Posted on 05/14/2008 4:17:34 AM PDT by bocopar
Four months after Republican Senatorial blowhard Arlen Specter piled on the public accusation (also illustrating his sheer ignorance of the sport) that surfaced just before the Super Bowl, that a former Patriots video assistant videotaped a walkthrough practice of the St. Louis Rams before the 2002 title game, we now know the conspiracy theorists need replace the worn out tin foil on their hats.
Well, according to Wednesday morning's Boston Herald, some in the sports media world admit they got it wrong...
On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots’ video staff taped the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. While the Boston Herald based its Feb. 2, 2008, report on sources that it believed to be credible, we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed.
(Excerpt) Read more at blackandright.mndnet.com ...
So where do people go to get their reputation back?
A stain on professional football.
To court. Where all involved can testify under oath. I'm not prepared to take anyone's word for anything until then.
Sometimes Specter is right, less often is he dead wrong.
He’s a sanctimonious jerk, either way.
NOTE: His performance at the Judge Clarence Thomas hearings, years ago, was absolutely wonderful to observe. He had a foursome of ugly, brazen feminists, protected by PC and screaming their heads off against Thomas, and he absolutely destroyed them, single-handedly. I think the word “awesome” was derived from that event.
“Where all involved can testify under oath. I’m not prepared to take anyone’s word for anything until then.”
If they’re willing to lie and cheat as part of their work why would they tell the truth under oath?
Will Rogers
Two words: Barry Bonds :)
They were caught cheating.
“Two words: Barry Bonds :)”
How many counts of perjury is he facing now? Oh yeah 14 counts.
He should just said he didn’t inhale.
People like Bubba. That’s why we have laws against perjury :)
Reputation? The guy had film that proves the team cheated. The Super Bowl just would have been icing on the cake. The AFC championship game is every bit as bad. No matter how you slice it, Belichick and the Patriots have been caught cheating and not just in the Jets game as we were originally led to believe.
Goodell only admitted to receiving evidence about the first game last year against the Jets. Everything else was just speculation because he destroyed all information hoping to sweep it under the rug. Now we know that Goodell is every bit as crooked as Belichick and the Patriots.
And the Patriots were punished for it.
But even the Pittsburgh Steelers admitted that the recordings of them had no effect on any games they played.
Steelers: Spygate didn’t affect games
February 15, 2008
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The New England Patriots’ taping of opposing coaches’ signals did not affect the outcome of games against the Steelers, including two AFC Championship games, Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said Friday.
“We consider the tapes of our coaching staff during our games against the New England Patriots to be a non-issue,” Rooney said in a statement. “In our opinion, they had no impact on the results of those games.”
Rooney’s comments were fueled by remarks Thursday by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who has questioned whether the NFL has properly handled allegations that Patriots coach Bill Belichick had assistants videotape opponents’ signals.
“But even the Pittsburgh Steelers admitted that the recordings of them had no effect on any games they played.”
Of course that is their public positions. The integrity of the game is being questioned and they will do anything to avoid that question.
No team is going to admit that anything another team did had an effect on any of the games.
The Pats could have given the Pittsburgh starting QB the nancy kerrigan treatment and the Steelers would claim that had nothing to do with the loss.
If those tapes didn’t have any effect on the games, then the pats wouldn’t have done it. How many hours do coaches work during the season? 18-20 hour days? Yeah, like they are going to spend time and money on something that doesn’t make a difference.
But, those laws must be enforced. There the record is inconsistent. To paraphrase Snowball "Some are more equal than others" and seemingly above the law.
Also, to recall, Arlen's famous "not proven" was well received at the time.
The Spygate scandal broke after Week One of the 2007 season. It would suffice to say that no taping occurred after that, give the scrutiny the Patriots faced.
And with the exception of one game (The Big One), they beat every team that year. While they shouldn’t have cheated, which no one has denied, they won regardless.
Ping!....
That magnificent "cowboy" was a gem.
Think common sense died with him & Wiley Post?
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
There is still no explanation for the opponents headsets mysteriously going out during offensive plays when playing in the Patriots home stadium. That’s the most egregious offense that has been ignored.
I think that whatever the truth is, the NFL will keep it “in house”, if at all possible.
That includes destroying the tapes (again), having the owners meeting to agree to keep it private, and what ever else needs done to protect the bottom line.
