See what I’ve done here? Using the title as a channel, I’ve insinuated officials have feathers. As do Falcons. Wait. A. Minute.

No, no, no. I refuse to suggest officials in Sunday’s game at Atlanta were working in conjuction with the Falcons. I only scribed the above introduction because A) I am still extremely bitter and B) I noticed how the title might be indicative of an unintended point and if said point was intended – well, then I would be deemed as having wit.

If neither of this make sense to you or you frankly do not give a shit, continue after the jump to read the story you very damned well thought you would be done reading by now.

For what a league spokesman termed “verbal abuse” toward an official, Brian Urlacher has been fined $20,000 or what amounts to nearly my entire annual salary. The verbal assault, if you could even call it that, occurred after Tommie Harris recovered a Jerious Norwood fumble and then proceeded to shovel it behind his back from his knees to no one in particular.

Urlacher apparently thought Harris was down by contact — which he wasn’t — and then said some not so nice things to the closest official. Like really nasty things. It had to be, right? How else would the league justify a $20k charge?

Unless, of course, the NFL has taken the route of major league baseball and anything seen as an attempt to “show up” an official will be reprimanded harshly. Either way, Urlacher has 20,000 less dollars but you can bet there is going to be some lonely high-priced call girls tonight an appeal.