Who's Buying What in Super Bowl XLIII - Advertising Age - NewsAn excerpt: “A Rundown of Marketers and Their Spots in the Big Game
Published: December 08, 2008
Anheuser-Busch
Buy: The maker of Budweiser and Bud Light is expected to run five minutes' worth of advertising, according to Bob Lachky, chief creative officer of the A-B InBev unit.
Creative: A-B is testing as many as three different ads using its famous Clydesdale horses and is considering one spot apiece for its Bud Light Lime and Budweiser American Ale products. Bud Light is also expected to get plenty of face time, with at least three spots possible. A-B is famous for testing its Super Bowl ads among consumers again and again, so the final lineup is still in question.
Agency: Omnicom Group's DDB, Chicago; Havas' Euro RSCG, Chicago; and St. Louis independent Waylon are among the agencies with ads that could appear.
Audi
Buy: The automaker will air one :60 during the game's first quarter. Audi's 2008 Super Bowl spot featured its R8 sports car in a spoof of "The Godfather," and earned Audi the No. 2 spot in total buzz after the game, the company said. It also successfully drove traffic to Audi's web site.
Creative: Audi declined to comment on which vehicle would be featured or what the content of the spot will be.
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco.
Bridgestone
Buy: The tire maker will once again sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show, which this year features Bruce Springsteen. The company will also run two 30-second commercials, according to Phil Pasci, VP-consumer marketing for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire. Placement of the ads during the game is being negotiated with NBC and the NFL.
Creative: The ads will contain humor while focusing on showcasing the performance of the company's tires.
Agency: Independent Richards Group of Dallas
CareerBuilder
Buy: The jobs site intends to run two 30-second ads, one in the second quarter and one in the third, according to Cynthia Walker, the company's senior director of advertising.
Creative: Ms. Walker said the ads will not use the famous monkeys from Super Bowl ads past.
Agency: Independent Wieden & Kennedy
Cars.com
Buy: The website will air one 60-second ad in the second quarter.
Creative: A person familiar with the situation said the ads are expected to be humorous.
Agency: DDB, Chicago
Coca-Cola Co.
Buy: The beverage company intends to advertise its flagship cola in multiple spots.
Creative: In the last Super Bowl, Coke received critical acclaim for a majestic ad featuring balloons from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade slugging it out for a bottle of the fizzy brown liquid.
Agency: Wieden & Kennedy
E-Trade Financial
Buy: A company spokeswoman said E-Trade has purchased one spot; in recent years, E-Trade has run two 30-second commercials.
Creative: A person familiar with the situation suggested E-Trade is likely to bring back the talking baby it used in the last contest. E-Trade declined to comment on the content of its Super Bowl advertising.
Agency: WPP Group PLC's Grey New York
PepsiCo's Frito-Lay
Buy: The company's cheesy-chip brand will solicit self-made ads for Doritos from consumers and air one as a 30-second spot.
Creative: Doritos will give the winning entry $1 million if the ad becomes "the first-ever consumer-created commercial to claim the No. 1 ranking in USA Today's annual Ad Meter."
Agency: n/a
General Electric
Buy: The owner of NBC, broadcaster of the 2009 Super Bowl, intends to run one spot in the game.
Creative: A company spokeswoman declined to speak about the length of the commercial.
Agency: Omnicom Group's BBDO
GoDaddy
Buy: The registrar of online domain names has purchased one 30-second ad in the Super Bowl and is mulling the purchase of another, said Bob Parsons, the company's CEO and founder.
Creative: GoDaddy is producing two ads, both of which will feature race-car driver Danica Patrick and embody the slightly inappropriate tone of the company's past Super Bowl ads.
Agency: In-house
Hyundai
Buy: Two commercials
Creative: The ads are for the launch of its 2010-model Genesis coupe.
Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco
Monster
Buy: One 30-second ad
Creative: Monster is kicking off a campaign highlighting the fact that it has become the official careerservices sponsor of the NFL. As part of that pact, the company said, it will run an additional 30-second "in-game enhancement" to launch an NFL-themed promotion intended to drive traffic to the site.
Agency: BBDO”
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Jumat, 12 Desember 2008
Selasa, 09 Desember 2008
NFL Reports Plan Of Layoffs At All NFL Business Units
This massive economic collapse has taken many companies and people into lower positions of wealth and caused many to lose their jobs at historic rates. Well, after years of incredible growth, it was thought that the sports industry was immune to these developments surrounding the credit crunch.
Not so.