Cream of the CRAP!
Perjury sits well in his bank!
A comment on a sports blog:
Jimmy Johnson said he believes what the Patriots did — violating NFL rules by videotaping the opposing coaches’ signals — is commonplace. Johnson also said he did it himself. Does that mean the Cowboys of the 90’s were cheaters too? OH NO! Those Dallas champioships from the 90’s are tainted too. Bills players from those superbowl losing teams should be claiming their rings. As crybaby McNabb did. Do you see my point, Haters!!!.
Oh please, “the two wrongs make it right” excuse. So old and so tired and so lame.
Bob Parks to mikeandmike Wed, May 14, 2008 at 8:18 AM" (26 minutes ago) And all those football "fans" calling Bill Belichick a loser, would be falling over themselves in orgasmic shock if the Patriots fired him and their team hired him. All of a sudden, they'd be calling "Belicheat" the greatest coach in the history of the league as their team jacked up their ticket prices in anticipation of a dynasty in the making. Gimme a break. Bob Parks Massachusetts
Well then.
I guess that seals it.
No further discussion is needed.
Sheesh!
Based on the evidence we are aware of so far? That's an awful big leap.
Judging from the amount of responses, it would appear there are a couple of football fans on Free Republic.
What does that have to do with the issue at hand? You are evading the point by saying that "everyone else does it too" and "you'd put up with him if he was your coach". Your logical reasoning is poor. Stop making excuses for CHEATERS!
THE PATRIOTS WERE PUNISHED!
Wade Wilson, Cowboys assistant was suspended seven games for acquiring meds to treat his diabetes improperly. The fine was seven game checks. Belichick didn't even have to miss one game. Goodell worked as Bob Kraft's sock puppet for this one.
Well, we really don’t know that - they might have found a new way to cheat.
Well, I guess the league should have just Belichick to Iraq with the hope that he’d be captured by insurgents and beheaded. That would probably be considered an appropriate punishment by y’all.
Again, the point of this post was that the alleged taping of the 2002 Super Bowl Rams walkthrough by the Patriots never happened. Not cheating; never happened.
just sent Belichick
In Bill we trust!
The tapes that did exist were not used to cheat on games in progress - ever. That was not their purpose and the NFL has admitted as much. The taping itself was a violation of league rules and the Patriots deserved to be punished for it, as they were.
But please: for the love of God, can we stop repeating the untruth the the tapes were used for "cheating" during football games? They were used to observe other teams' tendencies in the use of defensive personnel packages in different down-and-yard situations, in relation to what offensive play had been called. The information gathered could not be used, and was not used during the game in which it was gathered, for the simple reason that defensive signals are normally rotated after every series.
The only difference between what the Pats did and what other teams do - and continue to do, mind you - is that other franchises use binoculars and field scouts rather than video equipment. So enough with the "Bellicheat" nonsense already!
Amen. Go Pats!
They went 18-0 without any video tapes. You figure it out. All you Patriot haters can STFU now.
And Arlen Specter need find something more substantial to investigate.
You know, something he may know a little about....
Of course! Why Belichick and the Patriots didn't cheat afterall! So, Goodell was wrong to fine and impose penalties on the Patriots and Belichick and shortly will be issuing an apology as he tears up the $500K check and awards the Pats two first rounders in next year's draft, right? Riiiiiiiight.....
Face it. What we learned yesterday was that we now know for certain that Goodell is as big a crook as Belichick and the Patriots.
“They went 18-0 without any video tapes. You figure it out. “
Didn’t they lose that last one, and who says they don’t have tapes. Once a cheater always a cheater.
“All you Patriot haters can STFU now.”
I don’t hate the Pats I hate their weasel of a cheating coach.
I wouldn’t say Goodell is crooked, but he acted dumb and he sure got some ignorant legal advice.
... and then there's the Patriots.
Or the extra minute the Giants got in the Super Bowl that allowed them to win. Or the foul that had been called against Memphis all game against Kansas, and then, when Memphis needed it to stop Kansas from tying, it suddenly wasn't a foul. Or...
The fine imposed by the NFL was for violating the rules, not for cheating on games. The facts speak for themselves, except for those determined to find evidence of criminality where none exists and none has been alleged - except by outsiders with no personal knowledge of the circumstances, and of course, by Matt Walsh, who is now utterly discredited.
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