MAYBE THE MEDIA SHOULD EYEBALL WALSH
Though we're edging ever closer to becoming part of the "real" media, we're still a long way away from having the kind of time and resources that would allow us to engage in a comprehensive investigation of a key figure in one of the various stories about which we often tend to blather.
If, for example, we had the time and/or the resources, we'd devote a chunk of it to finding out more about Matt Walsh.
Precious little has been done by the media to find out more about him, or to get a general feel for whether he generally can be believed. From our perspective, we think that what he says (and how he says it) about Spygate II will say much about whether he is credible. Until he talks, however, there's work that can be done to get a better idea of who he is and what he's about.
For starters, the contention that Walsh secretly recorded conversations with Pats V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli is great way to get a good feel for whether Walsh is a truth-teller. Walsh's lawyer calls the rare public utterance from Pioli a "complete fabrication." So if the Pats and/or Pioli can prove that it happened, the failure of Walsh to tell the truth to his lawyer on that topic would be relevant in connection with an assessment of whether he's telling the truth about what he might eventually tell Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) or anyone else.
Other easily available information to scrutinize is Walsh's bio for his current job. In it, he says that he "served primarily as an Area Scout and Video Assistant from 1996-2003" with the Patriots. But Pioli told the Boston Globe that Walsh was never an Area Scout. So if the Pats and/or Pioli can prove this, it would be another strike against him.
In fact, Walsh's overall bio requires the full-blown Fran Foley treatment. Based on the article regarding his then-looming nuptials, he was 28 in July 2004 and is a Gemini. Thus, he's presently 31. Unless he pulled a Doogie Howser (or a Forrest Gump), it's hard to cram everything he claims to have done into the period of time that would require him to get a college degree, play two years of pro hockey, train with the U.S. National Bobsled team, spend a year working for an Arena League team, seven with the Pats, one with NFL Europe, and then become an assistant golf pro in Hawaii.
The article about his wedding describes his time with the Pats as including "operations, public relations, video/game planning, area scout." Game planning? Um. Okay.
Other questions about Walsh should be asked. Such as, for example, how he found -- and how he can afford -- a Washington, D.C. lawyer who specializes in white-collar crime and government investigations. Could it be that Senator Specter hooked Walsh up with Michael Levy, and/or that Levy is handling the matter at no charge as a "favor" to the Senator?
So while we're uncomfortable with the notion that NFL Security is looking up on the guy, we think that the media has an obligation to do so, especially if the media (us included) is going to continue to write about the inflammatory things that Walsh supposedly knows.