I received this email from the NFL's director of communications Greg Aiello:
Not so.
I received this email from the NFL's director of communications Greg Aiello:
As part of an overall cost-cutting plan in response to the slumping economy, the NFL today confirmed plans to reduce its staff by approximately 150 employees during the next 60 days.
There are 1,100 employees in three NFL locations around the country: league headquarters in New York; NFL Films production facilities in Mt Laurel, New Jersey; and NFL Network and NFL.com production facilities in Los Angeles.
A voluntary separation program will be offered to personnel this week as a first step in the staff reduction.
"These are difficult and painful steps," Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday in a memo to his staff, "but they are necessary in the current economic environment. I would like to be able to report that we are immune to the troubles around us, but we are not. Properly managed, I am confident the NFL will emerge stronger, more efficient and poised to pursue long-term growth opportunities."
Senin, 08 Desember 2008
Kamis, 27 November 2008
New York Looking Super In Both NFL Conferences
New York Looking Super In Both NFL Conferences-by Jon Wagner-Senior Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online
It seems that immediately after Super Bowl XLII, a general consensus was formed that the road to Super Bowl XLIII would go through anywhere but the place where either of the two New York NFL franchises call home.
Many believed that the journey to Tampa Bay in February would wind through Dallas or San Diego, or perhaps through New England, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, or Tennessee.
The idea of the New York Giants defending their Super Bowl LXII title was an afterthought, and the prospect of the Giants meeting their fellow Meadowlands tenants, the New York Jets, in Super Bowl XLIII, wasn’t even considered.
However, fast forward now, to Week 12 of the 2008 NFL regular season, and suddenly what exists, is the very real possibility of a first-ever all-New York (or if you prefer, all-New Jersey) Super Bowl on the first day of February, 2009.
Yes, that’s the new prevailing view for both a defending champion who has until now, proven itself as the team to beat in the NFC, and similarly, for the team which is this week’s fashionable pick in what has become a scrambled race among several different teams for AFC dominance.
For the Giants, flash back to Super Bowl XLII when looking at Sunday’s game in Arizona. Same locker room, same sideline, same result.
Returning for the first time to the place they were crowned Super Bowl XLII champions, the Giants, as they often have, overcame adversity to do something they’ve done all but once in their past fifteen games -– win. Again.
Playing together as a true team, and having others step up to continue to roll is something that has seemingly become second nature for the Giants. They lose Tiki Barber to retirement and Jeremy Shockey to injury (and later, for good, to Shockey’s poor attitude), and they win a Super Bowl with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, and Kevin Boss. They see Michael Strahan retire and Osi Umenyiora lost to injury for the 2008 season, and they pressure 2008 NFL MVP candidate Kurt Warner into enough mistakes on Sunday to hand the Cardinals their first loss in five home games.
Given that track record, it’s no wonder that with their leading rusher Brandon Jacobs missing all of Sunday’s game with a knee injury, and with their best receiver Plaxico Burress sidelined for most of the game (after aggravating a previous hamstring injury in the first quarter), the Giants would find several others to fill those voids in torching Arizona’s defense and special teams for nearly forty points, in a 37-29 win on Sunday.
For those who may still think last year’s run from a 10-6 regular season record to NFL champions was a fluke, the Giants became only the second team in NFL history on Sunday to win five consecutive games against teams with winning records (the 1970 Minnesota Vikings first accomplished that feat).
Despite their 2008 success, the Giants know their path to another Super Bowl remains a difficult one. However, their win over the Cardinals coupled with Carolina’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday leaves the Giants in very good shape for earning the top seed in the NFC. With five weeks left in the regular season, the 10-1 Giants lead both Carolina and Tampa Bay (each 8-3) by a full two games. The Giants don’t play the Buccaneers before the postseason, but they do host the Panthers in the next-to-last week of the regular season, December 21st, at Giants Stadium.
Should the Giants ride a possible number one seed to another Super Bowl, the AFC representative they could play also needs to be sorted out over the next couple of months.
Suddenly, that team is looking more and more like it could be New York’s other team after the Jets won a big statement game on the road for the second straight week.
After taking hold of the AFC East with last week’s overtime win in New England, the Jets waltzed into Nashville and handed the Tennessee Titans (10-1) their first loss of the season, and it wasn’t even close, in a 34-13 rout.
The Jets set the tone early with a nine-play, 76-yard drive grabbing a 7-0 lead just 4:35 into Sunday’s contest on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Thomas Jones, and they never looked back.
