Vikings RB Adrian Peterson said of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell questioning him about last year's child abuse allegations, "This is when I knew he was blind to the fact of what I was going through. I sat down with him. He asked me, What is a whuppin'? ... It was one of the first questions ... It kind of showed me we were on a totally different level. It's just the way of life." SI's Greg Bishop cites a source as saying that Goodell asked the question because he "wanted to better understand Peterson's version of what happened" (SI, 1/11 issue).
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE: NBA D-League President Malcolm Turner said that the league will "likely have a new home for the Showcase next season after two years in a row on the California coast, possibly in a venue that would accommodate two games at a time and maybe in a city without a team." NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper noted that "leaves out Santa Cruz despite receiving high marks as a host." One neutral site "remains a possibility, and maybe even a strong possibility: the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the former home of the NBA pre-draft camp that now takes place in Chicago" (NBA.com, 1/9).
TWO MINUTES FOR INTERFERENCE: In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote NHL All-Star weekend is "no more and no less than a promotional, marketing, sponsorship event for the NHL." Brooks: "So excuse me if I can’t find the logic in omitting [Penguins C] Sidney Crosby -- still the biggest name in the sport -- from this year’s event in Nashville, Tenn., because there wasn’t room for him on Team Metropolitan" (N.Y. POST, 1/10).
