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NFL's DeflateGate Investigation Takes A Hit, As Blandino Reveals PSI Not Recorded

PHOENIX (CBS) -- If the NFL wants to catch the Patriots red-handed, it's going to have a difficult time.

The league's vice president of officiating revealed Thursday that referees do not keep records of the measured PSI in footballs. That is to say, they either test in the 12.5-13.5 range, or they are adjusted to fit within it.

"They're not logged," Blandino said. "They're tested. They make sure they're in that acceptable range, and then they basically mark the football to say this is an acceptable football, [that] it met the proper specifications."

This is newsworthy, of course, because of the ESPN report that 11 of 12 footballs were measured at a full 2 PSI below the threshold. Blandino's comments Thursday would suggest that such knowledge would be difficult for any reporter to attain, considering no record of such measurements exists.

Instead, referee Walt Anderson tested the footballs and then inflated them to the proper level.

Blandino also revealed that though the Colts' footballs checked out fine during halftime, there's no record of whether they dropped in PSI from the start of the game until halftime.

Blandino added that the league is considering changes to its protocol of the handling of footballs used in games.

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