Tom Brady just beat the NFL in the 'Deflategate' case

Four-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady has emerged victorious yet again. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman nullified the four-game suspension the NFL had slapped on Brady for his alleged role in the "Deflategate" scandal, in which Brady's New England Patriots were accused of breaking the rules by deflating footballs in a playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts last season. The Patriots won that game 45-7, and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Berman "did not rule on whether Brady tampered with the footballs in a bid for competitive advantage," The New York Times notes. "Instead, he focused on the narrower question of whether the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players union gave [NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell] the authority to carry out the suspension. Judge Berman ruled that it did not."

Brady is now expected to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first game of the Patriots' season on September 10. And his star tight end, for one, certainly seems thrilled to have his QB back. Jeva Lange

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