Rules and regulations

The NFL's discpline gurus have handed out two fines from this past week Ravens-Browns game. Browns running back Jamal Lewis was fined $5000 for spiking a ball on the sideline after a long run; Ravens fat man Haloti Ngata was fined the same amount for punching Browns tackle Joe Thomas in the head.

This is ridiculous. I don't see how the NFL rule-makers can justify issuing the exact same fine for Ngata's sucker-punch and Lewis' spike. Here's a fun exercise for you to try:

- Get a football
- Go outside
- Run 25 yards and spike the football on the ground
- Smack someone in the head
- See which one gets you in more trouble

I'm exaggerating for fun, but I can't understand why the NFL puts such a premium on enforcing silly things like ball-spiking and end-zone dances and worries far less about the more dangerous, violent things that go on in games. The idea that the two offenses in this example carry the same fine should make it clear to the NFL how misplaced some of its priorities are, but I'm not counting on it.