Roger Goodell

Roger Goodell is hearing from disgruntled NFL fans Tuesday morning, thanks at least in part to a Wisconsin state senator who tweeted the commissioner's office phone number after the Green Bay Packers apparently were robbed of a victory by replacement officials on "Monday Night Football. " Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat who has represented the 27th Senate District since 1999, posted a series of messages via Twitter after the chaotic ending to Seattle's 14-12 victory over the Packers, during which Seahawks' receiver Golden Tate was award a touchdown catch on the final play of the game even though Green Bay defender M.D. Jennings appeared to have a clear interception of the pass in the end zone.

PHOENIX - Philip Anschutz says he's ready to talk to the NFL about a stadium in downtown Los Angeles. The NFL says it's ready to talk to Anschutz. Question is, will all that talking amount to anything real? "I think it is a positive that Phil Anschutz is reengaging," Commissioner Roger Goodell said on the first day of the annual NFL owners meetings. "He seems that he would like to get a stadium built in Los Angeles that would be suitable for an NFL team. We look forward to working on that.

Are you ready for some football? Not as ready as Roger Goodell is, trust me. You might tire of all the non-football NFL news of the last several weeks, but at least you're not living it. The commissioner must long for the days when "Cable fight" meant trying to get the NFL Network in more households, not trying to pry apart Oakland Raiders coaches. Goodell is fond of saying the NFL is the "ultimate reality show," and who can argue? Not with every other story having to do with Michael Vick coming back, Plaxico Burress going away and Brett Favre doing a little of both.

How sweet it is. Let the church bells ring. A suggestion for NFL fans in Los Angeles. Tonight over dinner, clink your cocktail glasses in toast to Phil Anschutz. We have just witnessed the most significant good-news story about the NFL and Los Angeles since Georgia and Al took their ball and went elsewhere in 1995. No huge regrets. Our stance then was correct. Don't let the door hit you in the ... Since then, until Thursday, we have had endless years of false starts, pipe dreams and empty rhetoric.

Did NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decide that players allegedly involved in the Saints' bounty pool were guilty even before all the facts from the league's investigation were in? That's what the NFL Players Assn. alleges in a court filing Friday that disputes Goodell's sworn statement that he was prepared to issue punishments to players in March, but waited until May as a courtesy to the union. The documents filed Friday include sworn statements by New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita -- one of four players issued punishments by the NFL for their alleged role in the bounty pool -- that Goodell talked about issuing punishments to players in March before the league's investigation into the scandal was complete.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell couldn't have sent a clearer two-pronged message on Wednesday with his harsh but justified treatment of the New Orleans Saints and Coach Sean Payton. The bottom line: The NFL is going to come down hard when it learns that players are trying to injure other players, and the league is going to maximize that punishment if you're caught and then lie about it, as Payton and the Saints did. There will be more penalties coming as the league's investigation digs down to the individual player level.

Although President Obama said he'd have to "think long and hard" about letting a son play football, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he'd have no reservations about letting a son play the game. Now, neither the president nor the commissioner has a son. They each have two daughters. But with the recent focus on violence and safety in football, the issue has been at the forefront of the national conversation. “I couldn't be more optimistic about it because the game of football has always evolved,” Goodell said Sunday.

In the end, for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, climbing Mt. Rainier was every bit as hard as he thought it would be. And much more. Goodell, who made it to the summit of the 14,411-foot peak Wednesday morning, called the accomplishment the most difficult "physical, emotional and probably mental" challenge of his life. He said he gave serious consideration to giving up just into the middle-of-the-night, 4,000-foot, final push from base camp to the top.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday that the damage done to the league's image by Monday night's blown call in Seattle was outweighed by the significance of inking an eight-year deal with officials. “You're always worried about the short-term impact on your brand and the long-term impact,” Goodell said in a conference call with reporters. “Obviously this hasn't been positive.” Goodell was watching from home when the Green Bay Packers lost to the Seattle Seahawks on a controversial Hail Mary pass, the culmination of a night of horrendous calls and noncalls that benefited both teams.

