2/18/2015: Schefter Blows Up ESPN's Earlier Story

strngplyr said:

NFLRA denies any officials were fired.
They forgot to deny that they sold gameballs, though.

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Why the hell is the Referees Association referring to this investigation as "deflate gate"? It is a buzzword created by the media to add sensationalist flavor to the story.

Is everyone seriously this unprofessional?

What a ****ing joke this is.

For those who missed it, they are re-airing the Quirk interview right this moment.

To ESPN

Expect a 3am tweet from Jerry Rice this Friday apologizing for any footballs he took during games to sell for profit. He just did some 'research' and learned that it was illegal, however, everyone else was doing it.

shmessy said:

Expect a 3am tweet from Jerry Rice this Friday apologizing for any footballs he took during games to sell for profit. He just did some 'research' and learned that it was illegal, however, everyone else was doing it.

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But don't call him a weasel afterwards!

Read this over at patspulpit.com and just had to share:

Comical that the demise of Goodell
May come from the Patriots sideline camera that videotaped the exchange between the Refs that Wells now has in his possession. Ironic!

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rlcarr said:

But don't call him a weasel afterwards!

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No need to state the obvious.

rlcarr said:

Is everyone seriously this unprofessional?

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The PR side is unprofessional, rather literally. Dude with no PR training probably put it out himself.

Another side note. Does this call into question, the validity of actual "Game ball" authenticity ? I mean,
"Integrity" , in the NFL, has gone out the window.

Silver Blue&Red said:

Another side note. Does this call into question, the validity of actual "Game ball" authenticity ? I mean,
"Integrity" , in the NFL, has gone out the window.

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It absolutely does. Again, the NFL kinda screwed itself over here by establishing the precedent that any modifications whatsoever to game balls is serious ****ing business. I don't believe that, but the NFL has made that claim and now the cat's out of the bag. Now it just reflects poorly on them when it comes out that they don't always gauge balls before the game, they don't record ball pressure, they have no idea how basic physics will, by definition, force balls out of compliance during the game, and oh yeah, they have employees stealing game balls and replacing them with unapproved balls during the game.

If they had gone with the sensible position that a technically unapproved ball is no big deal provided that the officials don't notice the difference, then this would all just reflect kind of unprofessionally on them. But if we're to take the league at its worse that this stuff is somehow fundamental to the integrity of the game, then heads really have to roll over this.

Gee, I never saw any of this coming...........

As of 2:10 am, McNally's exoneration is the top right link on ESPN.com, and of course on ESPN's NFL page as well.

I'm guessing the Patriots leaked the exonerating information to Schefter to limit the damage (both to McNally and the team) of the story.

Fencer said:

As of 2:10 am, McNally's exoneration is the top right link on ESPN.com, and of course on ESPN's NFL page as well.

I'm guessing the Patriots leaked the exonerating information to Schefter to limit the damage (both to McNally and the team) of the story.

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Unfortunately, it seems as though they are still sticking to their story about 11/12 balls being significantly underweight though, and that sucks.

Hopefully, we get some closure with this crap soon.

TommyBrady12 said:

How does this solve deflategate?

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If I'm figuring this correctly, you've got two NFL employees giving the balls to the Patriots guy who sends them onto the field. One of those NFL employees is keeping balls for himself to sell privately and (apparently) sending duplicates he's providing onto the field of play through the unknowing Patriots employee -- or something like that. The focus on under-inflated ball "perpetrators" appears to have shifted from the Patriots to the league itself. Then you've got the Kensil and Colts agenda-driven wildcards muddying the waters. It's starting to look like the Patriots are just innocent bystanders.

Show416 said:

I honestly love this scandal. I hope it never ends

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It's magically karmalicious!

supafly said:

Unfortunately, it seems as though they are still sticking to their story about 11/12 balls being significantly underweight though, and that sucks.

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As tested by Mike Kensil, of his own volition, without documenting anything, and for the first time in the history of football conducting the rest at the half way point of the game.

Sounds about right.

Sicilian said:

Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment in this post, but Goodell makes enough in one year to live luxuriously for the rest of his life. And now I just made myself sad...

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Why oh why do people like you inflict such a false sense of Misery upon yourselves??

01 ~ Money brings Pleasure, but not Happiness. Happiness can only come from being Good to others.

02 ~ The Unjust & Selfish live their entire Lives in self-loathing Misery, and even Pleasure is poisonous.

Yes, I know that sounds like a Fairy Tale to most of you, but here's the Punch Line: It's True. I swear it.

Those who live their Lives only for their own Pleasure will of course reject these Fundamental Truths.

Joker said:

Gee, I never saw any of this coming...........

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I think that was you at the Colts game wearing your Jim (Phelps) McNally costume (cue Mission Impossible theme).

Getting bored with this story. Whoever is guilty I just wish this would end already.

Off The Grid said:

Why oh why do people like you inflict such a false sense of Misery upon yourselves??

01 ~ Money brings Pleasure, but not Happiness. Happiness can only come from being Good to others.

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Meh....... lol

I

shmessy said:

Ben Volin ✔ @BenVolin
Interesting: @AdamSchefter just reported that Jim McNally was given footballs from 2 league employees, one of whom has since been fired


Mark Daniels @MarkDanielsPJ
@AdamSchefter drops a bomb and says one of the officials who handled the balls in the AFC championship was fired.


Mark Daniels @MarkDanielsPJ
The unnamed official stole one of the balls because he was going to send it off to his side business. Another ref noticed in game

Jeff Howe @jeffphowe
Bahahahaha RT @BartHubbuch: ESPN: Unnamed NFL official sold one of the Deflategate balls and has been fired. Wow.



@MarkDanielsPJ
Mr. Kraft might want to get ready for that apology...

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I think Hurley has just replaced Tom E. As my favorite snarky Patriots reporter

Wrath Mania said:

So basically:

Official No. 1 took gameballs before the game. Subsequently fired.
Official No. 2 notices this; goes back to LR and gives new, unauthorized balls to McNally, who tries to put them in play. Confusion ensues.

After staying virtually silent for a month, Schefter basically took a **** on this whole thing.

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Rob0729 said:

So Kelly Naqi, the writer of the story last night, spent three weeks chasing windmills on a story that it took one day for Adam Schefter to totally blow out of the water.

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That's why she has 4 or so bylines in 43 months and Shefter is the oracle of the NFL.