The NFL is very precise about its game and equipment — including the number of footballs prepared for games, how much each must

The NFL is very precise about its game and equipment — including the number of footballs prepared for games, how much each must weigh, and who monitors them until kickoff. St.Louis Blues Shirts .One rule is very clear: Dont tamper with a football once it has been inspected for use in a game.The NFL is investigating a report that the New England Patriots used underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game while beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. ESPN cited anonymous sources Tuesday night in reporting the league found that 11 of 12 balls were underinflated by 2 pounds per square inch of air.Here are some things to know about the issue:CHAIN OF CUSTODY: Footballs are delivered to the officials dressing room 2 hours, 15 minutes before kickoff. The referee inspects each one, with a pump provided by the home team to adjust air pressure as needed. Footballs are required to have at least 12.5 psi and no more than 13.5 psi. Releasing air can make the football easier to grip, especially when wet. Some quarterbacks prefer a softer ball to control the spin more, while others like more air. A drop in temperature — from the officials dressing room to an outdoor field — also can cause a football to lose pressure.THE REF RULES: The referee is the sole judge of whether a ball is fit for play and marks each one approved for the game. The rule says the footballs shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game. The referee for the game was Walt Anderson. A key question in the investigation is whether the balls improperly passed inspection or were either switched or tampered with after Andersons inspection. As the home team, the Patriots were responsible for having someone handle the footballs on each sideline.BALL CONTROL: Footballs are sent directly to teams. Equipment managers can brush them and even use a damp towel to rub off the oil used to preserve the leather to the preferences of each quarterback. The quarterbacks can even practice with the footballs during a game week as long as the footballs remain in good enough condition to pass the referees inspection as a new ball. Each team brings at least 12 balls each, so Tom Brady threw footballs provided by the Patriots while Andrew Luck handled footballs brought by the Colts.POTENTIAL PUNISHMENT: If the NFL finds anyone with the Patriots underinflated the footballs, Commissioner Roger Goodell has wide latitude for punishment. This includes a fine that can be as low as $25,000 for anyone deemed responsible for tampering with a football, even if its the head coach. Goodell could strip the team of draft picks, suspend people for unfair acts, and reverse a games result or reschedule a game.PREVIOUS OFFENSE: Goodell fined New England coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000 along with stripping the team of a first-round draft pick in 2007 for having an assistant spy on the New York Jets defensive signals by using a sideline camera.FURTHER REVIEW: Steelers president Art Rooney II said Wednesday he expects the competition committee to study whether the rule should change, but he thinks everyone should use the same balls. It would seem to be simpler to have one set of balls, which was the case for many years, Rooney said. The officials brought the balls out and everybody used the same ball, and it seems like that would be an easy answer to this.ODDS FOR PUNISHMENT: One bookmaker — Bovada.lv — posted odds of 3-2 that Belichick could be suspended at least one game, and 15-2 that he could be suspended for the Super Bowl.___AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Custom St.Louis Blues Jerseys .com) - Tony Parker scored 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a comfortable 99-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. St.Louis Blues Gear .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph. https://www.cheapblues.com/ . Ryan Getzlaf certainly got them started in the second. Getzlaf scored the first two goals in the second, and Teemu Selanne scored the go-ahead goal late in the period as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. The Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak in Wednesdays 107-100 road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, while the Thunder dispatched the Chicago Bulls on Monday and then bested the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday as part of a three-game road swing. Toronto bested the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Dec. 22 to snap a three-game series losing streak. OKC has won two of its last three in Toronto. DeMar DeRozan poured in a game-high 31 points and Kyle Lowry tallied 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Wednesdays win over the Pelicans. Amir Johnson added 17 points and nine boards for the Raptors, who have won three of their last five. Tyler Hansbrough chipped in a game-high 13 rebounds and Greivis Vasquez contributed 14 points. "We understand we needed this game, plus we have a long flight back home that we didnt want to sit on this loss with," DeRozan said. The Raptors will get a boost to their lineup this evening, as centre Jonas Valanciunas will return to the lineup as a starter. Valanciunas, who left Tuesdays loss to the Atlanta Hawks late in the third qquarter with a lower back sprain, participated in the shoot around Friday morning and was declared ready to play about an hour before game time. Stitched Blues Jerseys. nbsp; Kevin Durant had 35 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Thunder over the Cavaliers on Thursday. It was his 33rd consecutive game with 25-plus points, which is the longest run of his career and the longest in the NBA since Michael Jordan strung 40 straight together during the 1986-87 season. "My shot was a little flat and I missed some easy ones," said Durant, who shot 12-for-21 from the field. "I just tried to play as hard as I can on defense and make winning basketball plays." Serge Ibaka supplied 16 points and 11 boards, while Reggie Jackson added 13 points and six assists for the Thunder, who have won four of their last five games. Star Thunder guard Russell Westbrook did not suit up to rest his surgically- repaired knee. Oklahoma City is 1 1/2 behind the San Antonio Spurs for Western Conference supremacy. The Raptors are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the lead in the Atlantic Division, but they are only a half-game in front of the Bulls for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Toronto will play two straight north of the border and will host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. ' ' '