Specter Wants Mitchell-like Investigation (1 Viewer)

[David Yudkin]

Specter wants Mitchell-like investigation

May 14, 2008

WASHINGTON—Sen. Arlen Specter wants an independent investigation of the Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals similar to the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

Specter again criticized the league's handling of the investigation and threatened the possibility of revoking the NFL's antitrust exemption during a news conference Wednesday. The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee met with former New England video assistant Matt Walsh a day earlier.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell indicated he considered the investigation over after meeting with Walsh on Tuesday.

"Everybody pooh-poohs it," Specter said. "It's ridiculous to make that kind of contention."

Specter, from Pennsylvania, cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh's meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.

He repeated his disapproval of Goodell's decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall.

"That sequence is incomprehensible," Specter said. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it."

If the NFL condones cheating, Specter said, it encourages others to cheat.

"They owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility," he said.

LINKAGEMay have already been posted, but here it is again if so.

Is this guy ever going to give up? Whether you believe the penalties were just or unjust (or not enough), the league has moved on, the other teams have moved on, and the NFL is moving forward.

What does Specter hope to accomplish at this point?

And PLEASE let's not rehash the battle lines that have been drawn over the past 9 months and let's just stick to this potential investigation. We already know that some folks love the Pats no matter what and other folks think that NE is a bunch of cheaters and they should be kicked out the the NFL and into the CFL. So don't go there because no one really cares about venom being spewed in either direction and stay away from the insults and name calling. Stick to the news item not the stuff that we've covered in countless other threads.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Even I gotta admit enough is enough.

Dont congress have enough to worry about than taping football games?

Citizens of Penn. please vote this clown out ASAP, thanks

 

[Banger]

This guy is too much already. Doesn't he have a day job?

 

[Workhorse]

If Congress wants to really open up the league and investigate ALL NFL TEAMS with regards to rulebreaking (not just spying but tampering, artificial crowd noise, salary cap manipulation), my guess is that there wouldn't be a single NFL team or fan that would support this.

 

[Billy Ball Thorton]

I have no problem with it. He obviously knows more behind the scene details than you or I.

 

[PatsFanCT]

I think it would be awesome if he did this and all NFL teams were put under the microscope. Watching his head spin when he sees similar tapes or otherwise diabolical wrongdoings by his beloved Eagles would be absolutely priceless.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Substantial recession.

Ongoing war.

Climate and pollution issues.

Health care concerns.

Social Security collapse.

Terrorism concerns.

Rising unemployment.

Incomprehensibly massive national debt (and deficit).

Big-time immigration/border control issues.

Country-wide health problems with obesity.

Deteriorating educational rankings relative to the rest of the developed world.

Never-ending ethics issues with what seems like half of Congress.

Huge trade deficit.

National emergencies.

Ridiculous pork-barrel spending.

And all this yahoo wants to talk about is spending my tax dollars and Congress' valuable time on investigating an issue for a GAME that's already been acknowledged and addressed by the governing body of that GAME?

Why does this guy still have a job? I'm thinking about moving back to PA just to vote against him.

 

[Scott Bryant]

I have no problem with what Senator Arlen Specter is suggesting. Outside investigators should have stepped in the moment it became known that Roger Goodell destroyed the incriminating evidence. Roger Goodell is very much caught in a conflict of interest and only a truly impartial outside investigation will get to the bottom of this. I applaud Senator Specter for his tenacity and refusal to accept what Roger Goodell says at face value. If the NFL wants anti-trust law exemption they'll happily abide with Congress. If not, then I'll look forward to the USFL starting up again soon.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I have no problem with what Senator Arlen Specter is suggesting. Outside investigators should have stepped in the moment it became known that Roger Goodell destroyed the incriminating evidence. Roger Goodell is very much caught in a conflict of interest and only a truly impartial outside investigation will get to the bottom of this. I applaud Senator Specter for his tenacity and refusal to accept what Roger Goodell says at face value. If the NFL wants anti-trust law exemption they'll happily abide with Congress. If not, then I'll look forward to the USFL starting up again soon.

