Sunday, February 1, 2015

Tom Brady: What Choice Did He Face?

Statement Analysis of the Tom Brady interview showed what most people believed anyway:  that he knew that the footballs were slightly deflated to his liking.  It's old news.

He did not need to do this himself, because the team knew precisely where he liked this football. Tom Brady can likely recite to you, backwards and forwards, the exact pounds per square inch of the football, the relative humidity, the temperature, the wind, the wind chill, and the geometric precision of how far over the head of the receiver, given the above conditions, that he must throw a football, using both miles per hour, and degree of arc.

He hasn't made it to the Superbowl as he has by not knowing every and any detail that would impact the game.

The press conference was goofy, as oft-described by others, including the comment about ISIS, and much has been made of how "everyone" cheats on everything they can, from painting the visiting team's locker room pink (remember, "drunk tank pink"?) to the fictional hockey team from "Mystery, Alaska" who had the long singing of the National Anthem in order to cause the "New York Rangers" to be discomforted by the cold temperatures which they, themselves, were accustomed to.

I wish it were not so, but it is what it is.  The press had a field day with Lance Armstrong, who finally, even after his less than mea mea culpa, told the truth when he said that if he had to do it all over again, he would use PEDS.  The press left out that he said, "if it was in the 90's because everyone was using it.  If I was competing today, no, I would not use."

After citing Lance with "deception indicated" for years, I finally get to say "He told the truth!"
(yes, he was still deceptive on Oprah...see the analysis).

Back to Tom Brady.  Did he know?  Yes.  Was he deceptive?  Yes.

Yet think of what choice Mr. Brady faced:

A.  If he denies knowing the inflation pressure per square inch of the football, he looks stupid.  Here is a multi-million dollar successful football quarterback, in a profession known for its smarts.

B.  If he admits it, he is a cheater.

He was left with a choice:

Be viewed as ignorant, or be viewed as a cheater.

So, what did he do?

He split the difference.  He said he doesn't "think" he is a cheater, with a weak assertion.

Next, one gets to push the blame off to the referees who's job it is to make sure the balls are properly inflated.

Should they be held accountable?

Who is responsible for the doctored baseball:

a.  the pitcher who scuffed it because he likes how, at 100 mph, it sinks when scuffed?
b.  the catcher who scuffed it for the pitcher who he knows that the pitcher likes how it sinks?
c.  the umpire who looked at the ball and threw it to the pitcher?
d.  the local cameraman who did a wide screen distance shot deliberately when the ball was being scuffed?
e.  the pitching coach who originally learned and then taught the pitcher that if he scuffed it just so, it would, upon spinning at 100 mph, dip just before reaching home plate...?

On we go.

Living in New England, but growing up a Broadway Joe fan, I met one man today who was visibly angry with me for even hinting that Tom Brady knew and orchestrated with authority, the precise pressure of the ball.  (Did you notice I couldn't even bring myself to say "Jets fan"? Today, "Jets fan" is equaled with "so, how many years of therapy have you been in?")

But when I added, "well, everyone does it", he quickly deescalated.

Yeah, I live in New England and am just counting the days until pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie, Florida, circa February 20th, and the 2' of snow, with its 3' drifts (which should increase by another foot this time tomorrow) begin to melt away, so dreams of scuffed baseballs floating like sugar plums....wrong season.

"Let's go Mets! "   Uh,  no, wait.  I'm in Boston Redsox country.

I mean, "I love Bill Buckner!"

That always gets me in trouble.

I was asked today, "Well, what would you have done if you were in Tom Brady's shoes?"

That's an easy one.

Had I been in Tom Brady's shoes, I would have paid someone else to answer the questions for me.

While going through the airport, Heather wore her New York Rangers hockey backpack carry-thingy.  She was met with angry stares and one of the TSA agents said, "New York Rangers?" to her.

Next, she was pulled aside for the "random" search.

Yeah, it was just random.

Predictions?

Leave your score in the comments section...it will give the time you posted for us.  :)


19 comments:

Buckley said...

Pats 24- Seahawks 21

Tania Cadogan said...

