Most ridiculous penalty ever handed out in major sports league

[pheenix11]

Goodell should have come out and set everything straight as soon as the morons in the press mentioned cheating. Instead he let them frame this story and got sucked into doing their bidding.

Apparently our commissioner is not Goodell but rather ESPN. Thats what they get for pandering to TV and letting them dictate everything.

The idiot sportswriters and talk radio morons just fell in line because they are too lazy to do their own research.

 

[Fogbuster]

Goodell should have come out and set everything straight as soon as the morons in the press mentioned cheating. Instead he let them frame this story and got sucked into doing their bidding.

Apparently our commissioner is not Goodell but rather ESPN. Thats what they get for pandering to TV and letting them dictate everything.

The idiot sportswriters and talk radio morons just fell in line because they are too lazy to do their own research.

Amen to that. The SI corps is just as pathetic: Dr. Z, faux NEnglander Peter King, Don Banks, Phil Taylor. These guys live in their own little jaundiced world of speculation, judgment and -- most of all -- RATINGS. The compete with each other to see who can out-speculate, out-rush to judgment, out-excoriate ... which leads to the beads and trinkets of bigger gigs, more personal fame, and celebrity !! Then they can thump their chests and show how "brave, intelligent, and tough" there were. P!ss on 'em all.

I used to think used-car salesmen were the worst, but they're nothing compared with today's media types. They live for one thing: readership/viewership, which equals one thing: $$$. Can the word "whores" be used on this list?

And, in the midst of all this, who cares whose reputations and lives are destroyed. To the victor go the spoils. Power-addicts. A sure sign of actual impotence.


//

 

[Fogbuster]

The fine was horsesh!t, the call was horsesh!t, the whole affair should have been handled behind closed doors, man to man, like human beings. It was a league infraction, not a federal crime!!! It wasn't running a dog-fighting ring; it wasn't popping some guy at 3:00 AM in a strip club. It wasn't breaking into somebody else's house and raping some girl. It was videotaping a game.

By the way, who the hell IS that guy in a Jets jersey with the huge video camera on the sidelines????

If Mangini and Goodell had gone about this like MEN, instead of ball-less rats, this whole thing would be a fart in the wind. But no, they had to go and try to take down BB and the Pats.

OK, the first shot has been fired. This makes me want to kick EVERYBODY'S ass, starting with the Chargers. I hope we go 16-0, run the playoff table, and crush the NFC victims 55-0 in the Super Bowl.

That's what I think about this whole punkazz affair.



//

 

[marcus]

I am fine with a punishment.
I think perhpas a fine of 50K-100k and possibly even a third or 4th round pick.

The amazing thing is all of these pro sports writers who say this punishment was not enough.

Again they were not penalized for stealing signals but for use of the videocamera.

The vilification of Belicheck and Kraft for this infracttion is behind absurd and unnecessarily damages the entire sport.

 

[ch3oh]

It might not be what you consider "major league sports", but this is a "major league" fine:

$100,000,000
Spying scandal costs McLaren pretty penny
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 09/14/2007 01:54:54 AM MDT


Don't cheat in auto racing.
That was the message sent Thursday when Formula One fined McLaren $100 million. Long a powerhouse in Formula One, part of the reason for its dominance was revealed this year when it was found that McLaren had illegally obtained a technical document from chief rival Ferrari.
The 780-page file was found in the home of McLaren's top designer, Mike Coughlan. McLaren got the document from a former Ferrari mechanic, who has been fired.

The rest of the article can be seen at:
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_6891160

 

[FirstAndGoal]

I'm not sure I've seen one of you ****weeds agree with the fine.

No bias there.

From an outsiders perspective, it's adequate. Some were calling for a forfeiture of the Jets game, and I don't think that would have been a bad thing.

Kraft is the guy that needs to take the PR hit here. He essentially denied the whole thing by downplaying it by saying something on the order of 'when you're on top, people want to take you down', or something like that. I doubt he wasn't in the know on the whole matter and looked the other way.

So much for being a class owner.

If he had any balls, he'd add at least a one-game suspension of his top coaching staff......

but he doesn't have any balls.

Why? He's pressuring the coaching staff to win one more Superbowl - now, while Brady's still in his relative prime, I suspect.

