Why donating money or getting arrested to help Tom Brady and the Patriots makes you an all-time moron

Greetings. I am finally back from that secure undisclosed location. Actually, I went to Austin, Texas, to visit my mother for Mother's Day. It was fun to see my mom again, and she was in great spirits and looking and feeling good. I also got to see one of my brothers, who met up with me in Austin.

However, my mom still doesn't understand what a blog is, and when she heard that ESPN's Mike and Mike were getting a female co-host, she didn't like the idea of a woman taking a man's job. I was incredulous on this, and responded, "You do know I've been writing on sports for 10 years, right?" But, as my brother pointed out, our mom is 82, she has never used a computer, and she has no comprehension of this blog. (She was excited over my Guideposts magazine article, though -- print impresses her!) So I have to understand her perspective.

Anyhow, speaking of perspective, some members of Patriots Nation has shown that they are delusional when it comes to defending their team. First of all, there are the morons who have decided to start a GoFundMe account to pay for the Patriots' $1 million Deflategate fine. Yes, really. These moronic fans want to give money for a franchise worth at least $2.6 billion, owned by billionaire Robert Kraft. I guess it is because of the "injustice" of it all -- to wit, Tom Brady and the Patriots actually being held accountable for their cheating for once. Boo bleeding hoo.

I wrote this comment on their GoFundMe page, before they removed all comments, most of which were negative):

I generally don't like telling people where to spend their money. However, surely there are better things for fans to do with their dollars than to pay the (well-deserved) fines for a billion-dollar franchise. To paraphrase "A Bronx Tale," if your father can't pay the rent, go ask Robert Kraft and see what he tells you.

Then there are the idiots of a sports blogging site (I refuse to link to their site or mention their site's name, as they don't deserve the publicity) who literally got themselves arrested at NFL headquarters yesterday to protest Tom Brady's suspension. These idiots now have an arrest record over their fandom. How stupid is that?

Did you know that there are actually mailing lists out there of gullible people? The New York Times did a story on this a few years ago, about how con artists used such lists to target people -- especially senior citizens -- who would fall for scams. I wonder if sports-minded scammers will gather the names of everybody who donated money to the Patriots, and everybody who got arrested on the team's behalf, and target them for shenanigans. Would serve them right for their stupidity.

Of course, nobody as of yet seems to have done anything to help John Jastremski and James McNally, the two Patriots employees who have effectively lost their jobs, and had their lives ruined, due to following Tom Brady's orders. Shocker.

* * *

I wouldn't pay for this, either, but at least it is funny.

Anyhow, the news release explaining the fine and Brady's suspension and the draft pick losses is a real doozy. As I noted on Facebook, the NFL says that Nixon soundalike Brady failed "to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation," and he provided "testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence." It also says that Brady's actions "clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football." Read it and weep,

Yet Patriots Nation wants to believe this is all a witch hunt, and it is all because "they hate us because they ain't us," as one of their moronic slogans goes. And Kraft whines that the case "was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence." Um, Bob? Hate to tell you this, but circumstantial evidence is both hard and conclusive evidence. You know, like how circumstantial evidence put your old tight end Aaron Hernandez behind bars for life for murder. P.S. You are not getting that NFL apology you so arrogantly demanded.

Here are the facts:

Tom Brady, along with Peyton Manning, got NFL rules changed in 2006 to allow NFL teams to prepare their own footballs both at home and away.

Since that time, the Patriots had a staggeringly low fumble rate, as a statistical analysis shows. In addition, as Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times notes:

"Before that rule took effect, in Brady's five seasons as a full-time starter, only once did he throw for as many as 4,000 yards, and never did he throw as many as 30 touchdown passes. But after that rule change, he became the statistics monster that he remains today, throwing for more than 4,000 yards in six of the ensuing eight seasons, with at least 30 touchdown passes in five of those years."

Coincidence? I grew up in Jersey. I don't believe in coincidences.

The Wells Report says that the cheating was not just in the 2014 season. Given these statistical changes, Brady may have been getting away with cheating for many years. Spygate, Deflategate, multiple murders -- these are your New England Patriots.

In addition, Brady refused to provide the texts, emails, etc. he was asked to, "despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information." Just this failure to cooperate alone is enough to subject him to disciplinary action.

Anyhow, I am pretty gleeful to see a world-class phony like Tom Brady get his comeuppance. I only wish the suspension was longer!