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Originally Posted by HPF Bob
The NFL has contracts with all the major tv networks for the very purpose of controlling the coverage it receives. Think of crossing us? We'll remember that the next time your rights package comes up.
Barrett, the libertarian and jurist in me agrees with you. I'm just providing the countering viewpoint and if they happen to ever single out the Patriots or the Steelers for punishment, to me it just makes up for all the favorable officiating they get.
Before John Madden was the beloved NFL granpa, he was the coach of the Raiders and they used to get away with so many cheap shots. They were experts at throwing an elbow at an opponent's throat as he was laying on the ground. The Raiders once had a DB named Neal Colzie who following in the footsteps of Jack "They Call Me Assassin" Tatum, a fellow Buckeye alum.
Colzie learned from his master how to throw that elbow at the throat and, while playing for the Raiders, he got away with it. Then, one year, he was waived and picked up by the Dolphins. As a Dolphin, he tried the same crap and would always get flagged for it. Did the refs finally grow a set of eyes after he stopped playing for the Raiders or did the refs see it all along but just wouldn't call it while he was in silver and black?
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I don't disagree with any of this.
And the NFL should have buried New England in 2007 and if they ever get actual evidence (not a failed sting they try to prop up), they should bury them in the future.
My biggest problem is that the fat cats at NFL headquarters did not go after Bob Kraft of the Patriots organization because they all make money on deals he negotiates and revenue his franchise shares. Instead they tried to make their point with Tom Brady. They wagered hate of the Patriots would be enough for most people and it was. If they had run a competent investigation and had gone through the correct motions in their witch hunt appeals trial, Brady would be the fall guy, and the owners would have buried their hatchet without ever touching their own pocketbooks.
Their may not be a more entitled and corrupt group in the US than pro sports owners. These guys operate a monopoly, steal public money, dump on their employees as much as they can get away with, and somehow the public is more jealous of the players' millions than the owners' billions.