NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith at his annual Super Bowl press conference Thursday said that the league "won't 'bully' its way to a test for human growth hormone," according to Howard Fendrich of the AP. Smith said that talks "continue in a bid to resolve the impasse over adding HGH to the NFL's testing program,"  Initially, the NFL "hoped it could start testing for HGH as soon as Week 1 of this season," but there is "no certainty it'll happen by the beginning of next season." Smith said, "No one will bully us into a test. No one will force the players to accept something that's unfair. How could we?" Fendrich noted the union has "raised questions about the detection methods and appeals process." Smith said that the issues of "most concern now are current players' health and safety, health care for former players, and painkillers, a topic not frequently discussed in such settings" (AP, 2/2). Smith noted that the union has "not been consulted about a plan by the NFL to have the St. Louis Rams play three games in London in each of the next three years." He said, "It raises some significant concerns about the health and safety of the players given the transportation, given the jet lag. We believe that issues like that are appropriate issues to be considered." Smith added that health and safety issues "would be considered in any future recommendation of the league to expand the current 16-game regular-season schedule" (REUTERS, 2/2). In DC, Mark Maske noted the NFL has "expressed a desire to revisit the 18-game proposal." Smith "did not totally rule it out when he was questioned Thursday, but said the union’s concerns remain unchanged" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/2).

SIDES MAKING PROGRESS ON TESTING: Goodell said the league is "making progress" with the NFLPA on HGH testing. Goodell: "A couple weeks ago we had a meeting where I think we came closer to reaching an agreement. I’m confident that the players want to reach that. It’s important for the integrity of the sport and I think it’s important for the health of the players.” NBC's Bob Costas said a "reasonable person can reach no other conclusion other than that the players have been stalling on this issue.” Goodell: “I think the players want to have the right kind of test in place. ... We’ve resisted this test for many years, by the way, ... (but) now we believe the science is real” ("Costas Tonight," NBC Sports Network, 2/2).

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: In N.Y., Greg Bishop noted Smith during his press conference "smiled often and seemed in the mood to celebrate" during the news conference, and it was, "of course, far different than last year’s version." Smith "spoke of the labor peace the NFLPA reached with the league before the season started and said he would not change anything." He even "got emotional at times and at least once referred to himself in the third person" (NYTIMES.com, 2/2).

NEXT IN LINE? Former NFLer Derrick Brooks, who served as an NFLPA player rep during his career, reviewed Smith's work during the collective bargaining talks, noting Smith "stepped up." Brooks said, “Now, it’s like, what’s next? Where is the union going to go from here? What’s going to be done? And these are fair questions that the players are going to ask at their meetings in March. They want to be reassured that the leadership is solid moving forward. … There are certainly questions that have to be answered by him, and hopefully he can answer them.” Brooks noted the union did not have “anything set up” after the sudden death of Exec Dir Gene Upshaw in ’08. Brooks: “Every time we approached Gene about a (succession) plan, he’d really bite back. … His untimely death kind of left the union in disarray as to what to do.” Meanwhile, Brooks said he has received “numerous inquiries” about his interest in the Exec Dir position should Smith leave the post when his contract expires in March. Brooks: “If that surfaced, I’d definitely take a look at it, just like I do any other opportunity” (“The Jim Rome Show,” 2/1).

With the number of blowouts “rising” and with scoring “down,” the talk around the NBA is “suspect quality of play six weeks into a lockout-shortened, 66-game season” according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY. In the 325 games through Wednesday, “with 650 chances for teams to get 100 or more points, 103 times they did -- vs. in the first 339 games last year, with 678 chances, they did 334 times.” ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy said, “If you’re objective, the basketball is very poor. ... It’s a choice they made to take money over quality. You can’t begrudge them.” Yet Zillgitt notes with all this, TV ratings “are up, illustrating a point fans made after the exciting end to last season and during the lockout: they want the NBA, good, bad and the ugly” (USA TODAY, 2/3). TNT's Charles Barkley said, “I want to apologize to the fans. I cannot believe how bad the NBA is right now. I’m a fan, first and foremost. Watching the NBA right now, I’m embarrassed for the product we’re putting out there right now. It’s not fun for me to watch these games. I feel bad for the fans because there are probably ten teams worth watching on a nightly basis. They’ve got all the built-in excuses: It’s the lockout. Let me tell you something, if these teams played once a week they would still suck” ("Waddle & Silvy," ESPN Radio 1000 Chicago, 1/31).

NUMBERS DON'T LIE: In N.Y., Jake Appelman noted of the teams “that had already played back-to-back-to-backs, six went 1-2, seven went 2-1 and two elite teams -- the Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder -- went 3-0.” The Pistons became “the first team to go 0-3.” That adds up “to an overall record of 26-22, a .542 winning percentage that would seem to belie the idea that playing three games in three nights puts teams at a disadvantage.” Even better, from the NBA’s “point of view, the record of clubs in the third game of their triathlons, when they might be expected to be too tired to go all out, is currently 9-7” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/2). However, Knicks C Tyson Chandler said of the travel schedule due to the condensed schedule, “It’s difficult as an athlete. Two games back-to-back is already tough but to go three games, it’s a great mental challenge for us” (USA TODAY, 2/3).

HUGE TV RATINGS: TRUE HOOP’s Henry Abbott reported the first 325 games of this NBA season had an average attendance of 17,094, which is “better than 89 percent of capacity, and a hair better than the first 325 games of last season, which averaged 17,057.” But almost “every other indicator blows those in-arena numbers away.” Abbott noted viewership “is going a bit nuts. ... ESPN viewership is up 23 percent. TNT viewership is up 50 percent. NBA TV viewership is up an insane 66 percent. NBA on regional cable sports networks are up 12 percent. Local over-the-airwaves broadcasts are up 36 percent.” Five of NBA TV’s “ten most viewed games ever have been this season.” The audience growth “is not just domestic, either.” In China, the league recently announced that “TV ratings are up 39 percent.” Abbott noted people with knowledge of the bottom line “are all smiles at the moment too.” The league has inked “a huge deal with Sprint, signed up Under Armour, and recently extended existing relationships with Anheuser-Busch, Gatorade, and AutoTrader.com” (ESPN.com, 2/2).