Letters to the Editor
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The Denial of Football Fans
I love football, but my fellow fans (and writers) annoy me at times. The Everett situation is one of those times.
I wish we'd all just admit that we like seeing people inflict violence upon each other and that we just don't care that it will lead to injuries. But instead we employ the tool of denial, since we've found that as long as we all agree that injuries are terrible and Really Put Things In Perspective it keeps us from dwelling too much on the fact that guys like Everett are literally breaking their necks in exchange for our money.
Then the teams line up for the next play and we go back to hoping the guys in our city's uniforms knock the crap out of the guys in the other city's uniforms.
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If You Can
Know what the guy across the scrimmage-line from you is going to do, I'd have to include that in the category of performance enhancer.
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Hating the Cameras
King remarked: 'John Madden likes to point out, during the inevitable shot of Archie and Olivia Manning in the stands of a game one of their sons is quarterbacking, how miserable the couple looks, and how unhappy every parent of every football player looks during every game. They're thinking about very real dangers.'
I watched the Colts/NO game & they showed that shot several times. One of the things I noticed (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is that Mrs. Manning seemed to be eyeballing the camera every time with a disgruntled experssion on her face.
To me, one of the things that gives her that 'miserable' expression is that she doesn't like being on TV or doesn't like the press or something like that.
I'm sure they are always concerned for their son, though.
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Patriots Scandal
Chris Henry is suspended for half the season for upsetting Goddell's sensibilities. But the Pats - oohh, the vaunted Pats, with their squeaky clean appeal - we'll give them a pass. I don't think that's how to run a league. If Goddell wants to be a disciplinarian, this is a great time to step up.
What is more threatening to the integrity of the game?
A) A guy buying underage girls beer in the offseason
B) A team spying, midgame, on it's opponent
Oh, I forgot, Tom Brady is an oracle. And that Belicheck wears sweats because he doesn't care about anything other than football. And Teddy Bruschi - aww, what a nice fella.
Chris Henry has tatoos, is black, and talks like a thug - get him out of here.
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According to his Doc
Everett should walk out of the hospital.
Players get suspended for taking performance-enhancing drugs b/c of the physical nature of their work. Coaches using illegal communications to enhance the mental aspect of their jobs should be penalized likewise. 4 games for Belichek b/c it's a first offense. They should test coaches for drugs known to stimulate the mind before games as well, ones stronger than caffeine of course. A bit overboard, maybe.
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Anonymous...
What is more threatening to the integrity of the game?
A) A guy buying underage girls beer in the offseason
B) A team spying, midgame, on it's opponent
(A) is a criminal act. Criminals in the game compromise the integrity of the game.
(B) still requires you to execute. As King pointed out, what signal could the Pats have stolen that allowed a 108-yard kickoff return?
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Excuses Excuses
Strange, but every time the Pats spying comes up everyone says "It isn't that bad" or "Everyone does it" or "But the game wasn't close" or "I don't think the Jets have a signal, after all, for 'let Ellis Hobbs run a kickoff back 108 yards.'"
No one denies that they're doing it and most don't deny they're breaking the rules. People are so desperate to maintain the myth of the Pats greatness that they will make any excuse they can think of. However, it wasn't just this one game. If it only gets them 3 points a game, how many games have they won over the last 7 years because of it. If they could get the same out of any of the alternatives King mentions, then why would they go out of their way to do this?
For the price of a ticket -- assuming the Patriots as an organization can't find a free ticket somewhere -- the Pats can put a guy in Row 12 with a video camera and record the opposing team's defensive signals to their heart's content
When's the last time you went to a game and they let you bring a camera in? You can sneak one in, sure, but they don't just let you carry them in.
Again: That's why the signals are coded. That's why the code should be changed every now and again.
The Jets and the Pats meet twice a year, you're thinking they should change them that often? Hell, if the Pats are using this to cheat well enough that the Jets (or others) can't use the same code twice in a game, how often do you expect them to change the codes?
And to use the example I used last time, if the Jets call a stunt and Brady is told through his helmet "They've called a stunt" don't you think he'll have a better play than if he didn't know? If you say no, you're lying to yourself.
As far as it being "ok" in baseball. I remember some story about someone using a telescope to steal signals from the scoreboard area and relay them to his team and everyone called it "cheating". They may have pretended not to care, but it was a big story at the time and it didn't come out for decades.
And either way, it is still being called "cheating".
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Get real
How many times during a game do they show us scenes from the sideline where players are huddled around looking at still shots of the defense. Isn't that cheating? Coaches have a direct link to their quarterback during the game. Isn't that cheating?
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Lazy Thinking
I agree with Lynx on this. King's thinking is a bit too lazy on this matter. Granted execution is what matters in sports, yet it makes the game easier if you know what the other person is doing. Maybe King needs to hit a Niners or Raiders game and reacquaint himself with the sport.