Oh really? So when that 11/12 balls lie sat out there for 4 months, that was the league office, as pure as the wind driven snow, making an honest mistake? And when the Wells Report was obliterated by junior high schoolers all across New England BEFORE they announced the punishment of Brady and the Patriots, they were just acting in good faith?
Join us in the real world. This has been a league vendetta against Brady and the Patriots since day 1. To suggest that they go through all this trouble, win on appeal then let the whole thing drop without punishment is idiotic.
"Join us in the real world?" Really?
I really don't know who the hell you think you're talking to.
I'm the guy who stood outside the SDNY Courthouse for four hours so I could be five feet from Brady when he left the hearing last August and, according to several posters on this board, can be heard shouting on national TV: "We love you Tommy, one more for the thumb Tommy."
I was also one of the many booing Goodell to his face. So, back the **** off.
You're doing a lot of talking since joining the board a year ago. I've walked the walk in this matter, on this Board and in support of the Pats for many, many years.
Let's just review your points in this and another thread one last time, as you clearly haven't been listening to what I've been saying. It's a little nuanced, so hang on:
Clearly, the Pash Report erroneously failed to take into account the IGL. Dumb. Dumber than dumb.
There was nothing "honest" about what the League did; they (probably Kensil) leaked the original numbers to Mort and thought they had Brady until the facts got in the way. At that point, 345 was stuck with a bad narrative, for which it would end up paying $5 million, and 31 jealous owners still calling for Brady's and the Patriots blood.
But, none of that really matters when it comes to how the Second Circuit will look at this.
After reading your posts, I thought I must have made a mistake, so, I went back to Berman's ruling.
Once again, I found the same three grounds for his decision:
A) Inadequate notice to Brady. It doesn't matter what Brady might or not have done. He wasn't given notice either of the consequences or even that these particular, "alleged" misdeeds fell under a standard that would give rise to a four game suspension. (It's important to note that even the Johnson's response to the Clement/Murphy brief mentions that he should only have received a fine for the misdeeds with which he was charged.) It's difficult but not impossible to imagine that this finding will be overturned other than by knee-jerk, pro management judges.
B) Denial of access under oath to Pash, who clearly re-wrote the Wells report to the League's specifications. This is a big one. None of us have any idea what was in the original report and to what degree the league influenced the final version before making final payment. Something else that it is difficult but not impossible to imagine being overturned other than as described above.
C) Denial of access to witness interview notes and other relevant materials. Important, yes, but icing on the cake of A) and B).
Everything else is in support of those findings.
It's
nice that the "facts" ended up being helpful to Brady. Goodell, Pash and Nash pissed Berman off and Berman chose to bring them into the discussion. But Berman did not have to do so and, if you read Clement's Brief, they won't be before the Second Circuit Panel. The brief is very well crafted and puts the "facts" to the side; if the NFL gets the right two judges, the outcome will be hotly contested.
If you read Johnson's response to Clement, he bases his argument on two things:
One, violations of the CBA based on notice and specified punishments, including that the CBA specifies a "fine for first time football tampering."
Two, that the proceedings were unfair because of the lack of access to Pash under oath and the lack of access to other investigative findings. He concludes by asking that the proceedings be remanded to Berman should the vacatur be overturned.
We got lucky with Berman, an old line, pro labor, liberal judge put forth by Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Hopefully, we'll get lucky again in a Court made up mainly of Judges from New York and Connecticut, but it's a roll of the dice.
Clearly the NFL is trying to turn this into a landmark Management v. Labor Case and is throwing a Hail Mary that it will get two friendly judges with a heavy bias towards Management.
That's why they rushed to file in the SDNY in the first place...there is a preponderance of "corporate" judges. They aren't all like Berman and Miriam Cederbaum, who died last week. Even Judge Preska took the very unusual step of giving an interview about Judge Berman to the AP beat reporter covering the SDNY and warned the NFL what it was in for, but they were too arrogant to take the hint.
As for my comments on the profile that the NFLPA should have in this matter, I think that the Union has almost certainly been advised by its Appellate counsel not to risk doing anything that might make the Appeals Judges feel that they are being pressured. As I said before, Appellate Judges are a law unto themselves, do not take kindly to anyone trying to influence them from outside, other than in an
Amicus brief, and answer only to the Supreme Court. The Union should let it's Appellate Lawyer do all the talking.
If you respond to this, you will have the last word, as I am done with this conversation.
Thank god for Harry. 
