Confirmation (as if we needed it) that Arlen Specter is a Horse’s @ss
From today’s Sports Section, on the “scandal” involving the destruction of the Patriots’ spy tapes. From the LAT :
Specter, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discovered the New England practice of illegal taping had evidently gone on for years and told Goodell there was potential for further Congressional investigation.
“There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach [Bill] Belichick took over,” Specter said of the meeting. “The explanation given as to the destruction of the tapes and the notes is completely invalid. There was an enormous amount of haste.”
In particular, Specter cited notes and tapes the Patriots had on the Pittsburgh Steelers in two games during the 2004 season. The Steelers defeated the Patriots, 34-20, on Oct. 31, sacking Tom Brady four times and intercepting two of his passes. But when the teams met again in the AFC championship on Jan. 27, 2005, the Patriots routed the 16-1 Steelers, 41-27, with Brady sacked twice with no interceptions.
….
Specter previously threatened the league with Senate Judiciary Committee hearings if he wasn’t satisfied with the commissioner’s answers and, according to Goodell, reiterated Wednesday the threat of Congress canceling the league’s antitrust exemption.
“We have a right to honest football games,” Specter said.
The “right to honest football games”??????
Cite me to a statute Arlen. Which Article of the Constitution covers “football” — maybe its in the privacy clause. What? There’s no privacy clause??
Then it must be there under one of those pnumbras. Its right next to the “right” to honest WWE matches.
Comeon Arlen, admit it — THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE PHILLY EAGLES GETTING BEAT BY NEW ENGLAND IN THE 2004 SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!
I thought only baseball had an antitrust exemption? When the USFL sued the NFL for antitrust violations they won the case. Of course the jury only awarded them one dollar (which was trebled because it was anti-trust)
Was there subsequent legislation expanding the exemption to football?
Eric (09e4ab) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:01 pmWatching the Daily Show today, eh?
Russell (5ecf4a) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:05 pmthree bucks. hilarious.
Jem (9e390b) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:07 pmThe right to honest football is an emanation from a penumbra. Haven’t you read Griswold v. Connecticut?
Diffus (84f29e) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:11 pmI saw this story a couple of days ago (threats of Congressional investigations), and all I can think of is: Thank the lord they are doing this instead of actually trying to make laws…
The more stupid shit like this they do, the fewer laws they pass…
Quick, someone find a meth-ring in the NBA…
Scott Jacobs (a1de9d) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:18 pmThis is another example of grandstanding and poor judgment on the part of a Senator who needs to move on to retirement.
In the past, I have admired Arlen Spector. He is a distinguished graduate of my alma mater, who has for the most part represented Pennsylvania well and has exhibited great courage in the face of severe illness.
But the federal government has no part to play in this matter, either by law enforcement or by legislation. This is solely a matter for the NFL to deal with at pain of losing millions (maybe billions) of dollars if it is not handled properly.
Let Goodell be Goodell.
vnjagvet (d3d48a) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:49 pmI wish Congress would do something about the infield fly rule. I don’t understand it and I’m a lawyer. I don’t think that players, managers and umpires have anything more than a vague understanding of it either. As best as I understand it, it saves the team at bat with men on base from a bad batter … I think. We really need legislation to correct this ambiguity and likely injustice in the national pastime.
nk (616f8b) — 2/14/2008 @ 7:59 pmPrivacy, schmivacy. Professional sports is about as straightforward as interstate commerce gets. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of the expansive post-Wickard view, but if there’s one thing more ridiculous than arguing that everything is interstate commerce, it’s arguing that national, professional sports, isn’t.
Xrlq (4473a9) — 2/14/2008 @ 8:01 pmThis is why my ancestors came over from Austria. They were looking for on honest game of football.
Mark1971 (c92bfa) — 2/14/2008 @ 8:06 pmYou’re right, X, but Patterico is right, too. Otherwise where would professional wrestling be? (Except as provided under the First Amendment like for any other theatrical performance?) Why isn’t Specter making sure we have fair and honest professional wrestling matches?
nk (616f8b) — 2/14/2008 @ 8:13 pmI wish Congress would do something about the infield fly rule. I don’t understand it and I’m a lawyer.
nk, you’ve obviously never heard of George Wright and Dickie Pearce, specialists at trapping infield pop flies with the bases loaded with opposing players, turning ridiculously easy double and triple plays by forcing those runners to stay on base until the pop fly hit the ground.
I don’t think that players, managers and umpires have anything more than a vague understanding of it either.
Oh yes, they do. Vividly.
As best as I understand it, it saves the team at bat with men on base from a bad batter … I think.
No it saves the team from wily infielders.
We really need legislation to correct this ambiguity and likely injustice in the national pastime.
Sure. Then watch as infielders like A-Rod and Derek Jeter “misjudge” pop flies.
Paul (bcc0a7) — 2/14/2008 @ 8:27 pmPaul,
I was kidding. Honest.
nk (616f8b) — 2/14/2008 @ 9:03 pmWhere we really need Congressional inquiry is in the height of the pitcher’s mound. I dunno … it seems to me unfair what with pitchers throwing as fast as 105 mph and batters needing steroids and HGH to play at .300 if that. (I’m kidding again.)
nk (616f8b) — 2/14/2008 @ 9:14 pmYears ago (at least 38) I had lunch at Busch Stadium as I often did. There was a nice restraurant there that a lot of business people would use because it was within walking distance of many of St. Louis’s large office buildings.
