September 24, 2007
There are a few timely definitions in The Merriam–Webster Dictionary that refer to the word “cheat.”
I’m going to use one of them. “Cheat – to violate rules (as of a game) dishonestly.”
The sports world is, again, clouded with new controversy. This time on the freshly cut, green grass at Giants Stadium. The New England Patriots blew away the New York Jets 38-14 in what was a laugher. Newly acquired wide receiver Randy Moss kept slipping by Jets defenders on his way to a 183-yard day and a touchdown.
But, the Patriots were cheating.
Jets head coach Eric Mangini, a former assistant coach under Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, came armed, according to the New York Daily News. Mangini had knowledge of the Patriots’ surveillance methods and finally decided to act.
National Football League security confiscated a video camera on the sidelines during the Jets-Pats Spy vs. Spy game. The camera was locked up and sent to the League offices. NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell determined, from the tapes, that the Patriots broke the rules.
Mangini said the Patriots got away with the same thing last season. Now, the Green Bay Packers have accused the Patriots of doing the same thing last year. They had a cameraman escorted off Lambeau Field after he was questioned.
Even a couple of teams from Pennsylvania have, now, questioned the Patriots ‘sharp’ play calling.
Now, the Philadelphia Eagles are suspicious that few of their blitz packages too suspiciously didn’t work during Super Bowl XXXIX. Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown said that every time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson signaled a blitz, the Patriots would use short dump passes or screen passes to break up the play. Brown said it seemed to happen every time a blitz was called.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is also suspicious that the Patriots had some inside information during the 2001 AFC Championship game. Hines stated that they knew a lot of Pittsburgh’s calls.
Now I know why Mangini and Belichick stopped giving each other post-game hugs at mid-field.
There isn’t anything to be done with all the hind-sight accusations that are surfacing. It would be a waste of time to point fingers. Eagles all-pro running back Brian Westbrook said, “…It’s not worth my time.”
There are so many cameras on NFL sidelines these days that it’s hard to know just what all of them are really shooting.
Mangini may have exposed Belichick’s ‘scouting’ on the sidelines.
Never mind that some observations have it that the Patriots would have won the game anyway, but just not as easily. The Patriots later came out in Week Two and showed up the San Diego Chargers on national television, 38-14.
Cheating has existed in the sports world since, well, the beginning of time. Now it has been thrown in our face everywhere we turn. Technology is probably the reason. There is more media coverage than ever before. We can watch Sports Center for six hours straight and never get tired of it. The World Wide Web has helped expose controversies as well.
From Barry Bonds steroid issues (which everyone has to be sick and tired of hearing about) to NBA referees gambling on games and making calls that will save their knee caps from getting shattered by big mob bosses -- where is the honesty?
Let’s look at some cheating controversies in the last century.
The year is 1919. “Say it ain’t so, Joe.” The Chicago White Sox are facing the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. The ‘Black Sox’ were implicated in throwing the series to the Reds. Their names and reputations were tarnished and many baseball fans turned their back on America’s Past Time.
The Olympics are known for producing national heroes. And in 1988 Canada thought they had one. Ben Johnson had broken the world record, running a 9.79 in the 100. But, it was not to be. Johnson had been taking steroids since 1981.
Now for boxing. I’m not sure if this was cheating, but why not. Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield fought in 1997 and Tyson took a bite out of both ears of Holyfield. What was he thinking? Was he hungry? If he was trying to “cheat,” he was just plain stupid. Tyson claimed he bit the both ears, due to Holyfield’s constant head butts. Referee Mills Lane didn’t see it that way.
Yes folks, another baseball incident. Danny Almonte was to be known as the ‘Little Unit’ (kind of like Randy Johnson being called the ‘Big Unit’). He threw a no-hitter in the 2001 Little League World Series and was ready to lead his team to the title. But, there was one ‘little’ problem with this ‘Unit’: he wasn’t 12-years-old. He was 15-years young.
And finally, Floyd Landis was caught for illegal levels of testosterone after the Tour de France from last year. He was America’s sweetheart for a couple weeks. Then, nope, he was caught on the dope, or “doping” as it is called.
Remember what Hank Williams said way back when:
“Your cheatin’ heart will make you weep,
“you’ll cry and cry and try to sleep.
“But sleep won’t come the whole night through.
“Your cheatin’ heart will tell on you.”