Cheaters Never Win...Well Maybe They Do

[Sean Adams]

If you follow the world of sports you are probably aware of the NFL "SpyGate" controversy that is going on involving the New England Patriots.

Here it is in a nutshell...

The Patriots won a bunch of Super Bowls and achieved unparalleled success from the years 2000-2008. This was seemingly amazing considering in this day and age of high priced athletes moving from one team to another year after year.

The last year, at the beginning of their never seen before perfect 16-0 season, they get caught cheating. They had a guy videotaping another team's signals, coaches and plays.

The owner of the team gets fined a bunch of money and so does the coach. Then the NFL commissioner takes all the evidence and burns it and says case closed.

But wait, a politician says not so fast. He says that more investigating needs done. The NFL says....nah, we're good, but thanks anyways.

Then a few months later, a former Patriot employee who was videotaping other teams for several years comes out and says the Patriots have been doing this for years and they may have even taped a team's pre-game warm-up before a Patriot Super Bowl victory.

The guy who makes these claims does not want to come forward in fear of getting in trouble with the law. He finally strikes a deal and this past week he presents the tapes he had made of other teams - bad, bad, bad videos of the other teams coaches calling plays, then him taping the play and the clock and then sending this information to the Patriots coaches.

Now that politicain says we need to dig deeper. He says that this is a big deal because if we in society tell these role models that it is OK for them to cheat then we are sending a message for all the kids out there that it is OK for them to cheat.

You have heard the saying that cheaters never win.... apparently in this case, they can win - several Super Bowls and a lot of games....

If you ask me, it is pathetic and it makes a ton of sense. A team in this era of free-agency to go 16-0 and win several Super Bowls just didn't make sense. I found it hard to believe that this one guy and his players were so much better and so much more capable than the other 31 teams in the league.

I guess time will tell what happens, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet that they get a slap on the wrist and everything goes back to normal....

Very sad....

[rachael24]

A slap on the wrist is right...They will not do anything harsh. Its sad too!

[Cutter1]

thats a true steeler fan talking!!!!

[MarcSmith]

Politicians have no business being in the NBA, NFL, Hockey, base ball, ect...
Its all entertainment., and they just need to let em be.

In fact I be a proponent of an "all drugged" team...Why. why not. Id love to see some jack 100 home runs in a season, or to see some one have 3000 yard rushing year, or someone pitch a 120mph fast ball...400 yard drive....

but seriously, the politicians need to focus on their job of running the country. Its painfully obvious that they are not right now the last thing they need to a distraction.

We've known for a long time that cheaters win....Dale E., Rusty Wallace, Darrel waltrip. How many Olympians have won gold medals....How many weightlifters have used roids....How many tennis stars have used drugs, or cyclists blood doping....

We have been a society of "bending" the rules for along time, pro teams cheating....should not be a big surprise...

[Supper Grassy]

You are so true

[bill8379]

If I was a sports fan AND a Politician... I would want to clean that crap up.

Ben Johnson is a crack head in my opinion.

[MarcSmith]

Ben Johnson is a crack head in my opinion.

I love to see a human break the 3 minute barrier in the mile...On foot.


and then just as they cross the line....their heart explodes out of their chest like in aliens....or their ankles break like 8 belles.....

[AJ Lawnscapes]

It's called getting the upper hand on your opponents. Everyone's just pissed they didn't do it instead of the Pats.

There is no need for "washington" to get involved. It's not their place.

[AI Inc]

It's called getting the upper hand on your opponents. Everyone's just pissed they didn't do it instead of the Pats.

There is no need for "washington" to get involved. It's not their place.

Its easier then dealing with the real issues. Isnt Arlen Spector and the person who started this thread from the same state?

[MarcSmith]

It's called getting the upper hand on your opponents. Everyone's just pissed they didn't do it instead of the Pats.

no everyone is pilling on the pats, as it draw attention away from them. IE I'd put money that other teams are doing it....just haven't been caught, or are paying the folks who are taping for them enough money to keep quiet.

[AI Inc]

Politicians have no business being in the NBA, NFL, Hockey, base ball, ect...
Its all entertainment., and they just need to let em be.

In fact I be a proponent of an "all drugged" team...Why. why not. Id love to see some jack 100 home runs in a season, or to see some one have 3000 yard rushing year, or someone pitch a 120mph fast ball...400 yard drive....

but seriously, the politicians need to focus on their job of running the country. Its painfully obvious that they are not right now the last thing they need to a distraction.

We've known for a long time that cheaters win....Dale E., Rusty Wallace, Darrel waltrip. How many Olympians have won gold medals....How many weightlifters have used roids....How many tennis stars have used drugs, or cyclists blood doping....

We have been a society of "bending" the rules for along time, pro teams cheating....should not be a big surprise...

Damn right, If your charging me $185 to see a game , someone should be hitting it out of the park. I realy dont wanna watch for 3 hrs to see a 1-0 game.

[JFF]

Now look, the Pats cheated. But the entire thing has been extremely overblown.

