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Transcript: Bill Belichick's Thursday interview at passing camp

AP photo / Winslow Townson
Bill Belichick at Wednesday's Celtics game with his girlfriend, Linda Holliday.

We are wrapping up this week at camp and we will start back up on Monday with our full team. These three days we’ve had players that haven’t played as much - rookies, guys coming from other teams and guys that didn’t play that much last year. [Also] players like Mike Richardson that were on IR. We are just giving guys reps that haven’t had too much with this team. So it’s good. We have had some good opportunities with the wind and throwing in different conditions. It’s been good for the guys to get used to handling the ball and so forth. We have gotten a lot of exposure and we are trying to get a lot of teaching done and we will resume that on Monday when we get everyone back in. From a team standpoint, we have a lot of work to do. We are just plugging along but we are getting there.

How’s Victor Hobson working at that position? It is a little different than what he was doing with the Jets.
Good. He is playing inside linebacker for us. He had played a lot of outside linebacker the last two years down there. I think he is a smart guy, runs well, he’s got some experience in the system and certainly playing inside. I think he has a good combination of experience, toughness and athleticism to the position.

What do you look for in this offseason in regards to him playing a different position than he is used to? Do you look for signs like ‘this could work’?
It is pretty much the same for everybody. We teach them what to do, different plays, how to cover routes, how to defend and cover different running plays and what their reads. Then we give everyone a chance to do it. All the players that play that position are all getting the same amount of reps, so then when the get the chance to execute in training camp we will evaluate them based on how they do then. It is really more of a teaching opportunity and an opportunity for those guys to get reps that haven’t had as many. That’s all.

How had Jerod [Mayo] been doing on defense?
Good. He has done fine. He has a long way to go but we are plugging along.

How valuable is it to have this one on one time with rookies, newcomers to the team and have this time on the field with the assistant coaches and yourself?
It’s good. It’s what everyone has. Actually, we probably do fewer days than what most teams do. We try to give everyone a good base so we can make the competition as even as possible for when we get to training camp. We have a lot of guys on this team that have run our defense and offensive system for a number of years. We have guys who have taken a lot of snaps and guys who haven’t. We are just trying to level the playing field a little bit so everyone has a chance to compete in training camp.

Looks like [Kevin] O’Connell has been focusing on some different mechanics. Is that fair to say?
I think everyone is working on new techniques and trying to improve on what they have done in the past so we will put everyone in that category.

Back in the owners meetings in late March you mentioned Junior Seau, at that time it probably wasn’t the best time to say which way that would go, but as we get deeper here in the off-season is that situation anywhere reaching a point where we will know either he will be back or won’t be back?
I think it is closer to reaching that point. I don’t think it is any closer to having any kind of commitment one way or another. We are just not there yet. But we are closer to being there. We just don’t know where that is.

Have you gotten your crystal ball out to tell when that is?
I’d say it will probably closer to training camp than mini camp.

Just to clarify, I know the veterans aren’t out here but are you doing meetings with these guys this week?
Not in meetings, no, but there are a lot of guys who are still working out in the off-season program. In the Spring, guys have different schedules and different commitments so it is kind of a make up week that some guys are making up and other guys aren’t.

Have you enjoyed following the Celtics in their playoff run?
I sure did. I enjoyed it last night. What an awesome performance. Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, [Rajon] Rondo, [Kendrick] Perkins played great and Paul Pierce. It was an exciting game to watch. So was the first one. I feel like the team mascot.

You scored some pretty good seats too.
The seats are awesome. There is a lot of contact down there. It looks like a lot of tight ends playing and bigger.

I know you have a friendship with Terry Francona. Do you have a good rapport with Doc Rivers or anyone else on the Celtics?
Yeah. Doc and I have talked several times over the last few years. He has been really supportive of us and I really appreciate that. The Celtics take great care of not only me, but you also see a lot of our players at the games. I know all the guys love to get over there and watch those great athletes perform. The Celtics have been great. They have been very supportive of us and they have taken great care of us and we appreciate it. We are pulling for them. Hopefully, they won’t have to come back from Detroit and play them Sunday. Hopefully, they can wrap it up in Detroit - we are pulling for that.

With the punters, you have the two veterans and the rookie. Do you envision it to be similar to evaluating over a long stretch of time to see the consistency or is that harder to do this year that you have some roster restrictions?
I’d say it is going to be harder this year given the roster restrictions. Right now without contracts being signed we can carry a little bit over the 80, but once those guys sign contracts it is a hard 80 number. We will have to make some decisions there. I’m not sure that we will be able to take everyone we want to, to camp. The numbers have been lower than they have been in previous years with the Europe guys with those type of exemptions.

Is this camp about teaching or evaluating?
Teaching. We don’t have pads on. Some of these guys are doing things for the first time. It is hard to evaluate anybody when they do something once. You teach it to them, if they don’t do it well than you come back and teach it to them the next time and the next time. Once everyone comes back and they have a little bit of confidence and they have done something previously, than they have a fair chance to go out there and do it to somebody else. Then we will go out there and evaluate when everyone has a better understanding of what to do.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Passing camp photos

AP photos / Stew Milne
Bill Belichick talks with defensive lineman Santonio Thomas.

Rookie quarterback Kevin O'Connell

Owner Robert Kraft watches O'Connell work.

Tight end David Thomas runs through drills.

Rookie wide receiver Matthew Slater, foreground, and defensive back Willie Andrews leap for a pass. Trailing the play is defensive back Mike Richardson.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Mini-passing-camp

Hey all -

Unlike last week's Patriots passing camp, which had nearly 100 percent attendance, the sessions the team is holding this week are more sparsely attended.

In all, we counted 36 players on the field (if you really want a list we can provide it), and big names like Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Richard Seymour were not among them. This was more for rookies, players new to New England this season and some vets like Willie Andrews and LeKevin Smith.

Once again, reserve defensive back Ray Ventrone was in a white (offense) jersey and talked a bit about his move to offense after the session. Ventrone said his experience as a receiver is limited, but he's working at the move.

Team owner Robert Kraft was on the field for a while and spent some time talking with special teams coach Brad Seely.

Though rookie Kevin O'Connell was on the field, second-year QB Matt Gutierrez took most of the snaps, and completed a pretty 45-yard pass to CJ Jones at one point. Jones beat Mike Richardson on the play.

Tight end David Thomas was on the field, though he skipped some drills as per head trainer Jim Whelan's instructions. Thomas said he's feeling good and taking things day by day.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Former Patriot Sauerbrun pleads guilty to disturbing the peace

DENVER (AP) - Former punter Todd Sauerbrun, whose 13-year NFL career included a brief 2006 stint with the New England Patriots, pleaded guilty Wednesday to disturbing the peace in a confrontation with a taxi driver last December and was sentenced to perform 24 hours of community service.

County Court Judge Andre L. Rudolph ordered Sauerbrun to perform the community service through NFL Charities by Oct. 1. He also sentenced Sauerbrun to a year's unsupervised deferred judgment, meaning if he stays out of trouble for a year the charge will be wiped from his record.

An assault charge was dismissed as part of the deal, his lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, told The Associated Press.

Sauerbrun said he took the plea to avoid a lengthy trial so that he could get on with his life and pursue a free agent job with another team. The Broncos cut him shortly after his arrest on Dec. 7.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welker to receive Pop Warner honor

New England wide receiver Wes Welker is being honored tonight by Pop Warner Little Scholars Inc. (PWLS), the largest national youth football and cheerleading organization in the U.S.

Welker is receiving the 2008 Pop Warner Inspiration to Youth Award for his record-breaking season with the Patriots and his commitment to working with youth through his 83 Foundation, which he established to provide underprivileged children in his hometown of Oklahoma City the opportunity to play football.

“We’re honored to present Wes with the 2008 Pop Warner Inspiration to Youth Award. His commitment to the game of football and the way he plays the game is inspiring to all Pop Warner participants,” said Jon Butler, Executive Director of Pop Warner Little Scholars, in a release. “What’s more impressive is his commitment to youth off-the-field with his work with the New England Patriots and his 83 Foundation. The New England Patriots, the NFL, and Pop Warner are all fortunate to have athletes like Wes as role models for today’s youth.”

Past Inspiration to Youth winners include Drew Bledsoe, honored in 2001, and Junior Seau, who was honored in 1994.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:06 PM to Wes Welker | Permalink | Comments 0

Porter sounds off on Patriots

Former Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter, who is now with the Dolphins, taped an interview with ESPN's "NFL Live" today and went off on the Patriots, saying that when it comes to Spygate, the team deserves an asterisk next to its accomplishments, and that the NFL tried to cover something up by destroying the tapes and evidence the team submitted as part of last fall's investigation.

"They cheated, there should be an asterisk. They cheated and they got caught," Porter said.

