[nolemmings]

Again, all the NFL cares about is money and the perception that the Pats cheated in the playoffs was enough to make the commissioner freak out. Heating up the balls illegally on the sideline? 25K fine because the press didn't run with it. Brady messing with the balls? He's 1/4 Paul Hornug-ed.

Not sure if you're referring to the Vikings-Panthers game or some other, but in that game both teams heated the footballs, basically in front of each other on the sidelines during pre-game, with tens of thousands in the stands and the Fox pre-game cameras focused right on them. The difference was not the media, but the fact that such scenario screamed ignorance rather than an intent to deceive, with neither team designed to gain an advantage over the other. Much different than stuff happening down in the tunnel, or the nearby bathroom, deliberately done out of view and with an intent to gain an edge, followed by the QB sand-papering his equipment guys, refusing to turn over records and then giving a "what me?" press conference that his contemporaries pretty much to a man found deceitful.

The Hornung reference is a good one though. There of course two marquee guys get bounced for a whole year for betting on games (not their own) -- acts that had no influence on who actually won. Here, the conduct was specifically designed to help the cheating team win, and yet the one with knowledge and orchestrator of that conduct is suspended for only 1/4 of the season (likely less after appeal), still causing the gnashing of teeth by those who cry railroad. Some could say the firm hand of league integrity is a little wobbly today.