When Bad Things Happen to Bad People

Aside from a championship victory by a Cleveland team, I can't imagine any sporting event coming close to providing me with the sheer joy that New England's defeat by the New York Giants provided me with yesterday. I always thought that someday, karma would catch up with Bill Belichick, and yesterday, it not only caught him, it sacked him for a huge loss.

I was thrilled by the Giants comeback. I was enthralled by the final sack of the game, in which Tom Brady was nearly planted like a tulip bulb by Jay Alford. I was delighted when I saw Brady's final heave fall incomplete.

But what made the moment complete for me was watching that reprehensible little man slither off the field with one second left on the clock, too absorbed with the impact of this game on his legacy to have the common decency to stay until the bitter end. It was so in character for the slimy little dirtbag, who now knows that whatever else he accomplishes, he'll never be mentioned in the same breath as coaches like Walsh, Lombardi and Knoll, who never lost a Super Bowl. Even better, his once in a lifetime Patriot team just went from The Greatest Team Ever to a bitter footnote alongside the 1942 Chicago Bears.

Live with it, Bill. I hope last night haunts you forever.

I've despised Bill Belichick for almost 15 years, ever since he deliberately tanked the Cleveland Browns 1993 season and then tried to pretend that he didn't. That one move showed anyone who was paying attention that it was all about Bill, and his massive, out of control ego. If that alone didn't convince everyone that Belichick was a dirt bag, the shenanigans he pulled to maneuver out of the Jets job and into the Pats job should have. But Bill's a great coach (although the most recent allegations against him may ultimately make you wonder just how great), and that allows people to overlook what a despicable person he is. But for the record, there's ample evidence that Bill's an egomaniac, that he's dishonest, and that he cheats -- in football and, allegedly, in more important areas of life. And now, finally, he lost.

And I rejoice.