PFT's Josh Alper: Specter's ties to Comcast make situation more difficult for NFL

[pats1]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/category/rumor-mill/

SPECTER’S TIES TO COMCAST MAKE SITUATION MORE DIFFICULT FOR NFL
Posted by Josh Alper on May 14, 2008, 4:20 p.m.

Arlen Specter was very upfront about part of his motivation for calling for an independent investigation into Spygate. He’s a Senator from Pennsylvania and he’s concerned that tapes made of the Steelers in 2004 may have contributed to their loss in the AFC Championship game.

He was less forthcoming about another potential reason for his anger at the NFL. Specter has very close ties with Comcast, based in his state, and they’ve been fighting with the league about the placement of the NFL Network on their cable networks.

On ESPN’s NFL Live, Sal Paolantonio said “the NFL Network, just last Tuesday, filed a complaint with the FCC against the Comcast Corporation for discrimination. They want those NFL Network games to go on the regular tier.” Because they’re dealing with the federal government and because Specter is so close to Comcast, they need to tread lightly lest the league make more of a mess for itself in Washington.

Paolantonio also said that part of the reason Specter made a public plea for the outside investigation is that Senator Patrick Leahy, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, balked at holding Senate hearings on Spygate. That leaves a Mitchell Report type investigation as the likely outlet for Specter’s concerns.

That raises another question. The Mitchell Report investigated all of baseball for steroid use, shouldn’t a similar investigation into cheating in the NFL go beyond the Patriots to find out how many teams are guilty?

Not bad for the new writer on his first day. Gettin' the truth out there.

Of course, it should be mentioned that Specter is a hypocrite based off this connection.

 

[DarrylS]

The Mitchell Report investigated illegal activity.. this intended investigation is looking at rules violations?? Makes little sense..

 

[BradyFTW!]

Nice, let's hope this is a sign of what we can expect in the future from this guy, as well.

 

[DaBruinz]

There is a nice tidbit in there that can't be over-looked.

Pat Leahy has already balked at holding hearings on this. That's good news. And I'm sure that he'll continue to balk since there was no new evidence of any wrong doing.

 

[hambone1818]

Posted by Josh Alper on May 14, 2008, 4:20 p.m.

That raises another question. The Mitchell Report investigated all of baseball for steroid use, shouldn’t a similar investigation into cheating in the NFL go beyond the Patriots to find out how many teams are guilty?

I particularily enjoyed this part...at some point SOMEONE in the national media just HAS to catch on to this, right?

I'd love for this to be opened up to every team: get it all out in the open, air everyone's dirty laundry for everyone to see. Interview prior employees, disgruntled employees, the whole works. Tapes will be found all over the place.

 

[miDeuce]

Any independant investigator would have to find out how many teams were doing it - per Walsh's disclosure about the Jets they'd be the first people I'd interview then Jimmy Johnson. An independant investigation would be a long and costly thing that would ultimately probably come to the conclusion that there were multiple teams that did "spy" and that the effect it had on the outcome of games was minimal (i.e what we all know now). While I want Spygate to die a truly non-biased independant investigation would probably end up redeeming the Pats somewhat by showing how widespread this was throughout the history of football.

 

[bakes781]

I particularily enjoyed this part...at some point SOMEONE in the national media just HAS to catch on to this, right?

I'd love for this to be opened up to every team: get it all out in the open, air everyone's dirty laundry for everyone to see. Interview prior employees, disgruntled employees, the whole works. Tapes will be found all over the place.

Way to go Mangina! :rocker:

 

[MrTibbs]

See this is going the same way of Barry Bonds. They start digging deeper and all their other little NFL darlings will be exposed as doing the same crap as Bonds. Answer this, when is the last time you heard Barry Bonds and steroids in the same sentence? It's all Roger Clemens and who knows who else now, lol.

They are about to open Pandoras Box. I'd laugh my @$$ off if his beloved Steelers or Eagles came up dirty in some way. Karma is real and that @$$hole will see soon enough.

 

[hambone1818]

See this is going the same way of Barry Bonds. They start digging deeper and all their little NFL darlings will be esposed as doing the same crap as Bonds. Answer this, when is the last time you heard about Barry Bonds and steroids in the same sentence? It's all Roger Clemens and who knows who else now, lol.

They are about to open Pandoras Box.

Well to be fair, Bonds has been all over the news recently because the number of indictments against him was increased to 14.

That said, the NFL brought this upon themselves. Not keeping it in-house, not slamming the door shut when it was a minor issue about a rules violation...they allowed this spectacle to be played out in the media, much like baseball allowed the steroids issue to blow up into a national media circus. If they had dealt with this quietly, fined the team and Belichick and maybe taken a 3rd or 5th round pick and closed the book on it, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

As it is, the Patriots have been absolutely decimated as a franchise: all credibility for Belichick, Brady, et al has been violently thrown out the window because of a misinterpretation of a vaguely worded rule. So fine...bring it on, investigate every team (starting with the two we know about: the Jets and the Dolphins), and get everything out in the open.

I'm so sick of this media bias, this mentality that only one team has been doing this and that it's even cheating. Let's hear everything, see how the NFL and all the idiot fans like it when other teams are implicated.

 

[Char2na]

See this is going the same way of Barry Bonds. They start digging deeper and all their other little NFL darlings will be exposed as doing the same crap as Bonds. Answer this, when is the last time you heard Barry Bonds and steroids in the same sentence? It's all Roger Clemens and who knows who else now, lol.

They are about to open Pandoras Box. I'd laugh my @$$ off if his beloved Steelers or Eagles came up dirty in some way. Karma is real and that @$$hole will see soon enough.

The problem is, as we've clearly seen with hometown heros like Tomasse, that money and fame are often more important to people than their teams. I bet Spector would gladly throw the Eagles under the bus for a couple more hundreds of dollars from Comcast. Sad.

 

[lusdawg]

Here's a letter I just sent to Specter. Probably won't be considered or replied to, but here it is:

"Mr. Specter, please just let the Patriots' video-taping issue go away already. The NFL is a private organization who governs itself - no more, no less. Your teams lost a GAME, and I (and many, many others) just want to move on and begin enjoying football again. You saw the tapes, now what more do you want? If you want an outside investigation, let's investigate the entire NFL, or are you afraid that one of your Pennsylvania teams may be discovered as well? Sometimes I almost wish I had gone to law school and moved on to become a Senator - this way I could use my power to take up personal issues and use the taxpayers' money to do so. You're apparently an angry FAN, but you are also making many other fans of the game quite angry. Enough already, and let's go back to being able to enjoy watching football. What exactly do you want to happen to the Patriots? To forfeit every game played since 2000? They already have been maximally punished per NFL rules. Please re-start using your taxpayer's money appropriatley - not for issues that satisfy your personal agendas."


I also wrote an article to Patrick Leahy, the head of the Judiciary Committee to which Specter belongs, but forgot to copy it for this thread.

Brian

 

[Rob0729]

Basically if Leahy won't open Senate hearing, all Specter can really do is talk and talk. Granted since there is a lot of biased reporting out there, his words do have some weight.

I have said this before and I will say it again. Now that much of the press are satisfied with the outcome of the Walsh meeting, Specter will not get a free pass with a lot of media about his connections to Comcast.

 

[BrianPat]

I think Spector's motivation should also be put under the mircoscope, he ducked the question today, but an investgation ? Priceless ! Never going to happen, but it was fun while the thought lasted.

 

[I HEART BELICHICK]

The Mitchell Report investigated illegal activity.. this intended investigation is looking at rules violations?? Makes little sense..

I think this pretty much sums up the most glaring hole in Specter's logic. This combined with the fact that it is widely accepted but not so widely reported that stealing signals is a league wide affair makes Specter's efforts appear to be little more than either a Senator looking for a moral tirade he can hang his hat on in his waning years, or as PFT has hinted at, perhaps a situation rooted in alterior motives...

How many times in MLB games have we seen teams called out for stealing signals... Corked Bats... Pine Tar... Scuffed Balls... The list goes on and on... The Mitchell Investigation could be justified in terms of the fact that it was Senate based investigation into the use and abuse of ILLEGAL drugs, which may or may not have ultimately been swept under the rug my MLB's money making Big Wigs... which is a Problem.

But isn't there a clean cut different between breaking the RULES set in place by the game... and a situation where the game itself is creating an atmosphere where breaking FEDERAL LAWS is accepted as a part of the culture (as was and perhaps still is the case with the MLB).

