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NFL Releases Deflategate Report
_xeno_ writes: You may remember back in February that Slashdot covered the NFL asking Columbia University for help investigating Deflategate, a scandal where the New England Patriots were caught deflating their footballs in order to make them easier to catch. The Patriots claimed this was simply a result of the weather, while their opponents disagreed. Well, it's been months, but we finally have our answer: the balls were, in fact, knowingly deflated by the Patriots (to no one's surprise). And while science can explain a little deflation, it cannot explain the amount of deflation seen during the game. Which isn't stopping Boston fans from attacking the science. The report stops short of certainty, though, concluding rather that deliberate underinflation was "more likely than not." Not everyone agrees that a conspiracy is necessary to account for the measured pressure readings.
McNally (4:39:40pm): Nice dude....jimmy needs some kicks....lets make a deal.....come on help the deflator
Guess who pushed that rule through, though.
Did you guess "the New England Patriots quarterback who we now know was cheating using that rule?"
Because, guess what, you'd be right!
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
It sounds a lot like "we don't have incontrovertible direct proof but every shred of circumstantial evidence is in line with our assertion".
I bet they would meet the "preponderance of evidence" standard but not the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard.
No surprise they can't understand science. Have you met the average football fan?
Have you met the average football player?
The overall college graduation rate of about 80% among retired NFL players is much higher than the general population rate of 30%
Of those degree holders, how many ex-players have degrees in Communication or Business?
Citation
This space for rent, inquire within.
I very rarely complain that a story doesn't belong on Slashdot, but this time I will, because this is probably the least Slashdot-worthy story I've seen yet.
This is not news for nerds. This does not matter.
This could be worth of Slashdot if were were discussing the science, the need for proper scientific method, etc. But , much like sports reporters, a lot of people are blowing by this because the bias is that sports and science do not mix.
- It's interesting that the scientific firm used to back up the findings of the report once produced reports that second hand smoke didn't cause cancer
- It's interesting that the report relies on the Refs remembering the starting PSI values. We know just how unreliable memory is
- From a scientific standpoint, it would be trivial to rip apart the findings of the report