After months of speculation, Matt Walsh has finally released a scandalous video, although not of a pre-Superbowl Rams walkthrough.

Apparently fed up with the NFL’s refusal to offer him sufficient legal protection, Walsh decided it was time to embarrass his former employers. In a hidden camera video which is sure to rock Patriot Nation, Coach Belichick and former defensive coordinator Eric Mangini are shown fornicating in a Gillette Stadium office, according to multiple media sources. The video, which starts as an inconspicuous defensive planning session but ends in romance, provides a deeper insight into the mysterious relationship between the colleagues. Much has been made of Mangini’s 2006 departure to lead the rival Jets and the subsequent post-game handshake incidents between the coaches. Walsh’s video suggests that the rift between the two is more than just professional.

“I’d always suspected that something was going on between the two of them,” said Walsh, when asked why he had set up a hidden camera, “They spent way too much time together in the video room.”

While it is still unclear whether Walsh has footage related to Spy-gate, it may be that this revelation is enough to end Belichick’s career.

“The Patriots have a very clear policy against intra-office relationships,” said team owner Robert Kraft, “I have no further comment until we have completed an internal investigation into the matter.”

According to the Patriot Employee Handbook “Patriot personnel shall not engage in romantic relationships without notifying management. Inappropriate relations between employees will be dealt with harshly at the discretion of the organization, including the possibility of termination.”

Belichick, in a brief statement released today by the team, states “The tape is what it is. I know the rules of the team, and my interpretation is that our actions were not in violation. I consider myself part of Patriot management and was well aware of our relationship. I have notified the Krafts of my interpretation and am confident that they will agree.”

The last time Belichick misinterpreted a rule it ended with a $500K fine and loss of a draft pick. Will this one result in the loss of his job? We can only wait and see.

In other news the Bruins will be demoted to the minor leagues at the end of the season, and the Red Sox have traded Clay Buchholz to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez. Enjoy the rest of Fool’s Day!

So the Celtics couldn’t finish off what would have been the perfect road trip, but it was a solid on nonetheless. The four game swing included the best win of the season Monday night in San Antonio, a thrashing of the red hot Rockets, and a close victory in Dallas. Hopefully the loss in the final matchup against the Hornets will teach the team to be more careful with the ball as I don’t remember the C’s turning the ball over that many times since last season.

The trip contained some pretty poor officiating in all four games, which is a continuing trend for the NBA. Basketball, more than any other sport, has consistently controversial calls. The nature of the fouls makes them far more subjective than football or baseball, and the sheer number of fouls per game means more errors are made. Turning the ball over so frequently narrows the margin for error, and the Celtics need to do a better job of ensuring that referees can’t decide the game.

I would also like to state my concern for the Pacman Jones rumors that have been floating about. Supposedly the Patriots are one of 3 teams, including the Lions and Cowboys, who have interest in the troubled cornerback. Now I trust that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli will not acquire Pacman unless they believe that he can turn his life around, but he has a pattern of bad behavior far more concerning than that of Randy Moss and Corey Dillon, the other two players who have played nice once wearing the flying Elvis on their helmets. In the cases of the latter, they both had attitude problems on losing teams, which was appeased by the Patriots and their winning ways. Pacman on the other hand has shown a pattern of detrimental and downright dangerous off-field behavior, and the inability to learn from his mistakes. I for one have a hard time believing that coming to New England will make much of a difference.

Much like very many others, I am anxiously anticipating the beginning of the baseball season. Not just to watch my beloved Red Sox, however. Every year I follow Spring Training and anxiously await opening day because it means the start of another fantasy baseball season.

Kurti and I had our draft a few weeks ago, and I can say that I am largely pleased with my results. I had the 11th pick overall and still wound up with some decent power (Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun), while preserving my speed and OBP numbers throughout the rest of the draft (Russell Martin, Michael Young, etc). But just about anyone can make the first 13 or 14 picks in a 12-team mixed league. The key to moving up a few positions in the league is to not only work the waiver wire to your advantage, but to also evaluate risks and use foresight when making those last 7 or 8 draft choices.

I have largely been mocked around the office for spending my last picks on the following group of babies players: James Loney, Oliver Perez, Jon Lester, Kevin Gregg, Joey Votto, Jonathan Broxton, Billy Butler and Ryan Theriot (And unfortunately NOT Evan Longoria, who will win Rookie of the Year this year, even playing for the Rays). Kevin Gregg is the old man of that group at the tender age of 30. While I was drafting young talent, the rest of my league was largely fighting over veterans with recognizable names who are primed (read: trying) to make a comeback, and I think this is a mistake.

Some examples of veterans who are unlikely to produce big time numbers again, but were still drafted in my league: Randy Johnson, Ivan Rodriguez, Troy Percival, hell even injured Curt Schilling. I find it hard to believe that Ivan Rodriguez will outproduce Geovany Soto this year even in the stacked Tiger’s lineup, yet his ADP is about 12 picks earlier than the rookie. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a place for established players on any team, but if it comes down to a veteran who’s numbers have steadily declined from their moment in the sun and a rookie who is trying to make a name for themselves in the majors, I’ll take the loaded-with-upside rookie every single time.