Apples and Oranges in my eyes... Trying to break the rules and push the boundaries to gain a competitive advantage and get away with it is something all professional sports teams engage in... We can accept it for what it is, ignore it, or lose sleep over it... As spectators that is our choice...

But investigations into those situations by the effin US Senate?!!!

Where will the line be drawn?

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

They are about to open Pandoras Box. I'd laugh my @$$ off if his beloved Steelers or Eagles came up dirty in some way. Karma is real and that @$$hole will see soon enough.

This would be a real good place to start investigating.....
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_495525.html

Steelers team doctor allegedly ordered $150,000 worth of HGH.....


Ask Roger Clemens what happens when you open a can of worms and you never know what will pop out.......

 

[Dr Pain]

This would be a real good place to start investigating.....
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_495525.html

Steelers team doctor allegedly ordered $150,000 worth of HGH.....


Ask Roger Clemens what happens when you open a can of worms and you never know what will pop out.......

Thanks,

I just emailed this to our local senators

 

[PatsFanJess]

Considering the '06 AFCCG, Pats vs. Colts week 9 in '07, and the '07 AFC Divisional playoffs against the Bolts...Spector should really want to investigate the officiating at Colts home games.

 

[BPF]

The Mitchell was performed after a required agreement of all MLB owners. It’s investigation was stymied by the MLBPA, who recommended that it’s members not speak to Sen Mitchell. If Mitchell's group didn’t have the IRS & FBI assisting them they would have found no evidence, none, zip, zilch. Where will a NFL independent investigation find evidence of other teams cheating? They will not, ever because the problem would be that finding more "cheating" might eventually lead to possible gambling implications because of inside information, so no NFL owner in his right mind would agree to such a probe and open that pandora's box. It stands ZERO chance.

 

[stcjones]

Well to be fair, Bonds has been all over the news recently because the number of indictments against him was increased to 14.

That said, the NFL brought this upon themselves. Not keeping it in-house, not slamming the door shut when it was a minor issue about a rules violation...they allowed this spectacle to be played out in the media, much like baseball allowed the steroids issue to blow up into a national media circus. If they had dealt with this quietly, fined the team and Belichick and maybe taken a 3rd or 5th round pick and closed the book on it, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

As it is, the Patriots have been absolutely decimated as a franchise: all credibility for Belichick, Brady, et al has been violently thrown out the window because of a misinterpretation of a vaguely worded rule. So fine...bring it on, investigate every team (starting with the two we know about: the Jets and the Dolphins), and get everything out in the open.

I'm so sick of this media bias, this mentality that only one team has been doing this and that it's even cheating. Let's hear everything, see how the NFL and all the idiot fans like it when other teams are implicated.

"As it is, the Patriots have been absolutely decimated as a franchise: all credibility for Belichick, Brady, et al has been violently thrown out the window"

You don't actually believe this do you? This whole ridiculous incident effects NOTHING that the Patriots or Belichick have accomplished.........The only people still trying to make something more of this now or that want some stupid asterisk placed against them are SORE ***ED fans of other teams that can't get over their super bowl losses against us (See the "Tales from The Crypt" Arlene Sphincter on this one for example), and the mediots that want this to keep perpetually going so they can get more ratings and sell more air time. If you talk to the TRUE, realistic, and LEGITIMATE Sports people they know that their is no SMOKE AND MIRRORS that allowed the Patriots to be the greatest dynasty of all time in the NFL......and THE franchise of the 2000 era......Now on the rest of this.....I hope they do a FULL INVESTIGATION .....and EVERY TEAM is accountable.....start with the Jests and Doofins.....THERE IS unrefutable evidence that both of these teams "CHEATED" if that is what they are saying we did.......Each one should lose a draft pick (1st) next year......then keep going down the line......Keep going "Cryptkeeper" Sphincter.......everyone has skeletons (no offense Mr. Sphincter) in their closets on this issue......

 

[stcjones]

I think Spector's motivation should also be put under the mircoscope, he ducked the question today, but an investgation ? Priceless ! Never going to happen, but it was fun while the thought lasted.

You are 100 percent correct here........If he brings an attack against the Pats....I think Kraft and GOd-dell should request an investigation into his arrangement with Comcast and how much money they donated to his campaign.....He has MANY MANY ALTERIOR MOTIVES HERE.....How come NOT ONE other Senator is taking time away from his constituents to participate in this witch hunt?????? Doesn't something smell fishy here????