You can go ahead and add another "-gate" to the altogether successful, but ethically questionable tenure of the NFL's version of Darth Vader, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
The latest of which concerns the alleged use of deflated footballs.
Shortly after the Pats completed their 45-7 rout of the Indianapolis Colts, securing their sixth Super Bowl trip under Belichick-Vader, Bob Kravitz of WTHR tweeted that he had been informed by a league source that the NFL was looking into whether or not the Patriots had used deflated balls on Sunday night.
Early Monday, Mike Florio of NBC Sports reported that a separate league source told him "several balls were removed from play for being underinflated."
Under-inflated footballs are easier to grip and, therefore, easier to throw and catch. For a Patriots team that boasts a number of offensive weapons and were dealing with cold, rainy weather, you could see how this might be beneficial.
Bob Glauber of Newsday reported Monday morning that NFL spokesman Michael Signora confirmed the league will be investigating the matter.
In the NFL, each team brings 12 footballs to the game and only uses their own, according to Yahoo! Sports. The Patriots offense would use one set, the ones they brought with them, and the Colts would use their own set, meaning that if the Pats did underinflate theirs, it would only aid their offense.
The balls are to be checked two hours and 15 minutes prior to kickoff by the referee in the officials' locker room.
The home team - the game was played at the Patriots home stadium - is responsible for providing sideline attendants who provide the refs with balls as the game proceeds, so there was both plenty of time and ample opportunity for the Patriots to have doctored the footballs if they wanted to.
The closest comparable incident occurred in Nov. 2012 when the USC Trojans were fined $25,000 for intentionally deflating balls during a loss to Oregon.
This isn't the first scandal - or "-gate" - that Belichick and his crew have been associated with.
In 2007, the Patriots were accused of and eventually reprimanded for videotaping the walk through's of opponents prior to games. They were stripped of their first-round draft pick in 2008, Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000.
They've returned to the Super Bowl twice since then, but have yet to win their fourth NFL championship under Belichick.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, now preparing to face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, told WEEI hosts Dennis & Callahan Monday morning that he was not aware of the report and said he had "no idea" what it was about.
"That's the last of my worries," he said. "I don't even respond to stuff like this."
