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The ESPN ombudsperson, Le Anne Schreiber, posted earlier on Thursday a scathing critique of the network’s handling of the Spygate saga on May 13, the day that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with former Pats employee Matt Walsh.
And she appropriately lambasts the NFL Live crew, including Mark Schlereth and Cris Carter, that became convinced during the wait for Goodell’s post-meeting press conference that the freshly-released Walsh videos were used during the same game in which the images were shot.
Writes Schreiber: “Schlereth imagined how such tapes might affect the outcome if film was shot, edited and utilized ‘during the course of a game’ — a practice Patriots coach Bill Belichick had consistently denied since last September, and for which there was no evidence. Never mind. The mere possibility that tapes could have been shot and used during a given game, with likely ‘amazing’ effect on game outcome, got Schlereth and then Carter so riled up that pretty soon they had convinced themselves of the virtual certainty of their speculation.”
You go, um, Ombudsperson.
But there’s more.
“For an hour and 15 minutes preceding the Goodell news conference, this ‘SportsCenter Special’ was a runaway train of inflammatory speculation that had Schlereth and Carter placing asterisks on all the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins under Belichick.”
Schreiber also threw darts (as compared to javelins) at Sal Paolantonio and John Clayton.
“Even normally calm heads like John Clayton and Sal Paolantonio, ESPN reporters put on screen to comment from their remote locations, caught the fever. Clayton in Seattle offered the information that, with current technology, you could now burn CDs from videotapes at halftime and use them during the game. ‘They obviously had some value within the game,’ said Paolantonio, in Manhattan at the still-delayed news conference.”
The Ombudsperson likewise criticized ESPN for later giving Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter a platform for a semi-coherent bitch-session regarding the Patriots and cheating.
“Why treat one player’s angry personal opinion on a league-wide matter as news? Why not solicit a wider range of opinion? Those were the questions those who wrote me wanted answered.”
Amen, Ombudsperson.
We recommend reading and digesting the entire article. We’ve got a feeling that more than a few Patriots fans will be memorizing it.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Kool aid, The Raiders should not have had to overcome that horrific call. If that play had been ruled as it should have been the game was over. The Patriots would not have gotten the ball back. The Raiders did not get the ball back “several times” after that play.
And LOL @ Ampats and the other Pats fans who want to divert the discussion to other teams because they’ve been owned on every front regarding their own. It doesn’t matter what teams spybootz or anybody else roots for. Rest assured his team is not/has not ever been mired in a 6+ year cheating scandal. There’s only one team with that distinction, and it’s that very team that is the subject of this discussion. Knowing what team spybootz roots for and attacking that team in no way changes or diminishes the FACT that the Patrios have been proven to be cheaters of 6+ years.
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June 13th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
LOL @ CaptainFantastic …errr CaptainWhiner. Anyone still debating the tuck rule game is clearly whining. Plain and simple. Crawl back into your hole you whiny little creep.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
June 13th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
What color is the sky in your world CaptainFantastik?
The Patriots did not get found guilty of cheating in every game for 6 years. I sure hope you are not quilified for jury duty.
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June 13th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
CaptainFantastik,
So is there a Charles Woodson exception against it being roughing the passer when a defender touches the QB in the helmet? I didn’t realize that. Thanks for clearing it up.
So you aren’t a Raiders fan. You are just a pathetic Patriots hater so obsessed with the Patriots that you know who posts on Patsfans.com. It is pretty sad really. I hate a lot of teams, but I don’t know who posts on their sites nor do I know the popular fan sites for many of those teams. You gotta have an unhealthy obsession to have that much hate. I really feel sorry for you. Really.
I am done arguing a call that happened 6 1/2 years ago. If you actually had a life, you might not care either. Even the Raiders who played in that game are over it all ready. Move on.
Your obsession with the Patriots is going to send you into an early grave.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
June 13th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
“The Raiders should not have had to overcome that horrific call. If that play had been ruled as it should have been the game was over.”
