Leonard Shapiro, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame election committee and columnist for the Washington Post, committed the biggest sin in the journalism world. It is a big uh-oh. Shapiro wrote that Bill Belichick was fined and docked draft picks for taping another team’s walkthrough and subsequently using it at a later time. That is factually inaccurate and epitomizes public libel. Belichick was incorrectly portrayed for the reason he was fined by the NFL. The tidbit regarding using the footage for a later advantage is not accurate and what’s more, the Patriots did not tape the walkthrough but rather the signals, which were later transcribed by New England’s staff. The Washington Post has since added a correction on the piece, but it makes me wonder…where is the editor? John Tomase, who erroneously reported that the Patriots taped the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXVI, no longer covers the Patriots for the Boston Herald because of the incident. He issued an apology but Shapiro has not said a peep. If the Patriots did film a walkthrough – and it was proven from the NFL – Tomase would still be covering the Patriots. It amazes me how Shapiro did not learn from Tomase's faulty reporting. Where is the accountability from Shapiro?
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| Shapiro: You're better than this. |
This evening I met up with two old college roommates for a beer in Boston. They were my roommates freshman year and although we lost touch a little, it was great to see them. I had not seen them since graduation in 2009. We reminisced about memorable moments and recalled some timeless memories. Collectively, we agreed that freshman year was the wildest time and if we could do it all over again...we would, tenfold.
Another old roommate of mine recently posted a status on a cloud of nostalgic thoughts towards college. Fast-forward 48 hours and I'm sitting down with two college pals. Timing is everything.
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