Josh Marshall is right; Arlen Spector and the rest of the United States Congress has better things to do than waste time figuring out that Bill Belichick and the Patriots are cheaters. I’ve known that at least since Willie McGinest faked a knee injury to get an extra time out against the Colts on November 30, 2003.
Still, it’s slightly less silly than the Congress wasting its time on steroids in baseball. Why? Because I like watching football a lot and only have passing interest in baseball.
Anyway, we don’t need no stinkin’ Congressional hearings. We in the blogosphere are perfectly capable of hashing this out. I can confidently state that Sadly, No is wrong and Oliver Willis is right. The Patriots are, in fact, cheating cheaters. Sadly for the NFL, it’s damn near impossible to wash off Patriot taint.
Congress gets involved because it affords some members the opportunity to deflect any close examination of their own behaviors.
They’ve probably been working that dodge since first grade, too.
Y’know–have we had this conversation before, by the way?–I just don’t get this attitude, which turns up every single time Congress gets involved in any sports-related issue. Professional sports are legally required to operate fairly and aboveboard. Consider the alternative. Consider the global effect of a single obscure tennis match.
We heard the same complaints about the steroid hearings, but it was Congressional action, however showy, that caused baseball to actually admit to and confront cheating. Is Specter grandstanding? Maybe. But the question of whether the NFL colluded with the Pats by destroying records of widespread cheating–which is the real issue here–is important, and only Congress has the authority to bring it to light. Does it have more important things to do? Sure. Are you waiting for it to get to them? Are you holding your breath?
And don’t get me started on the Sadlynauts, or The Editors, who sacrificed the ethical high ground for the sake of sorry-assed, Nixon-mouthpiece-level homerism (I’m half-joking).
I think it’s great- especially when they grandstand and deliberate, and do nothing.
It would be excellent if they spent more time in this fashion. Any time not spent appropriating, subsidizing, or war-making is a positive boon.
Ever wonder why you can’t walk into a Vegas sports book and bet on a pro wrestling event? Anyone?
Rules matter. I’m surprised New Jersey and Nevada policitians aren’t more exercised about this stuff. Their gambling economies are completely dependent on the gambling public’s confidence that the events they’re betting on are fair.
Bill Belichick is one of the most classless people in all of football.A true horses ass!How lucky the COLTS are to have a class act like Dungy for a coach.