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PITTSBURGH -- Heres another adjective Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin can call his ill-timed two-step onto the field last Thursday night against Baltimore. Cheap Jerseys . Expensive. The NFL fined Tomlin $100,000 on Wednesday for interfering with Baltimores Jacoby Jones on a kickoff return in the third quarter of a 22-20 loss to the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. The fine is the second-highest ever levied by the league on a head coach, behind only the $500,000 the NFL docked New Englands Bill Belichick in 2007 for spying on an opponents defensive signals. There is also the chance the Steelers have a draft pick taken away "because the conduct affected a play on the field." Though he was not penalized, the league said the Steelers should have been flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. All that from what Tomlin called an "embarrassing, inexcusable" case of being "mesmerized" while standing in a restricted area that separates the sideline from the playing field and staring at the video board during Jones 73-yard return. Jones had to swerve to avoid running into the coach and was tackled during a return that might have gone for a touchdown if not for the obstruction. Tomlin briefly stepped onto the field before he jumped back. Tomlin insists the "blunder" was not intentional but has no plans to appeal the ruling. "I apologize for causing negative attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization," Tomlin said in a statement Wednesday. "I accept the penalty that I received. I will no longer address this issue as I am preparing for an important game this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins." Jones didnt blame Tomlin for his own inability to score on the return, but his teammates believe the move put the coach and the league in a difficult position. "Im not going to lie, its tough," Baltimore wide receiver Torrey Smith said. "I cant say he did it on purpose because I dont know what he was thinking. It definitely sends a message across the league. He stepped across the line, which definitely threw it off." Tomlin said he was following his normal routine on the play and said standing on the 6-foot wide strip is common practice. New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin didnt disagree. Coughlin drew a 15-yard flag during the preseason for stepping onto the field during a field goal attempt. "You find yourself sometimes running down the sideline on the white, but nevertheless, youre not even supposed to be even on the white because the officials have to have access there," Coughlin said. "That is a most difficult thing to absorb." Tomlins players leapt to his defence in the immediate aftermath, and safety Ryan Clark allowed he is "always on the field." The 12-year veteran, however, is hardly surprised the NFL is considering taking an extra step of stripping the Steelers of a draft pick. "Its not supposed to be fair," Clark said. "Its Roger Goodell, so when has he been fair?" Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doesnt believe Tomlins near-trip will serve as a distraction for Pittsburgh (5-7), which remains in the playoff hunt as December begins despite an 0-4 start. "If anything, guys joke about it more," Roethlisberger said. "Theyre the ones pulling up the pictures online and joking with coach about something. If anything maybe its a light-hearted fun thing." The league will not determine whether to take a pick away from Pittsburgh until after the draft order has been set. It would be an unprecedented move for a coach getting involved during a live play. The NFL fined the New York Jets $100,000 in 2010 when cameras caught strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi tripping a Miami player on the sideline. Alosi was suspended by the Jets and eventually resigned after the season. Tomlin is hardly in danger of losing his job, and said Tuesday he had not spoken to team owners Dan and Art Rooney II about the situation. "I would imagine if the Rooneys thought that I was capable of that or they thought my intentions were that, I wouldnt be sitting at this table talking to you guys," he said. Tomlin makes $5.25 million a season and the fine constitutes less than 2 per cent of his annual salary. He can absorb the relatively small financial hit. Hes far more concerned about the uncomfortable position he put the league and the Steelers in after failing to get out of the way with any sense of urgency. "I will take this as an opportunity to strenuously defend the game of football and the NFL. I wont defend myself," Tomlin said. "The people that know me, I dont need to do that. The people that dont know me, they are going to make their judgments any way." Tomlins predecessor, Bill Cowher, raised eyebrows