The NFL's Canadian concern

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual Super Bowl address.

And as per usual, the Canadian question came up, this time posed in regard to the issue of expansion.

Here's what the commissioner said:

"As you know, Toronto is a great market. The Bills are playing up there on an annual basis in a regular season game, and then every other year with a preseason game. I think we want to continue to service that market. We have great fans there. I think it's a great city. I think they are going to be facing, and I've talked to some of the leadership up there, potentially a stadium issue that is going to have to be addressed. Their current stadium, as you know, is a multi-purpose stadium and has a relatively small capacity by NFL standards. So I think there are some issues that would have to be addressed up there, but it's a great market."

That's rather interesting, especially the part I've highlighted in bold above.

Goodell has talked to some of the leadership "up there"? To whom would he be referring?

And by suggesting there is going to be a "stadium issue that is going to have to be addressed" what exactly does he mean? Presumably he doesn't mean Toronto is going to "address" the issue by building a new stadium to house the Buffalo Bills once a year? So what exactly is he talking about and who is he talking to?

The commissioner addressed a number of pertinent topics and I've selected a few of his responses below.

On the state of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the NFL's worst attendance and had to black out a number of their games this past season:

"First let me say we know what's going on in the marketplace, and what our fans and partners are facing in terms of economic challenges. I've spent an awful lot of time with Wayne (Weaver) talking about what's happening in Jacksonville and how that is impacting the attendance. I think Wayne said it very well, that despite other factors, you can't continue to have an NFL franchise with 40,000 people in the stands. We've got to try to improve that. Wayne has been very aggressive in working with the business community, and we will support him in every way. We know there are millions of fans in North Florida that want to continue to see the Jaguars play the great football they did this year, and we will support that, and hopefully we'll see better results going forward."

On the NFLPA's view that the league wants to shut down by locking out its players before the 2011 season:

"We want an agreement and I think every owner will say the same thing. We want an agreement that's fair to the game, to the players and will allow us to continue to invest in the game. The idea that ownership would be anxious for a work stoppage is absolutely false. You don't make money by shutting down your business. It's a bad scenario for everybody. I can assure you the ownership and I believe the players-in talking to individual players-want to get an agreement and want to work to do that. We are currently committed to do that and I am right there at the forefront."

On whether the league would consider revamping it's overtime rules:

"I understand your question. We spent an awful lot of time looking at overtime rules, tweaking them and trying to come up with something we thought was better. Frankly, in discussions with the players and coaches and all of our clubs, we haven't been able to find a better solution. We actually think the rule is designed to win games in regulation and that the players and the coaches all support the system, and I think that's an important part of this. We saw overtime twice in the postseason this year and they were maybe two of the most exciting games we've had. I think the overtime rules have served the league well. We'll continue to look to see if there's a better solution. But, I wouldn't hold your breath on that solution."

On the future of the St. Louis Rams who may be sold and the potential for relocation:

"We have a lease there. We will respect that lease. We would like the team to be successful in St. Louis over the long term …we will work with the future ownership to make sure that that team can continue to be there and be successful … There are two different processes. Ownership transfer is an important issue for us. We take a lot of time going through that with our committees and with the full membership. And then, if there is any kind of potential relocation, that's a separate process. Fortunately, we're not talking about that. We're talking about potentially just an ownership change …But we want to be in St. Louis"

On the idea of playing the 2014 Super Bowl in New York

"Well as you know, I have to remain neutral on many issues. But this was something that was brought to our committee - our Super Bowl advisory committee - because for the New York Super Bowl bid to move forward, they had to make an exception to our weather issue. I sat in on that conversation and participated with them and I think there are real benefits to the league considering this as an option. I think the idea of playing in the elements is central to the way the game of football is played. I think being able to do that and celebrate the game of football in the number one market could have tremendous benefits to the league going forward. I think you will see that - I think our two co-chairmen are here, Woody Johnson and Jon Tisch - they will put together a very aggressive bid, one that will demonstrate the value of playing in New York and they will be competing against some great cities also. It will be an interesting vote, but I will stand on the sidelines and watch."

On the possibility of a longer regular season:

"The restructured season is something that we give a lot of consideration, for a variety of reasons. One is the quality of what we do. I consistently hear from player and fans that the quality of our preseason is not up to NFL standards and that we need to fix that, we need to address that. This is one way of doing that, and what I believe is an effective way. Overall, it is consistent with the scene that I tried to present earlier, which is: focus on the quality of what you do, improve that, and create opportunities for everybody that everyone can share in. I think that we're staying within a 20-game format. We improve the quality of what we're offering our fans, and what we're asking our fans to pay for. I think there's a real strong logic behind all of that that needs further consideration. We spend a great deal of time talking with our partners about it, including the players, and it's something that we'll be discussing in the context of a Collective Bargaining Agreement."