Like the Sports Guy and the other guy from Football Outsiders in their online conversation over at ESPN. They back and forth on the nature of cheating for like 30 seconds, then go right into denial and circling the wagons to defend their beloved Pats.

yanks 1, jays 2. not over yet, yanker

Big Papi is getting scortching hot. I wish Manny would get back too, because as always I fear the Yankees. They haunt my dreams.

I’ve never understood that one, either.

Maybe. But I fail to see how if you can literally photograph and dissect every play with your team in near real-time, have your coaches watch the opponents’ coaches from the sidelines on every play, read scouting reports, watch tapes, have their ex-players in to debrief you AND have the games played in public venues, videotaping them from the sidelines is somehow beyond the pale.

For the record, I think there are a lot of rules in the NFL which are ridiculous.

Does this also mean that they can’t watch tapes of the games (which are broadcast throughout the world, can be TiVO’ed and otherwise recorded) in which a sign is flashed by an opponent’s coach? And why are they able to take so many pictures of the opponent team’s formations (as in, on every play)? And why are so many people outraged by sign-stealing by a fucking football team and so few correspondingly upset by EVERYTHING stealing by our own fucking government?

Why does the NFL have more stringent (if nonsensical) rules regarding privacy (of an act that happens in front of a global audience and 70,000 witnesses) than our federal government?

And I was at Game 4 in Fenway when Ortiz hit one in the bullpen and changed history. I win the fucking thread.

Hey, me too! Well, a website that covers all sorts of IT news, but the principle is the same.

From nfl.com:

Patriots under investigation for following rules, guidelines violations …
1. Page 105 of the Game Operations manual says: “No video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game.” It later says: “All video shooting locations must be enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead.”

2. And, a memo from Ray Anderson, NFL head of football operations, to head coaches and GMs on Sept. 6, 2006 said: “Video taping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent’s offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches’ booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game.”

But yes, I do agree that rules are rules, even if they are dumb, so some penalty is warranted.

You’ll never make it as a citizen journalist with this attitude. Wing it, man. It’s the new media way.

But this new job sounds like a healthier move so congrats and good luck.

Anyway, every time they THINK they know what’s coming, ooppss, they set up for the wrong thing. Baseball figured out how to exploit the other team stealing signs long ago.

I don’t feel any outrage at all…

mikey

Shit. This is easy. If they can’t figure out how to encode their signs, screw ‘em.

Maybe it’s just that I’m more a baseball guy, but stealing signs is completely fair, reasonable and to be expected.

Telescopes, video, spotters in the stands, whatever. Slap a rotating indicator on your signs and every time they THINK

Nobody who will rip your nuts off over your tragic mis-allegiance will give a hoot about videotaping, or drugs, or maybe even a Tanya Harding Special (if pulled off with more flair and discretion).

These days, I doubt even another Shoeless Joe in cahoots with another Pete Rose would dent the revenues. People still watch pro wrestling, after all, even though it’s entirely fake.