NEW YORK -- A federal judge put the NFL on the defensive over its four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Wednesday, demanding to know what evidence directly links Brady to deflating footballs and belittling the drama of the controversy. Judge Richard M. Berman in Manhattan repeatedly asked NFL lawyer Daniel L. Nash for "direct evidence that implicates Mr. Brady" as he gave both sides a chance to state their case in the first hearing before him. Nash responded there was "considerable evidence Mr. Brady clearly knew about this,'' including records of text messages and phone calls between the quarterback and one of two Patriots employees implicated in the scandal known as "Deflategate.'' But he also said there was no "smoking gun'' showing Brady had direct knowledge that the balls were deflated for the first half of the Patriots' 45-7 defeat of the Indianapolis Colts in the Jan. 18 AFC championship. The public portion of the hearing...