This means WAR.....or it should

This ESPN/SI articles will show up 5 years after BB retires, so get use to it.

Kraft bendover twice, so nothing we can do as fans.
I know when bendover Kraft bendover in May that i will be forever a cheatriotfan. No matter if they won 5 in a row, amongst other fans i and u will be guess what, cheaters

I hate him, cause tomorrow is a game and all i want is to know who we signed on PS and i have to go trough 3 pages of posts about this ****, to find that no one replies who are new PS addition.

Do you people realize that six dollars out of your monthly satellite/cable bill goes to ESPN? Dump cable and satellite and start streaming Netflix, Hula etc. Hit ESPN in the pocketbook for their lies.

mihap said:

Kraft bendover twice, so nothing we can do as fans.
I know when bendover Kraft bendover in May that i will be forever a cheatriotfan. No matter if they won 5 in a row, amongst other fans i and u will be guess what, cheaters

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He had no other choice but to "bendover". He can't sue the league and appealing a punishment to the guy who handed it down (or at the very least signed off on it) would have went nowhere.

PP2 said:

PF, here is a little tidbit from Reiss:

When you're at the top, everyone likes to bring you down. A longtime sportscaster with a deep history in Boston relayed this thought to me that resonated: "They used to say same the stuff about Red Auerbach."

Does anyone remember the stuff said about Red? No.

Does anyone remember who Red is? Yes

End of lesson.

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Did the NBA league office and the Commissioner ever personally attackl Red/ did Wide world of Sports ever do a program dedicated to pointing out every sing;le rumor and speculation? Did SI at the time runa story like the current SI just did.

Reiss' comment while cogent is also very different

supafly said:

As pissed off as I am, I personally wouldn't feed into it with additional comments.

This is nothing more than an article containing unsubstantiated rumors about alleged cheating. We should be quite used to them by now. After all, we tend to see them about 2-3 times a year.

Continuing to address it in the press will do nothing but add fuel to the fire. All they did was rehash old information that's been going around for years.

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Yeah, I tend to agree. Yesterday was sort of a tipping point for me...it's so off the charts ridiculous now it just got funny.

"Liberal media"? Sure it is.

FanSince81 said:

We have a conservative QB who is rumored to be a a Trump supporter. Of course the national liberal media is going to run the Pats organization through the mud.

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Keep the political bullsh.t out of this forum.

VectorPrime said:

I want Kraft to just give Bill permission to hold a 30 minute press conference where he addresses and calls out every single allegation, point by point, and then leave without taking questions. It would be professional but stern.

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<rant>

BB addressing this would be swell, but why bother getting permission from Krafty Bob? He seems to have his head firmly inside his NFL owner buddies collective arses and still a "has a great relationship with RGME"

Time to blow this up with Jonathan and get this going ....

</rant>

supafly said:

As pissed off as I am, I personally wouldn't feed into it with additional comments.

This is nothing more than an article containing unsubstantiated rumors about alleged cheating. We should be quite used to them by now. After all, we tend to see them about 2-3 times a year.

Continuing to address it in the press will do nothing but add fuel to the fire. All they did was rehash old information that's been going around for years.

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I get what you're saying. The problem is, it's not simply one unsubstantiated article. It's two unsubstantiated stories in otherwise respected media giants (SI and espn , much as we all despise them) which are now being picked up and splayed in headlines all over the country and indeed probably the world. And forget about the fan bases of the other teams, they are all haters, but the casual follower or the casual person will think more cheating allegations have been discovered and the patriots are cheaters yet again.

I am worried that this continuous onslaught against the Pats could negatively affect them on the field.

Without even considering possible NFL* cheating through the refs, I am concerned that the Pats, and us fans, are being worn down. Moreso us fans than the team as BB is a master at compartmentalizing and keeping his players focused.

Spygate came after the first game back in 2007, and we had to deal with it for the entire season. We at least had a normal offseason prior to that to recharge our batteries. Speaking for myself, I have never found another season more emotionally draining than that one; no prior season of Pats ineptitude ever wrung me out more than 2007 did.

Now, we not only didn't get an offseason to recharge our batteries, we were under assault before we even played the Superbowl, and we have been under assault ever since.