Then he brought the league into the discussion.

"Why, if you have nothing to hide, would you destroy [the evidence]? That's how I've looked at it from the beginning. Why destroy something that doesn't have to be destroyed? Let everyone know what was on the tapes. Why would you destroy them so fast?"

Among the tapes that former video employee Matt Walsh submitted to the league last week was one made during the 2002 AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh against Porter's Steelers. New England won the game, 24-17, and went on to its first Super Bowl win.

"If you're to tell me that happened, there's no way I can look at it and feel like I didn't get cheated," Porter said.

According to the veteran linebacker, he's not the only one that feels this way: "Anybody I know that lost to them in big games, they're very upset about it," he said.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Star witness Celona was a pronounced Pats' fan, but he sought work with rival Jets

PROVIDENCE -- Former Rhode Island senator John Celona not only sold out his public office ––he tried to sell out his New England sports allegiance, too.

Celona, who is serving a 2½-year federal prison term after pleading guilty to selling his office, is the star government witness in the bribery, fraud and conspiracy trial of two former CVS executives John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz.

Kramer and Ortiz are accused of hiring Celona to help promote CVS’ legislative agenda at the Rhode Island State House.

According to evidence introduced today at the trial in U.S. District Court, Celona, the fan who proudly flew a New England Patriots flag outside his North Providence house and once tried, as a senator, to get the Patriots to build a football stadium in Providence, sought work from the New York Jets.

Sports is a major interest of Celona’s, as evidenced by his testimony today about his efforts to promote the CVS Charity Golf Classic and Downtown 5K road race in Providence on his cable-access television show.

Then, toward the end of today’s testimony, defense lawyer Scott Corrigan showed jurors a letter that Celona wrote in 1997, when he was seeking work following the failure of his family’s lawnmower store.

The letter was to Bill Parcells, who had just bolted as coach of the Patriots following a Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers, to take charge of the team’s arch-rival, the Jets.

In his quest for work to support his family, Celona acknowledged sending out hundreds of resumes. On March 10, 1997, he wrote to Parcells pitching a new consulting group he had formed, The Image Group.

"With perception so important," Celona wrote, "we at The Image Group can train you and your team to manage the news and the media in a way that is positive and beneficial to the Jets."

A few minutes later, sparring with a defense lawyer over how many times he had met with FBI agents, Celona paraphrased the words of another Pats football coach and one-time Parcell's disciple, Bill Belichick: "If that’s what it is, that’s what it is, then that’s what it is."

Read more on the trial.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Posted by Jack Perry  at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Passing camp photos

Journal photos / Mary Murphy
Tom Brady

Tom Brady and Sammy Morris

Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel

New acquisition Victor Hobson

New acquisition Fernando Bryant, talking to our own Shalise Manza Young

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Passing camp look

The Patriots just finished up the second day of a four-day passing camp on the fields behind Gillette Stadium, with nearly 100 percent participation.

Some observations from the session, which lasted about an hour and 45 minutes:

* Missing were: CB Ellis Hobbs, G Stephen Neal, WR Wes Welker, TE Benjamin Watson, TE David Thomas, DL Jarvis Green and DL Mike Wright.

* Special teamer Ray Ventrone, listed as a safety on the roster, yesterday was wearing a white (offense) practice jersey and did some drills with the the receivers.

* On more than one occasion during a route-running drill, Chad Jackson drew praise from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and new receivers coach Bill O'Brien.

* Marcus Pollard wasn't moving too well. The veteran tight end seemed stiff, and there was a hitch in his walk. He did have a knee injury with Seattle last season.

* Undrafted rookie punter Mike Dragosavich -- one of three punters currently on the roster (Chris Hanson and Scott Player are the others) -- was drilling punts, just as he had during rookie mini-camp a couple of weeks ago. But this time, without the roof of the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse to limit him, Dragosavich was showing off his hang time. He did have a couple of shorter punts, but those may have been situational-type kicks.

* Making the most of their time: during one stretch where they weren't needed, Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi worked together between the two fields, getting some ab work in with a medicine ball... After all of the other players had left the field, Matt Gutierrez, who spent last season as the third quarterback, and rookie Matthew Slater spent some time working together. Last year, it was not uncommon for Gutierrez to be the last player off the field, though he was often working with a ball boy or low-level assistant.

* Neither Tom Brady nor Randy Moss addressed the media; team officials said the pair had a lunchtime event with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to attend.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Fun & games with Faulk

We've just left Campanelli Field in Brockton, home of the Brockton Rox, where Kevin Faulk is holding his second annual Celebrity Softball game to raise funds for the United Way.

More than two dozen of his teammates lent their support, making for a crowded field since all of the members of a team played defense together.

Jarvis Green served as umpire.

Randy "Griffey" Moss - as he requested his name be for the night - was the star attraction for the crowd, though Matt Cassel may have gained some fans with his bootie shaking dance-off win over Kelley Washington.

Faulk felt that the high turnout was a sign of the respect his teammates have for him; assistant strength coach Harold Nash and New England legend Doug Flutie took part as well.

He was also pleasantly surprised to see a full parking lot at the stadium; Rox officials said fans began lining up at the gates at 4:30 p.m., 90 minutes before they opened.

"It's turned out to be a great event," Faulk said.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Extended Belichick interview available online

CBS News has posted an extended version of reporter Armen Keteyian's Friday interview with Pats coach Bill Belichick. The nearly 15-minute video gives more of Belichick's comments and explanations than the three-minute report on last night's CBS Evening News.

As we suspected last night watching the televised package, it was highly edited and clips from here and there were patched together. Belichick speaks in great detail about Walsh, and says that "more than one person" had told him that Walsh claimed to have taped the Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, and "now that story has changed. It seems like he has an agenda, I'm not really sure...what the agenda is. He has a way of embellishing stories, and that continues to be the case."

See it here.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Two GOP members of Judiciary Committee 'don't see a need' for Senate investigation of Spygate

The chance of a Senate investigation into Spygate -- which Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., hinted at in his news conference Wednesday -- appear to be remote after two members of Specter's own party on the Judiciary Committee said they don't think Congress should get involved in the scandal.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that Republicans Jon Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina both said the National Football League is capable of policing itself.

Kyle told the Post "there are far better matters for our time." And Graham said: "I don't believe there's much sentiment that we should get involved. If there's a groundswell of support for us getting involved in this football escapade, it is news to me."

Read the entire story here.

Posted by Art Martone  at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Belichick has his say

New England head coach Bill Belichick spoke exclusively with CBS reporter Armen Keteyian this afternoon, and the interview was just broadcast on the CBS Evening News. Belichick spoke on camera for the first time about Matt Walsh, the former video assistant who spoke with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Sen. Arlen Specter this week about the Pats' videotaping practices when he was an employee of the team.

Here's what Belichick had to say:

On Walsh and his possible reason for becoming part of the Spygate story:
I don’t know what the agenda is. You know, again, he was fired here for poor job performance. There’s not a lot of credibility. He’s tried to make it seem like we were buddies and belong to the same book club and all that is really a long, long stretch.

More on Walsh and his role with the team:
For him to talk about game planning and strategy and play-calling and how he advised coordinators is…it’s embarrassing, it’s absurd. I mean, he didn’t have any knowledge of football – he was our third video assistant.

On Walsh's assertion that he was told to avoid detection while taping; the Patriots gave CBS tape which show Walsh behind a camera, in plain sight, and in team gear:
Why say he was told to avoid detection? I never told anybody to tell him that. All I can tell you is what the facts are – you look at the tape, you’ve seen film of the game. You tell me how discreet it is.

On the memo circulated by the league outlining illegal videotaping practices, which Belichick knew of and found to be in violation of:
I made a mistake. It was wrong. I was wrong.

What Belichick says to those who say his team cheated its way to Super Bowl titles:
I’ve said to you…I’ve told you the truth.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Transcript of Belichick's CBS interview

CBS has provided a transcript of Arman Keteyian's interview with Bill Belichick that will air Friday night at 6:30 p.m. on the CBS Evening News

Keteyian (narration): In the latest episode of the NFL's "Spygate," a defiant Bill Belichick decided to break his silence today to challenge the charges and motives of former Patriots video operator Matt Walsh.

Belichick: There was no deception.

Keteyian (narration): It was Walsh who shot video during Belichick's first two seasons in New England, 2000 and 2001. He went public this week -- calling the coach "arrogant." Walsh claims Belichick's contention that he just "misinterpreted" league rules prohibiting taping of opponents signals was false. AND, that the taping was actually a deliberate, illicit scheme by the Patriots to cheat their way to victory. Today, in an exclusive interview with CBS News, Belichick questioned Walsh's credibility.

