aight across all competitions and coming off a 3-0 win over Cadiz in the Copa del Rey. T

NEW YORK -- If Commissioner Roger Goodell gets his way, change could be coming to the NFL. Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying. Short on details or precise timetables, and acknowledging hell need approval from team owners for action, Goodell painted the picture of an ever-evolving league during his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference, held Friday in a theatre in midtown Manhattan. Goodell said "theres a lot of benefits" to increasing the post-season field from 12 to 14 clubs. "We think we can make the league more competitive. We think we can make the matchups more competitive toward the end of the season. There will be more excitement, more memorable moments for our fans. And thats something that attracts us," Goodell said. "We think we can do it properly from a competitive standpoint. So this will continue to get very serious consideration by the competition committee." That sort of proposal would require "Yes" votes from 24 of the 32 owners. At least one who attended Goodells speech, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, sounded in favour of the idea, with a couple of caveats: He wouldnt want to let too many teams into the post-season, and hed like to hear more about scheduling. "We dont want to become like some other sports, where its too easy to make the playoffs," Lurie said. "Adding one team would not put us in a counterproductive situation. But when you would play the games, I think, is very important, so that the following games, you have virtually an equal time to prepare." Making a not-so-subtle reference to mistakes by game officials this season, Goodell said that committee also will make recommendations to the 32 owners about having replays from all games overseen by the league office. Major League Baseball recently joined the NHL as sports that have centralized replay systems. "We think theres plenty of room for us to improve the game of football, and officiating in particular. What we all want is consistency and fairness in our officiating," Goodell said. "I do believe there is a possibility that some version of that will occur -- where our office can at least be involved with the decision. It may not make the decision," he added, "but at least can provide some input that would be helpful to the officials on the field to make sure theyre seeing every angle." Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said he needs more information before deciding whether hed be in favour. "Our situation is different than hockey. But I think we should look at everything," Rooney said. "Maybe we want to expand the number of incidents that you look at. A lot of times theyll say, Thats not reviewable. Look into that, for example." New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft likes the suggestion. "Games should be standardized and have the same people making the calls," Kraft said. "I dont want to ever lose a game based on poor interpretation of rules by (different) officials." Another focal point, according to Goodell, will be preventing the kind of alleged bullying that rocked the Miami Dolphins this season. "Ive already begun discussions with outside parties. Ive discussed it with the union, Ive also met with several groups of players, individually and collectively, to talk about the circumstances. What needs to be done?" Goodell said. "Some of it will be education. Some of it possibly could be policy change." Speaking two days before the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks play in East Rutherford, N.J., Goodell did not respond directly to questions whether other cold-weather cities with outdoor stadiums could host NFL championship games. During his opening remarks, Goodell said: "One unique aspect about the focus for this years Super Bowl has been on the weather. Of course, we cannot control the weather. I told you we were going to embrace the weather. Here we go." And with that, flakes of fake snow fell from the ceiling above the stage, drawing laughter. Among other topics addressed by Goodell: --The NFL is working to convince a federal judge in Philadelphia that the tentative $765 million settlement reached with former players who sued the league about concussions "can provide the kind of benefits that we intended, and were confident that well get there"; --The difficulty in selling out wild-card playoff games resulted from "mistakes that were made by us, the NFL, and our clubs," and not fans fault, and that improving stadium safety "is a critical component"; --The NFL is "not actively considering" allowing players to use marijuana for medical reasons, but "thats something we would never take off the table, if it can benefit our players"; --Selling out all three of next seasons games in London is "just another indication that the more we give fans in the U.K. of NFL football, the more they want" and that the possibility of placing a franchise in that country is closer to reality than a year ago; --He deflected a question about whether hed call a Native American a "Redskin" face-to-face, saying, "Lets not forget this is the name of a football team." ------ AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Rachel Cohen, Tim Booth and Tom Canavan contributed to this report. Cheap Royals Jerseys Authentic . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. Bo Jackson Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. http://www.cheaproyalsjerseys.com/ .ca presents a week long look at some of the teams and stories that will shape the up coming campaign. Kelvin Herrera Jersey . The Nuggets leading scorer, Lawson is characterized as day to day by the team. Hes averaging 17.9 points and 8.9 assists. Lawson suffered the injury late in Denvers win Sunday at Sacramento. Cheap Kansas City Royals Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Orlando Magic are the only team in the NBA who have reached the halfway point in the season. So, if its good enough for one team out of 30, then we shall declare it the midpoint of the 2014-15 NBA season. In doing so, lets examine where the awards would go if the campaign was drastically shortened, which, no one would cry a single tear about. MVP - JAMES HARDEN, HOUSTON ROCKETS Almost every other pundit has tabbed Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors for this honor and I get it. Curry is the best player from the best team in the league, and, in the absence of a runaway contender, that formula is a solid means to an answer. However, I believe Harden has been a more valuable player for the Rockets. The statistics bare out pretty equal seasons. Harden is ahead in scoring, but Curry is up in assists. Pretty standard stuff since one is a shooting guard and the other is a point guard. (Although, I love that Harden is averaging a career-high 6.6 assists per game, which is second to LeBron James among