And the Steelers shouldn’t have had to overcome the horrific call that said Troy Polumalu didn’t intercept Peyton Manning when everyone in the world (including the league office that sent a letter of apology to the team) knew he did. They overcame it.
The Pats shouldn’t had to overcome a bogus face guarding penalty (a rule that hasn’t existed for a decade now) that basically cost them a TD against the Colts in the AFC Championship game two years ago. The Pats didn’t overcome that loss. The Patriots also got a letter of an apology from the league for that bad call too.
The Seahawks shouldn’t have had to overcome the questionable TD call by Roethlisberger in the Super Bowl. And they didn’t.
My point is there has been some really bad calls that may or may not have cost a team a win in the playoffs. Some overcome this crushing bad calls and some don’t. The league stands by their call in the Snow Bowl, but have admitted their mistakes in other games.
Get over it.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 13th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
KoolAid are you Lawrence Maroney?
CptMediocre It is NOT a Fact that tha Pats are cheaters. That’s your tired explanation. It’s a fact that you have your mind made up that something sinister occured with the tapes.(Schlereth Jr.) Take away the ability to utilize the tape during the game, because that never happened! You or nobody else has intiment knowledge of what went on at Gillette. Even Walsh said the tape remained in his posession until the game was over! You are what I like to call an amateur lawyer…and that’s being kind.
The tapes were used as reference material on defensive coaches. How they signal, what thier tendencies are. The “big” advantage they gained is the ability to break the tape down later in the week or sometime before the next meeting! Ohhh! Nevermind the advantage of taping the cheerleaders.. Hey, whatever!
You can get a sandwich board sign that reads Pats are Cheaters, walk up and down the street. Doesn’t make it true! Parcells was right, this is overblown to the point of absurdity! Irrationality aids no one.
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June 13th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
CaptainFantastik: the call on the that play was very close, and couldve gone either way. However, the raiders did, in fact, get the ball back (once in regulation and once in overtime i believe) and were unable to win the game. thats the difference between those raiders and the pittsburgh steelers team that overcame the horrible call on the polamalu interception to win the game. either way, that game was over six years ago now.
and on the taping. the pats were caught and were punished. hate them if you want. but there is no evidence to lead an objective person to believe that this practice was the difference between winning and losing games. whether or not you like the pats, “spygate” shouldnt change your perspective on the patriots accomplishments. the edge the pats have had over the league is having tom brady and bill belichick
and no i am not laurence maroney
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June 13th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Ombuds …. this.
The Patriots cheated. Who cares how it was covered? They got a slap on the wrist for cheating during the seasons of 3 Super Bowl seasons (four if you count the losing Super Bowl.)
* = Patriots
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June 13th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
LOL @ the Pats fans who are reduced to namecalling because they have no other recourse. Priceless. Especially funny coming from Rob who just recently claimed to only come to these pages to “stir the pot”. I can see you Pats apologists couldn’t care less what we think! Yeah right boys…..we believe you. Not. That’s why you keep coming back to hear what we’re saying. I love it!!!
Koolaid and Rob,
No, the Raiders never got the ball back. Patriots retained posession of the ball after the HOSEJOB CALL and sent the game into overtime on that very posession. They then won the toss in OT and drove to field goal range and Vinatieri ended it. So, NO, the Raiders never got the ball back and NO they didn’t even get the chance to over come the call unless you consider being on the losing end of an OT coin toss to be a “chance to overcome the call”.
GR365,
You should be a comedian. Seriously. What the Patriots did was cheating. That’s why it’s against the rules. It is a proven fact because there is physical evidence dating from 2000-2007. Sorry, Goodell got busted trying to cover for your crooked franchise. THANK YOU JOHN TOMASE!!!!Using a tape in ANY GAME is gainst the rules……..as specified by both the rule as well as the memo. Using video equipment is against the rules.
“Use at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which a club is a participant, of communication or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, including without limitation to videotape machines, telephone tapping or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic device that might aid a team during the playing of a game.”