What is it that you want to see happen as a result of this "investigation" at my expense? How is it going to make my life or the lives of my fellow Americans better?

 

[trader jake]

Specter, from Pennsylvania, cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh's meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.He repeated his disapproval of Goodell's decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall."That sequence is incomprehensible," Specter said. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it."

Based on the information above I have no problem with his investigation. Yes, there are more important things Congress could be doing. Yes, most FBG's are sick of Spygate.How did it work out when baseball swept their issues under the rug? If there's nothing more to the story Spector's investigation would end further speculation forever. If he finds something it's better to have it come to light and be resolved now.

 

[David Yudkin]

I have no problem with what Senator Arlen Specter is suggesting. Outside investigators should have stepped in the moment it became known that Roger Goodell destroyed the incriminating evidence. Roger Goodell is very much caught in a conflict of interest and only a truly impartial outside investigation will get to the bottom of this. I applaud Senator Specter for his tenacity and refusal to accept what Roger Goodell says at face value. If the NFL wants anti-trust law exemption they'll happily abide with Congress. If not, then I'll look forward to the USFL starting up again soon.

The USFL cam and went. The XFL came and went. Another league was supposed to start up soon and never even got off the ground. I don't think the NFL is really too concerned about competitive leagues.IMO, it's the league's job to run the NFL and it's Congress' job to run the country. The league has policed itself on this matter. There are 32 teams that have admitted to being ok with the outcome. The commish is fine with the outcome. When did it become Congress' job to police eneryone?As an anology, let's say you keep your grass a certain length. And your neighbors are fine with it. And the town and state are fine with it. But here comes the federal government wanting to launch a formal investigation that would result in telling you what length to keep your grass and how often you should be forced to cut it.In the NFL's case, they have rules that they followed, imposed sanctions per their governing regulations, and have moved on. What is the problem here? As others have mentioned, there are plenty of other things that Congress needs to be involved with. Didn't the Mitchell investigation and Clemens hearings show just how big a waste of time and resources getting Congress involved was?

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Specter, from Pennsylvania, cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh's meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.He repeated his disapproval of Goodell's decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall."That sequence is incomprehensible," Specter said. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it."

Based on the information above I have no problem with his investigation. Yes, there are more important things Congress could be doing. Yes, most FBG's are sick of Spygate.How did it work out when baseball swept their issues under the rug? If there's nothing more to the story Spector's investigation would end further speculation forever. If he finds something it's better to have it come to light and be resolved now.

Again, what is there to find?Oh and yeah, the baseball thing was a complete waste of time and money too. Baseball players were on steroids. *GASP*. Thank God Congress got to the bottom of THAT. Now I can sleep tonight, because I NEVER would have guessed McGuire was on juice, and now that I know it has made SUCH an impact on my life. Plus, we can all now be absolutely certain it will never happen again.Maybe if Congress had spent all those countless hours figuring out how best to deal with our economy etc. we'd be in better shape. I doubt it, with the current crew, but who knows.

 

[Workhorse]

As an anology, let's say you keep your grass a certain length. And your neighbors are fine with it. And the town and state are fine with it. But here comes the federal government wanting to launch a formal investigation that would result in telling you what length to keep your grass and how often you should be forced to cut it.

Extend the analogy a bit: You also find out that the President mandates that you can only hire one specific landscape company to cut the lawn for you if you choose to hire one and that company is the largest contributor to the President's campaign fund.

 

[Christo]

I have no problem with it. He obviously knows more behind the scene details than you or I.

He does? I thought his complaint was that he didn't know enough.

 

[Workhorse]

I have no problem with it. He obviously knows more behind the scene details than you or I.

He does? I thought his complaint was that he didn't know enough.

I think the real complaint is that he doesn't know what he wants to hear.

 

[Chunky Soup]

Substantial recession.Ongoing war.Climate and pollution issues.Health care concerns.Social Security collapse.Terrorism concerns.Rising unemployment.Incomprehensibly massive national debt (and deficit).Big-time immigration/border control issues.Country-wide health problems with obesity.Deteriorating educational rankings relative to the rest of the developed world.Never-ending ethics issues with what seems like half of Congress.Huge trade deficit.National emergencies.Ridiculous pork-barrel spending.And all this yahoo wants to talk about is spending my tax dollars and Congress' valuable time on investigating an issue for a GAME that's already been acknowledged and addressed by the governing body of that GAME?Why does this guy still have a job? I'm thinking about moving back to PA just to vote against him.

