There was a palpable expectation of history here on a chilly night in the Arizona desert. Super Bowl XLII delivered on that score, but history of a different sort was made on Sunday...
The Patriots rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Giants 38-35 on Saturday and became the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 in the regular season...
The punishment is in and it appears that the league has decided that cheating the rules which has happened for a long time in the NFL is going to carry some serious consequences. New England coach Bill Belichick was fined the NFL maximum of $500,000 Thursday and the Patriots were ordered to pay $250,000 for spying on an opponent's defensive signals. The commissioner also ordered the team to give up next year's first-round draft choice if it reaches the playoffs and second- and third-round picks if it doesn't. If the Patriots lose their first-rounder next season they still will have a first-round pick, obtained from San Francisco in the deal that brought Moss from Oakland.
