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The encore for Ted Wells officially has run longer than his debut.

As noted by NFL Media’s Albert Breer, the Wells-led investigation into the #DeflateGate scandal has now consumed more time than the investigation conducted by Wells regarding the Dolphins bullying scandal. In Miami, Wells’ work was done in 100 days; his latest project is at 103 days and counting.

While the two situations have many differences, the Dolphins scandal required interviews of many people and a review of thousands of text messages, followed by an effort to harmonize conflicts in the information provided by witnesses and to explore and explain other incidents that emerged as Wells examined the allegations that resulted in former Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin leaving the team abruptly in late October 2013. The question of whether the Patriots deliberately deflated footballs used during the AFC championship game against the Colts would seem on the surface to entail a far less complex set of facts and a far more narrow universe of potential witnesses and evidence.

In fairness to Wells, the NFL emphasized upon hiring him that there would be no timetable on his work. But did anyone expect that his work would last into May?

Commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly said that the report from Wells is coming soon. It’s unclear whether the NFL will release the report publicly before Goodell determines the penalties, if any, that will be imposed as a result of the findings.

Regardless, the ultimate bad-news dump comes in 16 days: The Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. The only thing keeping the report from being released then could be the league’s sensitivity to the perception that it tries to bury bad news into the final hours of the work week.