The NFL isn't going to blink in its staredown with locked-out officials. At least that's the way it sounds from Commissioner Roger Goodell, who answered questions on the labor meltdown during a fantasy-football event in Times Square on Thursday. Goodell has consistently held his line on the issue, saying the league will stick to its plan of using replacement officials in the regular season -- as it did for Week 1 of the 2001 season before the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the squabble in perspective and a deal was quickly struck.

NFL Players' Assn. President Domonique Foxworth says NFL players don't trust Commissioner Roger Goodell because of the Saints bounty case. "It's pretty obvious that there's a gap in what would be a reasonable amount of trust," Foxworth said in a conference call on Wednesday. "There've been a number of events to lead players to believe they cannot trust the league. "There was a bridge beginning to be built and then there were some recent events that kind of broke that bridge again.

Ted Ligety has joined some of skiing's legends. And in doing so, the American catapulted himself into the sport's biggest spotlight heading into next year's Sochi Olympics. By winning Friday's giant slalom at Schladming, Austria, by a massive margin, Ligety became the first man in 45 years to win three gold medals at a skiing world championships - since French great Jean-Claude Killy took home four golds in 1968. "I still don't think I recognize what I've done this week," Ligety said.

Although President Obama said he'd have to "think long and hard" about letting a son play football, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he'd have no reservations about letting a son play the game. Now, neither the president nor the commissioner has a son. They each have two daughters. But with the recent focus on violence and safety in football, the issue has been at the forefront of the national conversation. “I couldn't be more optimistic about it because the game of football has always evolved,” Goodell said Sunday.

I never thought I'd say this, but good job, Bill Plaschke. I'm sick of the exaltation of Ray Lewis [Jan. 30] as a good guy, someone to be admired. It's sad that the NFL has allowed him to be built up as one of its stars. I'm glad Plaschke has taken the time to expose Lewis for what he really is. Rich Rudy San Diego :: After reading Ed Reed's tough talk about illegal hits to the helmet [Jan. 31], he is already showing signs of early-onset dementia — early aging and partial memory loss!

NEW ORLEANS - Despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary - including New Orleans bars and eating establishments that say they wouldn't serve Roger Goodell were he a customer - the NFL commissioner said he's gotten good treatment in this Super Bowl city, even though he understands the frustration that Saints fans have about the Bountygate punishments. Goodell, in his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference Friday, even joked about the reception he's gotten. "I couldn't feel more welcome here," he said.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell answered questions from fans via Reddit on Monday. Pretty uneventful affair, with nothing notable happening, until a fan with the screen name "Loate" asked a question. "Dear Commissioner. I was curious about what you thought on the role of traumatic injury in the NFL, and the dichotomy between making the game safer versus giving the fans the hard hits and satiated bloodlust they so clearly desire. It seems to me that a lot of the popularity of the game boils down to the fact that there is that risk of injury, so I guess what I'm essentially asking is how are you going to balance that going forward without people feeling like you're never going to give them up, or never going to let them down?"

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is stepping aside in the Saints bounty case appeals process and turning it over to former commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Tagliabue will hear the second set of appeals from four players -- Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove -- who were penalized for their roles in an alleged program that rewarded teammates for injuring or knocking opponents out of games. The player suspensions ran from a full season for Vilma to parts of the season for the others.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue affirmed Tuesday the "factual findings" of Commissioner Roger Goodell but vacated any penalties to the players involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty program. Writers from around the Tribune Co. will discuss who benefited most and least from Tagliabue's ruling. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the conversation with a comment of your own. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times Roger Goodell was both the biggest loser and winner in Paul Tagliabue's bounty scandal ruling.

Most people think I write just to get noticed. I don't see another reason beyond getting paid, and that has to rankle some people - that I get paid to be me. I know there's probably a higher calling, like informing the masses for the public good. That's fine, so long as the public is good about noticing who is informing them. But beyond that, if you write it makes sense to get noticed or you won't be writing any more. Or worst, you might be assigned to cover horse racing or boxing.