So cheat, hit out-of-character players in FA, do everything to win regardless of what the franchise was built on.

You boneheads idolize this guy as being some immortal. Fact is, he's just another rich punk getting bored with his toy lately.

You've got to be a Jets fan. The Jets have been whining about getting a free win and even getting draft picks. lol

Just remember that although you wannabes from other teams want to destroy the Pats, the precident has now been set for any other team. Imagine your team losing a first round pick or more if anything happens to you. Everyone crying about the punishment not being stiff enough is really crying because they don't like the Pats being on top. If they really thought the camera incident was what would bring them down, they wouldn't be so concerned about the punishment.

That being said, I see the Jets replacing the Raiders at the bottom of the barrel over the next couple of years. Have fun with the ball boy coach.

 

[BB_dynasty]

A lot of people are saying it wasn't enough of a penalty, so it's hard to reasonably argue it was too much.

Chicago Sun Times - "Belicheat got off too easy"

what the ****? he makes it sound like this is the only thing the patriots do. Does he realize that the players might be pretty good, and that they know what they are doing? Or does he just believe that without video cameras, we would be an average team?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I've been saying this for a while, that the national fan base and national media are whining the fine is too lenient. I don't see the point of us all whining it's too strict. I don't see the point of either, basically.

Seems appropriate to me. I dont think it screams "the Pats own Goodell," as national writers are saying, and I don't think it is some sort of crucifixion, as people here seem to believe. Get over it, move forward.

My only beef is that every clown that ever lost to us is taking a very un-warriorlike attitude that they want "do-overs," to be played in their fans' minds, no doubt. They "want their rings now," and they want the 2001 championship to be Pittsburgh's... whatever.

No, Donovan, we didn't "steal" your ability to run a 2 minute drill.

Get over it.

But we need to stop whining about the 1st rounder and the fine. I think BB has moved on (the most heavily fined party,) and I think we will draft just fine with only 1 first rounder.

You guys notice we have a game today, by the way?

PFnV

 

[CrazyDave]

I'm not sure I've seen one of you ****weeds agree with the fine.

No bias there.

From an outsiders perspective, it's adequate. Some were calling for a forfeiture of the Jets game, and I don't think that would have been a bad thing.


Talk about bias, has ANY NFL game EVER been forfeited?
I don't think so.
For a ******* camera?

 

[psychoPat]

Officiating for Parity ... and now, for further punishment

.... My biggest fear, and should be for all Patriot fans, from this episode of yellow journalism is not cheating. Cheating, lol, puhlease! It is this year's Super Bowl. The Patriot's "cheating" reputation this year makes them being in the SB a headline the NFL will deem less than savory. Questionable pass interference or holding calls in a big game for instance coming to a flying elvis stadium near you? Hey, having the NFL 'powers that be' rooting against you to make it to the top of the mountain? Yikes. It makes me think we better be clearly better than our opponents and be at the top of our game. I don't like the prospect of playing a big game that could be decided by one play/one bad call. ....

For several years now i've been pointing out that the NFL seems to view
OFFICIATING
as another of its instruments to obtain and maintain parity.
"It's Tony's and Peyton's turn!"

As Straggler, above, observes
we sure are in for it now.
Just try logging the "questionable" calls and reviews for the Patriots
and against us
from now on.

 

[Funktopus]

It just amazes me that:

1) the Media don't do thier homework when it comes to explaining the rule and how it was broken.
2) Goodell and the NFL didn't explain exactly how the rule was broken and how the penalty fits the infraction.

Each just assumes that camera = cheating, but I like a little more explanation. Additionally surprised that I can't find one Media member that wants to tackle this issue. (please point me to it if you have a link) I guess they think its just too dry for thier jughead readers? They must have such a low opinion of us.

Worse, or more surprizing is that the NFL hands out a penalty that leaves room for speculating about how you can interpret a rule. BB admits that his interpretation of the rule was wrong. If the NFL truly wants to prevent this from happening again, they should let everyone know what BB's eroneous "interpretation" was and how it was wrong. That would actually be preventative.

 

[Gwedd]

Re: Officiating for Parity ... and now, for further punishment

For several years now i've been pointing out that the NFL seems to view
OFFICIATING
as another of its instruments to obtain and maintain parity.
"It's Tony's and Peyton's turn!"

