Pardon me for being a little bit stunned. But the Commish says so, which means the Pats are perps. What stuns me is not that the cheating claim is true, but that it's the Pats who did it. If it had been a perennial  doormat trying to gain an edge, it would make a little more "sense". But NE, and the genius, against the J E T S, Jets?

If I was a betting man. I'd have bet the house that the Pats wouldn't cheat to beat the Jets, or any other team for that matter. But they did. And now we find that it isn't the first time they've been caught. Turns out the NFL warned them already about using the same tack against the Pack.

Looks like Roger Goodell's legal experience is coming in handy because the NFL has no shortage of miscreants to offer up for ajudication. But this is a whole new ball game, when teams are now on the stand.

So what next? Can Rough-Guy Roger afford to take it light on one of the NFL's showpiece franchises? Or is he compelled to make an example of a team that (evidently) believes that merely raiding the free agent talent pool doesn't get the job done nowadays.

Well, here's what we know. What was once renowned as one of the classiest organizations deserves to be reviled as one of the cheesiest. What on earth were they thinking?

The rumor is that the Pats will be exposed to the loss of multiple draft choices. That's a good idea, it's almost standard fare for teams that violate league rules. But is that enough. I don't think so.

How can a commissioner who suspends players for entire seasons because their conduct gives the league a black eye, afford to be lenient on a team that cheats to win?

Yes, the loss of draft picks is potentially very damaging. But I have to stress the "potentially" aspect. Draft picks go bust too often. And a fine? Fines don't hurt teams like they hurt players. Teams just raise ticket prices. Fans pay fines, not teams.

So what do we do to send the message to the Pats? I say we put 'em on playoff probation. College teams get the postseason "sit-down" for infractions all the time. After all, we hit players where it hurts most, in the game check. If we can suspend Tank Williams and Pac-Man for a season and send Mike Vick to purgatory, we really ought to hit a franchise where it hurts the most too, in the post-season. Because the Pats won't miss a beat if they can't draft WR's, they'll just pour a few million on Randy and Dante and move forward. And the NFL could fine them 50 million dollars, which their loyal fans will beg to pay if they can only get tickets.

But the playoffs? Now that would hurt. And hurt it should.

"No tolerance" means "no tolerance" for everybody.