The King of Saudi Arabia has died, the threat of terror continues to increase around the globe, a measles outbreak has renewed fears in the wake of the Ebola epidemic, and a giant asteroid is rocketing perilously close to Earth - yet here we are discussing deflated footballs.

Did somebody deliberately lower the pressure of balls used by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady last week in his team's 45-7 thrashing of the Indianapolis Colts, thereby earning a bid to next week's Super Bowl? Did Patriots coach Bill Belichick know about the alleged tampering? Why did the National Football League - still reeling from its mishandling of the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson domestic violence cases - promise to quickly get to the bottom of the alleged cheating and then never even question Mr. Brady as of Thursday, when he awkwardly appeared at a news conference attended by a horde of media equivalent in size and aggressiveness to the White House press corps?

Earlier in the day the same crew went after Coach Belichick, forcing him to repeatedly issue an "I know nothing" denial reminiscent of past presidents ("I am not a crook," "I did not have sex with that woman.")

All this drama never would have unfolded if the NFL did not allow teams to supply their own game footballs to be swapped when they went on offense or kicked field goals. The ill-considered practice, which accommodates quarterbacks and kickers who want balls slightly modified to their preferences, invites such potential skullduggery as lowering the air pressure below 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch required by the league. Eleven of the 12 balls chosen by the Patriots were reportedly discovered to be 2 pounds per square inch below the minimum; quarterback Brady, one of the league's top passers, acknowledges he finds it easier to throw softer footballs, which are also easier to catch.

Sadly, cheating is not uncommon in professional sports. For decades baseball players have been caught using corked bats and scuffed-up baseballs; golfers have surreptitiously kicked their way out of sand traps; boxers have taken dives or hidden weights in their gloves; runners and cyclists have "doped" their blood.

Compared to the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" that threw the 1919 World Series, or the legions of athletes from Lance Armstrong to Alex Rodriguez who relied on steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, Deflate-Gate is small potatoes. Still, cheating is cheating, and if the Patriots are found guilty somebody must be punished. We hope that if that happened the team doesn't throw some lowly ball boy or equipment manager under the bus. Somebody higher up must take the fall.