Fri May 16 08:38:05 2008

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Boston Herald reporter explains walkthrough story

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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Boston Herald reporter John Tomase said he "couldn't have been more wrong" in his story about the New England Patriots taping the walkthrough of the St. Louis Rams before Super Bowl XXXVI.

On February 2, the Herald ran a story written by Tomase that said a member of the Patriots' video staff taped the Rams' walkthrough the day before Super Bowl XXXVI.

Tomase, in an article in Friday's Boston Herald, detailed how the story evolved. He said people he trusted told him the walkthrough had been taped, but that no one had seen the actual tape.

"I should not have written the story without seeing the tape or getting multiple, first-hand confirmations from members of the organization," Tomase said in his story on Friday.

"While I have no regrets over going to print the day before the Super Bowl, this is a story I simply could not afford to get wrong. And I did."

The Herald, on Wednesday, issued an apology for running the erroneous story.

"We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification," the newspaper said in a statement.

The paper's apology came a day after former Patriots videographer Matt Walsh met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss what he knew about the team's videotaping practices.

Walsh sent the NFL eight tapes showing that the Pats recorded play-calling signals by coaches of five opponents over six games between 2000 and 2002.

However, the tapes did not include video of the Rams' walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.