Saints' Thomas fined $30K for cell phone celebration

The price of using a cell phone in the NFL has not gone up since 2003. The NFL fined New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas $30,000 for retrieving a cell phone from within the goal post padding and celebrating after scoring a touchdown last week in a 45-35 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Thomas was paying tribute to former Saints wide receiver Joe Horn, who did the same thing to celebrate a score 15 years ago. For what it's worth, Horn also was fined $30,000. "I paid a tribute to him, tried to get the crowd going a little bit more, set the tone, have fun out there, giving people a show," the 25-year-old Thomas said last week. "You gotta have fun. All these guys just catching touchdowns and celebrating with each other, having fun, getting the crowd involved. I felt like I had an opportunity to make it happen, put the game away and make a call." Thomas finished with 12 receptions and a franchise-best 211 yards for the Saints (7-1), whose previous single-game receiving record was 205 yards, set by Wes Chandler in 1979. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Horn set franchise records during his seven seasons (2000-06) with the Saints. His 7,622 receiving yards trail only Marques Colston and Eric Martin. "I'll always appreciate Saints fans for all they did for me," the 46-year-old Horn said. "I will always love the city of New Orleans and when I come back there again I'm going to be wearing my Michael Thomas jersey."