Are you at work typing this?

 

[PatrickT]

I have no problem with what Senator Arlen Specter is suggesting. Outside investigators should have stepped in the moment it became known that Roger Goodell destroyed the incriminating evidence. Roger Goodell is very much caught in a conflict of interest and only a truly impartial outside investigation will get to the bottom of this. I applaud Senator Specter for his tenacity and refusal to accept what Roger Goodell says at face value. If the NFL wants anti-trust law exemption they'll happily abide with Congress. If not, then I'll look forward to the USFL starting up again soon.

What is it that you want to see happen as a result of this "investigation" at my expense? How is it going to make my life or the lives of my fellow Americans better?

And as a follow-up, please cite the constitutionality of such an congressional involvement.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

I was able to listen to a very good portion of the presser on Sirius and what I came away with the most was that Specter is a Steelers fan and that he feels he and his constituents in Pa deserve some sort of satisfaction due to the taping and the loss to the Pats.

He said several times "It's only one mans opinion, but its my opinion". Clearly the guy has an ax to grind. This is going to come off quite poorly but I get the feeling that he needs to keep himself busy with little things of this nature so that he remains focused while fighting cancer. He was on Stern a few weeks back promoting his new book and I just got the feeling that he has no idea what to do with himself if he isnt meddling in something.

 

[GregR_2]

I didn't have a problem with him getting involved at first. It turns out we never were given a clear picture by the NFL of what happened until he did get involved. Goodell's wording created the illusion it was much more limited to the last year or so, when he knew that wasn't the case.

But I haven't seen any evidence that there is anything left to investigate on Spygate. If the NFL was going to look into the allegations that visiting team's communications seem to go out during key drives at Gillette then come back on right after, that would be something. But I don't see a reason to further investigate Spygate like this unless there was evidence uncovered to suggest there is more to find. So far I'm not aware of any.

 

[PatsFanCT]

I didn't have a problem with him getting involved at first. It turns out we never were given a clear picture by the NFL of what happened until he did get involved. Goodell's wording created the illusion it was much more limited to the last year or so, when he knew that wasn't the case.

But I haven't seen any evidence that there is anything left to investigate on Spygate. If the NFL was going to look into the allegations that visiting team's communications seem to go out during key drives at Gillette then come back on right after, that would be something. But I don't see a reason to further investigate Spygate like this unless there was evidence uncovered to suggest there is more to find. So far I'm not aware of any.

At Gillette? Is that what they are calling Lincoln Financial Field these days?"Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the drive was that Griese called all of the plays up until the touchdown because his helmet communication with offensive coordinator Ron Turner had gone out before the Bears took possession of the ball."

 

[Chase Stuart]

As an anology, let's say you keep your grass a certain length. And your neighbors are fine with it. And the town and state are fine with it. But here comes the federal government wanting to launch a formal investigation that would result in telling you what length to keep your grass and how often you should be forced to cut it.

It's a really bad analogy because you're not running a monopoly that brings in billions of dollars a year.I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

 

[David Yudkin]

I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

As I said earlier, if the league and the 32 teams are ready to let this go and they are satisfied, why should anyone else be looking to drudge this further (no matter what afiliation that person has in term's of a favorite team).May be this is a better analogy. Joe Jones gets caught committing a crime. He is tried and convicted, serves his time/penalty, the police are happy, the courts are happy, the DA is happy, Joe Jones is happy, and the warden is happy.Then a Congressman suggests that this needs a federal indictment and a congressional investigation when everyone else in the court/legal/law enforcement/corrections system has signed off on it and is not concerned it's a problem. Last time I checked the court system is a monopoly (you don't get to be tried any place else).