As Straggler, above, observes
we sure are in for it now.
Just try logging the "questionable" calls and reviews for the Patriots
and against us
from now on.

I couldn't agree more. Look back to when we lost to Denver, where Watson ran the length of the field to knock the ball out of the Denver CB's hand and into the end zone. That WAS a touchback, and we should have had the ball back on the 20, but it wasn't ruled that way. Everyone who saw that play knew what an outstanding effort Watson made, and how he clearly knocked the ball over the pylon and into the end zone. Yet the refs refused to rule it that way.

 

[jct]

He may have actually done the Pats and Kraft a favor keeping it at a fine and a 1st. Many people were calling for a suspension too. It would have affected the Pats ability to win games a lot more if BB had a 4 game suspension to deal with.

Just 1 mans opinion but I would have rather seen BB suspended for 1-4 games and a 3rd round pick instead of the 1st rounder.
Hell BB could have gone to Notre Dame and CW came back for those games.

 

[Bella*chick]

Did you guys read the espn story today? Sources say we have to turn over all previous videotapes because we can't use anything on them for any reason at all. Not during the game, not after the game.

Our video procedures are obviously going to be monitored now as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3022773

We don't comply, we get more sanctions.

 

[OSKIE]

First time poster here. I'm a Broncos fan and do most of my posting at the Orangemane.

First, I think the video taping of hand signals is pretty chicken****. I can see standing over on the other side of the field with binoculars and trying to steal signs. Just as I can see a baserunner standing on 2nd base trying to steal a catcher's signs. Video taping though and using the material to make halftime adjustments isn't right though. I won't say it's worthy of 3/4's of a million $$$ in fines or giving up a 2nd and 3rd round pick (when you don't make the playoffs ), but it does tarnish your "dynasty" that's been going for several years.

The worst part has yet to come to light though. I somehow wonder if Goodell didn't do the Pats a favor by making the penalty a little stiffer than necessary so that in the future he can say the team has already been penalized and has 'learned their lesson'. There are players with proof of the Pats recording cadence, line calls, QB audibles, etc. Evidently Tim Brown received a tape after the "tuck game" when the Pats went on to win their first SB. Supposedly that tape is being sent to Goodell and that could cause a lot more commotion than the video taping incident. Your team also has to account for the loss of communication at important times when teams are playing at Gilette. There's a whole lot of reports circulating around right now. Honestly, most fans that I've talked to think this is a bigger deal than the whole Michael Vick incident. Mainly b/c it's cheating on the field and not screwing up off the field.

As a Bronco fan I know full well what it's like to get accused of cheating. Cut blocks, the Elway deferred payment that cost us a 3rd round pick a few years back, stuff like that is normal and it's b/c the franchise has been successful. So, I take a lot of the complaints from people as "penis envy" b/c the Pats have done so well... but I will say, if these reports are proved true. Your dynasty is as tainted as Barry Bonds Home Run Record!

 

[OSKIE]

btw, I hope your boys pound the crap out of the Chargers tonight. You can allow 100 yards and a pair of TD's to LT though... I had the first pick in our FF draft!

 

[dante828]

I see many of you blaming the media for this and rightfully so, the media does deserve a good part of the blame. But the problem is with th league and how they define their "rules." The NFL has not clearly defined the rules for sign stealing, and worse, they never defined their rules for punishment. Even if Belichick knew that what he was doing was against the rules (and no one has proved that that he did), how was he ever supposed to guess what the penalty would be? Had the league clearly defined rules on the issue, perhaps this never comes up at all. Now the rules are defined by how pissed off the fans and the media are at your actions. If your on Miami and steal signs through audio recordings, and no one cares, you can keep doing it. If your the Pats, and everyone wants to string you up, the NFL will be much obliged to do so. Thats the problem of undefined rules, and that responsibility falls on the NFL and the people in charge, most specifically Goodell.

How other fans aren't fearful of a similar reaction from the league with regards to their team is beyond me. After this fiasco, my great hope for the season is for the Pats to win the Super Bowl, so Goodell will have to hand the trophy to Kraft, who I hope lets Belichick take it, just for the big F*** Y**!

 

[dante828]

First time poster here. I'm a Broncos fan and do most of my posting at the Orangemane.

