Harbaugh: No call

Baltimore Ravens Coach John Harbaugh was adamant Sunday in denying that the Ravens sparked the investigation into the New England Patriots’ deflated footballs in the AFC championship game.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Harbaugh or the Ravens tipped off the Indianapolis Colts about the issue. The ongoing investigation, the so-called “Deflategate” led by NFL executive Jeff Pash and outside investigator Ted Wells, is based on allegations that the Patriots didn’t have the footballs inflated up to NFL standards.

“I heard all that, I couldn’t believe it when I heard it,” Harbaugh said Sunday afternoon on NBC during a Super Bowl pregame show when asked about the reports that the Ravens called the Colts. “It’s ridiculous. It never happened. I never made any call. Nobody in our organization made any call.

“Just to make sure I had all the facts, I called [Colts Coach] Chuck Pagano this week and asked him, ‘Did anybody else in our organization tip you off about any deflated footballs?’ And he said, ‘No way.’ “

There have been reports that the Colts first noticed the deflated footballs when linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted a pass by New England’s Tom Brady and handed it to an equipment manager.

Harbaugh reiterated that the Ravens had no problems with the footballs during their AFC divisional-round loss to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

“It never came up,” Harbaugh said. “It never crossed my mind. It wasn’t even an issue during the game. I didn’t even think about it until I read about it later.”