the truth as we have believed it to be is, in fact, the truth ... mike pereira has been the nfl's vice president of officiating for the last 12 years ... he will retire after today's super bowl ... on friday afternoon, pereira chatted with the sports hub's mike felger and tony mazz down in miami ... listen to the interview here ... it's 15:10 minutes long ... the pertinent part starts at 12:30 minutes in

bottom like ... indianapolis colts general manager bill powleen used his influence with the nfl's all powerful competition committee back in 2004 to have a "point of emphasis" placed on the enforcement of illegal contact rules for defensive backs vs wide receivers ... this after the 2003 afc championship game where new england's hard hitting defensive backs dominated colt's wide receivers ... forcing peyton manning into throwing 4 interceptions ... holding the "godfather of his own philly ghetto" to 3 catches/19 yards and forcing marvin to fumble away the ball once ... a game where new england beat up on indianapolis 24-14 ... the effect of this "point of emphasis" was to shift the balance from a strength of the patriots, their secondary ... to a strength of the colts, their wide receivers ... beginning in the 2004 season ... legalized cheating, nfl style

rumors are powleen may be up to more influence wielding this offseason ... some believe he will push for a change to the on-side kick rule, eliminating the element of surprise ... others speculate he will campaign against bon jovi headlining next year's super bowl halftime show