http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3365225

Frankly, I'm tired of hearing about it. But I'm curious as to what everyone thinks the punishment would be if it is proven that the Patriots taped the Ram's final walk through before the Superbowl. I personally would like to see a retroactive forfeit with the Rams made the winners. I honestly think that it would take a punishment of that magnitude to be a deterrent to future cheating. Plus I hate Belichick.

I'm not sure what a proper punishment would be, but stripping the _title_ would be ridiculous IMHO.

I don't think they should forfeit that game, but it's not crazy, it was a very close game and they obtained information by cheating, and any advantage could have been the difference.

Fine Belicheck, and the organization, heavily. Take away more draft picks, and make them wear the old minuteman snapping the football uniforms for two years.

Championships are "of the moment" events. So years after the fact, if you strip teams of _title_s....the "new" champion doesn't really get the exhiliration they would, if they won the _title_ originally.

I mean, does anyone think St. Louis would celebrate now, if all of the sudden they were given the _title_? I don't.

What if the NBA found out something about the Heat, that gave the Mavs the 2006 NBA _title_. At this point, it wouldn't mean crap to me.

So, stripping the Pats of their _title_ ....would be stupid. And, it won't happen.

What I'd do? Take a lot of draft choices from them. Maybe make them forfeit their entire draft one year. That'd get the point across.

Some former Rams that were apart of that team have already filed a lawsuit against the Patriots, so I think it would be safe to say that they give a crap. If I lost in a championship game at any level and found out after the fact that the other team cheated, I would fully expect to be made the winner. Doesn't that happen in the Olympics all the time?

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/15/rams-sue-patriots-for-videotapes/

Olympics stripping of medals is usually different because alot of those events it's a you against the field scenario so sure...everyone moves up a notch. Stripping team _title_s in a sport with playoffs is a bit harder. Are we gonna assume NE videotaped that whole season? Who's to say Pittsburgh wouldn't have won the Superbowl if they had made it(Steelers lost to NE in the AFC _title_ game).

Now if you want to totally vacate the _title_, sure. But you can't strip it from the Patriots and award it to someone else, because what about the other teams NE beat on the way?