NFL following NASCAR's lead

Somehow it's fitting that NASCAR is going to New England this weekend, isn't it?

All of a sudden, fans who pull for race car drivers aren't the only ones having to fall back on the whole "everybody does it" defense when it comes to living outside the rules.

The high and mighty New England Patriots, coached by the widely proclaimed "super genius" Bill Belichick, find themselves right in the middle of what we used to call a "BOM" story when I worked on the news side a thousand years ago. "BOM" stood for "Big Ol' Mess."

During Sunday's game against the New York Jets, NFL security removed someone who worked for the Patriots because he was suspected of attempting to steal the Jets' signals. The miscreant's video cameras and tape were also seized.

This comes after the NFL specifically warned teams they would face severe penalties if they were caught videotaping other teams' signals.

If you're a NASCAR fan, doesn't this all sound familiar? NASCAR tells teams not to mess with the car of tomorrow body or we're going to hit you hard, and when the penalties come down people act like they're stunned to be getting them.

Belichick "apologized" on Wednesday and said only that he had explained to NFL commissioner Roger Goddell that the case stemmed from a "interpretation" of the league's rules. The only thing he didn't say -- or at least I haven't heard it -- was anything about gray areas, working outside the box or pushing the envelope, but it's the same principle.

Anybody who has paid the slightest bit of attention to me when it comes to penalties in NASCAR knows that I have little tolerance for the "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying" attitude. If you can't play by the rules, you don't get to play.

Well, don't expect me to be different when it comes to the Patriots and Belichick.

Take away draft picks? That's even more importent than NASCAR fining people money and points. Suspending Belichick for one game or more? That works for me -- I like the idea of a four-game sit down, matching what the NFL does to players who don't play by the substance abuse rules.

But there should be more. The Patriots won a game they didn't play fair in. I don't care if they won 130-0, if they cheated the win shouldn't count. Maybe you don't give the Jets the win, either, but no way should the Patriots get to count that victory.