How much of a declaration was it that the Jets have arrived as serious Super Bowl contenders? Check these numbers: though the Jets were outgained through the air (236 yards to 217), Jets’ quarterback Brett Favre was very sharp, completing 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns; the Jets held a huge advantage on the ground, racking up 192 rushing yards to the Titans’ 45; and New York held the ball for more than two-thirds of the game, winning the time of possession battle, 40:30 to 19:30.
The past two weeks, against teams like the Patriots and Titans, are the types of games the Jets spent so much offseason money on upgrading key positions, especially of course, with the signing of Favre, and those moves seem to be paying off now.
At 8-3, the Jets are tied with Pittsburgh (also 8-3) for the second seed in the AFC behind Tennessee. However, given that the Jets just manhandled the Titans on their own turf, they should have plenty of confidence of going back to Nashville for a potential AFC championship game if the Titans and Jets end up as the top two seeds in the AFC.
Of course, it’s understood that defense often wins championships, but also it’s interesting to see which two teams, each now widely recognized as perhaps the current teams to beat in their respective conferences, are the top two NFL offenses at this point.
Two games in two weeks for Jets to significantly measure their progress from more modest hopes of years past, and 34 points scored by the Jets in each of those games. The Jets now rank second with 29.4 points per game, behind only the Giants, who lead the NFL in scoring with 29.9 points per game.
It’s only Thanksgiving week, so no one in New York is thinking beyond Macy’s floats in terms of any parades. But, if things continue for the next couple of months as they have recently, we may know by the end of January if at least one New York team might be gearing up for a parade of their own.
It seems that immediately after Super Bowl XLII, a general consensus was formed that the road to Super Bowl XLIII would go through anywhere but the place where either of the two New York NFL franchises call home.
Many believed that the journey to Tampa Bay in February would wind through Dallas or San Diego, or perhaps through New England, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, or Tennessee.
The idea of the New York Giants defending their Super Bowl LXII title was an afterthought, and the prospect of the Giants meeting their fellow Meadowlands tenants, the New York Jets, in Super Bowl XLIII, wasn’t even considered.
However, fast forward now, to Week 12 of the 2008 NFL regular season, and suddenly what exists, is the very real possibility of a first-ever all-New York (or if you prefer, all-New Jersey) Super Bowl on the first day of February, 2009.
Yes, that’s the new prevailing view for both a defending champion who has until now, proven itself as the team to beat in the NFC, and similarly, for the team which is this week’s fashionable pick in what has become a scrambled race among several different teams for AFC dominance.
For the Giants, flash back to Super Bowl XLII when looking at Sunday’s game in Arizona. Same locker room, same sideline, same result.
Returning for the first time to the place they were crowned Super Bowl XLII champions, the Giants, as they often have, overcame adversity to do something they’ve done all but once in their past fifteen games -– win. Again.
Playing together as a true team, and having others step up to continue to roll is something that has seemingly become second nature for the Giants. They lose Tiki Barber to retirement and Jeremy Shockey to injury (and later, for good, to Shockey’s poor attitude), and they win a Super Bowl with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, and Kevin Boss. They see Michael Strahan retire and Osi Umenyiora lost to injury for the 2008 season, and they pressure 2008 NFL MVP candidate Kurt Warner into enough mistakes on Sunday to hand the Cardinals their first loss in five home games.
Given that track record, it’s no wonder that with their leading rusher Brandon Jacobs missing all of Sunday’s game with a knee injury, and with their best receiver Plaxico Burress sidelined for most of the game (after aggravating a previous hamstring injury in the first quarter), the Giants would find several others to fill those voids in torching Arizona’s defense and special teams for nearly forty points, in a 37-29 win on Sunday.
For those who may still think last year’s run from a 10-6 regular season record to NFL champions was a fluke, the Giants became only the second team in NFL history on Sunday to win five consecutive games against teams with winning records (the 1970 Minnesota Vikings first accomplished that feat).
Despite their 2008 success, the Giants know their path to another Super Bowl remains a difficult one. However, their win over the Cardinals coupled with Carolina’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday leaves the Giants in very good shape for earning the top seed in the NFC. With five weeks left in the regular season, the 10-1 Giants lead both Carolina and Tampa Bay (each 8-3) by a full two games. The Giants don’t play the Buccaneers before the postseason, but they do host the Panthers in the next-to-last week of the regular season, December 21st, at Giants Stadium.
Should the Giants ride a possible number one seed to another Super Bowl, the AFC representative they could play also needs to be sorted out over the next couple of months.
