Kennedy Will Appeal His Latest Fine

Kenoy Kennedy, the Denver Broncos’ hard-hitting strong safety, will appeal a $30,000 fine, the latest in a series of escalating NFL punishments.

Kennedy was fined for a helmet-leading tackle Sunday against Indianapolis.

“I didn’t expect it, but there is nothing I can do about it. Just appeal it and go about my business,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy was called for a personal foul when he lowered his helmet and hit Colt receiver Reggie Wayne on an overthrown ball in the Broncos’ 31-17 victory.

“They said I led with my head. But how do you tackle? I’ve never seen a guy go up and butt a guy with his chest. I don’t know what to do,” Kennedy said. “Maybe I should drop-kick them, or do something like that. I don’t know.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday that he could not comment on the matter.

Last season, the NFL fined Kennedy a total of $17,500 for two tackles and suspended him for one game for a third. The suspension cost him $25,294 in lost pay.

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The NFL has fined Houston Texan quarterback David Carr and center Steve McKinney for spoofing New Orleans receiver Joe Horn’s cellphone call in the end zone.

The amount of the fines was not immediately known.

Horn was fined $30,000 by the NFL for his choreographed celebration during New Orleans’ victory over the New York Giants on Dec. 14.

On Sunday, Carr and McKinney acted as if a cellphone were stashed underneath the goal post padding after Carr’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Corey Bradford against Tennessee.

“Whatever. The league’s being the league and we’ll appeal it and probably get our money back,” McKinney said. “I don’t care. It was fun. If we do have to pay it, I think David should have to pay for it. I was kind of an innocent bystander really.”

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Jamal Lewis isn’t the only member of the Baltimore Ravens seeking to set an NFL record this weekend.

Terrell Suggs, the 10th overall pick in the 2003 draft, is three sacks short of breaking the single-season mark for a rookie.

Suggs has 12 sacks -- only 2 1/2 fewer than Jevon Kearse recorded with Tennessee in 1999.

Overtaking Kearse would not be as notable a deed as Lewis’ surpassing Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing mark of 2,105 yards, but it would still be quite an accomplishment, given that Suggs, from Arizona State, has yet to make his first NFL start.

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Michael Vick could have skipped the final month of the season and let his right leg heal completely.

Though the Atlanta Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention before their star quarterback took his first snap, Vick believed he had nothing to gain by watching his team struggle without him.

“I’m playing, and it’s a good thing,” Vick said this week. “I’m glad I made the move to come back, and I’m glad that I was able to heal. I was just blessed to be put in the situation that I could come back and play again.”