Tom Brady walks off the field empty-handed. (AP Images)

No doubt many fans will look at the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Giants as comeuppance for arrogant coach Bill Belichick. His spying scandal, his aloofness and cold stare have made him a disliked figure in the NFL. Perhaps bad karma played a role in Sunday’s upset.

“We’re disappointed,” was pretty much all Belichick said in his post-game interview with Fox’s Chris Myers.

The Patriots couldn’t put together much offense until late in the game and even then it wasn’t enough because their defense failed to stop Eli Manning and the Giants on offense at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Giants overcame huge odds to claim a 17-14 win in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., and denied the Patriots a perfect 19-0 season. Underdog bettors reveled as the Giants beat the 11.5-point spread and collected at +400 on the moneyline.

New York’s defense stymied Tom Brady, forcing him into hurried throws, sacking him three times and keeping his options limited to Wes Welker (11 catches, 103 yards) and little else. On the sixth anniversary of the Patriots' first Super Bowl victory, they failed to collect their fourth under Belichick.

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Bill Belichick’s team is perfect, but his rep certainly isn’t pure. (AP Images)

The spygate scandal won’t go away, even as the New England Patriots get ready to play what could be a historic Super Bowl. Now, the government wants to know what’s up.

Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania (probably a jilted Steelers fan), told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that he’s “very concerned” about what happened to evidence against Bill Belichick during the league’s investigation earlier in the season.

"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," the senator wrote in a letter to Goodell.

Yep, the NFL burned the tapes. Wonder what else was on there? So does Specter, who is on the judiciary committee. He said the league’s anti-trust exemption could be threatened by its actions. The anti-trust exemption is what allows the NFL to make so, so much money unchecked by government and almost impenetrable by competition.

"Their antitrust exemption has been on my mind for a long time," Specter told reporters.

To the criticism from Capitol Hill, Belichick said in his Belichick way, “It’s a league matter,” and left it at that during Friday’s news conference in Glendale, Ariz.

The Patriots are one day away from kickoff of Super Bowl XLII against the wild-card Giants at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The point spread favors New England by 11.5. If the Patriots win they will complete the first 19-0 season in NFL history. If the Giants win they will pull the biggest upset in league history and one of the greatest in the history of sports.

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Patriots coach Bill Belichick has his sights on title No. 4. (AP Images)

Bill Belichick declared his team “ready” to make history Friday.

The man who has masterminded what could go down as the greatest season in NFL history oversaw New England’s final practice before Super Bowl XLII on Sunday.

In a 80-minute session, the undefeated AFC champions picked ’em up and put ’em down in shorts, not full gear. The Patriots will go for their fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy in seven seasons under Belichick when they take on the New York Giants in Glendale, Ariz. (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox, BodogLIVE).

A win and Belichick will deserve a trophy named after him.

"We're ready to roll," he said to the media. "We're ready as we're going to be."

Although Tom Brady was listed on the injury report, it wasn’t because of his ankle. Brady, the NFL MVP, is “probable” with a right shoulder injury.

The Patriots are favored by 11.5 on the point spread. To get a primer on all the angles before Super Bowl Sunday, read the popular online magazine Bodog Nation, which features:

• Free Super Bowl picks from its team of expert writers.
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