Merritt Paulson’s costly tweets (About $25,000 worth of them)

Want to know what gets you fined 25 large in Major League Soccer? This:

Let’s be real…nfl replacement refs have nothing on mls primary refs. Sick of this garbage. I will happily take the fine. It’s atrocious. Should balance out.”

Especially when it’s attached to this:

All season long...not a single damn pk awarded to us. Numerous cut/dry blown calls. And let’s give DC a gift for good measure.

And when it’s all chased by this:

I don’t like complaints about refs, always sounds like excuses. But this season has been unique. Literally no pks. We haven’t controlled what we can control to max for sure. But also haven’t had many breaks. Is what it is. From my end. I’m not making a habit of this. Owner shouldn’t be part of the story. We will keep seeking to improve and eventually we will succeed. (And maybe someday I won’t tweet angry).”

Those are the TOAs (Tweets of Anger) that has Timbers owner Merritt Paulson $25,000 lighter today.

They were all about that dubious penalty kick decision in last week’s 1-1 draw with D.C. United.

(MORE: The shaky penalty kick discussed)

By the way, I was wrong about Paulson and all this. I thought he would be fined for confronting officials on the way off the field. Apparently, firing away on social media is the larger crime committed here.

I am not wrong about this, however: Paulson remains a passionate owner, the very kind that fans want for their team. He’s Mark Cuban like that; you may not always agree with his decisions, but you never have any doubt that they come from a place that wants very badly to win.

Too many owners in sports, caught in the power of it all or derailed by the chase for the mighty dollar, cannot always say the same.