Belichick: I don't know what his agenda is, again, he was fired for poor job performance and for audiotaping his superior. There's not a lot of credibility. You know he's tried to make it seem like we were buddies, and belong to the same book club and all. That's really a long, long stretch.

Keteyian (narration): Belichick says Walsh was in no position to know.

Belichick: For him to talk about game planning and strategy and play calling and how he advised coordinators, it's embarrassing, it's absurd. He didn't have any knowledge of football. He was our third video assistant.

Keteyian (narration): During Walsh's entire time with the team Belichick said he operated under the belief that the NFL's bible -- its constitution and bylaws -- allowed taping as long as it wasn't used to "aid a team during the playing of a game." He says Walsh was instructed to shoot the game, including hand signals. In plain sight. Wearing Patriots gear. And he provided the video to the league -- and CBS News -- as evidence.

Keteyian (question to Belichick): So why would Matt Walsh say he was told by his superiors to avoid detection, not wear Patriots clothing, and to lie about what he was shooting?
Belichick: I never told anybody to do that. All I can tell you is what the facts are. You look at the tape. You see him filming the game. You tell me how discreet it is.

Keteyian (narration): Belichick acknowledged when the rule was clarified by the league in September 2006 -- outlawing "videotaping of any type" DURING a game -- he stepped over the line.

Keteyian (question to Belichick): Bill, you got the memo, ,I mean you couldn't be any more clear than . . .
Belichick: I made a mistake. I was wrong. I was wrong.

Keteyian (narration): In the end, Spygate will not likely be remembered for illegal tapes or even Matt Walsh, but for its impact on the legacy of a three-time Super Bowl champion coach and how his team achieved greatness.

Keteyian (question to Belichick): People have said you flat-out cheated. What do you say to those people?
Belichick: What I said to you. I told the truth.

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Belichick to address Spygate on CBS Evening News

Bill Belichick will address charges made by Matt Walsh, his team’s former videotaper, that he knew the taping of opposing teams was wrong in an exclusive interview conducted by Armen Keteyian on the CBS Evening News Friday night. Belichick spoke with Keteyian earlier Friday in Boston.

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

NFL statement on Daboll

During his interview with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, former Patriots employee Matt Walsh confirmed that he did not tape the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, but mentioned that he did talk to then-New England assistant Brian Daboll about what he saw during the walkthrough.

On Wednesday, the NFL interviewed Daboll, now the Jets' quarterbacks coach, again. He was first interviewed earlier this year, after the Feb. 2 Boston Herald story which said the walkthrough was taped by a member of the Pats' staff.

Today, the league released this statement:

"Our security department re-interviewed Brian Daboll on Wednesday and he has no recollection of a conversation with Matt Walsh about the Rams’ walk-through practice. Even if such a conversation occurred, it would not be a violation of NFL rules. Matt Walsh was authorized to be in the stadium to perform his job duties along with other members of the Patriots’ video department, members of the Rams’ video department, and other people preparing for the Super Bowl. Mr. Walsh told the commissioner that he was wearing Patriots’ attire at the time and did not conduct himself in a clandestine manner. He said that he saw Rams employees while he was there and also was on the sidelines. He stated clearly to the commissioner that nobody from the Patriots requested or directed him to observe or report on the Rams’ walk-through."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Pats' single-game tickets on sale tomorrow

From the release sent by the team:

Patriots fans who wish to purchase tickets to individual games in 2008 will have the opportunity on Friday, May 16, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. The New England Patriots annually cap their season ticket sales, leaving a limited number in reserve for fans throughout New England who wish to attend just a couple of games each season. Those tickets will be released for sale through Ticketmaster. Visa, a proud sponsor of the National Football League and the New England Patriots, will be the only form of payment accepted.

All ticket orders will be processed through Ticketmaster. Tickets will NOT be sold at the Gillette Stadium Ticket Office. Ticket orders can be completed online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone. Ticketmaster phone numbers vary by area code, please check your local listings. In the greater Boston area, please call 617-931-2222. Once again, all phone and online orders must be made exclusively with a Visa credit or debit card.

If recent years are any indication, fans can expect all regular season games to sell out within minutes. If that occurs again this year, 2008 will be the 15th consecutive season that the Patriots have announced a complete sellout prior to the start of the regular season. The Patriots streak of consecutive sellouts is currently 149 games and began in 1994, the year that Robert Kraft purchased the franchise. The streak includes all preseason, regular season and postseason games since Sept. 4, 1994. If the Patriots sell out every game again this season, the streak will extend to 159 consecutive games by the end of the 2008 regular season.

The Patriots season ticket waiting list remains in excess of 50,000 fans.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

The Onion weighs in on Spygate

See what they have to say here.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Matt Walsh describes his duties in depth in N.Y. Times interview

The New York Times has posted the entire transcript of an interview Wednesday in which Matt Walsh discussed his Patriots career with reporter Greg Bishop. It was Walsh's first interview with the news media, the Times says. The text casts much more light on how Walsh describes his duties with Patriots than most news stories could, including just what he was doing in the days before the Super Bowl against the Rams. The question that no one has definitively answered: How much did all this help the Patriots?

Click here for the transcript.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Herald stands by reporter John Tomase

A day after its front-page apology to the Patriots made national news, the Boston Herald today is running an editor's note defending John Tomase, the reporter whose story about the Rams Super Bowl walkthrough eventually led to the apology, and reported that Tomase himself will write about the controversy tomorrow.

"We thought our story was solid. It wasn't. And we owned up to it," said the letter, signed by editor and chief Kevin Convey.

"Nevertheless, I continue to stand behind the work of the Herald sports department and John Tomase, a talented journalist who has dealt with this difficult matter professionally while continuing to do his job under intense pressure."

Click here to see Convey's full statement.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Walsh to speak at last - on HBO

HBO has just sent out an announcement saying that it will have the first interview with former Patriots' video assistant Matt Walsh on this Friday's edition of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Andrea Kremer snagged the interview with Walsh, who was interviewed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter on Tuesday but did not answer any questions from media.

Some excerpts from the interview, provided by HBO:

Walsh, who served an internship in the Patriots media relations office before joining a new supervisor in the team’s video group in 1999, recalls being asked to make the switch:

MATT WALSH: “I said, ‘I’ll be honest with you, I really don’t know anything about video.’ He said, ‘That’s okay, we’ll teach you everything you need to know.’ “
ANDREA KREMER: “Boy, did they.”

Walsh says that knowledge of and participation in the video spying/signal stealing operation began at the top levels of the coaching staff — and extended to the team itself. He recalls a conversation he had with a Patriots player after the first game of the 2000 regular season. At the time, Patriots were not an elite team and Tampa Bay was on its way to the playoffs.

MATT WALSH: “I had spoken with one of our quarterbacks, uh, that said, he was called into Coach Belichick’s office shortly before the Tampa Bay game. In the office was Ernie Adams, Charlie Weis, and Coach Belichick. They closed the door, Charlie said to him, “You know, we’ve got tape of the Buccaneer’s coaches defensive signals. What we’re going to do is have you learn this, then we’re going to have you next to Charlie on the sideline, when he’s calling in the play to Drew [Bledsoe, the starting quarterback], over the coach to quarterback communication system. Drew’s got the, the earpiece in the helmet, and you're going to tell Charlie the defense that’s being called, and we’re going to relay the information, or use that in calling the play into Drew.” Um, the quarterback, you know, later told me that within two to three seconds of when [Tampa Bay defensive coordinator] Monte Kiffin sent a play call into [Tampa Bay safety] John Lynch, Drew Bledsoe had it in his helmet.”

Walsh says that a Patriots quarterback also told him that the spying effort had yielded remarkable success.

MATT WALSH: “After the first game when we played the Buccaneers in the first season, after the tapes would have already been utilized, and I went up to one of our quarterbacks, because, you know, running the offense, I figured the quarterback might know something about this. I said, you know, was this, was the footage that I shot of the opposing coaches’ signals, you know, any use for you guys? Did it help at all? And one of the quarterbacks told me, he said, probably about seventy-five percent of the time Tampa Bay ran the defense that we thought they were going to run.”

Walsh suggests that Bill Belichick has not owned up to his responsibility in this affair, or admitted his true familiarity with Matt Walsh and his actions.

