FOXBORO, Mass.  Bill Belichick, the defensive mastermind who has led the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl championships, is often casually referred to by sportscasters as a "genius" for his game plans.  The contemplative coach bats such praise aside as if it were a pesky tyke hounding him for his autograph, saying "A genius is somebody who comes up with a cure for polio, or maybe Jon Bon Jovi," his favorite rock singer.

But no more.  The MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program today announced that Belichick will receive one of this year's $500,000 "genius" grants, making official his status as a giant among the small fraternity of highly-competitive men who pace the sidelines at NFL games.

"It was only fitting, " said Cynthia Lichtenstein, executive director of the program.  "Who can forget the fly pattern to Troy Brown he called on the last play of that overtime game against the Dolphins in 2003, or the way he's turned Peyton Manning into a personal love poodle with his defensive sets?"

The MacArthur grants are awarded to a wide range of scientists, artists and social reformers, and come with no strings attached.  Last year's winners included a sculptor, a public-health researcher, a documentary filmmaker and the entire cast of "The New Hollywood Squares."

At least one person who was passed over for a grant was not ready to concede that Belichick's contributions to society outweighed hers.  Miranda Rush-Goldie, a performance artist who smears Elmer's Glue on her nude body before boarding crowded New York City buses and subways, said she was more deserving.  "He can probably make tons of money endorsing clothes, which I obviously can't," she explained. 

"Not true," said Scott Winstead, a spokesman for the Patriots.  "You've seen how Belichick dresses for games--homeless people don't buy new clothes."

Copyright 2006, Con Chapman