Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
After the breathless buildup this morning on ESPN and the NFL Network, you had to think that the elusive Matt Walsh would deliver something. But according to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, there wasn't much meat on the bone.
The commish tried to hide the glee in his voice when he announced the two new bits of evidence gathered from the three-hour, 15-minute visit with the Hawaiian golf pro. Walsh had broken news that players (wait for it) scalp Super Bowl tickets and that the organization once worked out a player who was on injured reserve.
And that's pretty much it. The look in Goodell's eye sort of represented what most of America was thinking: We waited three months for this?
Trey Wingo and Co. devoted significant time during the SportsCenter special trying to figure out whether the Patriots could've gained any benefit in the same games they were illegally taping. Goodell quickly brushed away that line of questioning when he said that Walsh told him that the tapes were turned over to Bill Belichick's reclusive assistant Ernie Adams after games.
New York Daily News columnist Gary Myers caught Goodell a little flat-footed when he pressed him on whether he knew that the Patriots' illegal videotaping dated to 2000. Goodell has stated publicly that the taping in question took place in the final part of the 2006 season and early 2007. This morning, he wasn't clear on whether he knew in advance that the videotaping went back that far. He said the punishment he assigned the Patriots and Bill Belichick was for the "totality" of their actions, indicating that it didn't matter how long the practice had gone on.
He said that Walsh was also clear about the fact that he did not film the Rams' walk-through before the 2002 Super Bowl and didn't have any knowledge of anyone who did. Moments after the news conference, Sal Paolantonio mentioned that the Patriots might consider suing the Boston Herald, which ran the story about the Rams walk-through on the Friday before the Super Bowl. He also filed this report, which indicates that Walsh reported back to the coaches some of the things he spotted during the walk-through. Funny that Goodell forgot to mention that nugget.
Goodell said that Walsh was present at the Rams' walk-through because he was helping set up the Patriots' equipment. How covert was Walsh that day? Well, according to Goodell, he was actually wearing Patriots gear. If that's the case, shame on the Rams for not noticing.
It almost seemed like Goodell was amused by this morning's experience. He certainly had to be relieved that Walsh didn't produce any major surprises. I'm not sure how he kept a straight face when he talked about how Walsh kept the tapes in case he wanted to coach someday. I'll go out on a limb and say that Walsh's opportunities in the NFL might be limited.
The commissioner was respectful of Walsh, but the whole time you could tell he wanted to scold him for drawing this thing out for so long. Goodell effectively closed the book on Spygate, although Sen. Arlen Specter may want the final word this afternoon. Specter and Walsh are meeting as we speak.
Much more to come.
