View topic: While the NFL continues to look

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(SportsNetwork.com) - A new day brought another wrinkle in the controversy over the balls the New England Patriots used in Sundays AFC Championship Game. While the NFL continues to look into the matter, FoxSports.com reported Wednesday that the Indianapolis Colts were tipped off by the Baltimore Ravens that the Patriots might be doctoring the air in their footballs. The league has been investigating whether the Patriots used underinflated balls during their 45-7 win over Indianapolis in the rain-soaked game at Gillette Stadium, which earned them a berth in the Super Bowl against Seattle. The Patriots beat the Ravens 35-31 in the divisional round eight days earlier. It was reported this week that the Colts were alerted to the possibility the Patriots were using underinflated balls after DQwell Jackson intercepted New England quarterback Tom Brady in the second quarter. But according to FoxSports.com, the NFL had already planned to inspect the footballs at halftime. The report did not specify why. Citing league sources, ESPN.com reported Tuesday night that 11 of the 12 balls used by the Patriots during Sundays game were underinflated by 2 pounds of air pressure per square inch (PSI). NFL rules mandate game balls, which are inspected by the referee, be inflated to 12 1/2 to 13 1/2 PSI. We are continuing our review and will provide information as soon as possible, NFL spokesman Michael Signora told SportsNetwork.com in an email Wednesday. A deflated football is said to be easier to throw and catch in inclement weather. Current and former NFL quarterbacks have weighed in this week, with Green Bay star Aaron Rodgers saying he prefers balls that are inflated on the higher end of the allowable range. Rodgers, saying officials are more likely to take air out of balls when they are inspected, believes the rules should specify a minimum PSI for game balls but not a maximum. Ex-NFL quarterback Brad Johnson told the Tampa Bay Times he paid two ballboys a total of $7,500 to scuff up and break in the balls that were used during the Super Bowl in 2003, when he led the Buccaneers to a win over Oakland. If the Patriots are found to have deflated footballs intentionally, they could be subject to penalties like the ones levied after the team was found to have videotaped defensive signals used by the New York Jets during a game in September 2007. Those penalties included a $500,000 fine for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine for the team and the loss of a draft pick. A source told ESPN the league was disappointed … angry … distraught over the underinflated balls. According to NFL rules, game balls are required to be inspected by the referee two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff and may not be altered after that. The Patriots say they have cooperated fully with the leagues investigation. Leighton Vander Esch Jersey .Pete Morelli said the back judge threw a flag on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens on a pass to Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew in Dallas 24-20 wild-card win Sunday. But the head linesman said there wasnt enough contact and that Hitchens was face-guarding, which isnt a penalty in the NFL. Leighton Vander Esch Cowboys Jersey . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. Cheap Black Connor Williams Rush Jersey, Camo Connor Williams Cowboys T-Shirts & Hoodies. – The Atlanta Braves are facing the possibility of losing another pitcher for the season after general manager Frank Wren said Saturday that Cory Gearrin has a serious injury to his right elbow. Dalton Schultz Jersey . 1 player in the world. So Duval gutted it out Thursday at the Byron Nelson Championship despite the pain from a muscle issue in his right elbow, a day after his stepson had to drive him because he couldnt even use that arm. Tavon Austin Cowboys Jersey . The game got off to a less-than-ideal start for the Jets as Oliver Ekman-Larsson found a wide open net from the slot and opened the scoring for the Coyotes a lead in the first period, but Olli Jokinen answered back just over half a minute later.BERLIN – Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone will go on trial on bribery charges in Germany, likely in late April, a court said Thursday. The Munich state court said it decided to send the 83-year-old Ecclestone to trial following his indictment last May. He faces charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust connected with a $45 million payment to a German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky. Dates for the trial havent yet been set but proceedings are currently expected to start at the end of April, a court statement said. Sentences in Germany for bribery range from three months to 10 years in prison. Ecclestones German lawyers, Sven Thomas and Norbert Scharf, said in a statement that "the alleged bribery did not happen." "The accusations in the indictment based on Gribkowskys statement are unfounded and do not … add up to a coherent picture," they added. Gribkowsky was convicted in 2012 of taking the payment from Ecclestone in connection with the sale of a stake in F1. He was found guilty of corruption, tax evasion and breach of trust, and sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison. Eccleestone has insisted that he did "nothing illegal.dddddddddddd" He acknowledged during Gribkowskys trial that he made the payment but said he was pressured to do so. Gribkowsky was in charge of selling German bank BayernLBs 47 per cent stake in F1 to investment group CVC Capital Partners in 2006. In addition to taking the money from Ecclestone, Gribkowsky used BayernLBs funds to pay the F1 boss a commission of $41.4 million and agreed to pay a further $25 million to Bambino Trust, a company with which Ecclestone was affiliated, prosecutors said during the Gribkowsky trial. In separate legal proceedings in London, German media company Constantin Medien – a former F1 shareholder – is suing Ecclestone and other defendants for up to $144 million, claiming F1 was undervalued by the BayernLB deal. Ecclestone said in November at the High Court in London that he made a payment to avoid being reported by Gribkowsky to authorities over his tax affairs. 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