PHOENIX - No, Roger Goodell is not going to give himself a pay cut. Wont trim even a measly $1 million off his $44 million salary.Not voluntarily, anyway, even after a disastrous year that shook the NFL to its core.Hes also not going to resign and, no, he doesnt expect to be fired.Does that surprise you? he asked the questioner.It didnt, and not much else did Friday as the embattled NFL commissioner put on a show of not being embattled at all at his annual State of the NFL presser.To call this a dog and pony show would be insulting to dogs and ponies everywhere. Nothing about the format was conducive to getting actual answers rather than the talking points the commissioner had long ago committed to memory.A few miles down the road, Tiger Woods was explaining as only he can about how he could shoot 82 on a relatively easy resort course and miss the cut in his first tournament of the year. Goodell took the podium at about the same time to explain why the NFL was going to wait until after the Super Bowl to determine whether the New England Patriots were conspirators in a scheme to deflate footballs.Neither of them were terribly insightful, but at least Woods had an excuse. He had been out playing in the rain for five hours, and was just hoping to get somewhere dry.Goodell, meanwhile, spent the morning working out, presumably while studying the talking points his aides had surely drawn up for any question that might come up. Like Woods, he had an answer for everything, even for the cute little kid who warned his question about league-sponsored exercise would be a tough one.Not for the Teflon Commissioner, it wasnt. Goodell informed the kid that not had he already done Play 60 for the day, but actually did 65 minutes on the elliptical.Goodell was so on point that the only question that seemed to throw him for the slightest moment came from a Las Vegas television reporter who wanted to know about prospects for a team in that gambling city (not good).To be sure, the annual appearance by the commissioner rarely offers much insight into the operations of Americas most popular sports league. The supremely insular NFL prefers it that way, and without follow up questions the questions bounce around from topic to topic with no clear theme.This year, though could have been different. This year should have been different, if only because of two big controversies that cast doubt about fair and just the league really is.Goodell had a chance to go deeper into the deflated ball controversy, and didnt. He could have directly answered why his friend, New England owner Robert Kraft, wants an apology for the way the league has handled it, and didnt.He could have talked more about the whole Ray Rice affair, and didnt.Instead he talked in generalities about winning trust from fans every day and making enormous progress on social issues.The NFL is made up of good and caring people, he assured us at one point.That may be true, but for now were going to have to take Goodells word for it. Were also going to have to believe him when he says that the events have recent months have humbled him.It might be easier, though, if those responses didnt seem as scripted and full of generalities as his thoughts about players safety (hes for it) and earlier kickoff times for games in London - giving the networks yet another 3-hour block of NFL television (terrific).Listen, it has been a tough year, Goodell said. It has been a tough year on me personally. Its been a year of what I would say humility and learning. We obviously as an organization have gone through adversity, but more importantly it has been adversity for me. That is something where, we take that seriously. Its an opportunity for us to get better. So weve all done a lot of soul searching, starting with yours truly. And we have taken action.Speaking of action, Mr. Commissioner, how about that pay cut?Thats up to the owners, Goodell said. They evaluate my performance. They evaluate my compensation every year. And I dont argue.Come to think of it, after a year like the last one silence might be Goodells best option.____Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg Anthony Bennett Jersey . City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play. Bruno Caboclo Raptors Jersey . Jets head coach Paul Maurice made the announcement Saturday following the morning skate and confirmed Al Montoya will start in goal against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authent ... rs-Jersey/. -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Kyle Lowry Jersey . On the day the club activated Casey Janssen from the 15-day disabled list, his return from a strained oblique that cost him the first six weeks of the regular season, it announced Sergio Santos would be placed on the disabled list on Monday with discomfort in his right forearm. Louis Williams Raptors Jersey . He did one better Sunday by holing out a pitching wedge from 142 yards for eagle, capping a remarkable 28 on the back nine to win The Championship at Laguna National.WINNIPEG -- Blake Wheeler says his Winnipeg Jets are racing for a Western Conference playoff spot. Winnipeg got out of the post-Olympic starting blocks quickly with a 3-2 shootout win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night as Wheeler scored his 23rd goal of the season. "A vast percentage of the league is going to be pretty rested after a 2 1/2-week break," said Wheeler, who played for the United States in Sochi, but saw limited minutes as the Americans 13th forward. "I think its an all-out sprint. Theres no time to be tired." Wheeler was joined on the score sheet by Bryan Little. Olli Jokinen put away the shootout winner in the fourth round for Winnipeg (29-26-6). Devin Setoguchi also beat Coyotes goalie Mike Smith in the shootout, while Antoine Vermette was the only Coyote to solve Ondrej Pavelec. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Martin Hanzal scored in regulation for Phoenix (27-21-11) in the first game for both teams after a 19-day break for the Winter Olympics. The Jets continued their winning ways under new head coach Paul Maurice, improving to 10-3-1 since he replaced the fired Claude Noel. Despite some less-than-crisp play, the coach said he was pleasantly surprised by how well his team played after such a long layoff. "It was tough at times, but just from the stuff I watched the last two days (around the league), it was a better game than I thought I was going to see," Maurice said. Winnipeg pulled within one point of the Coyotes as both teams chase a wild-card playoff spot, although Phoenix has two games in hand. Dallas sits in the final spot with 66 points, one better than Phoenix and Vancouver, and two ahead of Winnipeg. Pavelec made 34 saves for the Jets, with two of his toughest stops coming in overtime. "It wasnt an easy game for both teams. It was the first game back and we didnt know what to expect a little bit," said Pavelec, who stopped Mike Ribeiro to end the shootout. Smith stopped 27 shots for the visitors, including a pair of scoring chances in the final seconds of regulation. "For the most part I felt not too bad," said Smith, whho was a member of Canadas gold medal-winning team in Sochi but didnt see any playing time.dddddddddddd "But like I said, it doesnt matter how you feel, you need to come out on the better side of things." Hanzal put away a rebound to tie the game at 2-2 with Jets centre Jim Slater in the penalty box 6:40 into the third period. Winnipeg took advantage of a giveaway by Coyotes defenceman Zbynek Michalek to take the lead late in the second period. With Ekman-Larsson in the penalty box, Little intercepted Michaleks pass in the low slot and beat Smiths glove hand to make it 2-1. The teams wasted no time reminding fans of one of the differences between international hockey and the NHL game. Winnipegs Zach Bogosian and Phoenixs Rob Klinkhammer dropped the gloves just 78 seconds into the game after Klinkhammer shoved Bogosians defence partner Toby Enstrom into the boards. The Coyotes opened the scoring with an Ekman-Larsson wrist shot from the high slot that went in off the post 12:17 into the first period. It took the Jets less than three minutes to respond, as Wheelers shot from the corner hit Coyotes defenceman Michael Stone in the leg and bounced into the net. Smith was distracted earlier in the sequence by Winnipeg forward Dustin Byfuglien, and the Coyotes argued for an interference call. Smith and Coyotes coach Dave Tippett both said they disagreed with the non-call in their post-game comments. "Personally, I think if theres incidental contact in the net and then the puck goes in after, it shouldve been not a penalty, but it shouldnt have been allowed," Smith said. Notes: Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne, Man., a defenceman for Canadas Olympic gold medal-winning womens hockey team, performed the ceremonial puck drop. a The Jets welcomed back Slater, who missed 52 games with a sports hernia, and left-winger Evander Kane, who sat out the last six games before the Olympic break with a hand injury. a The Jets head to Nashville for a one-game road trip on Saturday, while the Coyotes play in Denver Friday night before heading home. a The teams have one remaining meeting, April 1 in Arizona. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '