THE GOODELL THAT STOLE CHRISTMAS...

I'm pretty sure Roger Goodell has lost his mind. The NFL commissioner, it seems, hands out fines for just about everything. Many of these fines are warranted. Many are not. Shaun Ellis of the Jets was fined $10,000 last week for throwing a big chunk of snow at a fan. That may not sound like much, but I can understand where the Commish is coming from. If a paying fan gets hurt unnecessarily, it can leave a black mark on the league, and Ellis was made an example of to further illustrate that point.

What I can't wrap my head around is the fines handed down to Ben Watson and Wes Welker of the Patriots in the past couple of weeks. Three weeks ago in Seattle, Watson stuffed the ball into his jersey after a score to honor his wife Kirsten, who is expecting the couple's first child on February 1. He was subsequently penalized fifteen yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and slapped with a $10,000 fee. Welker dropped to the snowy ground last week after a touchdown grab and made a snow angel ala Lonnie Paxton after Adam Vinatieri's game winning kick in Super Bowl XXXVI. Same penalty, same fine.

So let me get this straight. Putting the ball in your shirt: 15-yard penalty, big fine. Making a snow angel: 15-yard penalty, big fine. Spearing yourself head first at a player who is slowing down as the play is ending (yes, I'm talking to you, Ryan Clark): 15-yard penalty...that's it? That's one hell of a precedent Roger Goodell is setting.

Goodell seems to be doing a tremendous impression of the Grinch this holiday season. Except at the end of all of this, the only lesson that anybody will have learned is not to mess with the No Fun League.