June 23rd

The Deflategate drama will peak on June 23rd when the appeal of Tom Brady's four game suspension is heard by Commissioner Roger Goodell. The circus will continue until that date. If it doesn't go in Brady's favor, a whole new game will start.

Will Brady bring a lawsuit against the NFL? The stakes are high for both sides. Goodell's decision will be closely examined. It won't please everyone no matter what.

The Brian & Ryan Show

Many teams are having spirited competition for starting positions, especially quarterbacks. The Houston Texans have a great one going with Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett. Both were back-ups for Tom Brady, but have been able to start for other teams.

The Texans were selected as the team to be showcased for HBO's "Hard Knocks". It should be quite a show during training camp.

The Other Side of Gronk

The Pats require their players to give back to the community in some form of charity work. It is written into their contract. Some players go above and beyond.

It was nice to see the coverage on Rob Gronkowski and his visit to Children's Hospital in Boston. Gronk is usually portrayed as a party animal, but fans were able to see his other side with the nice story on a local channel.

The Others Belong

It was great to see Willie McGinest get elected to the team's Hall of Fame. It was a no-brainer to induct him based on fans voting. He will join Houston Antwine who was chosen by the committee as a veteran inductee.

It's a shame that Leon Gray and Raymond Claybourn missed out again. They were great players from the 70's. Many of the voters were not around when they played. They deserve to be recognized, but will never beat out some of the great players from the Belichick era.

Coach Bill Parcells wasn't even on the ballot. There is something wrong with the selection process. McGinest was a slam dunk, but what about the others?

The Dream Starts Today

Organized Team Activities (OTA's) began today for the Pats and a number of NFL teams. This will be the first time that the draft picks and free agents are on the field together.

For some, it has been the journey of their life. This might be as far as they get in the NFL. They won't make the final roster out of training camp. They will be practice players who are used by the team to sort out the best from the rest.

Some players will spend the next few years trying to pursue their dream. It ends differently for everyone.

Is This The Week?

Pats fans tried to have a "Free Brady" rally at Gillette Stadium. It drew about 200 according to news reports. Brady has his work cut out for himself in his appeal.

This is such high drama. The NFL lives for this at the expense of its players.

Brand of Brady

Tom Brady has always been selective in his product endorsements. At the same time, he has earned a huge amount of money from them.

Where does he stand now? Will he get more in the future? Marketing experts say that his brand value has plummeted in light of Deflategate. Can he ever recover? So many people outside of Patriot Nation think he is a liar and cheater.

He is still making a ton of money. Will this have any effect on his post-NFL career?

Another Chance For Sam

I think Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by a NFL team, has made a smart decision to sign with the Montreal Alouettes with the CFL.

The former SEC Defensive Player of the Year was a 7th round pick of the St Louis Rams, but was a final roster cut at the end of training camp. He spent a few weeks on the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys before he was released.

This will Sam an opportunity to showcase his skills for a possible return to the NFL. Experts criticized him for his size, but it didn't seem to be an issue in the SEC. If he can play, he will find a spot on a team.

Can't Take Two

It looks like Tom Brady will need to pull a rabbit out of a hat if he hopes to have his suspension reduced or vacated. Roger Goodell is adamant about sitting across from him and hearing what he has to say.

Brady needs to come up with something that wasn't already out there for the Commissioner to consider. He could offer Brady two games, but that would be admitting guilt.

Change In Direction

Pats owner Robert Kraft surprised many people when he said his team will no longer appeal the decision to forfeit two draft picks and pay a $1 million fine in light of Deflategate.

There is all sorts of speculation that Tom Brady will have his suspension vacated. His appeal is going forward. Nobody knows how this will end.

Fluid In May

We have not heard from Coach Belichick for a while. I'm sure that suits him fine as he attempts to build a roster. So many player moves are being made, especially with defensive backs.

I wasn't surprised to see Kyle Arrington get released with his $4.5 million salary cap hit. Will Malcolm Butler get his chance? A lot of DB's will be brought in before training camp.

The roster is fluid and changes daily.

No Change Would Be News

It would have been a bigger news story if the NFL made no changes in how they handle footballs before the game. The league plans to change the custody process on game day.

This is something that should have been done a long time ago. The league made an error back in 2006 when they allowed teams to prepare balls on their own. The change in the rules was initiated by Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

It sounded like a good idea back then, but got us to where we are today. If the league is that concerned about the integrity of the game, they should have their own employees handle the game day balls.

Billboard Time

The New York Jets have a very creative group of fans. Last season, someone paid for an airplane to fly a banner over the Jets practice field demanding the firing of GM John Idzak. They got their wish.

Billboards have been popping up trumpeting "Tom Shady". Someone is getting enjoyment out of this. They are also spending quite a bit of money.

No Way For Gronk

Fans were suppose to have the final say on who appears on the cover of Madden 16, EA Sports wildly successfully game.

