user: Input: Pogue’s Posts: Verizon Wireless Making It Harder to Avoid Charges?
A few months ago, David Pogue wrote about Verizon Wireless’s practice of selling phones whose arrow keys are preprogrammed to connect to the Web-and if you hit one accidentally, you get zapped with a $2 Internet charge, instantly. He revisits the issue of the company’s data policies on Pogue’s Posts:

After much outcry and even an FCC investigation, Verizon Wireless installed a “landing page”-a page on the phone that lets you cancel before you incur the charge. But plenty of people still find those mysterious $2 charges. If you truly never use Internet features, you can call Verizon to request a “data block”-to say, “I just don’t use the Internet on my phone, and I don’t want to run the risk of getting hit with those $2 charges.”

Last month, I heard from a customer-service rep who, despite working for Verizon Wireless, is on my side on this issue. He wrote with two alarming internal developments at Verizon that could affect you.

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It's about: A customer-service representative from Verizon Wireless said that the company has put a new policy in place to attempt to get more money from customers through data plans.


Input: Steelersâ Tomlin Fined $100,000 for Interfering With Play
PITTSBURGH â Steelers Coach Mike Tomlinâs ill-timed two-step has cost him $100,000 and could cost his team a pick in next yearâs draft.

The N.F.L. fined Tomlin $100,000 Wednesday for interfering with a play against the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving.

It also said it would consider docking Pittsburgh a draft pick âbecause the conduct affected a play on the field.â

Tomlin was not penalized on the play, though the N.F.L. said Tomlin should have been flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for nearly colliding with Baltimoreâs Jacoby Jones during a kickoff return midway through the third quarter of a 22-20 Ravens victory.

A seventh-year head coach, Tomlin called the play âembarrassing, inexcusable, illegal and a blunder,â but emphasized it was not intentional.

âI apologize for causing negative attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers organization,â Tomlin said in a statement Wednesday. âI accept the penalty that I received. I will no longer address this issue as I am preparing for an important game this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.â

Tomlin was standing on the restricted white border between the sideline and the field on Jonesâs kickoff return. The player had to swerve to avoid running into the coach and was tackled after a 73-yard return that might have gone for a touchdown if not for the obstruction. Tomlin briefly stepped onto the field before he jumped back.

Tomlin said Tuesday that he was âmesmerizedâ by watching the return on the video board and would accept any repercussions for his actions.

âI donât know what a just punishment is,â he said Tuesday. âI have no idea. Iâm not acting in a way to preserve my wallet and my money. My wallet and my money is what it is because of the game of football.â

Tomlinâs players have defended him, noting it is not unusual for players or staff members to find themselves on the edge of the field during a play. Safety Ryan Clark admitted to standing near the playing surface while watching the Steelers attempt a late 2-point conversion in the final minutes against Baltimore.

âIâm always on the field,â Clark said. âI sit on the field, but I try to sit on it away from anything.â

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger declined to discuss whether the loss of a draft pick would be too excessive but added that he did not think the furor over Tomlinâs near-trip would serve as a distraction for Pittsburgh (5-7), which is still in the playoff hunt.

âIf anything, guys joke about it more,â Roethlisberger said. âTheyâre the ones pulling up the pictures online and joking with coach about something. If anything, maybe itâs a lighthearted fun thing.â

The N.F.L. fined the Jets $100,000 in 2010 when cameras caught their strength and conditioning coach, Sal Alosi, tripping a Miami player on the sideline. Alosi was suspended by the Jets and resigned after the season.

Tomlinâs job is not in jeopardy and he said Tuesday that he had not spoken to the team owners Dan and Art Rooney II about the situation.

âI would imagine if the Rooneys thought that I was capable of that or they thought my intentions were that, I wouldnât be sitting at this table talking to you guys,â he said.

Tomlin makes $5.25 million a season. The fine constitutes less than 2 percent of his annual salary. He is far more concerned about the uncomfortable position he put the league and the Steelers in after failing to get out of the way with any sense of urgency.

âI will take this as an opportunity to strenuously defend the game of football and the N.F.L. I wonât defend myself,â Tomlin said. âThe people that know me, I donât need to do that. The people that donât know me, they are going to make their judgments any way.â

The penalty was large for on-field conduct for a coach, but it was not among the heftiest in league history. The N.F.L. slapped New England Coach Bill Belichick with a maximum $500,000 fine in 2007 for spying on the Jetsâ defensive signals.
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It's about:

assistant: The N.F.L. also said Wednesday that it would consider docking Pittsburgh a draft pick for Coach Mike Tomlinâs actions last Thursday during a Ravens kickoff return.