The rule says cameras may not be used to record signals. Period. That is what they did. They broke the rules, were punished, and the incident has been fully investigated. The NFL conducted over 50 interviews, including Matt Walsh.

Meanwhile, stealing signals is legal. Thats right, legal. Teams can do exactly the same thing with a pencil and a notebook and the league, the owners, the coaches, the players have no problem. Why?

Because only a simpleton uses the same signals over and over without changing them somehow. Players change teams. Coaches change teams. They take all the knowledge they have of their old teams playbook and signals with them when they go. The only way to protect yourself is to have a rotation on your signals or have more one person signaling plays in. You tell the players which coach to watch for the signals, then have additional people sending in dummy signals. If the signal is a number, you tell the players "In the first half, subtract 1 from the signal. Second half, add 2 to the signal." Or, simply change your signals.

So yes. The Patriots broke the rules by taping signals. They were punished. Knowing I can legally collect the same information with a pencil, is half a million dollars for the coach, 250 thousand for the team, and the loss of a first round (valued in the millions) pick not an adequate punishment?

BTW, Matt Walsh NEVER said he taped the Rams walk through. The Boston paper did, and they have since printed a retraction. Whats more, Mike Martz has said if there had been someone taping the walk through, he would have known about it and had the person removed. As far as the comments Walsh made about how the materials he taped were used, it strains belief to think a 24 year old video assistant had any knowledge of game planning.

Now if you want to be mad at the Pats about something, be mad that they stole the AFC championship game from my beloved Raiders via the tuck rule, aka the "Snow Job."

And Arlen Specter should find some important work to do for the people of PA and shut up.

[bill8379]

...or their ankles break like 8 belles.....

Exactly! People working for Fed Ex are probably more closely screened then Pro athletes. The whole business of putting asterisks next to people's names that have used steroids but still keep their record in the books is ridiculous.

Now people are using Human Growth hormone to get rid of signs of aging. Go to the doctor for an application of botox and human growth hormone, it's all perfectly naturally:rolleyes:

[Uranus]

Take a few minutes to listen to this interview.

http://audio.weei.com/m/19898320/arlen_specter.htm?pageid=966

[DLAWNS]

I do agree that politics should not be involved in sports (or pro wrestling for that matter). Our country is in turmoil right now and they should be spending time doing whatever they can to fix that. However, I think that the "punishment" that the Patriots got was crap. Fining them those amounts of money is like fining someone like us a nickel . And one draft pick, come on. Besides Belichek is an arrogant jerk and should be ran out of the league. I love how he purposely ignored the ref at the end of the super bowl and went to the locker room before the game was fully played through. But thats okay because the Giants took care of them and their perfect season.

[DanaMac]

Specter should stay out of it. No reason for a politician to step in. There are no laws being broken. Only rules of the game. And the NFL is policing it on their own. The Pats lost money AND a first round draft pick AND respect. the latter will haunt them for a long time.

I think the punishment fit the crime, but any continuance of the problem should be dealt with more harsh. You don't send a first time petty thief to life in jail.

And yes, every team is always trying to gain an edge, in every sport. there is other cheating or bending of the rules that we will never find out. And a few that may continue to leak out.

Go Pats :)

[corey4671]

earnhardt never cheated. he and his crew just knew how to exploit the gray areas of the rule book. :laugh:

[MarcSmith]

earnhardt never cheated. he and his crew just knew how to exploit the gray areas of the rule book. :laugh: by that logic neither did DW and Junior Johnson :)

[avjohnson]

What a bunch of sour grapes. We still went 17 and 0 under intense pressure and scrutiny and although we didn't win it all we did pretty darn well under the circumstances and despite being hated by what seems like the entire nation.

[DiyDave]

Let me get this straight... Washington politicians are going straighten out cheating in professional sports? Sounds like the pot callin the kettle black!:hammerhead::hammerhead:

[corey4671]

by that logic neither did DW and Junior Johnson :)

no no...Junior cheated...he just knew better than anybody how not to get caught :clapping: running moonshine will do that to you

[M&SLawnCare]

no everyone is pilling on the pats, as it draw attention away from them. IE I'd put money that other teams are doing it....just haven't been caught, or are paying the folks who are taping for them enough money to keep quiet.

This is the fact. Multiple players and coaches have mentioned this is common practice. Notice how Andy Reid always covers his face with the playbook when he calls a play? Its because they know their are likely to be lip readers in the stands watching and recording what they see. Trying to find out everything about the other team is part of the game. Lastly if you are going to attribute their success to cheating, they where caught at the beginning of this season. They then went on to set an NFL regular season record 16-0 without the use of the tapes. That says a lot about just how good they where.

I defiantly agree with Marc though. This is an NFL issue. The NFL can do whatever they feel is right because it was their "rule" that was broken. Wether thats a fine, slap on the wrist, major penalty, or burn everything involved. No "laws" where broken and therefore this is none of congress's business. Considering the state of the country, its disgusting to me politicians are wasting time on something like this. Steroids are against the law so thats a different topic all together.

[mowzum]

waste of my tax dollars IMO doesn't Spector have more pressing issues to deal with