BBC news did an interview with lance armstrong a couple nights ago.
I watched it with interest (andwhilst i was medded up)
Even in this state i noticed lots of minimising and thinking time.
He admitted he would do it again qualifying it with the everyone else was doing it spiel.

The interviewer did point out that he had his 7 yellow jerseys displayed in his shop.
Lance's reasoning was, he was entitled to since there couldn't be no winner and pretty much everyone in the peloton was cheating and would be excluded from winning as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/30993315

GetThem said...

I can't take hearing anything negative about Tom Brady. He is a hero in our house. I'm not a football gal as I've stated before, but I love my Patriots and I love me some Tom Brady. Yes, I am even watching the Super Bowl, however I am more interested in the commercials, half time and the yummy snacks I whipped up for the fam. As for predictions, I am going with: Pats 38 and Seattle 31 which a prediction I made earlier somewhere else. SO that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Go Patriots!!!

GetThem said...

The Brady-Haters are loving the game right about now.

GetThem said...

Wooooooooooooooo hooooooooooo!!!!!!! Tom Brady brought it home. Poor sportsmanship from Seattle.

Anonymous said...

Poor sportsmanship? I'm sorry, but the Patriots have been caught cheating in two different seasons with Super Bowl appearances.

That's about as poor as sportsmanship can get.

Here's my question for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots: If you like the ball at 12.5 and always have it inflated to that PSI, and the balls accidentally deflated due to the weather as Belichick suggested, doesn't this mean that you were playing with deflated balls in every game where the temperature was below 47 degrees?

Aren't most NFL games colder than that? Especially playoff games?

So if it was due to the weather, doesn't that mean that you were playing with a faulty ball in many, many of your wins?

If it wasn't an accident, and somebody deflated the balls, why would this happen without Belichick's consent? Why would some equipment manager take it upon himself to cheat without Belichick's knowleddge?

When Patriots staff were caught filming the Jets signals from the sidelines, this was on Belichick's orders, as would be expected.

Sorry to say, but I also find it unlikely that the only two times a team was caught cheating (about seven years apart) were the only times they were ever caught.

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update:

Father of missing baby says he thinks about son all the time

Note in the VT while the reporter is asking Baby Dealano's father questions. That baby Delano's mother (i think it's her) is not interested to what the reporter has to say, but is more interested in her phone. This maybe innocent. Yet if my Baby was missing, i would be focused on the journalist and want to make a plea to the public and the "kidnapper" to return my bay home. This also goes for the father aswell.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Jan. 26, 2015) – The father of a missing baby was in court Monday afternoon on an unrelated drug charge. Police are investigating the mysterious disappearance of baby Delano Wilson who has not been seen since August.

The baby was six-weeks-old when his father Willie Wilson reported him missing. During the investigation, Wilson told police an armed kidnapper took the baby. Wilson said someone took the baby from his arms while he walking in an alley near his home in the 500 block of Chase Street.

Around the same time his son went missing, police found marijuana on Wilson and arrested him. About five months later he appeared in court for a pretrial conference on that possession of marijuana charge.

FOX59’s Liz Gelardi asked Wilson about his missing son, and if he would like to make a plea for the baby’s safe return.

“Not yet, one focus at a time. I gotta get rid of this and I will but for now no comment,” said Wilson.


In court Wilson pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana but the charges could be dropped. He entered into an agreement with the court requiring him to submit to random drug testing over the next 6 months. He will also have to perform 24 hours of community service. If Wilson complies with the terms of the agreement the case will be dismissed.

As for his missing baby, police said the investigation is still ongoing and active. Detectives have followed up on leads and exhausted all tips.

“The next step is just that piece of information that we need to take this in the right direction that’s what we’re waiting for,” said Bailey.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.

http://fox59.com/2015/01/26/father-of-missing-baby-said-he-thinks-about-son-all-the-time/

John Mc Gowan said...

Cont...

Grandmother of missing baby Delano Wilson demands answers

INDIANAPOLIS - The maternal grandmother of baby Delano Wilson believes her grandson is alive and she wants answers.

The infant has been missing from the near west side since August. His father told police a couple took the baby after they attacked him in an alley.

Five months after her grandson's disappearance, Trina Perkins is frustrated and tired.

