Because You Never Hear About the Patriots

Nothing to do with the Bears, but I found myself pretty fascinated reading about how the apparently much-hated Ron Borges of the Boston Globe got suspended for 2 months for ripping off a Seattle writer's column word-for-word.

This page covers how it played out and gives the kid responsible a slap on the back.

http://coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=1363

To plagiarize the whole thing myself, this is where the guy pointed it out on an ESPN board. Patriots fans started firing it off to media outlets and the rest is history.

http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb?sport=nfl&id=nwe&tid=579151&lid=35

Not sure why I'm pasting the original story and the one Borges published as his own, they're word-for-word, but these were the two links Seattlestatman posted to kick all of this off.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/seahawks/story/6389428p-5698815c.html
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/03/04/seahawk_is_a_better_catch

I didn't give myself a full history lesson on Borges. Along the way, I saw an item about how a Boston radio station instituted a policy against having any Boston Globe writers on after Borges called Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu "a fat pussy toad" -- he may or may not have been simply repeating an insult George Steinbrenner had used.

Apparently everyone hates him because he has a vendetta against Bill Belichick, ever since he cut Drew Bledsoe, who was Borges's inside guy.

He sounds like another Mariotti, having written one column about what a great acquisition Adalius Thomas would be for whoever lands him, then ripping the Patriots to shreds after they signed Thomas just a day or two later.

Just keep shouting "strong opinions" and maybe no one will remember when you start shouting down your previous one. As long as you're shouting, it's all good. Unless you're so goddamn lazy that you just cut-and-paste someone else's column and hand it in with your name on it. The Assman will take you down to Chinatown!

... Check that! The Seattlestatman will take you down!

At least Borges had better taste in ripping someone off than the fat fool who got busted for plagiarizing Peter King during Super Bowl week in 2005:
http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/archives/002650.php