NO FINE FOR JOHNSON?

Several readers have asked us to explain why Patriots receiver Wes Welker was fined $10,000 for making a snow angel after scoring a touchdown against the Steelers on Sunday, while Titans running back Chris Johnson has not been fined $10,000 for removing a towel from his pants and waving it after scoring a touchdown. So we asked NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. He told us, via e-mail, that Johnson won’t be fined. “It was a towel that is legally part of his uniform,” Aiello said. “There is not a violation of rules.” In contrast, any celebration involving a player going to the ground results in a fine. “Due to past inappropriate acts while on the ground,” Aiello wrote, “the player demonstration guidelines were modified two years ago to prohibit celebratory actions while on the ground. So it’s a blanket rule (not a snow-angel rule). You can’t go the ground to celebrate a play.”