Spy-gates

A very interesting day in sports.

In NFL and Formula One, two of the most dominant teams in recent years, the New England Patriots and McLaren respectively, have both been found guilty for "spying," with the former being caught videotaping the signals given out by their opponent coaches in their game against the New York Jets, while the latter for being found in possession of a vital technical dossier of arch-rival Ferrari.

Their penalties:

The Patriots: Forfeiture of a first-round OR second-round plus third-round draft pick next year depending on whether the team goes to the playoff this year. Their coach, the eternally blunt and arrogant Bill Belichick, is fined USD$500,000, while the team itself is slapped with a USD$250,000 fine. (Details can be found here.)

McLaren: Being stripped of all Constructor's points for this season, and an enormous USD$100 million fine. That's right, USD$100 million. Eight zeroes after the digit one. (Details can be found here.)

I have never been a fan of Bill Belichick, who somehow has been universally regarded as a "Genius." However, he was a out and out disaster in his first coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns in the early 90s' (in terms of results AND media relations). While he may have lots of impressive ideas on the football field, the only good thing that he has done is drafting Tom Brady in the sixth-round of the draft in 1999 (you may also argue that luck plays into their hands when Drew Bledsoe's injury paved the way for Brady's truly unexpected stardom). With the outbreak of the scandal, many wonder if the emergence of the Patriots is a result of long-term spying, a crime which he has also been accused of when they visited the Green Bay Packers last year.

Interestingly, the two times their videotaping guy was found and expelled from the field happened when they were the away teams. You just have to wonder if this kind of spying is more widespread at their home field, where they are in charge of the on-field surveillance and security, thus allowing them to film literally whatever they want to.

While Belichick may be a winner even if there is no spying, his reputation will forever be tainted. His frosty relationship with the media doesn't help either and he will now be known as a cheater, just like Barry Bonds has been. Incidentally, ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd found a startling similarity between the two. For a start, their initials are both "BB" ...

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acted quickly to hand down the penalty. But by not suspending Belichick (or Beli-cheat, as Cowherd puts it) for at least two games, he seems to have let off the Patriots rather lightly.

And my gut feeling is, this is the final season for Belichick as the Patriots' head coach. With the addition of two players with serious character issues (signing Randy Moss and drafting Brandon Meriweather) this off-season, Belichick has deviated from his principle of keeping his hands off players with character issues. That, to me, is a clear signal that he wants to win it all this season, as he knows one way or the other he will not be around next season.

More on McLaren's mess later.