Patriots, NFL Deny New Spying Allegation
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   Feb 2, 2008

   PHOENIX (AP) - A member of the New England Patriots' video
   staff taped the St. Louis Rams' last walkthrough before the 2002 Super
   Bowl, a Boston newspaper reported Saturday. The NFL, however, said it
   was satisfied this was not another Spygate.

   "We were aware of the rumor months ago and looked into it. There was
   no evidence of it on the tapes or in the notes produced by the
   Patriots, and the Patriots told us it was not true," NFL spokesman
   Greg Aiello told The Associated Press.

   Citing an unidentified source, the Boston Herald reported that a
   Patriots employee recorded the Rams' walkthrough at the Superdome in
   the New Orleans a day before the Super Bowl. New England beat the
   heavily favored Rams 20-17 its first NFL title.

   The Herald reported that a source close to the Patriots in the 2001
   season said the team held a walkthrough at the Superdome in New
   Orleans before the game on Feb. 3, 2002. After the Patriots took a
   team picture, a member of their video department stayed inside the
   stadium and taped the Rams' session.

   It was not known whether the cameraman was told by the Patriots to
   film the practice or what he did with the tape, the Herald said. The
   Rams were two-touchdown favorites, but lost on Adam Vinatieri's last-
   second field goal.

   "The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis
   Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI is absolutely
   false. Any suggestion to the contrary is untrue," Patriots spokesman
   Stacey James told the AP.

   Rams spokesman Rick Smith, reading a statement from team president
   John Shaw, said, "At this point, we have no comment."

   The unbeaten Patriots will try to win their fourth Super Bowl in seven
   seasons Sunday when they play the New York Giants.

   Early this season, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell fined New England
   coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and docked the team $250,000 and a
   first-round draft pick after the Spygate scandal. The Patriots were
   accused of videotaping New York Jets defensive coaches as they
   signaled to players.

   New England did not have a walkthrough Saturday. The Giants held one
   at the Arizona Cardinals' practice facility.

   A walkthrough is done without pads or helmets, giving teams a chance
   to practice their formations.

   Goodell spent much of his state of the game address Friday talking
   about that episode. He said he did not think the Patriots used such
   tapes to win previous titles.

   "There was no indication that it benefited them in any of the Super
   Bowl victories," he said.

   Goodell also defended his decision to destroy notes and videotapes
   linked to the Spygate, saying "there was no purpose for them."

   Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who sent Goodell a letter asking for
   explanation, said Goodell's response "didn't make any sense at all."