The NFL’s biggest problem now is a call from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., for an independent investigation and his threat to yank its antitrust exemption.
This can be partly traced to the league’s ongoing dispute with Comcast, the Philadelphia-based cable operator, ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio said this week.
The NFL and Comcast were buddy-buddy when NFL Network launched. But the league’s decision to award a regular season TV package of eight games to NFL Network, rather than Comcast, soured the relationship. Last year, Comcast moved NFL Network to a sports tier that cost subscribers about $5 extra per month.
Specter has “close ties” to Comcast, noted Paolantonio on NFL Live Wednesday, and the league will have to “tread lightly” with Specter as it pursues a complaint against Comcast with the Federal Communications Commission.
Kremer’s interview with Walsh, who worked for the Patriots from 1997 to 2003, will add more fuel to the fire. Among the highlights:
•Walsh says videotaping opponents’ defensive signals gave the Patriots a competitive advantage: “If you know what defense a particular team’s gonna run, if you’re essentially in their huddle … that’s quite an advantage to have on offense.”
•On Bill Belichick’s assertion that taping had little or no impact on games: “If it was of little or no importance, I imagine they wouldn’t have continued to do it, and probably not taken the chances of going down onto the field in Pittsburgh.”
•On whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s punishment ($750,000 in fines and loss of a 2008 first-round pick) fit the crime: “If they (the Patriots) had to do it again, I imagine they’d pay a $750,000 fine for three Super Bowls.”
Barkley: I’ll repay $400K casino debt
TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley admitted owing $400,000 in gambling debts to a Las Vegas casino Thursday. Barkley promised to make good after Clark County District Attorney David Roger said he faced a possible criminal complaint if he did not repay the Wynn Las Vegas resort.

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