By now I’m sure you’ve heard that former St. Louis Rams player Willie Gary (yeah, I’ve never heard of him either) is suing the New England Patriots for allegedly videotaping one of the Rams’ practices before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. I didn’t write about it because I didn’t see any validity in his argument and I had never even heard of Willie Gary. Had Kurt Warner or Marshall Faulk filed a suit, it would have been a different story. Of course, they’re not that desperate. Anyway, the $100 million suit, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in New Orleans, names the Patriots, team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick as the bad guys.

Here’s the breakdown. Willie Gary wants each member of the Rams Super Bowl roster to receive $150,000. According to Willie’s suit, each Ram should get $25,000, which is the difference between the bonuses paid to the losing team and the winning team, as well as $125,000 as compensation for not receiving a Super Bowl XXXVI ring, an amount Willie arrived at because he says that’s what a Super Bowl ring would fetch on eBay. The lawsuit also seeks a refund on behalf of everyone who bought a ticket to Super Bowl XXXVI. All this without any evidence that the videotaping actually happened. Humorous, isn’t it?

Well, Coach Belichick broke his silence on the matter last night in an interview with the Boston Globe, denying he told anyone to tape the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough before the Super Bowl. He also apologized for all the attention generated by “Spygate.” A guy named Matt Walsh, a former Patriots employee, reportedly taped St. Louis’ walkthrough practice the day before the Patriots beat the Rams 20-17 in the Super Bowl. But Coach Belichick said he “couldn’t pick Matt Walsh out of a lineup” and added:

“In my entire coaching career, I’ve never seen another team’s practice film prior to playing that team. I have never authorized, or heard of, or even seen in any way, shape, or form any other team’s walkthrough. We don’t even film our own.”

Take what you will from that statement. My feeling is, when you’re convicted of one crime (as in “Spygate”), scavengers with too much time on their hands and too little money in their pockets will see the potential to profit off the momentum. In this matter, I don’t see the case going anywhere. But I do believe others will follow in an attempt to add to the Pats’ guilt. It will happen. You can count on that. Whether or not any of it will be valid is yet to be seen.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Bill Belichick Breaks Silence on Allegations, Denies Taping Super Bowl XXXVI Practice

Just as an NFL player watches game film to prepare for his next opponent, I watched my share of previous Super Bowl Media Days on YouTube to get ready for today. But nothing could really replace being here. Media Day at the Super Bowl features a throng of reporters from all over the world. And a record number participated today.

Naturally, 2007 National Football League MVP Tom Brady was the center of attention as he had the most traffic around his podium. And I thought he handled it very well. Which is not surprising for someone who has had to get used to being in the spotlight both on and off the field. I didn’t even bother sticking my nose into that mob scene, preferring rather to talk with those players who were meandering about. But Tom was getting the most questions. He even received a wedding proposal from a reporter from TV Azteca in Mexico. Naturally, he declined, but the way he worked through the sometimes stupidity and absurdity of this “circus” was a thing of beauty. He’s done this before. He knew what to expect. And he more than made the best of it, although he admitted he prefers talking about football over his personal life:

“You just deal with whatever question is asked, and try to handle it the best you can. I’m obviously more comfortable answering the football questions. Those are much easier for me.”

We had one hour to speak to the players. My challenge was to get to as many as possible and take pictures as well. Having never worked Media Day before, I had a ballpark number of players in my mind to talk to (5-10) and had specific questions for specific players. I also had general team questions that any player could answer. But despite all the homework I did, I could not possibly know every single player. So I stuck with those I knew. If one player was busy talking to someone else, I either waited or moved on to another. I found that waiting was more or less a waste of time.

The Patriots who were at podiums/risers were Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Laurence Maroney, Bill Belichick, Asante Samuel, Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau and Vince Wilfork. In designated areas in the stands were team owner Robert Craft, VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli, Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, Larry Izzo, Ty Warren and Wes Welker. The rest just mixed and mingled.

For the BIGPLAY Radio NFL Podcast, I spoke with Logan Mankins, James Sanders, Kelley Washington, Ty Warren, and Benjamin Watson. Adalius Thomas, who seemed a little agitated and ready to leave before the hour had elapsed, commented on my meticulous notetaking. “Look at you,” he said. “You’ve got everything written out.” I nodded approvingly: “This is what I do.” (Actually, I would like to have individually laminated sheets and a color-coding system like NFL coaches. Hey, I take this seriously. Maybe too seriously.) Anyway, Adalius was one of the few who refused a cell phone interview from a reporter. I saw quite a few players doing “mobile interviews” which I thought was unusual. I guess my feeling was you should either be here at the event or be out of luck. Otherwise, those of us that are here are standing around waiting for the cell phone interview to end. It’s like being at a retail store and having the clerk attend to a phone call instead of dealing with the customer who’s in the store. That was kind of irritating.

Anyway, it was a quick hour. Of course, I felt like I needed more time but one hour is sufficient and really all that can be expected from the players. The media proceeded to brunch for a 60-minute break while a field crew prepped for the Giants.

Photos by David Kindervater

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

SBXLII Media Day: New England Patriots