MATT WALSH: “He was, he was always friendly, you know, when we talked. Um, cordial, he, him and his wife Debbie, bought us a Christmas gift in 2001.”
ANDREA KREMER: “So how does that give with Bill Belichick saying, “I couldn't pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup?” “
MATT WALSH: “Um, it’s funny, the first time I heard that was when somebody in Hawaii brought the quote to me too. And my first hand answer to them was, well, I wonder if he can pick me out on one of the three team pictures we’re in together.”
ANDREA KREMER: “Why do you think he would have said that?”
MATT WALSH: “I don’t know, if I was just that forgettable and he can't remember me, or if he was just trying to distance himself from this whole situation as best as he could.”
ANDREA KREMER: “What do you think?”
MATT WALSH: “I think Bill’s got a pretty good memory.”
ANDREA KREMER: “Bill also has a great knowledge of the game, so when, when Bill Belichick says he misinterpreted the rules of what can be shot during a game, who much do you believe him?”
MATT WALSH: “When I was doing it, I understood what we were doing to be wrong. We went to great lengths to keep from being caught. Just saying that the rules were misinterpreted isn't enough of a, an apology or a reasoning for what was done. I mean, we live, you know, in a very forgiving nation, you know. People, if you come out and you admit a mistake you made or something you did that you shouldn't have done, people are usually very forgiving of that, accepting. When people try to get around answering it, or giving an explanation, or you know, admitting culpability, that’s usually when people start to question your motives.”

MATT WALSH: “Coach Belichick’s explanation for having misinterpreted the rules. To me, that really didn’t sound like taking responsibility for what we had done, especially considering the great lengths that we had gone through, uh, to hide what we were doing.”

According to Goodell, Walsh at one point during their meeting on Tuesday referred to Belichick as "the man behind the curtain," which leads one to believe he may not have had much interaction with the Pats' coach. - smy

Walsh discusses how his recent public ordeal has affected him.

ANDREA KREMER: “What’s the thing that really bothers you the most about this whole situation, I mean granted, you did what you…were instructed to do, but what bothers you the most when you reflect back on it, years later?”

MATT WALSH: “Really just a lot of…what myself— I can’t speak for them but I have to imagine Steve Scarnecchia and Matt Estrella, you know, have had to go through, and experience, um, simply for being young kids and doing what we were told to do. Um, all the attention this has gotten and how…you know, the Patriots through the media have tried to smear my character. And I hadn’t even come out with any definitive information against them. I never said that we videotaped the Rams’ walk-through, I never came out, I was very, you know, as non-committal as I could in any of the answers I gave, yet they still went to great lengths to try to discredit me. You know, and still to this day, you know, the commissioner says I’ve just presented information that he already knew? Which would mean information before I even talked in the first place? So, well, why put me through all this. If I didn’t do anything to them. And the same thing with Matt Estrella and Steve Scarnecchia. I mean you know, my life, my friend’s life, my family lives, have been turned upside down, supposedly for nothing new.”

Real Sports will debut Friday at 8 p.m.; it will be re-aired throughout the month.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 4

NFL statement on Specter's statements

Here's the statement:

"We respectfully disagree with Senator Specter’s characterization of the investigation conducted by our office. We are following up after yesterday’s meeting with Matt Walsh."

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Update: Complete text of Arlen Specter Senate statement

Following is the text of the statement that Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., put into the record of today's Senate floor proceedings shortly before his midday news conference at the Capitol.

Editor's note: Specter's office, at 5:35 p.m., e-mailed a corrected version of the statement, saying:

Attached please find a CORRECTED version of the floor statement Senator Arlen Specter entered into the Congressional Record today.

The previous version contained two factual errors:
1) The correct date of the Patriots-Steelers game is September 25, 2005, not October 31, 2004.

2) Sheldon Brown is a cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles and was referencing the Eagles-Patriots 2005 Super Bowl.

FLOOR STATEMENT ON NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VIDEOTAPING

I. WHAT WE KNOW:

(1) The Patriots engaged in extensive videotaping of opponents' offensive and defensive signals starting on August 20, 2000 and extending to September 9, 2007, when they were publicly caught videotaping the Jets.

The extent of the taping was not disclosed until the NFL was pressured to do so. Originally, Commissioner Goodell said the taping was limited to late in the 2006 season and early in the 2007 season. In his meeting with me on February 13, 2008, Goodell admitted the taping went back to 2000. Until my meeting with Matt Walsh on May 13, 2008, the only taping we knew about took place from 2000 until 2002 and during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

That left an obvious gap between 2003 and 2005. In response to my questions, Matt Walsh stated he had season tickets in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and saw Steve Scarnecchia, his successor, videotape games during those seasons including:

The Patriots' September 9, 2002 game against the Steelers.
The Patriots' November 16, 2003 game against the Cowboys.
The Patriots' October 31, 2004 game against the Steelers, which the Steelers resoundingly won 34-20. (When the Patriots played the Steelers again that season in the AFC Championship game on January 23, 2005, the Patriots won by a score of 41-27.)

Walsh stated he observed Scarnecchia filming additional Patriots home games, though he could not recall the specific games.

Walsh said he did not tell Goodell about the taping during 2003, 2004 and 2005because he was not asked.

(2) The NFL confiscated the Jets tape on September 9, 2007; imposed the penalties on September 13, 2007; on September 17, 2007, viewed the tapes for the first time; and then announced they had destroyed those tapes on September 20, 2007. Commissioner Goodell made his judgment on the punishment to be levied before he had viewed the key evidence.

(3) Matt Walsh and other Patriots employees, Steve Scarnecchia, Jimmy Dee, Fernando Neto and possibly Ed Bailey were present to observe most if not all of the St. Louis Rams walk-through practice in advance of the 2002 Super Bowl, including Marshall Faulk's unusual positioning as a punt returner.

David Halberstam's book, The Education of a Coach, documents the way Belichick spent the week before the Super Bowl obsessing about where the Rams would line up Faulk.

Walsh was asked and told Assistant Coach, Brian Daboll, about the walkthrough.
Walsh said Daboll asked him specific questions about the Rams offense and Walsh told Daboll about Faulk's lining up as a kick returner. Walsh also told Daboll about Rams running backs "lining up in the flat." Walsh said Daboll then drew diagrams of the formations Walsh had described.
(According to media reports, Daboll denied talking to Walsh about Faulk. We do not know what Scarnecchia, Dee, Neto or Bailey did or even if they were interviewed.

(4) The Patriots took elaborate steps to conceal their filming of opponents' signals.
Patriots personnel instructed Walsh to use a "cover story" if anyone questioned him about the filming.

For example, if asked why the Patriots had an extra camera filming, he was instructed to say that he was filming "tight shots" of a particular player or players or that he was filming highlights.

If asked why he was not filming the play on the field, he was instructed to say that he was filming the down marker.

The red light indicating when his camera was rolling was broken.

During at least one game, the January 27, 2002 AFC Championship game, Walsh was specifically instructed not to wear anything displaying a Patriots logo. Walsh indicated he turned the Patriots sweatshirt he was wearing at the time inside-out. Walsh was also given a generic credential instead of one that identified him as team personnel.

These efforts to conceal the filming demonstrate the Patriots knew they were violating NFL rules.

II. THE VIDEOTAPING HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE GAME

(1) The filming enabled the Patriots coaching staff to anticipate the defensive plays called by the opposing team. According to Walsh, he first filmed an opponents' signals during the August 20, 2000 pre-season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After Walsh filmed a game, he would provide the tape for Ernie Adams, a coaching assistant for the Patriots, who would match the signals with the plays.

Walsh was told by a former offensive player that a few days before the September 11, 2000 regular season game against Tampa Bay, he (the offensive player) was called into a meeting with Adams, Bill Belichick and Charlie Weis, then the offensive coordinator for the Patriots, during which it was explained how the Patriots would make use of the tapes. The offensive player would memorize the signals and then watch for Tampa Bay's defensive calls during the game. He would then pass the plays along to Weis, who would give instructions to the quarterback on the field. This process enabled the Patriots to go to a "no-huddle" offensive, which would lock in the defense the opposing team had called from the sideline, preventing the defense from making any adjustments. When Walsh asked whether the tape he had filmed was helpful, the offensive player said it had enabled the team to anticipate 75 percent of the plays being called by the opposing team.

(2) Among the tapes Walsh turned over to the NFL is one of the AFC Championship game on January 27, 2002 in which the Patriots defeated the Steelers by a score of 24-17. When the Patriots played the Steelers again during their season-opener on September 9, 2002, the Patriots again won, this time by a score of 30-14.

On October 31, 2004, the Steelers beat the Patriots 34-20, forced four turnovers, including two interceptions, and sacked the quarterback four times. In the AFC Championship game on January 23, 2005, the Patriots won 41-27 and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger three times. The Steelers had no sacks that game.

With respect to the 2002 AFC Championship game, it was reported in February of this year that Hines Ward, Steelers wide receiver, said: "Oh, they know. They were calling our stuff out. They knew, especially that first championship game here at Heinz Field. They knew a lot of our calls. There's no question some of their players were calling out some of our stuff."

In addition, Steelers cornerback, Sheldon Brown, reportedly said earlier this year that he noticed a difference in New England's playcalling in the second quarter of the January 27, 2002 AFC Championship game.