In the end, Odell Beckham Jr won out over Rob Gronkowski. I don't trust any contest decided by on-line voting. On the other hand, I don't think the NFL wants one of Tom Brady's teammates on the flagship video game.

The Great Rebuttal

The Pats rebuttal to the Wells Report only stokes the fires more. I still need to read it. The team made a big deal about setting up a website for their statement of 20,000 words. It's all over social media.

The team was so brilliant when they made it a link from their main page. It only gets more people to the team's website and generates ad revenue.

Going Outside

By the close of Thursday, Tom Brady is expected to file an appeal for his four game suspension. This is turning into such high drama. The NFL totally dominates the news. They love it. It's all about building the brand.

The NFLPA already has the legendary Jeffrey Kessler as legal counsel. He has handled many of their high profile cases.

Commissioner Roger Goodell can hear the appeal himself, appoint someone in the league office or get an outsider.

The league really needs to have this decided by someone with no connection to them.

The Team Should Pay

The reaction to Deflategate has been amazing. It has certainly captured the newsfeed on social media. Some fan set up a page on GoFundMe to raise $1 million for the fine leveled by the league.

I thought this was a bit much. It's great to see the support of the fans, but the team should pay the fine. It's hard to believe that they already raised over $8,000. That money should go to a charity.

Jimmy's Time

The hammer came down on Tom Brady with his four game suspension. The team will move forward, but this is a defining moment for the franchise and Bill Belichick.

Jimmy Garopollo will lead the team to whatever record they get. This is his moment and opportunity. He can never look back and say he never got a chance in the NFL.

Shula Leads

No matter what happen, Deflategate will always follow Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the team. Critics will be talking about it twenty years from now and take their swipes when they can.

Former Dolphins coach Don Shula was no exception at his team's 50th Anniversary celebration. He talked about the legacy of the Dolphins and said they did it without deflating footballs.

It won't be the last time that someone gives the team a dig.

Dante Flames Out

Life in the NFL is very fragile. DE Dante Fowler of the Jacksonville Jaguars tore his ACL during his first practice with the team. He will be out for the season.

He was the third overall selection in the recent draft. It's a big loss for the Jaguars who were planning on a big year from Fowler.

Ironically, he never missed a game in his collegiate career at Florida.

The Hammer Will Drop

I have no doubt that the NFL will suspend Tom Brady for his alleged role in Deflategate. It's a matter of how many games. Some are saying 6-8. I think it will be at least four.

Once the punishment comes out, this will really ramp up. It won't go away. More will come out.

Easy Target

I'm making my way through the Wells Report. It reads rather slowly, but I want to get a better feel for the entire Deflategate situation.

My initial reaction is that Tom Brady has been indicted in the report and will face punishment without any type of trial or hearing.

The NFL should thank him because he is taking the media attention away from all of the problems the league has with its players. They struggle to deal with domestic violence, gun charges, illegal drugs, steroids, HGH, non-payment of child support and everything else.

You can count on them to put the hammer down on deflated footballs.

What Does Probably Mean?

It looks like I won't be listening to sports talk radio for awhile. The Deflategate report came out and said that Tom Brady "probably" had some knowledge of what happened. He faces a possible suspension for the season opener.

The vultures will be coming out of the woodwork for this. All the Brady and Belichick haters will be having a feast. It's a good thing our legal system doesn't rely on this standard for conviction.

Many Are Called

Many people make a living talking about the NFL draft. They feel they have all the insight into who will be selected.

The Scouting Combine tries to get all the players together for evaluation. Of the 256 draft picks, 41 were not invited to the Combine. Five teams, including the Pats, had three or more picks from the uninvited. Of the 320 invited, 105 were never drafted. They are now free to sign with any team.

Underclassmen continue to declare their intent. However, 14 of the 60 were not selected and face an uncertain future.

The Combine and Draft are far from being a perfect way to evaluate talent. Tom Brady will forever be the poster boy after being the 199th overall selection in the 2000 draft.

The Posing Fool

It didn't take long for QB Jameis Winston to embarrass his new team. After being selected as the overall first pick in the NFL draft, he posed with a plate of crab legs in celebration.

This might seem trivial, but he was questioned by police last year after walking out of a supermarket with a package of crab legs that he didn't pay for.

At the time, Winston claimed it was a misunderstanding and that the food was given to him by an employee. Winston was able to escape on this one, but it's only a matter of time before Tampa Bay wonders why they chose him as the face of their franchise.

Many New Faces

It will be a real challenge to keep track of all the new faces on the Pats roster. They will have at least ten draft picks and a number of undrafted players when they get together for their first organized team activity.

Some of the players picked in the late rounds will make a significant contribution next season. That also holds true for the undrafted players.

There will be some great competition for roster spots.

Ickey's Night

It's good to see former players announce the selection of their team's pick in the second round of the draft. Teams are rolling out some of their legends.

Ickey Woods of the Bengals did a great job with his "Ickey Shuffle" and a mimic of his current television commercial.

Woods played from 1988-1991 and is forever known for his end zone dance. It got him to this moment tonight