This is the gift that keeps on stealing from the needy and rubbing sand in your face.
At a luncheon this Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hit the snooze button on his verdict on the appeal of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
"There is no timeline. We want to make sure we have a fair and open process," Goodell said before the event. "We are focused on it. We are obviously being very thorough and want to make sure we consider all aspects of his appeal. We will make a decision as quickly as possible."
It's a boilerplate response and it's nauseating.
Nothing has been fair. Nothing has been open. Hell, one might be able to argue that this doesn't even qualify as a process.
Maybe Adam Schefter was wrong about this being the week of the verdict. Maybe the league's at an impasse with Brady's camp about a possible settlement to bail out the league and their bogus investigation.
Or maybe Goodell is just going to sit on his hands until the Wednesday before the Patriots play the Steelers, issue a one game suspension to Brady, and then laugh when there's not enough time for Brady's camp to file an injunction. Nothing would surprise me at this point.
For full disclosure, it should be noted that Gene Steratore, a referee with zero connection to DeflateGate, was also at the event.