Tom Curran on Brady court case

Mike the Brit said:

The Harvard guy, Carfagna, thinks that the owners are taking such a hard line because they think that, if the Commissioner's authority is watered down, the way will be open for truly independent arbitration, which could lead to a huge loss of control on their part.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/08/airing-it-out/

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This guy makes a (scary) solid point about the difference in doty rulings and the Brady & bounty gate cases that I hadn't really heard before: On-field vs off-field misbehavior.

I sure hope Berman doesn't take that tack, as it seems to sweep the bias and evidence issues under the rug in favor of strictly reviewing legality of process in relation to the contract and opening door to the(IMO bogus) steroids comparison.

Danger Zone said:

Sorry, there's no way that Goodell actually feels Brady did something. Its dirty politics. Pure and simple.

PSI of the ball the Colts intercepted: 11.45, 11.35 and 11.75

... all measured with the same gauge (different from the one the officials used) and show a .4 psi variance

... and all 3 are exactly where the IDL says they should have been.

There is no way that given the incredible lack of exactitude in measuring these footballs, that Goodell actually thinks Brady was deflating footballs by a tiny .2 or .3 psi

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I have not heard this simple, short, fact-based argument before! This is the smoking gun in reverse! People are constantly asking me why I believe Brady and the several arguments I use, which convince me, don't convince them. But I love your explanation!!! It goes right to how the whole frigging thing started and shows that it's right at that moment during the game that misunderstanding of IDL led to the whole, convoluted clusterf**k.

WELL DONE! I bow in admiration!

Gumby said:

Some of these mediot bozos may get INSIDE info from the NFL (half-azzed lies that half-azzed transcribers will reiterate), but they are NOT getting inside info from a federal court judge.

This is clearly just his conjecture (with a few tidbits of how things went from their perspective (pts 1&3) from the Brady legal team & that team's guess about Monday (pt 2) ).

But at end of day, just another opinion-just like azzes-we all have one.

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We know Curran has sources within the Pats too. I think that's where he's getting the league motivation stuff.

But all that doesn't matter; as you say, all that matters is what the judge thinks. If he actually got a source within that courtroom about Berman's thinking, that's awesome. Otherwise, it's more likely that he's reporting what the Pats or Brady's team thinks the judge is thinking, as you said.

raduray said:

Anyone know the format of the next hearing?

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Dance-off.

Gumby said:

This guy makes a (scary) solid point about the difference in doty rulings and the Brady & bounty gate cases: On-field vs off-field behavior

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Yeah, he's no Lester Munson.

And he realizes what's at stake for Brady too: he says "don't lie but, if you didn't do it, don't settle". I agree. It's better in the long term for Brady (maybe even for the Patriots) if it becomes clear that he's been railroaded by a one-sided collective bargaining agreement that gives him no proper due process rights than if he settles. Settlement will look like an admission, whether he makes a statement or not.

Even some of the media meatheads are beginning to recognize that Brady's the victim in this story, and I think that, if he has to sit out the first four games, that momentum will build.

On the other hand, I hope that Tom C is right, of course.

JMC00 said:

'
That's really not true at all. Curran goes off what the legal experts, namely McCann tell him. Because McCann's opinion is favorable for Brady is of no significance. If McCann and whoever else he talks to opinion was favorable for the nfl Curran would stat that.

He isn't taking the felger, massarotti and tanguay approach to this where they search out everything that favors the nfl while sniding people like Steph Stradley.

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I dunno man, I think Curran has had a very pro Pats bias throughout all of this.

Bias isn't always bad, though. For instance people who were biased against the Nazis or laws that prevent women from showing their tittays.

BradyFTW! said:

As an encouraging as this update is, I'm skeptical that Curran has some inside knowledge re: what Berman's thinking. I hope he does, though, because we know the NFL doesn't have anything new to offer up.

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I doubt anyone (especially media) has anything from Berman. It's a public case and this isn't his first rodeo. Besides, I'm hoping he'll be opening up a can off Whoop on the NFL .

You forgot one, Curran also said this all stemmed from Harbaby being butthurt at Brady's read the rule book comment and that Harbaby is a bigger crybaby whining ***** than we all thought. Anyone with two brain cells working can see this is vendetta driven and a farce so it's safe to assume the judge sees through the charade and will probably rip Goddy a new one.

chasa said:

honest thought here.

Could the players strike? I feel like that fact that this hasn't been at least hinted at public has really been harmful to the players union. They should be making it VERY clear that the agreement they agreed to is no longer being followed honorably. If i'm Demurice smith, i start dropping hints that this is either going to stop happening or the players are not going to be taking the field til that part of the CBA is changed, removed, or the person abusing it is gone.

