SNAKES

Snakes - they come in all shapes and sizes. For instance, take the subjects of today's post: A cobra and a football coach.

First the cobra: Harrods, in London, brought in an Egyptian cobra to guard a pair of shoes. The shoes are a pair of Rene Caovilla sandals, are encrusted with rubies, sapphires and diamonds, valued at $120,000 (62,000 pounds). The snake was hired just for the launch of the shoe line on Monday. When asked if anyone needed to fear a snake bite, a spokeswoman for Harrods replied, "not unless you're a burglar."

And now for the football coach: Bill Belichik, arguably one of the great football coaches of all-time. This weekend, in a game against the New York Jets, an employee of the New England Patriots apparently video taped defensive signals, a violation of league rules. It has been reported that this was done with Belichik's knowledge. This fits perfectly with his reputation: He is definitely no angel - a man with a lifetime of drama that has ranged from backing out of contracts (NY Jets), feuding with mentors (Bill Parcells) and protégés (Eric Mangini) alike and even giving the tabloids plenty of fodder for his extracurricular behavior. But, the stories that are now appearing in newspapers and on the internet are downplaying the severity of the issue. According to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, "it's nothing new."

This type of reporting and the league's cavalier attitude almost equal the crime. It is a sad statement of our society that the measure of right or wrong is no longer based on principle but rather on whether or not "everybody does it". This message is trickled down to the youth of our country, many of whom never apologize for the inappropriate things that they do because, as they say, they "don't think they have done anything wrong".

Let's hope that the league cracks the whip hard and really punishes Belichik and his staff of cheaters. It certainly won't resolve all of society's issues, but maybe it will be taken as a sign that just because everybody does it doesn't mean that there isn't a penalty to be paid.