It looks like Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been caught red-handed, or at least with the red record light on one of his spy cameras. In case you didn't know, in this past Sunday's Patriots-Jets game, a Patriots employee had his video tape confiscated after "spying" on the Jets sidelines. Today Belichick issued an apologetic statement, though in his best Jason Giambi impression, he doesn't really say what he was apologizing for.

I'm happy Belichick got caught. There isn't a bigger downer in sports than him. He treats everything like he is running a world power (which is probably what helped him become so successful) and apparently sends out spies to learn play calling of his opponents (which is totally different from advance scouting). The New York Daily News reported today that Jets head coach Eric Mangini knew of this practice from his days on Belichick's staff and has been trying to catch them in the act. It is like an NFL version of the old Mad Magazine comic Spy vs Spy.

Hey, if another team is dumb enough to not hide their signals and they get picked off, that's your own fault. However, to use technology like cameras and video equipment to try and get the upper hand is over the line.

All of this calls into question the integrity of the Patriots during all their championship seasons. In fact, the Packers had a complaint about this same type of behavior from New England last year. The NFL has not handed down a punishment yet, but it is being speculated that the Patriots lose draft picks. I hope that the penalty comes quickly and harshly. That would put an end to this immediately, because I also find it hard to believe that the Patriots are the only team trying these spy tactics.

That's the end of today's blog entry...it will self-destruct in 5 seconds.....