Friday was strangely quiet at the office. It was as if no one wanted to say or do anything to provoke, well, bad things. Arguments. Outbursts. Misunderstandings.

I guess that's professional decorum for you.

Earlier in the week there was a stir related to health care. Or something like that. Some Republican guy was paid by the health care industry to yell at the Prez during his big health care speech. Okay, not directly. I'm sure there wasn't a memo telling the guy to do this. But you know they joked about it. If all those rubes in town hall meetings could shout down their local politicians, surely a member of congress could shout down the President if he felt like it.

And for this he got about a million dollars in campaign contributions.

This is one way politics are different from sports. When the equivalent of what happened in Congress that night happens in the sports arena, the player gets punished. And the monetary consequences are negative, not positive.

If you question the ref, or hit the ref or tell the ref you're going to shove that ball down their fucking throat, well, you're going to have to pay a price.

Serena Williams did that yesterday. And maybe it was out of frustration of losing a match she should have won, but the ref was a "liar" when she called the foot fault. Serena didn't get more money, she lost money (because she won't go on to play for the championship). She lost points in the match which effectively ended it. And Serena's gonna have to apologize, even though she wasn't wrong about what she said. She was just wrong about how she said it.

I like Serena, she's my favorite female tennis player. And since I don't really have a favorite male tennis player, she's my favorite no matter the sex.

I have no idea who the "liar" shouter in congress is. I'd say his name (which I know NOW), but he doesn't deserve to get his name out there any more than he already has.

Outbursts in the heat of the moment during sporting events make a little sense. You have been working hard, keeping up the adrenaline, sweating profusely and then comes a breaking point. Sometimes you can swallow hard and move on. Sometimes you can't.

I watched the sucker punch between the Oregon running back and a Boise State guy (who had taken his helmet off after the game was over--a possible mistake on his part) over and over. Because they kept running it. It was a good punch. And it ended the career of the guy who threw it (he's a senior and he's suspended for the rest of the season).

Most likely that Oregon football player will not get rewarded for his outburst. No NFL. And since the Arena Football League has gone under, and that other new football league most likely has a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding, there isn't a place on a team for a guy who punched a random opponent after losing.

Politics, however, is a place where people who do the wrong thing get rewards. Say the wrong thing (actually lie about stuff), and you'll get applauded by people who wanted to hear the lie. You'll get money from them. You get to keep your job.

Apparently politicians are not role models. I say this because that's what people always say when sports players get out of line. They're supposed to be role models, and what are they showing the kids? (Think about the kids!) Bad behavior. Bad role models. Bad, bad, bad.

But, then again, politicians can say whatever they want and even defend lies by calling them opinions or making up more lies to "prove" the earlier lies true. There are no rules. What rules there appear to be can always be circumnavigated.

And last night's goat is today's big winner.

Matt Worley hasn't had a foot fault in quite a while.