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This is one of the more likely scenarios should the decision favor the NFL. For the most part very few players realize the severity of the situation, and remain with the large majority of those who think 11 of 12 were deflated by the Patriots, and Brady is not being honest about his involvement. A strike is unlikely for the near future (i.e. this season, or even next season). But once other abuses start to surface, the realization that everyone in the league, apart from the owners, has been railroaded the move to strike will become unstoppable.

Another scenario, equally as likely, is that the federal court-endorsed powers will inevitably lead to greater caprices, abuses and mismanagement. This absence of due process, penal codes, structure and any degree of impartiality will eventually cause the offices of the NFL to implode, as the tribal nature of the incumbents turns in on themselves.

Neither of these scenarios is good for the owners, let alone the sport itself. A decision in favor of the NFL will turn Goodell into Edwin Epps, the tyranical and psychotic slaveowner in 12 Years a Slave. Let the owners beware - Cave Canem.

patfanken said:

Some comments on your comments:

1/ Section 46 is a red herring (to some degree). It's not the clause, but the man who is abusing it that's the problem. More focus needs to be centered on that. End the Goodell reign of terror.

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AMEN brother!

5. As for Curran's comments they all make sense to me EXCEPT the one about the owners still believe Brady did "something". That doesn't make sense. These guys may all be alpha male, egotistical jackasses, but the aren't stupid. Even the haters are realizing that the NFL has nothing on Brady.

No, if a bunch of owners are part of pushing the NFL's hardball position it's because they are simply looking for a competitive edge against the Pats and that's all.

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31 owners, 31 reasons. No doubt some want the competitive edge (squeelers, dolts, donkeys, maybe ratbirds), some are payback on Kraft (cowpokes, Redskins), and some just want to keep a strong commish office even if the current occupant is a nincompoop (or God forbid they actually like what he is doing -a la WWF, keeping the league in the news and turning it into a soap opera).

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be many who would take pats side and ZERO who will do so openly.

An owners motion to fire the commish would surely be interesting to see how close to 24 they could get (daydreaming again)

The NFL knows it is going to lose on Monday, but when Brady walks out of the courtroom all smiles, the NFL wants the public to look upon him the same way they's look at Al Capone after he beats a murder rap. Yeah, he beat the rap, but we ALL know he's guilty as hell .

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They also want to be pontious Pilate and be able to wash their hands of the decision and point to a judge and say ' oh we tried, but we got slapped down by procedural issues' then go back to business as usual- hiring former jesters at multimillion salaries

chasa said:

honest thought here.

If Berman rules in favor of the nfl, how close is the NFLPA from a strike? Giving goodell carte blanche power to punish people not only for things they do, but things they may or may not be aware that OTHER people may or may not be doing, means that there could be a swath of punishments in the pipeline for players. With no ability to fight these punishments via legal means(see goodell as arbitor, and "oh by the way, you know how i just rejected your appeal? I also premptively filed a court motion to deny your ability to get it overturned in federal courts, before the copy of the appeal rejection i faxed you even had time to finish printing."

Could the players strike? I feel like that fact that this hasn't been at least hinted at public has really been harmful to the players union. They should be making it VERY clear that the agreement they agreed to is no longer being followed honorably. If i'm Demurice smith, i start dropping hints that this is either going to stop happening or the players are not going to be taking the field til that part of the CBA is changed, removed, or the person abusing it is gone.

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You need the support of the players to strike effectively. If the NFLPA wants to strike, and I think that will happen in the future if the NFL wins this, they will have to get the players ready for a prolonged period of not being paid.

robertweathers said:

Please god. Make it so.

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Right now I am VERY busy holding up lots of planets, dwarf planets (Pluto! This means you!!!), asteroids, moons and stuff. If I have a chance, I'll get to it but it might mean that a loose meteor or 2 hits NYJFL HQ or ESPN studios bringing hellfire to the damned.



Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

patfanken said:

2. As for your strike scenario, NEVER gonna happen. You'd never get a majority of these knuckleheads to give up all that money just to support Brady, the Patriots, OR even an important yet intangible principle.

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In fairness to the players, I wouldn't give up a year of my salary out of protest that a star QB earning ten times as much as me unfairly misses a few games either. They're not being knuckleheads, they're just looking out for themselves. The reality is, they shouldn't have to strike over the lose-lose prospect of a commissioner deciding that he's going to excessively punish players as an arbitrary show of power. It's freaking bizarre that the owners and commissioner are so attached to the ability to prevent their own employees from doing the work those same owners are paying millions of dollars for them to do.