Suddenly, that team is looking more and more like it could be New York’s other team after the Jets won a big statement game on the road for the second straight week.
After taking hold of the AFC East with last week’s overtime win in New England, the Jets waltzed into Nashville and handed the Tennessee Titans (10-1) their first loss of the season, and it wasn’t even close, in a 34-13 rout.
The Jets set the tone early with a nine-play, 76-yard drive grabbing a 7-0 lead just 4:35 into Sunday’s contest on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Thomas Jones, and they never looked back.
How much of a declaration was it that the Jets have arrived as serious Super Bowl contenders? Check these numbers: though the Jets were outgained through the air (236 yards to 217), Jets’ quarterback Brett Favre was very sharp, completing 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns; the Jets held a huge advantage on the ground, racking up 192 rushing yards to the Titans’ 45; and New York held the ball for more than two-thirds of the game, winning the time of possession battle, 40:30 to 19:30.
The past two weeks, against teams like the Patriots and Titans, are the types of games the Jets spent so much offseason money on upgrading key positions, especially of course, with the signing of Favre, and those moves seem to be paying off now.
At 8-3, the Jets are tied with Pittsburgh (also 8-3) for the second seed in the AFC behind Tennessee. However, given that the Jets just manhandled the Titans on their own turf, they should have plenty of confidence of going back to Nashville for a potential AFC championship game if the Titans and Jets end up as the top two seeds in the AFC.
Of course, it’s understood that defense often wins championships, but also it’s interesting to see which two teams, each now widely recognized as perhaps the current teams to beat in their respective conferences, are the top two NFL offenses at this point.
Two games in two weeks for Jets to significantly measure their progress from more modest hopes of years past, and 34 points scored by the Jets in each of those games. The Jets now rank second with 29.4 points per game, behind only the Giants, who lead the NFL in scoring with 29.9 points per game.
It’s only Thanksgiving week, so no one in New York is thinking beyond Macy’s floats in terms of any parades. But, if things continue for the next couple of months as they have recently, we may know by the end of January if at least one New York team might be gearing up for a parade of their own.
Sabtu, 23 Februari 2008
The New England Patriots Spygate Problem Gets Worse - ESPN
Arlen Spectre's all over this NFL problem and if Commissioner Goodell does not handle it properly it could blow up in the collective face of the league. There are some serious problems with how the Pats conducted their activities under Head Coach Bill Belichek, and it seems that there's more to this than meets the eye and it unfolds more each day.
Specter irked by uncooperative Pats, league in Spygate probe
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
Frustrated at the obstacles confronting his investigation of "Spygate," Sen. Arlen Specter accused the New England Patriots of "stonewalling" on Friday and suggested the NFL might never get around to questioning key witness Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
Specter's comments are in stark contrast to remarks on Wednesday from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who told reporters that the NFL was moving toward an agreement that would allow Walsh to tell what he knows about the Patriots' spying practices without fear of being sued.
Sen. Arlen Specter says he would like to be present if the NFL ever questions Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."
If the league gains Walsh's cooperation, Specter said he wants to be present when Walsh is questioned "because a witness' testimony can be shaded or molded by who questions him first.''
Walsh, employed by the Patriots from 1996 to 2003, has suggested that he has information, perhaps even materials, about the Patriots' video practices that could be potentially damaging.
His attorney, Michael Levy, forwarded a proposal to the NFL's outside counsel seeking full indemnification for Walsh on Feb. 14. Levy, as well as Specter, maintained that the league's initial proposal failed to protect Walsh against the possibility of being sued, and said it also required that he turn over any materials or evidence.
"They haven't taken the steps to get Walsh to come forward," Specter said. "They have the key."
Late Friday afternoon, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league respectfully disagrees with Specter.
"We have offered Mr. Walsh's attorney assurances that are fully responsive to his concerns," Aiello said. "And we have not heard back from him. ... We very much want to speak to [Walsh]."
As of Friday night, however, the league and Walsh's attorney had not reached an agreement.
An attorney for the Patriots told ESPN.com that Walsh did not have a confidentiality agreement with the franchise or anything else that might prevent his cooperation.
Specter painted a much starker, more contentious picture than the one presented by the league and the Patriots. He said both the Patriots and New York Jets have refused to cooperate with his investigation.
That it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses.
