Goodell says new Pats tapes do not add to Spygate

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday there was nothing new in videotapes he received showing the Patriots taping opposing teams' signals and that no additional penalty against New England was being considered.

Goodell met for more than three hours with former New England video assistant Matt Walsh on Tuesday to go over eight videotapes he supplied the NFL and his experiences working for the Patriots from 1997 to 2003.

"I don't anticipate any further sanctions," Goodell told a news conference after meeting Walsh on what has been dubbed 'Spygate'. "What we heard and saw was fundamentally consistent with what we already knew."

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 last year for breaking rules regarding videotaping. The Pats were also fined $250,000 and forfeited a first-round draft pick.

The punishment was handed down after videotape was confiscated by the league following New England's 2007 season-opening game against the New York Jets.

Walsh, now an assistant golf professional in Hawaii, agreed to send the NFL tapes he had taken of opposing coaches' signals during games from 2000-2002 in exchange for a promise he would not face any legal action from the NFL or the Patriots.

"Mr Walsh is pleased with the opportunity to assist the National Football League in its investigation regarding the New England Patriots' videotaping practices," lawyer Michael Levy told reporters outside NFL headquarters after the meeting.

Walsh did not address reporters and Levy said they were heading immediately to Washington for a meeting with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who has been critical of the NFL's investigation of New England's practices.  Continued...