While having lunch a waiter pulled all the curtains to the windows that viewed the ball diamond. I asked him why he was doing that and he told me that the Cardinals were getting ready to practice and that some “reporter” types had been caught filming the players as the practiced. He went on to tell me that the management didn’t want other teams spying on them.
So this is new to anyone, including Spector? How many times, I wonder, did Rockne show films of other teams to his players? Wonder how many spies there are out there that do nothing but check out other teams? This makes you wonder, are our elected elite running out of things to do to fight each other so that now they are taking on the sports industry?
I wonder if we will have a Congressional/Senatorial hearing on the rampant drug abuse in the entertainment industry? Witnesses called to find out who knew what before Heath Ledger decided that there was no ultimate high that could not be reached? Or are the campaign contributions from TinselTown just too great to make any waves there? What? Investigate if George Clooney is popping black mollies while wearing an Obama bracelet? Yeah, right. Hell, maybe they can investigate if Nancy Pelosi is hooked on botox and is abusing it.
I agree with #5; we’re probably better off by them chasing down wayward baseball players than having them really do what they are being paid to do, legislate.
retire05 (bfdae3) — 2/14/2008 @ 9:17 pmImagine a horse with ARLEN SPECTERS FACE ON ITS REAR IT WOULD NEVER LEAVE THE STABLE
krazy kagu (e22b83) — 2/14/2008 @ 9:21 pmI like Scott’s point. If the congresscritters are doing this, they have less time to screw everything else up.
JD (fd9a5b) — 2/14/2008 @ 9:22 pmThe “right to honest football games”?????? Cite me to a statute Arlen.
Its in ancient Scottish law, two lines above the impeachment section.
Perfect Sense (b6ec8c) — 2/14/2008 @ 10:14 pmSorry to be late to the discussion. Deadspin.com had a pretty good post pointing out Specter’s conflict of interest in this matter. Specter gets buku campaign money from Comcast (headquartered in Pennsylvania, I believe), who is busy fighting the NFL over carrying the NFL Network. Specter is just going to bat (sorry to mix sports metaphors) for one of his sugar daddies.
JVW (0f0bdb) — 2/14/2008 @ 10:55 pmMy senator can sack your senator. It’s all part of the game.
Amphipolis (fdbc48) — 2/15/2008 @ 5:20 am“Our constitution protects aliens, drunks and U.S. Senators.”
arch (346826) — 2/15/2008 @ 5:32 amWill Rogers
I really wish we could just oust every member of Congress, ban them from ever holding a public office again, and start over.
Deal with social security? Nah. Punish local governments that declare our military to be intruders? Nah. Figure out if Roger Clemens used steroids? Now you’re talking. Oh, oh! Let’s also invent a problem in the NFL and then try to fix it! What a time to be alive!
Justin (652530) — 2/15/2008 @ 5:46 am“THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE PHILLY EAGLES GETTING BEAT BY NEW ENGLAND IN THE 2004 SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!”
Sounds like a good enough reason to me:D
JohnW (eadc74) — 2/15/2008 @ 6:35 amThe more I see of congressional antics, the more inclined I am toward supporting a random selection via lottery instead of elections. US citizens who are also registered voters receive something akin to a draft notice that requires one term in Congress.
Bar Sinister (eb65fa) — 2/15/2008 @ 8:56 ami applaud senator specter. i also want to see california’s two senators hold hearings in washington about why the san francisco 49ers suck so bad, and subpoena the owners and coach to testify at these hearings. anything to help the team!
assistant devil's advocate (07945c) — 2/15/2008 @ 10:51 amI am very proud to say that I voted for Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania’s Republican senatorial primary in 2004, and for Jim Clymer, the nominee of the Constitution Party, in the general election.
Dana (3e4784) — 2/15/2008 @ 1:06 pmnk wrote: Why isn’t Specter making sure we have fair and honest professional wrestling matches?
Because professional wrestling years ago abandoned any pretention that it was truly competitive.
From the St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture via FindArticles.com (bold mine):
I have heard quite a few tantrums from political and sports pundits alike talking about the waste of time this and the Clemens-McNamee showdown was. In both cases, callers and hosts commonly suggested that it doesn’t matter if the players are juiced, and it doesn’t matter if the coaches cheat. I disagree. IMHO, the only thing worse than the trend of anti-competitiveness in youth sports is the idea that winning at all and any cost is something that should be rewarded even when rampant dishonesty and chicanery is revealed.
It’s as if sports is now a proving ground for politics.
L.N. Smithee (e1f2bf) — 2/15/2008 @ 5:12 pmSeriously: Sure, but is this a matter for Congressional action?
Jokingly: Professional wrestling is a wonderfully successful experiment in social engineering — where ignorant white trash cheer on and in some cases worship flamboyantly gay guys.
nk (616f8b) — 2/15/2008 @ 6:03 pmThe power and obligation to regulate interstate commerce, chuckleheads. The Federal government has the obligation to insure that there is a level playing field, so that law breakers do not prevail over law abiders. That is why the federal government was involved in the payola radio scandal in the 1950s, in investigating organized crime’s entry into legitimate business, and even steroids in baseball. If there is no one to look out for the law abiders (and certainly the football commissioner could care less as long as the bucks are flowing) who will? Interstate commerce was one of the original charges of the Federal government under the Constitution.
Phil Dayton (24ca21) — 2/16/2008 @ 10:49 amPhil Dayton,
Then why doesn’t Congress control college and even high school football? After all, there are interstate high school football games Congress could worry about.
I think the point is there should be some limit to what Congress tries to control, not to mention how nice it would be if Congress had a reasonable sense of priorities.
DRJ (3eda28) — 2/16/2008 @ 11:03 am