I hope the cumulative effect doesn't doom our season, but if it does, the NFL* has taken steps to ensure we can't even get a high pick to make up for it.

Hopefully these concerns are just in my own head and won't manifest on the playing field.

PP2 said:

PF, here is a little tidbit from Reiss:

When you're at the top, everyone likes to bring you down. A longtime sportscaster with a deep history in Boston relayed this thought to me that resonated: "They used to say same the stuff about Red Auerbach."

Does anyone remember the stuff said about Red? No.

Does anyone remember who Red is? Yes

End of lesson.

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Great example but this is a VERY different media culture & technology world.
Pats will ALWAYS have their victories questioned thanks to the worse than poor response from the owner starting in'07 when he failed to get the very simple request to the Commissar that the reason for the penalty be clearly & accurately described. With all the blather here & in the media back thereabout Kraft's influence especially back then, it is not reasonable to believe he could not have done that simple task had he had the fortitude to do so. Compound that with his recent surrender under mere mention of return fire.

I know I wasted my time, but yesterday I was so pissed and fed up that I wrote a letter to Kraft. To summarize my letter, I told him to grow a pair, to fight, to side with the fans than the Fraternal Order of League Owners, then I told him that we fans are already at war and waiting for him to join us. My last words to him was... Si Vis Pacem, Para bellum.

Are you talking about the "expose" written by
Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham?

It's a load of crap. Honestly I regret clicking on it to take a look.
ESPN has proven again and again they don't care about journalistic integrity.
They are in it for the money.

They will always take a sensationalistic angle as long as it gains them viewership and ratings.
So I believe sadly, there's not much that can be done except an outright lawsuit, and I doubt we will see that happen from the Patriots. Especially not with Kraft in charge.
Unfortunately ESPN has sunk to the level of the Herald if not lower.

RIP ESPN credibility as a "news" outlet. It ceased being a sports information network a long time ago, it has turned into more of a rumor mill/money making machine at this point in time.

Kraft needs to create a simple 60 second commercial explaining these things and PAY to put them on the Patriots national games.

VJCPatriot said:

RIP ESPN credibility as a "news" outlet. It ceased being a sports information network a long time ago, it has turned into more of a rumor mill/money making machine at this point in time.

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Just remember that the "E" in ESPN stands for "Entertainment" that should tell you all you need to know.

PS Bruschi fires back!
A good listen:
http://media.weei.com/a/108996045/tedy-bruschi-i-refuse-to-be-brainwashed-by-the-nfl.htm

archstanton543 said:

He had no other choice but to "bendover". He can't sue the league and appealing a punishment to the guy who handed it down (or at the very least signed off on it) would have went nowhere.

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in our country we have a saying:
One who dig a hole for another will fall himself in it.

Kraft dig a hole in spygate, rice, hardy etc when he supported Godell. And now he is in the hole he was digging.
He could go after a league with potentail loss of his own team, cause he was so vocal that he wanted apology from league. ANd then he apologize to 31 teams and .. blabla bla.

I hate him so sorry to others posters who have to read my hate over him. Now I ll try to focus on football but i ll never forget.

I heard Pats fans are quitting support of the team in droves. Reportedly they think the environment as a Patriots' fan is "too tough" and "no fun."

All I want is for the sources to be exposed. I think once all these stories are identified with one or two bitter rivals (Jets, Colts,Ravens). These are the main trouble makers, that call and starting BS about the Pats! These people should be exposed for the azzhats they are! And hopefully never quoted again!

Dr Pain said:

I was mad but now just don't care. The season starts in less than 48 hours. We are witnessing true greatness and the hate and envy which come with it. It won't last forever so enjoy.

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I'm a firm believer in never worrying about what other people think of me regarding who I am and how I live my life. I use the same approach as a fan of the Patriots.

I honestly do not care one bit what fans outside New England think of our team. And I'll smile wide in 2 weeks when I travel to Chicago with my Patriots hat on. Anyone says something, I'll just smile....and I'm not kidding. I do it all the time when I travel.

As a matter of fact, my smile looks like this>>>