They were the biggest sure thing since Enron. So maybe it’s fitting that the Patriots suffered the same fate.
Chances are Bill Belichick didn’t cheat quite as much as Ken Lay’s gang. Nor did he ruin as many retirement nest eggs, save for those folks betting their 401Ks on New England. But like Lay, the disgraced and deceased former Enron CEO, Belichick faces a spectacular fall from grace.
Two days ago, Belichick was poised to make history, the arrogant architect of 19-0 perfection.
Today, he’s just arrogant, and awaiting the specter of Specter.
That’s Sen. Arlen Specter, the Senate Judiciary Committee mainstay who refuses to close the book on New England’s Spygate. And yeah, the Senate’s priority list should rank NFL Football right below Mongolian Yak Breeding. But that won’t deter Specter from turning over a few more rocks, and Belichick better hope nothing crawls out from beneath them.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who says he’ll meet with Specter soon, can’t be happy with the weekend’s Spygate stories. ESPN.com ran an intriguing piece on Matt Walsh, the former Pats video assistant who sounds like stoolpigeon ready to sing. The Boston Herald ran a story – albeit one based on a solitary, anonymous source – that accused New England of jumpstarting its dynasty with video hijinx the day before beating heavily favored St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI.
What if those stories grow legs? What if the integrity of three Super Bowls is called into question, a perception Goodell may have hastened by burning the evidence? Suddenly, the NFL needs a scapegoat, perhaps one with a penchant for hooded sweatshirts. At best, Belichick’s reputation hits rock bottom. At worst, he’s exiled from the league.
Much has been made of Belichick’s classless early exit from the Super Bowl playing field.
Maybe he went looking for a good hiding place.
This week’s pop quiz.
1) True or false. A gracious Bill Belichick cheerfully answered the questions of postgame interviewer Chris Myers with thoughtful candor, peppering his responses with flowing praise for the victorious New York Giants.
A) True.
B) True, but only after Goodell threatened to eliminate another first-round draft pick.
C) False.
D) In your dreams.
2) After the Super Bowl, New England fans dealt with their frustrations by…
A) Pulling the legs off grasshoppers.
B) Screaming like the Bridgestone squirrel.
C) Staring dreamily at their life-sized Tom Brady Fathead poster.
D) Contributing to the Bill Belichick legal defense fund.
3) Approximately how many NFL players have pulled out of the upcoming Pro Bowl?
A) What’s the limit?
B) What’s the Pro Bowl?
In other news…
He’s back, baybeeee!
College basketball fans everywhere welcome Dick Vitale’s return to the airwaves when Duke plays at North Carolina on Wednesday. Caught off guard, Chapel Hill retailers scramble to deal with a sudden run on earplugs.
All the TVs in China
An estimated 2 million Chinese tune in Saturday to watch Milwaukee host the Houston Rockets, the second installment of Yao vs. Yi. But Milwaukee’s Yi promises he was unfazed by the added attention. “As far as we’re concerned,” Yi said through a translator, “in the grand scope of things, it’s another regular season game.” So that’s why Milwaukee lost…
And finally…
Shortly after recalling guard Ramon Sessions from their minor-league affiliate in Tulsa, Okla., the Milwaukee Bucks announce that Sessions suffered a broken hand in his first practice with the team. Which isn’t too surprising. Throw up enough bricks and somebody’s bound to get hurt.
Tune in Tuesday mornings between 6 and 7 a.m. when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM. Also, I’ll join Mitch Teich for Friday’s edition of “Lake Effect” on WUWM 89.7 FM. And pull up a stool to our Bar Time column.
