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		Goodell bounces NFL's return to Hawaii around By Scary Barry February 5, 2009

	HONOLULU--One thing that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made clear during his press conference on Thursday was he was communicating that the Pro Bowl scheduled to be played next year in Miami is just an experiment and that if this year's game was played before the Super Bowl in say Tampa Bay there would have been a lot more TV exposure for the game being played before the Super Bowl. "We came off maybe the greatest game in the history of the NFL last week and were coming back and playing the Pro Bowl, had this been a lead up to that, it potentially could've have put more attention on the Pro Bowl and the players themselves and the Super Bowl for that matter." said Goodell Goodell had been pushing for a Pro Bowl rotation with the Super Bowl since last season. He was met with a flurry of messages of how the players feel about the game rotating with the Super Bowl and how it shouldn't leave Hawaii. Many people have told Goodell if it's not broken don't fix it. The game has been sold out for 29 straight times between 1980-2008. The game did not sell out on Thursday at 11:30 AM the deadline set by the NFL in order to the televise the game live. Goodell and league officials are trying to extend the time deadline but the game could be tape delayed for a later broadcast that for sure would hurt NBC who is expected to cover the game. Goodell said that the league is still in talks with the Hawaii Tourism Authority and that Goodell is hopeful a deal can get done but it would be rotational with Honolulu getting the game either every other year or be put on a rotational schedule with Super Bowl cities. The idea didn't sit well with many of the players here at the Pro Bowl this year, realizing that the Commissioner is trying to get Hawaii on the Pro Bowl schedule, "the idea is, we'd like to be back here on a rotational basis, it makes sense for us, the Pro Bowl has a great history and tradition. We know how much it means to this community, so we'd like to be here." said Goodell. The 30 year run comes to an end Sunday and the game moves to Miami the week before the Super Bowl next season meaning there will be no more players who participated in the Super Bowl playing in the Pro Bowl as they will not play to avoid injury for the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis said he "probably not" play in next year's game in Miami as he is from Miami and played at the University of Florida and said that any other city would be part of the regular sites that the players go to and that going to play in Hawaii is like playing somewhere different and is like a vacation and reward for the players who played so hard all year long. Some unnamed players said they would not attend games that were being played elsewhere and therefore the Pro Bowl could be a flop if played outside of Honolulu. The Pro Bowl traditionally is the busiest week in Honolulu before the game with retail and restaurants bustling. That will all change too when the game moves out of Honolulu. "Guys are going to miss Hawaii, there's nothing like coming over here, when you step off that plane and when they put that lei around your neck and you come to the hotel and get a mai tai...it's a special, special feeling." said the Chiefs Tony Gonzalez. Scary Barry is covering the 2009 Pro Bowl in Honolulu for Sportstalk Radio