I love this! I’ve heard so much belly-aching by a few vociferous sour-pusses whose teams chilled in the shadow of the mighty New England Patriots this year. Spygate this… spygate that. Well, I think the Associated Press said it best, “Spygate be damned!”

Below is an excerpt from the Associated Press story.

Spygate be damned! Bill Belichick of the unbeaten New England Patriots is The Associated Press 2007 NFL Coach of the Year.

With the Patriots motivated by a spying scandal – and owning the deepest talent base in football – Belichick guided his team to the first 16-0 regular season in league history.

That was enough to offset the major blemish on Belichick’s resume: a $500,000 personal fine, $250,000 fine for the team and the loss of a first-round pick in the upcoming draft after the Patriots were caught videotaping New York Jets coaches during the season opener.

Spygate didn’t stop 29 of the 50 voters on a nationwide panel of media members who cover the NFL from voting for Belichick on Thursday. In a season highlighted by many strong coaching performances, Belichick beat out Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy, who received 15 votes for leading the Packers to a 13-3 record and the NFC North title.

“This is definitely a team recognition, but one that I appreciate very much on a personal level,” Belichick said in a statement issued by the club.