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NEW YORK -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh lost an appeal of the $100,000 fine against him, taking a financial hit for a block below the belt.Cheap Mario Williams Jersey . Suhs agent, Roosevelt Barnes, told The Associated Press he was notified Friday of the appeal officers decision. The six-figure fine was the largest in NFL history for on-field conduct, not including money lost by players due to suspensions. It surpassed the $87,500 Chicago Bears linebacker Bryan Cox was docked in 1996 for making an obscene gesture to a line judge and screaming obscenities. Suh was fined for a sixth time in his four-year career on Sept. 10, two days after making an illegal block on Vikings centre John Sullivan. He apologized to Sullivan, and to teammates for negating an interception return for a touchdown in Detroits season-opening win. A third-party arbitrator heard Suhs appeal two-plus weeks ago. "Were disappointed that Ndamukong was fined at all and that it wasnt reduced," Barnes told The AP in a telephone interview Friday. "It is clear from the film, when you slow it down frame by frame, that Ndamukong was clearly in front of the player and that his head and shoulder, when he started off blocking him, were above the players waist. But because Ndamukong left his feet, he was going to hit the ground and was going to get tangled on the lower part of the players body." Detroit drafted Suh out of Nebraska with the No. 2 overall pick in 2010. His reputation for playing with a nasty streak started in his first season when he had an NFL-high five personal fouls. As a rookie, he was fined $7,500, for a roughing-the-passer penalty on Cleveland quarterback Jake Delhomme in a preseason game; $5,000 for attempting to gain leverage on a New York Jets player; and $15,000, for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit that referee Ed Hochuli called "an unnecessary non-football act," on Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler. The next season, he seemed to cement that poor reputation. He was docked $20,000 for slamming Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton after he had released the ball in a preseason game. And he lost $165,294 in pay during a two-game suspension for stomping on the right arm of Green Bays Evan Dietrich-Smith in a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving. Suh ended his season with four personal fouls, tied for sixth in the league. In Detroits last showcase game on Thanksgiving, Suh was fined $30,000 for a kick to the groin of Houston quarterback Matt Schaub after tumbling to the ground on a pass rush. Since returning from the suspension in 2011, though, Suh has seemed to clean up his act a bit. During a 20-game span that started after his stomp and ended in Week 1 of this season, he had been called for two personal fouls while 42 NFL players were called for more, according to STATS. He was tied for 105th in the league with one personal foul penalty last year, and was one of 41 players flagged for a person foul in Week 1 this season. Suh has said he refuses to change his tough style, adding he plans to play "hard, blue-collar football." He is having one of his best seasons for the Lions, who play at Cleveland on Sunday in a matchup of 3-2 teams. He has 2 1/2 sacks, 17 tackles and a forced fumble in five games this year. Even when Suh doesnt make a play that shows up in the box score, he often pushes the pocket on passing plays and takes on two blockers when teams run against the Lions. And with a five-year contract worth up to $68 million, he can afford to pay the fines that have been levied against him. "I guess the NFL is still trying to send a message with this fine," Barnes said. "I just hope this doesnt hurt his chances of being the defensive player of the year because hes playing like one this season." Cheap Fred Jackson Jersey . Then Ryan Raburn came to the plate and did what he usually does against the Chicago White Sox. Raburn hit a tiebreaking single and David Murphy drove in four runs, leading the Indians to a 12-6 victory over the White Sox. Bills T-Shirts .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres are shuffling their roster by promoting forward Phil Varone from their AHL affiliate in Rochester.STOCKTON, Calif. -- Canadian Kevin Pangos had 18 points, Drew Barham matched his career high with 17 points off the bench, and Gonzaga beat Pacific 70-53 on Thursday night to clinch the outright West Coast Conference regular season title. It was the perfect bounce-back game for the Bulldogs, (24-6, 14-3 WCC), who will head into the conference tournament as the top seed for the 11th time in coach Mark Fews 15 seasons. Gonzaga had lost back-to-back games to BYU and San Diego and fell out of the Top 25 before blowing out the Tigers in their first visit to the Northern California campus in more than 35 years. The Bulldogs led by as much as 23 despite a slow night from leading scorer Sam Dower Jr. and got enough scoring off the bench to make up for the slack. T.J. Wallace had nine points and four rebounds for Pacific (14-14, 5-12). The Bulldogs led nearly the entire game and had no problem putting away the Tigers in their first visit to the Pacific campus since Dec. 23, 1976. That took Gonzaga out of a must-win situation heading into Saturdays regular-season finale at St. Marys. Pangos, held to 17 points combined in the losses to BYU and San Diego, had 15 points in the first half, and the Holland Landing, Ont., native repeatedly sped past Pacifics defence for easy buckets. He had nine points as part of a 13-0 run when Gonzaga took the lead for good, then helped keep the Bulldogs comfortably ahead in the second half. TThat helped offset a slow night from 7-foot-1 centre Przemek Karnowski. Bryce Brown Bills Jersey. Karnowski spent much of the first half on the bench in foul trouble and injured his right foot six minutes into the second half. Gonzagas big man returned and finished with nine points and nine rebounds. Dower Jr., the Bulldogs leading scorer, was also slowed by fouls and had just six points. Gonzaga had no problem picking up the defensive slack and forced 16 turnovers -- 10 in the first half -- and got a big lift from Barham off the bench. Barham made four 3-pointers to keep the Bulldogs rolling. He scored eight consecutive points to push the Bulldogs lead to 64-43 in the second half. Pacific, which matched its longest losing streak of the season at four, couldnt keep up. Playing before their largest crowd since 2005, the Tigers got off to a sluggish start then briefly took the lead midway through the first half before losing to Gonzaga for the fifth time in six meetings between the two schools. It marked the fourth straight game Pacific has been held under 60 points. Gonzaga held Pacific scoreless for the first five minutes but led only 12-11 after Karnowski picked up his second foul midway through the first half. Pangos scored on three quick layups and made a trio of free throws as part of a 13-0 run that put Gonzaga up for good. He later added a pair of threes that helped the Bulldogs go up 40-28 at halftime. ' ' ' |