but not the ire of the commissioners office in 1997 when he feigned tackling Jacksonvilles Chris Hudson as Hudson ran back a Pittsburgh field goal attempt for a touchdown on the final play of a 30-21 Jaguars victory. While Tomlin has no plans to change the way he goes about his business, he plans to do a better job of policing himself. The 41-year-old understands this will stick with him once the furor dies down. His goal is to make sure it doesnt stain the team as well. "The only thing we can control is our preparation and ultimately our play this week," he said. "Thats the now and whats immediately ahead of us. I try to relay that sentiment and attitude to our team, and I think its something they embrace." Cheap NFL Jerseys . -- Dwyane Wade was a late scratch from the Miami Heats starting lineup against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night because of nerve irritation in his left foot, leaving his status for the All-Star game in doubt. Cheap Jerseys From China . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two.PARIS -- There was a time when a Grand Slam final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was a regular occurrence. Over a 12-major span from the 2006 French Open to the 2009 Australian Open, seven title matches were Roger vs. Rafa. No other pair of men in tennis history participated in a total of more than six Slam finals together. "A lot of important matches for our careers," Nadal said. "A lot of emotions in these kind of matches." And then, suddenly, it stopped. Federer and Nadal will renew their sublime rivalry Sunday at the French Open, the first time in more than two years theyll decide a Grand Slam championship. As usual when it comes to Federer and Nadal, there is plenty at stake. The top-seeded Nadal is 44-1 at Roland Garros and bidding for his sixth French Open championship, which would equal Bjorn Borgs record. Only two days after turning 25, hell be going for a 10th major title overall. Plus, he needs a victory to prevent Novak Djokovic from replacing him at No. 1 in the ATP ranking. The third-seeded Federer, meanwhile, seeks to add to his record of 16 Grand Slam trophies, including the 2009 French Open. He could become only the third man to own at least two titles from each of the sports most important tournaments (hes won six at Wimbledon, five at the U.S. Open, four at the Australian Open). And then theres this intriguing tidbit: Federer never has beaten Nadal at Roland Garros, going 0-4 -- in the 2005 semifinals, and the 2006, 2007 and 2008 finals. The only time Federer managed to win the French Open, he didnt have to face Nadal. Instead, Federers straight-set victory in the 2009 final came against Robin Soderling, who stunned Nadal in the fourth round that year (and also happened to knock out Federer in the 2010 quarter-finals). "It always seems to me that Rafa needs to be in a French Open final to make it special," Federer said aftter ending Djokovics 43-match winning streak in the semifinals, "and I got the match I guess I was hoping for. Wholesale Jerseys. ." Thats a fascinating statement, considering that Nadal is a player who troubles Federer in ways that no one else ever has. Nadal is 16-8 against Federer overall, including 5-2 in Grand Slam finals. Nadal won their most recent match, on clay in Madrid last month. In the semifinals against Djokovic, Federer served spectacularly, and he displayed all of the strokes and mental toughness that led many to consider him the greatest tennis player ever. As 1999 French Open champion Andre Agassi put it Saturday: "I do think that the way Federer played yesterday, he can beat anybody in the world -- and probably anybody in the future." And then Agassi added: "But theres something that he brings out in Nadal." One part of Nadals game thats consistently bothered Federer is his heavy-top spin, high-bouncing, left-handed forehand -- which can arrive at about shoulder-height on Federers backhand side. Nadal also tends to have remarkable success at staving off break points against Federer. These two players know the ins and outs of each others games well, and many of their matches have been tight. Three of their past four head-to-head Grand Slam finals went five sets. The exception, though, was as lopsided as could be: The last time they played at the French Open, in the 2008 final, Nadal won 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. Given how Federer played against Djokovic, the expectation is that Sundays final will be competitive -- and perhaps much, much more than that. "It will be one for the ages," Agassi predicted. "Any time you see these two, Nadal and Federer, its one of the most memorable moments. Weve been spoiled. Its an incredible rivalry and I think well look back on this as probably one of the best our sports ever had." cheap nfl jerseys ' ' ' |