(3) Tampa Bay won the August 20, 2000 pre-season game by a score of 31-21. According to the information provided by Matt Walsh, the Patriots used the film to their advantage when they played Tampa Bay in their first regular season game on September 3, 2000. The Patriots narrowed the spread, losing by a score of 21-16. After the game, Charlie Weis, the Patriots' offensive coordinator, was reportedly overheard telling Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, "We knew all your calls, and you still stopped us."The tapes Walsh turned over to the NFL indicate the Patriots filmed the Dolphins during their game on September 24, 2000, a game the Patriots lost by 10-3.

According to Walsh, when the Patriots first began filming opponents, they filmed opponents they would play again during that same season. The Patriots played the Dolphins again that season on December 24, 2000; they again narrowed the spread, losing by a score of 27-24.

According to Walsh, he filmed the Patriots' game against Buffalo on November 5, 2000, a game the Patriots lost 16-13. When the Patriots played the Bills again that season on December 17, 2000, the Patriots won by a score of 13-10.

During the following season, Walsh filmed the Patriots' game against the Jets on September 23, 2001, a game the Patriots lost by a score of 10-3. When the Patriots played the Jets again that season on December 2, 2001, the Patriots won by a score of 17-16.

The tapes Walsh turned over to the NFl indicate the Patriots filmed the Dolphins during their game on October 7, 2001, a game the Patriots lost by 30-10. When the Patriots played the Dolphins again that season on December 22, 2001, the Patriots won by a score of 20-13.

(4) The Patriots filmed opponents offensive signals in addition to defensive signals. On April 23, 2008, the NFL issued a statement indicating that "Commissioner Goodell determined last September that the Patriots had violated league rules by videotaping opposing coaches' defensive signals during Patriots games throughout Bill Belichick's tenure as head coach." However, the tapes turned over by Matt Walsh contain footage of offensive signals. The tapes turned over to the NFL and the information provided by Walsh proves that the Patriots also routinely filmed opponents' offensive signals.

(5) Why the Patriots videotaped signals during games when they were not scheduled to play that opponent during the balance of the season unless they were able to utilize the videotape during the latter portion of the same game. The NFL has not addressed the question as to whether the Patriots decoded signals during the game for later use in that game.

Mark Schlereth, a former NFL offensive lineman and an ESPN football analyst, is quoted in the New York Time on May 14th:

"Then why are you doing it against teams you aren't going to play again that season?"
Schlereth said that "the breadth of information on the tapes - mainly, the coaches' signals and the subsequent play - would be simple for someone to analyze during a game. There are enough plays in the first quarter, he said, to glean any team's "staples," and a quick review of them could prove immediately helpful. I don't see them wasting time if they weren't using it in that game."

III. The NFL's Investigation was not objective, transparent or adequate

(1) Walsh said that Dan Goldberg, an attorney for the Patriots, was present at his interview and asked questions. With some experience in investigations, I have never heard of a situation where the subject of an investigation or his/her/its representative was permitted to be present during the investigation. I strains credulity that any objective investigator would countenance such a practice. During a hearing or trial, parties will be present with the right of cross-examination and confrontation but certainly not in the investigative stage.

(2) Commissioner Goodell misrepresented the extent of the taping when he said at the super Bowl press conference on February 1, 2008: "I believe there were six tapes, and I believe some were from the pre-season in 2007, and the rest were primarily in the lat 2006 season. In addition, there were notes that had been collected, that I would imagine many teams have from when they scout a team in advance, that we took, that may have been collected by using an illegal activity, according to our rules." Later, Goodell said of the taping "[W]e think it was quite limited. It was not something that was done on a widespread basis."

(3) Commissioner Goodell materially changed his story in his meeting with me on February 13, 2008 when he said there has been taping since 2000.

(4) There has been no plausible explanation as to why Commissioner Goodell imposed the penally on September 13, 2007, before the NFL examined the tapes on September 17, 2007.

(5) There has been no plausible explanation as to why the NFL destroyed the tapes. Commissioner Goodell sought to explain his reason by saying during his February 1, 2008 press conference that: "We didn't want there to be any question about whether this existed. If it shows up again, it would have to be something that came outside of our investigation and what I was told existed."

(6) On April 23, 2008, the NFL issued a statement that the penalties imposed on the Patriots last Fall were solely for filming defensive signals. "Commissioner Goodell determined last September that the Patriots had violated league rules by videotaping opposing coaches' defensive signals during Patriots games throughout bill Belichick's tenure as head coach." The tapes turned over by Matt Walsh also contain footage of offensive signals.

(7) The overwhelming evidence flatly contradicts Commissioner Goodell's assertion that there was little or no effect on the outcome of the game: during his February 1, 2008 press conference, Commissioner Goodell stated "I think it probably had a limited effect, if any effect, on the outcome on any game." Later during the press conference, Goodell stated again "I don't believe it affected the outcome of any games." Commissioner Goodell's effort to minimize the effect of the videotaping is categorically refuted by the persistent use of the sophisticated scheme which required a great deal of effort and produced remarkable results.

(8) In the absence of the notes, which the NFL destroyed, of the Steelers' three regular season games and two post-season games, including the championship game on January 23, 2005, we do not know what effect the videotaping of the earlier games, especially the October 31, 2004 game, had on enabling the Patriots to win the AFC Championship. It is especially critical that key witnesses (coaches, players) be questioned to determine those issues.

(9) Failure to question (or at least publicly disclose the results of) key witnesses to other matters identified herein on what we do not know.

IV. An Objective, Thorough, Transparent Investigation is an Absolute Necessity

On the totality of the available evidence and the potential unknown evidence, the Commissioner's investigation has been fatally flawed. The lack of candor, the piecemeal disclosures, the changes in position on material matters, the failure to be proactive in seeking out other key witnesses, and responding only when unavoidable when evidence is thrust upon the NFL leads to the judgment that an impartial investigation is mandatory.

There is an unmistakable atmosphere of conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest between what is in the public's interest and what is in the NFL's interest. The NFL has good reason to disclose as little as possible in its effort to convince the public that what was done wasn't so bad, had no significant effect on the games and, in any event, has all been cleaned up. Enormous financial interests are involved and the owners have a mutual self-interest in sticking together. Evidence of winning by cheating would have the inevitable effect of undercutting public confidence in the game and reducing, perhaps drastically, attendance and TV revenues.

The public interest is enormous. Sports personalities are role models for all of us, especially youngsters. If the Patriots can cheat, so can the college teams, so can the high school teams, so can the 6th grader taking a math examination. The Congress has granted the NFL a most significant business advantage, an antitrust exemption, highly unusual in the commercial world. That largesse can continue only if the NFL can prove itself worthy. Beyond the issues of role models and antitrust, America has a love affair with sports. Professional football has topped all other sporting events in fan interest. Americans have a right to be guaranteed that their favorite sport is honestly competitive.

In an extraordinary time, baseball took extraordinary action in turning to a man of unimpeachable integrity - Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis - to act forcefully and decisively to save professional baseball from the Black Sox scandal in 1919.

On this state of the record, an objective, thorough, transparent investigation is necessary. If the NFL does not initiate an inquiry like the investigation conducted by former Senator George Mitchell for baseball, it will be up to Congress to get the facts and take corrective action.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Kraft pleased with Herald's apology

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) - New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft complimented the Boston Herald on Wednesday for apologizing for a story that said his team videotaped a St. Louis Rams walkthrough before the 2002 Super Bowl.

He's "very disappointed," though, that the newspaper "wrote a story that was completely false and unsubstantiated," Kraft said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He also said he doesn't know why former New England video assistant Matt Walsh didn't refute the story soon after it came out on Feb. 2, the day before the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, 17-14, ruining their quest for an unbeaten season.

"I must compliment the Boston Herald for doing what is unprecedented in terms of recognizing their error in a major way," Kraft said. "I'm really delighted with that, but I wish it never happened."

The apology came a day after a meeting between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Walsh produced no major revelations about the team's taping procedures.

"I think I speak for all Patriot fans," Kraft said. "We're relieved that this is over and you see that this is nonsense and we were unfairly accused and we're moving on."

Kraft spoke by telephone before Sen. Arlen Specter said in Washington that he wants an independent investigation of the Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals similar to the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team had no immediate comment on Specter's remarks.

Walsh told Goodell he did not tape the walkthrough and had no knowledge that any other Patriots employees did so, Goodell said. The commissioner also indicated he considered the investigation over after meeting with Walsh on Tuesday.

Goodell fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away a first-round draft pick this year after an investigation found the Patriots violated league rules by taping New York Jets coaches on the sideline during the season opener.

Kraft said he didn't think the investigation that began then would leave a lasting stain on the club.

