Belichick says Pats will learn from Hernandez case

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff3OXzjw4R0sYBomItnK69rijkL5zwdOb4NCL8mJ9yUjC6Kl4A-D05UXJyqr-ZCD3T49fMDHNHHkSjveMO50fG_1Y45xiVw8i9LrRWSWq3-2zVXFKYhJLuC4Yji5SSugNdqNrh0OI8B4/s1600/Belichick+says+Pats+will+learn+from+Hernandez+case.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Belichick says Pats will learn from Hernandez case image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff3OXzjw4R0sYBomItnK69rijkL5zwdOb4NCL8mJ9yUjC6Kl4A-D05UXJyqr-ZCD3T49fMDHNHHkSjveMO50fG_1Y45xiVw8i9LrRWSWq3-2zVXFKYhJLuC4Yji5SSugNdqNrh0OI8B4/s400/Belichick+says+Pats+will+learn+from+Hernandez+case.jpg" title="Belichick says Pats will learn from Hernandez case image" width="266" /></a></div> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/belichick-says-pats-will-learn-from.html">Belichick says Pats will learn from Hernandez case</a></h2> <div> <div> A grim-faced coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday the New England Patriots will learn from the ''terrible experience'' of Aaron Hernandez's arrest on a murder charge and work to improve their player evaluation process.</div> <div> Speaking publicly for the first time since the tight end was arrested four weeks earlier, Belichick said he was ''shocked and disappointed'' to learn of the criminal investigation while he was out of the United States.</div> <div> He also sought to minimize future attention on the case.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> ''My comments are certainly not in proportion to the unfortunate and sad situation that we have here, but I've been advised to address the subject once, and it's time for the New England Patriots to move forward,'' Belichick said. ''Moving forward consists of what it's always been here - to build a winning football team, to be a strong pillar in the community and be a team that our fans can be proud of.</div> <div> ''I'm not trying to make this story disappear, but I respect the judicial process and have been advised not to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. I'm advising our players to do the same things.''</div> <div> The Patriots cut Hernandez after he was arrested the morning of June 26 and before he was charged that afternoon. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Players are scheduled to report to training camp on Thursday when quarterback Tom Brady and the five other captains from last season will be available to reporters. The first practice is scheduled for Friday.</div> <div> Belichick opened his 22-minute news conference by speaking from prepared notes.</div> <div> He expressed sympathy for the family of shooting victim Odin Lloyd, said the team's in-depth process of studying a player's background is ''far from perfect'' but wouldn't be overhauled, and took responsibility for bringing people to the team.</div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> <span class="entry-title" id="yui_3_9_1_15_1374736371123_703"><a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/belichick-says-pats-will-learn-from.html">Belichick says Pats will learn from Hernandez case</a></span></h3> </div> <div> <div> At about the same time as Belichick was speaking, Hernandez was in court for a probable cause hearing in which prosecutors asked for more time to present evidence to a grand jury. The hearing was rescheduled for Aug. 22.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> ''Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim and I extend my sympathy really to everyone who has been impacted,'' Belichick said. ''A young man lost his life. His family has suffered a tragic loss and there's no way to understate that.''</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Belichick was unusually expansive in his answers. He declined to answer some questions about Hernandez, saying he had been advised not to answer those about people involved in the legal case.</div> <div> ''This case involves an individual who happened to be a New England Patriot, and we certainly do not condone unacceptable behavior and this does not in any way represent the way that the New England Patriots want to do things,'' he said. ''As the coach of the team, I'm primarily responsible for the people that we bring into the football operation.''</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> He didn't say, in response to a question, if he had talked with Hernandez since the player's name was linked to it.</div> </div> </div>

Belichick says Pats will learn from Hernandez case A grim-faced coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday the New England Patriots will lea...

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U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0wdZKJjCmHG5ukk6gNtt1FfXpkiETEsKZBEL9UZ-6oc0D8_ojIhRInRfLWo9aIIY_Hd08h979dwHq9cjb96205aetU-1zGx0RYYUfSaViZwP4QX1KeJwKLIfRr_ji5kpu6vf6qJTTqY/s1600/U.S.+got+what+bargained+for+in+Lance+Armstrong,+his+lawyers+say.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img alt="U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say, IMAGE" border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0wdZKJjCmHG5ukk6gNtt1FfXpkiETEsKZBEL9UZ-6oc0D8_ojIhRInRfLWo9aIIY_Hd08h979dwHq9cjb96205aetU-1zGx0RYYUfSaViZwP4QX1KeJwKLIfRr_ji5kpu6vf6qJTTqY/s400/U.S.+got+what+bargained+for+in+Lance+Armstrong,+his+lawyers+say.jpg" title="U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say, IMAGE" width="400" /></a></div> <h1 class="headline" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/us-got-what-bargained-for-in-lance.html">U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say</a></h1> <div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> In papers filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Armstrong's lawyers said the Postal Service benefited from the sponsorship and they asked a judge to dismiss the federal government's fraud lawsuit demanding its money back.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> "The government wanted a winner and all the publicity, exposure and acclaim that goes along with being his sponsor. It got exactly what it bargained for," the lawyers wrote. The Postal Service is an arm of the federal government.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> The once-revered athlete is fighting to hang on to what remains of his reputation and his earnings after he was stripped last year of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from cycling.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> In February, a month after Armstrong admitted to doping, the Justice Department said it was joining a fraud suit filed in 2010 by Floyd Landis, a former Armstrong teammate. Landis filed the suit under a federal law that allows whistle-blowers to report fraud in exchange for a reward.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> The Postal Service paid $40 million from 1998 through 2004 to have Armstrong and his teammates from Tailwind Sports wear its logo during record-breaking wins. At least $17.9 million of these fees went to Armstrong, according to the government.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> <br /></div> <h3 style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/us-got-what-bargained-for-in-lance.html">U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say</a></h3> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> <br /></div> <div id="yui_3_9_1_13_1374642100144_658" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">  While the court papers argued that the suit was filed too late, Armstrong's lawyers separately asked U.S. District Judge <span class="yshortcuts cs4-ndcor" id="lw_1374627332561_18" style="cursor: pointer;">Robert Wilkins</span>, who is overseeing the case, to dismiss Landis' complaint against his former teammate.</div> <div id="yui_3_9_1_13_1374642100144_660" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;">  Landis won the <span class="yshortcuts cs4-ndcor" id="lw_1374627332561_15" style="cursor: pointer;">Tour de France</span> in 2006 but was stripped of the title a year later after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> The fact that Landis, like Armstrong, used performance-enhancing drugs should prevent him from suing under the False Claims Act and getting a reward, Armstrong's lawyers wrote.</div> <div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> "Landis defrauded his fans and other donors in order to amass a fund to pay the legal fees he racked up litigating his false denials," they wrote. "Now he would like to be paid for casting the first stone."</div> <div id="yui_3_9_1_13_1374642100144_695" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px; margin-top: 11px; padding: 0px;"> The False Claims Act, which dates to 1863, allows whistle-blowers to sue over suspected fraud involving U.S. government money and, if successful, get a percentage of whatever the government recovers.</div> </div> </div>

U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say In papers filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Armstrong's...

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