Think twice before taking the most recognizable name on that list! Teams like the Rays and the Reds, darkhorse candidates to compete in their respective leagues, expect major contributions from their rookies this year, and to not consider them as potential sources of statistics in a fantasy league is foolish and shortsighted. Long live the rookie!

5 days remaining; the countdown has begun. To what you ask? To the biggest showdown in the NBA so far this season. And like a NASA space shuttle scheduled for blast off with a thunderstorm approaching, this is a countdown which could very well end prematurely.

On March 18, 2008 at 9:30pm EDT the Celtics, riding a 13 game winning streak, will take on the Houston Rockets and their fate defying 22 game victory parade. Boston will have yet another chance to show that they are the team to beat in the NBA if they succeed where nearly two dozen predecessors have failed and knock off the Yao Ming-less Rockets.  The  TNT network will hype their Tuesday night broadcast to no end.  ESPN will inform us that this is the first time in god knows how long where teams with combined 35 straight wins have met. This will be a must watch game, whether you are an avid follower of the Celts or not.

Standing in the way of this death match are three tough games for Boston (Utah, Milwaukee, and San Antonio) and two home games for Houston (Chicago and the Lakers) which will be no cake walk.  Should both teams make it through this stretch unscathed, the Rockets, who have Monday off, have a clear advantage given that the Celts play in San Antonio the previous night.  Because of that I say Houston will be the favorite to win this matchup, although I would not be surprised at all to see Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Allen pull it off.  We don’t know for sure if the game will happen; what we do know is that, by the early hours of March 19th, somethings got to give.

It’s been a while since my last post, I apologize, there’s lots of Red Sox news to discuss.  According to ESPN there is now a very good chance that ace Josh Beckett will not make it to Japan for the opening series of the season.  Beckett’s back injury does not appear to be too serious, but this is the guy who was plagued by something as minor as blisters for years, so I won’t feel better until he is back on the mound and at full strength.

The pressure is now on the rest of the pitching staff to start the season off strong, with Dice-K likely getting the opening day start, if he indeed makes the trip to Japan despite the impending birth of his child.  I believe the Japanese star will have a strong game, or will at least be fired up, in his first start back in front of his home fans.  Behind Matsusaka, the rotation is looking a bit shaky, what with the struggles of Buchholz, Snyder, and Tavarez so far this spring.  Another Boston pitcher of note who is struggling, although out of the bullpen, is Craig Hansen.  If Hansen can’t pull it together this year I will have just about given up hope on this highly regarded prospect who has yet to show he can handle Major League hitters.

On the bright side, Tim Wakefield has been solid so far this spring, and John Lester is coming off a good start against hypothetical trade counterpart Johann Santana.  I was very happy to hear that Lester is consistently hitting the mid 90s with his fastball this spring, which should greatly improve his effectiveness (last year he was throwing high 80s and low 90s, coming off his cancer treatment).  If Dice-K and either Wake or Lester start the opening series games against the Athletics in Japan I like their chances of winning at least one of, if not both, contests.

On a side note, congratulations to Papelbon on his new contract.  The one-year, $775,000 deal shows the lights out closer the respect he deserves, while fitting in with the Sox’ need for fiscal responsibility.  As an arbitration-ineligible player it was the best he could have hoped for, and it is a deal that ensures he remain a positive influence in the clubhouse.

If Randy Moss were Jewish today would be the day of his Bar Mitzvah; he has grown up and is now a man.  If there was any doubt that Randy is a new, more mature person, it goes out the window with the report in the Boston Herald that he turned down a larger contract with the Eagles to stay in New England.  An obviously good decision, perhaps, but not one that I would expect him to have made in his younger days.

I would bet, and this is pure speculation, that the contract the Eagles offered was more than a little richer than the 3 year, $27 million deal he just signed with the Patriots.  It turns out that the lure of playing with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick was more valuable than some extra dollars.  This will turn out to be a great decision for Moss, and for the Patriots.  $27 million is quite a reasonable price to pay for the best receiver in football.

Although the Moss signing is a major off season hurdle now behind them, the Patriots have a lot of work to do.  Not only are there holes to fill on the defense, particularly at cornerback and linebacker, but the offense needs to figure out a way to return to form.  While still good, even great, towards the end of the season, the offense became much less dominant than it was at the start of 2007.  It seemed as though the defensive coaches finally caught up with the innovative Patriot offense, now it’s time to once again take that step ahead.  What remains to be seen is whether Belichick and Co. will try to do this by adding personnel, through free agency or the draft, or will do what they do best and change up the schemes.  Regardless, with Moss now secure, the Pats seem a lock to repeat as division champs and go deep into the playoffs.

