League Notes

Rooney Says Owners Happy With Goodell's Performance

Steelers Chair Dan Rooney yesterday indicated that NFL owners "should begin working on a contract extension for Commissioner Roger Goodell." Goodell signed a five-year contract in '06, and owners "seem pleased with his performance." Rooney said that a contract extension is "merited but has not been officially discussed among the owners yet." Rooney: "There has not been talk about that yet. But I've thought about it, and I think it's time to start talking about it. I think he's done a wonderful job" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/22).

ON TRACK: In London, Simon Arron writes the campaign to "reduce [F1] costs took a step forward" yesterday when FIA President Max Mosley met with Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) reps in Geneva. The meeting "heralded the adoption of a different approach by the teams," and "rather than arriving mob-handed, they were collectively represented by just two negotiators" -- Ferrari Chair Luca di Montezemolo and Toyota Racing President John Howett. Discussions are "said to have been productive," and a statement read, "Today's meeting in Geneva has produced significant cost savings for 2009 and 2010. FOTA are working urgently on further proposals for 2010 and thereafter" (London TELEGRAPH, 10/22).

ONE-TWO PUNCH: YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote of EliteXC's announcement yesterday that it was declaring bankruptcy and immediately closing operations, "The company that began with such promise in 2007 folded more meekly than its biggest star in 2008, buried under an avalanche of bills. There are myriad reasons for its demise, but two moves were particularly damaging." First, EliteXC "built Kimbo Slice into a star attraction, but at the expense of turning the company into a quasi-pro-wrestling outfit." Second, as the company was beginning, EliteXC's parent company, ProElite, "purchased a string of other promotional companies ... which collectively cost tens of millions of dollars and delivered essentially nothing" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/21).