Mail-it-in Friday: Tom Brady gets to play?! RABBLE! RABBLE!

Published Sep. 4, 2015 11:00 a.m. ET

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Sid Saraf

Ain't that a B?

Thursday should have been a normal day. I was going to run some errands, have a snack and then settle in to watch 16 meaningless preseason games while maybe laughing at Tim Tebow. I was happy.

Then . . .

TOM BRADY HAD HIS SUSPENSION OVERTURNED BY A FEDERAL JUDGE!!!

Which, of course, reduced the football world to this:

Sigh. Welp, now that we finally have an outcome to this epic saga, we need to deal with it. So, once again, Mail-it-in Friday has been hijacked by Deflategate.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

I've had a lot of fun taking jabs at Patriots fans over the past few months. Now it's their time to celebrate and maybe even gloat a little bit. New England's favorite son, after months of "persecution," is free to take the field Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So, bring it, Patriots Nation!

Jeremy,

Jesse,

Woohoo!

James,

Kinda basic, but I'll allow it.

Niners,

Not sure if that was a gloat, but I enjoy a good "How I Met Your Mother" meme.

Cathy,

It appears God was listening!

Screech Diddy,

Thanks, Screech. I can always count on you to bring everything to a screeching halt (pun intended). Let's move on.

SO . . . WHAT'S NEXT?

Now, that Tom Brady is free to play some football, has your opinion about him changed? Do you feel he was done wrong by an unfair system or did his cheating ways go unpunished?

A few of you are very much in one camp:

One enterprising reader brought up an interesting theory:

He might have a point. Has anyone actually bothered to take a peek at Judge Richard Berman's fantasy team? Fantasy football can make one do strange things.

And to top it off, one person gave me a Seinfeld flashback:

Personally, I think Frank Costanza said it better:

John,

Yeah, I can believe that. People won't just let this go. Patriots fans can yell and scream and claim persecution until the cows come home. It won't stop any and all Dolphins, Jets and Bills fans from throwing Deflategate and Spygate in their faces for eternity.

However, it's a lot easier to deal with "questions" when you have four Super Bowl rings on your fingers, millions of dollars in your bank account and a spot waiting for you in the Hall of Fame.

Frank,

That's true, the NFL did appeal Berman's ruling on Thursday. However, there's no chance Brady misses the playoffs this season. The league won't try to have this case expedited fast.

It will slowly wind its way through the appeals process. I imagine the earliest we would see a decision is well after the season. And if the courts overturn Berman's decision, Teflon Tom will serve his suspension then.

Crap, does that mean we're really not done with Deflategate? Oh . . . no.

Debbie,

Oh, Debbie. I wish you hadn't said that. You're definitely entitled to your opinion, but your comment opened up the gates and allowed this retort to come your way:

Ugh.

And of course, we had someone else chime in with this:

Gotta love Sammy's comment. He reacted to someone criticizing a person she doesn't know . . . by criticizing a person he doesn't know.

Shawn,

Well, you're Canadian, so that's definitely an option for you.

Doug,

I always get confused when people say "I'm gonna watch WWE instead" like it's a pejorative.

WWE puts together quality sports entertainment every single week. Any person should be honored to watch it.

Twelve,

Don't tell Patriots fans that. They're treating Thursday's ruling like it was a complete acquittal.

Judge Berman didn't overturn the nullify the suspension because he thought Tom Brady was innocent. He focused on the process of the original appeal. The part of Teflon Tom throwing away his cellphone and obstructing the investigation? Berman didn't even deal with it.

Basically the decision boiled down to: "The NFL never specifically said deflating balls would lead to a four-game suspension, so . . . the whole thing is out."

Brett,

Indeed. But this wasn't one of those. So, Tom gets to play next Thursday.

Love,

I wonder if Peyton Manning would trade some of that integrity for another Super Bowl win or two.

I know I would.

Kenneth,

Allow me to quote the brilliant attorney and judge Marshall Erickson: Yes, Kenny. You're right, Kenny. You hit the nail on the head, Kenny. Great theory, Kenny. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner, Kenny.

You see the truth, Kenny.

Donna,

Well . . .

Music,

WHAT?! Well, I NEVER! I'm taking my ball and going home!

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