 

[Scott Bryant]

As an anology, let's say you keep your grass a certain length. And your neighbors are fine with it. And the town and state are fine with it. But here comes the federal government wanting to launch a formal investigation that would result in telling you what length to keep your grass and how often you should be forced to cut it.

It's a really bad analogy because you're not running a monopoly that brings in billions of dollars a year.I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

Chase, you make some great points. What is prominent in the matter is that the Patriots did cheat, Goodell still thinks Belicheck is a liar, and discussion will continue.

 

[Scott Bryant]

I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

As I said earlier, if the league and the 32 teams are ready to let this go and they are satisfied, why should anyone else be looking to drudge this further (no matter what afiliation that person has in term's of a favorite team).May be this is a better analogy. Joe Jones gets caught committing a crime. He is tried and convicted, serves his time/penalty, the police are happy, the courts are happy, the DA is happy, Joe Jones is happy, and the warden is happy.Then a Congressman suggests that this needs a federal indictment and a congressional investigation when everyone else in the court/legal/law enforcement/corrections system has signed off on it and is not concerned it's a problem. Last time I checked the court system is a monopoly (you don't get to be tried any place else).

David, I feel you're spinning your own wheels here. I hardly believe that all 32 teams are satisfied with the outcome of things. They may be toeing the company line like politically good owners, but you'd be naive to think the entire NFL is ok with things. Making analogies is pointless. We're dealing with a billion dollar industry, anti-trust exemption laws, sports betting, not a lawn service.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

IMO, it's the league's job to run the NFL and it's Congress' job to run the country. The league has policed itself on this matter. There are 32 teams that have admitted to being ok with the outcome. The commish is fine with the outcome. When did it become Congress' job to police eneryone?

As soon as Congress ends the NFL's antitrust exemption I'm right with you. "Basically, the anti-trust exemtion just allows the NFL to exist. It does not prevent competition or give the NFL exclusive rights to anything. Without the exemtion, the NFL would have to either assist with creating a league that is a direct competitor to the NFL, or would have to split itself into two or more independent organizations."

 

[crowe1130]

Specter met with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh for three hours yesterday in his Hart Senate Office Building office. He said that Walsh told him that a former offensive player for the Patriots told Walsh a few days before a Sept. 11, 2000 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that the offensive player was called into a meeting with head coach Bill Belichick, then offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and Belichick confidant Ernie Adams. During the meeting it was explained to the player how the signal tapes would be used.

According to Specter's recount of what Walsh detailed to him, the offensive player, who was on the sidelines for the game, would memorize the signals then watch for the Tampa Bay defensive calls during the game. He would then pass the call along to Weis, who would give instructions to the quarterback on the field.

Specter's statement said that the offensive player told Walsh that it helped the Patriots anticipate 75 percent of the defensive plays being called.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patr...er_calls_f.htmlThis is the only thing I find interesting in the new batch of stories. Whether or not this was legal, etc. is not a question that's even worth bringing up around here because of the homer and hater frenzy that would occur.

As an INDIVIDUAL, though, it really leads me to believe that those Pats teams and players were nowhere near as great as they seemed at the time.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

 

[Workhorse]

As an anology, let's say you keep your grass a certain length. And your neighbors are fine with it. And the town and state are fine with it. But here comes the federal government wanting to launch a formal investigation that would result in telling you what length to keep your grass and how often you should be forced to cut it.

It's a really bad analogy because you're not running a monopoly that brings in billions of dollars a year.I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

Chase, I'd say that Patriots fans have legs to stand on. We're paying customers too just like the fans of every other team and I think that the integrity of the NFL would be FAR more damaged by Specter eliminating the antitrust exemption than anything having to do with Spygate. Because that seems to be the only weapon that Specter wields at this point and based on his ties to Comcast, it's what he's REALLY after here. Eliminating that exemption would be disastrous for the NFL, and the league knows it.

