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<p>HOUSTON &#8212; Nothing produces awkward NFL moments quite like watching the commissioner parry all those thorny issues involving the league&#8217;s oldest and newest troublemakers &#8212; the Raiders and Patriots.</p><p>Reporters spent time poking Roger Goodell about &#8220;Deflategate,&#8221; the Raiders&#8217; now-threatened move to Las Vegas, and other delicate topics at the commissioner&#8217;s less-formal, less-crowded and, frankly, less-newsy pre-Super Bowl news conference, held on a Wednesday this year instead of the traditional Friday afternoon slot.</p><p>Going sans necktie and speaking in a room about half the size as his usual Super Bowl venue, Goodell insisted nothing was off-kilter between the league and either team.</p><p>He said &#8220;there&#8217;s a great deal more work to be done&#8221; before the Raiders can move to Las Vegas, a reality reinforced after both casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a backup financier, Goldman Sachs, pulled out of the stadium deal this week. The league is supposed to decide on the Las Vegas move in March.</p><p>&#8220;But if any key aspect is changed, the process could be slowed down,&#8221; Eric Grubman, the league&#8217;s executive vice president of business ventures, told The Associated Press.</p><p>Goodell said it was unlikely a casino owner could own a stake in a stadium, which would seem to disqualify Adelson anyway. About the more delicate question of whether it&#8217;s good business for the league, which has always disdained gambling, to stick a franchise in the gambling capital of America, the commissioner said the league is in touch with the reality that gambling &#8220;exists throughout our world.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve always said there&#8217;s a fine line between team sports gambling and the NFL,&#8221; Goodell said. &#8220;We want to protect the integrity of our game and that&#8217;s something we&#8217;ll always do.&#8221;</p><p>The commissioner was only four days away from potentially handing the Lombardi Trophy to Patriots owner Robert Kraft . It would be the most awkward commissioner-owner handoff since 1981, when Pete Rozelle presented Raiders owner Al Davis with the trophy while Davis was suing the league over Rozelle&#8217;s attempt to block the team&#8217;s move from Oakland to Los Angeles.</p><p>Fittingly, Goodell took five questions about the Patriots, almost all of them designed to put him on the defensive. The core of it: &#8220;Deflategate,&#8221; and the four-game suspension he levied against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to start the season.</p><p>Among the highlights: Why didn&#8217;t Goodell attend a Patriots playoff game, while heading to Atlanta twice? Has he spoken with Brady? How is he getting along with Kraft?</p><p>&#8220;We have a disagreement about what occurred,&#8221; Goodell said. &#8220;We have been very transparent about what we think the violation was. We went through a lengthy process. We disagree about that. &#8230; I&#8217;m not afraid of disagreement. And I don&#8217;t think disagreement leads to distrust or hatred.&#8221;</p><p>Kraft was among the very few owners who attended the news conference, but he ducked out quickly afterward without taking questions.</p><p>Goodell also faced a number of questions on the Chargers&#8217; recent move from San Diego to Los Angeles: &#8220;Relocations are painful,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Of this week&#8217;s news reports that San Diego could end up as a home for the Raiders if Las Vegas falls through, Goodell cited a &#8220;history of markets that get deals done after a team leaves. It&#8217;s a painful way to do it.&#8221; Among those markets are Cleveland, St. Louis, Los Angeles and this year&#8217;s Super Bowl host, Houston.</p><p>On other topics:</p><p>&#8226; Goodell said no timeline had been set on an investigation into alleged domestic abuse by Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. He said there&#8217;s an active investigation into former Giants kicker Josh Brown and no decision has been made about his status.</p><p>&#8226; About loosening restrictions on marijuana use, Goodell essentially ignored the question and said he wants to include that topic in negotiations with the players&#8217; union.</p><p>&#8226; The commissioner defended widely derided and often non-competitive weekly games on Thursday nights and said they&#8217;d remain part of the schedule.</p><p>&#8226; He fielded no questions about concussions or protecting quarterbacks, even though both remained hot topics all season.</p><p>&#8226; In the wake of a TV ratings decline, the league will keep looking into ways to decrease the amount of dead time during games.</p><p>&#8226; Probed a few times on the travel ban and other decisions made recently by President Donald Trump, Goodell refused to wade in, saying he&#8217;s 100 percent focused on the Super Bowl. &#8220;We&#8217;re in a unique position to have an event on Sunday that will bring the world together,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Goodell-Salary-Footba_Sopr.jpg</photo0><caption0>NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eddie Pells</p><p>AP National Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Roger Goodell dodges questions on Raiders, Patriots