Apparently, we can officially put Spygate behind us. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter says that he is not seeking a Congressional inquiry into any further misdeeds by the New England Patriots. The Pennsylvania senator told the Philadelphia Daily News editorial board, "I've gone as far as I can” and that the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which he sits, has too much on its plate already.

He did say, though, that he’d like to examine the issue of public financing for sports stadiums. Specter brought up once again that NFL owners enjoy a federal anti-trust exemption.

With Specter closing the book on Spygate that would appear to be the definitive end of one of the more intriguing story lines of the 2008 season that saw the Patriots come one game short of a perfect season. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had already said after interviewing former Patriots employee Matt Walsh that the league had exhausted all apparent avenues of investigation. After being caught breaking league rules by taping the New York Jets’ defensive signals early in the season, the Patriots were penalized a first-round pick this year; coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, and the team was clipped for $250,000.