After much brouhaha, today, former Patriots' employee Matt Walsh met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Before Goodell spoke, he made a decision to have the media and public view Matt Walsh's tapes.
After showing all of the tapes, Goodell then addressed the media.
What We Know
•Thankfully, at this time, there is and was no tape of a St. Louis Rams' walk through prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.
•Matt Walsh did not have anything germane to add regarding video taping of opponents.
•Walsh did reveal that a Patriots player who is nameless at this point practiced while being on IR. At this time, Goodell wants to corroborate this new information prior to releasing the player's name.
•Walsh engaged in illegal selling of tickets.
What We Don't Know
•When Walsh handed over his tapes to Patriots scout Ernie Adams, what did Adams do with the information?
•If these tapes are pieces of information, why did the Patriots go to such lengths to collect the data?
•Did they use information on tapes to gain an advantage?
Because these questions remain unanswered, I think Goodell should hand over the investigation to an independent prosecutor. I think Goodell just wants to put a bookmark in this unfortunate saga and move on.
However, there is another layer of this Spygate drama.
We will have to wait to see if Senator Arlen Spector (R) of Pennsylvania is satisfied with Goodell's investigation. I think Spector has a hidden agenda.
Remember, the U.S. Government has given the NFL an anti-trust exemption. Under this anti-trust exemption, the NFL can negotiate television contracts with all 32 teams rather than have each team do this individually.
The anti-trust exemption has enabled the NFL to prosper. In the past, Spector has threatened to repeal the exemption.
In addition, the NFL is at war with the cable industry over the NFL Network. Comcast Corporation (based out of Philadelphia, PA) is one of the cable giants at odds with the NFL about the NFL Network. The NFL wants its network on regular cable programming while Comcast and others want the network on a tiered package.
What does this mean?
If Spector is not satisfied with Goodell's investigation to date, he can "dangle a carrot" over Goodell. He can continue to pressure Goodell or have the U.S. Government investigate this Spygate soap opera.
If Goodell refuses, Spector and Senator Patrick Leahy (D) of Vermont, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, would consider removing the anti-trust exemption. Undoubtedly, this would be good news for the cable industry.
Stay tuned. I do not think this is over.
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5 months ago
I hope you heard what I heard today that nothing really new come out of today's meeting, the fines have already been paid and how cares about Spector, he can complain all he wants but the NFL did indeed look into this very deeply and I would conisder this issue DOA. I will continue to think that New England will continue to thumb their nose at the NFL until more teams like the Giants beat them...I have never been happier to see "Coach Genius" get out coached at I did during the Super Bowl...
from 5 months ago
ummmm chet im pretty sure the pats did not get outcoached during the superbowl. the giants d line simply manhandled the pats o line and the pats old linebackers couldnt get enough stops. i assure you it had nothing to do with coaching.
5 months ago
Spaygate should be over. I don't think the NFL wants to push further because if they dig too deep they will find numerous other teams that have done the same thing or otherwise broken rules. I was always curious why so many coaches simply said 'this is a league matter'. Coach Belechech was simply the most arrogant. There were also only a handful of players that would comment - but you seldom got a second round of criticism from them (I think coaches shut them up). I am not saying that all coaches cheat but silence is not a sign of respect for Belechech. As far as A. Spector, your analysis seem interesting. At the very least he has already said he wonders if his beloved Eagles were impacted by the Patriots cheating. What an abuse of power and public trust if that is his motivation. It would be politics as usual if he is trying to win favor with cable companies. How about focusing on polititions who hire prostitutes, take bribes and get in bed with terrorists. Or god forbid deal with gas prices and troops dying overseas.
from 5 months ago
amen to that. i really think spector needs to get a life.
5 months ago
It is over,,,but,,,Spector has to have something to bitch about doesn't he ? What else does he do ? Anything to get his name on a document and on the news is what he is about.
The New England Patriots screwed up once last year but it was in the Super Bowl. If anyone thinks for a minute that the Giants will be Giants this year then you better not watch the NFL. On the other hand , the Pats will be better than last season and will be the number one team in the NFL to beat as they have been for years.! Lets play ball and who even gives a shit anymore,,except the bar fly's that don't stay sober long enough to know who even wins the games untill the next day!
The Pats are heading west this season to take on the Seahawks and I have 6 tickets in a box just to be there with my buddies. Man having buddies is expensive but ,,what the hell they do the same for me .
I predict that the Pats will win big again this year and beat Dallas in the Super Bowl !!!
Tom Brady and Randy Moss will be better than last year !
************************************ GO PATS GO ***********************************
5 months ago
you guys don't have a clue. come on, they have pre paid fines for things that were not apart of spygate such as the practicing of the player that would normally be fined, lets just say the Patriots don't have to pay separate fines for separate events, just group all together FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS. This is a clear cut case of Goddell being in bed with the Pats and Bill. You guys are a joke that can't figure this out. They went to great links knowing if they got caught it would be serious, but it really doesn't help them? give me a giant 5 million dollar break. Not to mention the commission suspended a quarterback coach from another team for an extremely minor thing that the coach didn't even know was going on, and the commissioner said "We hold coaches to a higher accountability" obviously not Bill he didn't miss a game, and the 500k hurt about as much as missing breakfast. GET REAL!!
5 months ago
The Pats will go down in history just like Barry Bonds, as cheaters with a BIG FAT*******************************BY THERE TROPHYS All Pat fans should ask for a refund.
from 5 months ago
Randy, seeing how the Pats didn't "cheat" (they were fined for a technicality of where they put their camera-if you dont' believe me then do some research-they were NOT fined for "cheating"), I'll hold off on a refund right now ;)
5 months ago
Sreve,,you are right and the only thing they did was have a camera in plain site taping the other teams sidelines,,,,"" NOT THE GAME "",,,,and only when time out was called. The rule says a team cannot use a recorder to record the game on game day,,and says nothing about recording the sidelines or scoreboards !!
Do you or anyone else think that they would put a camera out in plain view for everyone to see if it was against the rules ???
This Randy guy hasn't a clue about the game or the rules,,or for that matter what cheating is at all. We still have the Mangini factor here and the bad blood that started the whole thing and lead him to Fink on the Pats as tool for revenge and then Goodell had no choice but to rule on what the pats were doing with a camera! And it certainly wasn't cheating !!!
Summing it up : Mangini and the Jets are now the Rats of the NFL !,,and the Pats went 18-0 and lost a close game in the Super Bowl and are the #1 team to beat again this year,,!!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
********************************* GO PATS GO ************************************
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