-- Sen. Arlen Specter,
on the Patriots' responses
to his investigators
Specter told ESPN.com that his staff has been rebuffed in its efforts to interview Patriots personnel about the team's videotaping practices. The Republican leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to say who, specifically, he wanted to talk to, but the list presumably includes head coach Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant Ernie Adams and members of the team's video department.
"My staff has been stonewalled on that," Specter said.
After his staff made phone contact with some individuals connected to the team, Specter said they were referred to the Patriots' outside legal counsel, who rejected a request for cooperation. Daniel L. Goldberg, who represents the Patriots and also the Boston Red Sox, said that in all cases, the individuals had been previously interviewed at least once -- and in some instances twice -- by the league.
Goldberg refused to identify those individuals.
"Sen. Specter's office had called me as counsel to the Patriots to ask to interview several Patriots employees," said Goldberg, attorney with the Boston firm of Bingham and McCutchen. "I was told that the inquiry was with respect to signal-taping. And as I explained to the Senator's office, we regard this as a league matter. As such, we have fully cooperated with the league's investigation."
Asked to respond to Specter's accusation that the Patriots have stonewalled his requests for information, Goldberg said, "You look at it from our perspective. Who is the right forum for an inquiry into a matter like this? We regard this as a league matter. It deals with league rules, league enforcement."
But Specter, a one-time district attorney in Philadelphia, didn't react favorably to the Patriots' responses to his investigators.
"Well, I think that it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses," Specter said. "Whoever heard of not being able to talk to someone because it is hearsay back from somebody else who talked to them. You have to question hearsay and reliability. I'm not prepared to accept what somebody else says these key witnesses say. What kind of an inquiry would it be if we accepted what somebody else tells us what was said?"
Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so.
-- Jets outside legal counsel
Scott Michel
Specter's investigators also have been rebuffed in their efforts to seek access to members of the Jets' coaching staff. During the season-opening game last September at New York, the Patriots were caught taping defensive signals being sent in from the Jets' sideline. The Jets' staff is of key interest in the Spygate affair because several members, including Jets head coach Eric Mangini, worked under Belichick in New England.
"Our firm was engaged to represent certain employees of the New York Jets in connection with a request for information from Sen. Specter," Jets outside legal counsel Scott Michel said in an e-mail to ESPN.com on Friday night. "Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so."
Specter said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, a one-time backup to Tom Brady with the Patriots, refused to speak with him, too, during a personal phone call the Senator placed to Huard last Friday.
"I talked to him, and he wouldn't talk," Specter said. "I didn't go through a secretary, and he doubted that it was Arlen Specter. Maybe that is why he wouldn't talk. I don't sound much like Arlen Specter."
Specter said it is only because of outside pressure that the NFL has offered up additional information related to the Patriots' taping history. Specter explained: "To get a concession from the commissioner that it goes back to the year 2000. To get a concession that they had notes. Originally, we were only told about videos, and they only went back a half-dozen games in '06. Originally, we weren't told that the notes included the [Pittsburgh] Steelers."
Specter said he is aware of what appears to be a united league-wide front supporting Goodell's handling of the taping controversy. That support was echoed Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis by members of the league's powerful Competition Committee, who told reporters they believe the issue should be put to rest.
"Well, I don't want to pick a fight with everybody in the world, like all the owners," Specter said. "But they are functioning from talking points -- 'We're satisfied with the investigation.' 'Oh yes, the penalty was sufficient.' 'Oh, let's put this behind us.' 'Let's move on.'
"You have heard everyone say the same thing."
Mike Fish is an investigative reporter for ESPN.com. He can be reached at michaeljfish@gmail.com.
Specter irked by uncooperative Pats, league in Spygate probe
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
Frustrated at the obstacles confronting his investigation of "Spygate," Sen. Arlen Specter accused the New England Patriots of "stonewalling" on Friday and suggested the NFL might never get around to questioning key witness Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
Specter's comments are in stark contrast to remarks on Wednesday from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who told reporters that the NFL was moving toward an agreement that would allow Walsh to tell what he knows about the Patriots' spying practices without fear of being sued.
Sen. Arlen Specter says he would like to be present if the NFL ever questions Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."
If the league gains Walsh's cooperation, Specter said he wants to be present when Walsh is questioned "because a witness' testimony can be shaded or molded by who questions him first.''
Walsh, employed by the Patriots from 1996 to 2003, has suggested that he has information, perhaps even materials, about the Patriots' video practices that could be potentially damaging.