First, I think the video taping of hand signals is pretty chicken****. I can see standing over on the other side of the field with binoculars and trying to steal signs. Just as I can see a baserunner standing on 2nd base trying to steal a catcher's signs. Video taping though and using the material to make halftime adjustments isn't right though. I won't say it's worthy of 3/4's of a million $$$ in fines or giving up a 2nd and 3rd round pick (when you don't make the playoffs ), but it does tarnish your "dynasty" that's been going for several years.

The worst part has yet to come to light though. I somehow wonder if Goodell didn't do the Pats a favor by making the penalty a little stiffer than necessary so that in the future he can say the team has already been penalized and has 'learned their lesson'. There are players with proof of the Pats recording cadence, line calls, QB audibles, etc. Evidently Tim Brown received a tape after the "tuck game" when the Pats went on to win their first SB. Supposedly that tape is being sent to Goodell and that could cause a lot more commotion than the video taping incident. Your team also has to account for the loss of communication at important times when teams are playing at Gilette. There's a whole lot of reports circulating around right now. Honestly, most fans that I've talked to think this is a bigger deal than the whole Michael Vick incident. Mainly b/c it's cheating on the field and not screwing up off the field.

As a Bronco fan I know full well what it's like to get accused of cheating. Cut blocks, the Elway deferred payment that cost us a 3rd round pick a few years back, stuff like that is normal and it's b/c the franchise has been successful. So, I take a lot of the complaints from people as "penis envy" b/c the Pats have done so well... but I will say, if these reports are proved true. Your dynasty is as tainted as Barry Bonds Home Run Record!

First, so, your ok with cheating when its just not done well, is that it. So its ok to look at the others guy test, but wrong to viedotape it.....good logic, I hope that works out well for you.

Second, no one has proved that the Pats used the videotape for halftime adjustments, and definitely did not in the Jets game. Thats where Belichick claimed his misinterpretation came from. Maybe he is lying, but unless the NFL can prove otherwise, its all just speculation. Hey, if your ok with stringing a team up on speculation, thats your business, I tend to like proof of infractions before I punish someone. I tend to think that is the whole basis of our legal system, but maybe I am mistaken.

Third, you may be right about them investigatinbg the Pats further, though it would be entirely unfair to drag out every dirty piece of Pats laundry into the sun, and don't do anything about some of the supposed speculation from other teams. Why don't we investigate the Colts for pumping noise into the RCA dome, or the Dolphins for audio recording audibles for the Pats. The reason is arbitrary, its because everyone hates the Pats and wants to bring them down, this rule infraction has given them that chance, and it shows the level of their hatred.

I doubt very highly that this will be proven, and as far as Bonds goes, nothing has been proven about him either....regardless of what speculation says. If people choose to view the Pats Super bowls as tainted, that's their business, regardless of anything the Pats did, all three teams had chances to win, and failed to make those plays. I don't see those Super Bowls as tainted at all, just like I doubt you see those Broncoes Super Bowls as tainted (I don't either, those were great teams, and I always like Elway, so I am glad the Broncos broke the rules to keep him and give him a chance to win one in Denver before he retired).

 

[Funktopus]

I see many of you blaming the media for this and rightfully so, the media does deserve a good part of the blame. But the problem is with th league and how they define their "rules." The NFL has not clearly defined the rules for sign stealing, and worse, they never defined their rules for punishment. Even if Belichick knew that what he was doing was against the rules (and no one has proved that that he did), how was he ever supposed to guess what the penalty would be? Had the league clearly defined rules on the issue, perhaps this never comes up at all. Now the rules are defined by how pissed off the fans and the media are at your actions. If your on Miami and steal signs through audio recordings, and no one cares, you can keep doing it. If your the Pats, and everyone wants to string you up, the NFL will be much obliged to do so. Thats the problem of undefined rules, and that responsibility falls on the NFL and the people in charge, most specifically Goodell.

How other fans aren't fearful of a similar reaction from the league with regards to their team is beyond me. After this fiasco, my great hope for the season is for the Pats to win the Super Bowl, so Goodell will have to hand the trophy to Kraft, who I hope lets Belichick take it, just for the big F*** Y**!

Amen Dante! And what's worse, if the NFL fesses up that thier rules are specified inadequately with any re-writes, the Kraft and BB should demand the penalty be reversed.