"I need some answers. My daughter needs answers. My family needs answers. It's been too long," Perkins said.

Perkins said she believes there are answers, which she and the family have not been told.

"I feel like they are holding back. I feel like they know something. And they just aren't saying," Perkins said.

Some have questioned Delano's parents' role in the case, especially his father, Willie Wilson. Perkins says they know nothing and did nothing wrong.

(This is not in the text below but said in the Vt) Reporter. "Is there anything you would like to say to people who say he may have something to do with it" ? Her response is.

"People are going to criticize, they are going to judge, but it's not up to them. It's up to God Perkins said.

This is a prime oppurtunity to say "No, he did not have anything to do with the kidnapping and or disappearance of my grandson. Yet she can't bring herself to say it.


Perkins believes Delano has been taken out of state and hopes the police and the community can help bring him home.

"Nobody can sleep. I know I can't. I'm tired. I'm overwhelmed. I need answers. Somebody knows something in my neighborhood. We need some answers," Perkins said.

Delano's family wants the public to get involved in this case. They are asking for marches downtown, searches or demonstrations to keep his story alive.

(Also in the vt and not in the text)

Reporter: "In your heart where do you think Delano is right now?"

Grandmother: " I think he is in another state. In my heart, i think he is in another state."

http://www.wthr.com/story/27979022/grandmother-of-missing-baby-delano-wilson-demands-answers

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update:

Family cling to hope in search for two-year-old boy who wandered away from aunt's house more than two MONTHS ago.

Police say little Malik wandered away from his father's in November
Neighbors and officers are joining forces to search for the boy
Civilian search parties and dive teams have searched rivers and sewers


It was just before Thanksgiving when a two-year old boy from central Arkansas vanished from his home, but his family are still holding out hope that he may still be found alive and well.
Little Malik Drummond, who is autistic, apparently disappeared from his home one Sunday night in late November and hasn't been seen since.
Initially it was thought the toddler simply wandered off but now his family and police too suspect foul play.

Malik's mom, Tanya, says the entire family are waiting for a sign of the the little boy.
'I just want to know where he's at, how's he's doing, and what's going on? I just really want him home,' says Drummond.

Mrs Drummond says life for her two-year-old daughter Arianna has been tough without her twin brother Malik.
'She's always asking about him,' she said in an interview with Fox 16 with tears in her eyes.

Plea: 'I just want to know where he's at, how's he's doing, and what's going on? I just really want him home, ' says mother Tanya Drummond
'I haven't been able to sleep. I've been crying a lot,' she said.
'I don't want sympathy. I want people to still pray for us. I want everybody to keep Malik in their prayers. To help bring him home,' says Mrs Drummond.
Officers say while Malik's father was asleep, the toddler disappeared from his Searcy home back in November.
A massive search involving Police and the community turned up no clues whatsoever. Two months later, he's still missing.
Flyers of the missing boy have been handed around local businesses reminding people to keep an eye out for him.
'We are urging the public if they see something or they know something or they hear something that may lead us to Malik...That they do call us,' says Searcy Corporal Steve Hernandez.

John Mc Gowan said...

Cont..

Malik's grandmother still has unwrapped Christmas presents. She says they'll be opened when her grandson is home again.
'I just wanted to show everybody Malik is still ours forever,' says Grandmother Nancy Paine.
Drummond says the holidays were painful, and the pain hasn't gone away in the new year.
When the search began before Thanksgiving bloodhounds and cadaver dogs were used to look for the boy.
Nearby houses,including abandoned homes were searched. Even ditches and sewers were drained and examined.
For weeks, volunteers poured into Searcy to help find Malik, but we're told search efforts have been scaled back.

Mystery: Officers say while Malik's father was asleep, the toddler wandered away. Since then, flyers of the missing boy decorated Searcy businesses reminding people to keep an eye out
Right now police are focusing on credible tips from the public and have recently sent divers into the Little Red River, about five miles from Malik's home.
As the weeks turn into months, it's hard not to feat the worst for Malik.
'Everything doesn't add up. Things don't add up at all,' his mother, said. She is desperately searching for answers.
Initial reports suggested Malik left the home by himself, but she believes he was taken.
'We think he was kidnapped, but we're not sure. From our point of view, we think he's been kidnapped,' she suggested.
And even with more questions than answers, Malik's mother isn't giving up hope, keeping her phone by her side waiting for the call that could reunite her with her with her son.