Simply put, you can’t use video cameras at any time during a game to gather information (coaching signals qualify as information, obviously). In case you weren’t aware, video tapes capture images utilizing “video tape machines”. Information gathered in the tapes cannot be used during the playing of a game. It doesn’t matter which game they’re used for.
And Walsh never said specifically the tapes weren’t ever used during a game. He simply decribed his basic routine and you guys ran with it. Let me know if you want some more because i’ll be more than happy to continue to taking the Pats fans to school. I love making you guys crazy to the point of namecalling and insults. It amuses me. And what makes it even better is that all I have to do is simply state fact-based common sense points that you guys literally have no credible answer for. Keep it coming, and i’ll do the same.
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June 13th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Gee, when you bring out the anger in people, you know you’ve hit a nerve — the truth. And spyboots is a gal, not a guy.
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June 13th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
CaptainFantastik says:
June 13th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Gee what a surprise, JoeSixPack on yet another thread just making sh*t up off the top of your head. Wlash never stated in any way whatsoever that other teams did the same thing. You wanna talk about crickets? Let’s see you post some Walsh quotes indicating he knew of other teams doing it. You already got pimpsmacked on your earlier false claim that what the Cheatriots did wasn’t against the rules. NR4 cited the NFL rule, NOT the memo. You just got OWNED. Now take your medicine and STFU.
Wow - kindof tough for me not to develop a superiority complex against guys like this.
Walsh stated clearly that he witnessed at least one other team engaged in exactly the same practice he was. Go back and read the transcript - and the article on this website where Florio comments about it. Owned indeed.
Then read the NFL rule that states where and when taping is allowed - and yes, taping of signal calling included - just as long as its not on the sideline.
No one has ever disputed that sideline taping is against the rules. Get a clue.
But seeing as taping signal calling is legal from other locations, can you explain what the big deal is? Walking across the street is legal on the crosswalks. Walking across the streets in prohibited locations is called Jaywalking. You’ve probably Jaywalked yourself. I guess that makes you a criminal just like the Patriots are cheaters.
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June 14th, 2008 at 12:32 am
In Dec 2001 the Dever Broncos were fined $968,000 and lost a 3rd round draft pick for violating the salary cap to the tune of hiding 29 million! Then they were fined $950,000 and lost another third round pick for circumventing the cap between 1996 and 98! Raiders owner Al Davis went on record saying that the Broncos owner should have been suspended and that the cap violations helped them win their Superbowls. lots of sport experts have said this is worse than what the pats were involved in. Where the outrage? Do you feel the same about the Broncos as the Patriots.
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June 14th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Baseball is the only sport they actually cover well.
They hate the nfl, they hate the nhl and they are always tossing David Stern’s salad. It is a joke.
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June 14th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
captainfantastik: my bad, i thought they had gotten the ball back twice (they only got it with 27 seconds left in regulation). however, that does not excuse the raider defense for allowing the pats to march down the field twice with the game on the line. they didnt play through the call, a call that admittingly was close, but that couldve easily gone either way.
also, please explain to me how what the patriots did gave them a dramatic edge that was the difference between winning and losing games. there is no evidence to support any theories that these tapes were used during games. therefore, how could they have had the affect on games required to discredit all the patriots have accomplished?
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June 14th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
IT’ OVER…GIVE IT UP. Your obsession with the Patriots, and I’m speaking to the haters is creepy.
So BB cheated who gives a flying Frig. You keep harping and harping on this subject that seems to have taken over your lives. Look, no one was hurt, your family members are ok, you didn’t lose your job…so GET OVER IT. You people are so weird that I’m afraid that one of nutty haters will actually take out a fan or a player because the hatred is so despicable that you’ll go postal. You’re on the edge and all you need is a little bit of a push and then you’re gone.
You haters are way out of control….but it’s funny as hell!
C’mon Floiro give us more Patriot news and watch the kooks take it to the edge.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)