This Is Why I'm Not The Commissioner
Well, I had just posted my thoughts about penalties I would give the cheatin' New England Patriots, were I the commissioner, when I left work yesterday, turned on the radio .... and heard the news of the real ruling.
The NFL was both tougher and more lenient than my prescription. Here's the Boston Globe's account of the sentence:
- Bill Belichick has been fined $500,000 by the NFL. That is the maximum amount under the NFL Constitution and By-Laws for violating league policy last Sunday on the use of equipment to videotape an opposing team’s offensive or defensive signals.
- The Patriots have been fined $250,000 by the NFL.
- The Patriots will give up their first-round pick in 2008 if they make the playoffs. If they don't make the playoffs, they will surrender their second- and third-round picks.
Sounds tough, but fair. Now the Pats need to kill the Chargers Sunday night, and lay the scandal to rest.
Chris,
Bill Simmons has a great interview with another sportswriter where they tear up the legacy-is-tainted theory. If you look at each of the super bowls, it was the FIRST half where the Patriots won those games. If the cheating had won the games for them, the second half would have been where they made the adjustments and scored big.
Not an excuse for the cheating, but a good antidote for some of the over the top whining that has been flooding the sports media these days.
Cheers, Kenny
Good point, Kenny. My friend Ben Kepple blogged about how, according to Hines Ward, it was the cameras that allowed the Pats to beat Pittsburch in the 2001 AFC championship game. I mocked that absurd claim in an e-mail to Ben, which he kindly posted here.