NFL’s fine rationale a fine mess

In the grand scheme of things, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco wearing the wrong-colored chin strap is but a drop in the ocean.

Still, the NFL decided to fine Ochocinco $10,000 for wearing a black chin strap instead of white during the Bengals' loss to Houston last week.

The NFL also fined San Diego's Larry English $7,500 for a horse-collar tackle in the Chargers' loss to Denver.

A black chin strap earning a bigger fine than a potentially harmful tackle?

That's the NFL, also known as the No Fun League. The NFL has a reputation to protect.

• NO RUNS, NO HITS, 49 ARRESTS -- Box score from the National League Championship Series post-Game 5 revelry in Philadelphia:

Forty-nine arrests for mostly minor offenses -- among them 29 for disorderly conduct, six for assaults on police, three for thefts or attempted thefts, three for vandalism, two for ticket-scalping and one for public intoxication.

Only one for public intoxication? And only 49 arrests overall?

By Philadelphia standards, the crowd was on its best behavior.

"That's not many, considering the size of the crowds," Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey told the Philadelphia Daily News.

The possibility of a Phillies-New York Yankees World Series concerned Ramsey.

"With the Yankees, and the close proximity (to New York), we're going to have a handful," he said.

• CALLING PLAY 'B-4' -- In trying to right the wreck of a season the Washington Redskins are enduring, the team has taken play-calling duties from coach Jim Zorn and given the responsibility to Sherman Lewis.

"Two weeks ago, Lewis was calling Bingo games at a senior citizens center," wrote Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel. "This seems like an unusual hiring search, but it's the same way the Vikings found Brett Favre."

• SLAMMING THE EX-PREZ -- If Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Jordan Crawford appeared in a "Jeopardy!" question, the correct answer probably would be, "Who are the people NBA star LeBron James would like to dunk on?"

Bryant won the 2009 NBA championship instead of James. Howard was denied a handshake from James after the Magic eliminated the Cavaliers from last season's playoffs. And Crawford dunked over James this summer at his skills camp, sparking more attention after Nike initially confiscated the video evidence.

But that answer is incorrect.

Maxim magazine recently asked James, "If there was one guy on the planet you could dunk on, who would it be?"

His response probably will produce as much reaction on Capitol Hill as it will on the basketball court.

"If it doesn't have to be a basketball player, George W. Bush," James said. "I would dunk on (him), break the rim and shatter the glass."

Guess now we know to which side James drives politically.

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