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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that the league does not think it has lost viewers despite a 10 percent drop in television ratings this season.At the same time, however, he acknowledged that league officials are trying to understand what has caused the drop and how to address it.Speaking after the leagues fall meetings in Houston, Goodell said it is important not just to get viewers tuned in but also to get them to stay tuned in to game broadcasts.When you look at ratings you have to go deeper than that, Goodell said. Its viewers, but also how long theyre engaging for, and a lot of times, people will leave a game for whatever reason, whether its to go to other programming or whether the game is not that competitive.Goodell said neither he nor the leagues broadcast partners believe player protests of the national anthem have played a role in the drop. But he did note a relative lack of competitive games in prime time and the contentious presidential election and debate schedule as partial explanations.There a lot of factors to be considered, he said. We dont make excuses. We try to figure out whats changing.Also at the meetings, Goodell heard what he called a factual presentation of the?Oakland Raiders interest in relocating to Las Vegas. Goodell, however, said there is still a great deal of information that we need to gather with respect to the circumstances in Oakland and also the challenges, indicating that resolution of the issue shouldnt be expected quickly.Nevada lawmakers recently approved $750 million in public money to be used toward a domed stadium that would open in 2020. Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has pledged $650 million toward the project, but Goodell said NFL owners have not been briefed on the structure of that offer. The Raiders could apply for relocation as early as January 15, 2017.There will be follow-up discussion maybe as early as December but more likely later than that, Goodell said.In other meeting news:Goodell offered no apologies for the uptick in taunting and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties this season. We do believe that our players are role models and others look at that at the youth level, he said, so thats important for us. And its part of being a professional. Thats one element of it.?We have taunting and its a significant issue, and taunting fouls are up this year. Its probably a combination of making that a point of emphasis, and we look at that as sportsmanship. In most cases when somebody taunts somebody else, somebody reacts and it can escalate quickly.?People may not like the rule. They may not like the line thats been drawn, but we believe its part of being a professional league.Goodell said owners spent much of Wednesday morning discussing the leagues collective bargaining agreement, which has reached its halfway point and will expire in 2021. The deal has worked incredibly well for players and owners, Goodell said.ESPN has reported that the league would like to extend the deal before its expiration.As part of any CBA talks, Goodell suggested the league would like to address limitations in offseason and in-season practice time. That undoubtedly will come up, he said.NHL Jerseys . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. 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According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph.Still stinging from a 31-24 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots travel across the country to face the woeful San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.And they will do so without Rob Gronkowski.The big tight end, injured by a smashing hit from Seattles Earl Thomas on Sunday night, missed five plays but came back and finished the game, which ended when an attempted fade to him in the end zone was incomplete. He was ruled out of the game against the 49ers on Friday.On Monday a report surfaced he suffered a punctured lung. Then Tuesday another report said it was a bruised sternum.There was no Gronkowski news Wednesday -- except that his brother, Glenn, was re-signed to the practice squad.While all was quiet on that front, it was apparent neither Gronkowski will be on the field when the 7-2 Patriots visit the 1-8 (with eight straight losses) 49ers.Clearly, Rob Gronkowskis absence makes the powerful New England offense weaker. But the injury took focus away from what the Patriots defense did Sunday, which was little as Russell Wilson threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns.Chip Kelly is the coach of the 49ers now, but last year he brought the Philadelphia Eagles to Gillette Stadium and won, scoring 35 points.(Coach Bill Belichick) has been on us about that game, too, defensive captain Devin McCourty said Wednesday. Obviously, we didnt do some things well that game, so we just talked about the importance of, with Chip Kelly being there now, theyll definitely probably go through that game, and things that they gave us trouble with theyll look at and probably go back to.Hes (Belichick) trained us as players I think in really all phases of the game about being prepared for those things, so weve gone through that game a little bit, just watching and seeing how we might get attacked, obviously, not by Philly but by a team coached by Chip Kelly.Asked what his team has to do to calm the fears of anxious Patriots fans about the defense, McCourty said, Its simple. Weve just got to play better -- theres nothing I can say to calm that or anything, weve just got to go out there and play better. I think thhats what everyone in the locker room and everyone on the defense wants to go out there and do.dddddddddddd Theres nothing to say. Youve just got to go do it.The 49ers are 29th in the NFL in total offense and 30th in passing. But theyre seventh in rushing, with Colin Kaepernick always a threat to take off with the football. And the New England defensive players have been impressed with the way the Niners have moved the ball the last two games -- the third and fourth games with Kaepernick as the starter.I mean, if wed have played well (last week) wed still have something to prove, New England defensive end Chris Long said. Every week we have something to prove. If you have a mindset any different in this league, youre going to get embarrassed because theres good teams every week that you have to play that has weapons. San Francisco certainly has that.The 49ers only win was a 28-0 opening victory over the Los Angeles Rams, who also remain on New Englands schedule. They lost by three points at Arizona last Sunday.Earlier this week, Kelly, the former offensive coordinator at the University of New Hampshire, revealed some extremely important news on his relationship with Belichick.Were Facebook friends, Kelly said. We spend a lot of time online together.He is a good friend. Hes always been very, very kind to me, whether I was at New Hampshire or Oregon or now, when Ive been in the NFL. Very good friend. ... I was just very thankful that he is a friend of mine, and Ive got great respect for him. Excited about the matchup this week and getting a chance to coach against him again.Talking about Kaepernick and the Niners attack Wednesday, Belichick said, They run the ball as much as any team in the league so that sets up their play action and some of the quarterback movement plays that hes good at, as well as their third-down package. He has a good group of skill players to work with. The receivers are good, the tight ends are good, the backs are very good. They can move the ball. ' ' '