DeflateGate: Do you believe Bill Belichick and Tom Brady?

DeflateGate is all anyone seems to want to talk about around the NFL these days. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick Thursday denied any knowledge of footballs being under-inflated vs. the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Tom Brady denied any wrong-doing.

Nobody seems to believe either of them. I don't. You probably don't. Ex-quarterback Mark Brunell and other analysts don't. Turns out the governor of Maine, which isn't home to the Patriots but where they are overwhelmingly popular, doesn't believe them, either.

"What else can you expect, they have a track record," Maine Gov. Paul LePage said. He added that it was "certainly unethical when they took photographs from the sidelines," a reference to the club's 2007 "Spygate" scandal.

Why do we care what LePage said? Well, because it turns out that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has company as a governor who doesn't root for the popular team or teams in his home state. LePage is a New York Giants fan.

Anyway, DeflateGate really isn't just about the under-inflated footballs. It's about Belichick's reputation as 'Belcheat,' and the fact that the Patriots have long suspected of skirting NFL rules in a variety of ways.

It would be nice if you could simply credit Belichick and Brady for their accomplishments. Unfortunately, that's not possible. DeflateGate is just the latest example.

Seriously, the New York tabloids need to send the #Patriots a thank-you note. pic.twitter.com/vUPq37Iy57

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 23, 2015