After all the media coverage and the judicial back and forth, the New England Patriots returned to the field Thursday night and won a football game. Tom Brady, who had been banned for throwing softballs, then re-instated by a federal judge (we pay those guys for that?), threw four touchdowns. Final: Pats 28; Steelers 21. The season had officially begun and fans everywhere emerged like bears from hibernation, to watch and to bet on the games. Some $95 billion according to one estimate, all of it illegal. 

Which points to a sort convergence. It is illegal to make bets on NFL football games. Also to deflate the footballs used in playing those games. But, there are rules and there are rules. And there are unwritten rules about which rules we take seriously … and not.