We will never know the full extent of what all happened. Of course, as in any matter like this, so much goes on behind closed doors that nobody outside of that room will know about. My take on it is the Patriots knowingly broke the rules for years, and after they were warned, they continuted to break the rules.

Of course, right after the whole Jets thing broke out in the news, there were stories of the Patriots using in-helmet communications on defense (which, coincidentally will be allowed next year) and reports of the use of unauthorized frequencies. Opposing coaches said that their QB's helmet communications had a nasty habit of going out at critical moments when playing the Patriots.

Basically, to a majority of NFL fans (not necessarily an overwhelming majority, though) the Patriots "dynasty" is tarnished because they were caught cheating, and were probably cheating even more than what they got caught for.

For daring to call the violation behind "Spygate" a technicality, even though there will be a thousand overdramatic drama mamas crying about how it was OMGZORZ the Biggest Sports Scandal Evar and how Bill Belichick destroyed their faith in the timeless, classic, heretofore corruption-free sport of NFL football.

I've been saying for well over six months that

(a) stealing signals isn't illegal

(b) watching tape is not, by itself, illegal

and that the entire ground on which the outrage is founded is the fact that the Pats did (b) to do (a).

Worse, the rules on this issue were poorly written, to the point that up to about 2003 or 2004, the Patriots could plausibly argue that they were allowed to tape the other team's signals, as long as they were not using the information on that particular day. Indeed, the way the rule is written, if the Pats made videotapes of signals during a game between the Jets and Dolphins, said tape would be entirely legal.

Any use by any club at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which such club is a participant, of any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping, or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game.

Now it is true that the NFL clarified its position more recently in a way that should have made it clear to the Patriots that they were violating the rules. And at the very least, given the pronouncements from the league office, the Patriots would have been well advised to seek a rule clarification. Indeed, it was positively obtuse to flout the league memo while playing a road game against a former assistant coach (Eric Mangini) who was himself fully aware of the practice of videotaping.

It is important to note that the information in question, namely, the various gestures that comprise the coaches' signals, is in the public domain. It is being transmitted over an open channel, so to speak. There is no right to secrecy involved here. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine how to write a rule requiring a team not to try to figure out what the signals are. Is a defensive coach required to not notice what each of Peyton Manning's various chicken dances means?

It's a shame that I don't live in PA anymore. I want to vote against him so badly.

I definitely agree with King that there's been far too much outrage over an issue that is already over and done with.

However, I think that there's a big difference between watching the signals given and taping it. To watch the signals as they happen, you actually have to put effort into it, and you have to choose to do it (or have someone on staff do it) either instead of or in addition to other tasks that are happening during the game. By taping it, you not only can watch the signals at your convenience, you can have anyone and everyone else on the staff watch it. Plus, you have the tape for re-watching whenever you want. Those things may seem small on the surface, but they make a fairly small thing into a much bigger advantage.

So is the "spygate" scandal blown out of proportion. Absolutely. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a very good reason that videotaping is illegal while watching signals isn't.

I bet there are a ton of football players who don't think plagarism is a 'scandal'. I mean, they're just words. Eventually the combinations will align, right?

No new Spygate revelations? What will Peter King of Sports Illustrated write about? Oh, that's right: his coffee addiction.

I get a laugh about the huffing and puffing over the Patriots and Belichick. Jimmy Jones said that he knew about taping signals at the beginning of his career and that at least 1/3 of today's teams were doing it before Goodell punished the Pats. Plenty of other teams have cheated and ARE cheating. If you think it was just the Pats, I have some land in FL for you.

Here are some REAL issues that the NFL and the press should address:

* Pacman Jones being reinstated

* Steroid and HGH use in the NFL--why so angry, Shawne Merriman?

* The possibility of Michael Vick ever playing pro football --anywhere--ever again

* The NFL and NFL Players' Association desperate attempt to ignore the medical conditions and insufficient pensions of retired players

* The league's tardy and insufficient monitoring of players' health following injury, esp. head trauma.

It's much needed. The vitriol against not only the Patriots, but Patriots fans themselves (like myself) is ridiculous. Do people insult San Francisco fans for liking Barry Bond?

I couldn't agree more. Well, I could, but someone would accuse me of being a Patriots fan. Which I'm not. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But Betty Grable? I'm pretty sure there are some living actresses with great legs who some of your younger readers will actually recognize. Twenty-two skidoo, as you say.

And taping? Did the Patriots actually use a VHS cam-corder? Did they really hand over an actual tape? I'd let them off just for that. It's really only a step up from hiring a guy with eidetic memory and having him act out the signals to the appropriate coaches. What do the kids call it these days when you "tape" something using a digital camera?