Mike the Brit said:

The Harvard guy, Carfagna, thinks that the owners are taking such a hard line because they think that, if the Commissioner's authority is watered down, the way will be open for truly independent arbitration, which could lead to a huge loss of control on their part.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/08/airing-it-out/

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That's a purely academic and seriously detached take on the matter. Kind of what you'd think if you hadn't bothered to read the NFLPA's submissions in the the court proceeding. When he says that he wouldn't be surprised if they found middle ground and settled, I almost fell out of my chair.

Danger Zone said:

Sorry, there's no way that Goodell actually feels Brady did something. Its dirty politics. Pure and simple.

PSI of the ball the Colts intercepted: 11.45, 11.35 and 11.75

... all measured with the same gauge (different from the one the officials used) and show a .4 psi variance

... and all 3 are exactly where the IDL says they should have been.

There is no way that given the incredible lack of exactitude in measuring these footballs, that Goodell actually thinks Brady was deflating footballs by a tiny .2 or .3 psi

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You, like many others, continue to overestimate Roger Goodell.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Right now I am VERY busy holding up lots of planets, dwarf planets (Pluto! This means you!!!), asteroids, moons and stuff. If I have a chance, I'll get to it but it might mean that a loose meteor or 2 hits NYJFL HQ or ESPN studios bringing hellfire to the damned.



Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

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Not sure about God, but Zeus does.

And while you mention it, I'm still pretty miffed about Pluto. Raw deal for Pluto.

When Berman rules in favor of Brady I'm really looking forward to Munson and co discussing how the NFL is sure to win on appeals.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Right now I am VERY busy holding up lots of planets, dwarf planets (Pluto! This means you!!!), asteroids, moons and stuff. If I have a chance, I'll get to it but it might mean that a loose meteor or 2 hits NYJFL HQ or ESPN studios bringing hellfire to the damned.



Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

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While you are at it, make Goodell into the next Saint so he uses his money to clothe and feed the sick and the poor, convince ISIS to help spread the idea of world peace and get his ass out of the NFL.

patfanken said:

<snip>

2. As for your strike scenario, NEVER gonna happen. You'd never get a majority of these knuckleheads to give up all that money just to support Brady, the Patriots, OR even an important yet intangible principle.

3. What I believe SHOULD be done by the NFLPA is a PR campaign to their membership making them aware of the consequences of Brady's appeal. Make them understand that a loss by Brady means that Goodell would have NO oversight PERIOD for Goodell or his minions to single out any player, coach or organization for punishment and never have to justify it to anyone else's authority except GOD (and even he better come with a good lawyer)

4. You'd never get a strike going now, but you can set the seeds for one in the future if you create the sense of urgency over time.

<snip>

.

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They can do a work slowdown though (while preparing for point four above). Starting with a ten minute delay to starting all games (e.g.).

This BS is not American. It needs to be fought tooth and nail.

While a decision in favor of the NFL has bleak ramifications, it is becoming evident that a decision in Brady's favor might not be a favorable outcome for the league and football fans in general. The obvious scenario here is that the NFL appeals Berman's decision. This in turn extends the duration of the farce well into 2016. The cost to the league is minor, but to the NFLPA and Brady it is significant. Indeed the NFLPA may be limited as to which cases it can support moving forward. And there is nothing to suggest that Goodell will not continue to misunderstand the CBA, overreach his authority and increase his incompetency. The twilight years of one the NFL's greatest players will be strained by litigation and an inability to remove the stains of aspersions.

Even if the NFL does not appeal, which I doubt (after all why would they stop doubling down since pride is fueling the engine?), there will be little respite for Brady or the Patriots as every minuscule opportunity will be seized upon to discredit and punish them.

The only other course is for Berman to appoint an independent arbitrator. This is a double edged sword, inasmuch as it again extends the farce, but opens up league communications and documents to public scrutiny. It also does the same for Brady and the Pats. Knowing the visceral appetite of the media, few private morsels will not be savaged in the effort to gain headlines and page clicks.

Sadly the only power that can radically change the limited set of possible consequences are the owners themselves. As I have already suggested the owners are dishonored by their acceptance of the mendacity, deceptions and bias of the League office. They are also guilty of lack of foresight if they allow Goodell to continue to operate in hubris and ignorance. The goal of absolute power over players is an illusion, and we all suffer until that illusion is shattered. Only when the owners come to their senses, and see the futility of their present course with Goodell; only when they put him under a leash (or even dismiss him) can stability, fairness and integrity be restored to the game.