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

The rotting feculent corpse that is this matter ought to be beneath the dignity of Congress to investigate. We have seen that nothing in fact is. We have seen that lessor matters can be ginned up to such importance, but they should not be. Some will want the ox goring to continue here in some sort of payback for the last time their ox got gored. Some will want to punish apologists to bring them to heel, as if anything could. Me, I don't like what happened. I reserve to myself the right to form my opinion about the historical merits of the team and individuals involved, have done so, and have come to negative conclusions. But enough is enough. Congress does not need a consensus on the hierarchal order of problems they must address, but I think we can all agree, no matter the order, this is pretty far down the list. Let's address a few more pressing national concerns before looking into this, and if and when we do lets have some small administrative agency do so with an obscure taskforce as is befitting the dignity of this matter. I may have time for this nonsense, but Senators should not.

 

[Buckeyedawgs]

My opinion of congress getting involved with professional sports is BS altogether.

Same with baseball steroids and even college bowls. ect. They can't get anything done with what they were elected to achieve, yet they have to be sticking there nose in sports business. Time to replace them ALL!

My opinion of the spy scandel is it's lots worst then NFL will ever admitt. Bellicheck got caught lieing and cheating more then once over more then one issues! They got penalized a draft pick so be it. Let it go and keep the CONGRESS nose out of it.

It's far deeper then the NFL will ever let on. If I was the NFL I would sue congress to keep there nose out of there business. Let the supreme court rule with this where it belongs. Congress needs to be spending there time doing what they were elected to do. Like dealing with the rape gas prices and Economy. Dealing with immigrants and the budget.

I own 5 boats and can't even afford to run them this summer! And darn congress is too busy dealing with steroids and spy scandels and things where they have no business sticking there nose into while the econmy continues to slip into a serious problem that effects us all.

WISE UP CONGRESS

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

IMO, it's the league's job to run the NFL and it's Congress' job to run the country. The league has policed itself on this matter. There are 32 teams that have admitted to being ok with the outcome. The commish is fine with the outcome. When did it become Congress' job to police eneryone?

As soon as Congress ends the NFL's antitrust exemption I'm right with you. "Basically, the anti-trust exemtion just allows the NFL to exist. It does not prevent competition or give the NFL exclusive rights to anything. Without the exemtion, the NFL would have to either assist with creating a league that is a direct competitor to the NFL, or would have to split itself into two or more independent organizations."

would congress do this? specter may have an axe to grind but would the rest of congress even want to bother?

 

[iSnitch]

What is his basis for justifying spending our taxdollars on such an investigation?

 

[BigSteelThrill]

What is his basis for justifying spending our taxdollars on such an investigation?

Congress paid for the mitchell investigation? Or baseball? (I dont know, baseball blows)

 

[iSnitch]

IMO, it's the league's job to run the NFL and it's Congress' job to run the country. The league has policed itself on this matter. There are 32 teams that have admitted to being ok with the outcome. The commish is fine with the outcome. When did it become Congress' job to police eneryone?

As soon as Congress ends the NFL's antitrust exemption I'm right with you. "Basically, the anti-trust exemtion just allows the NFL to exist. It does not prevent competition or give the NFL exclusive rights to anything. Without the exemtion, the NFL would have to either assist with creating a league that is a direct competitor to the NFL, or would have to split itself into two or more independent organizations."

would congress do this? specter may have an axe to grind but would the rest of congress even want to bother?

The rest of Congress likely wouldn't want to bother but imo that's not a can of worms the NFL wants to open.

 

[iSnitch]

What is his basis for justifying spending our taxdollars on such an investigation?

Congress paid for the mitchell investigation? Or baseball? (I dont know, baseball blows)

We (taxpayers) paid for the investigation. Not only did it cost us money, it took time away from our elected leaders. Instead of working on real problems they dicked around with this crap. Of course, considering Congress does a rather poor job of anything, perhaps we should be thankful they spend all their time chasing down nonsense rather than pass more laws screwing us.

 

[Red Apples]

as somone who pays lots of taxes...

i have no problem w/ it at all..

entertain me congress.

 

[tombonneau]

We (taxpayers) paid for the investigation. Not only did it cost us money, it took time away from our elected leaders. Instead of working on real problems they dicked around with this crap.

Don't forget Congress also took time out to have pictures taken with Roger Clemens.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

We (taxpayers) paid for the investigation. Not only did it cost us money, it took time away from our elected leaders. Instead of working on real problems they dicked around with this crap.