"I was unhappy with what transpired in the fall, the actions of some of our employees, and we were penalized severely for that," he said. "We said back in September that we had disclosed all of our actions as an organization to the league. You can see this is true.'

"The erroneous story really led to a second round of inquisitions after September, and it really was a distraction. The sad part (is) that it took away from an 18-0 Super Bowl season."
The Herald's story cited unidentified sources and was released Feb. 2.

In the apology, published in the newspaper's Wednesday edition and posted on its Web site, the Herald said the story was based on sources "it believed to be credible."

"We now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed," the paper wrote.

"We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification. The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots' owners, players, employees and fans for our error."

The newspaper featured a front-page headline reading: "Sorry, Pats." It placed the three-paragraph apology on the back inside page of the newspaper.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise: Dissecting Spygate

We recorded this interview with Shalise Manza Young this morning. She discusses covering the Spygate news conference yesterday in New York, whether the story will live on in the hearts of non-Patriots fans around the country, and whether the disclosures on the eve of the Super Bowl might have affected the team's performance in that game.

Click here to listen to the file.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Update: Specter slams NFL's handling of Spygate, calls for independent investigation

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., called today for a "transparent and independent" investigation into allegations that the New England Patriots tried to spy on opposing teams, asserting that the practice went on more frequently than has previously been known.

Specter, who met with former Patriots' videographer Matt Walsh yesterday, also criticized what he called the National Football League's investigation into the matter.

Earlier in the day yesterday, Walsh met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who announced after yesterday's meeting that further sanctions against the Patriots over the Spygate controversy were unlikely.

Goodell said Walsh affirmed that he does not have, nor did he make, a tape of the St. Louis Rams’ final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, in 2002.

Speaking to reporters in Washington today, Specter charged among other things that, although Walsh did not tape the St. Louis Rams walkthrough practice, Walsh and several other Patriots' personnel "were present to observe most if not all" of the practice, including running back "Marshall Faulk's unusual positioning as a punt returner."

Specter, citing reports by the late journalist David Halberstam, said Patriots' coach Bill Belichick spent much time before that Super Bowl "obsessing about where the Rams would line up Faulk."

Specter, based on an interview with Walsh and other research, also asserted that although Walsh did not tape opposition practices between 2003 and 2005 -- a gap much remarked upon in the sports media -- other Patriots' personnel did tape such sessions during those years.

Specter also criticized the NFL for permitting the Patriots to have representatives on hand during yesterday's NFL questioning of Walsh. Former prosecutor Specter asserted that such a practice ran counter to the principles of objective investigations.

-- Specter criticized NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in stinging terms for what he called the league's "dribbling out" of facts about the so-called Spygate scandal and for destroying the first significant evidence in the case, tapes that the Patriots surrendered last September after the disclosure that they had videotaped New York Jets defensive signals during a game.

Specter also charged that Goodell settled on a penalty against the Patriots before he viewed the videotaped evidence of the rules infraction.

Specter did not specify who should do the investigation, but he did hold out as an example the investigation of steroids use in baseball by former Senator George Mitchell.

-- Journal Washington bureau John Mulligan

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Specter to discuss Walsh interview at noon

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa, is scheduled to hold a news conference at noon today after meeting yesterday with former Patriots videotape assistant Matt Walsh.

Earlier in the day yesterday, Walsh met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who announced after yesterday's meeting that further sanctions against the Patriots over the Spygate controversy were unlikely.

Goodell said Walsh affirmed that he does not have, nor did he make, a tape of the St. Louis Rams’ final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, in 2002.

Specter has helped keep the Spygate situation alive with comments critical of the league’s handling of the situation. Many have said, however, that his ties to Philadelphia-based Comcast, which is locked in a battle with the NFL over rights to the NFL Network, is driving him. Also, the Pats have had success in recent years over the league’s two Pennsylvania-based teams, the Eagles and the Steelers.

Specter was initially scheduled to hold a press conference yesterday.

Posted by Jack Perry  at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Transcript of Robert Kraft interview on CNBC

Following is a partial transcript of Patriots owner Robert Kraft's interview this morning with Scott Wapner of CNBC. Kraft spoke about Spygate and the Boston Herald's apology.

WAPNER: ROBERT KRAFT IS THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AND HE'S GOING TO JOIN US FIRST ON CNBC THIS MORNING.MR. KRAFT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

KRAFT: THANK YOU, SCOTT, I WATCH ALL OF YOU IN THE MORNING.

WAPNER: WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING ON FIRST ON CNBC THIS MORNING.THE HEADLINE AT THE BOSTON HERALD SAYS IT ALL, IT SAYS SORRY, PATS, THIS IS A PAPER THAT REPORTED THE STORY BACK ON FEBRUARY 2, SAYING THAT THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS VIDEOTAPED A WALK THROUGH BEFORE SUPER BOWL 36 AGAINST THE ST. LOUIS RAMS, IT NOW SAYS THE STORY IS NOT TRUE.DO YOU FEEL VINDICATED THIS MORNING?

KRAFT: I FELT VERY GOOD SEEING THIS PAPER BECAUSE WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD OVER THE LAST DECADE AND A HALF TO ESTABLISH A STRONG BOND WITH OUR FANS WHERE THEY COULD TRUST AND BELIEVE IN THE INTEGRITY OF THE TEAM AND THIS STORY COMING OUT THE DAY BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL, THE BIGGEST GAME IN OUR HISTORY, GOING FOR A PERFECT SEASON WAS VERY DAMAGING AND PUT A CLOUD OVER US FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 MONTHS.AND I'M GLAD IT'S FINALLY COME TO AN END.

WAPNER: LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT HAS HUNG OVER YOUR FRANCHISE FOR MORE THAN 100 DAYS.WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RESIDUAL DAMAGE HAS BEEN TO YOUR BRAND OF THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS?

KRAFT: WELL, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE PARTNERED WITH US OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS KNOW THAT WE PUT INDIVIDUAL EFFORT, WE SUBJUGATE THAT BACK TO THE TEAM, WE WORK HARD IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE WANT OUR SPONSORS TO BE ABLE TO EMOTIONALLY ATTACH THEMSELVES TO US AND KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO GET A VERY HIGH PERFORMANCE, HIGH GRADE PRODUCT.AND WE HAVE HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL THOSE PEOPLE OVER THIS TIME PERIOD.AND THIS ERRONEOUS STORY COMING OUT WAS REALLY HARMFUL.AND WHAT BOTHERS ME MORE ABOUT THIS STORY IS WHERE IT WENT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW US AS WELL.AND UNFORTUNATELY, NOW, THEY WON'T SEE THIS RETRACTION.BUT PEOPLE WHO KNOW US, KNOW WHAT WE'RE ABOUT.

WAPNER: YOU RAISE A GOOD POINT, BECAUSE THERE CLEARLY ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE GOING TO LOOK AT YOUR FRANCHISE DIFFERENTLY FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT?

KRAFT: WELL, I JUST HOPE THAT THEY SEE THIS AND UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, OUR MISTAKE THAT IT WAS THE BOSTON HERALD. AND THIS SET OF -- I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT, A LOT OF THE LEADERS IN YOUR AUDIENCE TODAY HAVE GONE THROUGH SIMILAR EXPERIENCES.AND WE'RE IN THIS AGE OF 24-HOUR INFORMATION, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, A LOT OF THINGS CAN HAPPEN AND YOU CAN'T PROBABLY DEFEND YOURSELF.YOU JUST HAVE TO GO ABOUT YOUR JOB AND ONE THING I WILL SAY IS THIS COMING TOGETHER LIKE THIS AT THE END HAS MADE OUR ORGANIZATION STRONGER AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HOLD TOGETHER AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS UPCOMING YEAR.

WAPNER: BOB, YOU HAVE A REPUTATION AROUND THE NFL OF BEING A HANDS OFF OWNER, IF YOU WILL, OF LETTING THE FOOTBALL GUYS DO THEIR JOBS, COACH BELICHICK LETTING HIM DO HIS JOB, LETTING YOUR FRONT OFFICE FOOTBALL PEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS. DO YOU THINK IN ANY RESPECT THAT THAT CAME BACK TO BITE YOU THROUGH THIS WHOLE SCENARIO AND WILL YOU CHANGE THE WAY THAT YOURUN THIS ORGANIZATION FROM HERE FORWARD?

KRAFT: WELL, I THINK WE DO STAY INVOLVED IN OUR ORGANIZATION, BUT WE LET GOOD PEOPLE DO THEIR JOBS. ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT'S COME OUT OF THIS IS THAT THE RULE BOOK FOR THE NFL IS MANY HUNDREDS OF PAGES AND WE REALIZE THAT IT'S BEYOND THE SCOPE OF A COACHING STAFF OR PERSONNEL PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER PROPERLY AND WE HAVE DONE A FULL AUDIT OF ALL OF PROCEDURES AND WE NOW HAVE ORGANIZATIONAL PEOPLE AND OUR LAWYERS HELPING THE STAFF TO BE ABLE TO ADMINISTER THIS.AND I THINK WE HAVE COME OUT STRONGER BECAUSE OF THAT.

