The commissioner confirmed that the Raiders will play the Texas in Mexico – and hints that the league is turning its focus to LondonPreview: Panthers to overwhelm Broncos in Super Bowl 50
8.21pm GMTThank you for joining me and goodbye from San Francisco. 8.21pm GMTA league official shouts OK we’re done.” Apparently that final question didn’t sit too well. appealing lines of questions today. I did not expect to see Goodell asked so much approximately marijuana,for instance. He was definitely testy approximately the impression that the league is not doing enough approximately domestic violence and player safety. There was also some current stuff. The Monday night game in Mexico is a stout development and his leaving open the view of a team in London is also stout. 8.17pm GMTInteresting question that many players like Megatron are walking absent early and what does it say approximately the game now. Goodell objects to the question, saying the questioner is handpicking a couple of random situations and trying to make a blanket judgement. He says he is told players are constantly telling him how much they love playing and want to play forever. 8.15pm GMTGoodell is asked approximately the seven high school football deaths final fall. He says he is trying to push cultural changes in how practices occur and how well players are hydrated and the proper techniques for tackling. “These are very positive changes” he says. He cites a 78 percent reduction in injuries though the context of that 78 percent figure is unclear. He says he would not possess given up a day of playing tackle football when he was younger. 8.13pm GMTOn whether he will reinstate Tom Brady’s suspension. He dodges this a bit by saying he will let the league’s appeal of final summer’s court ruling vacating Brady’s suspension. “I’m not focused on it now” but he also makes clear this is an issue of collective bargaining agreement which is an principal distinction. His suspension of Brady and the appeal was always more approximately the league’s deal with the union rather than Brady himself. 8.10pm GMTGoodell says he has a 40 percent reduction in player arrest rate and says it is lower than the national rates for men of that age. He says it speaks to the quality of players in the league and that media focuses too much on each arrest rather than on players who don’t score in difficulty. 8.08pm GMTOn the league’s involvement with daily fantasy: “I don’t make that decision.” He adds that he sees this as different than sports gambling because it involves player matchups rather than team results. This is a huge dodge on a tricky question for the league that is tied up heavily in advertising with daily fantasy leagues. He does add that the NFL might possess to react to anything law enforcement does with daily fantasy. So if it becomes illegal in some states... 8.05pm GMTOn Pro Bowl.. “I was not happy with what I saw on Sunday. He says he wants to talk to players and coaches and figure out where the game is going. He says he wants to possess a stage to celebrate players but “We might possess to think approximately that differently.” He adds “If it is not quality if its not up to the standards to NFL we don’t want to do it” Looks like they are going to make major Pro Bowl changes again. 8.04pm GMTGoodell is asked approximately medical marijuana in light of some ex players saying it has helped them. “I don’t distinguish between marijuana and medical marijuana” he adds that the leagues medical people are not recommending the spend of medical marijuana. He makes it clear there will be no change in the league’s pot policy anytime soon. 8.01pm GMTGoodell says he does not see the league changing the marijuana policy given that pot is legal in a handful of NFL markets. He adds that the league’s “medical personnel” do not think the policy should change. I suspect this goes deeper than medical people. The league does not want to upset advertisers by allowing drug spend with players. 7.57pm GMTGoodell says he has talked to Missouri Gov Jay Nixon and would like to consider possibly getting a stadium built in St Louis... he is defending the process Stan Kroenke used to score out of St Louis lease. He says the facilities were not up to par for NFL teams and didn’t see evidence that they would be improved anytime soon. He says the same is dependable for San Diego and Oakland. 7.55pm GMTSomeone is asking approximately investigations like Manning and HGH and why they aren’t as pursued with the same zeal as the Brady investigation. He says the league is pursuing them tough. “We want to make certain we are obvious.” He says they might add an independent investigator on issues like Manning’s if he feels it is necessary. 7.53pm GMTDEFLATEGATE alert. Here comes a PSI question. Goodell says the protocol for bringing balls in the stadium has been changed. “We don’t disclose all the specifics because its a deterrent.” It’s the TSA philosophy. Make people anxiety they might score caught cheating.
On the Wells report: “The intent was not a research project.” I’m certain that will score a few comments. 7.51pm GMTInteresting question approximately the low pay for cheerleaders -- who really score a awful deal -- Goodell says he is going to encourage teams to pay a good wage. Its tough to say if this has much teeth. Teams possess routinely paid their cheerleaders very little money while marketing them relentlessly. If he forces teams to pay cheerleaders more, and this would be a strong move by a league that has generally ignored the issue. 7.48pm GMTGoodell also says that a team in London “is a genuine opportunity” down the road. This is a bit of a change from the recent message,which has been that the logistics of having a team in the UK might be too complicated for a fulltime NFL team in London to work. This is a clear indication that now that Los Angeles has been sorted out the league is turning its focus to London. 7.46pm GMTOn London... “Everytime we give our UK fans to engage on football they want more.” He says the fans “are more sophisticated” and expects a lot of fans to be watching Super Bowl.
He also is considering, and this is stout – more games in the UK. “I expect to see more games in the UK. 7.43pm GMTThe Texans-Raiders game on 21 Novemver is a Monday so it will be the first Monday night game played internationally. This will be a very appealing development and shows the NFL is pushing tough to sell the game outside the US borders. 7.42pm GMTConcussions are a topic now: “We possess made great progress. We continue to make rule changes to protect player safety” he says a current helmet is coming out this season from a GE, or UnderArmour and NFL challenge. Also says there is some technology that will “travel under artificial turf” to measure the impact of helmets hitting the turf.“We will not wait for science.” 7.40pm GMTGoodell says there will be a game in November between Raiders and Texans in Mexico. 7.39pm GMTFirst question is from San Farmer of the LA Times who has asked annually approximately the Los Angeles situation. He is now asking Goodell approximately potential for San Diego and Oakland..
Goodell says “the priority is to retain our teams where they are” he adds that he wants to “score the right kind of facilities in those markets. He also says he will do whatever he can to support San Diego in keeping the Chargers there. “This has to work for the communities and the teams” which means lots of public money for stadiums for rich owners. 7.35pm GMT“Our games in London possess been a tremendous success.” 7.34pm GMTGoodell talking approximately the future,player safety first. He says he will spy at rules and technology to improve players. He says they will continue to spy at ways to retain the game exciting and that the current LA stadium will be “transformational. 7.31pm GMTFirst comes some uninteresting stuff approximately how excited he is for the teams who are here and how much he wants to thank the fans and San Francisco and blah blah blah. 7.27pm GMTThe room for Goodells annual address is filling up. These things usually run approximately an hour and they possess become more contentious in recent years. Expect more questions today approximately Deflategate, PED spend, and domestic violence,the continuing Los Angeles/San Diego/Oakland situation and, of course, or London. 7.12pm GMTHello everyone and welcome to the liveblog of Roger Goodell’s annual State of the NFL address. Not certain that’s what they call it anymore but it’s really how the league treats this thing. They possess a gigantic room set up at the top of the Moscone Convention Center here in downtown San Francisco. Lots of curtains,it’s very over-the-top, expensive-looking and therefore, or very...
NFL. Goodell is scheduled to start at 11:30. 4.05pm GMTLes will be here shortly. meanwhile,purchase a spy at our surprise Super Bowl heroes: Related: From The Catch to The Tackle: the Super Bowl's surprise heroes Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com