Dear American Sportswriters, Talk Radio Hosts, Editors, Pundits and General Troublemakers,

It’s time I called you out for your far-too intense focus on the recent New England Patriots’ 'cameragate' scandal.

I'm not disputing that the matter wasn't a travesty or that it wasn't an incredibly disappointing — and unnecessary — act of malfeasance on the part of Patriots coach Bill Belichick that deserves notice and warranted punishment. That said, might we also be clear on a few accompanying matters:

— While it doesn’t make the act of filming the opposition’s play signals to gain advantage any less wrong, this was clearly a practice that other teams have allegedly participated in for some time and therefore condoned, otherwise the Patriots would surely have been called out earlier. Again, this doesn’t make a breach of rules warranted, but it says a great deal about the spitefulness of former Belichick protégé and Patriot employee, Jets head coach Eric Mangini.

— The Patriots freely cooperated with the NFL’s investigation and immediately accepted the punishment handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell and paid the penalty. Belichick issued a statement apologizing for his actions. But because he didn’t break down and weep openly in front of the cameras for the forgiveness of the American nation and give the media what they wanted, he’s still considered a bad guy who left ‘unfinished business’ on the table by writers like Sports Illustrated’s Peter King and ESPN.com’s Gregg Easterbrook who recently wrote a sensationalist, over-the-top piece on the subject, ‘… Dark Days In The NFL’. Marion Jones, while guilty for cheating in sports on a level far exceeding anything that could be leveled against Belichick, recently wept for the public’s forgiveness and has now been dismissed by many in the media as a laughing stock. What is so wrong with Belichick trying to walk away from a setback with some dignity?

— Finally, even if videotape did provide some sort of benefit in terms of advance scouting to the Patriots — though this sounds extremely doubtful given most teams change their defensive play signals weekly — the execution needed to secure a victory is still so far and above anything signals could provide that cries of ‘tainted Super Bowl’ championships now is just plain ridiculous, and reeks of sore losers and fans simply weary of sustained Patriots success.

At the time of this writing we’re now six weeks into the season and the Patriots-Dallas match-up of two 5-0 undefeated records has only renewed tired speculation and commentary from many quarters about cameragate. It’s time for the media to do us all a favor and move back to matters taking place on the field. I can appreciate that this was a most newsworthy matter for any sportswriter to cover. At the same time I hope sportswriters will also remember why they likely entered the profession in the first place — for the love of the game. Because they love what it is that happens immediately after the snap of a ball and during a match, not because of what may occur afterward when everyone is packing helmets and pads away, no matter how much off-field stuff can be important in such a large-scale, big influence and big money league, and no matter how much off-field scandal sells. This isn't to make light of what happened or stand in any way as an apologist, but for all I've heard about people discussing how this sets a bad example all the way down to the five-year-old kid just about to pick up a football for the first time I'd also argue that the sooner we shift focus after a matter has been dealt with the better. I can't see how dwelling on this helps any kid looking for positive reasons to dive into sport.

I know we don't invite scandal (though after the last several weeks of focus on this issue I wonder if some empty-headed sports talk radio hosts don't actually write down 'scandal' on their annual gift-list to Santa), but frankly it seems so many of you have some sort of underlying beef about the Patriots that goes beyond cameragate itself and your outrage over what happened. I'm not asking for a token, begrudging nod of approval about their huge, emotional victory over the San Diego Chargers the Monday after the scandal broke, or of their continued success despite allegations of a ‘tainted legacy’, but how about some straight, honest appraisal of this team’s pure, raw talent in a salary-cap league where consistent success is near impossible to maintain?

We’re at saturation point on the subject. I've seen enough now of self-righteous media personalities practically fighting to thumb through a Thesaurus to try and top one another with stronger words for 'outrage' and 'disgust'. This matter has just about been dealt with from every possible angle, and illegal videotaping is most unlikely to ever happen again now that the Commissioner has dealt with it.

So please, I beg of you to remember- it's sports here gang, sports. Today as I was reading about the tragedy involving Blackwater's alleged killing of civilians in Iraq I couldn't help but ponder how much bloated ink and air-time has been devoted to the Patriots scandal and how much the media has lost a sense of context. There’s something magical that takes place out on a sporting field and the cleaner the game, the better. But let’s focus on the game more from now on, eh? I'm pretty sure I’ve seen some magic in the Patriots’ on field play this season and that certainly deserves our attention.