WAPNER: HOW DO YOU FEEL THROUGH THIS WHOLE PROCESS WHEN YOU LOOK ALL THE WAY BACK TO THAT JET GAME WHEN THIS FIRST CAME TO LIGHT THAT THE PATRIOTS HAD BEEN VIDEOTAPING SIGNALS FROM OPPOSING COACHES.HOW DOES THIS WHOLE THING JUST MAKE YOU FEEL ON A PERSONAL LEVEL?

KRAFT: WELL, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WE, OUR PEOPLE BROKE A RULE THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEASON. AND SINCE THAT TIME, THERE'S NO TEAM IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS WHO'S BEEN UNDER MORE INTENSE SCRUTINY.AND WE WERE ABLE, OVER THE NEXT 18 WEEKS OF THE SEASON TO GO 18-0 AND WE WERE GOING TOWARDS A PERFECT SEASON.AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE CAN -- BECAUSE OF THE SCRUTINY THAT WAS GOING ON, NO ONE HAS QUESTIONED WHAT HAS HAPPENED DURING THAT PERIOD. WE WERE FORTUNATELY ABLE TO GET GREAT RATINGS, I THINK THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SEES US AS THE BEST SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT IN THE COUNTRY.AND THAT IS OUR FOCUS AND WE HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE DOING THAT NEXT YEAR.AND IT'S JUST SORRY THAT IT HAD TO END ON THIS SOUR NOTE.

WAPNER: LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT MATT WALSH, HE OF COURSE THE GENTLEMAN WHO USED TO WORK FOR THE PATRIOTS.HE MET YESTERDAY WITH SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER DOWN IN WASHINGTON.THE SENATOR IS GOING TO HAVE A NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO HEAR TODAY DO YOU EXPECT THERE TO BE ANY ADDITIONAL FALLOUT FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE?

KRAFT: SENATOR SPECTOR IS A VERY DISTINGUISHED SENATOR AND I'M GOING TO LET HE AND HIS CONSTITUENTS SPEAK FOR WHAT HIS PRIORITY SHOULD BE FOR AMERICA.I KNOW MY PRIORITY IS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT'S GOING ON FOR OUR FANS AND ACTUALLY ALL THE FANS OF THE NFL THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THE BEST SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT WE CAN.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Herald issues apology

The Boston Herald has issued an apology for its publication of a Feb. 2 story that stated a member of the New England Patriots video staff had videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. The story cited an anonymous source.

Here is the text of the apology:

On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots' video staff taped the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. While the Boston Herald based its Feb. 2, 2008, report on sources that it believed to be credible, we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed.

Prior to the publication of its Feb. 2, 2008, article, the Boston Herald neither possessed nor viewed a tape of the Rams’ walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, nor did we speak to anyone who had. We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification.

The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots’ owners, players, employees and fans for our error.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

More from Brady

More from Tom Brady's interview today on The Big Show -- Sports Radio 850 WEEI Radio:

On whether he was surprised Matt Walsh had no new information
It hasn't surprised me for a long time. I think the stuff before the Super Bowl, that was unfortunate that something like that had to come up before the biggest game of the year. We dealt with it all season. We dealt with it now, until today, throughout the offseason. At some point we've put it behind us. We put it behind us the following week when we went out to play San Diego after the Jet game. So I think it's just . . . it was an incident that we accepted and we paid the price for, and a very heavy price at that, and we moved forward. So I hope everybody else does, too.

On the timing of the report of the Pats' allegedly taping the Rams' walkthrough
I don't know why they choose that time to do it. I think it was the Boston Herald that [were] the people that started it . . . Because [coach Bill Belichick is] not the type of person that wants to go out and talk about his game plans and talk about injuries and talk about how to beat teams, I think people don't like that. And because he doesn't say much, you're left to assume a lot of different things. For us, in terms of us winning games, that's what's the best thing for us, but obviously, for our fans and for the media, it's not the best thing for them. They want to know all the information right away and Coach Belichick says, "Wait a minute, I want the other teams to have to figure these things out." Which we love as a team. We love, as players, that our coach doesn't want to go out and toot his own horn and talk about how great of a coach he is. He just wants to win. And I think the best thing that he does for us is, he doesn't talk about anything other than . . . kind of the ways that we want to approach each week without getting into details, game plans, and stuff like that. We've come a long way in eight years and I think we've gained a lot of credibility around the league. And I think, in this particular instance, people kind of want to chop us down a little bit. I understand that, too, and that's part of the competition. It didn't mean anything. We won 18 games this last year. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out at the end the way we would have hoped. But we moved past it then, and we're moving it past it now.

On the taping of opponents' signals
I guess, in a lot of ways, it wasn't the right thing to do. We paid the price. We accepted it. And we moved on. And that's what life's about. In life, you're accountable for your decisions, for all your actions, and once you take responsibility, and you accept the punishment, you move on.

On whether the reports were a distraction in the Super Bowl
No, it wasn't a distraction one bit.

On the Giants
t was really a great game. I wish we would've played better at certain times, but [the Giants] made the plays and they deserved it. And I have a lot of respect for that team because they work hard, and they have a lot of great leaders on that team. It's kind of a blue-collar team. When you do lose a game, you at least want to lose to guys you respect. And I certainly respect those guys. I don't respect everybody, but I do respect the Giants.

On teams he doesn't respect
There's four letters in their name.

Those green guys?
Yeah, exactly.

The attitude of opposing players toward the Spygate controversy
Nobody really said much. Actually, it was funny. I got an e-mail from Lawyer Milloy the other day and he said, 'Ha, you guys cheated when you played us. Therefore, we beat you guys.' And I said, 'Okay, you're right. We give you four touchdowns back. Oh, [shoot], we still win.' He laughed. He laughed. Believe me, everybody . . . none of the players think anything of it. Believe me. Not one person has expressed anything to me. And for that reason: It's a dead issue. It's a complete dead issue. It's been that way for a long time.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Walsh/Specter postponed

Colleague John Mulligan calls in to report that the Matt Walsh-Arlen Specter press conference has been postponed until sometime tomorrow.

The meeting between Walsh, attorney Michael Levy and the Pennsylvania Senator is still going on presently, and the decision was made to push back the media portion until tomorrow.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Update: Specter news conference cancelled

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's news conference in Washington, which was expected at 4 p.m. after his meeting with former Patriots assistant Matt Walsh, has now been cancelled.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Statement from the Patriots

The Patriots have just released the following statement:

"We want to address the allegation that the Patriots taped the Rams’ walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. For the past three-and-a-half months, we have been defending ourselves against assumptions made based on an unsubstantiated report rather than on facts or evidence. Despite our adamant denials, the report ran on February 2, 2008, the day before Super Bowl XLII. That game was the second-most watched program in television history and it is unfortunate that today’s news will not also reach an audience of that size. We hope that with Matt Walsh's disclosures, everyone will finally believe what we have been saying all along and emphatically stated on the day of the initial report: 'The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 is absolutely false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue.'”

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More from Goodell

Here are more points from this morning's press conference/circus with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell:

** Before the commissioner arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel, excerpts from seven of the eight tapes Matt Walsh submitted to the league were shown. On the tapes were the following games: Sept. 24, 2000 in Miami; Oct. 7, 2001 in Miami; Nov. 11, 2001 vs. Buffalo; Dec. 9, 2001 vs. Cleveland; Jan. 27, 2002 in Pittsburgh (AFC championship); and Sept. 29, 2002 in San Diego.

At one point during the tape from the Chargers' game, there was about 45 seconds showing the cheerleaders dancing in an end zone, with the camera trained on one particular cheerleader (and her derriere). A representative from lawyer Michael Levy's firm quickly came around the room and said that Walsh was not the cameraman for that game, he was just in possession of the tape.

** Walsh acknowledged to Goodell that he was at the Rams' walkthrough on the eve of Super Bowl XXXVI with other members of the Patriots' video staff. He was in Pats' gear and was working to set up tables, printers and other equipment on the New England sidelines for the game.

"No one asked him to tape the walkthrough, he's not aware of anybody else who may have taped the walkthrough, he has not seen such a tape, he does not know of anybody who says there is a tape," Goodell said.

After Goodell's press conference, a group of media members were brought before NFL outside counsel Gregg Levy, who was also at the Goodell-Walsh sitdown.

