It's no secret the New England Patriots are one of the top three teams in the NFL this year. They did an amazing job in picking up key players and still staying within the guidelines of the salary cap. An example of their shrewd moves was the acquisition of wide receiver Randy Moss. Last Sunday the controversial wide out did all of his talking with his receiving skills. In the season opener Moss caught 9 passes for 183 yards, including a 51 yard touchdown reception. Led by Tom Brady, this team had no reason to, after repeated warnings from the NFL commissioner, cheat. They had no reason to have one of their photographers videotape the New York Jets coaching staff sending in signals to from the sidelines.

The controversy starts and ends with head coach Bill Belichick. He obviously condoned the practice. Still, at a brief news conference before his weekly news conference, the Patriots head coach apologized to his team, his ownership and the fans but I'm not sure why he did that. He refused to elaborate on his statement saying he's waiting for NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell to rule on the matter. He did say he's spoken with the commish about quote: "interpretation" of league rules that ban video taping of the opposing sideline. What's not to understand. A photographer from your team is strictly prohibited from taping the other teams sideline. End of story. In even more simple terms, Bill Belichick cheated. What's puzzling from my point of view is why? The Pats head coach has been described as surly, aloof and not a very nice guy. None of that bothers me. It's the cheating when it's not legal or necessary that upsets me the most.

Prior to this black eye in Beantown, I had nothing but respect for the franchise. It was my belief that they won 3 Super Bowls the right way. They drafted well, they signed key free agents and their head coach and his staff was among the best the sport had to offer. Based on the latest developments my opinion of the New England Patriots (and it is just my opinion) has changed dramatically. I'm left to wonder how long the videotaping of the opposition has taken place. Did Belichick cheat during the Super Bowl seasons? Is Coach Belichick so competitive that he hit rock bottom by cheating? The veteran coach drug a lot of outstanding players and coaches under the bus with him if you believe in guilt by association. For this I deem this team, the PATHETIC PATRIOTS.

Gary Cruz
CBS 5 Sports Anchor
gcruz@kpho.com

I've had the pleasure of living in the Valley of the Sun for over 8 years and over that period of time I have become a tad bit cynical when talking about the Arizona Cardinals. When I arrived in 1999, the team was coming off it's first ever winning season in Phoenix and it's first trip to the playoffs (and their last trip to the playoffs) since they relocated from St. Louis in 1988. Since then they have gone 6 & 10, 3 & 13, 7 & 9, 5 & 11, 4 & 12, 6 & 10, 5 & 11 and another 5 & 11 campaign. Over that same 8 year period the organization has hired 4 head coaches and fired 3 of them. This team has been extremely hard to embrace for people who have moved to Arizona over the last 8 years. They haven't given us a reason to become diehard Red Bird fans and trust me, I have talked with a large number of people over the years that would love to call this team their team but with so much negative baggage following this team since it became the Arizona Cardinals, that hasn't happened. For those few thousands that are actually diehard Cardinals fans, they epitomize "Tough Love". Through good and bad (mostly bad) these diehards paint their faces, fork out thousands for tickets, cheer their guts out at home games and go home with that sick feeling of another loss. A few rare victories over the last year continues to give this fan base hope.
Fast forward to a couple of days before the Cardinals open the 2007 regular season on Monday night football before a nationally televised audience when they play at San Francisco. It is, for the first time in my 8 years in the Valley, a TIME FOR OPTIMISM. I started to change my tune about this team when I first met head coach Ken Whisenhunt in person. I covered this team in training camp at NAU and from the very first practice, I noticed a tremendous difference in how the coaches and players approached their sessions. The pace was fast and furious. The practices were short but productive. The players bought into Coach Whiz's system lock, stock and barrel. Yes, I know they didn't win a preseason game. I also remember when they won all 4 preseason games in 2003. That year the Cards won a grand total of 4 regular season games. I have a good feeling about this group, so good that I believe they'll win more games this season than in any of the previous 8 that I've witnessed.
Before you think I drank the Cardinals kool aid, I'm also realistic enough to know you can't correct annual losing by simply changing coaching staffs. So with that in mind, this team will go 8 and 8 and being in the optimistic frame of mind I'm in at this very moment, that could be good enough in the NFC West to get them into the playoffs.

Gary Cruz
CBS 5 Sports Anchor
gcruz@kpho.com