Commish Strikes Again
Goodell Makes Good Impression

Like I said before: It's about time.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed Chicago Bears defensive tackle Terry "Tank" Johnson an 8-game suspension for off-field infractions -- specifically, carrying a firearm in violation of his probation for an earlier gun charge.

Some people never learn if not taught the proper lessons. Finally, someone is trying to bring respectability (back) to professional sports.

Johnson can reduce his suspension from eight games to six if he stays out of trouble. Meanwhile, Goodell is sticking to his .. er .. guns, after suspending Tennessee's Adam "Pacman" Jones (Is it merely coincidence these nitwits have nicknames?) for the entire season and Cincinnati's Chris Henry for half a season.

The question is: Will the punishments act as deterrents to others?

It will to those who have some semblance of intelligence. These suspensions strike players in the one place most of them understand -- their wallets. It's sad that it had to come to this, but laws and rules are made for people who aren't smart enough to protect themselves from themselves. And when they're not smart enough to obey the laws and rules, they need to be punished. It's the only way they (might) learn.

It's not just football that's out of control. Look at these numbskulls in professional baseball: Lou Pinella, the manager of the Chicago Cubs, and Phillip Wellman, that lunatic minor league manager of the Mississippi Braves. I know you can't compare apples to oranges (or should that be: compare apples to 'nuts'?), but can you imagine Bill Belichick or Tony Dungy acting like Pinella or Wellman? I think the 4- and 3-game suspensions these loose cannons received were way too lenient.

Without getting too profound, our society is in a rapid decline, and a major reason is society's reluctance to hold people responsible -- really responsible -- for their actions.

Goodell has made a stand with the NFL players. With a little luck, he won't back down and the NFL Players Association will fail (miserably) in any attempts to get judges or arbitrators or anyone else to overturn or change his decisions.

Now, who will make the next stand?

[Don't forget to vote in the poll]