non- point guards, and a near 90 percent clip from the foul line while leading the league in attempts.) Here are the three things that give Harden an edge for me: First, the Warriors are a much better, more complete team. Sounds like a plus for Curry, but Harden has done most of the heavy lifting in keeping the Rockets within four of the Warriors for the best record in the league. Curry is magnificent, but his team is loaded with two-way athletes in a manner that the Rockets are not. The overall talent is stronger in Golden State than in Houston, thus, making Hardens achievements this season more impressive. Second, when you are literally the butt of social media jokes about how horrendous a defender you are, it shows something to improve. Harden is not quite Gary Payton, but his defense has improved tremendously. Hes 12th in defensive rating and second in defensive win shares. Granted, those numbers changed with the arrival of Trevor Ariza and the continued solid defense from Dwight Howard, but Harden went from punch line to serviceable. The Rockets are third in opponents scoring and fourth in opponents field goal percentage. Last season, they were 23rd and seventh in those same categories. Harden isnt at the heart of the turnaround, but hes no longer weighing them down defensively like an anvil chained to the leg of a mob informant. Finally, during an 11-game stretch when Howard was down with a knee injury from mid-November to mid-December, Harden kept the Rockets afloat, going 8-3 in the process. During that stretch, Harden averaged 29 points and 6.1 assists per game. Curry hasnt had to deal with anything like that. Adversity shouldnt translate into automatic MVP victory. Its not the Oscars, where an actress will win if she plays an alcoholic, single-mother stripper, whose daughter is a piano prodigy and mom must find a way to work a third job to pay for a good teacher as well as trips abroad so the daughter can perform in recitals. Harden has kept the Rockets near the top of the league without a supporting cast like Currys. While Ariza has been a revelation, Howard is averaging nine- season lows in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Harden has taken a team, Ill admit, I had missing the playoffs, and got them the fourth-best record in the NBA. With less around him, I go Harden over Curry. COACH OF THE YEAR - STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS This is possibly the closest competition for an award I can remember. How could you not like Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks? With a stunningly similar roster that finished under .500 last season, Bud has the Hawks atop the Eastern Conference by four games (Al Horford is really important, too). However, Kerr gets my nod for the simple fact that he made extraordinary coaching decisions that paid massive dividends. He started Harrison Barnes andd Draymond Green over Andre Iguodala and David Lee.dddddddddddd Kerr put two infants in there at the expense of 21 combined seasons, three All-Star appearances and $27 million in 2014-15 salary. And its worked unbelievably. His lineup changed meant the Warriors starters can switch almost any time without massive consequence. Kerr had the hard job of replacing Mark Jackson, who is not quite Phil Jackson, but had the eternal respect of his players. Kerr erased any doubts, and quickly. I will fault no one who votes Budenholzer, but I think Kerr has done just a little more. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - ANDREW WIGGINS, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES Since Jabari Parkers injury, Wiggins was destined to pull away some. He has, but he would have even if Parkers ACL didnt tear. Over the last 10 games, Wiggins is averaging 21 ppg. Granted, they are all Timberwolves losses, but Wiggins game is rounding out nicely. Remember, he started slowly at Kansas, then emerged. As the T-wolves continue to be terrible, Wiggins is getting a chance to develop greatly. Shabazz Mohammeds insertion into the starting lineup, thus moving Wiggins to the shooting guard, paid off handsomely for the No. 1 pick as well. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - DRAYMOND GREEN, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Know who leads the league in Defensive Rating and Defensive Win Shares? Draymond Green. Know how to calculate either of those? (Not rhetorical, please help me.) The Warriors rank first in opponents field goal percentage. Green is one integral piece of that team-oriented puzzle. Andrew Bogut is a top-five defensive big man. Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala are both upper echelon wing defenders. Steph Curry is underrated and leads the league in steals. But heres why I like Green so much for this award - hes a wonderful combination of all of those things and that versatility is what makes the Warriors a stout defense. Golden State can constantly switch anything because players like Green can cover all five positions. To have that kind of flexibility is huge. Green is the best demonstration of that. SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR - LOU WILLIAMS, TORONTO RAPTORS Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers, Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Pelicans, Williams, Reggie Jackson of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Isaiah Thomas of the Phoenix Suns are all close in scoring. I feel like Williams and Thomas have done more for their teams in terms of helping them win games. I feel like Williams did more when DeMar DeRozan was gone to help Toronto keep pace. Thomas missed a few too many games. MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - JIMMY BUTLER, CHICAGO BULLS Ill say it - I hate this award. Its too hard to figure out the meaning of a three-word award. Too many people vote for someone who gets more playing time than the season before. Is that technically improvement or did that player just receive a mountains worth of more run? Or did the player improve so much during camp, that he forced his way into this new-found time? Ive always favored the player who improves, not the one who receives more playing time, although, Ive softened on that. There is a reasonable argument to be made that a player like an Alex Len of the Suns improved enough to crack the rotation. But, Im going with a player who didnt receive a bump in minutes. That wouldve been next to impossible considering Jimmy Butler shared the league lead in minutes per game last season. Hes first again this season. In literally ONE MORE MINUTE of playing time per game this campaign than last, here is the tale of Jimmy Butler: 2013-14 2014-15 Points per game: 13.1 20.9 Assists per game: 2.6 3.4 Rebounds per game: 4.9 6.2 3-point percentage: 28.3 34.2 field goal percentage: 39.7 46.4 free throw percentage: 76.9 83.0 Thats with ONE MORE MINUTE a game. Theres not a better example of improvement in the league. ' ' '