Boston Herald reporter John Tomase, who wrote the explosive and since-retracted report that the Patriots taped the Rams' final walk-through practice before the 2002 Super Bowl, has written an explanation of how he got the story wrong.Unfortunately, the explanation doesn't really explain much of anything. It's really more a timeline of his work on the story, and there are still key details that he doesn't make clear, like exactly how many sources he had and who they were.
So how did he get the story wrong? Basically, it comes down to this: "on the final, crucial point of whether the camera was actually rolling, I made a devastating leap of logic and assumed that's what I was being told rather than confirming it explicitly."
The early reaction seems to be that readers aren't satisfied, although when a writer makes a mistake this big I'm not sure there's anything he can say to satisfy his readers. Tomase, I'm sure, just hopes this is over. I'm not sure that it is.
More commentary at Fifth Down, Pro Football Talk and Boston Sports Media Watch.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. The fact is that the Patriot's have been cheating and the punishment didn't fit the crime. Goodell is a joke. He punishes players for there crimes which is the correct thing to do; but there is nothing good about cheating the game. WOW
Posted at 8:54AM on May 16th 2008 by Willie Smith
2. Investigate This:Shhhhhhhhhhhh....Rumor..Rumor..Rumor
Tomase put a substantial bet on the Giants the same day his story hit the papers. I heard it from the friend of a associate....just print it.
Posted at 4:41PM on May 16th 2008 by Hank Lipzer
3. The Boston Herald is dead to me!
Posted at 6:41PM on May 16th 2008 by Stuck on RT 1
4.
Another Mike Barnicle and the other reporter from the NY Times(Name--??--who cares).The truth will set you free, Tomasse should be locked up.
Make up the story and print it as if it was from REAL sources. Build a career on BS!! They should can him ASAP, but if they did he would just come back as a radio/tv person like Barnacle did.
Thanks for helping us lose the Superbowl with your BS story in the 11th hour. I heard these "Facts" for my comments from my "sources."
Such a malicious story from the Patriots HOMETOWN Newspaper. Nice move Tomasse. Resign NOW!!! Go report on the Indianapolis Colts,Please. You would be welcome at the JETS training camp. You are no longer welcome in New England sports!!!
Posted at 7:11PM on May 16th 2008 by bgs3402