Will the NFL join MLB before the bar of Congress?

Yes, if Sen. Arlen Specter has his way. And, we can only hope.

Specter said he’s disappointed with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s piecemeal handling of Spygate, the New England Patriots’ taping of other teams’ signals.

“The lack of candor, the piecemeal disclosures, the changes in position on material matters, the failure to be proactive in seeking out other key witnesses, and responding only when unavoidable evidence is thrust upon the NFL leads to the judgment that an impartial investigation is mandatory.”

He wants the NFL to do the equivalent of baseball’s “independent” Mitchell Commission, which, given George Mitchell’s ties to both the Boston Red Sex and Florida Marlins, was no such thing.

Also, Specter claims that Pats ex-coach Matt Walsh, who spilled the beans on more taping beyond the original Spygate issues that got the Pats in trouble, fined and stripped of a draft choice, told him more than he did Goodell.

Walsh claims the Pats also were taping in 2003-05, but that Goodell never asked him about that. Now, why would he not tell? Not trusting Goodell? An ace in the whole against that lack of trust?

Sounds about right to me.

Bye-bye Belichick and hello Vegas lawsuits?

Advance word on the Matt Walsh-Roger Goodell tete-a-tete today suggests that the New England Patriots not only DID tape other teams’ offensive signals in 2000-2002 (the story forgets to mention Super Bowl XXXVI opponent Los Angeles Rams, taped in a week-11 2001 regular season game), but were analyzing signals, based on game action of the ensuing play being spliced with signals.

From what I’m hearing, Goodell has enough goods to lower the boom on Belichick hard enough for at least a suspension.

And, I think he has to.

Question is, since the NFL does not have an antitrust exemption, unlike Major League Baseball, is the league now open to a shitstorm of lawsuits for fraud, false advertising, etc? And, I’m not just talking about Joe Fan, either.

What about Vegas sports houses?

I mean, if any of the games we know the Pats taped had results that were way off the book numbers on W/L, spread, over-under, etc., we’re talking millions of dollars, potentially.

Beyond that, the irony of sports bookmakers suing the NFL would probably be lost on Goodell as he tore out his hair.

I’ll have more on this later, as it becomes more clear what all Walsh revealed.

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Is Belichick lying about not taping offensive signals of other teams?

Yes No

Spygate – Pats partially off the hook

Former New England Patriots assistant coach Matt Walsh did not have any info on the Pats taping the St. Louis Rams’ pre-game walk-through at the 2002 Super Bowl, but did have info about the Pats taping regular-season games in 2000-2002. That includes new revelations that Pats head coach Bill Belichick has denied in the past:

While the tapes reportedly include recordings of opponents' offensive signals, an NFL official cited in today's Hartford Courant said Belichick did not admit to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that the team taped offensive signals. Belichick had previously admitted to taping opponents' defensive signals.

And Greg Aiello is speaking the party line for Goodell, it appears:

“This is consistent with that the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew,” Aiello, the NFL’s senior vice president of public relations, told the Associated Press.

Sounds like pretty thin ice for Belichick. Given that all the games that Walsh has allegations on occurred before the Patriots’ first Super Bowl victory, even if the Rams’ walk-around wasn’t taped, Belichick is not close to being totally off the hook.

Unfortunately, Dillon appears to be swallowing Aiello’s line as well. Referencing Aiello’s comment, he says:

In other words, the NFL isn’t expecting to discover anything it doesn’t already know.

Well, Dennis, expectations can be wrongly focused as well as set too high.

And, you just have what we know so far. Walsh still has a meeting scheduled with Roger the Dodger May 13. He also has one scheduled with Sen. Arlen Specter, who’s been pushing the league on this because his Philly Iggles lost to the Pats three years ago.

That leads me to repost this old poll:

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Is Bill Belichck, regardless of whether any legal action is ever actually pursued

Criminally guilty of "stealing a trade secret"? Civilly liable for depriving Kurt Warner of earnings? Neither

And to offer this new one:

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Is Belichick lying about not taping offensive signals of other teams?

Yes No

Spygate talk time is FINALLY here

Former New England Patriots assistant coach/video flunky Matt Walsh is going to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to perhaps, perhaps not, spill more beans on the Pats surreptitiously taping practices or game play signals of other NFL teams.

