From the "Talks too much" studios, let's make the magic happen.
FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2015, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) passes against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of the NFL football AFC Championship game in Foxborough, Mass. An NFL investigation has found that New England Patriots employees likely deflated footballs and that quarterback Tom Brady was "at least generally aware" of the rules violations. The 243-page report released Wednesday, May 6, 2015, said league investigators found no evidence that coach Bill Belichick and team management knew of the practice. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) Deflate-Gate
So it's out, like the air from a Patriots football.
The Wells report - a 243-page document - states New England as an organization was not directly connected to the allegations that the team took air from the football.
The same report, however, does state that Tom Brady probably was involved.
This is a formal ruling of what we all expected, at least in regard to Brady. There's no way a quarterback as talented and experienced as Brady would not be able to tell the difference between footballs that have anywhere from 30-percent less air in them. (That said, we still find it hard to be believe that a control freak like Bill Belichick knew absolutely nothing about this. So it goes.)
So what does it mean, in regard to Brady's legacy and in the view of the league when it comes to penalties.
The league has taken a ton of lumps for a lot of disciplinary decisions that have ranged from puzzling to terrible.
Let's not compare this to the domestic violence stuff, because that's way more serious and way more involved.
That said, this directly affects the game - the NFL's core product mind you - rather than the peep involved.
One comparison we could make is BountyGate, the debacle with the New Orleans Saints in which head coach Sean Payton was suspended for an entire season because of the bounty system the Saints defensive players and coaches used to reward teammates for a variety of things including injuring opponents.
Granted BountyGate was more dangerous, but there are similarities beyond the -Gate suffix. First, there are rumored reports that each is a common practice across the league. Second, the outcome on the game is debatable.
In this Jan. 21, 2015 photo, "Deflate-gate" cookies are offered for sale at Boston Common Coffee in Boston's North End neighborhood. As the NFL investigates how footballs got deflated during the New England Patriots' AFC Championship game, and detractors accuse the team of cheating, very little air seems to have gone out of Patriots Nation and its Super Bowl euphoria. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) But the Deflate stuff is directly against league rules, whereas the Bounty stuff was more unscrupulous than anything.
And the Saints were hit hard by the NFL.
As for Brady, will he miss any game time? Vegas has taken all the Patriots games for next season off the board, so there certainly seems like potential for a suspension.
What say you? What's a fair punishment?
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LeSean McCoy
LeSean McCoy, the supremely talented former Philadelphia running back who was traded to Buffalo known as Shady, accused Eagles coach Chip Kelly of being a racist.
FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2014, file photo, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy carries the ball during an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md. A person familiar with the deal says the Eagles have agreed to trade star running back McCoy for Buffalo Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso. The person spoke under condition of anonymity Tuesday night, March 3, 2015, because the teams had not announced the deal. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) Here's what McCoy said to ESPN the Magazine: "The relationship was never really great. I feel like I always respected him as a coach. I think that's the way he runs his team. He wants the full control. You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players. He got rid of them the fastest. That's the truth. There's a reason. ... It's hard to explain with him. But there's a reason he got rid of all the black players -- the good ones -- like that. [The Eagles declined to comment on McCoy's statements.]"
And while Kelly traded McCoy and former Eagles wide out DeSean Jackson, don't let the facts get in the way of your story LeSean.
Your replacement in Philly is DeMarco Murray, who happens to be a very good black football player.
Whatever, but we do believe that hollow racist accusations should be called out.
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NBA playoffs
Much was made about LeBron James going back to his headband in the Cavs' must-have Game 2 win over Chicago.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) motions to teammates against the Chicago Bulls during the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Wednesday, May 6, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) Forget the headgear, Wednesday night was about James going back to his hard-charging assault on the rim.
James was aggressive offensively and took the ball to the basket. In truth, when he is determined to get to the rim, James is nearly impossible to stop.
So if the headband means driving James, then the headband was the difference.
He finished with 33 points and a staggering +31 (a stat that means when LeBron was on the floor, the Cavs were outscored the Bulls by 31 points).
As we predicted, each series heads toward the weekend tied at 1.
After a first-round filled with mismatches, the semifinals look like battle royales.
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This and that
Atlanta Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons (19) bats in a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on, May 6, 2015, in Atlanta. - Down goes Shaq. Down goes Shaq. Good times and the big fella has a good sense of humor about it.
- The Braves got top-shelf service from the top of their order in a 7-5 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday. Nick Markakis, Andrelton Simmons and Freddie Freeman went 8-for-12 with six RBIs for Atlanta (14-14).
- This is a crazy story. Apparently a Florida woman was being held hostage by her boyfriend and convinced said doofus to let her order a pizza online. She put "911hostage help!" as one of the orders and the Pizza Hut folks called the cops. Talk about a stuffed crust.
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Today's question
Quite simply, does Deflate-Gate change Tom Brady's legacy?
Did the stick 'em admission from Jerry Rice change his legacy?
We did this on Press Row last year, but not sure if we've done it here: Rushmore of famous cheating scandals.
Go - and remember the mailbag.