According to Levy, Walsh was asked by former New England assistant coach Brian Daboll what he saw at the Rams' walkthrough, and Walsh offered that Marshall Faulk was in punt or kickoff receiving formation. Daboll apparently also asked Walsh about offensive formations, particularly about the use of tight ends.

Levy said the story was uncorroborated, but will be looked into. Daboll is now an assistant with the Jets.

** Once the Spygate scandal began, all sorts of other charges were made by other teams and outsiders about additional wrongdoing by the Pats. Walsh told Goodell that he had no knowledge of the team bugging opponents' locker rooms, scrambling the coach-to-quarterback radio signal, placing microphones on defensive players to pick up a quarterback's calls or any other claims.

** When asked why Walsh had kept the tapes, Goodell said the former New England employee had said he was thinking about becoming a coach one day (he apparently also kept tapes of Pats' practices), and for resume purposes: if a potential future employee asked what he did with the Pats, Walsh could break out the tapes and show them.

** Goodell had not yet spoken with the Patriots to let them know of his findings, nor did he say he planned on speaking with Robert Kraft, Scott Pioli and/or Bill Belichick. New England did have an attorney, Dan Goldberg, at the meeting today.

** There were two new bits of information Walsh offered to Goodell that were not previously known: in 2001, a player New England had on injured reserve practiced with the team, a no-no, and Walsh helped a couple of players scalp Super Bowl tickets, saying it was between 8 and 12 tickets total over a two-year period.

Walsh identified the player on IR and Goodell said the league is trying to verify that, though, he added, there would be no further fine imposed on the team if it is found to be true; Goodell said it would be included in the $750,000 in fines already assessed to the franchise and Belichick.

As for the tickets, which he said is a non-competitive issue, Walsh named names for that as well and Goodell said that will be looked into as well.

** Walsh said after making recordings during games, he handed the raw footage over to Ernie Adams, New England's football research director. According to Goodell, Walsh had little to no interaction with Belichick, whom he referred to as "the man behind the curtain" at one point during his meeting with Goodell.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Brady during 'EEI interview: Super Bowl loss was 'numbing'

Tom Brady spoke in depth about the 2007 season, and the loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl, in a wide-ranging interview on WEEI Radio this afternoon:

On whether pressure built during last season as the team remain undefeated
As a team we really insulated ourselves from it. I think the great strength of ours is our coach keeps us focused on each game, each week and each day of practice. And if we didn't have a good day of practice, we heard about it. So we never got caught up in it . . . And I think that's the way to approach it. because if you don't, you lose . . . When we started last season, the goal wasn't to go undefeated. It was to win the Super Bowl. And that will be the goal this year.

On how the Pats felt after losing the Super Bowl
It was numbing. It's just a numbing experience because we just didn't see that happening. Not that you can't lose any game, and you know going in that you can lose any game, but after the game, everyone was reflecting on what could have happened if we'd have won. I'm glad we were in that position. A lot of guys have moved on, we've made significant changes to the team. . . I think we have a great team. We start practice on Monday, I know all the guys are excited to be back.

On whether or not the Pats didn't take the Giants seriously
There was no way that we did that. I think that's why you can get over that, because I reflect back . . . we were prepared. It wasn't like we left anything on the table. It was a game of field position . . . [that was] a great defense we played and one of the best defensive lines in football. We finally scored there at the end and they just had a miraculous drive at the end to score on our defense. That game will stay with us for a long time, obviously, but hopefully we can have more opportunities. And I'm confident that we will. As long as we have [owner Robert Kraft] and [coach Bill Belichick], I'm confident that we will.

On the Giants
They have a great D-line and a very complimentary secondary with very athletic linebackers. I thought they did a good job of picking their spots to blitz us. They played incredible [in] that game.

On plays the Pats failed to make during the Super Bowl
Just before [halftime], on the strip sack, Randy [Moss] was behind the defense, but we just weren't able to find him in time. That should have been a touchdown.

On comparisons between the Pats' victory over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, and the Giants' win over the Pats in Super Bowl XLII
There was no way we should have won that game in 2001 but we found a way to win because we executed. And I think the Giants executed that way against us this year.

On mistakes the Pats made against the Giants
We didn't have a lot of possessions and we needed to play more of an error-free game. We just made errors at the wrong time, and they capitalized.

On the game
It was a great team game for the Giants . . . For us, it was back and forth. We were in control, and then we weren't in control. If we made one or two plays, the outcome's different. I think they had a great scheme on defense, they found ways to put pressure on us, they did a great job in those short-yardage situations . . . it just wasn't our day. It just wasn't our day.

On whether he was bothered by the Giants' pass rush
I don't get ever frustrated with pressure. I was frustrated we weren't able to put together drive after drive. They put pressure on you, and we knew that.

More on the game
We went down and scored right when we needed to, at the end. We had our opportunities. That's all you can ask for in the game, and that's all you can ask for in life.

On the last-minute pass to Randy Moss that was broken up by Corey Webster
Aw, man, when I let that go, I thought we had it. I thought that was it.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Goodell: Further sanctions unlikely

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell just wrapped his press conference and said much of what Matt Walsh told him during their three hour, 15 minute meeting was consistent with what the Patriots had admitted as far as videotaping opponents' signals.

Due to that, Walsh said he expects no further sanctions against the team above the $750,000 in total fines and loss of a first-round draft pick levied against the team.

More shortly...

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

News break: Walsh has no new information on Spygate

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking at the moment to the media, said Matt Walsh brought no new information on the Spygate scandal to their meeting today and that Walsh didn't tell him anything that the Patriots hadn't already been punished for.

He also made clear that Walsh did not tape the Rams' walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, and that Walsh had no knowledge that anyone taped it.

"As I stand before you today . . . I don't know where else I would turn [for more information],'' Goodell said when asked if Spygate was over.

More to come . . .

Posted by Art Martone  at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

So, who was spying on the Patriots?

Assistant Sports Editor Mark Divver just sent me this link from the blog ColdHardFootballFacts. Intriguingly, the post links to a New York Times story from 2002, as the Patriots were preparing to face the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. The gist: someone was seen spying on the Patriots' practice with some sort of telescope as they were preparing for the game, and league officials themselves saw it.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Watching the tapes, waiting for Goodell

We have now relocated back to the Astor room at the Intercontinental The Barclay, just a block from NFL headquarters.

As we wait for commissioner Roger Goodell to arrive, league PR officials have begun playing the eight tapes Matt Walsh submitted last week. So far, video from a Sept. 24, 2000 game in Miami, an Oct. 7, 2001 game in Miami - with both defensive and offensive signals, the Jan. 27, 2002 AFC championship in Pittsburgh and a Sept. 29, 2002 game in San Diego have been shown. Next up, apparently, is a Nov. 2001 game in Buffalo.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Walsh/Levy statement

After waiting an hour and 40 minutes outside NFL headquarters on Park Avenue for Matt Walsh and attorney Michael Levy in the hopes Walsh would take a few questions, the pair came out of the building without Walsh saying a word.

The former video assistant stood stoic in a black double-breasted suit as Levy delivered the following statement:

"Mr. Walsh is pleased to have been able to assist the National Football League in its investigation of the New England Patriots' videotaping practices. Senator Arlen Specter has waited quite a while to meet with Mr. Walsh, and we are heading immediately to Washington, D.C. for an appointment this afternoon with Senator Specter. Out of respect for Senator Specter, neither Mr. Walsh nor I will speak with the media prior to meeting with the Senator."

With that, Levy and another gentleman ushed Walsh through the throng, which had grown to include passerby wielding cameraphones.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Standing, waiting... (with photo of Walsh)

AP photo / Louis Lanzano
Matt Walsh, left, arrives at NFL headquarters for his meeting this morning with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

This is the status of the Matt Walsh situation: I and a couple dozen other reporters are standing here at 280 Park Avenue, outside NFL headquarters, waiting for Matt Walsh and his lawyer, Michael Levy, to make an appearance. The feeling is he's going to duck out on the press conference with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, so the hope is Walsh will say something before heading to the airport to fly to Washington D.C. for his meeting with Sen. Arlen Specter.

We'll update you further when we have more.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Raw video: Matt Walsh arrives at NFL offices

Click here to see the video, from the AP, of the Spygate figure checking in to meet NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell this morning. And check back here for much more throughout the day.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots top ESPN power rankings

ESPN has the New England Patriots listed as still the team to beat in the National Football League on the network's NFL power rankings for May. Just behind the Patriots are the Colts, the Chargers, the Cowboys and the Jaguars. The weakest team in the power rankings: Matt Ryan's Atlanta Falcons.

Here's what ESPN's Mike Sando has to say about the Pats: "A healthy Tom Brady and a happy Randy Moss make the Patriots championship contenders this season and for years to come."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:42 AM |