NFL approves new rigging rules (new catch rule), and we're one step closer to a full-scale TMO...

The owners approved several rules changes for this year, and two come out at me.

First, the "catch rule" - probably the single biggest tool the NFL has had to rig games and championships the last several years - has been modified.

The "going to ground" part has been thrown out, but a player must still be deemed to do three things to gain a catch:

• Control the ball
• Establish they are in bounds
• And then perform a football move

This still probably leaves quite a bit of room for rigging (that one catch that was the game-winner for Pittsburgh over Arizona in the Super Bowl, as one example).

And then, probably even a bigger one that gets snuck into the mix under the headline:

We basically will now have a Television Match Official watching every game from New York -- officially.

Because, now, the league office -- the league officiating office -- now has ejection authority for "non-football acts" like the Gronkowski elbow.

This could make post-fight scenarios very interesting, because the league office will now have the authority, and the use of replay, to eject any and all.  That could be a huge step to trying to quell stuff on the field.