'It's hard to not cry. I cry when I'm not around anybody because I'm trying to show people that I'm strong. I'm trying to keep my head up for my baby,' she said. 'I'm trying to do the best I can for him.'
The child is about 3-feet tall and 40 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and brown pants with stripes.
Police have said there is no evidence of foul play in the boy's disappearance, but that foul play has not been ruled out.
Police have said that as part of standard procedure, family members have been given lie detector tests.
Read more:
Family of Missing Toddler Not Giving Up Hope - FOX16.com


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2935960/Family-distraught-missing-toddler-went-missing-two-months-ago.html#ixzz3QaL1osfH

Annie G said...

So that fact he is a cheater has no effect of his hero status? In your opinion cheating is irrelevant? Winning by any means necessary is what makes a hero in your book? Interesting.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Heather has had the flu for 8 or 9 days now, so no Superbowl party for us. Each year she makes some of the best snacks imaginable.

Instead, since she was not feeling well and is a WWII buff, I rented "The Fury" from Directv for us.

I didn't expect much from the future President of the United States, Bradgelina, but this was so awful that I wished, as a Jets fan, I had watched the Patriots win.

It was like living through every 21st century cliche applied to 1945 American military life, and agonizing through some of the most telegraphed face expressions, incredibly poorly written script, and some of the most wooden acting possible.

My dad was WWII vet and very few are alive today, thankfully, to see this movie.

I shoulda watched Tom Brady!

Peter


PS: I understand that Brad and Angelina will be running as co-presidents in 2020, with a vice president not chosen yet, though talk of possible Miley Cyrus as veep has been heard...
in some circles.

Tania Cadogan said...

Feel better soon Heather xx

Sus said...

http://callahan.8k.com/wm3/jmartinstatement.html

Peter,
Would you be interested in analyzing this police interview of James Kenneth Martin, Sr. during the West Memphis murder investigation. He was a convicted pedophile who lived close to the murder scene and wanted to "help" the police profile the murderer. I can't decide if he was involved or simply "excited" by the murders.
Thanks.

GetThem said...

I meant the fist fight was poor sportsmanship Anon. And it was...

And yes Annie G, sorry if I didn't make it clear the first time I said Tom Brady is a hero in our house. But yes, to be clear, Tom Brady is a hero in our house. Hope that clears it up for you!

Go Pats!

Annie G said...

Since you did not say he is not a cheater I can not say it for you. I can only assume in your world cheating to win is an acceptable practice. Good to know

GetThem said...

You know what Pats fans say?

Don't hate us cuz you ain't us!!!

Come on our to New England and check out the trophy!! Go Tom Brady!

Anonymous said...

I don't think Tom Brady cheated. One of the questions was, have you ever knowingly played with a ball under 12.5, his answer was "no".

This won't make him any more likeable, to anyone who already hates him, but I don't think he can answer "are you a cheater" without deception, because if I remember correctly, he cheated on his (pregnant?) girlfriend at the time, to be with his current wife.

In order to find out if he cheated in his football games, the questions would need to be either worded differently, or specified to football.

Anonymous said...

I think you're being a bit over zealous, Annie. How can GetThem say or know with certainty that Tom Brady specifically, did or didn't cheat? Obviously, she thinks he didn't, which is why she has no problem calling him a hero. I don't think he cheated either, and I also don't think that cheating to win is an acceptable practice. How did he (even though it's an entire team effort) win the Super Bowl? How did they win all their other games, ones in warm weather, or an enclosed stadium? You really don't think that air pressure fluctuates due to temperature? Scientifically it does. And non-scientifically, by proof of living in New England, it does. I don't know how that fact can be argued. Why weren't the balls psi logged before the game? We could even put our tinfoil hats on, and wonder if The Patriots were set up! Heck, if it's possible that they cheated, it's equally possible that someone set them up. Go ahead, deny that...