Column: Dave Johnson muses on deflate gate

WASHINGTON – Hold the Super Bowl hype, we are caught up in the Patriots deflate-gate.

The NFL has discovered that 11 of the 12 footballs used by the Patriots in the AFC Championship win over the Colts were under-inflated. The report says the light eleven– shall we say– were under-inflated by an average of 2 pounds per square inch.

Each team uses its own football on offense and it is okay per NFL rules to slightly adjust inflation level levels. Apparently eleven of the Patriots’ footballs did not meet NFL inflation standards. We are not sure about the USDA.

Newsday reported that the controversy started after Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson made an interception and thought something was wrong. Jackson reported it to the Colts equipment staff, who told the coach, who told the GM, who told the league. No wonder the Colts lost 45-7; they were too busy on the sidelines.

The Patriots footballs were inspected before the game and approved. Now the question is what happened after that and will this lead to a new television offering from the NFL, CSNFL – Crime Scene NFL.

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Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson is Senior Sports Director and morning sports anchor. He first arrived at WTOP in 1989, left in 1992 and returned in 1995. He is a three-time winner of the A.I.R. award as best radio sportscaster in D.C. In 2008 he won the Edward R. Murrow award for best writing for sports commentaries.

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