Maybe I am adding fuel to the flame by writing this, but enough about the Tiger spitting incident already.

I do realize that it is mid February, football season has just ended, pitchers and catchers are just now reporting to spring training, March madness is still a few weeks away and there is just not a lot of sports “news” to report.

So what do you do when there is nothing earth-shattering to report? You find a very high-profile sports personality and you blow something completely out of proportion.

Example: Tiger Woods spitting on the 12th hole after missing a par putt at the Dubai Desert Classic.

Yes, I remember Tiger telling the whole world, following his sex scandal and his short time in rehab, that he would make his behavior more respectful of the game.

Now he has been fined by the European Tour an undisclosed amount of money for his “spitting” violation.

Mike Stewart, director of the tournament, said that he felt Tiger had breached the tour code of conduct.

I would agree that spitting is gross, and lord knows, nobody wants to have a 10-foot putt for birdie affected by a loogie, but a minor breach of the code of conduct on the European Tour could cost a golfer as much as $15,000.

Seriously?

Now all of us weekend golfers know that at some point in time, we have seen much worse conduct from our fellow golfers. But this is the European Tour, and the code of conduct plainly says that when one becomes a member, he will follow standards of behavior above and beyond that of an ordinary golfer.

So Tiger has apologized. He said he was sorry and he admitted that it was not the smartest move. This is, however, Tiger Woods we that are talking about though, and outside of his legendary fist pump, “smart moves” is not something he has really mastered over the past several years.

But a $15,000…for spitting?

Honestly, I don’t know what is worse – the European Tour giving Tiger a $15,000 fine, or all of the sports networks forcing the public to watch, in high definition slow motion, Tiger spitting over and over and over again.

No doubt, there are sports producers all over the country who have had to fill time slots, and have done so with the clip of Tiger spitting on the green.

Hey, when times are slow, you have to go with what you got.

I guess we can all be thankful that Tiger didn’t have to go to the bathroom.

Hit ‘em straight

Dale Jones is a writer for The Islander and a member of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Reach him at djones@gulfcoastnewspapers.com