His attorney, Michael Levy, forwarded a proposal to the NFL's outside counsel seeking full indemnification for Walsh on Feb. 14. Levy, as well as Specter, maintained that the league's initial proposal failed to protect Walsh against the possibility of being sued, and said it also required that he turn over any materials or evidence.
"They haven't taken the steps to get Walsh to come forward," Specter said. "They have the key."
Late Friday afternoon, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league respectfully disagrees with Specter.
"We have offered Mr. Walsh's attorney assurances that are fully responsive to his concerns," Aiello said. "And we have not heard back from him. ... We very much want to speak to [Walsh]."
As of Friday night, however, the league and Walsh's attorney had not reached an agreement.
An attorney for the Patriots told ESPN.com that Walsh did not have a confidentiality agreement with the franchise or anything else that might prevent his cooperation.
Specter painted a much starker, more contentious picture than the one presented by the league and the Patriots. He said both the Patriots and New York Jets have refused to cooperate with his investigation.
That it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses.
-- Sen. Arlen Specter,
on the Patriots' responses
to his investigators
Specter told ESPN.com that his staff has been rebuffed in its efforts to interview Patriots personnel about the team's videotaping practices. The Republican leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to say who, specifically, he wanted to talk to, but the list presumably includes head coach Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant Ernie Adams and members of the team's video department.
"My staff has been stonewalled on that," Specter said.
After his staff made phone contact with some individuals connected to the team, Specter said they were referred to the Patriots' outside legal counsel, who rejected a request for cooperation. Daniel L. Goldberg, who represents the Patriots and also the Boston Red Sox, said that in all cases, the individuals had been previously interviewed at least once -- and in some instances twice -- by the league.
Goldberg refused to identify those individuals.
"Sen. Specter's office had called me as counsel to the Patriots to ask to interview several Patriots employees," said Goldberg, attorney with the Boston firm of Bingham and McCutchen. "I was told that the inquiry was with respect to signal-taping. And as I explained to the Senator's office, we regard this as a league matter. As such, we have fully cooperated with the league's investigation."
Asked to respond to Specter's accusation that the Patriots have stonewalled his requests for information, Goldberg said, "You look at it from our perspective. Who is the right forum for an inquiry into a matter like this? We regard this as a league matter. It deals with league rules, league enforcement."
But Specter, a one-time district attorney in Philadelphia, didn't react favorably to the Patriots' responses to his investigators.
"Well, I think that it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses," Specter said. "Whoever heard of not being able to talk to someone because it is hearsay back from somebody else who talked to them. You have to question hearsay and reliability. I'm not prepared to accept what somebody else says these key witnesses say. What kind of an inquiry would it be if we accepted what somebody else tells us what was said?"
Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so.
-- Jets outside legal counsel
Scott Michel
Specter's investigators also have been rebuffed in their efforts to seek access to members of the Jets' coaching staff. During the season-opening game last September at New York, the Patriots were caught taping defensive signals being sent in from the Jets' sideline. The Jets' staff is of key interest in the Spygate affair because several members, including Jets head coach Eric Mangini, worked under Belichick in New England.
"Our firm was engaged to represent certain employees of the New York Jets in connection with a request for information from Sen. Specter," Jets outside legal counsel Scott Michel said in an e-mail to ESPN.com on Friday night. "Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so."
Specter said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, a one-time backup to Tom Brady with the Patriots, refused to speak with him, too, during a personal phone call the Senator placed to Huard last Friday.
"I talked to him, and he wouldn't talk," Specter said. "I didn't go through a secretary, and he doubted that it was Arlen Specter. Maybe that is why he wouldn't talk. I don't sound much like Arlen Specter."
Specter said it is only because of outside pressure that the NFL has offered up additional information related to the Patriots' taping history. Specter explained: "To get a concession from the commissioner that it goes back to the year 2000. To get a concession that they had notes. Originally, we were only told about videos, and they only went back a half-dozen games in '06. Originally, we weren't told that the notes included the [Pittsburgh] Steelers."
Specter said he is aware of what appears to be a united league-wide front supporting Goodell's handling of the taping controversy. That support was echoed Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis by members of the league's powerful Competition Committee, who told reporters they believe the issue should be put to rest.
"Well, I don't want to pick a fight with everybody in the world, like all the owners," Specter said. "But they are functioning from talking points -- 'We're satisfied with the investigation.' 'Oh yes, the penalty was sufficient.' 'Oh, let's put this behind us.' 'Let's move on.'
"You have heard everyone say the same thing."
Mike Fish is an investigative reporter for ESPN.com. He can be reached at michaeljfish@gmail.com.
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