Circle May 13 on your sports calendars.

And Walsh looks like he has an ironclad immunity clause, although (see below) the Pats dispute that he has ever needed such a clause in the first place:

“Commissioner Goodell will meet with Mr. Walsh … on May 13, the earliest date that Mr. Walsh, who lives in Hawaii, will be available on the East Coast,” the NFL statement said. “The agreement also requires Mr. Walsh to return any tapes and other items in his possession that belong to the Patriots. In return, the NFL and the Patriots have promised not to sue Mr. Walsh. They also will indemnify him for any expenses, including legal fees that he incurs in connection with the interview.”

As NFL fans know, of course, the allegation is out there that the Pats videotaped a St. Louis Rams walk-through practice the day before the 2002 Super Bowl, which the Pats won, 20-17.

Meanwhile, the Pats’ office is throwing out the spinmeister line that Walsh never had any breach of confidentiality lawsuit to fear:

“It is important to note that there has never been a confidentiality agreement restricting Matt Walsh, and no legal protections were ever necessary for him to speak to the NFL, to media outlets or to anyone else regarding his employment with the Patriots,” the team’s statement said. “Walsh has been granted a significant number of privileges through this agreement, none of which the Patriots or the NFL were obligated to give.”

Methinks Bob Kraft and his minions doth protest too much.

Two other parts of the agreement are also noteworthy.

One, Walsh cannot speak to any third party between now and May 13. That means YOU, Sen. Arlen Specter.

And, the other, that will have conspiracy theorists salivating, is that Walsh must turn over to Goodell all materials in his possession by May 8. If I’m his attorney, Michael Levy, I’m making me a backup copy or two.

So, it’s time to again pull out my polls about Pats head coach Bill Belichick and 2002 Rams quarterback and Wheaties face Kurt Warner:

Free polls from Pollhost.com

Is Bill Belichck, regardless of whether any legal action is ever actually pursued

Criminally guilty of "stealing a trade secret"? Civilly liable for depriving Kurt Warner of earnings? Neither

And, if Belichick is guilty:

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If Kurt Warner sues, he should get

Nothing $100,000 $500,000 $1 million $2-3 million $4-5 million more

Bill Belichick says ‘move along nothing here’ on Spygate

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick continues to insist there is nothing further to be uncovered about Spygate.

“I think they’ve addressed everything they possibly can address. … We addressed so many questions so many times from so many people I don’t know what else the league could ask.”

Considering NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is moving at tortoise pace on offering an immunity deal to former Pats assistant coach/video gofer Matt Walsh, we of course have no way of knowing if what Belichick claims is true. Goodell confirmed for the first time that the NFL spoke again with Belichick and other Patriots employees after the Super Bowl.

“We followed up on other things because certain things had been tossed out.”

Walsh, through his lawyer, Michael Levy, has been negotiating with the NFL for legal protection, from lawsuits by the Pats or the league, to come forward to talk. Levy and the league reported three weeks ago that they were close to an agreement to do that, but talks have been sporadic since, the story notes.

Meanwhile, the Belichick spin-o-meter continues to run at full tilt:

“I barely knew Matt Walsh. He was hired before I became the coach.”

He conceded he should have contacted Ray Anderson, the NFL’s vice president for football operations, after a memo from Anderson in 2006 that laid down the specifications for intelligence gathering.

“What I should have done … I should have called the league and asked for a clarification,” he said. “That was my mistake.”

He said that in one respect, Spygate did the Patriots a favor.

“We’ve taken it as a positive and reorganized our operations to make sure a situation like this never comes up again,” he said. “Our operation is more efficient, more streamlined. Look at the results of this season. That would confirm it.”

Well, then, does the loss to the Giants disprove anything?




That said, it’s time to once again run our “if Kurt Warner sues the Patriots” poll:

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If Kurt Warner sues, he should get

Nothing $100,000 $500,000 $1 million $2-3 million $4-5 million more

Scratch one Goodell-Walsh agreement

Supposedly, a legal immunity agreement for former New England Patriots assistant coach/video gofer Matt Walsh to spill his Spygate guts to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is NOT so imminent after all. And NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says he doesn’t see a deal being reached in the next day or two.

I am SOOO shocked.

I’m guessing Walsh’s attorneys leaked info during the day Monday to start leaning on Goodell a little.