This column should be read while listening to “Welcome To My World” by Jim Reeves (running time: 2 minutes, 38 minutes).

• Ever since Roger Goodell took over the NFL, the league has been all about protecting its image above nearly anything else. So it’s hard to comprehend the misstep of only giving Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice a two-game ban for assaulting his then-fiancee (now wife).