Not to wear, that’s sleezy and smells disgusting, but cheap Colon is great when pitching for the Red Sox. The Sox have signed former Cy Young award winner Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract. This is a great move for the Sox, as it is ripe with potential and low on risk. Colon, who has had a couple of bad seasons, was the American League’s best pitcher in 2005 (according to the voters), taking home the Cy Young award that year. Injuries were a big part of his downfall in the past two seasons. While there is no guarantee that 34-year-old Colon is injury free, or that he can pitch with the same velocity that made him dominant in the first few years of the century, he certainly has the potential to be a solid, if not great, starter.

While there was recent talking of adding a pitcher like Josh Fogg for depth, I am ten times happier with the Colon deal. Best case scenario, a guy like Fogg is a mediocre spot starter. He has a proven track record of being sub-par, and he’s not young enough to emerge as a surprisingly dominant force. Colon, on the other hand, could just maybe return to his dominant old self. The great thing about it is that if he doesn’t the Sox haven’t lost anything. Even if Colon emerges as a middle to bottom of the rotation starter, he could be valuable in the event of an injury. The one caveat is that I doubt he will stick around long if an injury does not occur and if he doesn’t win a spot in the rotation out of camp. A guy with his career is not going to play for a couple months in the minors, waiting to come up. He’ll either have it, or he won’t. We should know by the end of spring training.

I want to take a minute to commend Coco Crisp for his reaction to having to compete for playing time with Jacoby Ellsbury.  Coco clearly wants to be the starting center fielder, however he has taken a very reasonable approach to the situation.  Speaking to the press today, Crisp stated

“A lot of people say, well, I don’t deserve it. Well, that’s understandable too. I didn’t have a good offensive year like I did in the past….People think that my offense is terrible. Now it’s time to show them that my offense really isn’t.” (Boston Globe)

Crisp, unlike a certain individual who likes to “Cowboy up” for example, acknowledges that he hasn’t played well and is setting out to prove that he is better than people think.  By being honest yet realistic about his desire to start, Crisp avoids becoming a distraction in the clubhouse.  If he gets used to the idea of being a role player, Crisp could make a huge contribution from the bench.  He is an ideal backup, playing great defense, giving the Sox a pinch running option, and being able to hit (in theory) from both sides of the plate.  It will be a shame if Theo ends up trading him for lesser value, although it may become necessary as his desire to start is completely understandable.

The great Willie Gary is suing the Patriots. Oh, what? You’ve never heard of him? Gary’s illustrious career consisted of 6 games in 2001 with the St. Louis Rams. Now the guy with one career NFL tackle is trying to take down the Patriots. Guess what Willie Gary, you’re lawsuit is going to go about as well as your career.

For those of you who don’t subscribe to Frivolous Lawsuits Weekly, Gary wants the Patriots to pay him the $25,000 difference between the winner’s and loser’s share of the 2001 Super Bowl, as well as $125,000 for a Super Bowl ring. He is joined by fellow dolt Kevin Hacker (perfect name for a sleezeball, no?), a ticket broker who thinks that every ticket holder from that Super Bowl should receive a refund. This all stems from the rumor that the Patriots filmed the Rams’ practice prior to the game. Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, there is no evidence to support this (by the suit’s own admission), and law suits without evidence tend to do poorly. You didn’t earn a Super Bowl ring, Willie Gary. You’re not a champion. You’re not good enough to play in the NFL. You’re certainly not smart enough to win this lawsuit. Not since Ron Paul began his presidential campaign has a man with two first names embarked on a mission so doomed to fail.

Well, that one sealed the deal.  Andy Petitte has told Congressional Board members that he has had conversations with both McNamee and Clemens himself that Roger Clemens used HGH and possibly steroids in the past.  Roger is now asking America to believe:

•  The same Roger Clemens who went 11-14, 9-7, 10-5 and 10-13 with the Red Sox, went 21-7 and 20-6 with Toronto (where Brian McNamee was his personal trainer) , without the aid of performance enhancers.
• Brian McNamee, a personal trainer with a degree in sports medicine, doesn’t know the difference between a B-12 shot (in the ass) and an HGH shot (through the navel)
• McNamee injected two of Rogers teammates and workout partners, Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Petitte, and Roger’s wife, but not Roger himself.
• Petitte “misremembers” that Roger said he took HGH and that McNamee said Roger did steroids.
• McNamee, a former police officer who knows how important physical evidence is to a case, fabricated said evidence to “throw a final hail mary” to support his story.

Are you serious Roger?  It was bad enough that you chose not to end your career in Boston, the city that loved and celebrated you.  It was worse that you soiled the game by taking illegal performance enhancers.  But now your looking at a perjury conviction that carries a sentence up to 5 years.  And once you are found guilty…and oh, you will be found guilty Roger, instead of being remembered as one of the greatest pitchers of all time: the Rocket, a man to be feared on the mound, your legacy will be only that of a liar, a cheater, a false idol, and one of the greatest blemishes in history on our Nation’s great game.