Anderson’s testimony that to his best recollection he used the pressure gauge that would exonerate the Patriots under the Ideal Gas Law theory. No matter how much you want this report to be incriminating it is not. All the NFL has is this ball boy calling himself “the Deflator” in an out of context conversation. No link to Brady, nothing showing he even knew the two equipment guys were discussing the air pressure in footballs. Show me where in the report Brady discussed the pregame deflation of footballs with these 2 individuals.

          There is a lot of precedent for equipment violations, all of which included fines, not suspensions, with much more evidence than what they have against Brady (or should I say, just evidence period). Moreover, it was the teams that were punished, not individual players. How can you even punish the team when the refs themselves filled the Patriots footballs up to 16 PSI, way past the 13.5, during the Oct. Pats-Jets game? For precedent for lack of cooperation, look at Brett Favre, arguably just as beloved as Brady during his career. Favre was fined $50,000 for refusing to turn over sexually explicit text messages to reporter Jenn Sterger during a SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROBE. Tell me what is more serious, .02 lbs PSI in a football or a franchise quarterback sexually harassing a female reporter? I just turned that report into swiss cheese in the 5 minutes it took me to write this response. Imagine what Brady’s and the NFLPA’s lawyers will do to it?!? The league has been getting their recent disciplinary decisions shoved up their rear ends by the courts, if any suspension comes out of this, I except the same.

          • excuse me, Favre refused to turn over his text messages to the league that he sent to Jenn Sterger, I could see how you would read that wrong.

  2. Wish the NFL could say for sure what the psi was when official Anderson handed over the footballs—seems like the whole episode is based on ‘Anderson’s memory’.
    Are officials allowed to gamble on games??
    Of course, in my mind, Brady is innocent, being competitive and a love of winning doesn’t make him guilty. But it does seem as I listen to the chatter over the weekend, being tall, good looking, skilled in throwing the football, making $$$ , married to a world class model does make people ‘hate him’!!..
    Some of the suspensions I’ve heard sports people mention are over the top.

    • P:

      Yes, officials are allowed to gamble on games as long as they don’t get caught. I’m far from shocked that you would think Brady is innocent but you can’t really believe a man with his skill couldn’t tell the difference in the inflation of that ball. People don’t hate him; they just think he should be held to the same standard as others when he plays the game; he shouldn’t have the equipment people fooling around with the ball.

      Everyone around here is defending him but the Patriots refusal to fully cooperate with the probe is indicative that something is wrong; one guy on the team calling himself the “deflater” is quite probative; Brady not cooperating fully, are all indicia of guilt.

      The NFL is in a bind. It doesn’t want to punish the Patriots (Kraft and Goodell are best friends) and it doesn’t want to punish its star attraction Brady. So how does it look like it is upholding the integrity of the game (which has little integrity in the first place) while giving Kraft and Brady a pass. It won’t suspend him but will give him a $500,000 fine and a similar amount to the Patriot. The million dollar figure will be the highest ever given out and everyone will be happy and Kraft will raise ticket prices and Brady his endorsement price and all will come out in the wash.

  3. Don Shula and comments always make for interesting reading.