So the Assistant Golf Pro's Got Himself Some Tapes... posted by Mike Dussault
Well, that didn't take long. I promised myself not to post again on Spygate just this morning and now late Friday night word comes out that the AGP (Assistant Golf Pro) has tapes in his possesion. We've heard warnings that they're not only embarrassing to the New England Patriots but also to the NFL itself. Who knows what that means. 
Right now the AGPs lawyer is trying to get a better deal out of the NFL. The NFL says they are offering indemnity, but in reality, if the NFL doesn't like what AGP has to say they can say he's lying and charge him with perjury. That's what the AGP wants to avoid that's why he probably wants blanket immunity. The leaking of the fact that he has tapes is likely meant to force the NFL's hand. So now what are the likely scenarios?
Who can tell what the videos have on them. Clearly we are going to find out. Arlen Sphincter will see to that if the NFL doesn't give the AGP blanket immunity. The fact is if the tapes spoke for themselves AGP wouldn't really have to worry about total indemnity since he wouldn't have to say a word. This leads me to believe that it's what AGP has to say that is the most damaging. Otherwise he could let the tapes show what he couldn't say. Whether or not Bill Belichick or Ernie Adams ordered him to tape those things might be a point or argument in court. 
The fact is that if it's more of the same defensive sign stealing like Goodell has already seen they aren't adding a whole heck of a lot to the controversy. Goodell is already aware that the Pats were ... [read more]

"Spygate" Might Really Equal Watergate posted by Dan Tress
When the "Spygate" story first broke in September, I thought it was
one of the stupider, more overblown stories in a long time.
A disgruntled former employee (Jets coach Eric Mangini) accuses his
old boss (Patriots coach Bill Belichick) of cheating after the Pats
beat the Jets 100-0, as if he had actually just noticed some guy
standing on the Patriots' sideline with a camera, recording the Jets'
defensive signals. So it was obvious right from the beginning that not
only had the Pats been doing it for a while, but considering how
little effort they put into hiding it, most likely they weren't the
only guilty team in the league (a notion further supported by the memo
the NFL sent out reminding everyone how illegal it was).
So when the media spent weeks acting like it was this huge story, I
mostly ignored it. But now as it's becoming clear that the NFL's
investigation was at best lazy and at worst a huge cover up, we may be
on the verge of a legitimate story as big in the sports world as
Watergate was in the real world.
If former Pats assistant Matt Walsh, who the NFL didn't even talk to
in September, confirms the report that the Pats taped the Rams walk
through the day before the Super Bowl, it will immediately and
completely discredit one of the greatest (and considering how hard it
is for an NFL team to stay good these days, I would call it the
greatest) dynasty in sports history, even with the Super Bowl loss.
It would mean that every time we thought Belichick had coached ci... [read more]

Cheaters Never Prosper...Well They Kinda Do posted by Gus Johnson's Whisper

Cheating.  Dictionary.com defines cheating as: 'To violate rules deliberately, as in a game'

The Patriots cheated.  The thing that got lost in Spygate was the explanation that Belichick gave for the 'mistake'.  So astounding.  Billy Bud and the Pats brushed it off as a mistake; a 'missinterpretation of the rules'.  I don't even know where to begin on that.

Nevermind that the league breafs every team on the rules.  Nevermind they specifically mentioned to all the teams that you couldn't videotape the other sideliness.  Forget all that.  Actually don't.  There is no confusion there.  They never thought they would get caught.  Once they did, we heard things like: 'it didn't give that big an advantage anyway'.  Right.  I won't calim to know what it did or didn't do.  I will tell you that I wouldn't go to so much trouble if it didn't benefit me in some way.

This one scandal is just the tip of the iceberg though.  Some of the following is anecdotal.  I know that.  I know that I haven't run a Congressional investigation (altough that is coming based on the NFL saying: 'OK case closed, let's burn the evidence!' and the Pats cheating for the their first Super Bowl over the Rams.  Just punish them all day and twice on Sundays please).  Regardless, here is a quick hits list of the ways in which the Pats cheat...at least the list I could think of without doing any research...

-There seem to be an inordi... [read more]

18 and 1 Big Choke! posted by Chris Arnone
Who was celebrating more... the NY Giants and their fans or the 1972 Dolphin squad when the clock finally hit 0's in Suoer Bowl 42? And the other question that springs to mind is... did the New England Patriots totally choke and blow their dynamite season or do we need to tip our caps/helmets to the "G Men." While watching the stations' coverage over the past weeks, one of them brought up a very good point. They said this game had all the makings of the Super Bowl matchup between the St Louis Rams and the Pats. The Rams came in with their high octane offense and 16-2 recors and played a scrappy Pats team with a great defense. We all remember the end result. Kurt Warner was hit to the ground often, threw passes off his back foot, rushed throws and and a last second field goal gave the Patriots the upset win. Pretty stellar call! I think the bottom line is to finally give the Giants the credit they deserve. I think even the Patriots are ready to that. Besides, what else do they have to do to get the respect they deserve?... [read more]