Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Thank you NFL, for accusing the New England Patriots of cheating.  And thank you, New York Jets, for turning the whole thing into a cause celebre.

The big concern with the Patriots this year was that they’re so good and so loaded, how would they maintain their motivation and edge with three titles already in the bag this decade.  With one ill-advised blow, the Jets and the NFL have removed those concerns.

And isn’t there something precious about a team that loses a game 38-14 whining that the other guys cheated.  For what it’s worth, the allegedly skullduggerous video-taper was removed from the Patriots’ sideline in the first quarter.  Near the end of the first half, the Patriots and Jets were tied at 7.  From there, it was a real cliffhanger.

Besides, don’t the Jets know that San Deigo has the exclusive franchise on this kind of whining?  With the classy Chargers coming to Foxboro for a Sunday night beating, the Jets have completely infringed on their act.  L.T. might want talk to his attorneys.

As to the substance of the charges, who cares?  NFL teams have been trying to steal each other’s signals since Red Grange was in diapers.  It’s as much a part of the game as New York fans cheering when their own quarterback gets injured.  By all accounts, long time Bill Belichick assistant Eric Mangini knew just where to tell the NFL snoopsters to look.  I’m sure to the typically non-inquisitive New York sports fan, this doesn’t raise any issues of the ManGenius’ culpability or awareness of similar activites during his 15 years at his erstwhile mentor’s side.

IN OTHER BOSTON SPORTS NEWS, former Red Sox great Wade Boggs made headlines in a charity fishing tournament:

With hundreds of Redbone-sanctioned tournaments to Capt. Gary Ellis' credit, even he makes mistakes at times. Just don't make one that robs baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs of a tournament victory.

When the final day of fishing came to a close Sunday in Key West, the Mercury Redbone S.L.A.M. saw two men tied atop the celebrity division with 200 points.
Boggs, master of ceremonies for the event, had caught a bonefish and permit on spin over the two days and Mark Cooper, an ex-Denver Bronco, caught a bonefish on fly, matching Boggs' point total of 200.

Ellis made the call to award the celebrity-champion trophy based on time, or who caught his fish first. The title went to Cooper.

Boggs did not take the news gently.

At the awards ceremony at the Westin Key West, when hearing the news, Boggs was quoted as saying, “I caught two fish and you caught one and you win?” He then grabbed the trophy and ran out of the room.

Ellis realizes his error, and also realizes that Boggs has a “competitive streak”.  I’ve played my share of golf with professional athletes.  None of them were particularly great; the best was former hockey enforcer Ken Baumgartner, a solid 6 handicap and a wonderful, intelligent guy who happily didn’t beat me up when I played poorly.  Even the bad ones like Celtic great JoJo White, though, were hyper-competitive.  (Don’t tell JoJo I said he was bad.  He thinks he’s a 9 handicap.)

The charity fishing tournament where Boggs sprinted out with the trophy benefited the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  There will be two subsequent charity fishing events.  You can find details about them here.

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