"Richard Seymour is a dirty, cheap, little pompous [expletive]."
–—San Diego Chargers' center Nick Hardwick, about the New England Patriots' defensive end, to reporters after the Chargers' AFC Championship loss
"They have certain individuals, like I am sure we have certain individuals, who are perceived to be dirty, but people wouldn't call them a dirty team."
–—New York Giants' defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora, on HBO's Inside the NFL, artfully dodging a question about whether or not he considers the Patriots "a dirty team"
"The coach, he's a jerk/ Got the whole country hatin' on him/ We know you cheat/ Bill Belicheat"
–—L.A. rapper Mario Ruiz, in the chorus to his song, "Patriots Hater"
"Mr. Ruiz, if you were any kind of rapper you would know that rhyming a word with itself is LAME."
–—"Dave," posting on the Boston Herald's online forum in response to Ruiz's skillz
Sources: espn.com, nfl.com, bostonherald.com, usatoday.com
This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 5, 2008.