It is a very interesting piece, one that calls into question the Patriot's first SuperBowl victory against the St. Louis Rams. If the recent reports are true (IF TRUE), that a cameraman by the name of Matt Walsh recorded the St. Louis Rams' last practice before the SuperBowl, then the NFL has a major black eye:
Mike Fish reported on ESPN that St. Louis' walk-through was devoted to red zone plays -- all new plays and new formations the Rams had not shown during the season. Going into that Super Bowl, the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" was the league's highest-scoring team. In that game, St. Louis was held to a field goal in the first half. The Rams kept getting bogged down, as if New England knew what plays were coming. If the Patriots secretly taped the Rams' walk-through, then stopped the red zone plays the Rams showed in that walk-through, then won that Super Bowl by three points, then logic says New England materially benefited from cheating in the Super Bowl. If true, this would be the worst sports scandal since the Black Sox.
Congress will begin to investigate Spy-Gate. According to Easterbrook:
Most NFL teams play in publicly subsidized stadiums, and NFL games are aired over public airwaves controlled by federal licenses. The licenses, among other things, prohibit any pre-arrangement or artifice in what is presented as live competition. If a Super Bowl were affected by cheating, that would be a legitimate matter of concern to Congress. Plus, the recent lesson learned via baseball and steroids was that Major League Baseball did not clean up its own house until Congress put some pressure on.
2 comments:
Harrogate is all about the widespread stripping of dignity that the Patriots have been experiencing since Sunday.
And, he cheerfully buys your well-reasoned argument that "If a Super Bowl were affected by cheating, that would be a legitimate matter of concern to Congress."
But one question Harrogate has is, what if Congressional queries reveal that the Pats indeed cheated in their win against the Greatest Show on Turf? What legal or punitive consequences might reasonably emerge?
As for the statement, "the recent lesson learned via baseball and steroids was that Major League Baseball did not clean up its own house until Congress put some pressure on." Well and hmmmm. Perhaps Southpaw will join Harrogate in noting that the notion baseball has cleaned up its house is a bit strong.
But not to worry. George W. Bush is going to be the next Commissioner of baseball. He will restore honor and dignity to the sport.
I am not sure what the NFL would do because of the PR nightmare that would occur.
If the NLF were to act, it could strip the championship away from the Patriots, but that would be unlikely since, ultimately, the game relied on the players to perform.
Coach Bill Belichick would be in serious trouble though. A suspension and possible ban may be appropriate. The Kraft family may not want the negative PR as well.
Brady would suffer a PR hit, but as a "Media Darling," coverage would overlook his role. Besides, he could always go home to his supermodel.
As far as the Baseball and Cleanup comment, I think that Easterbrook is not saying the sport is clean, but that Congressional pressure began the process. Without the Congressional pressure, Baseball would still say it "checked" for Performance Enhancers but turned the other cheek (and I am not sure which cheek is turning) to the injections.
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