So, Does This Mean Our Lady's University Has an Admitted Cheater as a Head Coach?

So, the NFL stuck it to those cheaters up in New England! But they didn't come down hard enough on sweatshirt boy. Belichick should have been suspended for at least a few games.

And this story from Sports Illustrated is a little disturbing for those of us who care about the integrity of the person filling Knute Rockne's hallowed shoes:

Sure, people cheat in sports. In baseball they steal signals. In football they bring in a guy for a week, someone who was just cut by the team they're going to play, pump him for information and let him go on Monday. They'll even plant spies at each other's practices.

But the things that make this Patriots flap so bothersome are the following:

• The arrogance of the organization, the smugness. We are the greatest, with the greatest coach, a genius, etc. What other team ever had its owner, Bob Kraft in this case, take the Super Bowl trophy overseas in the name of world peace. What'll he take this year, the videos of the defensive signals?

• The fact that this is nothing new. Stories are now coming out of the woodwork that cheating has been a normal modus operandi with this club.

• Good old street crime is one thing. It goes with the history of sports. But this video thing lifts it to a new level of electronic surveillance and into the realm of the hi-tech, white collar crime that we all hate. Put these guys on the business page, for God's sake. There's no place for them in sports.

Last year the Lions played the Patriots in Foxboro. At one point their coach, Rod Marinelli, phoned up to the press box, "There's a camera pointed right at our defensive coach making his calls. Is that allowed?" A Lions' employee called the NFL booth. No, it certainly was not. So the videotaper was stopped. Then after a while he began again. The same process was repeated and he was asked to stop again. Now that's dedication.

"You don't really know for sure," Marinelli said. "I mean you don't know whether he might be doing something for NFL Films or a coaches' show or whatever."

"At one point we had a good drive going against the Patriots," said one Lion who doesn't want his name involved in this mess, but was willing to talk about it. "Mike Martz really had 'em going. They were getting fouled up, lining up wrong, we were moving the ball. Then boom, the headset from the sidelines to the coaches' booth goes out.

"Next possession we were moving the ball again and the same thing happened. You know it only takes two or three plays to mess up a drive."

Matt Millen, the Lions' GM, was talking to Bengals' coach Marvin Lewis at the league meetings. He started telling him the story.

"Yeah, I know," Lewis said. "Headset went out. It happened to me in Foxboro, too."

Marinelli was the defensive line coach in Tampa Bay when the Bucs beat the Patriots in the 2000 regular season opener and did a good job controlling New England's offense. After the game the Patriots' offensive coach, Charlie Weis, was overheard congratulating the Bucs' defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin.

"We knew all your calls, and you still stopped us," Weis said. "I can't believe it."

He couldn't believe it because the Patriots had videotaped all of the defensive signals in their last preseason game, which was against the Bucs.

[More]

(emphasis added)

Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette writes at the Irish Insights blog:

So Bill Belichick has been accused of stealing opponent's signals by videotaping them. If it comes out Belichick has been cheating, that will hurt his reputation, for sure. It might even permanently taint his legacy. And what does it do to Charlie Weis, one of his prized assistants? The Notre Dame head coach will likely have to field more than the one question about it like he did at Tuesday's press conference. And at Tuesday's presser, he almost made light of the situation, which appears more serious by the day. "I'm glad I'm not involved in that scenario at this time," Weis said. "Though I have placed a couple phone calls saying you brightened up my day and, you know, brought a smile to my face. But other than that, I'm not touching that one with a 10-foot pole." If Belichick is found guilty, the question now goes to this -- did the Patriots do it when Weis was there? What effect did it have on the Super Bowls the Patriots won? As far as the first question, Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman might have the answer, saying Weis essentially admitted having signals to Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin a few years back (We initially saw this on NDNation.com). The aftereffects of what happens in the NFL's decision could resonate in South Bend, and it could get interesting. But for right now, the last part of Weis' quote on the topic is the smartest...he doesn't want to go anywhere near it. Soon enough, though, he might not have a choice.

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
An ugly situation that raises some definite questions (like "How soon can the Irish get Urban Meyer away from the Gators?").