COLUMN: The new NFL is not so much a good NFL

     The hits keep on coming and the yellow hankies keep on flying. And some of these calls are deciding who wins or who loses or in one case, who ends up tying.

     Such was the outcome a couple of weeks ago when the Packers had seemingly sealed away a victory over the Vikings when a pass was intercepted with Green Bay leading late in the fourth quarter.

     But the refs threw a flag on Packer Clay Matthews for roughing the passer, his second such penalty going back to the Chicago Bears game.

     A couple of years ago that’s a clean play. Ironically, the newer rules could possibly be traced to the hit that a Viking put on Packer QB Aaron Rodgers last season that knocked him out for a period of time. That hit also was a clean play but not now.

     For the third straight game, Matthews was again dinged for a roughing call after sacking Redskins QB Alex Smith. After watching the replay, I suggest the NFL just adopts a two hands touch on sacking the quarterback.

     MLB playoffs are near. As baseball heads into the last seven days of the regular season, there are still a few playoff spots up for grabs. Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta have clinched their divisions. The Yankees have clinched a wild card spot. Houston has clinched a playoff spot. (As of Monday when this was written).

     The Cubs and Dodgers are still in a battle to win their respective divisions and mathematically could miss the playoffs. The Brewers are just 2.5 games back of the Cubs and the Rockies trail LA by a game and a half. The Cardinals are still in it at 4.5 games back. I think the Rockies may have to win their division to get in. A Wild Card spot looks out of the question.

     Tiger Woods wins one. This past week Tiger Woods ended a five-year drought by winning the Tour Championship. Woods’ story is well known. Injuries, his personal life and other issues have kept him from becoming the game’s greatest.

     If he stays healthy he may just pass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors. I’ve never been a fan of Woods but for some reason I have found myself in his corner.

     Maybe it’s because of his personal struggles. He appears to appreciate what he’s missed over the years and may have mellowed a bit. I never liked how he conducted himself on the links with his fans. Maybe that is what helped drive him back in the day.