Among his many skills, Belichick is a master of the non-news situation. If the Eskimos have 1000 ways to say "snow," the Pats coach has twice that many ways of saying nothing while at the same time implying anything you wish to imagine. He can surround himself in an impenetrable cloud of ambiguity. World leaders should take his correspondence course.
The trio of diligent questioners on WEEI had no chance of pinning Belichick down on this story. A trio of the late Tim Russert, Perry Mason, and Inspector Maigret would have had no chance. The rumor is a pure win-win for Belichick. Even if it doesn't come to pass, it enhances the Pats' status as bold, canny tacticians of the flesh market. That can't hurt. So Belichick did what he could, which was plenty, to keep the rumor alive without actually stating a single fact or even opinion.
Meanwhile, some poor sod in every sports journalism outlet in New England (and North Carolina) had to write or broadcast a story based on Belichick's words. It would be easier and more fun to write a story based on a communique of international finance ministers, and the resulting story would contain more useful information, too.