Don't forget Congress also took time out to have pictures taken with Roger Clemens.

Hmmm... what I can find says the commisionsers office paid for it.As best as I can tell from searching, the investigation was paid by MLB. (non taxpayer)Then the congress held a hearing on that investigation. (taxpayer)

 

[Ghost Rider]

The Patriots deserve most of the criticism they are getting.

LOL at Robert Kraft's statement that "everyone who knows us, knows what we are about." Yeah, cheating, apparently.

Having said that, Senator Specter needs to go the hell away. He is coming off like a big crybaby who is only doing this because his favorite team lost one of those Super Bowls to the Patriots.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Substantial recession.Ongoing war.Climate and pollution issues.Health care concerns.Social Security collapse.Terrorism concerns.Rising unemployment.Incomprehensibly massive national debt (and deficit).Big-time immigration/border control issues.Country-wide health problems with obesity.Deteriorating educational rankings relative to the rest of the developed world.Never-ending ethics issues with what seems like half of Congress.Huge trade deficit.National emergencies.Ridiculous pork-barrel spending.And all this yahoo wants to talk about is spending my tax dollars and Congress' valuable time on investigating an issue for a GAME that's already been acknowledged and addressed by the governing body of that GAME?Why does this guy still have a job? I'm thinking about moving back to PA just to vote against him.

Are you at work typing this?

I am (or was then), and I am responsible to my boss for the amount of work I produce. If I waste too much time on things that don't matter to my boss (like this), I will be fired - and rightfully so. We are Congress' boss. We pay their salaries. This is a BIG waste of my money. I'd like to fire him.

 

[ThePittbully]

The Patriots deserve most of the criticism they are getting. LOL at Robert Kraft's statement that "everyone who knows us, knows what we are about." Yeah, cheating, apparently. Having said that, Senator Specter needs to go the hell away. He is coming off like a big crybaby who is only doing this because his favorite team lost one of those Super Bowls to the Patriots.

Im tired of hearing about it everytime I turn on the TV but I have to say it is funny. And the Pats have no right to get all uppity about the Herald running the Rams walk through story or any other allegations being thrown around because guess what YOU CHEATED. You cant cheat, and then go on TV and whine about people talking about how you cheated. The Kraft interview was hilarious, the "everyone who knows us, knows what we're about" line was too funny not to laugh. And Tom Brady crying on sirius radio about how ESPN needs to shut up about it makes me sick. I agree that its annoying but everyone who is a Patriot or in the Patriots organization has no one to blame but themselves and has no right to whine or complain or call out anyone else. You cheated, people are talking about it, deal with it

 

[Demons]

I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

As I said earlier, if the league and the 32 teams are ready to let this go and they are satisfied, why should anyone else be looking to drudge this further (no matter what afiliation that person has in term's of a favorite team).May be this is a better analogy. Joe Jones gets caught committing a crime. He is tried and convicted, serves his time/penalty, the police are happy, the courts are happy, the DA is happy, Joe Jones is happy, and the warden is happy.Then a Congressman suggests that this needs a federal indictment and a congressional investigation when everyone else in the court/legal/law enforcement/corrections system has signed off on it and is not concerned it's a problem. Last time I checked the court system is a monopoly (you don't get to be tried any place else).

Actually, you can be tried by both the State and the Feds on the same facts. As a for instance, look at medicinal marijuana in California. The State doesn't want to prosecute, Joe Jones is happy, etc. The Feds are still going to prosecute.I actually think that the destruction of the evidence is a great reason for a Congressional inquiry and investigation.

 

[wadegarrett]

Arlen Specter is a doosh.

 

[Demons]

Truth be told, I think Denver needs to be thrown under the same bus as New England, since they cheated on the salary cap in order to win two Super Bowls.

I think Denver needs to be vilified, much like New England has been. Denver is simply lucky that there was a different Commissioner in charge back then and that it was swept under the carpet to an extent.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I'm still waiting to hear from ANYONE who thinks this is a good idea (the investigation) to tell me what they expect from it. Forget the fact that we pay for all of this for a minute (and more importantly pay the opportunity cost of not getting honest-to-goodness legit issues addressed). Let's say we don't care about that. Let's say the investigation takes place.

