HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s pre-Super Bowl news conference (all times local):
1:50 p.m.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sidestepped questions about President Donald Trump and his policies.
During his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference Wednesday, Goodell did not offer any substantive thoughts about Trump, his executive order restricting refugees and immigration from seven countries or his plans to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Goodell said he is focused on Sunday’s Super Bowl, which “will bring the world together.”
___
1:45 p.m.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he and the Patriots have a “disagreement about what occurred” with regard to the scandal that came to be known as “Deflategate,” but he still has a “deep and close relationship” with team owner Robert Kraft.
Goodell says: “I continue to respect and admire the Krafts.”
He called the Patriots “an extraordinary organization.”
Kraft was among the team owners attending Goodell’s news conference Wednesday.
Patriots QB Tom Brady was suspended four games after the league said it determined the Patriots intentionally underinflated footballs used in an AFC championship game victory two years ago.
Goodell did not attend either of the Patriots’ home playoff games this postseason on their way to Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Falcons.
___
1:40 p.m.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is looking into ways to shorten the lengths of games.
Among the possibilities he mentioned Wednesday to avoid “unnecessary delays,” as he put it:
- having a running clock between an extra point and ensuing kickoff to restrict the time between those plays;
- stop announcing an upcoming replay review and just do the review;
- have four commercial breaks per quarter, instead of five, something that’s been tested.
___
1:30 p.m.
The NFL says Mexico City will host a regular-season game between the Raiders and the New England Patriots in 2017.
The date and time of the game will be announced later.
The Raiders also played in Mexico last season, beating the Houston Texans in November before a sellout crowd of more than 75,000.
Raiders owner Mark Davis has said he wants to move the team from Oakland to Las Vegas.
___
1:25 p.m.
Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, will handle the pregame coin toss at the Super Bowl.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Wednesday that the former First Couple recently were released from Houston Methodist Hospital, where the nation’s 41st president received treatment for pneumonia for more than two weeks.
The former president is 92.
He often attends games of the Houston Texans, whose stadium hosts this Sunday’s championship game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.
___
1:15 p.m.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league has not made a determination about Las Vegas as the host of a team for the league.
Goodell is speaking to reporters on Wednesday at his annual news conference ahead of the Super Bowl, and a few early questions were related to the Raiders’ plan to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Goodell says there is “a great deal of work to be done” before that move could happen and that, in general, franchise “relocations are painful.”
He also says the NFL needs to “make sure” there is a “fine line” between team sports gambling and the NFL. Goodell adds that he does not think a casino could own an NFL team.
___
For more NFL coverage: https://www.pro32.ap.org and https://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Please read our comment policy before commenting.