What do we expect to find out? And based on those findings, what do you expect to happen?

What's the worst case? They dig and find out most teams did this or something similar? If so, do you care? IF that turns out to be the case (and I suspect it would to some degree or other), the PATRIOTS (who I hate BTW) ought to pissed because they are the only ones to be punished for it.

So the team has already been punished for spying, so let's say we find out the team spied on one more game or practice or whatever than we though they did. Who cares? Hey, say they did it for every game over the last 20 years! Then what? Should Congress enforce a another draft pick penalty? Should they rework the draft rules or something?

What other scenario is there? I mean seriously, not even from a "most important law-making body in the world that we are paying for and represent us as a nation" standpoint, but from a "who gives a rats ### at ALL" standpoint? I am almost always a "letter of the law" kind of guy - I was all for dropping the hammer on the Pats. But it is fricken OVER already and it has NOTHING to do with the business of running this country.

The whole thing is utterly ridiculous. Did Goodell handle it poorly? Seems so. Oh well. Did the Pats break the rules? Yep - and they got punished. Whether that punishment was fair or not is VERY hard to say, but based on the fact that no team owner or organization is publicly saying anything to the contrary leads to me to believe it was at least somewhat reasonable. Some of these guys are NOT known to tote the company line all the time. I know the Steelers, one of the taped teams ("my" team), has said all along that they could care less and I believe them. Part of the reason for that may well be that it is done all of the time and the Pats were just the ballsiest/stupidest team that got busted for it.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I don't have any real comment either way on what Specter wants to do, or whether Spygate should continue or end; but I don't think Patriots fans have any legs to stand on when they ask "can we please stop talking about spygate". Other teams' fans? Sure. But not Patriots' fans. You can't commit a crime and then complain about how long people are going to talk about it, especially when the crime is potentially an incredibly serious one w/r/t the integrity of the NFL.

As I said earlier, if the league and the 32 teams are ready to let this go and they are satisfied, why should anyone else be looking to drudge this further (no matter what afiliation that person has in term's of a favorite team).May be this is a better analogy. Joe Jones gets caught committing a crime. He is tried and convicted, serves his time/penalty, the police are happy, the courts are happy, the DA is happy, Joe Jones is happy, and the warden is happy.Then a Congressman suggests that this needs a federal indictment and a congressional investigation when everyone else in the court/legal/law enforcement/corrections system has signed off on it and is not concerned it's a problem. Last time I checked the court system is a monopoly (you don't get to be tried any place else).

Actually, you can be tried by both the State and the Feds on the same facts. As a for instance, look at medicinal marijuana in California. The State doesn't want to prosecute, Joe Jones is happy, etc. The Feds are still going to prosecute.I actually think that the destruction of the evidence is a great reason for a Congressional inquiry and investigation.

Was a federal law broken? Is the NFL commish destroying NFL tapes against the law for some reason?

 

[Green and Gold]

Steroids are an illegal substance (with exceptions), so Congress investigating has at least some basis in law. Taping signals isn't illegal in either the NFL or the USA. Taping signals from the sideline is illegal in the NFL, but not the USA. I guess I just really don't get it.

 

[Scott Bryant]

Senator Specter is within his right to demand further inquiry into the Spygate allegations and the investigation. And that opinion will be upheld on this board.

 

[Kit Fisto]

Senator Specter is within his right to demand further inquiry into the Spygate allegations and the investigation. And that opinion will be upheld on this board.

You joined the board yesterday, you have 12 posts to your name, every single one of them is in regards to the Patriots, and you're telling people here to "tone it down".So tell me, who's alias are you?

 

[gianmarco]

(Rotoworld) Retired quarterback Jay Fielder says the Dolphins tried to steal signals from the Patriots when he played.

Impact: "There were times in games when we knew certain defensive calls from what we were able to gather during the game or our scouts' eyesight," Fiedler revealed. He called knowing defensive signals "a huge advantage. If the quarterback knows what's coming, he can dissect it at the line of scrimmage."